Chan Du, Liang Song and Jia Wu
This paper aims to examine how banks’ accounting disclosure policies affect information content in stock prices and stock crash risk.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how banks’ accounting disclosure policies affect information content in stock prices and stock crash risk.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses 1996-2013 as the sample period. The final sample includes 10,045 observations in 37 countries. This paper uses stock return synchronicity to measure information content in stock prices. This study uses the frequency difference between extremely negative and positive stock returns to measure stock crash risk. To measure the level of bank accounting disclosure, this research follows Nier and Baumann (2006) to construct an aggregate disclosure index based on inclusions and omissions of a series of items in a bank’s annual accounting reports.
Findings
This paper finds that banks’ stocks have lower stock return synchronicity and fewer extremely negative returns if banks have higher levels of financial statement disclosure. These results suggest that banks’ stocks have higher information content and lower crash risk if banks’ information environment is more transparent.
Originality/value
Overall, this paper provides new insight about how to increase banks’ transparency and the safety of the banking industry, which is beneficial to economic growth. To increase banks’ transparency and reduce the possibility of extremely negative stock returns, one way to regulate banks is to increase their accounting disclosure. In addition, the extant literature (Chen et al., 2006, Durnev et al., 2003, 2004; Wurgler, 2000) demonstrates that firms with lower stock return synchronicity have more transparent information environments and higher investment efficiency. Thus, this paper finds that higher levels of bank accounting disclosure are associated with lower stock return synchronicity, which further reduces banks’ opacity and increases banks’ investment efficiency. Finally, compared to business firms, stock crash risk has much direr consequences because one bank’s stock crash will affect overall financial stability. Thus, it is important for authorities to know the effects of accounting disclosure on bank stock crash risk.
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Yongliang Deng, Zedong Liu, Liangliang Song, Guodong Ni and Na Xu
The purpose of this study is to identify the causative factors of metro construction safety accidents, analyze the correlation between accidents and causative factors and assist…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify the causative factors of metro construction safety accidents, analyze the correlation between accidents and causative factors and assist in developing safety management strategies for improving safety performance in the context of the Chinese construction industry.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve these objectives, 13 types and 48 causations were determined based on 274 construction safety accidents in China. Then, 204 cause-and-effect relationships among accidents and causations were identified based on data mining. Next, network theory was employed to develop and analyze the metro construction accident causation network (MCACN).
Findings
The topological characteristics of MCACN were obtained, it is both a small-world network and a scale-free network. Controlling critical causative factors can effectively control the occurrence of metro construction accidents. Degree centrality strategy is better than closeness centrality strategy and betweenness centrality strategy.
Research limitations/implications
In practice, it is very difficult to quantitatively identify and determine the importance of different accidents and causative factors. The weights of nodes and edges are failed to be assigned when constructing MCACN.
Practical implications
This study provides a theoretical basis and feasible management reference for construction enterprises in China to control construction risks and reduce safety accidents. More safety resources should be allocated to control critical risks. It is recommended that safety managers implement degree centrality strategy when making safety-related decisions.
Originality/value
This paper establishes the MCACN model based on data mining and network theory, identifies the properties and clarifies the mechanism of metro construction accidents and causations.
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Zhihao Yu, Liang Song, Linhua Jiang and Omid Khold Sharafi
Security is the most important issue in Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart cities and blockchain (BC). So, the present paper aims to detect and organize the literature regarding…
Abstract
Purpose
Security is the most important issue in Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart cities and blockchain (BC). So, the present paper aims to detect and organize the literature regarding security in the IoT-based smart cities and BC context. It also proposes an agenda for future research. Therefore, the authors did a statistical review of security in IoT and BC in smart cities. The present investigation aims to determine the principal challenges and disturbances in IoT because of the BC adoption, the central BC applications in IoT-based smart cities and the BC future in IoT-based smart cities.
Design/methodology/approach
IoT) has a notable influence on modernizing and transforming the society and industry for knowledge digitizing. Therefore, it may be perceived and operated in real time. The IoT is undergoing exponential development in industry and investigation. Still, it contains some security and privacy susceptibilities. Naturally, the research community pays attention to the security and privacy of the IoT. Also, the academic community has put a significant focus on BC as a new security project. In the present paper, the significant mechanisms and investigations in BC ground have been checked out systematically because of the significance of security in the IoT and BC in smart cities. Electronic databases were used to search for keywords. Totally, based on different filters, 131 papers have been gained, and 17 related articles have been obtained and analyzed. The security mechanisms of BC in IoT-based smart cities have been ranked into three main categories as follows, smart health care, smart home and smart agriculture.
Findings
The findings showed that BC’s distinctive technical aspects might impressively find a solution for privacy and security problems encountering the IoT-based smart cities development. They also supply distributed storage, transparency, trust and other IoT support to form a valid, impressive and secure distributed IoT network and provide a beneficial guarantee for IoT-based smart city users’ security and privacy.
Research limitations/implications
The present investigation aims to be comprehensive, but some restrictions were also observed. Owing to the use of some filters for selecting the original papers, some complete works may be excluded. Besides, inspecting the total investigations on the security topic in BC and the IoT-based smart cities is infeasible. Albeit, the authors attempt to introduce a complete inspection of the security challenges in BC and the IoT-based smart cities. BC includes significant progress and innovation in the IoT-based smart cities’ security domain as new technology. Still, it contains some deficiencies as well. Investigators actively encounter the challenges and bring up persistent innovation and inspection of related technologies in the vision of the issues available in diverse application scenarios.
Practical implications
The use of BC technology in finding a solution for the security issues of the IoT-based smart cities is a research hotspot. There is numerable literature with data and theoretical support despite the suggestion of numerous relevant opinions. Therefore, this paper offers insights into how findings may guide practitioners and researchers in developing appropriate security systems dependent upon the features of IoT-based smart city systems and BC. This paper may also stimulate further investigation on the challenge of security in BC and IoT-based smart cities. The outcomes will be of great value for scholars and may supply sights into future investigation grounds in the present field.
Originality/value
As the authors state according to their knowledge, it is the first work using security challenges on BC and IoT-based smart cities. The literature review shows that few papers discuss how solving security issues in the IoT-based smart cities can benefit from the BC. The investigation suggests a literature review on the topic, recommending some thoughts on using security tools in the IoT-based smart cities. The present investigation helps organizations plan to integrate IoT and BC to detect the areas to focus. It also assists in better resource planning for the successful execution of smart technologies in their supply chains.
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Ming Li and Liang Song
The purpose of this paper is to test the effects of antitakeover protection on investment-cash flow sensitivity and whether these effects are moderated by firms’ accounting…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the effects of antitakeover protection on investment-cash flow sensitivity and whether these effects are moderated by firms’ accounting information environment and agency problems.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the effects of agency problems, the authors use the passage of second-generation antitakeover laws as the testing ground, which is a pseudo-natural experiment that is widely used in the accounting, finance and economics literature (e.g. Armstrong et al., 2012; Bertrand and Mullainathan, 2003).
Findings
The authors’ analysis shows that investment-cash flow sensitivity is greater when managers are insulated from takeovers. The authors’ results also demonstrate that the effects of the passage of antitakeover laws on investment-cash flow sensitivity are greater when firms’ accounting information environment is poor, which is measured by fewer analysts following and higher analyst forecast dispersion. The authors also show that the effects of the passage of antitakeover laws on investment-cash flow sensitivity are greater when firms have severe agency problems, which are measured by more free cash flow.
Originality/value
The authors’ research extends the empirical accounting literature about the effects of corporate governance and accounting information environment on firms’ operating and financial decisions.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of SIN firms. SIN firms are firms from controversial sectors such as tobacco, alcohol…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of SIN firms. SIN firms are firms from controversial sectors such as tobacco, alcohol, gambling and firearms.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper explains contrasts CSR practices of SIN firms with similar size and industry non-SIN counterparts.
Findings
This paper shows that SIN firms conduct more CSR practices than non-SIN firms. This paper also finds that CSR practices of SIN firms are value relevant only when these firms are performing below their peers.
Originality/value
The motivation for SIN firms to engage in higher CSR is the competitive advantage hypothesis and not moral rebalancing.
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Lihong Song, Qiang Liang, Yuan Lu and Xinchun Li
Based on the stakeholder theory, this study aims to investigate Chinese entrepreneurial firms’ selective satisfaction of Stakeholder demands on corporate social performance (CSP).
Abstract
Purpose
Based on the stakeholder theory, this study aims to investigate Chinese entrepreneurial firms’ selective satisfaction of Stakeholder demands on corporate social performance (CSP).
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses the survey data from privately owned companies in China, which is collected by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce in three years of 2006, 2008 and 2010.
Findings
This paper suggests a contingency model of CSP: entrepreneurial firms selectively perform corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues rather than all CSP dimensions. Furthermore, this study illustrates that international operations, such as overseas exports, would strengthen the above positive relationships between foreign ownership and selected CSR issues.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the understanding of CSR activities in Chinese entrepreneurial firms, which are more selective when performing social issues. In addition to the theoretical contribution, this work suggests a contingency model to the stakeholder theory, indicating the moderating factors to the entrepreneurial firms’ motivation to perform specific social responsibilities.
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This study aims to examine the effects of firms’ accounting disclosure policies on stock price synchronicity and stock crash risk, using a sample including 13 emerging markets…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effects of firms’ accounting disclosure policies on stock price synchronicity and stock crash risk, using a sample including 13 emerging markets. Furthermore, this research investigates how these relationships are affected by country-level investor protection and firm-level governance rankings.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses accounting disclosure measures constructed based on survey questions by Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia (2001, CLSA). The accounting disclosure measure is used to explain the two dependent variables, stock price synchronicity and stock crash risk. The stock price synchronicity measure is defined as the logistic transformation of R2 following Hutton et al. (2009) and Jin and Myers (2006). R2 is taken from the estimation of an extended market model. The stock crash risk variable is measured as the frequency difference between extremely negative and positive stock return residues following Jin and Myers (2006). These stock return residues are taken from the estimation of an extended market model. Because the CLSA firm-level disclosure data are from 2000, this paper matches other data taken from the same year, for consistency. The final sample includes 204 observations in 13 emerging countries.
Findings
This paper finds that firms’ stocks are less synchronized with the entire market and have less crash risk if firms have superior accounting disclosure policies. These results suggest that the cost to collect firm-specific information may be decreased for investors if firms are more transparent. Thus, these firms’ stocks have more firm-specific information content. These results also suggest that management is less likely to hide some negative information and release such negative information suddenly in the future if firms have higher levels of accounting disclosure. Thus, these firms’ stocks are less likely to crash. In addition, the influences of firms’ accounting disclosure policies on stock price synchronicity and crash risk are more significant for firms with superior country-level investor protection and firm-level governance rankings. These results imply that external investors place more value on accounting disclosure by well-governed firms because firms with superior governance standards are less likely to intentionally disclose misleading information. Thus, these firms’ stocks can incorporate more firm-specific information and have less crash risk.
Originality/value
The current study is the first to show that the effects of accounting disclosure on stock price synchronicity and crash risk are more pronounced for firms with superior country-level investor protection and firm-level governance standards. Thus, this research extends the literature by providing a comprehensive picture of the influences of accounting disclosure on stock markets. In addition, the existing literature (Chen et al., 2006; Durnev et al., 2004) shows that firms with lower stock price synchronicity are associated with higher investment efficiency because managers invest based on the information in stock prices. Obviously, higher stock crash risk is highly related to higher bankruptcy risk for firms. Thus, examining the effects of accounting disclosure on stock price synchronicity and stock crash risk is of obvious importance to policy makers.
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Proposes a possibilistic group support system (PGSS) for the retailer pricing and inventory problem when possibilistic fluctuations of product parameters are controlled by a set…
Abstract
Proposes a possibilistic group support system (PGSS) for the retailer pricing and inventory problem when possibilistic fluctuations of product parameters are controlled by a set of possibilistic optimality conditions. Experts in various functional areas convey their subjective judgement to the PGSS in the form of analytical models (for product parameters estimation), fuzzy concepts (facts), and possibilistic propositions (for validation and choice procedures). Basic probability assignments are used to elicit experts’ opinions. They are then transformed into compatibility functions for fuzzy concepts using the falling shadow technique. Evidence is processed in the form of fuzzy concepts, then is rewritten back to basic probability assignments using the principle of least ignorance on randomness. The PGSS allows the user (inventory control) to examine a trade‐off between the belief value of a greater profit and a lower amount of randomness associated with it.
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Liang Zhang, Song-bai Xue, Li-li Gao, Yan Chen, Sheng-lin Yu, Zhong Sheng and Guang Zeng
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of minor addition of the rare earth (RE) element cerium, Ce, on the microstructures and creep properties of Sn-Ag-Cu solder…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of minor addition of the rare earth (RE) element cerium, Ce, on the microstructures and creep properties of Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys.
Design/methodology/approach
The pure Sn, Sn-Cu alloy, Sn-Ag alloy and Cu-Ce alloy were used as raw materials. Sn-Ag-Cu alloys with different contents of RE Ce were chosen to compare with Sn-Ag-Cu. The raw materials of Sn, Sn-Cu alloy, Sn-Ag alloy, Cu-Ce alloy were melted in a ceramic crucible, and were melted at 550°C ± 1°C for 40 minutes. To homogenize the solder alloy, mechanical stirring was performed every ten minutes using a glass rod. During the melting, KC1 + LiCI (1.3:1), were used over the surface of liquid solder to prevent oxidation. The melted solder was chill cast into a rod.
Findings
It is found that the microstructure exhibits smaller grains and the Ag3Sn/Cu6Sn5 intermetallic compound (IMC) phases are modified in matrix with the addition of Ce. In particular, the addition of 0.03 wt.% Ce to the Sn-Ag-Cu solder can refine the microstructures and decrease the thickness of the IMC layers of Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys. Meanwhile, thermodynamic analysis showed that these phenomena could be attributed to the reduction of the driving force for Cu-Sn IMC formation due to the addition of Ce. Results calculated using the thermodynamic method are close to the above experimental data. Thus, the optimum content of Ce in Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys should be about 0.030 percent. Additionally, the effect of Ce on the creep rupture life of Sn-Ag-Cu soldered joints was studied. It was found that the creep rupture life may be increased up to 7.5 times more than that of the original Sn-Ag-Cu alloy, when Ce accounts for 0.030 percent.
Originality/value
This paper usefully investigates the effects of the RE cerium (Ce), on the microstructures and creep properties of Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys, optimizing the quantity of Ce in the Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloy through a thermodynamic method and by creep-rupture life testing.
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Mengxi Yang, Jie Guo, Lei Zhu, Huijie Zhu, Xia Song, Hui Zhang and Tianxiang Xu
Objectively evaluating the fairness of the algorithm, exploring in specific scenarios combined with scenario characteristics and constructing the algorithm fairness evaluation…
Abstract
Purpose
Objectively evaluating the fairness of the algorithm, exploring in specific scenarios combined with scenario characteristics and constructing the algorithm fairness evaluation index system in specific scenarios.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper selects marketing scenarios, and in accordance with the idea of “theory construction-scene feature extraction-enterprise practice,” summarizes the definition and standard of fairness, combs the application link process of marketing algorithms and establishes the fairness evaluation index system of marketing equity allocation algorithms. Taking simulated marketing data as an example, the fairness performance of marketing algorithms in some feature areas is measured, and the effectiveness of the evaluation system proposed in this paper is verified.
Findings
The study reached the following conclusions: (1) Different fairness evaluation criteria have different emphases, and may produce different results. Therefore, different fairness definitions and standards should be selected in different fields according to the characteristics of the scene. (2) The fairness of the marketing equity distribution algorithm can be measured from three aspects: marketing coverage, marketing intensity and marketing frequency. Specifically, for the fairness of coverage, two standards of equal opportunity and different misjudgment rates are selected, and the standard of group fairness is selected for intensity and frequency. (3) For different characteristic fields, different degrees of fairness restrictions should be imposed, and the interpretation of their calculation results and the means of subsequent intervention should also be different according to the marketing objectives and industry characteristics.
Research limitations/implications
First of all, the fairness sensitivity of different feature fields is different, but this paper does not classify the importance of feature fields. In the future, we can build a classification table of sensitive attributes according to the importance of sensitive attributes to give different evaluation and protection priorities. Second, in this paper, only one set of marketing data simulation data is selected to measure the overall algorithm fairness, after which multiple sets of marketing campaigns can be measured and compared to reflect the long-term performance of marketing algorithm fairness. Third, this paper does not continue to explore interventions and measures to improve algorithmic fairness. Different feature fields should be subject to different degrees of fairness constraints, and therefore their subsequent interventions should be different, which needs to be continued to be explored in future research.
Practical implications
This paper combines the specific features of marketing scenarios and selects appropriate fairness evaluation criteria to build an index system for fairness evaluation of marketing algorithms, which provides a reference for assessing and managing the fairness of marketing algorithms.
Social implications
Algorithm governance and algorithmic fairness are very important issues in the era of artificial intelligence, and the construction of the algorithmic fairness evaluation index system in marketing scenarios in this paper lays a safe foundation for the application of AI algorithms and technologies in marketing scenarios, provides tools and means of algorithm governance and empowers the promotion of safe, efficient and orderly development of algorithms.
Originality/value
In this paper, firstly, the standards of fairness are comprehensively sorted out, and the difference between different standards and evaluation focuses is clarified, and secondly, focusing on the marketing scenario, combined with its characteristics, key fairness evaluation links are put forward, and different standards are innovatively selected to evaluate the fairness in the process of applying marketing algorithms and to build the corresponding index system, which forms the systematic fairness evaluation tool of marketing algorithms.