An Analysis of the Determinants and Shareholder Wealth Effects of Mutual Fund Mergers

This study examines the determinants of mutual fund mergers and their subsequent wealth impact on shareholders of target and acquiring funds. Results indicate significant improvements in postmerger performance and a reduction in expense ratios for target fund shareholders. In contrast, acquiring fund shareholders experience a significant deterioration in postmerger performance. The net asset flows continue to remain negative for the combined fund in the year following the merger. The likelihood of a fund merger is inversely related to fund size for both within- and across-family mutual fund mergers. However, poor past performance is a significant determinant for only within-family mergers.     

Product quality: Impact of interdepartmental interactions

The authors examine the role of organizational factors affecting interdepartmental interactions and their subsequent effects on product quality. Results from a national study suggest that product quality is affected by interdepartmental conflict and connectedness. Importantly, the linkage between interdepartmental conflict and product quality appears to be robust across varying levels of market turbulence and technological turbulence. In contrast, interdepartmental connectedness appears to be more important for product quality under conditions of high market and technological turbulence. The results also indicate that interdepartmental interactions are influenced by leadership characteristics (risk aversion of top managers), reward system orientation, and organization structure (centralization, departmentalization, and hierarchical levels). Managerial implications and directions for future work are proposed. His research interests focus on marketing strategy, marketing management, and new product management. His work has appeared in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, and other journals. His research focuses on implementing and controlling marketing, market/environmental orientation, and customer responses to advertising. His work has appeared in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Review of Marketing, and other journals. His research interests include market orientation, marketing strategy, sales management, and industrial marketing. His work has appeared in a number of journals including theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, andStrategic Management Journal.     

Public policy relating to consumer comprehension of television commercials: A review and some empirical results

The utility of disclosure supers in television commercials in providing consumers with useful information is investigated. First the role of the various regulatory agencies in monitoring disclosure supers is reviewed. Next we review the role of consumer behavior theory in explaining how consumers process disclosure information. Then we develop and test hypotheses relating to four format aspects of disclosure supers. The findings supported the hypotheses. Viewers demonstrated lower levels of comprehension for disclosure information relative to information in the body copy of the commercials. Comprehension of disclosure information increased when typeface of disclosure was larger and when a voice-over accompanied the disclosure, but decreased when volume of information in disclosure supers increased. The implications of the findings for public policy are discussed.

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Verbraucherpolitische Einflunahme auf das Verbraucherverständnis von Werbebotschaften im Fernsehen: Ein überblick und einige empirische Befunde

Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag befa\t sich mit dem Nutzen von Informationsauflagen bei Werbespots im Fernsehen, die dem Konsumenten nützliche Informationen zur Verfügung stellen sollen. Zunächst werden die verschiedenen Institutionen geschildert, die die Befolgung von Informationsauflagen überwachen. Als nächstes wird die Bedeutung der Theorie des Konsumentenverhaltens behandelt, wenn es darum geht, die Verarbeitung des Inhaltes von Informationsauflagen durch die Konsumenten zu erklären. Anschlie\end entwickeln die Autoren einige Hypothesen über die Wirkung unterschiedlicher Gestaltungsbedingungen auf die Informationsübermittlung. Diese Hypothesen werden durch die Befunde im wesentlichen bestätigt: Der Inhalt von Informationsauflagen wird insgesamt weniger gut verstanden als der eigentliche Inhalt der Werbebotschaft. Das Verständnis der Informationsauflage ist höher bei grö\erem Schriftgrad. Es ist auch höher, wenn ihr Inhalt nicht allein in Schriftform bezeichnet wird, sondern wenn er zusätzlich auch noch gesprochen wird. Es ist allerdings geringer bei grö\erer Informationsmenge. Abschlie\end werden einige verbraucherpolitische Empfehlungen gegeben.

     

The impact of all-star analyst job changes on their coverage choices and investment banking deal flow

Using a sample of all-star analysts who switch investment banks, we examine (1) whether analyst behavior is influenced by banking relationships and (2) whether analyst behavior affects investment banking deal flow. Although the stock coverage decision depends on the relationship with the client firms, we find no evidence that analysts change their optimism or recommendation levels when joining a new firm. Investment banking deal flow is related to analyst reputation only for equity transactions. For debt and M&A transactions, analyst reputation does not matter. There is no evidence that issuing optimistic earnings forecasts or recommendations affects investment banking deal flow.     

Import-Price Uncertainty, Production Decisions, and Relative Factor Shares

The effects of import-price uncertainty on factor income in Switzerland are estimated. The production-theory approach is used to derive the import demand function from an expected utility maximization problem, treating imports as an input to the technology. The model is also used to test for risk aversion and to assess the impact of uncertainty on the volume of imports and gross output. Evidence is found that, for most years, labor has been relatively more vulnerable to uncertainty than has capital.     

Capital Flows and Exchange Rate Volatility in India: How Crucial Are Reserves?

This paper tests if the adequacy of reserves helps reduce exchange rate volatility in an environment of financial globalization, market‐determined exchange rate and macroeconomic imbalances. It exploits the difference in the period after 2010 when India did not accumulate reserves but faced higher capital flow pressures, relative to a previous managed‐float period marked by significant absorption of surplus capital flows. Along with other determinants, the sensitivity of rupee volatility is examined. The paper finds that adequate reserve holdings significantly reduce exchange rate volatility irrespective of the exchange rate regime; the effect is more through influence upon market sentiment and confidence than actual intervention. It contributes to existing evidence on the role of reserves in mitigating exchange rate volatility amid capital flow swings and offers insights into the policy environment depicted in the trilemma.     

Buyer-supplier relational characteristics and joint decision making

This paper explores propositions dealing with the influence of buyer-supplier relational characteristics on their joint decision making. Specifically, the proposed conceptual framework focuses on the link between three relational constructs (trust, commitment, relationship maturity) and two types of joint decision making (strategic and tactical). Strategic decisions are those that “expand the pie” for both parties (integrative decisions), and tactical decisions are those that “divide the pie” between the two parties (distributive decisions). We propose that the effect of relational characteristics on joint decision making is likely to be moderated by the characteristics of the supplier organization (such as team orientation) and its environment (such as competitive intensity). We conclude with a brief discussion of the implications and possible extensions of the theoretical model.     

Inflationary Finance, Capital Controls, and Currency Substitution

This paper studies currency substitution in an environment where agents' inflation tax-evasive demand for foreign money is balanced by the concern for the possibility that the government may impose economy-wide capital controls under which foreign currency transactions are costly. Under the assumption of endogenous beliefs, the results show a persistent demand for foreign money despite efforts by the government to reduce inflation. In addition, the economy can exhibit multiple, Pareto-ranked steady states with different levels of currency substitution. The stability analysis suggests that the economy converges to the inferior steady state, on the "wrong side" of the Laffer curve.     

U.S. Imports by origin: A system approach

Zusammenfassung U.S.-Importe nach Ursprungsl?ndern: Ein systematischer Ansatz.- Die amerikanischen Import-Nachfragefunktionen werden für sieben Ursprungsregionen gesch?tzt. Sie alle werden aus demselben Strukturmodell abgeleitet und gemeinsam gesch?tzt unter Beachtung der Restriktionen, die sich aus der Nachfragetheorie ergeben. Dieses Verfahren stellt sicher, da\ das System von Importnachfragefunktionen intern konsistent ist; die statistische Effizienz wird erh?ht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, da\ die Elastizit?ten der Importe in bezug auf den eigenen Preis je nach Ursprungsregion sehr stark voneinander abweichen und da\ die besten Substitutionsm?glichkeiten zwischen Einfuhren aus Japan und denen aus einigen europ?ischen L?ndern bestehen.

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Resumen Las importaciones de los EEUU según su origen: un análisis sistemático. - Se estiman funciones de demanda de importaciones de los EEUU para siete regiones de origen. Las funciones de importaciones son derivadas de un mismo modelo estructural y estimadas simultáneamente respetando las restricciones sugeridas por la teoría de la demanda. Este procedimiento asegura que el sistema de funciones de demanda de importaciones sea consistente y que se mejore la eficiencia estadística. Los resultados indican que las elasticidadesprecio de la demanda de importaciones varían ampliamente entre las regiones de origen y que las mejores oportunidades para sustituír importaciones se encuentran en las importaciones provenientes del Japón y de algunos países de Europa.

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Résumé Importations des E.U. par origine: une approche systématique. - L’auteur estime des fonctions de la demande importatrice des E.U. pour sept régions d’origine. Toutes les fonctions d’importation sont dérivées du même modèle structurel, et elles sont estimées en commun sous les restrictions suggérées par la théorie de la demande. Cette procédure assure que le système des fonctions de demande importatrice est internement consistant et l’efficience statistique est augmentée. Les résultats indiquent que les propres élasticités de prix des importations varient largement entre des régions d’origine et que les possibilités de substitution sont les plus grandes entre les importations du Japon et les importations de quelques pays européens.

     

Oil characteristics and the U. S. demand for foreign crude by region of origin

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Canadian Economics Association Meetings in Winnipeg, Manitoba, May 1986. We are grateful to Paul Bradley, Ragaei El Mallakh, Phil Graves, and John Livernois for their comments, and to Pierre Allan and Edward Azar for helpful suggestions.