Textual classification of SEC comment letters

This study examines the impact of SEC comment letters on future financial reporting outcomes and earnings credibility. Naïve Bayesian classification identifies comment letters associated with future restatements and write-downs. An investor attention-based quantitative measure of importance, using EDGAR downloads, also predicts these outcomes. Disclosure-event abnormal returns, revenue recognition comments, and the number of letters in a conversation appear to be useful quantitative metrics for classifying importance in certain settings. This study also documents trends in comment letter topics over time and identifies topics associated with the textual and quantitative classifications of importance, providing insights into the factors that draw investor attention and that relate to future restatements and write-downs. Innocuous comment letters are associated with improvements in earnings credibility following comment letter reviews.

     

迎战低成本对手——不可低估低成本竞争对手

那些不按常理出牌的“价格斗士”，正在以全新的业务模式迅速侵占市场，这些“价格斗士”自有一套生存法则，在价格的血雨腥风中不仅安然无恙，反而更加壮大。     

Profiling exporting and nonexporting service firms: Critical differences to decision-makers

The internationalization of services has become a critical element in the global marketplace. While the internationalization of services has increased in importance, the lack of empirically based research has been a shortcoming. This article empirically examines key characteristics (i.e., total sales, number of employees, age of firm, management's desire to export, perceived profit potential from internationalization, top management's foreign language skills, and international work experience) separating exporting from nonexporting domestic-based service firms. It provides a profile for the exporting service firm that is distinctly different than that of the nonexporting service provider. These differences suggest important policy considerations for federal and state export promotion agencies and strategy considerations for service firm owners and management. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Entry Strategies and Market Performance Causal Modeling of a Business Simulation

A key decision faced by marketing managers is the development of entry strategies for new markets. In addition to selecting which product market to enter, the manager must make decisions about the entry strategy itself. The entry strategy, whether managed actively or passively, affects the entrant's performance. In this article, Donna Green and Adrian Ryans discuss the three major components of an entry strategy: the timing of entry, the magnitude and areas of investment and the basis for competitive emphasis. They report that very little empirical research has focused on relationships between entry strategy and eventual product performance.     

Theory in consumer behavior: A status report

This article examines the attitudes of 40 opinion leaders in marketing toward theory in consumer behavior. These individuals exhibited favorable attitudes toward theory in marketing in general. More favorable perceptions of the value of the contributions of theory to consumer behavior existed than for promotion and channels of distribution. In comparison to eight other areas of marketing, the consumer behavior area was perceived as having made the greatest past contribution to marketing thought and the one most likely to make worthwhile future contributions. The sample believed that much future effort was needed in progressing toward a general theory of consumer behavior and that such effort would indeed be forthcoming.     

Marketing: Who's really minding the store globally?

In today's highly competitive global marketplace, firms have increasingly turned to outsourcing. In fact, it is not just “blue collar” jobs being outsourced, but “white collar” jobs, as well. Even marketing, “the window to the company's worldwide customer base,” is feeling outsourcing pressures. This article takes a look at the corporate implications of outsourcing global marketing functions and reports the findings of a telephone survey conducted among U.S. and Canadian marketing executives. U.S. firms were found to outsource marketing activities more frequently than Canadian firms, often at the expense of control and customer satisfaction.     

Us foreign direct investment in India: Emerging trends in MNC entry strategies

India, along with China, is one of the key emerging markets in the region that has attracted multinational corporate interest. This has been enhanced by recent economic reforms and enormous market potential. After briefly tracing the political precipitants of the economic reforms, this article reviews the new FDI rules and the opportunities and challenges that this new investment climate presents the US investor. Finally, the FDIs of 30 US MNCs are classified according to the entry strategies being employed and some rationale is provided on the primary entry modes of choice.     

Advertising as a Positive Force

Abstract

This paper presents the results of two empirical studies designed to assess the effectiveness of sexual embedding in advertising. In Study 1, a sample of 424 viewed and evaluated two ads with embeds or two matched ads without embeds. The results indicated that embedding was effective in raising attitudinal evaluations of a liquor ad but not a cigarette ad. In Study 2, GSR measurements were taken on a sample of 36 subjects while they viewed both versions (with and without embeds) of two ads. The results of Study 2 indicated that embedding was effective in increasing GSR measurements for the versions of the ads with embeds.     

Canadian business perspective on nafta

This article presents some of the major criticisms concerning Mexico's entry into the NAFTA. Then it addresses these criticisms from the Canadian business executives’ point of view using data gathered from those currently doing business and not currently doing business in Mexico. The major concerns, costs, and benefits to Canadian firms have been identified. Candid comments from the business executives are contrasted with those views frequently portrayed in the popular press.