Bank credit constraints for women‐led SMEs: Self‐restraint or lender bias?

We test the existence of possible gender biases affecting firm behavior in demanding and obtaining bank credit using a cross‐country sample of European small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). We show consistent evidence that female‐led firms are more likely than their male counterparts to refrain from applying for loans. When they apply, female‐led enterprises do not seem to face gender discrimination from the lender. Interestingly, however, signs of gender bias appear to arise during the upside phase of the economy. Overall, our study provides support for policy actions aimed at reducing the frictions faced by women‐led SMEs when accessing credit markets.     

INNOVATION IN A REGULATED SERVICE: The case of English housing associations

This article explores the previously unexamined relationship between innovation and regulation in public service organizations. Innovation and regulation are conceptualized as different types of change - innovation is discontinuous change and regulation change to modify the behaviour of regulatees in relation to standards. Evidence is presented from a highly regulated public services sector - English housing associations, which are regulated by the Housing Corporation. In order to explain the behaviour of the case study housing associations and the regulator to innovation a two-stage innovation classification technique is developed and tested. Stage one draws upon social policy typologies, and stage two on attributes shown to influence innovation in other research. Housing associations' innovations are presented, categorized and classified. The findings indicate that innovation occurs at the borders of regulatory jurisdiction and that it is the tensions over these boundaries that are key drivers of innovation.     

The Advertising/Marketing Union

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that people form an unfavorable or favorable attitude toward a particular ad, which in turn affects their attitude toward what is being advertised and other measures of advertising effectiveness, including brand choice. This study found that idea substantiated: a favorable attitude toward an ad for a smoking cessation kit was associated with four measures of advertising effectiveness.

A hypothesized link between perceived humor and favorable attitude toward the ad was found, but direct relationships between perceived humor in an ad and three of the four advertising effective-measures were not observed. A conclusion drawn from the study is that perceived humor may aid advertising effectiveness, but the relationship is for the most part moderated by the degree to which people like the ad in which the humor is perceived.     

Placements as mediators of brand salience within a UK cinema audience

Brand placements have assumed a somewhat mythical reputation as communicators of the advertising message. This reputation seems to be perpetuated by a dearth of empirical research, particularly concerning effects upon brand salience. This paper attempts to address this situation through an exploratory analysis of placement effects within a UK cinema audience. The quantitative approach allows insight into those key mediating variables which impinge upon the process. The results suggest that placements do increase levels of brand salience. Further, these levels may be significantly increased in individuals who like (or attend to) the film and who are high self-monitors. Prior exposure and product category familiarity provided less significant results but, on the whole, the implications for marketers are positive. Methodological issues are considered in the light of these results and directions for future research are suggested.     

An Analysis of Accounting Frauds and the Timing of Analyst Coverage Decisions and Recommendation Revisions: Evidence from the US

This paper provides a comprehensive exploration of the types of accounting fraud committed by firms over the period 1995–2009. Using detailed data from US SEC Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases (AAER), we examine the likelihood and timing of analyst coverage decisions and recommendation revisions related to fraud firms versus firms without accounting fraud. We find that analysts have a higher probability of taking the more severe action of dropping coverage rather than only revising down recommendations for firms with any type of accounting fraud and also for specific egregious types of accounting fraud. Through the use of competing hazards models, we also find that accounting frauds and their egregiousness are positively (negatively) associated with the timeliness of the analysts’ action to drop coverage (revise only). Overall, we find that analysts’ actions may be useful in determining the occurrence of accounting fraud prior to the public announcement of the fraud.     

Personality and domain‐specific risk taking

The concept of risk propensity has been the subject of both theoretical and empirical investigation, but with little consensus about its definition and measurement. To address this need, a new scale assessing overall risk propensity in terms of reported frequency of risk behaviours in six domains was developed and applied: recreation, health, career, finance, safety and social. The paper describes the properties of the scale and its correlates: demographic variables, biographical self‐reports, and the NEO PI‐R, a Five Factor personality inventory (N?=?2041). There are three main results. First, risk propensity has clear links with age and sex, and with objective measures of career‐related risk taking (changing jobs and setting up a business). Second, the data show risk propensity to be strongly rooted in personality. A clear Big Five pattern emerges for overall risk propensity, combining high extraversion and openness with low neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. At the subscale level, sensation‐seeking surfaces as a key important component of risk propensity. Third, risk propensity differs markedly in its distribution across job types and business sectors. These findings are interpreted as indicating that risk takers are of three non‐exclusive types: stimulation seekers, goal achievers, and risk adapters. Only the first group is truly risk seeking, the others are more correctly viewed as risk bearers. The implications for risk research and management are discussed.     

Regulating the timing of disclosure: Insights from the acceleration of 10-K filing deadlines

We study the effects of regulating the timing of disclosure on the quality of accounting information, using a 2003 US regulatory change that accelerates 10-K filing deadlines as a research setting. Employing a difference-in-differences design, we find that the likelihood of issuing financial statements that are later restated increases for firms that are required to file more quickly, relative to firms whose filing practices are not affected by the regulatory change. This effect is particularly pronounced during the audit busy season, when auditors also face significant time pressure. These results are consistent with a tradeoff between how quickly accounting reports are required to be filed and the reliability of the resulting reports.     

Dynamics of Stakeholders’ Implications in the Institutionalization of the CSR Field in France and in the United States

This study supports the idea that fields form around issues, and describes the roles of various stakeholders in the structuring, shaping, and legitimating of the emerging field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). A model of the institutional history of the CSR field is outlined, of which a key stage is the appearance of CSR rating agencies as the significant players and Institutional Entrepreneurs of the field. We show to which extent the creation and further development of CSR rating agencies, and the activism of other significant stakeholders of the field (typically portrayed as “standard setters” and “regulatory agents”), contribute to the institutionalization of CSR. With this in mind, among various stakeholders that legitimate the field of CSR, we present the efforts of global and local stakeholders such as the European Union, the United Nations, the International Organization for Standardization, and governments and their interactions. We suggest that the different paths of CSR development and institutionalization in France and in the United States depend on the nature of local and global stakeholders’ involvement in this process and their interactions.     

Consumer Focus in Cross-National Research

This article points out the need for a consumer focus in cross-national research to aid multi-national marketers in developing relevant strategies and executions for each market. Two major constructs are discussed which reinforce the consumer focus. The first construct is “Life Style” research to gain a more human profile of consumers in a market. The underlying theory for “Life Style” research is presented and how the research has been done in over fourteen countries is described. The second major construct in this article are three analytic models for comparing consumers across markets. The three analytic models are (1) Shared cultural norms (2) Segmentation within cultures and (3) Correlates of usage. Illustrative findings of each model are presented.     

The Tunisian Mise à Niveau Programme and the Political Economy of Reform

This article explores the homogenising pressures of globalisation and institutional change in the state-led model of capitalism, within the purview of the ‘varieties of capitalism’ literature. In light of the observation that the national political economies which are the exemplars of the state-led model have undergone a more fundamental change towards the liberal market model than the other non-liberal variant (namely, the coordinated market model), the article asks what systemic (structural-institutional) factors make the state-led model less resilient in the face of pressures for change. Focusing on corporate governance in South Korea as an illustrative case study, the article argues that the absence of the kind of institutional complementarity (that is, mutually reinforcing link) between the key capitalist sub-systems found in the coordinated market model can help to explain the profound, and even path-shifting, change in the state-led model.