Business Commons^™

Discretionary Deletions From The S&P 500 Index: Evidence On Forecasted And Realized Earnings., Stoyu Ivanov

Faculty Publications

The literature in the area of index changes finds evidence that index changes are information free events. However, Denis, McConnell, Ovtchinnikov and Yu (2003) find evidence contrary to this theory. This study extends the work of Denis, McConnell, Ovtchinnikov and Yu (2003) in an attempt to complete the assessment of the information hypothesis of index changes. Denis, McConnell, Ovtchinnikov and Yu (2003) address only index additions and do not examine index deletions in their study. Our contribution is in filling this void in the literature by examining forecasted and realized earnings of firms discretionary deleted from the S&P 500 index …

Esops And Corporate Officers' Compensation., Stoyu Ivanov

Faculty Publications

In the literature two major hypotheses have been developed for Employee Stock Ownership Plans used as a takeover defense, the management entrenchment and shareholder interest hypotheses, with the existing research not finding conclusive evidence for either one. In this paper we provide evidence that the entrenchmenthypothesis is not supported by finding that Employee Stock Ownership Plan firms pay less to their managers than non-Employee Stock Ownership Plan firms. If managers were truly entrenched they would have been able to expropriate wealth from the existing shareholders, which appears not to be the case for Employee Stock Ownership Plan firms.

The Arrival Of A New Gaap: International Financial Reporting Standards, Brian Stanko, Thomas Zeller

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article examines the International Accounting Standards Board’s efforts to create greater comparability and uniformity in global financial reporting. Prefacing this will be an examination of 1) the reasons for past and present inter-country reporting differences and 2) the changes that have affected the governing structure of the international financial reporting environment. Most importantly, however, this article explores the areas that will be most impacted when companies move to a uniform group of international accounting standards. An understanding of the accounting regulatory process and the changes underway is important for all businesses professionals, including those in large and small businesses …

Creating A Successful Marketing Strategy For Your Small New Business, Stanley F. Stasch

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Strategies for marketing small businesses.

According to the Wall Street Journal, 572,900 new businesses were started in the United States in 2003—and 554,800 businesses failed that same year. Perhaps that dismal statistic comes from the fact that more than 95 percent of all small, new businesses make one or more of the four major marketing strategy mistakes identified in this book.

From 'Break Out' To 'Breakthrough': Successful Market Strategies Of Immigrant Entrepreneurs In The Uk, Anuradha Basu

Faculty Publications, School of Management

This paper explores the strategies that enable ethnic minority immigrant entrepreneurs to 'break out' of local ethnic markets and 'break through' into more promising markets with greater opportunities. It analyzes the contextual and personal characteristics of the entrepreneurs that implement those strategies, based on a primary survey of South Asian entrepreneurs in the UK. The analysis suggests that breaking out of co-ethnic customer markets is neither necessary nor sufficient for entrepreneurial expansion. The critical factor is the entrepreneur's ability to break through into customer markets that are larger, by geographical reach or profit margins and value added. Many successful immigrant …

Foundations In Wisconsin: A Directory [29th Ed. 2010], Marquette University - Funding Information Center, Mary C. Frenn, Melanie Baier, Jeremy Blackwood, Anne Carpenter, Sarah Martin, Greg Sikora

Foundations in Wisconsin: A Directory

The 2010 production of Foundations in Wisconsin marks the 29th edition of the print directory and the 10th anniversary of the online version (www.wifoundations.org). The directory is designed as a research tool for grantseekers interested in locating information on private, corporate, and community foundations registered in Wisconsin. Each entry in this new edition has been updated or reviewed to provide the most current information available. Most of the data was drawn from IRS 990-PF tax returns filed by the foundations. Additional information was obtained from surveys, foundation Web sites, annual reports, and newsletters.

The nation’s economic downturn continued to have …

Consumer Show Visitors - A Follow-Up Survey Of Show Attendees: A Case Study , Kara Grau

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

This report highlights the results of a follow-up survey of visitors who attended the Washington Sportsmen's Show in Puyallup, WA in January, 2009. The survey was intended to gather information related to how many of the show attendees who visited a Montana Travel Region booth actually took a trip to Montana during 2009, what types of information they used in making decisions about the trip, and what they did while in Montana.

Travel And Recreation: Visitors Attractied To Open Space, Wildlife, And Character, Norma P. Nickerson

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

Outlook for 2011 and Review of 2010.

Montana Tourism: 2010 Review And 2011 Outlook, Norma P. Nickerson

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

Outlook for 2011 and Review for 2010.

Public Policy And Saving For Retirement: The “Autosave” Features Of The Pension Protection Act Of 2006, John Beshears, James Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, Brian Weller

Faculty Publications

On August 17, 2006, President Bush signed the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) into law, following its passage by both houses of Congress in a strong showing of bipartisan support.1 This law, heralded by some as the most sweeping piece of pension reform legislation since the Employee Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), contains many different pension reform provisions.2 In this paper, we focus on a subset of measures within the PPA adopted specifically to promote better savings outcomes in defined contribution savings plans.

Dual-Track Versus Single-Track Sell-Outs: An Empirical Analysis Of Competing Harvest Strategies, James C. Brau, Ninon K. Sutton, Nile W. Hatch

Faculty Publications

We investigate two non-traditional harvest strategies for selling a privately-held company. Dual-track private firms file for an IPO while also courting acquirers. These firms withdraw the IPO to be taken over. Dual-track public firms complete an IPO and are taken over shortly thereafter. Examining 679 takeovers from 1995–2004, we find private dual-track sell-outs earn a 22–26% higher premium and dual-track public sell-outs earn an 18–21% higher premium than single-track sell-outs. Larger, VC-backed, prestigious underwritten, and bubble-year firms have a higher propensity to take the dual-track path. The implication is that entrepreneurs may increase their harvest value by using a dual-track …

Regulatory Reform And Convergence In Banking: The Case Of China, James C. Brau, Drew Dahl, Hongjing Zhang, Mingming Zhou

Faculty Publications

We examine the effect of regulatory reform on the asset allocation and capitalization of Chinese banks, 2002 to 2007, a period following China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). Our empirical evidence rejects the hypothesis that banks in the Big Four, majority state, majority private, and majority foreign categories have common targeted levels of loans and capital in relation to assets. With respect to rates of adjustment towards those targets, our evidence is mixed. Domestic banks exhibit convergence in behavior toward each other but remain distinct from majority foreign banks. Overall, our findings provide evidence that, while the structure …

The Impact Of Direct And Indirect Experiences On The Development Of Environmental Knowledge, Attitudes, And Behavior, Mat D. Duerden, Peter A. Witt

Faculty Publications

This study employed a mixed-methods design to examine the relationship between nature experience type (e.g., direct and indirect) and learning outcomes (e.g., environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behavior) associated with an environmental education, international immersion program for adolescents. Longitudinal data from 108 participant and 49 comparison group members were analyzed to test the study’s hypotheses. Additionally, qualitative data were analyzed using grounded theory methodology to assess participants’ perceptions of these processes. The findings indicate that environmental knowledge increased more than environmental attitudes during the indirect portion of the program (i.e., preparatory program) whereas the direct portion (i.e., international workshop) produced similar …

The Effects Of Financial Statement Information Proximity And Feedback On Cash Flow Forecasts, Frank D. Hodge, Patrick E. Hopkins, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), in their joint Financial Statement Presentation project, are reconsidering the basic format of financial statements. The Boards' preliminary discussions related to this joint project indicate that they intend to modify the required financial statements to increase the proximity of performance-related information for each reported period, but also to reduce the number of reported periods. We provide evidence related to each of these potential changes by investigating the effects of financial-statement information proximity and the number of periods of reported performance on investors' ability to learn the forecast-relevant time-series …

Entrepreneurial Success: Differing Perceptions Of Entrepreneurs And Venture Capitalists, Ervin L. Black, F. Greg Burton, David A. Wood, Aaron F. Zimbelman

Faculty Publications

The recent credit crisis has made it more difficult for entrepreneurs to find funding. It is increasingly important for entrepreneurs to know what is important to venture capitalists (VCs) when they make their funding decisions. We interview entrepreneurs and VCs to determine traits these groups perceive as necessary for entrepreneurial success. We find that entrepreneurs cite traits inherent to their nature significantly more than VCs. Additionally, entrepreneurs who do not have previous VC funding experience differ significantly from VCs in identifying important factors for VC funding. In contrast, entrepreneurs with previous VC funding experience did not differ from VCs in …

Book-Tax Conformity, Earnings Persistence And The Association Between Earnings And Future Cash Flows, T.J. Atwood, Michael S. Drake, Linda A. Myers

Faculty Publications

Calls for eliminating differences between accounting earnings and taxable income in the U.S. have been debated extensively. Proponents of increased book-tax conformity argue that tax compliance will increase and earnings quality will improve. Opponents argue that earnings quality will decline. We examine whether the level of required book-tax conformity affects earnings persistence and the association between earnings and future cash flows. We develop a comprehensive book-tax conformity measure and find that earnings have lower persistence and a lower association with future cash flows when conformity is higher. Our evidence suggests that increased book-tax conformity may reduce earnings quality.

A Stakeholder Identity Orientation Approach To Corporate Social Performance In Family Firms, John B. Bingham, W. Gibb Dyer Jr., Isaac Smith, Gregory L. Adams

Faculty Publications

Extending the dialogue on corporate social performance (CSP) as descriptive stakeholder management (Clarkson, Acad Manage Rev 20:92, 1995), we examine differences in CSP activity between family and nonfamily firms. We argue that CSP activity can be explained by the firm’s identity orientation toward stakeholders (Brickson, Admin Sci Quart 50:576, 2005; Acad Manage Rev 32:864, 2007). Specifically, individualistic, relational, or collectivistic identity orientations can describe a firm’s level of CSP activity toward certain stakeholders. Family firms, we suggest, adopt a more relational orientation toward their stakeholders than nonfamily firms, and thus engage in higher levels of CSP. Further, we invoke collectivistic …

Building Entrepreneurship In Subsistence Markets: Microfranchising As An Employment Incubator, Lisa Jones Christensen, Helen Parsons, Jason Fairbourne

Faculty Publications

Scholars indicate significant interest in business models that support entrepreneurial behavior in developing markets [Wankel C., editor. Alleviating Poverty through Business Strategy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan 2008]—particularly as they relate to job creation. This research introduces microfranchising as a business model adaptation that helps low-income individuals overcome non credit-related barriers to entry in obtaining employment. This study reveals a clear challenge for researchers—to better understand microfranchising and the extent to which the practice creates employment and enables individual business success. Largely unanswered questions concern the profiles of typical microfranchisees as well as the impacts of microfranchising on low-income individuals in …

Infusing Critical Thinking Into An Employability Skills Program: The Effectiveness Of An Immersion Approach, Sophie Kennedy

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The demands of the knowledge economy have placed renewed emphasis on graduate employability and the development of higher-order thinking skills. Preparing graduates for the workplace requires new instructional approaches to develop a matrix of interrelated skills. This study investigates an immersion approach to developing employability skills with emphasis on the infusion of critical thinking skills in an undergraduate business degree.

The research is situated within the pragmatic paradigm and comprises a mixed methods approach. Analyses of project instructions, student reflections and test scores are presented in an explanatory case study in three parts: the infusion of critical thinking skills in …

Linking Uses Of Management Control Systems With Strategic Capabilities And Business Level Strategies For Organizational Performance Evidence From The Sri Lankan Textile And Apparel Industry, Nirosha D. Kapu Arachchilage

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research investigates how the uses of Management Control Systems (MCS), namely, diagnostic use and interactive use, as moderating variables, influence the relationship between business (competitive) strategies (which are determined by strategic capabilities) and organizational performance. Simons’ levers of control model, Porter’s theory of generic competitive strategy and the Resource Based View (RBV) of strategy have been considered as the underpinning theories and models of the study in developing the theoretical framework and hypotheses. The theoretical framework consists of two strategic capabilities (low cost competency and uniqueness competency), two generic business strategies (cost leadership and differentiation), two uses of MCS …

Do Voluntary Disclosures That Disavow The Reliability Of Mandated Fair Value Information Reflect Legitimate Concerns About Reliability?, Walter G. Blacconiere, James R. Frederickson, Marilyn F. Johnson, Melissa F. Lewis-Western

Faculty Publications

One consequence of the shift to fair value measurement is the emergence of voluntary disclosures in audited financial statements that question the reliability of mandated fair value information. We refer to these disclosures as reliability disavowals and address three questions: Are fair value estimates less reliable for firms that disavow? Do managers of disavowal firms have reason to believe that they cannot reliably estimate the disavowed fair values? Are factors indicative of reliability problems associated with the decision to disavow? We address these questions in the context of managers’ stock option compensation estimates disclosed under SFAS 123. Our results suggest …

An Investigation Of Female Career Progression And Development In The Irish Hospitality Industry., Richella Ryan Devereaux

Theses

In recent years, the increasing number of women at the lower positions in the hospitality industry and their underrepresentation in top management positions has made women’s status in the industry a great concern. The purpose of this study is to examine the career progression of female graduates in the Irish hospitality industry.

A qualitative approach in the form of in-depth interviews of twenty-one female middle and senior managers in the Irish hospitality industry provided the opportunity to gain insights into their experiences and barriers faced in advancing their careers to senior management positions.

The results of the current study identify …

Adapting Disneyland’S Service Strategy To Korea’S Everland Theme Park, Haesun Paik

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Disneyland is an American amusement park located in Anaheim, California, owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company. On July 18, 1955 the park was first opened to the public (Absolute Astronomy, 2009). Tourists come from all over the world to experience Disneyland not only for theme park, but also for its well-known quality of service, proven time and again by returning visitors. Behind the Disney World being the first, Disneyland is the second most visited park in the world having more than 14,800,000 visitors (TEA and ERA, 2008). Korea is one of the fastest growing countries in Asia and …

Building Entrepreneurship In Subsistence Markets: Microfranchising As An Employment Incubator, Lisa Jones, Helen Parsons, Jason Fairebourne

Faculty Publications

Scholars indicate significant interest in business models that support entrepreneurial behavior in developing markets [Wankel C., editor. Alleviating Poverty through Business Strategy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan 2008]—particularly as they relate to job creation. This research introduces microfranchising as a business model adaptation that helps low-income individuals overcome non credit-related barriers to entry in obtaining employment. This study reveals a clear challenge for researchers—to better understand microfranchising and the extent to which the practice creates employment and enables individual business success. Largely unanswered questions concern the profiles of typical microfranchisees as well as the impacts of microfranchising on low-income individuals in …

The Impact Of Employer Matching On Savings Plan Participation Under Automatic Enrollment, John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian

Faculty Publications

Companies have used a variety of approaches to encourage participation in employer- sponsored savings plans. The most common approach, the provision of an employer matching contribution, is now offered by the vast majority of large fi rms (Profi t Sharing Council of America 2006). Even with a match, however, savings plan participation rates are often surprisingly low (Choi, Laibson, and Madrian 2005), and empirical studies of matching contributions’ effect on plan participation have uniformly found relatively small effects (Andrews 1992; Papke and Poterba 1995; Papke 1995; Bassett, Fleming, and Rodrigues 1998; Kusko, Poterba, and Wilcox 1998; Choi et al. 2002; …

The Regulation Of Consumer Financial Products: An Introductory Essay With A Case Study On Payday Lending, John Y. Campbell, Howell E. Jackson, Brigitte C. Madrian, Peter Tufano

Faculty Publications

The recent financial crisis has led many to question how well businesses deliver consumer financial services and how well regulatory institutions address problems in consumer financial markets. In response, the Obama administration has proposed creating a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Other regulatory reforms have been advanced, and in some cases adopted, in recent years, at both the federal and state level. In this paper, we provide an overview of consumer financial markets, detailing the purposes they serve, the extent to which they suffer from market failures or other deficiencies, and how they are currently regulated. To illustrate our analytical …

Unethical Behavior In The Name Of The Company: The Moderating Effect Of Organizational Identification And Positive Reciprocity Beliefs On Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior, Elizabeth E. Umpress, John B. Bingham, Marie S. Mitchell

Faculty Publications

We examined the relationship between organizational identification and unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB)—unethical behaviors conducted by employees to potentially benefit the organization. We predicted that organizational identification would be positively related to UPB and that positive reciprocity beliefs would moderate and strengthen this relationship. The results from 2 field studies support the interaction effect and show that individuals who strongly identify with their organization are more likely to engage in UPB when they hold strong positive reciprocity beliefs. Given the nature of reciprocity, our findings may suggest that highly identified employees who hold strong reciprocity beliefs may conduct UPB with an …

The Stability Of Time Versus Money Valuations, Leonard Lee, Michelle P. Lee, Gal Zauberman

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In this work, we propose that the stability of consumer preferences in decision making differs depending on whether the resource in question is time or money. Two competing hypotheses are tested: whereas prior research has demonstrated greater ambiguity in the value of time (vs. money) thus pointing to less consistency in time valuation, a separate stream of research suggests that money (vs. time) lacks emotional tags and is more difficult to process, pointing to less consistency in money valuation. Our experimental results demonstrate that preferences based on money (vs. time) valuations are less transitive and consistent, supporting the emotion-based account.

Contingency Theory Of Strategic Conflict Management: Directions For The Practice Of Crisis Communication From A Decade Of Theory Development, Discovery And Dialogue, Augustine Pang, Yan Jin, Glen. T. Cameron

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The dilemma facing crisis scholars could not be more paradoxical: How does one explain and predict the outcome of a phenomenon – characteristics which Chaffee and Berger (1987) argued to be the foundation of a theory – that is so contextual-dependent, where the twists and turns of unfolding events often frus-trate the natural ebb of what one could reasonably surmise as logical trajectory? Admittedly, the bête noire for many in the field is that our powers of deductive reasoning, often woven from threads of foraged facts surrounding the unpredictability of crises, are often tragically compromised and encumbered by myriad complex-ities …

The Situated Production Of Stories, David Greatbatch, Timothy Adrian Robert Clark

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

At a general level storytelling is a pervasive feature of everyday discourse both within and outside organisations. Existing research on organisational stories indicates that they are not simply frivolous diversions that seek to amaze and entertain the recipients. Rather they may serve a number of important functions for organisations, which include socialising new organisational members by articulating the culture of an organisation; assisting with the development and verbalisation of visions and strategies; helping develop points of similarity within disparate and dispersed organisational groups; sustaining and legitimating existing power relationships as well as providing opportunities for resistance against them; and acting …