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1 – 10 of 17Chris Harris, Scott Roark and Zhe Li
The purpose of this paper is to identify the relation between cash flow volatility and trade credit offered by firms in developing Asian economies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the relation between cash flow volatility and trade credit offered by firms in developing Asian economies.
Design/methodology/approach
The study conducts country fixed effect regressions testing the relationship between cash flow volatility and firm investment in trade credit. The relationship is then examined with all firms separated into two groups based on firm size, and then again comparing the relation before and after the 2008 finasncial crisis.
Findings
Higher levels of cash flow volatility are negatively related to the amount of trade credit offered. The negative relationship with cash flow volatility is greater amongst smaller firms that may have less access to external sources of capital. Additionally, the negative relationship is greater following the 2008 financial crisis.
Practical implications
Trade credit plays an important role in the business process, particularly in developing economies. However, these firms may not be able to maintain their investment in trade credit when experiencing greater levels of cash flow volatility. These results are especially pronounced after the 2008 financial crisis and for small firms.
Originality/value
This study identifies an important connection between cash flow volatility and firm investment in trade credit among firms in developing Asian economies.
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The purpose of this paper is to identify three factors leading to the observed decline in trade credit offered from publicly traded firms.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify three factors leading to the observed decline in trade credit offered from publicly traded firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The study conducts firm fixed effect regressions testing the relationship between cash flow volatility and firm investment in trade credit. The relationship is further examined with all firms separated into two groups, based on SIC codes, designating if they are in industries that traditionally offer higher amounts of trade credit.
Findings
The proportion of US firms that has traditionally extended the most trade credit has been decreasing over time, contributing to part of the decline in trade credit offered. Increases in cash flow volatility have also contributed to decreasing investment in trade credit. The negative relationship with cash flow volatility is greatest amongst firms that traditionally place the highest value on trade credit. Firms with access to credit, proxied by investment grade debt ratings, do not experience the same decline in trade credit offered.
Practical implications
Firms that value the ability to extend trade credit may maintain their level of investment in trade credit, even with increased risk of cash flow volatility, by maintaining a comparative advantage in access to credit.
Originality/value
This study extends prior findings by providing three previously unexplored explanations for the decline in offered trade credit seen in the USA. The changing make-up of publicly traded firms, a market-wide increase in cash flow volatility, and access to credit all play an important role in observed declines of trade credit investment.
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Anne Cohn Donnelly, Walter Scott, Shaw Kathy, Gong Millie, Morris Lydia and Roark Michael
This case describes a community-based healthcare clinic and the issues facing the management and board of directors. The issues raised are common problems faced by all types of…
Abstract
This case describes a community-based healthcare clinic and the issues facing the management and board of directors. The issues raised are common problems faced by all types of nonprofit organizations: insufficient fundraising and marketing policies to guide board decision making, confusion over staff and board roles in decision making, poorly thought-out bylaws that contribute to the confusion over board and staff roles, the challenge of harnessing the diverse backgrounds and opinions of a community-based board of directors, and lack of sound financial planning.
The Whitney Clinic case identifies common pitfalls in board governance and includes a roleplay to help students understand the difficulties inherent in implementing the basics of good governance.
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CD‐ROM was first demonstrated in the United States in November 1984. Since then many organizations, including agencies of the Federal government, have embraced the technology, and…
Abstract
CD‐ROM was first demonstrated in the United States in November 1984. Since then many organizations, including agencies of the Federal government, have embraced the technology, and an increasingly large and diverse product base is emerging. In March 1986, Microsoft Corporation sponsored a major conference on the topic, which was attended by almost 1000 persons. The registration fee of $900 precluded most librarians from attending. David Miller provides a thorough report on the conference, and a complete directory of participants, for the benefit of those who could not attend.
Ian I. Mitroff and Susan Mohrman
There is no more essential task, no more basic information that one could collect, that is critical to survival than the knowledge of one's underlying assumptions. Here are some…
Abstract
There is no more essential task, no more basic information that one could collect, that is critical to survival than the knowledge of one's underlying assumptions. Here are some assumptions about the steel and auto industries that give insight into the many underlying assumptions responsible for the directions other industries take.
Edward Nartey, Francis Kwaku Aboagye-Otchere and Samuel Nana Yaw Simpson
This paper extends prior contingency-based management accounting research by building and empirically testing a theoretical model of contingency effects of supply chain…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper extends prior contingency-based management accounting research by building and empirically testing a theoretical model of contingency effects of supply chain integration (SCI) on the dimensions of management control system (MCS) and supply chain operational performance (SCOP) of hospitals in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses factorial and structural path analysis of survey responses collected from 237 hospital accountants to model these relationships.
Findings
The results show that under strong SCI, the association between the MCS dimensions and hospital operational performance namely, cost effectiveness, flexibility and quality will be strengthened. In other words, the installation of MCS is more likely to provide a broad range of performance benefits for hospitals that align the four dimensions of the MCS with the dimensions of SCI (internal and external).
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this study would be its limited scope, as it focused only on hospitals in one developing country. Therefore, the results as indicated here may have limited generalizability to other industries and countries.
Practical implications
We theorize that using optimal amounts of the MCS, a high level of SCI is likely to reduce supply chain (SC) cost, improve speed, flexibility and quality of the SC among healthcare institutions in Ghana. Also, based on the direct impact on performance exhibited by the MCS dimensions, effective implementation of SCI decisions requires the use of optimal amounts of MCS for high performance.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to contingency-based management accounting research and provides theory-driven and empirically proven explanations for hospital managers in recognizing the importance of aligning the dimensions of SCI and MCS.
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THE year 1954 opened more brightly, in some respects, than most previous years. Salaries are better than they used to be, staffs are larger, and hours are shorter. But there is…
Abstract
THE year 1954 opened more brightly, in some respects, than most previous years. Salaries are better than they used to be, staffs are larger, and hours are shorter. But there is even less room for complacency or even bare satisfaction than there was forty years ago. Then, however poor was the pay and however long the hours, there was every indication that librarianship was gradually becoming recognized as a profession which in time would rank with the great professions. Principles and objectives were clear and were never lost sight of, but librarians and assistants of that day realized that the great professions were dependant, not only on principles but upon absolute mastery of technique; that no lawyer could survive who merely talked grandiloquently about the principles and objectives of his calling; that the medical man endured—and in many instances enjoyed—a severe and lengthy training in technique and practice, and that even when he became a specialist his prime need and principal qualification was absolute mastery and up to date knowledge of technique and practice in his field of specialisation. In the light of that fad a detailed study of library technique became accepted as essential, and a mass of practical and technical literature was studied and mastered by more than one generation. For examination purposes, perhaps more than for any other reason, the present generation of assistants continues that study, but there has been a change of weight. Today we hear frequently that technique is relatively unimportant and that principles and objectives are the vital essentials.
Andrew C. MacLaren, Mark E. Young and Sean Lochrie
The purpose of this paper is to explore commercial hospitality enterprise and its impact on settlement development in the American West during the 1800s, focussing on the story of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore commercial hospitality enterprise and its impact on settlement development in the American West during the 1800s, focussing on the story of the Fanthorp Inn in Texas, USA.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper outlines the theory relating to entrepreneurial opportunity and applies it to the historical case of the Fanthorp Inn, Texas, USA. The methodological approach of the paper is based on an in‐depth study into the development of one tavern using multiple sources of evidence.
Findings
First, opportunity on the frontier was controlled to the extent that it became objective in the Kirznerian sense. Second, commercial hospitality enterprise was used as a vehicle for settlement development in frontier America.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is limited by its use of one case study and the scarcity of sources of historical evidence. Further studies could engage with different examples of frontier hospitality businesses and develop the method further.
Practical implications
The paper provides deeper understanding of settlement development in the American West during the 1800s and supplies a methodological framework with which further organisational research can engage with historical sources of data. The findings also suggest that opportunity exists relative to its context.
Originality/value
The paper explores hospitality as a context for entrepreneurial activity in the American West and uses a historical case study method.
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