ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF ORDER STATISTICS FOR A RANDOM SAMPLE SIZE

The distributions of the life lengths of a parallel and of a series system with a random number of components have been studied in reliability theory. In this paper we obtain the distributions of the i'th order statistics and the range, assuming the sample size to be random, with a generalized negative binomial, a generalized Poisson and a generalized logarithmic series distribution. The results of Raghunandanan and Patil (1972) follow immediately from our results.     

The R&D-Marketing Interface in High-Technology Firms

It has become part of the traditional wisdom that good relationships between the R&D and marketing departments are essential for effective new product development. But in so many firms it still just doesn't happen. How come? In this article, three pragmatic researchers, Professors Gupta, Raj, and Wilemon, take another look at what causes the significant barriers that exist at the interface of two of the key product innovation functions. What they discover is disagreement between marketing and R&D people about what they should do together. They also find that R&D people are the more reluctant cooperators. They draw some interesting opinions from the parties as to why the barriers exist.     

Congruence between spokesperson and product type: A matchup hypothesis perspective

This study tested the matchup hypothesis regarding choice of celebrity spokesperson by examining the fit or congruence between image type and the product advertised from an Identification and Internalization viewpoint (Kelman, 1961). Spokesperson type (celebrity versus noncelebrity) was varied, aong with congruence between spokesperson image and product (higher versus lower congruence) in a 2x2 factorial design. Results showed that increased congruence for the spokesperson/product combination resulted in the perception of higher believability and attractiveness of the spokesperson and a more favorable product attitude. The implications of these and other findings for advertising and marketing strategy are discussed. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Estimation of P[Y < X] for generalized exponential distribution

This paper deals with the estimation of P[Y < X] when X and Y are two independent generalized exponential distributions with different shape parameters but having the same scale parameters. The maximum likelihood estimator and its asymptotic distribution is obtained. The asymptotic distribution is used to construct an asymptotic confidence interval of P[Y < X]. Assuming that the common scale parameter is known, the maximum likelihood estimator, uniformly minimum variance unbiased estimator and Bayes estimator of P[Y < X] are obtained. Different confidence intervals are proposed. Monte Carlo simulations are performed to compare the different proposed methods. Analysis of a simulated data set has also been presented for illustrative purposes.Part of the work was supported by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council     

Financial development,corporate governance and cost of equity capital

Existing research suggests that external governance is more relevant than internal governance in affecting a firm’s value. We contribute to the literature by explicitly examining the interactive role played by country-level financial development and legal institutions in influencing the impact of firm-level governance on the cost of equity capital. Using a comprehensive sample of 7380 firm years drawn from 22 developed countries, we show that firm-level corporate governance attributes affect the cost of equity capital primarily in the Common Law countries with high levels of financial development. Our study is the first to highlight the complementary effects of legal origin, financial development and firm-level governance attributes in influencing the cost of equity capital.     

Effectiveness of cause‐related marketing for differential positioning of market entrant in developing market: An exploratory study in Indian context

Cause‐related marketing is being increasingly used for forging strong relation between the brand and the customer. It is primarily being used by the well‐established brands to further strengthen their position in the market as it leads to a positive image of the brand, and customers are more receptive towards such brands because they tend to provide them with tangible as well as intangible benefits. This study tends to identify the effectiveness of cause‐related marketing as a marketing tool for newly launched products in developing market of India, which has so far remained a less explored area. A sample of 150 consumers was taken, and case studies were undertaken for validating these findings. The findings suggest that cause‐related marketing campaigns, even at early stages of brand development, can lead to customer trial and differential positioning thus providing these new entrants with an opportunity to interact with the customers. The proposed framework can provide useful insights to brand managers to design cause‐related marketing campaigns for newly launched brands. The results and findings have been deduced from real‐time market research, and it can help in furthering research in the field of cause‐related marketing in India and other developing economies with similar market conditions.     

The Relationship Between HR Capabilities and Quality of Patient Care: The Mediating Role of Proactive Work Behaviors

Based on theoretical frameworks of resource‐based theory, dynamic capabilities, and behavioral perspective on human resource management, we developed a multidimensional construct of human resource (HR) capabilities and tested its relationship with quality of patient care using a national sample of U.S. hospitals. The data on HR capabilities were collected from senior managers (421 individuals nested in 279 hospitals) representing both the administrative and clinical sides of the hospitals. The data on quality of patient care were gathered from two unique sources—patients of 207 hospitals who reported the data via the hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey, and 421 senior managers of 279 hospitals. Our analyses using structural equation modeling suggests that the positive relationship of HR capabilities with quality of patient care is mediated by proactive behaviors of health care workers. Implications of the study findings for research and practice are discussed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Do Firms Use Tax Reserves to Meet Analysts’ Forecasts? Evidence from the Pre‐ and Post‐FIN 48 Periods

We examine whether firms decrease tax reserves to meet analysts’ quarterly earnings forecasts in the period prior to FIN 48, and whether that behavior changed following FIN 48. We use analysts’ forecasts of pretax and after‐tax income to impute premanaged earnings, or earnings before any tax manipulation. Pre‐FIN 48, we observe that firms reduce their tax reserves (i.e., increase income) when premanaged earnings are below analysts’ forecasts. Specifically, 78 percent of firm‐quarters that would have missed the analyst forecast if not for the tax reserve decrease, meet that target when the decrease is included. Furthermore, we find a significant positive association between the decrease in tax reserves and the deviation of premanaged earnings from analysts’ forecasts. In contrast, post‐FIN 48, we find no evidence that firms use changes in tax reserves to manage earnings to meet analysts’ forecasts. Thus, our results suggest that FIN 48 has, at least initially, curtailed firms’ use of tax reserves to manage earnings.