bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The pitfalls of auctioning universal service – the Australian experience
Authors: Bahtsevanoglou John 
Published: March 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the degree to which auctioning the right to provide universal service is a viable option in developed countries with high teledensity and near ubiquitous fixed line and mobile networks. The paper also aims to provide signposts on the types of issues regulators need to consider and resolve when designing auctioning mechanisms for the competitive provision of universal service.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examines the nature and scope of universal service, the approaches that have been used to identify the costs of universal service provision and the difficulties in using an auction process to allocate the right to provide universal service in countries with near ubiquitous network infrastructure. Australia is used as a case study on the difficulties of using auctions to encourage new entry in universal service areas served by a powerful incumbent. The paper also examines the types of issues regulators need to resolve when designing auction mechanisms for universal service provision.FindingsThe paper concludes that for developed countries, it is unclear whether the use of auctions for the provision of universal service will have the desired effect of ensuring a market‐based approach to service provision. This is because the risks associated with becoming an alternative universal service provider are likely to outweigh the benefits of doing so. Further, the risks faced by an alternative universal service provider are not borne by the incumbent operator thus further increasing the disincentive to bid for the right to provide universal service. The paper also concludes that the practical design of the universal service rights and obligations which will be attached to a winning bidder's license conditions is an extremely important mechanism by which some of the risks to potential universal service providers can be overcome.Originality/valueThe paper stimulates thinking about whether universal service auctions are a viable means of providing universal service in developed countries. In presenting empirical evidence of the difficulties in using auctions to introduce competition in universal service provision, the paper may provide valuable input to the regulatory proceedings associated with introducing universal service contestability arrangements that are currently being conducted in various countries.
Proposed national market system changes aim to lighten dark pools
Authors: Owens Andre E. , Yim Soo J. , Stekler Beth A. , March Cristie L. 
Published: March 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain rule changes proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission designed to address regulatory concerns related to “dark pools” of liquidity.Design/methodology/approachThe paper explains the background and policy issues related to dark pools, discusses the SEC's amended definition of “bid” or “offer” under Regulation NMS to include “actionable indications of interest” (“actionable IOIs”), outlines a proposed reduction of the average daily trading volume threshold that triggers a public display of ATS orders from 5 percent to 0.25 percent, discusses a proposal to require an alternative trading system (“ATS”) to disclose its identity in real time on its reports of executed trades, and explains proposed size‐discovery exclusions to the changes detailed above.FindingsThe paper finds that the proposed rules represent the Commission's attempts to improve the NMS without inhibiting the use or continued technological development of trading strategies that are consistent with NMS goals.Originality/valueThe paper provides a clear explanation of complex market mechanisms and proposed rules by experienced financial institution and securities lawyers.
SEC holds roundtable on securities lending/short selling
Authors: Campion Kevin J. , Hirschfeld Arik 
Published: March 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to summarize and provide excerpts from a two‐day roundtable on securities lending and short selling hosted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 29‐30, 2009.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides summaries and participants' comments from two days of SEC commissioner's questions and panel discussions. Day one – securities lending: Panel 1 – overview of securities lending; Panel 2 – securities lending and investor protection concerns; Panel 3 – improving securities lending for the benefit of investors; Panel 4: the future of securities lending and potential regulatory solutions. Day two – short selling: Panel 1 – controls on “naked” short selling; Panel 2: making short sale disclosure more meaningful.FindingsMany pension and mutual funds view securities lending as an investment activity. Securities lenders see cash collateral as an important risk. FINRA and the SEC have considered the need for increased transparency and the possible benefits of a central counterparty for securities lending. The securities lending market is highly regulated, including through requirements imposed by Regulation T, 15c3‐3, 15c3‐1, Regulation SHO, and ERISA guidelines. The SEC has considered “hard locate” and “pre‐borrow” requirements for short sales, which some market participants believe would be uneconomical. An estimated 50 percent of fails are from ETFs. The SEC has considered enhanced disclosure requirements for short sales, both anonymous and public, their possible effects on fraud prevention and market efficiency, and any harm they could do to market makers.Originality/valueThe paper provides a discussion by regulators and industry experts on the most important current regulatory issues related to securities lending and short selling.
A Stern look at hedge fund risk
Authors: Kosky Jeremy , James Simon , Carty Helen 
Published: March 2010

PurposeThis paper aims to give an overview of the English law position on potential liability for misstatements and claims which investors may be considering.Design/methodology/approachThe paper discusses liability for information contained in prospectuses, where liability for misrepresentation can arise, various possible remedies for investors, how criminal liability for misrepresentation can arise, and how hedge funds can protect themselves from misrepresentation claims.FindingsA recent study by the Stern Business School found that 42 per cent of a group of over 400 hedge funds had either misrepresented information to investors or provided information that was inconsistent with material obtained from other sources.Practical implicationsThe Stern Business School report is a timely reminder that all communications to investors, however informal, should be carefully verified and consideration should be given as to how pronouncements on future performance or investment opportunities are couched.Originality/valueThe paper provides practical guidance from experienced financial institution and securities lawyers.
What is the consequence of the missing compliance function at hedge funds? Fraud is! Analysis, lessons and solutions
Authors: Muhtaseb Majed R. 
Published: March 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to offer case studies of hedge fund fraud, solutions that could mitigate hedge fund fraud risk, and a proposal for the industry to establish a hedge fund information depository (HFID) where participants/stakeholders could provide information on any hedge fund on regular basis.Design/methodology/approachFour major hedge fund fraud cases, Bayou Funds, Lipper Holdings, Manhattan Investment Fund and Maricopa Investment Corporation are used as examples of the complete absence of independent oversight and the application of HFID.FindingsThe paper finds that investors in the four funds lost more than $1.3 billion. In all four fraud cases, independent oversight and compliance function were conspicuously missing. In each fraud case there was at least one serious alert (warning) that took place at least 14 months prior to SEC first filing against the fund.Research limitations/implicationsSome hedge fund industry stakeholders may reluctantly join HFID due to concern over possibly disclosing information deemed crucial for their own competitive advantage.Practical implicationsHad third parties become aware of the alerts, they could have made a different investment or business decision. Most importantly, this depository would allow all hedge fund industry stakeholders (accountants, administrators, auditors, investors, marketers, prime brokers, custodians and regulators) to communicate with one another regularly.Originality/valueThe paper makes two proposals: the founding of a hedge fund information depository; and outsourcing of the compliance function for hedge funds where it is more cost effective.
Trademark registration can provide financial services companies with valuable benefits
Authors: Alter Beth H. 
Published: March 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to educate financial services companies about the importance of trademark registration.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews what a trademark is, what the advantages are to trademark registration, and the steps involved in registering a trademark.FindingsThe paper finds that trademark registration can assist financial services companies in protecting their corporate identity, which is one of their most valuable assets.Practical implicationsFinancial services companies should give serious consideration to registering their trademarks and should register their trademarks where appropriate.Originality/valueThe paper will be of interest to a wide range of financial services companies who are concerned about protecting their corporate identity, particularly in light of the financial crisis.
Foreign IPOS by Russian issuers: new rules
Authors: Kartashkin Alan , Kuleshov Maxim , Sazykina Yulia 
Published: March 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain new regulations for foreign securities offerings by Russian issuers.Design/methodology/approachThe paper explains existing restrictions for insurance of depositary receipts (DRs) by Russian issuers, details additional restrictions introduced by the new regulations, and discusses other changes concerning amendment to a deposit agreement governing issuance of DRs, possible reorganization of a Russian issuer of DRs and possible termination of FSFM approval for DR issuance.FindingsThe new regulations reduce the number of Russian issuers' shares that can be traded outside of Russia in the form of depositary receipts.Originality/valueThe paper provides expert guidance by experienced Russian financial institutions and securities lawyers.
SFC consults on proposals to enhance protection for the investing public
Authors: Rogers Martin , Shipman Mark , Walker James , Dare Bryan Paget , Robins Charlotte 
Published: March 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) Consultation Paper on Proposals to Enhance Protection for the Investing Public, issued on September 23, 2009, and some of the key issues that financial services providers operating in or dealing with the Hong Kong market will need to consider.Design/methodology/approachThe paper explains the purpose of the Consultation Paper and summarizes its proposals in three subject categories: retail products offered to the public in Hong Kong, intermediares’ conduct, and post‐sale arrangements and cooling‐off periods.FindingsThe paper finds that the SFC's overall intention is to enhance Hong Kong's existing regulatory regime for the sale of retail investment products.Practical implicationsThe Consultation Paper addresses a significant number of wide ranging proposals that could have a material effect on those issuing and distributing retail investment products to the Hong Kong public, whether from inside or outside Hong Kong.Originality/valueThe paper provides practical guidance from experienced securities and financial institution lawyers.
Effect of operation size, environmental conditions and management on municipal sewerage services
Authors: Prado‐Lorenzo José M. , García‐Sánchez Isabel M. 
Published: March 2010

PurposeThis paper aims to focus on assessing the effect which factors that cannot be controlled by the public administrator on the efficiency of municipalities on rendering sewerage services.Design/methodology/approachThe analyses performed to date focus mainly on technical efficiency due to the low importance of public outputs value. For it, a four‐stage process was followed in order to observe the overall effect produced by operation size and environmental conditions on efficiency index estimated by data envelopment analysis.FindingsThe results obtained show that operation size and environmental conditions have a significant impact on efficiency indices and on reducing the variability between indices; however, the type of management proprietorship, public vs private, does not impact the degree of efficiency.Practical implicationsAs regards decisions stemming from intermunicipal comparison, it can be seen that a drastic decrease occurs in input reduction and output increase percentages geared towards making the municipality under observation efficient in relation to those initially detected, without taking into consideration factors which cannot be controlled by the administrator.Originality/valueThis paper is pioneering in knowing the intensity of the effect of certain factors on the benchmarking process.
Managing corporate performance
Authors: Aras Güler , Aybars Aslı , Kutlu Ozlem 
Published: March 2010

PurposeCorporate social responsibility is important and fundamental to the sustainable operations of corporations. Similarly financial performance is undoubtedly fundamental to the continuing operating of any corporation. This paper aims to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility and firm financial performance.Design/methodology/approachThe main part of this paper is based upon an exploration of the relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance in developing countries. The authors do this by investigating the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) 100 index companies and their social responsibility policy and financial indicators. The relationship between CSR and financial performance is empirically examined between 2005 and 2007 with different approaches and measurement methods. The authors show that some causality is related to lagging between periods for financial performance and CSR. Based upon previous empirical studies, this study conducts the analysis based on the assumption that there may be a relationship between firm size, profitability, risk level and CSR.FindingsIn doing this analysis the authors found a relationship between firm size and corporate social responsibility. However the authors were not able to find any significant relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance/profitability.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper has implications in enhancing the understanding of performance management through understanding the relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance particularly in a developing country, although it is necessarily limited by the size of the sample.Originality/valueThis paper increases the understanding of the relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance. This research is also the first research that has examined Turkish companies.
Does efficiency matter?
Authors: Mostafa Mohamed M. 
Published: March 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the link between efficiency and profitability in the US specialty retailers and food consumer stores using cross‐sectional data for the year 2007.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a non‐parametric data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to measure the relative efficiency of 45 retailers in the USA. The study also quantitatively examines the link between efficiency and profitability.FindingsThe results indicate that there is a positive link between efficiency and profitability in the US specialty retailers and food consumer stores. The results also indicate that the performance of several retailers is sub‐optimal, suggesting the potential for significant improvements over both profitability and marketability dimensions. Separate benchmarks were derived for possible reductions in resources used, and significant savings are possible on this account.Originality/valueFrom a policy perspective, this study highlights the economic importance of encouraging increased efficiency throughout the retailing sector in the US. At the theoretical level, the study empirically confirms the existence of a positive and significant link between efficiency and profitability in the US specialty retailers and food consumer stores.
Information privacy concerns and e‐government: a research agenda
Authors: Carter Lemuria , McBride Anastasia 
Published: March 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this viewpoint is to identify the potential for future research on information privacy and e‐government.Design/methodology/approachUsing a concise review of major privacy studies, the paper presents an overview of information privacy research in e‐government. Using privacy calculus, it proposes seven factors that have an impact on one's concern for information privacy (CFIP) when disclosing information to or completing a transaction with the government.FindingsThe model posits that seven factors – perceived internet privacy risk, collection, error, secondary use, improper access, reputation, and third party certificate – have a significant impact on CFIP.Originality/valueThis viewpoint provides a timely discussion on information privacy and e‐government. It also provides several suggestions for future research in this area. This viewpoint is a call for research on information privacy and e‐government.
Transformational government and improving services for older adults through the DIADEM assistive technology
Authors: Fernando Senaka , Money Arthur , Elliman Tony , Lines Lorna 
Published: March 2010

PurposeTransformational government has been on the European agenda for several years. However, progress towards transforming public services for older adults with age‐related cognitive impairments has been very limited. While socioeconomic factors associated with the older adult community which can hinder their usage of governments' online services, partly explain such slow progress, the paper argues that inability of current web‐based technologies and services to adequately cater for specific cognitive impairments of older adults plays a major part in this. Highlighting such limitations, the purpose of this paper is to present the results from a research project currently being undertaken in the UK, Norway and Italy, to demonstrate how assistive web‐based technologies can be developed to assist the transformation of governments' services for older adults with age‐related cognitive impairments.Design/methodology/approachThe research approach includes three phases. The aim of Phase 1 is to develop a comprehensive list of requirements for the development of the first version of the delivering inclusive access to disabled and elderly members (DIADEM) application. In Phase 2, a usability evaluation is carried out from the perspective of the older adult target user group. These two phases include the literature revive, the focus group interviews and the user trials. Currently, DIADEM project activities are about to go into Phase 3.FindingsThe key findings of the study indicate that the users of the DIADEM assisted online form filling seemed report comparatively high levels of satisfaction. Furthermore, the innovative use of experts systems has brought significant benefits to the older adults with cognitive decline as the DIADEM technology appears to be sensitive to the users who present high level of cognitive decline, and provides increased levels of assistance accordingly. The paper shows how such benefits can transform the governments' services to older adults with age‐related cognitive impairments when the DIADEM technology is commercialised and diffused.Research limitations/implicationsThe DIADEM enabled transformations is not simply about technology. It is an organisational change too. As a result further research needs to be carried out on the challenges around change management, and the level of commitment to change which will be required to achieve the DIADEM enabled transformation in governments.Originality/valueThe paper focuses on transforming governments' online services for older adults with age‐related cognitive impairments. This research area has been neglected for several years by both researchers and practitioners.
New service development in e‐government: identifying critical success factors
Authors: Angelopoulos Spyros , Kitsios Fotis , Papadopoulos Thanos 
Published: March 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to suggest a model that incorporates critical factors contributing to the success in new service development (NSD) projects in electronic government (e‐government).Design/methodology/approachAfter a brief introduction to e‐government and NSD in respect to models for successful implementation, the authors justify and build on the existing literature that advocates the use of critical success factors (CSFs) to study the implementation of these projects. They suggest a model that incorporates the determinants of success or failure for a new service through a set of variables.FindingsThis paper proposes a framework, which is believed to help with the empirical research of CSF in NSD. The suggested framework attempts to bring experience in leadership and coordination of work theory and practice together by synthesising the existing literature with real‐life experience.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper contributes to the e‐government implementation literature in terms of suggesting a model that takes under consideration important CSF for implementing NSD.Practical implicationsThe projects a number of implications for public sector scholars as well as administrators. A vast amount of taxpayer money can be saved if decision makers can promptly identify potential waste of funds in prone‐to‐failure projects.Originality/valueThe research aims at providing a better understanding of the underlying factors and dimensions that describe NSD in e‐government through the suggestion of a model that takes under consideration important CSF for implementing NSD. Therefore, it expands the scope of NSD research in e‐government context, stating the need for more research to be conducted regarding the NSD in e‐government using CSF. By identifying the potential success or failure of future projects a number of implications for public sector scholars as well as administrators comes to light.