Business Commons^™

Soft Strategic Information And Ipo Underpricing, James C. Brau, James Cicon, Grant Mcqueen

Faculty Publications

Using content analysis we measure the impact of soft information, derived from words in IPO registration documents, on IPO pricing efficiency. First, using 2,298 U.S. IPOs from 1996 to 2008, we find that an IPO document’s strategic tone correlates positively with the stock’s first-day return; more frequent usage of positive and/or less frequent usage of negative strategic words lead to more IPO underpricing. Second, we find that an IPO document’s strategic tone is negatively correlated with the stock’s long-run return. Together, these findings imply that investors initially misprice soft information in registration statements, which mispricing is eventually corrected. Additionally, we …

Inefficient Labor Or Inefficient Capital? Corporate Diversification And Productivity Around The World, Todd Mitton

Faculty Publications

I study the relation between corporate diversification and labor productivity in a sample of over 500,000 firms from 46 countries. Across the entire sample, greater diversification is associated with significantly lower labor productivity. The negative relation between diversification and labor productivity is not stronger in countries with more burdensome employment regulation, but it is significantly stronger in countries with better financial development. In addition, the negative relation is stronger in industries with high capital/labor ratios. Overall, the results suggest that the lower productivity in diversified firms is due more to the misallocation of capital than to the inefficient use of …

Unpacking The Privacy Paradox: Irrational Decision-Making Within The Privacy Calculus, David W. Wilson, Joseph S. Valacich

Faculty Publications

Understanding privacy is important to individuals and organizations. This research in progress develops a theoretical model that incorporates both actual disclosure behavior and the potential for irrational behavior induced by overriding situational factors presented at the time of the privacy disclosure decision. Actual disclosure behavior is seldom measured in privacy research, and most prior work has assumed the disclosure decision to be a fully rational one. This research challenges that assumption, and the eventual completion of the project will contribute uniquely to our understanding of the privacy calculus in online transactions.

Assessing Program Implementation: What It Is, Why It's Important, And How To Do It, Mat D. Duerden, Peter A. Witt

Faculty Publications

While the importance of evaluation program offerings is acknowledge by Extension educators, less emphasis is given to understanding program implementation. Simply assessing program impact without a clear understanding of the degree to which a program was actually implemented can result in inaccurate findings. The effective evaluation of both program impacts and evaluation can provide Extension educators with a more holistic perspective of their programs and an increased ability to identify and disseminate best program practices.

Evaluating Journal Quality And The Association For Information Systems (Ais) Senior Scholars’ Journal Basket Via Bibliometric Measures: Do Expert Journal Assessments Add Value?, Paul Benjamin Lowry, Gregory D. Moody, James Gaskin, Dennis F. Galletta, Sean L. Humpherys, Jordan B. Barlow, David W. Wilson

Faculty Publications

Information systems (IS) journal rankings and ratings help scholars focus their publishing efforts and are widely used surrogates for judging the quality of research. Over the years, numerous approaches have been used to rank IS journals, approaches such as citation metrics, school lists, acceptance rates, and expert assessments. However, the results of these approaches often conflict due to a host of validity concerns. In the current scientometric study, we make significant strides toward correcting for these limitations in the ranking of mainstream IS journals. We compare expert rankings to bibliometric measures such as the ISI Impact Factor™, the h-index, and …

A Re-Examination Of Analysts’ Superiority Over Time-Series Forecasts Of Annual Earnings, Mark T. Bradshaw, Michael S. Drake, James N. Myers, Linda A. Myers

Faculty Publications

We re-examine the widely held belief that analysts‟ earnings per share (EPS) forecasts are superior to random walk (RW) time-series forecasts. We investigate whether analysts‟ annual EPS forecasts are superior, and if so, under what conditions. Simple RW EPS forecasts are more accurate than analysts‟ forecasts over longer horizons, for smaller or younger firms, and when analysts forecast negative or large changes in EPS. We also compare the accuracy of a third forecast of longer-term earnings based on a naïve extrapolation of analysts‟ one-year-ahead forecasts. Surprisingly, this naïve extrapolation provides the most accurate estimate of long-term (two- and three-year-ahead) earnings. …

Antecedents Of Identity Development In A Structured Recreation Setting: A Qualitative Inquiry, Mat D. Duerden, Stacy Taniguchi, Mark Widmer

Faculty Publications

Identity research has focused primarily on outcomes associated with identity formation. Far less attention, however, has been given to understanding the facilitating contextual elements of this process. This qualitative study examined a context, a 2-week adventure recreation program for youth, quantitatively shown in previous research to have promoted identity development. The program took place in Idaho’s Salmon-Challis National Forest and involved rafting, backpacking, mountain biking, and a variety of other outdoor activities. Data were gathered from 23 female and 22 male participants, ages 11 to 15 (M = 13.2, SD = .89). Seven distinct categories emerged from the analysis related …

Workforce Skill Development In Camps, Mat Duerden

Faculty Publications

For many young people, serving as a summer camp staff member can be an entry point into the labor market as well as a valuable job skill-building experience. These camp staff jobs can vary widely by title and expectations but often have one thing in common- the young staff member is often responsible for the safety and well-being of younger children often in their care 24 hours a day for weeks at a time. At a time when employers express concern regarding the workplace readiness of the emerging workforce (Jackson, 2010), camp-based employment, which includes a wide range of positions …

Small-Firm Uniqueness And Signaling Theory, James C. Brau, J. Troy Carpenter

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, we develop a theory of small firm uniqueness. Instead of using an exogenous definition of firm size typical of the extant literature, we allow firms

Did Securitization Affect The Cost Of Corporate Debt?, Taylor Nadauld, Michael S. Weisbach

Faculty Publications

This paper investigates whether the securitization of corporate bank loan facilities had an impact on the price of corporate debt. Our results suggest that loan facilities that are subsequently securitized are associated with a 17 basis point lower spread than that of facilities that are not subsequently securitized. We consider facility characteristics that are associated with the likelihood of securitization and estimate the extent to which these characteristics are related to spreads. We document that Term Loan B facilities, facilities of B-rated firms, and facilities originated by banks that originate CLOs are securitized more frequently than other facilities. Spreads on …

Measuring Life Skills: Standardizing The Assessment Of Youth Development Indicators, Mat D. Duerden, Peter A. Witt, Mariela Fernandez, Marie Jolliff Bryant, Daniel Theriault

Faculty Publications

While the development of life skills (e.g., communication, problem solving, etc.) is a commonly targeted youth program outcome, the lack of standardized conceptualizations and instrumentation make it difficult to compare impacts across programs and develop validated best practices. In order to promote a more unified approach to life skill development, literature reviews were conducted for 10 life skill domains to identify common definitions and, if available, appropriate outcome measures. Data were then collected from an ethnically diverse sample (N = 758) of elementary, middle, and high school aged youth for the 10 identified instruments. Analyses were conducted to ascertain the …

Subprime Foreclosures And The 2005 Bankruptcy Reform, Donald P. Morgan, Benjamin Iverson, Matthew Botsch

Faculty Publications

After the bankruptcy abuse reform (BAR) took effect in October 2005, foreclosures on subprime mortgages surged nationwide.

Prior to BAR, overly indebted borrowers could file bankruptcy to free up income to pay their mortgage by discharging unsecured debts; BAR eliminated that option for better-off filers through a means test and other requirements, making it more difficult to save one’s home by filing bankruptcy.

A study of the reform suggests that BAR was associated with more subprime foreclosures; BAR’s effects were greater in states with high bankruptcy exemptions, as theory predicts.

For a state with an average home equity exemption, the …

The Impact Of Moral Stress Compared To Other Stressors On Employee Fatigue, Job Satisfaction, And Turnover: An Empirical Investigation, Kristen Bell Detienne, Bradley R. Agle, James C. Phillips, Marc-Charles Ingerson

Faculty Publications

Moral stress is an increasingly significant concept in business ethics and the workplace environment. This study compares the impact of moral stress with other job stressors on three important employee variables—fatigue, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions—by utilizing survey data from 305 customer-contact employees of a financial institution’s call center. Statistical analysis on the interaction of moral stress and the three employee variables was performed while controlling for other types of job stress as well as demographic variables. The results reveal that even after including the control variables in the statistical models, moral stress remains a statistically significant predictor of increased …

Internal Audit Outsourcing And The Risk Of Misleading Or Fraudulent Financial Reporting: Did Sarbanes-Oxley Get It Wrong?, Douglas F. Prawitt, Nathan Y. Sharp, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) represents a far-reaching legislative attempt to improve the quality of financial reporting in the United States in response to the major accounting frauds of the late 1990s and early 2000s (Klein 2003). A significant change imposed by SOX was to prohibit the outsourcing of internal audit services to firms’ external auditors.1 Competing academic arguments suggest that this ban will either improve or worsen financial reporting quality. The knowledge spillover argument suggests that by both performing the external audit and providing nonaudit services, auditors improve overall audit quality through a deeper understanding of the client …

Publication Benchmarking Data Based On Faculty Promoted At The Top 75 Us Accounting Research Institutions, Steven M. Glover, Douglas F. Prawitt, Scott L. Summers, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

The primary purpose of this study is to update the Glover et al. (2006) publication benchmarking study by providing benchmarking statistics of faculty promoted to associate and/or full professor from 2004 to 2009. We also extend Glover et al. (2006) by examining new benchmarking metrics and by investigating publication productivity differences between studies. Our results indicate that, on average, faculty promoted from 2004 to 2009 had more publications in leading accounting journals at the time of promotion than faculty promoted from 1995 to 2003. We explore possible explanations for the increase in publication productivity. We find that increases in the …

The Effects Of Preventive And Detective Controls On Employee Performance And Motivation, Margaret H. Christ, Scott A. Emett, Scott L. Summers, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

We examine how two attributes of preventive and detective controls affect employee performance and employee motivation. Specifically, we examine how the extent to which controls (1) restrict employees’ autonomy, and (2) provide more or less timely feedback impacts employees’ performance and intrinsic motivation. These characteristics are the defining differences between preventive and detective controls in that preventive controls restrict employee autonomy relative to detective controls and preventive controls always provide immediate feedback; whereas, detective controls can provide either immediate feedback or delayed feedback. We conduct an experiment to examine how and why these two types of formal controls impact employees’ …

A Total Cost Approach To Supply Chain Risk Modeling, Brian J. Saunders

Theses and Dissertations

The modern supply chain is long, complex, interconnected and global, and plays a fundamental role in business competitiveness. These conditions, along with various supply chain management trends in recent years have increased risks in supply chains which threaten supply chain performance. Greater impact, especially on cost, from an increased threat of supply disruptions is one area of particular concern. Companies today are struggling to find effective means to manage this increased risk and avoid adverse financial impacts. An approach to managing supply disruption risk in supply chains based on the minimization of the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the …

Understanding Entrepreneurial Opportunity Via Differentiated Bertrand Oligopoly Market Structure, Colton Hicks

Student Works

In this paper we develop a method to be able to recognize opportunity for a new entrant in a Bertrand Oligopoly market based upon industrial organization. We infer from the demand curves of competitors if opportunity for a new entrant exists and the necessary characteristics of the entrant that would make it successful in a given market. This provides a significant contribution to the field of entrepreneurship since it has struggled to find a bona fide way to define and identify opportunity. Most research on entrepreneurial opportunity has focused on the characteristics of the product being developed, e.g., what are …

Community Affair: Social Inclusion And Swapping, Jowanza Joseph

Student Works

Swapping has become primitive economic behavior with the advent of currency. However, with the increase in concern about the environment swapping has emerged in many forums including swap meets, free cycle and online swapping forums. We perform an exploratory investigation of this behavior through an imperial investigation of Twitter. We test the connectedness, and the popularity of people who are involved in swap meets and farmers markets. Finally, we discuss the implications and future directions for swapping.

Overview And Guidance On Agile Development In Large Organizations, Jordan B. Barlow, Justin Scott Giboney, Mark Jeffrey Keith, David W. Wilson, Ryan M. Schuetzler, Paul Benjamin Lowry, Anthony Vance

Faculty Publications

A continual debate surrounds the effectiveness of agile software development practices. Some organizations adopt agile practices to become more competitive, improve processes, and reduce costs. Other organizations are skeptical about whether agile development is beneficial. Large organizations face an additional challenge in integrating agile practices with existing standards and business processes. To examine the effects of agile development practices in large organizations, we review and integrate scientific literature and theory on agile software development. We further organize our theory and observations into a framework with guidelines for large organizations considering agile methodologies. Based on this framework, we present recommendations that …

Adaptation Of An Adolescent Coping Assessment For Outdoor Adventure, Melissa S. Russell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to adapt a measure for coping in outdoor adventure activities that reliable and valid inferences could be made. To do this, the constructs were clearly defined; relevant items were written representing the constructs. An expert panel reviewed the items for content validity, and the instrument was administered to subjects to gather evidence supporting the reliability and validity of inferences. The instrument adapted will provide a foundation for future research and understanding related to outdoor adventure coping skills. In addition, evidence supporting the reliability and validity of inferences of the assessment serve to measure outcomes …

The Relationship Between Media In The Home And Family Functioning In Context Of Leisure, Camilla J. Hodge

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between media as family leisure and family functioning among families with at least one adolescent child. Specifically, this study examined the relationship between family functioning and media use, media connection, and media monitoring over time. Furthermore, because the data were nested in families, and because most family leisure research has been limited to individual-level analyses, this study incorporated mixed modeling into its analysis which accounted for family-level and individual-level variance. The sample consisted of 500 families participating in the Flourishing Families (FFP) Project, a longitudinal study of inner-family life involving …

The Effect Of Technology Type On The Adoption And Effectiveness Of Global Environmental Standards, Ben William Lewis, Glen W. S. Dowell

Faculty Publications

We describe the role of technological change and technology type in affecting environmental performance. We argue that one of the key constraints on a firm’s ability to improve its environmental performance is the technology in which it is embedded. We develop hypotheses regarding the influence of technology type on a firm’s global environmental strategy, and test these hypotheses using a panel of MNEs. We find that technology type does influence a firm’s global environmental strategy, and the financial return associated with using a global environmental standard.

Accounting For Lease Renewal Options: The Informational Effects Of Unit Of Account Choices, Jeffrey Hales, Shankar Venkataraman, T. Jeffrey Wilks

Faculty Publications

This study examines the informational effects of unit of account choices in the context of a proposed standard on lease accounting. Standard setters have tentatively decided that leases in excess of one year should be recognized on a lessee’s balance sheet, including optional lease periods, even though the lessee can choose not to renew the lease. We argue that this approach lacks representational faithfulness and creates an informational problem for users. Using an experiment, we show that the proposed treatment of renewal options has a negative effect on lenders’ willingness to lend to a firm with renewal options. However, we …

Identity Negotiating: Redefining Stigmatized Identities Through Adaptive Sports And Recreation Participation Among Individuals With A Disability, Neil R. Lundberg, Stacy Taniguchi, Bryan P. Mccormick, Catherine Tibbs

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate the meanings and outcomes of adaptive sport and recreation participation among individuals with disabilities. In-depth open-ended interviews were conducted with 17 individuals. Analysis of the data followed qualitative data analysis and classical grounded theory utilizing line by line coding, identification of emergent themes, and identification of a core category grounded in the data. Results indicated that participants felt stigmatized and stereotyped, but their adaptive sports and recreation participation provided them with opportunities to build social networks, experience freedom and success, positively compare themselves with others without disabilities, and feel a sense of …

Insurance Theory And Challenges Facing The Development Of Microinsurance Markets, James C. Brau, Craig B. Merrill, Kim B. Staking

Faculty Publications

Microinsurance institutions and instruments have developed rapidly over the last decade, with policies covering tens of millions at the base of the economic pyramid. Ranging from simple policies providing life or health insurance to complex policies covering catastrophic risks for small landholders, it is a market with proven potential that demands closer attention. This paper provides a review of the nascent academic literature and then suggests some critical elements of insurance theory that may help us understand the challenges facing microinsurance markets and how these markets can better serve the needs of their customers. Although the basic theory is well …

A Web Of Knowledge: A Conceptual-Modeling Perspective, David W. Embley, Stephen W. Liddle, Cui Tao

Faculty Publications

The current web is a web of linked pages. Frustrated users search for facts by guessing which keywords or keyword phrases might lead them to pages where they can find facts. Can we make it possible for users to search directly for facts? Equivalently, can we turn the web into a web of facts (instead of a web of pages containing facts)? Ultimately, can the web be a knowledgebase—a web of knowledge—that can provide direct answers to factual questions and also provide the confidence necessary to make those answers believable? We answer these questions by showing how to superimpose a …

Should Investors Follow The Prophets Or The Bears? Evidence On The Use Of Public Information By Analysts And Short Sellers, Michael S. Drake, Lynn Rees, Edward P. Swanson

Faculty Publications

We investigate whether short sellers and analysts differ in their use of information that is predictive of future returns. We find that open short interest is significantly associated in the expected direction with all eleven variables examined. In contrast, analysts tend to positively recommend stocks with high growth, high accruals, and low book-to-market ratios, despite these variables having a negative association with future returns. We then investigate the profitability of using short interest in trading. We find abnormal returns (1.11 percent per month) from a zero-investment strategy that (1) shorts firms with highly favorable analyst recommendations (buy signal) but high …

Behavioral Economics Perspectives On Public Sector Pension Plans, John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian

Faculty Publications

We describe the pension plan features of the states and the largest cities and counties in the U.S. Unlike in the private sector, defined benefit (DB) pensions are still the norm in the public sector. However, a few jurisdictions have shifted towards defined contribution (DC) plans as their primary savings plan, and fiscal pressures are likely to generate more movement in this direction. Holding fixed a public employee‘s work and salary history, we show that DB retirement income replacement ratios vary greatly across jurisdictions. This creates large variation in workers‘ need to save for retirement in other accounts. There is …

Managerial Ability And Earnings Quality, Peter Demerjian, Melissa F. Lewis-Western, Baruch Lev, Sarah Mcvay

Faculty Publications

We examine the relation between managerial ability and earnings quality. We find that earnings quality is positively associated with managerial ability. Specifically, more able managers are associated with fewer subsequent restatements, higher earnings and accruals persistence, lower errors in the bad debt provision, and higher quality accrual estimations. The results are consistent with the premise that managers can and do impact the quality of the judgments and estimates used to form earnings.