Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IT Investments and Financial Performance, a Review: The Bankruptcy Perspective

This study examines whether IT resources and capabilities affect the risk of bankruptcy of SMEs. Drawing on previous literature on bankruptcy and the resource-based view of the firm (RBV), we offer conclusive evidence of the influence of IT resources on financial health, as measured by the odds of filing for bankruptcy within a certain period of time. Flexibility, Internet-related abilities, cooperation/networking, and management skills are consistent with huge reductions in the risk of bankruptcy, implying that they are high value resources. Our results also stress that companies should pay attention to the development of bundles of complementary IT assets and capabilities, to create synergies and leverage IT resources. From a methodological point of view, we reveal new links between organization literature and previous research on bankruptcy; our innovative measure of performance can be a valuable tool for future research in both fields.
A New Scheme for Proactive Risk Management in Stock Market

This paper proposes a novel state-space approach to explain stock market dynamics driven by different types of trading, which leads to a new promising scheme for proactive risk management in financial investment. Particularly, it is assumed that the current price changes are formulated through daily trading by multiple types of traders, each of whom follows a specific investment strategy based on technical indicators and a fuzzy logic using past data of stock prices, volumes and yield curves. Moreover, the current price changes are represented by a linear combination of those multiple trading types, where the coefficients corresponding with the size of impact on the price changes are regarded as time-varying state variables to be sequentially estimated under a state-space framework. Thereby, this work develops a new factor decomposition method on price changes from a perspective of different traders' demand and supply to analyze the current situations and potential risks in financial markets. <br> <br>In empirical experiments, it is shown that the implementation of particle filtering algorithm makes it possible to replicate market price changes. Further, new signals based on the estimated states are developed, which are applied to proactive risk management in financial investment. Especially, it has been found that the demands of yield curve-based traders subtracting those of trend-followers could be a promising signal of stock market crashes, which has successfully enhanced simple buy-and-hold strategy of SP, as well as constant proportion strategies. <br>
Introducing DUI, a graphical interface for DIALS

Given the usefulness of DIALS[1] as an integration software package and its command line utility nature, there is an obvious need for a tool that runs DIALS commands in a user-friendly and interactive way. There is also a need for visualization tools to help users diagnose the integration process. The aim of the DIALS User Interface (DUI) is to provide these tools to run and control DIALS. It should also act as a tool in teaching DIALS and data processing in general. The DUI’s layout has some features in common with iMOSFLM[2] and also follows the same workflow principals. The DUI’s flexibility enables both the running of complicated commands with many parameters and simple commands using default parameters. The program is conceived in such a way that the user may never need to use the keyboard. While the user is adjusting parameters and choosing options with the mouse, the DUI is writing in real time the command line that should be run accordingly. The program generates graphics to help the user inspect the results. These graphics remain available in HTML5 format for later reuse, either for analysis or for publication. The DUI is particularly helpful when an automated pipeline tool like Xia2[3] fails or gives unexpected results. It allows the user to run DIALS but in a controlled way, with the user taking over decision making. References: [1] David G. Waterman, Graeme Winter, James M. Parkhurst, Luis Fuentes-Montero, Johan Hattne,Aaron Brewster, Nicholas K. Sauter, Gwyndaf Evans (2013) "The DIALS framework for integration software", CCP4 newsletter, n 49, pg 16-19 [2] T. Geoff G. Battye, Luke Kontogiannis, Owen Johnson, Harold R. Powell and Andrew G. W. Leslie (2011) "iMOSFLM: a new graphical interface for diffraction-image processing with MOSFLM", Acta Cryst D, Vol 67, Part 4 pg 271-281 [3] G. Winter "xia2: an expert system for macromolecular crystallography data reduction" (2010) J. Appl. Cryst, Vol 43, pg 186-190 Figure 1. DUI showing diagnostic graphics after running refine job
Smile Dynamics III

In two previous articles, we assessed the structural limitations of existing models for equity derivatives and introduced a new model based on the direct modelling of the joint dynamics of the spot and the implied variance swap volatilities. Here we present new work on an extension of this model which, while remaining Markovian, provides control on the smile of forward variances and can be calibrated to VIX futures and options.
Measuring Systemic Financial Stress and its Impact on the Macroeconomy

This paper proposes a general statistical framework for systemic financial stress indexes. Several existing index designs can be represented as special cases. We introduce a daily variant of the ECB’s CISS for the euro area and the US. The CISS aggregates a representative set of stress indicators using their time-varying cross-correlations as systemic weights, like portfolio risk is computed from the risk characteristics of individual assets. A bootstrap algorithm delivers test statistics. A linear VAR shows that the Great Recession is mainly caused by CISS shocks, while their contribution to the COVID-19 crisis appears limited. A quantile VAR suggests particularly strong real effects of financial stress in the worst states of the economy.
State of Play in Baia Mare. Desk Analysis, Research Repository and Awareness Appraisal

In this State of Play. Desk Analysis, Research Repository and Awareness Appraisal Report we analysed the socio-economic, territorial, and environmental dynamics that characterised Baia Mare over the last decades; the current strategic, policy and regulatory framework within which SPIRE develops; the evolution and state-of-play of Baia Mare’s environmental pollution and its impacts on human health; as well as the perceptions and the level of awareness of local citizens in relation to the local economy and labour market, socio-cultural framework, and the quality of the city’s environment and public spaces. <br><br>Additionally, we pinpointed and assessed the implications of the Report’s main findings on the development and implementation of our project in the short- and long-term, and we highlighted the key emerging priorities.
Using Supra-Covered Bonds to Enhance Liquidity in the Euro Area: A Proposal for the Post-COVID-19 Recovery

The discussion on the necessity of a larger volume of very highly quality (VHQLA) and liquid asset in the euro area has been very extensive. The debate on expanding the pool of comparable euro area assets focuses on “safe assets”, often on various combinations of government bonds, most of which would not entail a strong increase in euro VHQLA. This paper explores a different option, complementary to the existing ones, based on the creation of a safe European asset backed by fully private assets. The idea proposed in this paper is the issuance of supra-covered bonds by a central European institution. The latter are bonds issued by the central issuer and backed by covered bonds, which banks would have created using their mortgages as their cover pool. The aim is to increase substantially the outstanding amount of euro VHQLA. Such an asset would be very beneficial also during crisis periods, like the current COVID-19 crisis, by allowing banks to transform mortgages into very high quality and liquid assets that can be used for funding and as a collateral in operations with the Eurosystem, thus enhancing the possible credit sustain to the SMEs. This paper assesses the main effects of such proposal on banks under different possible scenarios.
The Determinants of Customer Satisfaction Among Purchasing Industry in Malaysia

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to understand how retail network leverage the potential of social media reviews along with unique service operations and brand satisfaction to satisfy customers in their purchasing. Design/methodology/approach – Develop and applying a conceptual model for the social media era which combine the idea of loyalty and value- based model of Chatterjee (2013). The model also derived from existing literature and expert opinion. Findings – The study finds that social media reviews is not dramatically impact upon customer satisfaction. Practical Implications – The study confirm the importance of social media reviews, marketing, and interaction between promotion and service operations enabling retail networks to build loyalty and value-based models which triggers the retail network to defend their position within a very competitive business market. Originality/value - The paper theoretically develops logic for and empirically shows customer experience would be helpful for companies in integrating their operations and marketing efforts enabling them to convert different segment of customers such as “free riders (higher satisfaction and low profitability)” and “vulnerable customers (low satisfaction and higher profitability)” into “star customers (higher satisfaction and high profitability)”, through the concurrent social media reviews, marketing and operations, businesses will be better-placed to survive in the ultra competitive social media-influenced. Paper type- Research paper
Performance Persistence. Evidence from the UK Investment Trusts Industry

The existing literature of performance persistence of UK investment trusts is limited. We are going to use a sample of 210 UK investment trusts to test performance persistence in different time periods. We sort funds into rank portfolios based on past performance. A positive and statistically significant α indicates a skilled fund manager whose decisions add value to the fund. On the other hand, negative α values or statistically insignificant values represent inferior or neutral performance of the manager. Four out of sixteen sectors display an α that is positive and statistically significant at the 5% and 1% significance level. Five out of sixteen sectors display an alpha that is negative and statistically significant. Fifteen out of the sixteen sectors show a negative and statistically significant market timing ability (γ). So while there is some evidence for managerial performance persistence in the short-term, there is little evidence for persistence in the long-run.
Horizon to Sustainability: Uncover the Instrumental Nature of Corporate Social Responsibility

This paper finds that CEO incentive horizon, proxied by their pay duration, has a positive influence on the engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR), especially when firms face a higher risk of reputation loss, need more stakeholder support, and maintain more effective corporate governance practices. CSR, when practiced by CEOs with longer-horizon incentives, benefits both stakeholders and shareholders in the long run. Further tests suggest that endogenous factors are unlikely to drive our conclusions and inferences. Taken together, our evidence suggests that the instrumental perspective on CSR prevails and long incentive horizon helps align stakeholders’ interests with shareholder value.
Spillover Effects of Sovereign Bond Purchases in the Euro Area

This paper investigates cross-border spillover effects from the Eurosystem’s Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP) on euro area government bond yields. We distinguish between the direct effects of domestic bond purchases by national central banks and the indirect effects from bond purchases by national central banks in other euro area countries over the period March 2015 - December 2018. The results reveal substantial spillover effects across the euro area, providing evidence for strong arbitrage within the euro area. These spillover effects are particularly large for long-term bonds and for bonds issued by non-core countries. The larger impact of spillovers in these cases can be explained by investors rebalancing towards higher yielding government bonds. In addition, purchases under PSPP had their largest impact on bond yields in 2015.
Allocating Scarce Resources in the Presence of Private Information and Bargaining Power

This paper studies optimal schemes for allocating scarce resources to agents with private demand information and heterogeneous bargaining powers. Through an investigation of a mechanism design model that aims to induce agents to report their demands truthfully, we find the following results. First, when the principal purely cares about social welfare and when the principal has sufficient resources to satisfy all agents’ demands, we find that the optimal allocation scheme is “efficient” because it is identical to the optimal scheme for the benchmark case in which bargaining power differentials and information asymmetry are both absent. Second, when rationing is needed due to resource scarcity, we show that heterogeneity in bargaining power cross agents will cause the principal to allocate more resources to agents with stronger bargaining power even though their true demands are low, resulting in “inefficient” allocations. We show that there are circumstances that can reduce allocation inefficiency caused by bargaining power differentials. These circumstances are: (1) when the principal cares about both the social welfare and its own monetary benefits, and (2) when positive externality is present (i.e., allocating resources to one agent can benefit other agents).
An Optimization Approach for a Complex Real-Life Container Loading Problem

Abstract We consider a real-world packing problem faced by a logistics company that loads and ships hundreds of trucks every day. For each shipment, the cargo has to be selected from a set of heterogeneous boxes. The goal of the resulting container loading problem (CLP) is to maximize the value of the cargo while satisfying a number of practical constraints to ensure safety and facilitate cargo handling, including customer priorities, load balancing, cargo stability, stacking constraints, positioning constraints, and limiting the number of unnecessary cargo move operations during multi-shipment deliveries. Although some of these constraints have been considered in the literature, this is the first time a problem tackles all of them jointly on real instances. Moreover, differently from the literature, we treat the unnecessary move operations as soft constraints and analyze their trade-off with the value maximization. As a result, the problem is inherently multi-objective and extremely challenging. We tackle it by proposing a randomized constructive heuristic that iteratively combines items in a preprocessing procedure, sorts them based on multiple criteria, uses randomization to partially perturb the sorting, and finally constructs the packing while complying with all the side constraints. We also propose dual bounds based on CLP relaxations. On large-scale industry instances, our algorithm runs in a few seconds and outperforms (in terms of value and constraints handling) both the solutions constructed manually by the company and those provided by a commercial software. The algorithm is currently used by the company generating significant economic and CO 2 savings.
The Effect of Posted Prices on Auction Prices: An Empirical Investigation of a Multi-channel B2B Market

Multi-channel sales strategies have become common due to the usage of advanced information technologies. Yet, how one trading mechanism can influence the outcome of another, especially in the B2B market, is largely underexplored. This paper investigates the effect of price and quantity information from a pre-sales posted price channel on the performance of the century-old sequential Dutch auctions system. The pre-sales channel is conducted online preceding the auctions. Sellers can control the price and make a proportion of their stock available in the pre-sales. Anything left after the pre-sales is sold via the auctions. Our analysis of nearly 1.5 million flower lots reveals a positive effect where there are higher auction prices and total revenue for lots listed in the pre-sales than for lots that are not. The result holds even for lots with no actual sales in the pre-sales, indicating that buyers pay close attention to the additional information from the pre-sales posted price channel. By teasing out the information effect of pre-sales prices and pre-sales quantity on the auction prices, we evaluate a number of pricing strategies. The results suggest that selling at a high price in the pre-sales is still more beneficial than selling more by discounting prices.
The Nexus Between Utility Service Quality and Organizational Performance of Small Business Enterprises: A Conceptual Approach

The main thrust of the paper is to examine the nexus between Utility Service Quality (USQ) and organizational performance of SBEs. The study is conceptual in nature, and thus preceded by a thorough review of literatures on service quality and organizational performance. In the end, the study hypothesized that perceived electricity service could exert significant influence on the organizational performance of SBEs. It also hypothesized that water service quality could exert significant influence on the organizational performance of SBEs. The study, therefore, recommends that future researchers should shift their research focus to the issues of service quality and organizational performance in the industrial market so as to enable then test the conceptualized hypotheses and make meaningful contribution to the existing knowledge.
Comparison of the Japanese and German nursing-home sectors: Implications of demographic and policy differences

This research provides a comparative study of the Japanese and German nursing-home sectors. Facing aging populations, both countries share similar long-term care policies based on social insurance. However, descriptive statistics indicate significant differences in the outcomes of utilization and costs in their respective nursing-home sectors. This research seeks out the reasoning behind these observations, looking at demographic and policy differences between the two countries. To shed light on multiple angles, we conduct empirical analysis using three methods: regression, the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition, and data envelopment analysis, which uses regional data from the past decade. Our findings indicate that different outcomes are driven by both demographic and policy differences where policy relates to long-term care as well as to additional welfare aid. Among the policy elements, our results are consistent with the regional existence of moral hazard, but only for Germany. This result might be due to a generous welfare program in Germany, while Japanese figures do not indicate the existence of moral hazard as a result of strict nursing-home admission rules for welfare recipients.
Language and Domain Specificity: A Chinese Financial Sentiment Dictionary

We use supervised machine learning to develop a financial sentiment dictionary from 3.1 million Chinese-language financial news articles. Our dictionary maps semantically similar words to a subset of human-expert generated financial sentiment words. In validation tests, our dictionary scores the sentiment of articles consistently with human reading of full articles. In return association tests, our dictionary outperforms and subsumes previous Chinese financial sentiment dictionaries, such as direct translations of Loughran and McDonald’s (2011) English-language financial dictionary. We also generate a list of politically-related positive words that is unique to China; we find that this list has a weaker association with returns than does the list of other positive words. We demonstrate that state media uses more politically-related positive and fewer negative words, and exhibits a sentiment bias. This bias renders the state media’s sentiment as less return-informative. Our findings demonstrate that dictionary-based sentiment analysis exhibits strong language and domain specificity.
Indicators to Sustainable Supply Chain Management in Indian Additive Manufacturing Industries

Sustainable supply chain management has gained popularity over the globe in last few years. It is found that amalgamation of sustainable rehearses with the TSCM (traditional supply chain management) improves the environmental performance and green image of industries among the competitor industries over the globe. Adoption of new supply chain system over the existing one is never be an easy task for the industries it is always anticipated by some hurdles or indicators which needs to be eliminated before the implementation of sustainable supply chain management practices. The main difficulty for industries is to analyze the indicator effect on the performance through the ranking of indicators by selecting the important indicators for industries. In the present study, sustainable supply chain management indicators are identified through the literature survey and data collection is done by circulating the questionnaire survey to the additive manufacturing industries in India. Further, the positioning of indicators is done with the help of analytical hierarchy process which shows that ordering cost is the most influencing indicators for Indian additive manufacturing industries in the adoption of sustainable supply chain management practices.
Commodity Investing

This paper reviews the literature on commodities from the perspective of an investor. We re-examine some of the early papers in the literature using recent data, and find that the empirical support for the Theory of Normal Backwardation as an explanation for the commodity risk premium is weak, and that the evidence is more consistent with storage decisions. We then review the behaviour of the main participants in the commodity futures markets with a particular focus on their impact on prices. While there is continued disagreement in the literature about the role of speculative activity, our results show that money managers are generally momentum (positive feedback) traders, while producers are net short and contrarian (negative feedback) traders. There is less evidence that index traders and swap dealers trade based on past futures returns.
The Impact of Network and Spatial Embeddedness on Salespeople Inactivity in Direct Selling Organizations

Drawing upon job embeddedness theory, this paper examines whether network and spatial embeddedness impact direct salespeople’s tendency to remain active or become inactive. Network embeddedness is defined as one’s connection with other salespeople (micro-level), and one’s affiliation to a network family with a view of an overall network (macro-level), including the role of status of network members. Spatial embeddedness examines the role of geographically close salespeople. Leveraging a novel empirical dataset with a proportional hazard model, the results suggest that both micro-and macro-level network embeddedness help decrease salespeople inactivity. The impact of spatial embeddedness, however, varies by network family. Exposure to high-status salespeople also reduces inactivity, especially within the same network. Our results suggest that macro-level network embeddedness has the highest impact on inactivity followed by micro-level embeddedness. Both are higher than the impact of own performance.