Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Ozge Uygur Author-Name: Gulser Meric Author-Name: Ilhan Meric Title: THE FINANCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF U.S. COMPANIES ACQUIRED BY FOREIGN COMPANIES Abstract: The number of cross-border mergers and acquisitions has increased considerably after the 2007-2008 financial crisis. However, the post-crisis M&A market has not been studied sufficiently. In this paper, we compare the financial characteristics of the U.S. companies acquired by foreign companies with a matched sample of non-acquired U.S. companies during the post-crisis period. Supporting the findings of the prior literature, we provide evidence that acquiring companies tend to target mismanaged firms with low profitability. We also find that liquidity is not a significant factor in the acquisition decisions of foreign buyers. This paper is one of the first attempts to empirically examine the post-crisis M&A market, which may encourage more future research on the subject. Classification-JEL: G11, G15 Keywords: 2007-2008 Financial Crisis, Acquisition Target, Foreign Predator, Financial characteristics, Liquidity, Asset Management, Profitability, MANOVA, Liquidity Journal: Global Journal of Business Research Pages: 1-8 Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Year: 2013 File-URL: http://www.theibfr2.com/RePEc/ibf/gjbres/gjbr-v7n1-2013/GJBR-V7N1-2013-1.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ibf:gjbres:v:7:y:2013:i:1:p:1-8 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Yahn-Shir Chen Author-Name: Joseph Hsu Author-Name: Mei-Ting Huang Title: LAGGED EFFECTS OF TRAINING ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM LONGITUDINAL DATA Abstract: This paper examines the lagged association between training and financial performance of audit firms. Based on a panel data of 136 audit firms in Taiwan from 1992 to 1998, this paper constructs a year fixed effect regression model to test our hypotheses. Both partners’ and assistants’ training have significantly positive effects on financial performance with the former occurring in the current and one-year-lagged periods and the latter occurring in the one-year-lagged and two-year-lagged periods. Positive and significant association between training and financial performance informs practitioners that training contributes to audit firms and justifies the continuous education requirement in the public accounting profession. The evidence of one-year-delay effect of assistants’ training on performance conveys managerial implication to the practitioners in their employee recruitment policy. This paper is the first to exclusively examine the lagged association between training and financial performance at the organization level. The evidence of lagged association explains in part the mixed results on the relation between training and financial performance reported by prior studies. The two-year association between training and financial performance fills the literature gap left by researches on training both in the public accounting and in other industries. Classification-JEL: M42 Keywords: training, financial performance, lagged association, audit firms Journal: Global Journal of Business Research Pages: 9-20 Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Year: 2013 File-URL: http://www.theibfr2.com/RePEc/ibf/gjbres/gjbr-v7n1-2013/GJBR-V7N1-2013-2.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ibf:gjbres:v:7:y:2013:i:1:p:9-20 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Prena Rani Author-Name: Fazeena Fazneen Hussain Author-Name: Priyashni Vandana Chand Title: MANAGERIAL INCENTIVES FOR EARNINGS MANAGEMENT AMONG LISTED FIRMS: EVIDENCE FROM FIJI Abstract: High profile corporate collapses of the past decade have undermined the integrity of financial reporting. Earnings management has been of growing concern to many academics, practitioners and regulators. Despite an enormous amount of regulation and standards governing the financial reporting process, earnings management practices are accelerating at an alarming rate in organizations today. Fiji, like many other developed countries, has had instances of financial reporting failures. One does not need to look further than the multimillion-dollar saga involving the state owned Bank, the National Bank of Fiji, which was the largest known financial scandal in the history of Fiji and the Pacific Islands. This suggests that even emerging economies like Fiji were long ago, introduced to earnings management practices. However, this has not been apparent. Most studies on managerial incentives for earnings management, have been conducted in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Very few studies took place in emerging economies like Fiji. This study uses a questionnaire-based approach to examine managerial incentives for earnings management among listed firms in Fiji, highlighting the most prevalent incentive. Classification-JEL: M41 Keywords: Incentives for earnings management, emerging economies Journal: Global Journal of Business Research Pages: 21-31 Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Year: 2013 File-URL: http://www.theibfr2.com/RePEc/ibf/gjbres/gjbr-v7n1-2013/GJBR-V7N1-2013-3.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ibf:gjbres:v:7:y:2013:i:1:p:21-31 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Anthony Enisan Akinlo Title: GOVERNMENT SPENDING AND NATIONAL INCOME NEXUS FOR NIGERIA Abstract: The paper investigates Wagner’s law, the nexus between government spending and national income in Nigeria over the period 1961-2009 in multivariate framework incorporating population size variable. The results provide support for Wagner’s law in Nigeria. Moreover, there is a long-run relation among real government spending, real GDP and population size. A unidirectional causality runs from both real gdp and gdp per capita to government spending implying that expenditure rationalization policies may not necessarily have adverse effect economic growth. Finally, population has significant positive impact on government spending. Classification-JEL: E62 Keywords: Government Spending, National Income Journal: Global Journal of Business Research Pages: 33-41 Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Year: 2013 File-URL: http://www.theibfr2.com/RePEc/ibf/gjbres/gjbr-v7n1-2013/GJBR-V7N1-2013-4.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ibf:gjbres:v:7:y:2013:i:1:p:33-41 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Sylvester Feyi Akinbuli Author-Name: Ikechukwu Kelilume Title: THE EFFECTS OF MERGERS AND ACQUISITION ON CORPORATE GROWTH AND PROFITABILITY: EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIA Abstract: It is a widely held view that a strategic solution to financial distress in corporate organizations is mergers and acquisitions. This view remains a presumption, which has not been empirically tested through a research study. Corporate organizations facing difficulty have in recent times often followed or are compelled by regulators to follow the path of extensive reconstruction through mergers and acquisitions, apparently as the only option to liquidation. This paper fills a gap in the literature by investigating the effects of mergers and acquisitions on the efficiency, growth and profitability of corporate organizations in the post consolidated environment of the Nigerian banking industry. The methodology used is a survey of companies incorporated in Nigeria under the Companies and Allied Matters Act [1990], which have undergone a merger or an acquisition process. The elements of the survey were selected randomly. A total of ten incorporated banks were selected using simple random sampling technique. The collected data were analyzed using key financial ratios. The results support the idea that mergers and acquisitions are not a prima facie solution to the problem of financial distress in corporate organizations. This is especially so when mergers are regulatory imposed than business environment driven. The study further revealed that while mergers and acquisitions can drive growth and profitability in some organizations, operating efficiency suffers at least in the short-term in the post merger and acquisition corporate entity. The evidence also shows that mergers and acquisitions provided only a temporary solution to financial distress and no solution at all to operating indiscipline. Classification-JEL: G34, L10, Keywords: Merger, Acquisition, Corporate Growth, Profitability. Journal: Global Journal of Business Research Pages: 43-58 Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Year: 2013 File-URL: http://www.theibfr2.com/RePEc/ibf/gjbres/gjbr-v7n1-2013/GJBR-V7N1-2013-5.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ibf:gjbres:v:7:y:2013:i:1:p:43-58 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Myles E. Mangram Title: A SIMPLIFIED PERSPECTIVE OF THE MARKOWITZ PORTFOLIO THEORY Abstract: Noted economist, Harry Markowitz (Markowitz) received a Nobel Prize for his pioneering theoretical contributions to financial economics and corporate finance. His innovative work established the underpinnings for Modern Portfolio Theory—an investment framework for the selection and construction of investment portfolios based on the maximization of expected portfolio returns and simultaneous minimization of investment risk. This paper presents a simplified perspective of Markowitz’ contributions to Modern Portfolio Theory, foregoing in-depth presentation of the complex mathematical/statistical models typically associated with discussions of this theory, and suggesting efficient computer-based ‘short-cuts’ to these performing these intricate calculations. Classification-JEL: G30, G32, G11, G00, G20 Keywords: Markowitz Portfolio Theory, Modern Portfolio Theory, Portfolio Investing, Investment Risk Journal: Global Journal of Business Research Pages: 59-70 Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Year: 2013 File-URL: http://www.theibfr2.com/RePEc/ibf/gjbres/gjbr-v7n1-2013/GJBR-V7N1-2013-6.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ibf:gjbres:v:7:y:2013:i:1:p:59-70 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Samanvitha Swaminathan Author-Name: P. David Jawahar Title: JOB SATISFACTION AS A PREDICTOR OF ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY Abstract: Job Satisfaction at work has an influence on the level of Organizational Citizenship Behavior and in turn on work performance. The aim of this study is to determine and establish a relationship between Job Satisfaction, JS, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior, OCB, among faculty in higher education institutions. In this study we have employed the Wong’s Job Satisfaction and Organ’s Organizational Citizenship Behavior inventories to quantify the JS and OCB levels respectively. Samples from 252 faculty members in Tamil Nadu, India were used to obtain the empirical base for the study. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to interpret the data. Our results demonstrate that there is a positive relationship between JS and factors that constitute the OCB. Classification-JEL: M12 Keywords: Job Satisfaction, Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Help Oriented Behavior, Courtesy Journal: Global Journal of Business Research Pages: 71-80 Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Year: 2013 File-URL: http://www.theibfr2.com/RePEc/ibf/gjbres/gjbr-v7n1-2013/GJBR-V7N1-2013-7.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ibf:gjbres:v:7:y:2013:i:1:p:71-80 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Xiaochu Hu Title: ECONOMIC BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH THE VISA WAIVER PROGRAM – A DIFFERENCE-INDIFFERENCE APPROACH Abstract: This study evaluates the economic benefit that the Visa Waiver Program, VWP, brings to the United States, including decreased spending on administration and increased tourism. To capture the net effect of VWP due to increased tourism, this study conducts a semi-experimental evaluation by introducing a control group – it pairs a VWP member country with a non-member country. The results show a net increase of 3-4.5 tourism/business trips per thousand population for a VWP participating country. It concludes that in 2010, because the VWP was in place, the U.S. government has saved from 1.9 billion to 3.2 billion for the cost of interviewing visitors. In sum, this research provides more concrete evidence to the discussion of VWP’s future expansion. Classification-JEL: C23, F22 Keywords: economic analysis, Immigration policy, Visa Waiver Program, difference-in-differences, tourism Journal: Global Journal of Business Research Pages: 81-89 Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Year: 2013 File-URL: http://www.theibfr2.com/RePEc/ibf/gjbres/gjbr-v7n1-2013/GJBR-V7N1-2013-8.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ibf:gjbres:v:7:y:2013:i:1:p:81-89 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Alfred L. Luna Author-Name: Decima Christine Garcia Author-Name: Shih Yung Chou Author-Name: Sara Jackson Title: CAN TIGHT GROUPS AT WORK BE DETRIMENTAL? A THEORETICAL VIEW OF GOSSIP FROM THE NETWORK TIE STRENGTH AND DENSITY PERSPECTIVE Abstract: Given the importance of effective communication in organizational settings and the potential destructive impact of gossiping, greater research is needed to isolate those factors that enable negative gossip to occur. Although previous research has examined the effect of social network characteristics on gossip, the focus has not been on assessing the effect of social network tie strength and density on forms of gossip. In this article, we present a new theoretical framework for investigating how social network tie strength and network density can influence the forms of gossip, either negative or positive, in organizations. Our theoretical framework, therefore, provides important implications for theory and managerial practice. Classification-JEL: M12 Keywords: Gossip, social network ties strength, social network density Journal: Global Journal of Business Research Pages: 91-100 Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Year: 2013 File-URL: http://www.theibfr2.com/RePEc/ibf/gjbres/gjbr-v7n1-2013/GJBR-V7N1-2013-9.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ibf:gjbres:v:7:y:2013:i:1:p:91-100 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Gary F. Keller Title: AMENITY CONFLICTS BETWEEN URBAN PORT FACILITIES AND COMMUNITIES IN AUSTRALIA Abstract: Selsky and Memon (1997) commented that ports are part of a zone where there is considerable pressure from diverse stakeholders due to technological, economic, political and environmental forces from stakeholders as well as from the wider context management of urban ports. They referred to three forms of community conflicts around urban ports: locational conflicts; failures of corporate social responsibility; and inadequate co-management arrangements. The author analyzed the sources of conflict identified in national surveys of Australian ports from 1999 to 2010 to evaluate the significance of these matters as possible interferences in what Memon and Selsky describe as the amenity commons. An analysis of the Australian Report Cards from 1999-2010 strongly indicates that a direct correlation exists between the economic utility and efficient management of ports and the resulting impact those processes have on their urban neighborhoods and extended communities. The salient discovery is that the issues raised by Menon and Selsky and verified in the Australian Infrastructure Reports mandate the need for improved strategic planning for a reasonable solution for ports and their surrounding communities in the second decade of the 21st century. Classification-JEL: O11, O18, O33, O44, Q56 Keywords: Port Management Urban/port Infrastructure Growth Issues Port/local Community Conflicts Economic and Environmental Sustainability Challenges Journal: Global Journal of Business Research Pages: 101-108 Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Year: 2013 File-URL: http://www.theibfr2.com/RePEc/ibf/gjbres/gjbr-v7n1-2013/GJBR-V7N1-2013-10.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ibf:gjbres:v:7:y:2013:i:1:p:101-108 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Jianwei Lai Author-Name: Peng He Author-Name: Hsien-Ming Chou Author-Name: Lina Zhou Title: IMPACT OF NATIONAL CULTURE ON ONLINE CONSUMER REVIEW BEHAVIOR Abstract: This research aims to investigate culture impact on the content of helpful online consumer reviews. Two distinct cultures, American and Chinese, were selected for comparison. The hypothesized culture effects were empirically examined with online customer reviews data collected from both amazon.com and amazon.cn. The data was first analyzed with a qualitative method to encode the content of online reviews, and then the encoded data were analyzed with a quantitative method to test the hypotheses. The results show that American reviews are more likely to express their own opinions on products and American reviews contain more recommendations to others than Chinese reviews. In addition, Chinese and American customer reviews focus on different aspects of the products. The findings of this study can be used to improve customer relationship and product marketing in globalized e-commerce. Classification-JEL: M3, M30 Keywords: Online Customer Reviews, Cross-Culture Perspectives, Linguistic Features, Multinational Business, Amazon.com, Amazon.cn Journal: Global Journal of Business Research Pages: 109-115 Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Year: 2013 File-URL: http://www.theibfr2.com/RePEc/ibf/gjbres/gjbr-v7n1-2013/GJBR-V7N1-2013-11.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:ibf:gjbres:v:7:y:2013:i:1:p:109-115