Omar Esqueda, Thanh Ngo and Daphne Wang
This paper examines the effect of managerial insider trading on analyst forecast accuracy, dispersion and bias. Specifically, the authors test whether insider-trading information…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the effect of managerial insider trading on analyst forecast accuracy, dispersion and bias. Specifically, the authors test whether insider-trading information is positively associated with the precision of earnings forecasts. In addition, this relationship between Regulation Fair Disclosure (FD) and the Galleon insider trading case is examined.
Design/methodology/approach
Pooled ordinary least squares (Pooled OLS) rregressions with year-fixed effects, firm-fixed effects, and firm-level clustered standard errors are used. Our proxies for forecast precision are regressed on alternative measures of insider trading activities and a vector of control variables.
Findings
Insider-trading information is positively associated with the precision of earnings forecasts. Analysts provide better forecast accuracy, less forecast dispersion and lower forecast bias among firms with insider trading in the six months leading to the forecast issues. In addition, bullish (bearish) insider trades are associated with increased (decreased) forecast bias. Insider trading information complements analysts' independent opinion and increases the precision of their forecast.
Practical implications
Regulators may pursue rules that promote the rapid disclosure of managerial insider trades, particularly given the increasing availability of Internet tools. Securities regulators may attempt to increase transparency and enhance the reporting procedures of corporate insiders, for example, using Internet sources with direct release to the public to ensure more timely information dissemination.
Originality/value
The authors document a positive association between earnings forecast precision and managerial insider trading up to six months prior to the forecast issue. This relationship is stronger after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) prohibited the selective disclosure of material nonpublic information through Regulation FD. In addition, the association between insider trading and forecast accuracy has weakened after the Galleon insider trading case.
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Robert Houmes, Charlie Chulee Jun, Kim Capriotti and Daphne Wang
This study aims to investigate the relations between long-window stock returns and prior years’ increases in DuPont identity components: profit margin and asset turnover. In…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the relations between long-window stock returns and prior years’ increases in DuPont identity components: profit margin and asset turnover. In particular, the authors examine the relative effectiveness of profit margin and asset turnover to predict years ahead stock returns.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the assertions, the authors regress raw, Capital Asset Pricing Model and Fama-French returns on controls and variables of interest, profit margin and asset turnover, lagged years t − 1, t − 2 and t − 3. To control for factors that could affect returns over the long windows, they also include returns lagged over years t − 1, t − 2 and t − 3 to coincide with the lagged profit margin and asset turnover variables of interest.
Findings
Results show a negative (positive) relation between returns and increases in lagged profit margin (asset turnover). However, the negative returns-profit margin relation is mitigated when increases in profit margin and asset turnover occur in the same lagged year.
Originality/value
This study adds to the existing body of research on the DuPont identity by temporally evaluating the relative long-run contributions of profit margin and asset turnover to firm value.
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Robert Houmes, Daphne Wang and Thanh Ngo
The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate how audit quality affects the cost of equity (COE) defined benefit pension risk relation. As an antecedent to these tests…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate how audit quality affects the cost of equity (COE) defined benefit pension risk relation. As an antecedent to these tests, this study first uses implied COE measures and their pension intensity risk predictors to examine the relation between a defined benefit plan (DBP) firm’s implied COE and pension intensity risk. Then, using these measures, the authors provide new evidence on how audit quality affects this relation.
Design/methodology/approach
Using panel data over fiscal years 1999–2014, fixed effects models regress dependent variable, implied the COE on controls and proxies that measure pension intensity risk and pension intensity risk conditional on the quality of the audit.
Findings
This study documents that audit quality attenuates the positive relation between a sponsoring firm’s COE and pension risk. The authors rationalize these findings by asserting that the positive relation between a sponsoring firm’s COE and pension intensity risk reflects increased financial risk associated with higher pension obligations but the quality of the auditor attenuates this risk. This paper further documents that these findings are robust to a sponsoring firms’ level of financial distress.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this research is that the sample is limited to DBPs companies only. Although results of the tests show similar results for controls that are used in other COE-related studies that include DBP and non-DBP firms, the generalizability of the findings may be limited to the extent that the financial characteristics of firms without defined contribution plans differ from the sample.
Practical implications
Results of this study suggest that while pension intensity risk has COE implications, managers may be able to mitigate these effects by managing their plans and utilizing high-quality auditors.
Originality/value
Using implied COE and pension intensity risk measures, this study provides new information on the favorable effect that high-quality audits have on the COE – pension risk relation.
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Daphne Tomlinson and Mary Cordiner
This paper considers factors central to the design, specification and implementation of a private bibliographic database for internally generated techno‐commercial report…
Abstract
This paper considers factors central to the design, specification and implementation of a private bibliographic database for internally generated techno‐commercial report documentation: emphasis is placed on pragmatic solutions resulting from experiences at PA Technology in developing a system based on custom‐designed menu‐driven software for an existing Wang VS computer installation. A systematic survey of potential users highlighted the Company's needs and requirements, identified the desirability of a distributed search capability and consequently the paramount importance of user‐friendliness. Subject access to documents emerged as an overriding need which led to the development of a retrieval language based on a controlled vocabulary structured hierarchically. Existing thesauri were assessed for use in indexing and searching the documentation and rapidly developing areas of technology were felt to be inadequately represented; hence a dynamic vocabulary was developed in‐house. Further additional searchable fields conveyed a high degree of flexibility and satisfied the Company's perceived needs. The majority of the desirable features were incorporated when the database was first released within a relatively short timescale, eighteen man‐months after project initiation. The modular approach adopted permits further enhancement with minimal resources.
L.M. Daphne Yiu, Andy C.L. Yeung and Abe P.L. Jong
In this research, we empirically examine the impact of Business Intelligence (BI) systems on operational capability in high-tech sectors. We also seek to understand the contextual…
Abstract
Purpose
In this research, we empirically examine the impact of Business Intelligence (BI) systems on operational capability in high-tech sectors. We also seek to understand the contextual factors that facilitate the adoption of BI systems.
Design/methodology/approach
We adopt Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and event study methodology, and analyze the financial data for a sample of 144 US firms which adopted BI systems from 2005–2014, and compare them to control firms without BI systems.
Findings
We find that the implementation of BI systems leads to higher operational capability, particularly for large high-tech firms with high technology intensity. We further show that technology intensity and firm size are important contextual factors for firms to reap the benefits of BI systems.
Practical implications
We demonstrate how benefits from the adoption of BI systems are likely to be strengthened. The benefits of BI systems depend on firms' technology intensity and firm size of high-tech firms. Accessing relevant and timely reports for decision-making is particularly important in the highly dynamic, volatile and competitive high-tech sectors.
Originality/value
We contribute to the literature by providing empirical evidence that the adoption of BI systems can improve firms' operational capability and show that technology intensity and firm size are important contextual factors for firms to reap the benefits of BI systems. We advance the understanding regarding the contextual factors in which firms are more likely to gain additional benefits from their adoptions of BI systems.
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Andrea Tonner, Kathy Hamilton and Paul Hewer
Our paper is centred on exploring the experiences of opening up closed doors to strangers in the context of home exchange.
Abstract
Purpose
Our paper is centred on exploring the experiences of opening up closed doors to strangers in the context of home exchange.
Methodology/approach
This paper is based on a year-long research project which has drawn on multiple qualitative methods of data collection. A bricolage approach was adopted to enable the authors to gather data which is sensitive to multivocality and conscious of difference within the consumer experience.
Findings
Our findings demonstrate that home exchangers treat their home as an asset to be capitalised, to allow them to travel to places and communities otherwise unreachable. Home exchangers simultaneously engage in the symbolic creation of home in a temporary environment and utilise the kinship and community networks of their home exchange partner.
Practical implications
Our paper adds depth and an insight to the increasing media coverage of the home exchange phenomenon.
Social implications
As a consumption practice that is witnessing widespread appeal, home exchange uncovers evidence of trust amongst strangers. While it is common practice to open the home in order to build friendship, it is less common for this invitation to be extended to strangers.
Originality/value
We extend the extensive theorisation of the home as a symbolic environment and reveal that the home can also be used in an enterprising fashion.
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Amiram Markovich, Kalanit Efrat and Daphne R. Raban
This study aims to augment the understanding of dynamic capabilities (DCs) by exploring the interrelations among the DC categories (sensing, seizing, reconfiguring) and the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to augment the understanding of dynamic capabilities (DCs) by exploring the interrelations among the DC categories (sensing, seizing, reconfiguring) and the distinct impact of each DC on firm performance under low and high levels of competitive intensity.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is based on a cross-sectional survey of 139 managers in Israel. The data were collected through Web-based questionnaires using the Qualtrics software. A two-stage data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
The findings indicate that DCs follow a sequence in which sensing drives seizing, which, in turn, enhances reconfiguring. The effects of sensing are mainly manifested through its direct impact on seizing, with no evidence for an impact of sensing on company performance. Moreover, under low competitive intensity, only seizing appears to impact performance, while under high competitive intensity, reconfiguring joins seizing in improving firm performance.
Originality/value
The study's findings advance the debate on the direct vs sequential nature of DCs by indicating an internal DC sequence. Our research also advocates for a crucial role of sensing in enhancing DCs, regardless of the level of competitive intensity. Furthermore, this research expands the understanding of the consequences of DCs and enables the prioritization of DC categories under low and high competitive intensity.
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Édney Santos and Daphne Halkias
The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to gain a deeper understanding of the views of stakeholders residing within impoverished communities in Angola on rapid…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to gain a deeper understanding of the views of stakeholders residing within impoverished communities in Angola on rapid technology diffusion and its implication on labor market challenges within their regions. To address this gap, and consistent with the qualitative paradigm, this paper conducted methodological triangulation of the study’s multiple data sources, including semistructured interviews and archival data in the form of government labor reports, reflective field notes and archival data to establish the trustworthiness of the study’s data analysis and findings.
Design/methodology/approach
A gap in the literature exists between the general diffusion of technological innovations and socioeconomic development that results in an ambiguous connection between theory, academia and professional practice among sub-Saharan African countries. To inform governments in developing countries on how to effectively achieve the diffusion of innovations (DoI), this integrative literature review supports a broader qualitative multiple case study that offers insights into the views of stakeholders residing within impoverished communities in Angola, on rapid technology diffusion and its implication for labor market challenges. This overview of existing research offers a targeted knowledge base that can support future research and help promote the potential for socioeconomic development in low-income countries. By addressing the patterns of the relationship between various economic imbalances and the adoption of technology that promote the social divide, along with highlighting the importance of understanding the overall technological dualism between various social groups, promises effective policies for successful DoI in impoverished sub-Saharan African regions by evaluating its impact on local labor market challenges.
Findings
The results of this multiple case study research oversee a thematic analysis of the data collected based on the study’s multiple sources, following a cross-case analysis in which this paper synthesizes the findings of the initial thematic analysis of data to answer the study’s central research question. The multiple case study approach in this research follows the concept of replication logic discussed by Yin (2017) in which the same findings are replicated across multiple cases as similarities and differences are traced across cases, and the study results obtained in this way are deemed robust and reliable.
Research limitations/implications
A potential key limitation in this study was associated to the participants’ limited experiences about the study’s central phenomenon, which if inadequate, could not have been reflective of the challenges faced and shared by the target population. This study mitigates the limitation with an observation in which a much sharper understanding of the participants’ knowledge about the topic of interest was developed. Another limitation was the sample size that could have been small and may not be representative of the entire population. This study mitigates the limitation through careful interpretation of the data and strong conclusion of results.
Practical implications
For practical implications, this study emphasized the importance of participative approaches to ICT implementation that if well adapted by policymakers could lead to a more contextually anchored ICT-supported poverty alleviation within different dimensions of poverty.
Social implications
This study addresses an under-researched area on why innovation policy initiatives calling for technology diffusion in Angola continue to stall rather than combating labor market challenges in impoverished communities. This study brings the voices of local populations on technology diffusion in impoverished regions of Angola to the extant literature, launching the development of a body of knowledge that may point the way to a promising avenue of social change through innovation and technology diffusion.
Originality/value
This research is original and significant in that it addresses an under-researched area on innovation policy initiatives calling for technology diffusion in Angola that continue to stall rather than combating labor market challenges in impoverished communities. This study also makes an original contribution to Rogers’s seminal theory and concept of diffusion of innovations. The study’s results guided further research in technology adoption and innovation diffusion within Angola, a nation faced with poor human capital development and an increasing proportion of the world’s poorest people and unemployment.
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Shefali Nandan, Daphne Halkias, Paul W. Thurman, Marcos Komodromos, Baker Ahmad Alserhan, Chris Adendorff, Norashfah Hanim Yaakop Yahaya Alhaj, Alfredo De Massis, Eleanna Galanaki, Norma Juma, Eileen Kwesiga, Anayo D. Nkamnebe and Claire Seaman
The purpose of this paper is to examine affective commitment, normative commitment, and continuance commitment in a cross-national context to identify if the effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine affective commitment, normative commitment, and continuance commitment in a cross-national context to identify if the effect of country-specific cultural orientation on organizational commitment of faculty in higher education functions invariably in different countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The work expands on Meyer and Allen’s (1991) three-component model of organizational commitment. It includes relevant literature review on ten countries and the results of a survey of university faculty members, assessing their institutions’ human resources practices and their effect on organizational commitment. Basic descriptive statistics were performed on nominal and interval data, means, medians, and standard deviations were computed, and tests of mean equivalence, including ANOVA tests, were performed. In certain instances, Pearson and Spearman correlations were computed to ascertain correlation, and χ2 tests for randomized response were used, while Cronbach’s α test helped to establish survey instrument validity.
Findings
Though certain differences may exist between different countries and cultures with respect to the three-component model of organizational commitment, there is strong evidence of the existence of invariance and, thus, generalizability of the model across cultures.
Research limitations/implications
Cultural studies have focused on differences in organizational commitment at national levels. Further attempts to identify the universality of factors leading to organizational commitment should account for culture in the study of employee-related globalization issues in higher education institutes. Knowledge of cultural impact is also useful from a managerial perspective, and for the design of relevant strategies.
Practical implications
National context plays a major role in shaping the nature of educational institutions. This study brings out the need for a deeper understanding of invariance in organizational commitment (inter-alia, through the three-component model).
Originality/value
This study contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between organizational commitment and its various antecedents, including human resources management practices, for faculty in higher education institutes.
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Petros Galanis, Despoina Fragkou, Daphne Kaitelidou, Athena Kalokairinou and Theodoros A. Katsoulas
In view of the absence of police stress research in Greece, the purpose of this paper is to measure occupational stress among police officers and to investigate occupational…
Abstract
Purpose
In view of the absence of police stress research in Greece, the purpose of this paper is to measure occupational stress among police officers and to investigate occupational stress risk factors.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional study with a convenience sample was conducted among 336 police officers in Athens, Greece. Data collection was performed during January to March 2018 and the response rate was 77.8 percent. Demographic characteristics, job characteristics, lifestyle factors and coping strategies were considered possible risk factors. The “Operational Police Stress Questionnaire” and the “Organizational Police Stress Questionnaire” were used to measure occupational stress, while the “Brief Cope” questionnaire was used to measure coping strategies.
Findings
Regarding service operation, the most stressor events were personal relationships outside work, tiredness, bureaucracy, injury risk and lack of leisure for family and friends. Regarding service organization, the most stressor events were lack of personnel, inappropriate equipment, lack of meritocracy, lack of sources and inappropriate distribution of responsibilities in work. According to multivariate analysis, increased use of avoidance-focused coping strategy, and decreased sleeping, physical exercise and family/friends support were associated with increased occupational stress. Moreover, police officers who work out of office experienced more occupational stress than police officers who work in office.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study in Greece addressing the risk factors for occupational stress among police officers. Modifiable occupational stress risk factors among police officers were found and should be carefully managed to decrease stress and improve mental health.