An increasing number of investors are becoming more and more aware of the benefits of diversification in terms of expected returns and risks. These investors are looking to…
Abstract
An increasing number of investors are becoming more and more aware of the benefits of diversification in terms of expected returns and risks. These investors are looking to international investing as a method of reducing risk. Because of the perceived benefits, Closed‐end (Country) Funds are becoming more popular with investors (Logue, 1982; Bonser‐Neal, 1990; Gould, 1990; Fadiman, 1990; Eun, 1991).
John M. Cheney, Stanley Atkinson and Barrie A. Bailey
An increasing number of investors are becoming aware of the benefits of international diversification. Generally, an internationally diversified portfolio of securities will be…
Abstract
An increasing number of investors are becoming aware of the benefits of international diversification. Generally, an internationally diversified portfolio of securities will be less volatile than a purely domestic portfolio. The reduction in volatility occurs because the returns on foreign securities are not perfectly correlated with domestic securities. As a result of the perceived benefits, U.S. based international mutual funds and U.K. international investment trusts are becoming more popular with investors.
Guided by the resource-based theory, the purpose of this study was to predict the role of football talent in the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) rankings…
Abstract
Purpose
Guided by the resource-based theory, the purpose of this study was to predict the role of football talent in the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) rankings of the men’s national football teams in the Copa America zone.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used archival data of Copa American national football teams. The dependent variable was FIFA rankings, and the independent variables were football talent (measured by the stocks of amateur footballers, professional footballers and football officials). Statistical analysis was performed using Kendall tau statistic and binary logistic regression.
Findings
The binary logistic regression results indicated that FIFA rankings were statistically and significantly associated with the stock of football officials and professional footballers – but not amateur footballers. The predictive model explained 80 per cent of the variance.
Research limitations/implications
The study focused exclusively on the stock of football talent in each nation, and not alternative determinants of national football team competitiveness as economic power and quality of professional football leagues, among others.
Practical implications
The stocks of professional footballers and football officials are valuable sources of competitive advantage (CA) in national football team rankings.
Originality/value
The study highlighted the uniqueness and distinctiveness of a nation possessing large stocks of professional footballers which can boost the CA and rankings of Copa American national football teams.
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Jon Landry, David Edgar, John Harris and Kevin Grant
This paper aims to investigate, through the lens of the principal–agent problem, the relationship between payment of National Hockey League (NHL) salaries and player performance…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate, through the lens of the principal–agent problem, the relationship between payment of National Hockey League (NHL) salaries and player performance during the period of 2005-2011 and explore the inherent issues within the NHL player compensation and incentive structure.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopts a pragmatic philosophy with deductive reasoning. This paper focuses on the NHL season 2005-2011 and undertake analysis of historical player contracts and performance data of 670 players across 29 clubs to undertake liner regression analysis.
Findings
This paper quantifies potential inefficiencies of NHL league contracts and defines the parameters of the principal–agent problem. It is identifies that player performance generally increases with salary, is higher in the first year of a contract and despite decreasing over the life of the contract, will usually peak again in the final year of the contract.
Research limitations/implications
The research is based around figures from 2005-2011 and secondary statistical data. The study captures quantitative data but does not allow for an exploration of the qualitative perspective to the problem.
Practical implications
Entry-level or first contracts are good for all teams and players because they provide incentive to perform and a reduction of risk to the team should a player not perform to expectations. The same can be said for players at the other end of the spectrum. Although not typically used much, performance bonuses for players over the age of 35 allow clubs to “take a chance” on a player and the player can benefit by reaching attainable bonuses. These findings therefore provide contributions to the practicing managers and coaches of NHL teams who can consider the results to help shape their approach to management of players and the planning of teams and succession planning for talent.
Originality/value
The paper presents a comprehensive and current perspective of the principal–agent problem in NHL and extends the work of Purcell (2009) and Gannon (2009) in understanding player performance enhancement.
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This study aims to examine whether investors react differently to the crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic based on chief executive officer (CEO) gender.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine whether investors react differently to the crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic based on chief executive officer (CEO) gender.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on a sample of publicly listed companies in Korea. The study uses the ordinary least squares regression and propensity score matching approach to address the research question. The dependent variable used in the regressions is the cumulative abnormal returns over 30, 60 and 90 days after the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Korea.
Findings
The results show that cumulative abnormal returns over 30, 60 and 90 days after the first COVID-19 case are less negative for firms led by women CEOs compared to firms led by men CEOs. This is consistent with the prediction that investors favor firms with women CEOs in times of high uncertainty.
Originality/value
This study adds to the growing literature on the stock market during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides empirical evidence that the effect of the pandemic on stock market performance differs by management characteristics such as CEO gender.
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Philipp Winskowski and Susanne Homölle
On the example of professional football in Germany, this paper analyses the conflict about the punishment of fan misbehaviour within an agency-theoretical framework to cast light…
Abstract
Purpose
On the example of professional football in Germany, this paper analyses the conflict about the punishment of fan misbehaviour within an agency-theoretical framework to cast light on the reasons for the ineffectiveness of the sentences and to show possible solutions.
Design/methodology/approach
In a pre-study, more than 1,300 hand-collected past sentences against clubs by the German and European sports courts were analysed to demonstrate the ineffectiveness of the penalties so far. Additionally, in the main study, 26 expert interviews with German representatives of the football association, courts, clubs, sponsors, police and active fan scenes allow a deep insight into the relationships of the involved parties.
Findings
The paper suggests that the sentences do not sufficiently consider several agency problems. Due to moral hazard, they exert hardly any influence on fan behaviour and only a small one on the clubs. While the lighting of pyrotechnics is by far the most punished type of misbehaviour, most of the interviewees cite the impossibility of preventing it. Despite the sentences, some clubs make non-public agreements with their fans about still tolerable misconduct or do not pass the penalties on to the polluters as intended by the association. The findings highlight the importance of communication for less misbehaviour.
Originality/value
For the first time, the agency theory and the economic theory of optimal punishment are brought together with insights from interviews with the involved parties. The authors discover a two-stage principal-agent problem and get new insights into stakeholders' hidden motivations and attitudes. The results should encourage a debate on the current penalties and possible solutions to the recurring problem of pyrotechnics.
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Joel Maxcy and Pauline Milwood
The purpose of this paper is to focus an empirical investigation on the financial ramifications of regulatory policies on American professional team sport leagues, while at once…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus an empirical investigation on the financial ramifications of regulatory policies on American professional team sport leagues, while at once including the inseparable effects on the outcomes of contests. The authors conduct a comparative analysis of the impact of alternative regulatory mechanisms adopted by American professional team sport leagues, and their implications for the league performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper conducts a comparative analysis of ten years of financial and contest data from Major League Baseball (MLB) and National Hockey League (NHL). Using relative measures of payroll and profits for the two leagues, the authors test hypotheses on the impact of the market-based payroll taxes of the MLB with the strict payroll limits imposed by the NHL and their relationship to both financial and contest outcomes of the two leagues.
Findings
The comparison of MLB and NHL shows that market-based tax incentives are more consistent with the league financial objectives than strict, enforced mandates, suggesting that comparatively higher profits are associated with the MLB’s approach when compared to the strict bounds imposed by the NHL. Conversely, the comparison of player costs in the NHL and MLB reveal no distinguishable features based on the alternative regulatory methods.
Originality/value
This paper provides an initial, valuable assessment of different regulatory mechanisms on the on- and off-field (-ice) performance of MLB and NHL. Given that MLB has adopted market-based tax incentives to regulate payroll (the competitive balance tax), and the NHL has imposed strict payroll limits (hard salary cap), the authors at once consider MLB’s innovative revenue-sharing system alongside the NHL’s more conventional and restrained method of revenue redistribution, and their implications for performance.
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Karen Lucas and Julia Markovich
Purpose — This chapter reviews the key findings of the reported research in this volume using the wider international literatures on transport and social exclusion as its…
Abstract
Purpose — This chapter reviews the key findings of the reported research in this volume using the wider international literatures on transport and social exclusion as its conceptual framework. It begins by briefly summarising the research and policy context in which the study is set. It then provides an overview of major conceptual, theoretical and methodological advancements relevant to this area over the last 10 years in order to evaluate the study’s contribution to research, policy and practice internationally.
Methodology — The conceptual framework for this chapter is based on a comprehensive review of the international literatures on transport and social exclusion. After a brief introduction to these, it outlines key conceptual, theoretical and methodological advancements as they pertain to transport-related social exclusion. In addition, it evaluates the scope and implications of the methodological approach with particular reference to contemporary scholarly debates in this area. The chapter subsequently explores the applicability of the research in policy and practice, both inside and outside the Australian context.
Findings — The chapter concludes that the research has made a significant contribution to conceptual, theoretical and methodological developments within the area of transport-related exclusion, and has helped move forward related debates within policy circles. Opportunities for further research are also identified.
The chapter reports the author's early reading of Norman Denzin's work in symbolic interactionism, and Denzin's impact on research training in social science in the United…
Abstract
The chapter reports the author's early reading of Norman Denzin's work in symbolic interactionism, and Denzin's impact on research training in social science in the United Kingdom. The chapter reflects on Denzin's impact on the field of educational research in particular. The chapter then reflects on working with Denzin and particularly Denzin's leadership of the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (ICQI) and its role in energizing and organizing the international qualitative inquiry community – the creation of Denzin's “bigger tent.”
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Gordon Chi Kai Cheung and Edmund Terence Gomez
This paper aims to examine the UK’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) policies under Margaret Thatcher’s era in the 1980s, with a view to understand the success stories…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the UK’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) policies under Margaret Thatcher’s era in the 1980s, with a view to understand the success stories, historical development and the structures of Chinese family business through a case study of See Woo Holdings Ltd.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors have achieved the objective on the study of the SMEs policies under Margaret Thatcher through critical evaluation of the historical literatures, books, journals and newspapers. The study on overseas Chinese business and the case of See Woo Holdings Ltd. is mainly through the research of the Chinese overseas in the UK and Southeast Asia, and the companies report from the Companies House in the UK. The authors have used the latest 2011 UK Census statistics and academic reports to locate the most current demographic changes and Chinese business characteristics in the UK and the Northeast of England.
Findings
First, the UK’s SMEs policies under Margaret Thatcher were quite receptive towards the ethnic business. Second, the case of See Woo Holdings Ltd. indicates that family business networks are still one of the characteristics of Chinese business. Finally, the broader UK’s SMEs policies play an important role in this case study.
Originality/value
The authors provide a tentative linkage between the UK’s SMEs policies under Margaret Thatcher and Chinese family business. In addition, the case study of See Woo Holdings Ltd. improves the current understanding of Chinese family business with a clearer picture about their structure, practice, characteristics and development.