Earnings-Based Bonus Compensation

This article studies the cost of contingent earnings-based bonus compensation. We assume that the firm has normal and abnormal earnings. The normal earnings result from normal firm activities and are modeled as an arithmetic Brownian motion. The abnormal earnings result from surprising activities (e.g., introduction of an unexpected new product, an unexpected strike) and are modeled as a compound Poisson process where the earnings jump sizes have a normal distribution. We investigate, in a simple general equilibrium model, how normal and abnormal earnings affect the cost of contingent bonus compensation to the firm.     

新一代车险“理赔难”

保险作为现代服务行业之一,服务质量问题始终贯穿其中。其中,“理赔难”的现象层出不穷。从1929年11月在中国上海成立第一家保险公司太平保险,到目前保险行业已发展90余年,中国的车险理赔还难吗?依然难,只是难点变了,老矛盾得到部分解决,新矛盾层出不穷,唯独对理赔服务质量的评价参差不齐是永恒的。     

业主应对索赔和进行反索赔的策略

从业主的角度出发,对如何应对承包商的索赔和如何进行有理有据的反索赔,达到以最小的投入赢得最多的效益的目标,进行了分析探讨,并提出了一系列可行的建议。     

Images paired with concrete claims improve skeptical consumers’ responses to advertising promoting a firm’s good deeds

Previous research has focused attention on state skepticism over corporate social responsibility (CSR) communications, but little work has focused on how to override preexisting differences in consumer skepticism. To gain insight into this issue, the present studies explore whether company ads promoting a firm’s good deeds generate more positive responses when the ads contain concrete claims and/or images related to the firm’s corporate social responsibility claims, and how these elements of the CSR communication interact with individual differences in advertising skepticism. Results show that highly skeptical consumers (a) respond less favorably to ads than less skeptical consumers, overall; (b) respond more favorably to ads that contain a combination of concrete claims and images supporting those claims; and (c) respond as favorably as less skeptical consumers when ads feature concrete claims with supporting images. Additional results suggest that images are effective among highly skeptical consumers because skeptical consumers have a reduced ability to visualize advertising claims. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

NO‐ARBITRAGE PRICING UNDER SYSTEMIC RISK: ACCOUNTING FOR CROSS‐OWNERSHIP

We generalize Merton’s asset valuation approach to systems of multiple financial firms where cross‐ownership of equities and liabilities is present. The liabilities, which may include debts and derivatives, can be of differing seniority. We derive equations for the prices of equities and recovery claims under no‐arbitrage. An existence result and a uniqueness result are proven. Examples and an algorithm for the simultaneous calculation of all no‐arbitrage prices are provided. A result on capital structure irrelevance for groups of firms regarding externally held claims is discussed, as well as financial leverage and systemic risk caused by cross‐ownership.     

The Effectiveness of Two Online Persuasion Claims: Limited Product Availability and Product Popularity

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of two online persuasion claims: limited product availability (e.g., only 3 items left) and product popularity (e.g., 94% of consumers bought this product after viewing this site). The popularity claim appeared to enhance quality perception, particularly among highly risk-averse consumers, and purchase intention. We attribute these findings to the quality signaling effect and the bandwagon effect of the claim. On the other hand, the limited availability claim exerted no influence: low message credibility and the lack of psychological reactance are deemed to be possible reasons for the insignificant effect of the claim.     

转型期地方大学领导矛盾角色浅析

正确认识地方大学领导的矛盾角色,有利于他们提高自身的洞察力、内省力和行动的技巧,从而提高领导效能.运用角色理论和对立价值框架分析地方大学领导在转型期的矛盾角色得出:地方大学领导转型期的矛盾角色是一种客观现实;地方大学领导应积极地面对矛盾角色的挑战而不是非此即彼或者极力回避实际存在的矛盾角色;地方大学领导扮演好错综复杂的矛盾角色是推进我国高等教育大众化顺利发展的关键.     

从会计等式看产权理论在我国企业的运用

本文认为,会计等式在一定程度上反映了产权理论在企业中的运用状况。传统计划经济体制下的“企业”没有企业的本质属性,其会计等式只记录“企业”使用物质资料和物质资料在“企业”里的分布情况,国家是生产资料的完全所有者,没有产权的存在。现阶段的企业是市场经济的主体,有自己的生产经营权利,追求利润最大化,而组织活动本身又受社会主义市场经济条件下生产资料公有制的影响,其会计等式反映了一定条件下的产权关系,说明了产权理论在会计核算上的运用。文章指出,会计等式中体现的产权思想只是产权经济学的一部分,用会计等式和会计的语言说明生产要素所有者参与利益形成和分配过程的权益,即会计反映的是权力怎样计算为权益的。     

A Hedonic Analysis of Nutrition and Health Claims on Fruit Beverage Products

This paper investigates the effects on prices of nutrition and health claims for foodstuffs, in addition to other attributes, using fruit beverages as a case study. The model estimation is based on revealed purchasing behaviour for fruit beverages in the north‐east of Italy. Applying an hedonic price model, the price of a product is explained as a function of product attributes. The model estimate identifies the implicit retail‐market‐level price of specific attributes such as nutrition and health claims, ceteris paribus. Nutrition and health claims significantly affect retail prices. Our findings suggest that retail price response to nutrition and health claims differs in relation to other product attributes, showing a strong reduction of price variation among flavours when such benefits are claimed on the label.     

The impact of mandatory trans fat labeling on product mix and consumer choice: A longitudinal analysis of the U.S. Market for margarine and spreads

The impact of changes in food labeling policy on food consumption depends on how market participants—both firms and consumers—react to the changes across all products in the market. We investigate how both responded to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2006 rule mandating that the quantity of trans fat in food products be separately labeled on the mandatory Nutrition Facts Panel across an entire differentiated product category. Using a longitudinal data set tracking both product offerings and consumer purchases in the market for margarine and spreads for over a decade, we analyze how product mix and consumer purchase behaviors were influenced by the new regulatory requirement. We find that the number of products bearing voluntary “trans fat free” labels increased after the labeling regulation was implemented. However, a large number of the newly introduced products exited the market within five years. As a result, the FDA’s 2006 rule had a stronger short-run than long-run effect on product offerings. Even after the introduction of additional “trans fat free” labeled products, such products remained only a small percentage of margarine and spreads product offerings, increasing from a pre-regulation level of 2.3% of the market to a peak of 6.5% in 2007 before dropping to 3.1% by 2011. In addition to firm response, we examine demand-side reactions to the 2006 rule and find that consumers significantly increased their expenditures on “trans fat free” labeled products soon after the labeling changes were implemented, increasing from about 1.2% of the market in 2001 to a peak of 5.9% in 2007, before returning to 1.8% in 2011. We further explore variations in responses across different demographic characteristics. Although long-run effects are small, the market for “trans fat free” labeled margarine and spreads settled into a new equilibrium with a somewhat higher level of products in the market than prior to the 2006 rule taking effect and a somewhat higher share of expenditures in the category. Overall, our category-wide analysis of both firm and consumer behavior indicates that the effects of the labeling policy change were smaller in the longer run in this market than would be indicated by an analysis of only new product introductions in response to the policy change.