“100% EDI-connected suppliers” projects: An empirical investigation of success factors

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is becoming increasingly important, and new organizational forms based on EDI suppliers’ capabilities are emerging. Therefore, taking advantage of recent technological changes, especially the development of Web-based EDI systems, many big industrial buyers are seeking to get all their suppliers EDI-connected. Based on previous research on EDI adoption, we conducted a survey to study the opportunities of success of such a “100% EDI-connected suppliers” policy using data from the vehicle industry. Findings from our survey helped us to understand suppliers’ responses to such a policy and to provide recommendations to industrial buyers who are seeking to succeed in a “100% EDI-connected suppliers” project. This includes employing tailored communication strategies and selecting appropriate incentives that take into account different levels of suppliers’ EDI-capabilities and suppliers’ dependence.     

Managed competition

People don't like change. That includes materiel managers, administrators, and clinical providers. Managed competition or managed care will work if, and only if, the American professions and the American public recognize the value of highly educated and qualified clinical and nonclinical providers and if the health care industry responds in kind.     

Sequential auctions with randomly arriving buyers

We analyze a dynamic market in which buyers compete in a sequence of private-value auctions for differentiated goods. New buyers and new objects may arrive at random times. Since objects are imperfect substitutes, buyers? values are not persistent. Instead, each buyer?s private value for a new object is a new independent draw from the same distribution.We consider the use of second-price auctions for selling these objects, and show that there exists a unique symmetric Markov equilibrium in this market. In equilibrium, buyers shade their bids down by their continuation value, which is the (endogenous) option value of participating in future auctions. We characterize this option value and show that it depends not only on the number of buyers currently present on the market and the distribution of their values, but also on anticipated market dynamics.     

Perceptions of postretirement benefit obligations by bond rating analysts

This research examines the measurement and impounding of alternative measures of a corporation's other postretirement benefits obligation (OPEBs) by an important segment of the capital markets. The Kaplan and Urwitz (1979) model is used as a benchmark from which to assess the importance of an added OPEB variable in the bond rating process. Using the corporate bond rating as the dependent variable, multiple measures of the OPEB obligation are inserted individually as an added independent variable into an N-chotomous probit model. The results for 1987 and 1988 indicate that measures calculated from publicly available information produce highly significant results. The developed postretirement liability measures are found to provide relevant and material information regarding the risk level of a firm's bonds as represented by its bond rating. This insight concerning the additional risk represented by a firm's postretirement benefits is beyond that supplied by the firm's pension information. This suggests that the additional investor default risk attributed to a firm's OPEB can be reasonably proxied by data found in the company's annual report footnote disclosures.     

Momentum profits in the Australian equity market: A matched firm approach

This paper examines momentum trading strategies within the Australian equity market over the period 1990 to 2007, inclusive. We analyse excess returns employing both Jegadeesh and Titman's (Jegadeesh, N., Titman, S., 1993. “Returns to buying winners and selling losers: implications for stock market efficiency”. The Journal of Finance, 48:65–91) zero cost investment portfolio approach and a matched control firm approach. We also allow for short sale restrictions, liquidity constraints and transaction costs in the form of bid-ask spreads. Testing reveals that both the Jegadeesh and Titman (Jegadeesh, N., and Titman, S. (1993). “Returns to buying winners and selling losers: implications for stock market efficiency”. The Journal of Finance, 48:65–91.) zero cost investment portfolio approach and the matched control firm approach yield excess profits. While the implementation of short sale restraints increases momentum profitability, the subsequent inclusion of bid-ask spreads results in a reduction in these gains. Further, we find that executing a momentum strategy in Australia results in statistically significant dollar profits.     

The impact of the foreign corrupt practices act on us exports

In 1977 the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) was enacted to penalize US firms and their employees for paying bribes to foreign government officials. If bribe payments influence the awarding of contracts and the FCPA regulation differentially affects US exporters compared to foreign competitors, then US exporters' bribe-paying ability and market share would be expected to decline. This study provides empirical evidence that the FCPA had a negative effect on US exports to non-Latin American countries but not to bribery prone ones in Latin America.     

OTC trades and liquidity in the European carbon market more than meets the eye

ABSTRACT

This study investigates whether the previously reported price impact of OTC trades in the EU ETS can be attributed to their distinctively larger size (liquidity related) or to their discretionary feature (information related). The findings suggest that OTC trades induce volatility shocks that are higher in magnitude and faster resolved than those of solely high trading-intensity trades, which appears to be driven mainly by their presence, rather than by their size. An analysis of intraday price premia reveals that they are strategically placed by interacting with the organized market whenever their price and volatility impact is lower.     

Single versus multiple banking: lessons from initial public offerings

A vast research in banking addresses the question of the costs and benefits of multiple bank relationships versus a single bank relationship. Although no clear-cutting conclusion is reached, several contributions suggest that multiple bank relationships might lead to a sub-optimal level of monitoring, compared to a single bank relationship, as a result of free riding and coordination problems. We take a novel approach to tackle this research question, by looking at the role, if any, played by the number of lending relationships in initial public offerings (IPOs). We look at the short-term performances of IPOs as measured by underpricing and find that firms that go public with multiple bank relationships exhibit more underpricing than those that go public with a single bank relationship. This finding is independent of the number of bank relationships and/or whether any of the lending banks also acts as underwriter in the offering. We interpret our results as suggesting that the market attributes a weaker certification role to multiple bank relationships because of their less effective monitoring of IPO firms.     

Changes in equity returns and volatility across different Australian industries following the recent terrorist attacks

We investigate the impact of five recent terrorist attacks on equities listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Following the Global Industry Classification Standard, we analyse how these events affect the different sectors in Australia. Using parametric and non-parametric tests, we investigate the relationship between stock returns for equities listed in these sectors and terrorist attacks. We report significant short term negative abnormal returns around the September 11 attacks and to a lesser extent, the Madrid and London bombings. Our evidence shows a weak positive equity response to the Bali bombing, and no response from the Mumbai attack in the Australian market. We also document negative industry abnormal returns as high as 37.30% on the day in the Utilities sector. Our findings show that systematic risk of certain sectors increased after the events of September 11 but remained unchanged for the other attacks.     

Extracting Legitimacy: An Analysis of Corporate Responses to Accusations of Human Rights Abuses

Journal of Business Ethics - We ask what type of neutralization techniques corporations apply to allegations of human rights abuses. We proceed by undertaking a Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA)...