Industry specific effects in investment performance and valuation of firms

A necessary criterion for a performance measure in corporate governance is the degree to which it mirrors how well the management succeeds in maximizing firm value. Such a performance measure is marginal q which links changes in firm value to the investments undertaken by the management. Empirical studies of investment and performance based on marginal q have demonstrated the usefulness of this measure. Most research however, has mainly focused on long-term performance. This paper takes a short-term perspective and, based on the marginal q-theory, considers how firms’ market values change in the extreme stock price cycle of a stock market bubble. Using a data set of listed Swedish corporations we find an anomaly in form of a new industry specific effect that, in addition to investment, explains changes in firm value.

Injuries sustained during snow removal from roofs resulting in hospital care

Clearing snow from roofs causes serious injuries annually. The aim of this study was to describe injury mechanisms, injury panorama, and injury incidence in connection to this activity. A specific aim was to study the association between snow depth and injury incidence. A total of 95 people were injured during four study periods. The risk of injury is strongly associated with snow depth, and the incidence varied up to 10-fold between the studied winter seasons. The majority of injuries (91; 96%) occurred during leisure time and only four people were injured in the occupational setting. The most common injury mechanism was falling off roofs or ladders of residential homes. Nearly 60% sustained moderate or serious injuries (Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale [MAIS] 2–3), and fractures accounted for almost half of all injuries. Because roofs of single-family homes in Sweden usually do not require snow removal for heavy snow loads, these injuries may have been both unnecessary and avoidable. Further education is required to advise the public on the risks associated with snow removal from roofs.     

Analysis of the mechanism of injury in non-fatal vehicle-to-pedestrian and vehicle-to-bicyclist frontal crashes in Sweden

The aim of this paper is to analyse and compare injuries and injury sources in pedestrian and bicyclist non-fatal real-life frontal passengercar crashes, considering in what way pedestrian injury mitigation systems also might be adequate for bicyclists. Data from 203 non-fatal vehicle-to-pedestrian and vehicle-to-bicyclist crashes from 1997 through 2006 in a city in northern Sweden were analysed by use of the hospitals injury data base in addition to interviews with the injured. In vehicle-to-pedestrian crashes (n = 103) head and neck injuries were in general due to hitting the windscreen frame, while in vehicle-to-bicycle crashes (n = 100) head and neck injuries were typically sustained by ground impact. Abdominal, pelvic and thoracic injuries in pedestrians and thoracic injuries in bicyclists were in general caused by impacting the bonnet. In vehicle-to-pedestrian crashes, energy reducing airbags at critical impact points with low yielding ability on the car, as the bonnet and the windscreen frame, might reduce injuries. As vehicle-to-bicyclist crashes occurred mostly in good lighting conditions and visibility and the ground impact causing almost four times as many injuries as an impact to the different regions of the car, crash avoidance systems as well as separating bicyclists from motor traffic, may contribute to mitigate these injuries.     

A Transition Cost Rationale for Transition of the Firm within the Family

Small Business Economics - This paper is about the transition of ownership of shares in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the family (i.e. from parents to children). In spite of the...     

Symbolic management of human resources

This article begins with the observation of three recent and interrelated trends in management: corporate advertising, internal marketing, and strategic management of human resources. The basic argument is that these trends indicate a shift in managerial focus, from the management of human resources to the management of symbolic resources. Symbolic resources are here seen as symbols, metaphors, images, etc., which in a condensed form represent complex organizational phenomena, and which can be developed and utilized to guide strategic corporate action. There are four types of “symbolic resources” that seem to be particularly powerful: historical resources (i.e., elements of the corporate saga or epic), basic values and ideologies (as expressed in the corporate policies), particular activities and events (as anniversaries and celebrations), and finally, the company lifestyle (or ethos).     

Gender differences in optimism

This article examines gender differences in optimism about the economy. We measure optimism using Swedish survey data in which respondents stated their beliefs about the country’s future economic situation. We argue that this measure of optimism is preferable to common measurements in the literature since it avoids confounding individuals’ economic situation with their perception of the future and it can be compared to economic indicators. In line with previous research, we find that men are more optimistic than women; however, men are also more prone to be wrong in their beliefs about the future economic situation. Furthermore, in sharp economic downturns, the gender differences in optimism disappear. This convergence in beliefs can be explained by the amount of available information on the economy.     

Marginal q revisited

Two measures of firm investment behaviour used in the empirical research are Tobin´s q (average q) and marginal q. The marginal q is a more recently introduced measure than Tobin´s q and is not as well known. This article aims to demonstrate the advantages of using marginal q as a performance measure and is a response to an earlier critical article (Berglund, 2011) claiming an elusiveness bias. The pro arguments made in response are that the claimed elusiveness is not a problem. Furthermore, many of the evaluation problems inherent in the empirical use of Tobin´s q, like estimation of replacement cost of assets, can be avoided. From a pure theoretical standpoint, it has long been recognized that marginal q is superior to an average measure of investment behaviour such as Tobin´s q.