Visualizing financial success: planning is key

Recent economic troubles in the US and abroad highlight the importance of family financial capability, including an understanding of financial markets. Financial capability is the foundation for desired financial behaviours, such as saving, budgeting, using credit wisely and planning. Study participants, a subsample of respondents to a Turkish university financial literacy survey (n = 374), who reported uninterrupted income for a 3‐year period were grouped as ‘planners’ and ‘non‐planners’. These groupings allowed examination of the relationships between planning, financial management decisions, and differential outcomes in daily household financial well‐being. The practice of preferred financial management behaviours was predictive of debt. This research makes a unique contribution to the literature, demonstrating the importance of uninterrupted income over income amount in support of the planning process. Findings of this study have implications for professionals in the family and consumer sciences field and other practitioners assisting consumers with improving financial management outcomes.     

Ex Post Voluntary Disclosure Strategies for Insiders*

Asymmetric information between corporate insiders and other market participants can lead to large bid‐ask spreads or even a collapse of trade in financial markets. In this paper, we discuss how voluntary disclosure by insiders can remedy this problem. When insiders make disclosure decisions after they become informed, other market participants update their prior beliefs on the basis of both the information disclosed and the information not disclosed. Insiders then give up some or all of their information advantage to weakly increase their profits. These results do not rely on ex ante commitments on the part of the insiders.     

Understanding the intergenerational transmission of cherished possessions: Insights for estate planning,trust officers and other end-of-life professionals

In order to survive in today's increasingly competitive marketplace, retail banks must focus on emphasising relationships and must personalise service interactions, differentiating their organisation. Trust departments have an opportunity to build credibility and gain a competitive advantage by expanding the scope of advice given, and in doing so can build intergenerational business with spouses, children and grandchildren. Recent research suggests that the conflicts resulting from estate settlements are on the increase and are commonly due to the disposition of possessions, not financial assets that can often be easily divided. In this paper the authors focus specifically on how professionals dealing with end of life issues can better understand the phenomena of cherished possessions. The managerial implications of this research can have a profound impact on financial service providers and their ability to build loyalty and to increase customer retention.     

Financial service preferences and patronage motives of older consumers

The 2000 US Census reported that nearly one in eight Americans is 65 years of age or older. This suggests that financial institutions in the USA and in other developed countries have an excellent market opportunity if they stay abreast of the preferences of the elderly population. Responding to these changes involves an understanding of demographic trends and an understanding of the growing diversity within the older population. Using a national random survey of 1,727 adults this paper explores a segmentation approach based on factors directly related to the older consumers' needs and lifestyles, which in turn are influenced by changing life conditions. The cluster analysis suggests four gerontographic segments that best describe the financial service preferences and motives of the mature consumer market. These segments are explained and managerial implications are highlighted.     

Book reviews

New Perspectives on Technology and Organization.

Innovative Banking: Competition and the Management of a New Networks Technology J. Howells & J . Hines Eds) Ldon, Routledge, 1992, 252pp., £40.00 (hbk), ISB-V 0-415-05941-0. Technology and Organization: Power, Meaning and Design H. Scarborough & J.M. Corbett London. Routledge. 1992, 178pp., ,£15.00, (pbk), ISBN 0-415-05941-0.

Beyond Partnership-Strategies for Innovation & Lean Supply Richard Lamming Hemel Hempstead, Prentice-Hall International, 1993, ix + 299pp., £19.95 (hbk).

From Anticipation to Action: A handbook of Strategic Perspective Michel Godet.     

Off-ramps and on-ramps: keeping talented women on the road to success

Most professional women step off the career fast track at some point. With children to raise, elderly parents to care for, and other pulls on their time, these women are confronted with one off-ramp after another. When they feel pushed at the same time by long hours and unsatisfying work, the decision to leave becomes even easier. But woe to the woman who intends for that exit to be temporary. The on-ramps for professional women to get back on track are few and far between, the authors confirm. Their new survey research reveals for the first time the extent of the problem--what percentage of highly qualified women leave work and for how long, what obstacles they face coming back, and what price they pay for their time-outs. And what are the implications for corporate America? One thing at least seems clear: As market and economic factors align in ways guaranteed to make talent constraints and skill shortages huge issues again, employers must learn to reverse this brain drain. Like it or not, large numbers of highly qualified, committed women need to take time out of the workplace. The trick is to help them maintain connections that will allow them to reenter the workforce without being marginalized for the rest of their lives. Strategies for building such connections include creating reduced-hour jobs, providing flexibility in the workday and in the arc of a career, removing the stigma of taking time off, refusing to burn bridges, offering outlets for altruism, and nurturing women's ambition.