Rebecca L. Gardner, Ellen Calhoun and Jeanne E. Boyle
In 1990 we compiled an annotated bibliography of official state lists of endangered, threatened, and rare species. In gathering information for that bibliography, which appeared…
Abstract
In 1990 we compiled an annotated bibliography of official state lists of endangered, threatened, and rare species. In gathering information for that bibliography, which appeared in Reference Services Review in Spring 1991, we found numerous unofficial sources of state lists, such as those developed by universities, institutes, and Natural Heritage Programs, which also provide valuable information on statuses of endangered, threatened, and rare species. A comprehensive search for unofficial lists results in this second bibliography.
David P. Stowell and Evan Meagher
Gary Parr, deputy chairman of Lazard Freres & Co. and Kellogg class of 1980, could not believe his ears. “You can't mean that,” he said, reacting to the lowered bid given by Doug…
Abstract
Gary Parr, deputy chairman of Lazard Freres & Co. and Kellogg class of 1980, could not believe his ears. “You can't mean that,” he said, reacting to the lowered bid given by Doug Braunstein, JP Morgan head of investment banking, for Parr's client, legendary investment bank Bear Stearns. Less than eighteen months after trading at an all-time high of $172.61 a share, Bear now had little choice but to accept Morgan's humiliating $2-per-share, Federal Reserve-sanctioned bailout offer. “I'll have to get back to you.” Hanging up the phone, Parr leaned back and gave an exhausted sigh. Rumors had swirled around Bear ever since two of its hedge funds imploded as a result of the subprime housing crisis, but time and again, the scrappy Bear appeared to have weathered the storm. Parr's efforts to find a capital infusion for the bank had resulted in lengthy discussions and marathon due diligence sessions, but one after another, potential investors had backed away, scared off in part by Bear's sizable mortgage holdings at a time when every bank on Wall Street was reducing its positions and taking massive write-downs in the asset class. In the past week, those rumors had reached a fever pitch, with financial analysts openly questioning Bear's ability to continue operations and its clients running for the exits. Now Sunday afternoon, it had already been a long weekend, and it would almost certainly be a long night, as the Fed-backed bailout of Bear would require onerous negotiations before Monday's market open. By morning, the eighty-five-year-old investment bank, which had survived the Great Depression, the savings and loan crisis, and the dot-com implosion, would cease to exist as an independent firm. Pausing briefly before calling CEO Alan Schwartz and the rest of Bear's board, Parr allowed himself a moment of reflection. How had it all happened?
An analysis of the fall of Bear Stearns facilitates an understanding of the difficulties affecting the entire investment banking industry: high leverage, overreliance on short-term financing, excessive risk taking on proprietary trading and asset management desks, and myopic senior management all contributed to the massive losses and loss of confidence. The impact on the global economy was of epic proportions.
Details

Keywords
Bhanu Balasubramnian and Ken B. Cyree
We examine yield spreads, defined as the difference between the yield to maturity of the risky bank bond and that of a risk-free bond with similar maturity and other…
Abstract
Purpose
We examine yield spreads, defined as the difference between the yield to maturity of the risky bank bond and that of a risk-free bond with similar maturity and other characteristics, after controlling for market, liquidity and tax factors. We use senior bonds issued by banks since one of the goals of the Dodd–Frank Act (DFA) is to reduce the possibility of a full-fledged bailout of banks. If markets do not believe that banks will be bailed out, senior bondholders will bear a higher exposure to default risks, and such risk perceptions will be reflected in the yield spread levels.
Design/methodology/approach
We use generalized method of moments (GMM) for parameter estimation with standard errors corrected for autocorrelation and heteroskedasticity using the Newey–West (1987) procedure with five lags.
Findings
Our results indicate a discount of 133 basis points in yield spreads due to the TBTF or too-big-to-fail factor prior to the DFA. However, the market charges a net premium of 36 basis points for the TBTF factor immediately after the DFA (a total change of 169 basis points). We examine commercial banks and noncommercial banks (primarily investment banks and insurance firms) separately. For commercial banks, the discounts observed prior to the DFA changes to a premium after the DFA. For investment banks, the higher premium charged prior to the DFA is reduced after the DFA.
Research limitations/implications
Not all banks issue bonds and not all issued bonds trade in the secondary market frequently.
Practical implications
After the Great Recession, there is a sustained effort across the globe, to remove the possibility of a bailout of very large banks. With systemic risk monitoring, improved capital regulation, stress testing and other regulations on banks and other shadow banking organizations, the question of whether market perceives implicit guarantee of very large financial institutions. We have examined a new security that is not treated as capital.
Social implications
If taxpayer bailouts are avoided, such resources can be used for other developmental purposes. The moral hazard problems of bank manager are also reduced.
Originality/value
We are the first to exclusively examine the senior bonds issued by banks around the enactment of the DFA, 2010.
Details
Keywords
Andreas Größler, Bjørge Timenes Laugen, Rebecca Arkader and Afonso Fleury
The vast majority of literature relating to operations management originates from studies in developed markets. Emerging markets are increasingly important in global business…
Abstract
Purpose
The vast majority of literature relating to operations management originates from studies in developed markets. Emerging markets are increasingly important in global business. With this in mind, the purpose of this paper is to analyze differences in outsourcing strategies between manufacturing firms from emerging markets and from developed markets.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on statistical analyses of a large data set of manufacturing firms obtained from the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS).
Findings
The findings suggest that companies that outsource internationally focus on achieving cost benefits, while companies that outsource domestically focus on achieving capacity flexibility. In addition, the reasons to outsource were found to be independent of the location of firms in both emerging and developed markets. However, within the group of firms from emerging markets, strategies seem to differ according to whether firms are domestically owned or are subsidiaries of companies from developed markets.
Practical implications
The decisions of firms to outsource do not differ much whether the firms are located in developed‐ or in emerging‐market economies. Firms outsource domestically when they want to increase their capacity flexibility; they outsource internationally when looking for cost advantages.
Originality/value
The value of the paper is that it illuminates an important contemporary phenomenon based on analyses on data from a large‐scale international survey encompassing firms both in developed and in emerging markets.
Details
Keywords
Muhammad Raheel Matloob and Syed Tahir Hussain Rizvi
Introduction: The current study examines the relationship of reciprocity and the knowledge sharing behavior (KSB) with the mediating role of organizational commitment.Aim: The…
Abstract
Introduction: The current study examines the relationship of reciprocity and the knowledge sharing behavior (KSB) with the mediating role of organizational commitment.
Aim: The purpose of this chapter is to examine linkages between reciprocity and KSB in Pakistani Pharmaceutical industry basing on social exchange theory (SET) (Blau, 1964). Employees’ affective and normative organizational commitments were proposed as mediator to explain these relationships.
Method: Data were collected using Survey Questionnaires from a sample of 287 managers and staff of sales department of different pharmaceutical firms in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. This is an explanatory study with a quantitative approach. KSB model was developed and tested using a two-stage analysis. Initially, path analysis using AMOS was carried out followed by mediation through process analysis.
Findings: Affective and normative commitment was found to be mediating between reciprocity and KSB using SET.
Originality of the Study: Few empirical studies have analyzed the effects of reciprocity on KSB, especially in context of pharmaceutical industry. Mediation of employee’s commitment could provide new insights to management practitioners in fostering KSB.
Implications: The finding will allow organizations in general and pharmaceutical firms in particular, to focus more on commitment toward their employee as a reciprocal benefit for improving knowledge sharing culture in their organizations.
Details
Keywords
Adopting a multidimensional view is a characteristic of systems thinking in school leadership, which involves recognizing that each component of the school system necessarily has…
Abstract
Purpose
Adopting a multidimensional view is a characteristic of systems thinking in school leadership, which involves recognizing that each component of the school system necessarily has more than one cause, result or solution. This study explores how case-based learning has contributed to the development of adopting a multidimensional view in educational leadership students.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study was qualitative in nature. Study participants were 32 graduate students from an Israeli college of education who participated in case-based learning held in a 14-session course. The data collected for this study included journal entries written by these students after each session. Overall, 318 journal entries were analyzed through a four-step process: sorting, coding, categorizing and theorizing.
Findings
Data analysis indicated three aspects of adopting a multidimensional view developed through case-based learning: acquiring a principal's perspective, recognizing other schools' perspectives and exposure to other individuals' perspectives.
Originality/value
This study joins other recent efforts to find ways to develop influential educational leaders, suggesting that case-based learning contributes to the development of adopting a multidimensional view in educational leadership students.
Details
Keywords
Alton Y.K. Chua, Dion H. Goh and Rebecca P. Ang
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which Web 2.0 applications are prevalent in government web sites, the ways in which Web 2.0 applications have been used…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which Web 2.0 applications are prevalent in government web sites, the ways in which Web 2.0 applications have been used in government web sites, as well as whether the presence of Web 2.0 applications correlates with the perceived quality of government web sites.
Design/methodology/approach
Divided equally between developing and advanced economies, a total of 200 government web sites were analysed using content analysis and multiple regression analysis.
Findings
The prevalence of seven Web 2.0 applications in descending order was: RSS, multimedia sharing services, blogs, forums, social tagging services, social networking services and wikis. More web sites in advanced countries include Web 2.0 applications than those in developing countries. The presence of Web 2.0 applications was found to have a correlation with the overall web site quality, and in particular, service quality.
Research limitations/implications
This paper only covers government web sites in English. Emerging genres of Web 2.0 applications such as mashups and virtual worlds have not been included. Moreover the data were drawn solely from the public domain.
Practical implications
Decision makers and e‐government web developers may benchmark their own efforts in deploying Web 2.0 applications against this study. The numerous exemplars cited here serve as a springboard to generate more ideas on how Web 2.0 applications could be used and harnessed to improve the overall quality of government web sites.
Originality/value
This paper unites two research interests: Web 2.0 and web site quality. It also extends previous studies by investigating the suite of Web 2.0 applications found in government web sites around the world.