The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between managers’ short-term, quarterly earnings forecast characteristics and earnings management through real…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between managers’ short-term, quarterly earnings forecast characteristics and earnings management through real activities manipulation.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a propensity-score matched sample from 2000 to 2015, the author examines whether, compared to non-issuers, firms issuing short-term earnings forecasts exhibit abnormal levels of earnings management through the manipulation of real activities such as acceleration of sales, changes in shipment schedules and delaying R&D and maintenance expenditures.
Findings
The finding of this study suggests that firms actually engage in less real activities manipulation when they provide short-term management earnings forecasts. This result does not support the practitioners’ criticism that providing short-term management earnings forecasts increases earnings management. Instead, it suggests that providing management earnings forecasts can reduce information asymmetry between managers and external shareholders, thereby constraining managers’ opportunistic behaviors.
Originality/value
Practitioners have expressed concerns that issuing earnings forecasts may foster managerial myopia, therefore, increasing earnings management. However, recent empirical study found evidence that management earnings forecast mitigates accrual-based earnings management, which is inconsistent with practitioners’ view. This study hence aims to provide timely evidence to this debate by examining the relation between management earnings forecasts and real activities manipulation.
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Kimberly Key, Teresa Lightner and Bing Luo
This study investigates the relation between residential property values and both property taxes and public services in Georgia’s counties. Capitalization theory predicts that…
Abstract
This study investigates the relation between residential property values and both property taxes and public services in Georgia’s counties. Capitalization theory predicts that property values relate negatively to property taxes, and positively to public services. Palmon and Smith (1998) state that errors in public service measures create a capitalization coefficient bias that makes it difficult to isolate tax effects from public service effects. This paper is a first step in defining and quantifying public services and their marginal effect on housing values. It develops public service measures in four quality-of-life areas – economy, education, health, and public safety. The models suggest a strong negative relation between effective tax rates and property values, and a significant positive association between the public service measures and property values. Analyses indicate that property taxes are capitalized into housing prices at greater than 100%, suggesting prior underestimations based on measurement errors in public service variables.
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Thomas Gillier, Akin Osman Kazakci and Gerald Piat
Scholars and practitioners have both emphasized the importance of collaboration in an innovation context. They have also largely acknowledged that the definition of common purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
Scholars and practitioners have both emphasized the importance of collaboration in an innovation context. They have also largely acknowledged that the definition of common purpose is a major driver of successful collaboration, but surprisingly, researchers have put little effort into investigating the process whereby the partners define the common purpose. The purpose of this paper is to explore the generation of common purpose (GCP) in innovation partnerships.
Design/methodology/approach
An action‐research approach combined with modeling has been followed. The authors’ research is based on an in‐depth qualitative case study of a cross‐industry exploratory partnership through which four partners, from very different arenas, aim to collectively define innovation projects based on micro‐nanotechnologies. Based on a design reasoning framework, the mechanisms of GCP mechanism are depicted.
Findings
Regarding GCP, two main interdependent facets are identified: the determination of existing intersections between the parties’ concept and knowledge spaces (“Matching”); and an introspective learning process that allows the parties to transforms those spaces (“Building”).
Practical implications
The better understanding of the GCP and the specific notion of “C‐K profiles”, which is an original way to characterize each partner involved in a partnership, should improve the capabilities of organizations to efficiently define collaborative innovation projects.
Originality/value
The paper explores one of the cornerstones of successful collaboration in innovation: the process whereby several parties define the common purpose of their partnership.
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Zhuming Bi, Chaomin Luo, Zhonghua Miao, Bing Zhang and Chris W.J. Zhang
Since the market penetrations of service robots are only successful to a limited types of services, the purpose of the paper is to look into the reasons why the market…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the market penetrations of service robots are only successful to a limited types of services, the purpose of the paper is to look into the reasons why the market penetrations are lagged from both technical and nontechnical perspectives. Automatic robotic recharging services, especially robotic refueling systems, are used as the case study for the investigation.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper surveyed the relevant technologies and products and conducted the feasibility study and risk management for new development of automated robotic refueling systems. This paper developed a cost model for the evaluation of robotic refueling systems.
Findings
There are no major technical barriers that exist for the development of robotic refueling systems, but two main risks of developing new robotic refueling systems are interference of existing patents and the extreme effort to further reduce the development cost of automated refueling systems. The recommendations have been made to new developers of service robots.
Research limitations/implications
The suggestions are made for further development on service robots, in general; however, this paper does not cover the physical development of service robots.
Practical implications
This study was actually conducted for a client company who has a strong interest in developing new products for automatic robotic refueling systems. The reported work has great significance for new comers in this area to understand the state of the art, technological challenges and some potential risks in the field.
Originality/value
To the best of authors’ knowledge, it will be the first academic paper to summarize the research and development effort on automatic recharging business. The targeted field is very typical in promoting robots in services. Even robotic refueling was proposed at very early stage of robotic application, the market penetration of refueling robots the market penetration is very limited, not because the technology readiness but some other factors. This work has its significance to identify technical and nontechnical challenges to promote robots in services.
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Hui Guo, Jinzhou Jiang, Suoting Hu, Chun Yang, Qiqi Xiang, Kou Luo, Xinxin Zhao, Bing Li, Ziquan Yan, Liubin Niu and Jianye Zhao
The bridge expansion joint (BEJ) is a key device for accommodating spatial displacement at the beam end, and for providing vertical support for running trains passing over the gap…
Abstract
Purpose
The bridge expansion joint (BEJ) is a key device for accommodating spatial displacement at the beam end, and for providing vertical support for running trains passing over the gap between the main bridge and the approach bridge. For long-span railway bridges, it must also be coordinated with rail expansion joint (REJ), which is necessary to accommodate the expansion and contraction of, and reducing longitudinal stress in, the rails. The main aim of this study is to present analysis of recent developments in the research and application of BEJs in high-speed railway (HSR) long-span bridges in China, and to propose a performance-based integral design method for BEJs used with REJs, from both theoretical and engineering perspectives.
Design/methodology/approach
The study first presents a summary on the application and maintenance of BEJs in HSR long-span bridges in China representing an overview of their state of development. Results of a survey of typical BEJ faults were analyzed, and field testing was conducted on a railway cable-stayed bridge in order to obtain information on the major mechanical characteristics of its BEJ under train load. Based on the above, a performance-based integral design method for BEJs with maximum expansion range 1600 mm (±800 mm), was proposed, covering all stages from overall conceptual design to consideration of detailed structural design issues. The performance of the novel BEJ design thus derived was then verified via theoretical analysis under different scenarios, full-scale model testing, and field testing and commissioning.
Findings
Two major types of BEJs, deck-type and through-type, are used in HSR long-span bridges in China. Typical BEJ faults were found to mainly include skewness of steel sleepers at the bridge gap, abnormally large longitudinal frictional resistance, and flexural deformation of the scissor mechanisms. These faults influence BEJ functioning, and thus adversely affect track quality and train running performance at the beam end. Due to their simple and integral structure, deck-type BEJs with expansion range 1200 mm (± 600 mm) or less have been favored as a solution offering improved operational conditions, and have emerged as a standard design. However, when the expansion range exceeds the above-mentioned value, special design work becomes necessary. Therefore, based on engineering practice, a performance-based integral design method for BEJs used with REJs was proposed, taking into account four major categories of performance requirements, i.e., mechanical characteristics, train running quality, durability and insulation performance. Overall BEJ design must mainly consider component strength and the overall stiffness of BEJ; the latter factor in particular has a decisive influence on train running performance at the beam end. Detailed BEJ structural design must stress minimization of the frictional resistance of its sliding surface. The static and dynamic performance of the newly-designed BEJ with expansion range 1600 mm have been confirmed to be satisfactory, via numerical simulation, full-scale model testing, and field testing and commissioning.
Originality/value
This research provides a broad overview of the status of BEJs with large expansion range in HSR long-span bridges in China, along with novel insights into their design.
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Ying Zheng, Daying Yan and Bing Ren
This paper aims to propose an integrated framework combining the cost-reduction rationale and the institution-leveraging rationale to explain how institutional distance, both…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose an integrated framework combining the cost-reduction rationale and the institution-leveraging rationale to explain how institutional distance, both formal and informal, influences emerging multinational enterprises (EMNEs)’ foreign direct investment (FDI) location choice. This paper also explores the moderating role of EMNEs’ FDI experience and strategic intent on value chain positioning as a reflection of firm heterogeneities, on the link between institutional distance and location choice.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper tests the hypotheses based on a firm-level longitudinal data set of FDI by Chinese EMNEs. The unique data are manually collected from Chinese companies listed on Shenzhen and Shanghai Stock Exchanges, composed of 250 FDI entries of 122 manufacturing firms from 2006 to 2010. The conditional logit model is used to estimate the proposed main effect and moderating effect.
Findings
Cultural distance does not deter Chinese EMNEs’ entrance in general, but firms investing in low value-added manufacturing subsidiaries are more likely to choose culturally similar countries than those investing in high value-added subsidiaries such as in upstream R&D and downstream marketing. Formal institutional distance with positive direction promotes Chinese EMNEs’ entrance, and this effect is enhanced when firms have less FDI experience and have the strategic intent to invest in high value-added subsidiaries.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the current literature by identifying a holistic view of the institutional influences on FDI location choice of EMNEs and revealing how firm-level heterogeneities, particularly FDI experience and strategic intent of subsidiary value chain positioning, shape the boundary conditions of the institutional effects in different ways.
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In the aftermath of the global economic crisis, the pursuit of new perspectives and different growth models is imperative. One of the most significant trends of our time is the…
Abstract
In the aftermath of the global economic crisis, the pursuit of new perspectives and different growth models is imperative. One of the most significant trends of our time is the rise of Asia in the world economy. After centuries of Western economic dominance, China, India, and the rest of the East, alongside emerging economies more broadly, are beginning to challenge the West for positions of global industry leadership and underlying managerial philosophies and perspectives. In this paper, I review some key philosophical insights from Asia that have underpinned the success of many Asian businesses for generations, hoping that it will encourage more efforts – conceptually, theoretically, and empirically – leading the discourse on fresh new perspectives on business in emerging economies in general, and on Asian management in particular.
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Yun Kyung Oh and Jisu Yi
The evaluation of perceived attribute performance reflected in online consumer reviews (OCRs) is critical in gaining timely marketing insights. This study proposed a text mining…
Abstract
Purpose
The evaluation of perceived attribute performance reflected in online consumer reviews (OCRs) is critical in gaining timely marketing insights. This study proposed a text mining approach to measure consumer sentiments at the feature level and their asymmetric impacts on overall product ratings.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed 49,130 OCRs generated for 14 wireless earbud products on Amazon.com. Word combinations of the major quality dimensions and related sentiment words were identified using bigram natural language processing (NLP) analysis. This study combined sentiment dictionaries and feature-related bigrams and measured feature level sentiment scores in a review. Furthermore, the authors examined the effect of feature level sentiment on product ratings.
Findings
The results indicate that customer sentiment for product features measured from text reviews significantly and asymmetrically affects the overall rating. Building upon the three-factor theory of customer satisfaction, the key quality dimensions of wireless earbuds are categorized into basic, excitement and performance factors.
Originality/value
This study provides a novel approach to assess customer feature level evaluation of a product and its impact on customer satisfaction based on big data analytics. By applying the suggested methodology, marketing managers can gain in-depth insights into consumer needs and reflect this knowledge in their future product or service improvement.
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Jinyun Sun and Feiting Wu
This case is mainly about the development journey of Tujia, a unicorn in China's accommodations-sharing sector, as well as the development status of the sector. On December 1…
Abstract
This case is mainly about the development journey of Tujia, a unicorn in China's accommodations-sharing sector, as well as the development status of the sector. On December 1, 2011, Tujia.com—China's first medium- and high-end vacation apartment booking platform—was formally launched, and it announced the first round of capital injection in less than half a year after its launch. It completed D and D+ round of financing on August 3, 2015, securing $300 million with an estimated value exceeding $1 billion. The completion of this financing round meant that Tujia formally entered the $1 billion club composed of “unicorn” Internet companies. In June 2016, it announced the strategic M&A of Mayi; in October 2016, it announced its strategic agreement with Ctrip.com and Qunar.com for the M&A of their apartment and homestay businesses. The completion of these transactions manifested the matrix with the four major platforms Tujia, Mayi, Ctrip, and Qunar. Since then, Tujia has become the absolute pacesetter in China's online accommodations-sharing sector.