The standard-setters’ toolkit: can principles prevail over bright lines?

We study lease accounting in an international panel data set to examine how accounting outcomes vary with two features of accounting standards: the emphasis on using professional judgement to apply principles, and the presence or absence of bright-line tests. We study four countries—Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US—and companies in two lease-intensive industries—retail and transportation. Our primary study period spans the time when Australia and the UK switched from domestic to international accounting standards, and in one test, we also consider Canada’s transition to international standards. We find that neither an explicit requirement to apply a principle nor omitting bright-line tests materially increases the use of capital lease treatment among these firms. Overall, we conclude that this financial reporting outcome is relatively insensitive to these standard-setting tools.     

The Buffering Effect of Perceived Organizational Support on the Relationship Between Work Engagement and Behavioral Outcomes

The present study examined the commonly held assumption that a low level of work engagement leads to higher turnover intentions and employee deviant behavior. Employee survey results (n = 175) from a manufacturing organization in the United Kingdom showed that employee work engagement correlates negatively with lagged measures of turnover intentions and deviant work behavior directed toward the organization. The results suggest that perceived organizational support moderates the relationship between work engagement and turnover intentions and deviant behaviors directed toward the organization, such that perceived organizational support compensates for relatively low levels of work engagement. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The evolution of State-Local balance sheets in the United States, 1953–2013

State and local debt in the United States more than doubled as a share of gross domestic product between 1953 and 2007. Using a historical accounting framework, we find that there is no straightforward relationship over time between state and local deficits and debt growth. We find that only 17 percent of the variation in aggregate state–local debt ratios comes from variation in the fiscal balance. This is especially true in the 1980s, the period of most rapid increase in state–local debt ratios. Before 1980, there were small but persistent deficits, but stable debt ratios. In the 1980s, state and local sectors shifted toward budget surpluses but saw rising debt ratios. This is explained by a faster pace of asset accumulation. Our results demonstrate the autonomy of balance sheet variables and suggest that changing debt ratios cannot be explained by real income and expenditure flows.     

Responding to crisis: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and hotels in Singapore

The sudden outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Singapore in 2003 was a grave crisis for the tourism industry as a whole and highlights the importance of effectively managing and planning for such occurrences. This study looks at the particular consequences of the infectious virus for the hotel sector and reactions to the challenges posed. Further health‐related crises seem inevitable in the modern world and some guidelines for dealing with these are proposed, based on the Singapore experience and an existing framework for tourism crisis management. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

War as a tourist attraction: the case of Vietnam

This paper considers the challenges involved in the presentation of war as a tourist attraction, using the example of recent conflicts in Vietnam and a particular site there to illustrate the issues which arise. It begins with a general discussion about war and tourism, and then moves on to examine the development of tourism in Vietnam and the place of wartime heritage. Various aproaches to interpretation are identified and the problems facing those responsible are highlighted. The dilemma is one of achieving a satisfactory balance between education and entertainment while providing an appropriate experience for visitors who come with different needs and expectations. Political circumstances represent an added complication. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

FAIR Act Implications for Land Values in the Corn Belt

In 1996 the federal government enacted the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act, which represented a sweeping change in public policy toward agriculture. This paper examines the impact of the FAIR legislation on farmland values across the U.S. Corn Belt. A representative farm framework is used to determine the impact of FAIR on farmland values. The analysis suggests that marginal production environments are likely to suffer most severely under FAIR, and that a prolonged period of weak commodity prices could engender sharp declines in farmland values.     

FAIR TRADE IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE AND UNFAIR: REJOINDER

This is a rejoinder to a criticism of Henderson (2008 ) by Alastair Smith. Our conclusion is that Henderson's basic case, although nicked around the edges by developments since the original was written, still stands. Moreover, we point out that Smith's criticism of Henderson's point that Fair Trade could help kill the banana actually supports Henderson's case. Finally, Smith's proposed 'trade, not aid' solution does not contradict Henderson (2008 ). Refusing to buy Fair Trade coffee and other products and, instead, buying quality coffee and other products would not reduce trade, as Smith seems to imply.     

Applying the Randomized Response Technique in Business Ethics Research: The Misuse of Information Systems Resources in the Workplace

Mitigating response distortion in answers to sensitive questions is an important issue for business ethics researchers. Sensitive questions may be asked in surveys related to business ethics, and respondents may intend to avoid exposing sensitive aspects of their character by answering such questions dishonestly, resulting in response distortion. Previous studies have provided evidence that a surveying procedure called the randomized response technique (RRT) is useful for mitigating such distortion. However, previous studies have mainly applied the RRT to individual dichotomous questions (e.g., yes/no questions) in face-to-face survey settings. In this study, we focus on behavioral research examining the relationships between latent variables, which are unobserved variables measured by multiple items on Likert or bipolar scales. To demonstrate how the RRT can be applied to obtain valid answers from respondents answering a self-administered online questionnaire with Likert and bipolar scales, we build a behavioral model to study the effect of punishment severity on employees’ attitudes toward misuse of information systems resources in the workplace, which in turn influence misuse behavior. The survey findings meet our expectations. The respondents are generally more willing to disclose sensitive data about their attitudes and actual behavior related to misuse when the RRT is implemented. The RRT’s implications for causal modeling and the advantages and challenges of its use in online environments are also discussed.