Optimal management of annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaud.) in phase rotations in the Western Australian Wheatbelt*

Lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) helps to prevent soil salinisation in the Western Australian Wheatbelt by reducing recharge to saline water tables. There is broad consensus, though, that it is not sufficiently profitable to motivate producers to plant it at the intensity at which considerable off‐site benefits would be conferred. This paper employs a multiple‐phase optimal control model to explore the value of this perennial pasture for the management of herbicide‐resistant annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaud.) in a crop–pasture rotation, given the difficulty of observing this value in practice. The availability of selective herbicides for efficient weed control is found to determine whether or not it is profitable to adopt lucerne pasture under optimal management. Herbicide resistance requires producers to employ costly, non‐selective treatments for in‐crop weed control. Thus, it motivates the adoption of perennial pasture in which cost‐effective forms of control can be implemented. Moreover, this result is robust to feasible changes in the current economic environment.     

Evaluating environmental and social performance of large Portuguese companies: a balanced scorecard approach

A thematic balanced scorecard format was used to address environmental and social performance evaluation of 13 large companies operating in Portugal. Financial aspects of environmental and social company activities are also included. Companies were categorized as to their actual performance status using a predefined performance framework. Three categories were found: compliance with the law while emphasizing pollution control, pollution prevention and eco‐efficiency. Management tools and procedural matters were found to be most relevant for categorization. Often, reported information did not allow for quantitative evaluation of environmental burden reduction. Use of the thematic balanced scorecard format was useful to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of links between objectives and measurements, initiatives and achievements. Improvement as to environmental performance was found to be paralleled by increased social performance, suggesting that a multi‐level ‘sustainability’ performance categorization of these Portuguese companies is feasible. Driving forces for environmental management initiatives were found to differ by category of performance. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Anomalies and stock returns: Australian evidence

Prior research has identified the existence of several cross‐sectional patterns in equity returns, commonly referred to as effects. This paper tests for the existence of a number of well‐known effects using data from the Australian equities market. Specifically, we investigate the size effect, book‐to‐market effect, earnings‐to‐price effect, cashflow‐to‐price effect, leverage effect and the liquidity effect. An additional aim of this paper is to investigate the capability of the Fama–French model in explaining any observed effects. We document a size, book‐to‐market, earnings‐to‐price and cashflow‐to‐price effect but fail to find evidence of a leverage or liquidity effect. Although our findings indicate that the Fama–French model can partially explain some of the observed effects, we conclude that its performance is less than satisfactory in Australia.     

Acceptance of China Research in Western Accounting Journals (1978-2007)

This study provides a statistical analysis of the research involving mainland China accepted in Western accounting journals in the past thirty years (1978-2007). The analysis focuses on assessing the level of acceptance of China research and examining the publication patterns of these studies. Based on the results, the study then explores factors explaining the findings, and provides critical assessments on the status quo of China research, suggestions to cope with current problems, and suggestions to promote China research.     

An exploratory study of operational reasons to budget

Budgets are used widely but criticized, mainly for performance evaluation reasons. We find that organizations regard budgets as more important for planning and control than evaluation, thus proposing a rationale for their continued use irrespective of evaluation‐based criticisms. This finding is also important, because most extant budget research focuses on evaluation, suggesting a potential disconnect between budget research and practice. We also find that rolling forecasts are used in tandem with the annual budget in most organizations, and for the same reasons. This was unexpected, as coexistence suggests their adoption for different reasons.     

HURDLE MODELS OF ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO EXPENDITURE IN SOUTH AFRICAN HOUSEHOLDS1

Estimates of participation or expenditure elasticities depend upon the assumptions made regarding the observation of zero expenditure at the household level. This research examines two single‐hurdle models across two commodities for which nearly two‐thirds of the observations are zero. The research shows that one hurdle model consistently outperforms the other, and does so for intuitively appealing reasons.     

An Investigation of the Impact of Interest Rates and Interest Rate Volatility on Australian Financial Sector Stock Return Distributions

Abstract:   This paper extends the existing literature by analysing the dual impact of changes in the interest rate and interest rate volatility on the distribution of Australian financial sector stock returns. In addition, a multivariate GARCH‐M model is used to analyse the impact of deregulation on the financial institutions sector. It was found that there is a consistent inter‐temporal trade off between risk and return over the different regulatory periods. Moreover, finance corporations were found to be highly sensitive to new shocks across the financial sector and deregulation increased the risk faced by finance corporations and small banks – effectively increasing the required rate of return and explaining the continued rationalisation of these sectors. Furthermore, deregulation has changed the fundamental relationship between interest rates and large bank stock excess returns from positive in the pre‐deregulation period to negative in the post‐deregulation period. This reflects the changing institutional environment from one of controlled credit rationing to a more competitive environment.     

EXAMINATION OF A PATH MODEL RELATING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE WITH FIRM PERFORMANCE

This article draws on the resource‐based view of the firm to investigate the mechanisms through which information technology (IT) impacts firm performance. Research suggests that the relationship between IT and firm performance may be both direct and indirect. In this study, a path model is tested that proposes a firm's IT infrastructure resources as having both a direct impact on organizational performance, as well as an indirect effect that is propagated through its impact on an intermediate organizational resource, a firm's logistics information system (LIS). The results suggest that positive firm performance may be derived directly from an organization's superior IT infrastructure, as well as indirectly, through its enabling impact on LIS's. These findings contribute to our understanding of the nature of the relationship between IT and firm performance by exploring the value of IT at both the process and organizational levels.     

The Incorporation of Consumer Experience into the Branding Process: An Investigation of Name‐Brand Hotels

Given the growing number of hotel brands, improving consumer experience has become an increasingly important area of interest to industry practitioners. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between hotel guests' brand experience, knowledge and loyalty to name‐brand hotels. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling with the incorporation of a second‐order factor analysis were employed to achieve the research goals. The findings indicate that brand experience was represented as a holistic concept with sensory, affective, behavioral and intellectual aspects. While brand experience influences brand loyalty, its impact is partially mediated by brand knowledge. This is a pioneer study that combines consumer experience with branding in the hospitality industry and offers practical suggestions to facilitate hotel managers in their development of effective branding strategies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.