Investor reactions to derivative use and outcomes

How do investors evaluate managers who choose whether or not to use derivatives once the outcomes of those decisions become known? Different theories offer different predictions, and we test these in three experiments. Results show that investors are more satisfied with firm managers and assign a higher value to firms when managers use derivatives (that address firm risks) than when they do not. This result occurs even though we hold constant the economic differences typically present when comparing derivative use versus non-use (that is, ex ante risk and ex post outcome), suggesting that investors reward firms that use derivatives. Additional tests reveal that investors believe that managers who use derivatives in these situations exhibit a higher level of decision-making care than those who do not use derivatives. We also document that these inferences about greater decision-making care do not apply to the speculative use of derivatives. Overall, our study adds to our understanding of how investors judge companies that use derivatives, given the resulting outcomes of such use.     

Strategic Staffing and Small‐Firm Performance

Although staffing can be a critical determinant of whether small businesses succeed or fail, there has been less research in this area than might be expected, given the large numbers of such firms. While there has been some research on specific recruiting and selection practices, there has been little attention to the strategic aspects of staffing. We investigated relationships between strategic approaches to staffing and small‐firm performance using lagged survey data from 139 founders and owners of small firms. Results indicate that recruiting approaches imitating the practices (processes) of larger businesses are positively related to a perceptual measure of firm performance. Selection approaches stressing a growth orientation are also positively related to firm performance. Finally, founders’ and owners’ perceptions of the strategic importance of human resources moderate the relationship of firm performance with imitative recruiting practices as well as with growth‐oriented selection practices. An important contribution of this article is that contextual knowledge facilitates our understanding of the performance implications of staffing practices in small firms. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Selecting a hotel and determining salient quality attributes: a preliminary study of mature british travellers

The paper presents the findings of a survey of 104 mature British travellers, who rated the importance of 38 hotel attributes when selecting a hotel or judging its quality, through a self‐administered questionnaire distributed at local branch meetings of societies for mature people. Respondents had high expectations of hotel service quality. They were a discerning group, placing greater emphasis on value for money than on actual price or discounting alone. The findings highlighted the importance placed on service staff attitude and behaviour. Leisure facilities were found to be relatively unimportant, but certain mature‐specific attributes pertaining to mobility limitations were found to be salient to an important proportion of respondents. Significant differences were identified according to gender, age and retirement status, indicating that the mature market is heterogeneous. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

金融工具的损益影响

一、IAS 39和IAS32的含义 IAS 39应用于公司因其交易而创设一项金融工具的情况.根据IAS 32,一项金融工具是指"创设一家企业的一项金融资产.以及相应的另一家企业的一项金融负债或权益工具的契约".     

An exploratory study into brand alignment in B2B relationships

B2B relationships are characterized by strategic partnerships between firms and the suppliers of goods and services integral to their offerings. Failure to choose the right partner could jeopardize the survival of both partners. While a number of studies suggest that partnering firms need to be aligned operationally, few studies look at whether there should be alignment between the brands of firms and their suppliers. Therefore, we build on existing studies on sexual selection to develop a theory of whether similarity in brand attributes affects the success of B2B relationships. We propose that firms wishing to portray particular brand images to their customers choose suppliers whose images mirror their own. To develop our proposition, we investigate the brand personality alignment between well-known firms and their suppliers in four industries. The findings of our analysis have significant implications for scholars and managers interested in the nature and success of B2B partnerships.     

Caring and Conflicted: Mothers’ Ethical Judgments about Consumption

Literature on consumer ethics tends to focus on issues within the public sphere, such as the environment, and treats other drivers of consumption decisions, such as family, as non-moral concerns. Consequently, an attitude–behaviour gap is viewed as a straightforward failure by consumers to act ethically. We argue that this is based upon a view of consumer behaviour as linear and unproblematic, and an approach to moral reasoning, arising from a stereotypically masculine understanding of morality, which foregrounds abstract principles. By demonstrating the importance of context to consumption decisions and articulating the impact of caring relationships, we highlight how such decisions are both complex and situated. This is particularly evident for decisions involving the needs of others, as occurs in family life. We argue that the incorporation of care ethics provides both theoretical insights and a more complete account of consumer ethics. This is explored empirically through an investigation of the ethical dilemmas arising from consumption decisions made by mothers of young children. Such decisions juxtapose an ethical consumption orientation (representing impartial concerns) with care for one’s child. Therefore, what has been previously considered a failure to act ethically may in fact be the outcome of complex decision making, which involves competing ethical considerations. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory and practice and how this approach to consumer ethics could be applied more widely.     

Separating what we eat from where: Measuring the effect of food away from home on diet quality

Many argue that food away from home (FAFH) is a contributing factor to the obesity epidemic, showing that body mass index and consumption of FAFH are positively correlated. However, correlation analyses using a simple regression approach, such as the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), do not prove that FAFH causes weight gain. We use a first-difference estimator to establish a causal relationship between FAFH and dietary intakes. Using dietary recall data from the 2003–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the 1994–1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals, we find that FAFH does indeed increase caloric intake and reduce diet quality, but that the effect is smaller than if estimated using OLS. Thus, models based on associations are likely biased upward, as much as 25% by our estimates.     

Profiling road transport activity: Emissions from 2000 to 2005 in Ireland using national car test data

This work describes a methodology for determining the average vehicle kilometres travelled by the private national car fleet in Ireland and estimating the disaggregated CO₂ and NO_x emissions from private vehicles in the Irish road transport sector for the period 2000–2005 using national car test records. The developed methodology facilitates the calculation of greatly improved estimates for vehicle kilometres under a range of constraint variables and thereby enables the disaggregated analysis of specific vehicle fleet groups and their associated activity patterns to support evidence-based policy development. The results indicate that while older vehicles are contributing significantly to car NO_x emissions; newer cars produce a higher share of CO₂ emissions than older cars in the vehicle fleet.     

Ubuntu: A transformative leadership philosophy

Leadership is about knowledge, skills, and abilities for transformation. It is also increasingly about worldviews or visions of life—beliefs, values, and principles. But worldviews are also ways of life, for beliefs direct us, values guide us, and principles motivate us to certain kinds of action and behavior. How, then, do worldviews have an impact on leadership for transformation? If worldviews are glasses or filters by which we view the world, mental models of the bigger picture, frameworks by which we make sense of the world, and narratives by which we orient our lives, then how do they influence human thoughts, ideas, and behaviors when it comes to transformative leadership? This was the subject matter of an International Leadership Association Conference panel discussion held in November 2009 in Prague, entitled Leadership for Transformation: The Impact of Worldviews. It is also the subject matter of this issue's symposium, in which we bring you the four papers and the response presented at the conference. Members of the panel were characterized by gender, disciplinary, religious, and global diversity. Nathan Harter, organizational leadership professor at Purdue University in the United States, begins the discussion with some preliminary remarks about worldviews. Ali Mohammed Mir, medical doctor and director of programs of Population Council, Pakistan, speaks of leadership from an Islamic perspective. Michael Jones, accomplished composer, pianist, and leadership educator, writer, and speaker from Orillia, Canada, reflects on how a “marriage of mythos and logos” can transform leadership today. Lisa Ncube, originally from Zimbabwe and currently assistant professor of organizational leadership at Purdue University, speaks about Ubuntu as an alternative leadership philosophy emerging from Africa. John Valk, associate professor of worldview studies at Renaissance College, University of New Brunswick, Canada, speaks of leadership for transformation from a Christian worldview perspective. Jonathan Reams, associate professor in the Department of Education at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, responds to all of the papers and opens a venue for further discussion. We hope that you will find this symposium engaging. We hope it will give food for thought and that it might stimulate further thinking regarding the role worldviews play in leadership for transformation.     

You should know better! Do health students have different risk attitudes to unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases?

Because healthcare professionals are in the best position to assess, assist and educate those participating in risky sexual behaviour, understanding if (and how) their risk attitudes differ from the wider population is of vital importance. In this study, we explore university health students’ risk attitudes towards unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). We examine whether university students pursuing health-related degrees, who hypothetically should have more exposure to and understanding of the risks associated with unplanned pregnancy and STD, have more risk averse attitudes to sexual behaviour. We find that health students’ sexual attitudes are significantly more risk averse than those of their nonhealth peers in relation to STDs but not unplanned pregnancy. In line with previous research, age and no previous sexual history (virginity) appear to increase risk-averse attitudes to both unplanned pregnancy and STDs. Moreover, males and singles are more risk seeking in their sexual attitudes. These findings suggest that, because unplanned pregnancy and STDs are ongoing global issues, further research is warranted into the risk attitudes of those healthcare professionals most able to provide education and support for individuals participating in risky sexual behaviour.