Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Why Do Firms Go Public?

Why entrepreneurs choose to conduct an IPO has received relatively little attention when compared to other IPO topics such as initial underpricing and the long-run performance of IPOs. In this chapter, I summarize, analyze, and expand the current discussion on why firms go public. I begin by discussing the theoretical underpinnings and testable hypotheses offered thus far in the academic literature. I then discuss the empirical evidence for (and against) each of these potential explanations after presenting the intuition behind them. I focus on two types of empirical research: a) large-sample publicly-available financial and stock data and b) proprietary survey data. When dealing with the topic of why firms go public, both approaches to research contain their own challenges. Publicly available data sources typically do not contain detailed information on private firms (particularly in the US). Without private firm data, it is difficult to compare private and public firms to isolate the factors determining why firms go public. In addition, it is problematic to ascertain motives for the factors observed in these types of studies. Survey data, on the other hand, has not been widely accepted in the Finance discipline and has its own challenges in collecting. After discussing the theories and traditional empirical research on why firms go public, I discuss four surveys that have either indirectly or directly addressed the motives for going public.After reviewing and discussing the existing evidence, I provide an in-depth analysis of the Brau and Fawcett (2006a) survey question, “How important were/are the following motivations for conducting an IPO? ” In the conclusion, I attempt to pull all of the theories together and argue that all of them are valid, in certain instances, for certain entrepreneurs. In some samples, specific theories have greater efficacy. In other samples, these same theories have weak explanatory power.
Signal measurement and prediction of WiMAX basestations on Taiwan high speed rail

When communicating at high-speed environment such as high-speed rail, the signals may encounter fast fading due to the terrain changes. In such communication environment, signal prediction can help improve the system throughput and reduce packet loss. In this paper, we propose a prediction mechanism called Window Weight Moving Average (WWMA) to predict the signal strength. We also analyze the real WiMAX signal data collected from Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR). The analytical results will facilitate the migration from WiMAX to LTE.
Preventive Effects of Lansoprazole and Famotidine on Gastric Mucosal Injury Induced by Low‐Dose Aspirin in Helicobacter pylori—Negative Healthy Volunteers

The preventive effects of lansoprazole and famotidine on low‐dose aspirin‐induced gastric mucosal injury in relation to gastric acidity were compared in healthy Japanese volunteers. Fifteen Helicobacter pylori‐negative volunteers with different CYP2C19 genotypes were randomly administered aspirin 100 mg, aspirin plus famotidine 20 mg twice daily, or aspirin plus lansoprazole 15 mg once daily for 7 days each in a crossover fashion. Gastroscopy for the evaluation of mucosal injury based on modified Lanza score (MLS) and 24‐hour intragastric pH monitoring were performed on day 7 of each regimen. Aspirin induced gastric mucosal injury (median MLS = 3). Lansoprazole significantly decreased MLS to 0, which was significantly lower than that by famotidine (MLS = 1) (P < .05). Medians of pH 3 holding time and mean 24‐hour pH values with the lansoprazole regimen were significantly higher than those with famotidine (P < .05). No significant differences in MLS were observed among the different CYP2C19 genotype groups in any of the treatment regimens. In this 7‐day study, lansoprazole appeared to be more protective than famotidine against low‐dose aspirin‐induced mucosal injury but a larger well‐controlled study is necessary to establish a definitive clinical benefit.
Supplier evaluation with quality-based fuzzy data

Supplier evaluation and selection is one of the most critical activities of purchasing management in a supply chain. On the regular basis, managers constantly evaluate quality characteristics of suppliers' products and make decisions to select preferred suppliers. Fuzzy quality data commonly exists in the reality world. Under this fuzzy environment, we propose a quality-based supplier evaluation based on the fuzzy-capability index (FCI) in this paper. We first apply the resolution identity theorem to construct the membership function of FCI for each supplier. With these FCIs' membership functions, a ranking method known as a fuzzy preference relation of FCI is then adopted to select the preferred suppliers. Finally, a case study of touch screens is provided to illustrate the applicability of incorporating the fuzzy quality data into the problem of quality-based supplier evaluation and selection.
A Study of the Expected Adoption of Online Shopping—The Case of Hong Kong

Abstract The study focuses on an examination of the personal characteristics of the potential early adopters and an identification of crucial perceived innovation attributes for online shopping, using Hong Kong as a case study. Results indicate that the economic gains, availability, compatibility, security risk, monthly income, opinion leadership on technological product, attitudes towards technological development as well as venturesomeness are the key factors in classifying potential adopters. Managerial implications are discussed and recommendations are offered that help marketers in segmentation, promotion and product design.
Understanding Lifestyle Entrepreneurs and Digging Beneath the Issue of Profits: Profiling Surf Tourism Lifestyle Entrepreneurs in Ireland

An area of particular interest for those researching in tourism entrepreneurship has been lifestyle entrepreneurs. Lifestyle entrepreneurs are primarily motivated by the need to succeed at living a certain quality of life by maintaining an income which allows them to survive. The dichotomy between entrepreneurs who develop businesses for profit and those who are motivated by lifestyle has formed the basis of much discussion about lifestyle entrepreneurs in the literature. Two groups of lifestyle entrepreneurs have been conceptualised: constrained and non-constrained. This paper contributes to our understanding of lifestyle entrepreneurs by presenting six case studies of surf tourism lifestyle entrepreneurs to investigate common themes and characteristics. This paper investigates lifestyle entrepreneurs in Ireland who have established surf businesses in the west of Ireland. Key questions posed include: Are there commonalities between these entrepreneurs in terms of their background, both in terms of their business and private lives? Why did they embark on this particular entrepreneurial journey? How do they inter-relate with other local entrepreneurs? What are their visions for the future of their business? Has the business grown in size over time from how they first envisioned it? Have their original lifestyle goals shifted? The empirical research, which comprises of in-depth interviews, provides rich data which brings us beyond the single issue of whether profits are a key motivation. By studying lifestyle entrepreneurs as a group on their own (rather than trying to compare them with regular entrepreneurs) we are free to investigate beyond the traditional constructs of business research which focuses primarily on profits, strategy and operations. In so doing we are able to add to knowledge regarding this already identified important group of tourism entrepreneurs. Findings show the importance of past travel experiences and that motives do change over time.
Financial Media, Price Discovery, and Merger Arbitrage

Using merger announcements and applying methods from computational linguistics we find strong evidence that stock prices underreact to information in financial media. A one standard deviation increase in the media-implied probability of merger completion increases the subsequent 12-day return of a long-short merger strategy by 1.2 percentage points. Filtering out the 28% of announced deals with the lowest media-implied completion probability increases the annualized alpha from merger arbitrage by 9.3 percentage points. Our results are particularly pronounced when high-yield spreads are large and on days when only few merger deals are announced. We also document that financial media information is orthogonal to announcement day returns.
GABAA receptor subunit γ2 and δ subtypes confer unique kinetic properties on recombinant GABAA receptor currents in mouse fibroblasts

1 To determine their contributions to the rapid kinetic properties of GABAA receptor (GABAR) currents, α1 and β3 subunit subtypes without or with δ or γ2L subtypes were transiently coexpressed in mouse L929 fibroblasts to produce α1β3, α1β3δ, or α1β3γ2L GABAR isoforms. 2 Brief (2–3 ms) applications of 1 mM GABA to outside‐out membrane patches containing α1β3, α1β3δ, or α1β3γ2L isoforms elicited currents that activated rapidly with monophasic time courses and deactivated rapidly with biphasic time courses. α1β3γ2L currents exhibited a slower mean deactivation rate (76.1 ms) than α1β3 (34.1 ms) or α1β3δ currents (42.8 ms). 3 During 1 mM GABA applications, α1β3γ2L currents activated more rapidly (0.46 ms) than α1β3 currents (1.7 ms) or α1β3δ currents (2.4 ms). During 4000 ms GABA applications, α1β3 and α1β3γ2L currents desensitized with triphasic time courses to similar extents (α1β3, 94.6%; α1β3γ2L, 92.4%) and with similar mean rates (α1β3, 352 ms; α1β3γ2L, 462 ms). In contrast, α1β3δ currents desensitized only 55.6% with a biphasic time course and slower mean rate (1260 ms). 4 These experiments demonstrated that the α1β3 heterodimer formed a GABAR channel with rapid deactivation and rapid and nearly complete desensitization. Addition of the δ subunit did not alter the activation rate, but produced a receptor with slower and less complete desensitization. Addition of the γ2L subtype increased activation rate, prolonged deactivation and changed the pattern of rapid desensitization. 5 Rapid kinetic and steady‐state single‐channel data were used to construct kinetic models that predicted the behaviour of the α1β3γ2L and α1β3δ currents. These models represent a reconciliation of macroscopic and steady‐state single‐channel data for GABARs and provide a framework for systematically assessing the functional significance of different GABAR isoforms.
Self-Employment, Small Firms and Enterprise

For many months the British government has been trying to convince the nation that it wants to promote economic growth. The evidence suggests that the economic giants of the future are the very smallest firms of today. This being the case, no policy to increase growth can neglect obstacles that face the self-employed and small businesses. The self-employed and small businesses form a sector of the economy that is difficult to research and little understood. However, Peter Urwin, Director of the Centre for Employment Research at Westminster Business School, provides radical insights in this IEA publication. In particular he shows how the self-employed and employees of small firms have a very different profile from the employees of large firms. If we prevent small firms from flourishing we will cut off opportunities for large sectors of society who may struggle to find alternative employment. Furthermore, the nature of entrepreneurship is such that government policy can never identify successful firms in advance. The only option is to de-regulate business so that tomorrow’s successful firms are not strangled at birth. This publication is important reading for those who wish to understand a sector that employs nearly one third of the British workforce. It is also vital reading for those who wish to develop the policies that will liberate a culture of entrepreneurship within the UK.
Robust analogizing and the outside view: two empirical tests of case‐based decision making

Executives use analogies to improve strategic decisions. However, existing research provides little guidance on the types and number of analogies that produce the best decisions. We examine models of analogy and present findings from two empirical tests. The first test, a study of private-equity investment decisions, finds that an ‘outside view’—forming a reference class of analogies—performs better than a few analogies familiar to the decision maker. The second test, a study of film revenue forecasts, compares a new model we call similarity-based forecasting (SBF) with existing methods. The study finds that SBF, which combines elements of reference class forecasting and case-based decision making, produces better forecasts than regression models. We discuss the consequences of our findings for research and practice.
THE ACS LCID PROJECT. VI. THE STAR FORMATION HISTORY OF THE TUCANA dSph AND THE RELATIVE AGES OF THE ISOLATED dSph GALAXIES

We present a detailed study of the star formation history (SFH) of the Tucana dwarf spheroidal galaxy. High-quality, deep HST/ACS data, collected in the framework of the LCID project, allowed us to obtain the deepest color–magnitude diagram to date, reaching the old main-sequence turnoff (F814 ∼ 29) with good photometric accuracy. Our analysis, based on three different SFH codes, shows that Tucana is an old and metal-poor stellar system, which experienced a strong initial burst of star formation at a very early epoch (≃13 Gyr ago) which lasted a maximum of 1 Gyr (sigma value). We are not able to unambiguously answer the question of whether most star formation in Tucana occurred before or after the end of the reionization era, and we analyze alternative scenarios that may explain the transformation of Tucana from a gas-rich galaxy into a dSph. Current measurements of its radial velocity do not preclude that Tucana may have crossed the inner regions of the Local Group (LG) once, and so gas stripping by ram pressure and tides due to a close interaction cannot be ruled out. A single pericenter passage would generate insufficient tidal heating to turn an originally disky dwarf into a true dSph; however, this possibility would be consistent with the observed residual rotation in Tucana. On the other hand, the high star formation rate measured at early times may have injected enough energy into the interstellar medium to blow out a significant fraction of the initial gas content. Gas that is heated but not blown out would also be more easily stripped via ram pressure. We compare the SFH inferred for Tucana with that of Cetus, the other isolated LG dSph galaxy in the LCID sample. We show that the formation time of the bulk of star formation in Cetus is clearly delayed with respect to that of Tucana. This reinforces the conclusion of Monelli et al. that Cetus formed the vast majority of its stars after the end of the reionization era implying, therefore, that small dwarf galaxies are not necessarily strongly affected by reionization, in agreement with many state-of-the-art cosmological models.
Top management incentive compensation and knowledge sharing in multinational corporations

Growing interest has emerged in viewing the multinational corporation as a knowledge creating and diffusing entity. The importance of sharing knowledge across organizational and national boundaries has been established in previous research. However, the question of which organizational policies lead to knowledge sharing between multinational units is still not fully understood. In particular, the link between compensation mechanisms and knowledge sharing has not received attention in previous studies. By studying 164 foreign-owned subsidiaries located in Finland and China, this article attempts to identify the relationship between subsidiary bonus pay based on MNC-wide performance and knowledge sharing between different units of the MNC. In line with the knowledge-based perspective of the firm, the results suggest that incentive pay based on the collective performance of the MNC leads to greater knowledge sharing. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Auditor's Participation In Time Budget Setting Towards Perceived Time Budget Attainability And Job Satisfaction

This study examines the time budget environment of auditors‟ participation. Based on questionnaires distributed among the Malaysian auditors in Big Four audit firm headquarters, this study found that the direction of the auditors‟ participation in setting the time budget and the auditors‟ perception of the time budget attainability are positive in direction. Further, auditors‟ job satisfaction which is measured as the outcome also shows a positive relationship with the perceived time budget attainability.
Determinants of intellectual capital disclosure in initial public offerings: case of Canadian firms

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of intellectual capital information’s of firms that went through IPO. Our sample includes 43 firms that IPOs listed in the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2012 of which the prospectuses for the initial public offering are available. Our study, unlike other studies focuses on the issuing prospectuses. The paper applied a disclosure index comprising of 78 items (Bukh and al (2005)) to quantify the amount of information regarding intellectual capital included in the IPO prospectuses of canadian firms. Multiple regression model and Correlation is used. The results revealed that the managerial ownership, the presence of an audit committee and industry are significantly associated with the voluntary disclosure of information about the intellectual capital in prospectuses. While firm size, age, the audit committee’ activity and audit quality do not affect disclosure. The results are interpreted in the light of the increasing importance of disclosing information on intellectual capital to the capital market a in case of IPO and constitute a contribution to the ongoing debate on corporate reporting practices.
Factors Preventing Myopia Progression with Orthokeratology Correction

Purpose To examine which baseline measurements constitute predictive factors for axial length growth over 2 years in children wearing orthokeratology contact lenses (OK) and single-vision spectacles (SV). Methods Sixty-one children were prospectively assigned to wear either OK (n = 31) or SV (n = 30) for 2 years. The primary outcome measure (dependent variable) was axial length change at 2 years relative to baseline. Other measurements (independent variables) were age, age of myopia onset, gender, myopia progression 2 years before baseline and baseline myopia, anterior chamber depth, corneal power and shape (p value), and iris and pupil diameters as well as parental refraction. The contribution of all independent variables to the 2-year change in axial length was assessed using univariate and multivariate regression analyses. Results After univariate analyses, smaller increases in axial length were found in the OK group compared to the SV group in children who were older, had earlier onset of myopia, were female, had lower rate of myopia progression before baseline, had less myopia at baseline, had longer anterior chamber depth, had greater corneal power, had more prolate corneal shape, had larger iris diameter, had larger pupil sizes, and had lower levels of parental myopia (all p < 0.05). In multivariate analyses, older age and greater corneal power were associated with smaller increases in axial length in the OK group (both p < 0.05), whereas in SV wearers, smaller iris diameter was associated with smaller increases in axial length (p = 0.021). Conclusions Orthokeratology is a successful treatment option in controlling axial elongation compared to SV in children of older age, had earlier onset of myopia, were female, had lower rate of myopia progression before baseline, had lower myopia at baseline, had longer anterior chamber depth, had greater corneal power, had more prolate corneal shape, had larger iris and pupil diameters, and had lower levels of parental myopia.
The financing of small innovative firms: the Italian case

Small firms encounter difficulties in collecting external finance due to greater information problems. For small innovative firms, whose activity is more difficult to evaluate, the cost of external finance could be even higher. This paper aims to shed light on special features in financial structures of small innovative firms, compared with firms of similar size that do not innovate. The evidence shows that small innovators rely less on financial debts and more on internal financial resources; no important differences appear for large firms. This is consistent with the view that information problems mainly affect small firms. Another finding is that small innovative firms show a lower investment sensitivity to cash flow than small non-innovative firms: it is likely that the high incidence of internal financial resources allows them more flexibility in deciding their investments. No difference in investment sensitivity to cash flow, by innovative attitude, is found for large firms.
The role of information in mobile banking resistance

Purpose – Adopting technological service innovations entails substantial learning effort requiring information and guidance from the provider. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of information and guidance offered by a bank on five adoption barriers – usage, value, risk, tradition, and image – in a mobile banking context.Design/methodology/approach – The measurement development and hypotheses were based on consumer resistance theory and the earlier literature on internet and mobile banking. A large empirical study on bank customers with 1,551 effective observations was conducted. The measure items were validated by measurement model and hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling.Findings – The results show that the information and guidance offered by a bank has the most significant effect on decreasing the usage barrier, followed by image, value and risk barriers respectively. The information and guidance showed no effect on the tradition barrier.Originality/value – Thi.