Russell Sacks, Jennifer Morton, Jenny Jordan, Steven Blau and Sean Kelly
In April 2017, FINRA issued a regulatory notice addressing the use of social media and digital communications by broker-dealers. The notice expanded on previous FINRA guidance on…
Abstract
Purpose
In April 2017, FINRA issued a regulatory notice addressing the use of social media and digital communications by broker-dealers. The notice expanded on previous FINRA guidance on these topics. This article provides clarity regarding how social media and digital communications fit within the requirements of various FINRA rules and provides guidance to firms and their registered representatives.
Design/methodology/approach
The principal topics addressed by FINRA’s regulatory notice are: (a) text messaging, (b) personal versus business communications, (c) third-party content and hyperlinks, (d) native advertising, (e) testimonials and endorsements and (f) links to BrokerCheck. This article presents an overview of each of these topics, respectively.
Findings
Under recordkeeping requirements, firms must ensure that they are able to retain communications made through text messaging and chat services. Business communications, which relate to the products or services of the firm, are subject to filing and content requirements, while personal communications are not. Under certain circumstances, third-party posts on social media sites established by the member and testimonials may be attributable to the firm. Native advertising, while permissible, must comply with content requirements. Firm-created electronic applications do not have to provide a link to BrokerCheck.
Originality/value
Firms and their registered representatives will gain a better understanding of what is permissible pursuant to FINRA and SEC rules as they communicate digitally and via social media.
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Jennifer Morton, Russell Sacks, Jenny Ding Jordan, Steven Blau, P. Sean Kelly, Taylor Pugliese, Andrew Lewis and Caitlin Hutchinson Maddox
This article provides a resource for traders and other market participants by providing an overview of certain automatic circuit breaker mechanisms and discretionary powers that…
Abstract
Purpose
This article provides a resource for traders and other market participants by providing an overview of certain automatic circuit breaker mechanisms and discretionary powers that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the U.S. president, as applicable, can exercise to pause or stop the trading of individual securities or trading activities across exchanges during extreme market volatility, each of which can cause interruptions to trading activity.
Design/methodology/approach
This article surveys automatic and discretionary mechanisms to halt trading activity under extreme market conditions. In particular, the article examines automatic cross-market circuit breakers, limit up-limit down pauses, the alternative uptick rule, as well as discretionary authority to stop short selling of particular securities and to stop trading across exchanges.
Findings
The article concludes that market participants must be cognizant not only of automatic cross-market circuit breakers, but also several other forms of potential market disruptions that may occur due to increased market volatility during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Originality/value
By exploring various mechanisms that respond to market disruption, this article provides a valuable resource for traders and other market participants looking to identify and respond to potential interruptions to their trading activity.
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Russell D. Sacks, Steven R. Blau and Taro Nishide
To address practical issues broker-dealers may face in reviewing and revising their policies and procedures in response to FINRA’s new fixed-income research rule, modifications to…
Abstract
Purpose
To address practical issues broker-dealers may face in reviewing and revising their policies and procedures in response to FINRA’s new fixed-income research rule, modifications to its equity research rule, and its FAQs regarding conflicts of interest in the offering process.
Design/methodology/approach
Reviews FINRA’s new fixed-income research rule, modifications to its equity research rule, and its FAQs regarding the its equity research rule, and provides detailed comparisons between current rules and new rules to help firms consider how to review and revise their policies and procedures.
Findings
Although significant exemptions may apply depending on firm structure, under FINRA’s new fixed-income research rule, firms producing fixed-income research reports will now be subject to regulation similar to that FINRA has imposed on firms producing equity research reports, including with respect to information barriers, other policies and procedures, and certain disclosures. The modified FINRA equity research rule retains the core provisions of the existing NASD and NYSE equity research rules and adds a “principles-based procedures” approach to potential conflicts of interest, shortens or eliminates quiet periods, and imposes some of the Global Settlement prohibitions on all firms. Firms will need to review and revise their policies and procedures for research in response to these rule changes. Firms should also take note of FINRA’s guidance in its FAQs regarding conflicts of interest in the offering process.
Originality/value
Overview of recent FINRA enforcement activity, rule modifications, and practical guidance from experienced securities and financial services lawyers.
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Russell Sacks, Michael Blankenship and Steven Blau
The purpose of this paper is to describe the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's new rule for IPO allocation and the requirements for compliance with the rule.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's new rule for IPO allocation and the requirements for compliance with the rule.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides an overview of the new FINRA Rule 5131, containing, among other things, provisions that prohibit the “spinning” of IPO shares to certain present and prospective investment banking clients. Specifically, the paper outlines the new regulations on “quid pro quo” allocations, “spinning”, “flipping” and IPO pricing and trading practices. The paper also provides detailed guidance to broker‐dealers regarding their obligations under the rule.
Findings
The proposed new rule is intended to prevent the following types of conduct: the allocation of IPO shares as consideration or inducement for the payment of excessive compensation for other services provided by the member; the acceptance of market orders of IPO shares prior to the development of a secondary market; the allocation of IPO shares to an executive officer or director of a company on the condition that the officer or director send the company's investment banking business to the member, or as consideration for investment banking services previously rendered; and the imposition of a penalty on registered representatives whose retail customers have “flipped” IPO shares when similar penalties have not been imposed with respect to syndicate members.
Originality/value
The paper provides practical guidance from experienced regulatory lawyers regarding an important proposed change.
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The intent of this article is to explore if there is a difference between American Jewish consumers and American non‐Jewish consumers in the use of word of mouth and brand loyalty…
Abstract
Purpose
The intent of this article is to explore if there is a difference between American Jewish consumers and American non‐Jewish consumers in the use of word of mouth and brand loyalty in response to the purchase of durable goods (automobiles). Additionally, this article aims to explore if there is a difference in the use of word of mouth and brand loyalty among American Jews with differing levels of acculturation.
Design/methodology/approach
This article utilizes survey data obtained from over 400 respondents with analysis performed using regression and chi‐squared analysis.
Findings
This study shows no significant difference in brand loyalty and word of mouth between all American Jews and American non‐Jews, however, a significant difference between highly acculturated American Jews and low‐acculturated American Jews was found.
Practical implications
The article helps firms plan their marketing strategy in terms of how they will utilize word of mouth where American Jewish consumers comprise a significant part of the target market. Additionally, this research helps firms understand the context of brand loyalty in terms of looking at ethnic groups.
Originality/value
Little research on Jewish consumer acculturation has been published in the last 25 years. The spending power of the American Jewish consumer is significantly larger than that of the rest of the American population, which makes the study of this group particularly valuable.
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Markus C. Hasel and Steven L. Grover
The purpose of this paper is to examine the interplay between different streams of trust and leadership and their impact on motivation and performance. The model answers recent…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the interplay between different streams of trust and leadership and their impact on motivation and performance. The model answers recent calls for a better understanding of underlying mechanisms in these interactions.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors drew from contemporary leadership and trust theories to develop ten propositions teasing out how specific person- and role-oriented leadership behaviors interact with calculus-, identification-, knowledge-based trust, motivation, and performance.
Findings
The model accentuates the complexity of the interactions between trust, leadership, and follower outcomes. It guides future empirical research to unravel these intricate relations and accentuates their complexity.
Research limitations/implications
The ten propositions act as guidelines in mastering the complex art of leadership by understanding how behaviors affect followers. An important limitation originates in the detailed analysis of leadership and trust. Focusing on specific leadership behaviors and trust types leaves further scope for future research into additional behaviors and cofounding variables to arrive at a more holistic picture of the underlying mechanisms that make or break an effective leader.
Originality/value
Contemporary theories on leadership and trust frequently view the different streams as overall constructs in lieu of multi-faceted phenomena. The model is a first of its kind in that it fuses contemporary leadership and trust theory to develop a set of propositions based on specific interactions between leadership behaviors and different forms of trust.
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Steven Kilroy, Karina Van de Voorde, Dorien Kooij and Sophie van den Dungen
The purpose of this study is to investigate if a supportive psychological climate specifically aimed at older workers (i.e. employee perceptions that the organization supports and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate if a supportive psychological climate specifically aimed at older workers (i.e. employee perceptions that the organization supports and activates older workers) will result in higher levels of older workers' vitality and dedication mediated through increased levels of older workers' perceived organizational support (POS).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a two-wave survey study among 209 older university employees (aged above 45 years) using structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results revealed that a change in supportive psychological climate is positively associated with a change in vitality and dedication, which was mediated by a change in POS.
Practical implications
Since workforces are aging around the world, one of the most pressing challenges for human resource managers is to find effective strategies to encourage older workers to remain engaged and active members of the workforce for as long as possible. In this study, the authors demonstrate that a supportive psychological climate for older workers is particular important in this regard.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this study is that it identifies the important role of a supportive psychological climate for older workers in predicting older workers engagement i.e. vitality and dedication, while also shedding light on the underlying mechanisms involved.
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Nathan Eva, Alexander Newman, Abby Jingzi Zhou and Steven Shijin Zhou
Community citizenship behaviors (CCBs) of employees help organizations to promote a socially conscious image. However, there is still a significant gap in the knowledge as to how…
Abstract
Purpose
Community citizenship behaviors (CCBs) of employees help organizations to promote a socially conscious image. However, there is still a significant gap in the knowledge as to how to foster CCBs amongst employees. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether ethical leadership, as a prosocial leadership approach, fosters CCBs amongst employees, both at work and when they leave the office, through enhancing their prosocial motivation.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 160 employees across 48 small- and medium-sized enterprises in China. Multi-level modeling using maximum likelihood estimation in MPlus was utilized to analyze the two-level model simultaneously and the significance of the multi-level indirect effects was tested using the Monte Carlo method with 20,000 replications.
Findings
Counter to the expectations, the authors found that although ethical leadership increased employees’ prosocial motivation, this only translated to higher levels of employees’ CCBs at work, but not once they left the office.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that ethical leaders play a critical role in developing the prosocial motivation of employees and encouraging them to engage in CCBs that are supported by the organization. To that end, organizations should consider hiring leaders with high levels of ethical leadership and provide ethical leadership training to senior management.
Originality/value
The authors make a theoretical contribution by explaining the process by which ethical leaders influence employees to engage in CCBs, addressing calls to understand how social learning theory can be used to understand how people learn to become socially responsible.