Search results

1 – 10 of 180
Per page
102050
Citations:
Loading...
Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 21 June 2021

Dmitri G. Markovitch and Jonathan O'Brien

Research finds that investors initially under-react to increases in R&D intensity. The phenomenon is commonly viewed as mispricing. We draw on behavioral theory of the firm (BTF…

194

Abstract

Purpose

Research finds that investors initially under-react to increases in R&D intensity. The phenomenon is commonly viewed as mispricing. We draw on behavioral theory of the firm (BTF) to propose an alternative explanation that increased R&D intensity is often indicative of problemistic search in firms. We empirically explore three contextual factors that may help discriminate between mispricing and problemistic search effects when capital markets frown on increased R&D intensity.

Design/methodology/approach

We use econometric methods to analyze longitudinal data on 4,561 US manufacturing firms.

Findings

We find that market reactions to R&D investments are consistent with the view that managers often engage in R&D-based search to correct anticipated problems. We show that increased R&D intensity is a stronger indicator of diminished expected future performance for firms with greater inertia, including larger firms and high-performing firms. However, greater R&D intensity is less indicative of problemistic search in slack-rich firms.

Originality/value

Whilst the BTF has been used extensively in management research, ours is one of the few studies which link the BTF to stock market phenomena.

Details

Journal of Strategy and Management, vol. 14 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-425X

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Book part
Publication date: 13 August 2007

Timothy B. Folta and Jonathan P. O’Brien

We examine a central tenet of real option theory – whether real options influence managerial thresholds for investment. In contrast to prior studies that have focused on whether…

Abstract

We examine a central tenet of real option theory – whether real options influence managerial thresholds for investment. In contrast to prior studies that have focused on whether real options influence discrete investment decisions, our focus is on empirically isolating real options’ effects on thresholds. In particular, we examine the real options inherent in acquisition decisions. Our model posits that there are good reasons why we might expect there to be information asymmetry around the value of real options. Accordingly, if managers have unique information about growth options we might expect to observe them lowering their thresholds, perhaps to the point where they are willing to accept negative market returns. We further expect that the degree of information asymmetry for firm-specific growth options should be higher than for industry-specific growth options. Finally, we believe that managerial thresholds will be more prone to influence from growth options than deferment options. While thresholds are unobservable, we are able to isolate the effects of real options on acquisition thresholds by borrowing a method used originally in labor economics to isolate the determinants of reservation wages. Using a sample of over 28,000 acquisitions in the U.S., we find strong support for the model. These findings suggest that firms with low thresholds may choose to acquire despite comparatively low expected performance.

Details

Real Options Theory
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1427-0

Access Restricted. View access options
Book part
Publication date: 20 January 2021

Russell Carpenter, Jonathan Gore, Shirley O’Brien, Jennifer Fairchild and Matthew Winslow

Research models and practices change rapidly. While evidence of such changes includes cross-campus collaborations and multi-authored scholarship, faculty development opportunities

Abstract

Research models and practices change rapidly. While evidence of such changes includes cross-campus collaborations and multi-authored scholarship, faculty development opportunities also signal what is to come. In this case study, authors representing diverse disciplines examine what faculty development programs reveal about the future of academic research. The authors offer an analysis of faculty support programs across the country as a foundation, and then provide an examination of initiatives in place at their four-year regional comprehensive institution in the United States. The authors then report on the outcomes of these programs for research productivity, with a focus on opportunities that were available to all faculty across the university. Finally, the authors offer perspective on the future of academic research based on findings from examining these programs. The authors suggest that the future of research will focus on (1) collaborative design(s) of research-related support, (2) support structures and programs that encourage and facilitate cross-campus and interdisciplinary research collaborations and sharing, (3) incentive for integrating areas of research with teaching and service, and relatedly (4) programs that encourage faculty to span academic research with industry or community partnerships and collaborations, especially ones that can generate revenue or produce future research, development, or funding streams.

Access Restricted. View access options
Book part
Publication date: 19 September 2014

Fabio Zambuto, M. V. Shyam Kumar and Jonathan P. O’Brien

We propose that in addition to its resources and capabilities, a firm’s capital structure and financial health will act as an important determinant of its attractiveness as an…

Abstract

We propose that in addition to its resources and capabilities, a firm’s capital structure and financial health will act as an important determinant of its attractiveness as an alliance partner. Alliances with leveraged firms are prone to unplanned termination due to financial distress, which puts at risk the value embedded in the collaboration. As a result, ceteris paribus, highly leveraged firms will be viewed as less desirable partners in the market for interfirm collaboration when compared to low leverage firms. In support of this proposition, we find that when forming an alliance firms tend to partner with other firms with similar levels of leverage: low-leverage firms partner with other low-leverage firms while high-leverage firms partner with other high-leverage firms, as well as with lower quality ones. Furthermore, we show that alliances with highly leveraged firms are more likely to involve equity participation as a form of ex post protection, especially when they involve partners with relatively lower leverage. Finally, we show that leverage is negatively related to the intensity of alliance activity, suggesting that firms also maintain lower leverage in their capital structure in order to attract potential partners. Overall our results imply that financial policies regarding capital structure have an important role to play in alliancing activity.

Details

Finance and Strategy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-493-0

Available. Content available
Book part
Publication date: 20 January 2021

Abstract

Details

International Perspectives on Emerging Trends and Integrating Research-based Learning across the Curriculum
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-476-9

Available. Content available
Book part
Publication date: 19 September 2014

Abstract

Details

Finance and Strategy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-493-0

Available. Content available
Book part
Publication date: 13 August 2007

Abstract

Details

Real Options Theory
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1427-0

Access Restricted. View access options
Book part
Publication date: 20 January 2021

Enakshi Sengupta and Patrick Blessinger

Research in higher education provides the foundation for the future of education and hence attracts the attention of policymakers who debate the merits and demerits of it in

Abstract

Research in higher education provides the foundation for the future of education and hence attracts the attention of policymakers who debate the merits and demerits of it in various contexts. Research in higher education is expected to anticipate emerging trends, problems faced by educationists, and to develop concepts that would be reliable to generate the curriculum needed for knowledge-based nations. Universities that are conscious of the future and want to contribute to coping with this rapidly changing world have been engaged in meaningful research agendas. Education now has to deal with issues like globalization, climate change, refugee crisis, new models for education systems, steering the entire system toward internationalization, and manage the institution with a scarcity of resources. These challenges call for extensive research and in-depth analysis of the problems so that a possible solution can be worked out by academics in identifying thematic areas of work and emerging fields of education. Research-based universities occupy a prime position in the 21st-century global knowledge economy. These institutions have multiple roles to play besides teaching–learning and academic achievement of their students. This book demonstrates how research is being viewed in different countries having completely diverse socio-cultural backgrounds. The authors have explored the university’s contribution toward the advancement of global science and scholarship in countries like Turkey, Kosovo, Latin America, and the United States. Authors have also explored new information and processes that are contributing to emerging trends that are significant in understanding the human condition through multiple academic and societal roles. These authors discuss issues related to culture, technology, and society, which are the foundation of intellectual and scientific trends.

Details

International Perspectives on Emerging Trends and Integrating Research-based Learning across the Curriculum
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-476-9

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 21 November 2016

Lisa Kiang, Sara Mendonça, Yue Liang, Ayse Payir, Lia T. O’Brien, Jonathan R.H. Tudge and Lia B.L. Freitas

Despite USA’s emphasis on children as consumers with great spending power, little is known about their actual spending preferences and how they might be linked to personal…

715

Abstract

Purpose

Despite USA’s emphasis on children as consumers with great spending power, little is known about their actual spending preferences and how they might be linked to personal character traits such as materialism and gratitude. This study aims to address this literature gap by examining children’s spending preferences in an imaginary windfall scenario, as well as main and interactive effects of materialism and gratitude on such preferences.

Design/methodology/approach

This was a school-based research study. Survey methodology was used in which self-report measures were collected from 247 7-14-year-old children (58 per cent male).

Findings

Results suggest that materialism was significantly associated with saving resources and allocating less money to charity. Gratitude was related to more charitable giving. One interactive effect was found whereby the link between more materialism and saving was attenuated by high levels of gratitude. Contrary to expectations, no age or gender differences in spending preferences or materialism were found, but older children and girls reported higher gratitude than did younger children and boys.

Research limitations/implications

Although cross-sectional data limit conclusions regarding directionality, the results have implications for understanding children’s consumer behavior, as well as children’s well-being, self-regulation and ability to delay gratification.

Practical implications

The results suggest that materialism, with its emphasis on consumption, and gratitude, with its positive feedback loop that encourages prosocial connections, are particularly relevant avenues to continue examining in future research on youth consumer patterns.

Social implications

Gratitude not only promotes social connectedness but also is more environmentally sustainable in promoting appreciation for what one has rather than wanting more. Uncovering ways that these characteristics are linked to hypothetical and, ultimately, actual spending behavior reflects a meaningful contribution to the field.

Originality/value

This paper fills gaps in the literature by examining links between specific character traits and potential spending behaviors, with deeper implications for children’s psychosocial development, self-regulation and environmental sustainability.

Details

Young Consumers, vol. 17 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Book part
Publication date: 29 August 2018

Paul A. Pautler

The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and…

Abstract

The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and ideology of the FTC’s leaders, developments in the field of economics, and the tenor of the times. The over-riding current role is to provide well considered, unbiased economic advice regarding antitrust and consumer protection law enforcement cases to the legal staff and the Commission. The second role, which long ago was primary, is to provide reports on investigations of various industries to the public and public officials. This role was more recently called research or “policy R&D”. A third role is to advocate for competition and markets both domestically and internationally. As a practical matter, the provision of economic advice to the FTC and to the legal staff has required that the economists wear “two hats,” helping the legal staff investigate cases and provide evidence to support law enforcement cases while also providing advice to the legal bureaus and to the Commission on which cases to pursue (thus providing “a second set of eyes” to evaluate cases). There is sometimes a tension in those functions because building a case is not the same as evaluating a case. Economists and the Bureau of Economics have provided such services to the FTC for over 100 years proving that a sub-organization can survive while playing roles that sometimes conflict. Such a life is not, however, always easy or fun.

Details

Healthcare Antitrust, Settlements, and the Federal Trade Commission
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-599-9

Keywords

1 – 10 of 180
Per page
102050