Unfolding the impact of leadership and management on sustainability performance: Green and lean practices and guanxi as the dual mediators

This study aims to empirically evaluate the predictors that influence sustainability performance among manufacturing firms. Leadership and management, green and lean practices, and guanxi were examined to determine whether these predictors are directly and/or indirectly affecting sustainability performance; 160 valid responses were collected and partial-least-squares-structural-equation-modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data. The results showed that leadership and management positively influenced green and lean practices and green and lean practices positively influenced sustainability performance. Leadership and management also positively influenced guanxi. Interestingly, leadership and management and guanxi do not exert a significant direct influence on sustainability performance. The findings contributed to the development of the resource-based-view theory further by empirically exploring the significance of leadership and management coupled with green and lean practices as competencies and capability to drive sustainability performance. The testing of the dual mediators' effects further added value to this study.     

Impact of Market Expectations on the U.S. Interest Rate Lift-Off in ASEAN-5 Financial System

During 2015–2016, the market has lowered its expectations on the pace and magnitude of U.S. interest rate lift-off, which should have reduced capital outflow and supported the ASEAN-5 financial markets. Yet, the ASEAN-5 financial markets have recorded mixed fortunes, possibly due to spikes in global risk (proxied by CBOE VIX index). Against the contrasting background of higher global risk and gradual interest rate lift-off, this paper investigates the impact of market expectations on U.S. interest rate on the ASEAN-5 financial markets. This paper concludes that both global risk and market expectations on interest rate lift-off affect the ASEAN-5 financial markets, whereby the negative effect of higher global risk dominates the positive effect of market expectations of gradual interest rate lift-off in the ASEAN-5 currencies and equity markets. However, it is the reverse in the ASEAN-5 sovereign bonds as the positive impact of market expectations of more gradual interest rate lift-off dominates the negative effect of higher global risk.

     

Corporate Social Responsibility,Firm Value and Corporate Governance Code Revisions: The Asian Evidence*

The present study examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm value, and the effects of corporate governance code revisions on the relationship. We examine this relationship for: (i) a high‐income country, Japan; (ii) middle‐income countries China, Malaysia and Thailand; and (iii) low‐income countries India and Indonesia. We use the Heckman two‐stage sample selection bias approach for the empirical analysis. We find that Japanese stakeholder CSR and environmental CSR have a smaller positive effect on firm value compared to the middle‐income countries, but we do not find any statistically significant association for the low‐income countries. In addition, we find that only Japanese corporate governance code revisions significantly contribute to the positive relationship between CSR and firm value, which concurs with the new recommendations documented in the revised codes of corporate governance. The present study reveals that foreign major shareholders matter to the value creation of CSR in Japan and the middle‐income countries of China, Malaysia and Thailand.     

The spillover effects of infill developments on local housing prices

This paper examines the spillover effects of infill developments, which involve developing vacant or under-used parcels within existing urban areas that are largely developed, on local housing prices. Employing a difference-in-difference specification on a sample of 275 new developments and 55,887 sale transactions of houses in Singapore, we find that infill developments have a positive and persistent impact on local housing prices. The contagion effect is larger for infill developments that are built on teardown sites. The spillover effect can also be traced to the overpricing of new homes by developers. Overall, the evidence indicates that developers act as price leaders and contribute significantly to price discovery in the local housing market.     

Activity-Based Costing and Central Overhead Cost Allocation in Universities: A Case Study

This article examines the development of ABC in university accounting and assesses the contribution it might make to solving the problems associated with central overhead cost allocation systems. A case study using an ABC methodology was developed and applied to library services at the University of Southampton. The results showed substantial differences in the allocation of the central overhead costs as between academic faculties using the model and the existing system. The authors argue that although the ABC approach may overcome some of the problems of overhead allocation and improve the economic efficiency of organizations, there are significant problems with its practical application.     

Government Supply of Land in a Dual Market

A dual land market is one in which the government owns a significant portion of developable land while real estate development is done primarily by the private sector. This article examines Singapore's experience with its system of government land supply in a dual market, focusing on its response to market signals as well as the interaction with the significant private supply of land. The example is relevant to the general problem of government sales of valuable assets. The private supply of developable land behaves in line with expectations. The government response to price signals differs only modestly from that of private landowners.     

TQM practices and knowledge sharing: An empirical study of Malaysia’s manufacturing organizations

The purpose of this paper is to examine the multidimensionality of TQM practices and its relationship with knowledge sharing as perceived by middle management employees in Malaysia’s ISO 9001:2000 certified firms of manufacturing sectors. The data which were collected from a survey of 129 middle management employees in Malaysia were used to test the proposed research framework. Furthermore, confirmatory factor analysis was performed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the measurement model, and the structural analysis was used to examine the research framework. The analytical results revealed that training and development, customer focus, and teamwork showed a positive association with middle management employees’ knowledge sharing. This analysis is vital for senior managers of TQM companies that want to establish a knowledge sharing capability. Senior managers could focus their efforts on implementing TQM practices for building competitive knowledge sharing competencies.     

Time series momentum

We document significant “time series momentum” in equity index, currency, commodity, and bond futures for each of the 58 liquid instruments we consider. We find persistence in returns for one to 12 months that partially reverses over longer horizons, consistent with sentiment theories of initial under-reaction and delayed over-reaction. A diversified portfolio of time series momentum strategies across all asset classes delivers substantial abnormal returns with little exposure to standard asset pricing factors and performs best during extreme markets. Examining the trading activities of speculators and hedgers, we find that speculators profit from time series momentum at the expense of hedgers.     

Give mind to the gap: Measuring gender differences in financial knowledge

Prior research consistently finds a gender gap in financial knowledge where males appear to outperform females. Despite the wealth of studies attempting to explain this gap, none have considered whether the gender gap may be a product of measurement method. This study re-examines the gender gap with item response theory (IRT) which can account for guessing behavior and differential item functioning. Survey data on 184,869 individuals from 39 countries and territories is analyzed. Results show that when IRT is employed, a gender gap exists in only 54% of the sample. In contrast, when a conventional measurement approach is used, there is a gender gap in financial knowledge in 81% of the sample. These results reveal that prior measurements may underestimate women's financial knowledge and inflate the gender gap.     

The Wealth Effects of Land Acquisition

We examine the wealth effects of land acquisition using on a unique set of public land auction data in Singapore. The results of our event study provide evidence of positive excess returns associated with announcements of successful land acquisition. The evidence also supports the hypothesis that the excess return is related positively to the ability of the successful bidder to create value from the development process. In addition, the magnitude of the excess gains is related positively to the level of uncertainty in a development and inversely to the propensity of the winning bidder engaging in non-wealth maximization activities.