Strategic consequences of being unsympathetic: For‐profit companies benefit more than individuals from focusing on responsibility

Previous research has found that consumers ascribe mental states to for‐profit companies that enable them to elicit anger more easily than sympathy. The current study applies these findings to demonstrate how this evaluative asymmetry in consumer perceptions favor different strategies for individuals and companies managing conflicts and crises. First, it is shown that the mental states consumers ascribe to for‐profit companies enable them to elicit anger and admiration more easily than sympathy. Second, due to their ability to elicit anger more easily than sympathy, it is found that in conflicts between for‐profit companies and individuals, companies are evaluated more favorably when they focus attention on which side perpetrated the most harm, while individuals are evaluated more favorably when they focus on which side was most victimized. Third, due to their ability to elicit admiration more easily than sympathy, it is found that for‐profit companies derive greater benefits than individuals do from proactively taking responsibility to resolve crises rather than deflecting responsibility through claims of victimhood. Discussion focuses on marketing applications for companies managing conflicts and crises.     

How novel actors achieve a positive reputation: A case of prep schools with elite‐level hockey programs

How are novel organizations able to build a positive reputation while attempting to enter into a system with established organizations? To address this, we examined the field of elite‐level amateur hockey. Private Secondary Schools (PSS) are novel in that they offer a nontraditional pathway for players with respect to fielding elite‐level hockey teams. Findings from interviews with PSS with elite‐level hockey programs revealed that PSS highlight their Selection Processes, Player Development Practices, and the enhanced Player Experience in an effort to build a positive reputation. This study contributes to the literature on reputation by showing that novel organizations can build a reputation through highlighting the unique value they add. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

"Is It Commercially Irresponsible to Trust?"

This paper considers a recent U.K. legal dispute where a supplier sued a large organization, which had been a long-term customer, for breach of implied contract. It uses this case to discuss aspects of the nature of trust between organizations. The discussion encompasses a consideration of the distinction between trust and reliability; and, why the concept of blanket trust is not helpful. In conclusion, by contrasting business-to-business and personal relationships, the paper suggests that firms in their relationships with other institutions should never follow an unquestioning form of strong trust.     

‘An Examination of the Ethical Commitment of Professional Accountants to Auditor Independence’

This research explores the relationship between work context and professional ethics. Specifically, we analyze through an online survey of professional accountants the degree to which changing work conditions have altered individual accountants’ commitment to the core professional value of auditor independence. We argue that certain changes in the condition of work have made some categories of accountants more susceptible to the logic of commercialism rather than the logic of professionalism. We find general support for this argument. We observe that accountants working outside of public accounting have a higher commitment to independence than do accountants working in the context of public accounting firms. We further observe that accountants in large international accounting firms (i.e. the “Big Four”) report lower commitment to auditor independence than do others in public accounting. And we observe that older accountants report stronger commitment to auditor independence. One finding, however, contradicts our general thesis. We find that commitment to one’s client does not necessarily result in a loss of commitment to the core professional value of independence. We conclude that changes in the context of work have contributed to the demise of ethics among professional accountants and suggest that further research be done to elaborate the relationship between client commitment and independence commitment.     

地方官员更替、企业辖区知名度与股价同步性

以2009～2013年我国A股上市公司为研究样本,实证分析地方官员更替、辖区企业知名度与股价同步性的关系,结果表明:地市级政府官员变更所带来的政治不确定性会显著降低辖区企业的股价同步性,并且相对于新任官员来源于本地而言,新任官员来源于异地更能够显著地降低辖区内企业的股价同步性.进一步研究还发现,当地市级政府官员发生变更时,相对于辖区知名度较高的企业而言,辖区知名度较低的企业会披露更多的企业私有信息以应对政治不确定性风险,从而其股价同步性有了更大程度的降低.研究的结论证实了政治不确定风险的增加能够显著降低辖区内企业的股价同步性,客观上有助于提高股价的信息含量.     

投资银行声誉与IPO超额回报率相关分析

国外理论与实证研究表明,投资银行声誉与IPO超额回报率负相关。本文选择2002~2006年在沪深证券市场发行上市的股票为样本,同时考虑股票发行定价方式及股权分置等证券市场制度改革的影响,分时段、分市场进行分析,结果显示,声誉型投资银行相对普通投资银行所承销的股票具有较高的平均抑价率,就声誉型投资银行内部而言,其声誉水平与IPO抑价率呈负相关,但其关系并不显著,即投资银行声誉假说在我国不成立。     

When does a service guarantee work? The roles of the popularity of service guarantees and firm reputation

Despite substantial research on service guarantees in the literature, little study has examined how the popularity of service guarantees (SG) in a particular industry affects the effectiveness of SGs. Through four studies, the authors demonstrate an interactive effect between the market-level factor (the popularity of SGs) and the firm-level factor (firm reputation) in affecting consumer's responses to a travel agency's actions in (not) offering an SG. When offering SGs is popular in a given market, consumers perceive a loss from the absence of SGs, and a high-reputation agency will outperform a low-reputation agency in consumer service evaluation when neither agencies offer SGs. However, if both agencies provide guarantees, the SG offered by the high-reputation agency does not necessarily lead to greater service evaluation than that offered by the low-reputation agency. The results reverse when offering SGs is rare in the market, as consumers perceive a gain from the presence of SGs.     

Evaluating the Financial Performance of Pension Funds: An Individual Investor's Perspective

Pension funds require the managerial expertise of financial intermediaries, who must be paid a fee or spread. The spread significantly reduces the value of the pension fund over longer holding periods, and implies significantly greater incentive conflicts for defined contribution-funded pension funds than for defined benefit-funded pension funds. The magnitude of the intermediary spread and those factors affecting the demand for financial intermediary reputation and the marginal fee for this reputation are examined for a sample of 66 defined contribution and 54 defined benefit Australian pension funds during 1991–93. The intermediary spread significantly reduces the average net return provided to individual investors, particularly for defined contribution pension funds. Agency-related factors affecting the demand for financial intermediary reputation and its marginal fee reflect underlying contract-based differences between these types of fund.     

Auditor Concentration: A Replication and Extension for the UK Audit Market 1991–1995

This paper examines the issue of auditor concentration in the UK during the period from 1991 to 1995. It shows that in 1995 the Big Six held 75% of the total number of audits and collectively earned 92% of the total audit fees. There was only a small increase in auditor concentration during the five year period, resulting from companies switching from small audit firms to Big Six and newly listed companies choosing a Big Six firm. The paper also examines auditor concentration within industries. Finally, the study assesses the measurement methods most commonly used in auditor concentration studies.     

个人信用保证机制的征信制度和诉讼制度比较研究

征信体系通过建立一种声誉制度,促进人类合作、提高群体成员效用和福利。个人信用保证机制的征信制度和诉讼制度哪个成本更低、相对价值更高需要客观分析。在完全竞争的信贷市场研究场景下,声誉机制有引致合作行为的能力;扩展博弈下,诉讼制度的威胁使得借贷者施加一个高的努力程度,提高了社会总剩余。基于现代信息技术的声誉机制出现以后,存在于每个银行内部的声誉就变成了一个统一、全范围扩展的声誉机制,所以声誉制度比诉讼制度可以获得更高的社会总剩余。