Abnormal trading volume,news and market efficiency: Evidence from the Jamaica Stock Exchange

This paper investigates market efficiency of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE). Together, weak and semi-strong form efficiency claim that historical and newly released public information do not predict future stock price movement. We test both forms of market efficiency by analyzing stock price behavior during times of abnormal trading volume and around the release dates of earnings information. Abnormal trading volume may be driven by liquidity demand or reflect new or private information flow to the market. Using JSE data over the period 2000 to 2021, we find price dynamics consistent with price pressure as firms experience negative abnormal returns on the day of abnormal trading activity but offsetting positive abnormal stock returns on the following day. Further findings show post earnings announcement drift on the JSE. Taken as a whole, the evidence suggests violations of market efficiency and has implications for capital allocation in this emerging market.     

Risk Perception and Buying Behavior: An Examination of Some Relationships in the Context of Cruise Tourism in Jamaica

Cruise tourism continues to grow substantially, even as many other forms of travel stagnate. In this era of increasing worldwide violence against tourists, safety, security, and risk abatement are becoming principal components in travelers' decision-making processes. This work examines the issue of perceived risk and safety and what impact these perceptions have on shopping behavior. The research takes place in Jamaica, a country with a reputation for aggressive vendors. Findings indicate that those visitors who traveled with others spent more time shopping and purchased more. Additionally, it was found that first time visitors express higher levels of discomfort with their surroundings than did repeat visitors, thus inhibiting purchase behavior. Finally, it was found that levels of perceived risk and security did have an impact on a traveler's intention to return to Jamaica.     

Introducing Environmental Management in the Hotel Industry

Summary

The hotel industry in Jamaica, like so many other tropical destinations, markets itself on the “3-Ss”-sea, sun, and sand. Hotels ring the north coast of the island in four main resort areas (i.e., Negril, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Port Antonio). Located in sensitive coastal ecosystems, most of Jamaica's hotels face the challenge of reducing the environmental impact of their operations while meeting the increasing demand of a growing tourism industry.

This article presents a case study of the introduction of environmental management practices and systems in the hotel industry in Jamaica over the past 3 years to provide an answer to the environmentally sustainable tourism challenge. It describes the programmatic approach, the results at both the property and industry level, and the lessons learned in replicating the approach to other tropical tourism destinations in the Caribbean and Latin America.     

当前国际货币体系新特征与人民币国际化

本文着重探讨了当前牙买加体系的运行状况及新世纪以来表现出的新特征。研究发现,当前国际货币体系除存在软约束的储备货币增长、货币危机的频繁发生和国际收支调节的低效等问题外,还表现出全球通货膨胀不断、美元悖论、新兴市场崛起、外汇储备分配失衡、货币风险高度集中、美元相对地位下降等六大新特征,而这些都源于牙买加体系固有的内在缺陷。因此,本文简要勾勒了当前国际货币体系的发展趋势,并对人民币国际化的现状和路径选择进行了探讨。     

当前全球性金融危机的来由和发展趋势研究

由次贷危机引发的全球性金融危机,其背后更深层次的原因是牙买加国际货币体系的天然缺陷以及美国持续的内外失衡造成的.从目前的发展形势来看,当前金融危机不仅造成了全球金融市场的剧烈动荡和恐慌、信贷市场的急剧萎缩,严重打击了全球投资者和消费者的信心,延缓了全球实体经济增长的速度,而且提出了改革当前国际货币金融体系、增加国际金融组织在维护全球金融体系稳定的责任等重要课题.     

The Mabey and Johnson bribery scandal: A case of executive hubris

Convicted for paying bribes to secure contracts abroad, Mabey and Johnson (M&J), a UK construction firm, made both legal and international business history. Drawing on hubris as a lens, we examine M&J's bribery scandal in Ghana and Jamaica. Through a qualitative study of court documents, witness statements, newspaper articles, and internal company emails, we unpack the bribery scheme operated by M&J executives that enabled the firm to illegitimately win major government contracts in Ghana and Jamaica. Fueled by executive hubris, M&J's practice of bribing foreign officials to secure contracts effectively insulated M&J executives from day‐to‐day realities. Over time, the firm's executives viewed themselves as infallible, exempt from established mores, invincible, and were unremorseful for their actions. Building on these findings, we develop a hubris‐bribery heuristic framework showing how individual, organizational, and institutional contexts constitutively fueled executive hubris, driving bribery at M&J. The implication for theory and practice is examined.     

“Big Man” politics in the social economy: a case study of microfinance in Kingston,Jamaica

Microfinance and its “reinvention as bankers-for-the-poor” to create financial inclusion has not been effective everywhere. The literature seems to suggest that the social economy and microfinance help marginalized business people; yet no one considers that political bias interferes with the social economy, making it hard for it to be just. The promise of micro-credit was to achieve a double bottom line: first, the financial sustainability of the lending institution itself, and second, the social benefit of providing loans to low-income business people. Yet, alternative pitches of a social economy to “help people” fail to analyze the embedded power dynamics within the social economy. In this case study in downtown Kingston, Jamaica, 233 small-business people who depend on development finance because of social exclusion now find that these targeted programs are intertwined in partisan, sometimes dangerous, politics. As a result, oppressed people opt out of micro-banking programs to resist “Big Man” politics – the politicians or gangsters attempting to control them. In this study of 307 interviews, I analyze the informal politics of Dons and politicians who misuse micro-credit for their own ends. I find that the coupling of class biases and clientelist practices in the social economy discourages eligible business people from taking micro-loans, and argue that the microfinance industry needs to pay close attention to this issue if it is to continue to help marginalized business people.     

Destination Image and Brand Personality of Jamaica: A Model of Tourist Behavior

The study examines Jamaica’s destination image and brand personality, and how they relate to future tourist behavior. An integrative model of tourist behavior, involving destination image (cognitive, affective, and overall), destination personality, and behavioral outcomes was developed and tested for first-time and repeat visitors separately. In additon, qualitative questions about destination images and characteristics were used to reveal Jamaica’s specific brand image and personality characteristics. The study found varying influences of cognitive image, affective image, and destination personality on global image and behavioral intentions for first-time and repeat visitors. The qualitative responses revolved around attractions, culture, and environment. The practical implications are discussed.     

“We Likkle,but We Tallawah”: Maintaining Competitive Advantage in the Crowded Specialty Coffee Market

The Jamaican coffee industry (JCI) has exhibited key characteristics of what it means to have a competitive advantage (CA) for a number of decades. However, the last 5–10 years have seen strong challenges to this CA. The author explores the deeper dynamics of these challenges using a five forces analysis as developed by Michael Porter in addition to a thematic analysis of semistructured interviews and data from various local and international coffee organizations to assess the various forces of the model. It was revealed that the unique nature of the JCI’s product led to moderate bargaining power as a supplier, which acted as an effective buffer to the high bargaining power of global coffee buyers. These findings highlighted the importance of seeking new markets and embedding symbolic attributes as part of the overarching drive to maintain viability within specialty product markets.