Haiwei Chen, Surendranath R. Jory, Tapas Mishra and Thanh Ngo
This paper proposes a framework to identify a pattern in the relationship between firms’ cost structure (i.e. fixed versus variable) and their volatility in stock returns.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper proposes a framework to identify a pattern in the relationship between firms’ cost structure (i.e. fixed versus variable) and their volatility in stock returns.
Design/methodology/approach
Our empirical analysis is based on a panel data regression where we use an extended sample period and a time-series regression-based elasticity measure of operating leverage.
Findings
We document significantly higher systematic risk among firms with large fixed costs, a conclusion which confirms theoretical predictions of earlier studies. In new findings, we document high firm-specific risk and high stock return volatility among firms with a fixed cost structure.
Originality/value
The paper fills a gap in the literature by examining the effect of cost structure using various operating leverage measures and other control measures for firm characteristics on idiosyncratic risk. Studies that seek to explain firms’ systematic risks are numerous; conversely, there are relatively fewer studies on the determinants of firms’ specific risks.
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Haiwei Chen, James Estes and William Pratt
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how healthcare funds differ from healthcare exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in terms of delivering positive alpha, beta, and hedging…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how healthcare funds differ from healthcare exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in terms of delivering positive alpha, beta, and hedging against a market downturn risk. The authors consider which vehicle is more effective in providing diversification within the healthcare sector and to what extent can investors gain by diverting a portion of their holdings in the S&P 500 index fund into either a value-weighted healthcare fund portfolio or ETFs.
Design/methodology/approach
Pooled and individual regressions are employed to estimate single and four-factor models of 132 healthcare mutual funds and 43 healthcare ETFs over the past four decades. The authors performed additional regressions to test the performance of mutual funds and ETFs relative to market volatility, market downturns, and policy influence.
Findings
The authors find that both healthcare funds and ETFs provide significantly positive average alpha and hedge against a market downturn risk. Holding an all-stock portfolio such as the S&P 500 index fund can be improved by simply adding a value-weighted healthcare portfolio, resulting in both a higher return and a lower standard deviation. However, returns for these funds and ETFs perform poorly in a very volatile market. ETF returns increased with the passing of the Obamacare. Healthcare sector funds and ETFs declined with the recent criticism from Donald Trump since he became the apparent GOP nominee in July of 2016.
Originality/value
Extending the literature in both sample size and scope of issues, this paper provides investors and financial advisors with practical guidance for achieving higher portfolio return while lowering standard deviation. Additionally, this study documents policy influence on the returns of healthcare mutual funds and healthcare ETFs.
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Monir Mir, Haiwei Fan and Ian Maclean
The paper aims to explore whether different models of public sector audit exist in China without adhering to the goals and objectives of public sector audit systems in democratic…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to explore whether different models of public sector audit exist in China without adhering to the goals and objectives of public sector audit systems in democratic jurisdictions.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a single embedded case study involving multiple methods of data collection including public documents, semi-structured interviews and site visits. The research methods and the analytical framework of the study draw on the concepts of political competition, public sector accountability and audit independence.
Findings
The study finds that the Chinese National Audit Office’s (CNAO) objectives derive from the neo-classical economic discourse and not from ideas of public accountability, as is the case in democratic parliamentary jurisdictions. The study finds that public sector audit in China functions in ways which are similar to that of internal audit. The CNAO may provide limited political and public accountability for Chinese public officials indirectly by enhancing their managerial accountabilities.
Research limitations/implications
The study goes against the prevailing view that supreme audit institutions which are part of the executive will lead to poor accountability of the public sector and increased public sector corruption.
Practical implications
The study suggests that enhancing managerial accountability in non-democratic (and pseudo-democratic) jurisdictions through public sector audit can by itself be of significant benefit. Further, such enhancements may also strengthen public sector accountability.
Originality/value
This paper fills a research gap by exploring public sector audit independence in a developing country with a unitary system of government.
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Jie Yang, Hongming Xie, Haiwei Liu and Haoran Duan
The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents and consequences of operational collaboration of a buyer and its key supplier in economic exchanges in a supply chain.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents and consequences of operational collaboration of a buyer and its key supplier in economic exchanges in a supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
The analyses of the sample data collected from Chinese manufacturers in this study include measurement model and structural model using structural equation modeling.
Findings
It shows that firm IT capabilities and supplier relationship management are positively associated with operational collaboration, which in turn enhances dyadic quality performance through improved process efficiency.
Research limitations/implications
Drawn upon the resource-based view and social contagion theory, it explained the intention of forming an operational collaboration in a buyer – supplier relationship employing a motivation-opportunity scheme. Second, the findings greatly advance our understanding of the indirect linkage between IT capability and quality conformance of the dyads.
Practical implications
This study suggests that practitioners should enhance the IT capability of their firms as well as implement supplier relationship management program in the organizations so that the buying firms can exchange cost information, provide assistance and pursue joint investments with their suppliers with the facilitation of advanced IT capabilities.
Social implications
Emerging market manufacturers are suggested to take measures to reduce transaction cost and cycle time uncertainty for quality assurance.
Originality/value
First, this study empirically explored the determinants of effective operational collaboration from the lens of motivation-opportunity scheme through integrating resource-based view and social contagion theory. Second, it examined the effect of operational collaboration on dyadic quality performance for both buyers and suppliers. Third, it examined the drivers of effective operational collaboration in the context of Chinese manufacturers.
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Haiwei Zhu, Hongfa Yu, Haiyan Ma, Bo Da and Qiquan Mei
The purpose of this paper is to compare the effect of rust inhibitors and surface strengthening materials on the service life of RC structures in tropical marine environments and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare the effect of rust inhibitors and surface strengthening materials on the service life of RC structures in tropical marine environments and ultimately to provide basis and recommendations for the durability design of reinforced concrete (RC) structures.
Design/methodology/approach
Slag concrete specimens mixed with four kinds of rust inhibitors and coated with four kinds of surface strengthening materials were corroded by seawater exposure for 365 days, and the key parameters of chloride ion diffusion were obtained by testing. Then a new service life prediction model, based on the modified model for chloride ion diffusion and reliability theory, was applied to analyze the effect of rust inhibitors and surface strengthening materials on the service life of RC structures in tropical marine environments.
Findings
Rust inhibitors and surface strengthening materials can effectively extend the service life of RC structures through different effects on chloride ion diffusion behavior. The effects of rust inhibitors and surface strengthening materials on the service life extension of RC structures adhered to the following trend: silane material > cement-based permeable crystalline waterproof material > hydrophobic plug compound > spray polyurea elastomer > water-based permeable crystalline waterproof material > calcium nitrite > preservative > amino-alcohol composite.
Originality/value
Using a new method for predicting the service life of RC structures, the attenuation law of the service life of RC structures under the action of rust inhibitors and surface strengthening materials in tropical marine environments is obtained.
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Chintal A. Desai and Khoa H Nguyen
The purpose of this paper is to identify three (maturity, agency, and information) effects that help explain the change in idiosyncratic volatility after a firm initiates a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify three (maturity, agency, and information) effects that help explain the change in idiosyncratic volatility after a firm initiates a dividend.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a cross-sectional analysis where the standard errors are adjusted for heteroskedasticity. As for robustness check, the authors perform two-stage analysis to control for potential self-selection bias. The authors also control for 2003 Dividend Tax Cut effect, matching-firm volatility, and confounding events.
Findings
Using a sample of 688 dividend-initiating firms for a period of 1977 to 2010, the authors find evidence consistent with the hypotheses based on the maturity, agency, and information effects. The volatility changes upon the dividend initiation can be reliably explained by the changes in profit volatility and free cash flow per total assets, and whether the firm consummated a stock split prior to the dividend initiation. The information effect is also found to be economically significant.
Originality/value
By studying a firm’s decision to initiate a dividend and its impact on the change in its volatility, the research helps contribute to the payout policy and volatility literatures.
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Xiyun Yang, Xitao Duan and Haiwei Yuan
The purpose of this paper is to obtain iron‐enriched Fe‐Ni alloy foil on Ti substrates with good quality from a chloride‐sulfate bath used in a normal DC plating mode. The effects…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to obtain iron‐enriched Fe‐Ni alloy foil on Ti substrates with good quality from a chloride‐sulfate bath used in a normal DC plating mode. The effects of iron content on the hardness, surface morphology and microstructure of the foil were clarified.
Design/methodology/approach
Fe‐Ni alloy foil was prepared by electrodeposition in a chloride‐sulfate based solution. The effects of current density, temperature, stirring rate and sodium propargyl sulfonate concentration on the iron contents of the Fe‐Ni alloy foils were studied. The phase composition and surface morphology with various iron contents were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. Cathodic polarization curves were used to evaluate the role of sodium propargyl sulfonate (PS).
Findings
Nanocrystalline Fe‐Ni alloy foil containing up to 64 wt. percent iron can be obtained from a chloride‐sulfate based solution. The foil converts from a face‐centered cubic (fcc) Fe3Ni2 phase to a mixture of fcc and body‐centered cubic (bcc) Fe7Ni3 with increase in iron content from 55.0 wt. percent to 63.5 wt. percent. AFM studies revealed that the foil had a fine grain structure with a roughness of 30 nm and grain size of 30 nm. With iron increasing to 63.5 wt. percent some islands appeared on the surface. This structure was related to the development of a (200) fiber texture in the BCC phase. Sodium propargyl sulfonate accelerates the discharge of nickel and inhibits the discharge of Fe.
Practical implications
The foil has many industrial applications in the area of memory devices for computers, laser components and precise instruments.
Originality/value
The paper presents a process to produce a foil with iron up to 64 wt. percent from a chloride‐sulfate based solution used in normal DC mode. The dependence of microstructure and surface morphology on iron contents also is presented. Until now, there has been little research or reports on this subject.
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Ren Hong, Zhang Zhengtong, Ma Xianrui and Tang Xilai
In the face of solving the urban traffic congestion problem radically, emphasis has been laid on the research on slow traffic planning of urban built environment. Hence, research…
Abstract
In the face of solving the urban traffic congestion problem radically, emphasis has been laid on the research on slow traffic planning of urban built environment. Hence, research on slow traffic demand forecasting can provide a basis for the planning of urban slow traffic systems. Based on land use, the overall planning of the new Guangming (GM) district, and the population prediction results, the slow traffic demand within the scope of the new district was forecasted by combining the per capita trip frequency, and the spatial distribution of the slow traffic flow of the new GM district was forecasted per the forecasted demand quantity for slow traffic. The following research conclusions were obtained. Within the new GM district, the correlation of the total demand for slow traffic with the land use functions and population distribution was high, and the cross-zone traffic was mainly decided by the land usage of this district. The cross-unit slow traffic flow was concentrated in the Gongming central, Guangming central, high-tech zone, and Yutian zones. This research provides a guideline for the layout of slow traffic facilities in the future.
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Automatic segmentation of brain tumor from medical images is a challenging task because of tumor's uneven and irregular shapes. In this paper, the authors propose an…
Abstract
Purpose
Automatic segmentation of brain tumor from medical images is a challenging task because of tumor's uneven and irregular shapes. In this paper, the authors propose an attention-based nested segmentation network, named DAU-Net. In total, two types of attention mechanisms are introduced to make the U-Net network focus on the key feature regions. The proposed network has a deep supervised encoder–decoder architecture and a redesigned dense skip connection. DAU-Net introduces an attention mechanism between convolutional blocks so that the features extracted at different levels can be merged with a task-related selection.
Design/methodology/approach
In the coding layer, the authors designed a channel attention module. It marks the importance of each feature graph in the segmentation task. In the decoding layer, the authors designed a spatial attention module. It marks the importance of different regional features. And by fusing features at different scales in the same coding layer, the network can fully extract the detailed information of the original image and learn more tumor boundary information.
Findings
To verify the effectiveness of the DAU-Net, experiments were carried out on the BRATS 2018 brain tumor magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) database. The segmentation results show that the proposed method has a high accuracy, with a Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) of 89% in the complete tumor, which is an improvement of 8.04 and 4.02%, compared with fully convolutional network (FCN) and U-Net, respectively.
Originality/value
The experimental results show that the proposed method has good performance in the segmentation of brain tumors. The proposed method has potential clinical applicability.
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Ahsan Nawaz, Jiang Wenqi and Sajid Akhtar
This research aims to highlight the connection of entrepreneurial leadership with improved organizational outcomes through employee-driven factors of creativity and behavior. It…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to highlight the connection of entrepreneurial leadership with improved organizational outcomes through employee-driven factors of creativity and behavior. It addresses certain existing research gaps concerning the interaction of leadership practices with organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed to analyze the interaction among the study variables. Data was collected from 414 employees across various industries in Punjab, Pakistan through an adapted questionnaire which was in structured form. Smart Pls 4 and SPSS were used for analysis of the collected data.
Findings
The findings indicate positive and significant effect of entrepreneurial leadership on organizational performance, wherein employee creativity and behavior are the key mediators. The study shows that high levels of employee creativity and positive behavior are directly linked to improved performance metrics in organizations led by entrepreneurial leaders. This consequently underscores the need of creating an environment which encourages creativity and supports positive employee behaviors required for entrepreneurial leadership.
Originality/value
This research enriches the academic discourse by quantitatively confirming the mediating role of employee creativity and behavior between entrepreneurial leadership and organizational performance. Unlike previous studies which focused mainly on direct effects or less quantifiable leadership aspects, this study provides empirical evidence supporting a model where employee attributes significantly impact organizational success under entrepreneurial leadership. This insight is valuable for leaders and practitioners aiming to utilize entrepreneurial leadership in dynamic business settings.