bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Takeovers of Privately Held Targets, Methods of Payment, and Bidder Returns
Authors: Chang Saeyoung 
Published: March 2003

ABSTRACTWe examine bidder returns at the announcement of a takeover proposal when the target firm is privately held. In stock offers, bidders experience a positive abnormal return, which contrasts with the negative abnormal return typically found for bidders acquiring a publicly traded target. On the other hand, bidders experience no abnormal return in cash offers. Our analysis suggests that the positive wealth effect is related to monitoring activities by target shareholders and, to an extent, reduced information asymmetries.
Implementing PBB: Conflicting Views of Success
Authors: Willoughby Katherine G. , Melkers Julia E. 
Published: March 2003

A modern budget reform, performance‐based budgeting (PBB) emphasizes the measurement of government performance by agencies and public servants. In this article we define PBB as requiring strategic planning regarding agency mission, goals and objectives, and a process that requests quantifiable data that provide meaningful information about program outcomes. Performance‐based budgeting requirements are now pervasive in the states. Of forty‐seven states with PBB requirements, thirty‐one have legislated the process to be conducted, while sixteen have initiated the reform through budget guidelines or instructions.1What remains unknown, yet of vital interest to state administrators, their staff, legislators, and citizens, regards implementation status of PBB systems. How many states are utilizing a PBB process as prescribed by law or administrative directive? And if PBB has been implemented, has it been successful regarding improvement of agency effectiveness and decision making about spending? Perhaps most importantly, has PBB influenced appropriation decisions?.This research is based on responses to a mail survey of executive and legislative budgeters regarding the PBB system established in their state. Results discussed in this article consider budgeters’ response about PBB implementation status and effectiveness as conducted. We find that there are differing perceptions across the branches of government regarding both the extent of PBB implementation as well as its success. Results show that states with better‐known PBB systems have not necessarily realized greater success in terms of effectiveness from this budget reform than states with less popularly known systems, at least as perceived by the budgeters included in this article.
Possibility Theory Based Safety Assessment
Authors: Moller B. , Beer M. , Graf W. , Hoffmann A. 
Published: March 2003

An assessment of the safety of structures may be carried out on the basis of different known safety concepts (global safety factor, semiprobabilistic approach using partial safety factors, probabilistic approximation solution using first‐ and second‐order reliability theory, probabilistic “exact” solution). The application of these concepts presupposes special knowledge concerning input values, e.g., permissible or prescribed values, quantile values, distribution functions. This especially applies to probabilistic methods. Inaccuracies and statistically nondescribable uncertainties in the input data are either ignored in these methods or only accounted for approximately using crisp bounds.Fuzzy set theory enables such uncertainties to be described mathematically and processed in the analysis of structures. The uncertain results of fuzzy structural analysis may be evaluated by various methods. In this article a safety assessment method is described based on possibility theory. In contrast to the above‐mentioned concepts, the safety assessment of structures described here takes into account nonstochastic uncertainties and subjective estimates of objective values by experts based on possibility theory. It is possible by this means to obtain sufficiently reliable descriptions of the input data for further processing. The uncertainties introduced into the analysis are later reflected in the results. A realistic description of system behavior is obtained by applying high‐quality algorithms in the structural analysis. The uncertain results serve as a starting point for the safety assessment. The method described here forms a supplement to safety concepts already in use.
The Role of Company Stock in 401(k) Plans
Authors: VanDerhei Jack L. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe Enron situation has caused the retirement income policy community to focus increased attention on the desirability of current law and practices regarding company stock in 401(k) plans. Several proposals have been advanced to limit the exposure of 401(k) participants to company stock. I suggest that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the introduction of company stock into 401(k) plans is not simply more risk for no additional (expected) return. Rather, the introduction of this asset class into the 401(k) participant's portfolio may have beneficial influences via the differential asset allocation. I create a model to simulate the likely financial impact of prospectively eliminating company stock from 401(k) plans and find that average balances are expected to be between 4.0 and 7.8 percent larger if company stock is retained.
Prosecuting Insurance Fraud—A Case Study of the Massachusetts Experience in the 1990s
Authors: Derrig Richard A. , Zicko Valerie 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThere is widespread agreement that insurance fraud is a major problem in the United States. There is little agreement, however, in what constitutes insurance fraud in the many articles and research papers published on the subject during the past ten years. The term ‘‘fraud’’ carries the connotation that the activity is illegal and, hence, that prosecution and conviction are potential outcomes of a specific fraud. Accepting that premise allows us to adopt the legal definition of fraud in the insurance context and to examine the experience of dealing with insurance fraud in terms of property‐liability insurance lines. Specifically, we examine ten years of data on referrals and disposals of incidents of suspected fraud as processed by the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts to provide estimates of the distribution of types of people who perpetrate a variety of insurance frauds. We compile conviction rates, sentencing outcomes, and recidivism rates in detail to illuminate the law enforcement process and to gauge the deterrent effect of prosecuting insurance fraud in the criminal courts. The Massachusetts data lead us to conclude that the number of cases of convictable fraud is much smaller than the prevailing view of the extent of fraud; that the majority of guilty subjects have prior (noninsurance) criminal records; and that sentencing of subjects guilty of insurance fraud appears effective as both a general and specific deterrent for insurance fraud but ineffective as a specific deterrent for other crime types, as the recidivism rate appears no different from the general property criminal's recidivism rate.
The history of Russian psychoanalysis and the problem of its periodisation
Authors: Ovcharenko Victor 
Published: March 2003

The formation and spread of the psychoanalytic teaching of Sigmund Freud and his followers is one of the most significant events in the life of the spirit in the twentieth century.The recognition of this as an historical fact – irrespective of its relation to Freud and his ideas – assumes of course the need to gain a proper understanding and appropriate interpretation of psychoanalysis in all its dimensions.Generally speaking, the history of psychoanalysis and the psychoanalytic movement has been researched quite fully, although for a variety of reasons and circumstances there are a number of gaps in it. Perhaps the most important of these is the history of Russian psychoanalysis, which has developed within a country where, at the beginning of the century, Freud's works were translated and published in a most effective and representative way, and where psychoanalytic ideas drew a response both from specialists and among the public at large, although in content and inclination the Russian mentality did not at heart suit a psychoanalytical treatment of man and his culture.
Baudrillard and the Metaphysics of Motivation: A Reappraisal of Corporate Culturalism in the Light of the Work and Ideas of Jean Baudrillard
Authors: Hancock Philip 
Published: March 2003

This paper considers the implications of the work of the French social theorist, Jean Baudrillard, for contemporary strategies of employee management which focus upon the centrality of culture and its purposeful organization and dissemination. Starting with an exploration and consideration of the philosophical assumptions which underpin classical conceptions and models of employee motivation, it charts the ongoing refinement of these ideas, up to and including, the current fascination with the promise of corporate culturalism to deliver levels of high employee motivation and commitment. The work of Jean Baudrillard is then outlined and employed to develop a critical analysis of not only the philosophical presuppositions which continue to underlie the management of motivation but, also, the potential consequences of the current fascination with the management of organizational culture as a means towards increased levels of employee commitment and output.In conclusion, it suggests that the same postmodernizing process which Baudrillard identifies as the outcome of the intense mediatization of society is also produced and reproduced within the domain of the contemporary work organization, due to the championing of similar strategies of cultural management, especially by personnel or human resource academics and practitioners. Such a development is not, however, greeted with optimism. Rather, it is suggested that this particular diagnosis of the postmodern condition views the result as the production and reproduction of a deeply disinterested and enervated workforce; one which demonstrates enthusiasm neither for corporate goals nor indeed the furtherance of their own life‐projects.
The National Health Service Manager, Engineer and Father? A Deconstruction
Authors: Learmonth Mark 
Published: March 2003

This paper presents the findings of deconstructing a short extract from a report written by a National Health Service Trust chief executive.Changes in National Health Service management since the early 1980s are briefly discussed. This is followed by a theoretical discussion of deconstruction and metaphorization. The text is analysed focusing on the ‘binary opposites’ reason and emotion. It is argued that reason is given hierarchical pre‐eminence and that emotion is hidden or marginalized but that both concepts are central in order to arrive at an understanding of the text.The chief executive appears to constitute his role in ways which might be characterized as engineering (reason) and as traditional fatherhood (emotion). Metaphors in the text are used in order to provide evidence to support these characterizations. One implication which is particularly highlighted is that management in this text is seen as a distinctively masculine practice – perhaps surprisingly within what is presumed to be the caring and supportive environment of a health care organization.The paper ends with some reflexive reflections on the analysis.
POLITICIZED MANAGERIAL CAPITALISM: ENTERPRISE STRUCTURES IN POST‐SOCIALIST CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
Authors: MARTIN RODERICK 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe paper contributes to the sociological tradition of comparative institutional analysis. It argues that a distinctive form of capitalism is emerging in post 1989 Central and Eastern Europe, politicized managerial capitalism. This is a bifurcated system, one sub‐system internationally oriented, a still peripheral but increasingly integrated part of global capitalism, and a second sub‐system, more nationally oriented, dominated by managerial élites allied with weak states. Politicized managerial capitalism is founded upon the inherited practices of late Socialism, moulded by the post Socialist development process and congruent with the stage of development of capital, labour and product markets. It is unclear as to whether this is a transient or long‐term structure.
AFTER THE INK DRIES: THE INTERACTION OF TRUST AND CONTROL IN US‐BASED INTERNATIONAL JOINT VENTURES
Authors: FRYXELL GERALD E. , DOOLEY ROBERT S. , VRYZA MARIA 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThis study empirically examines the moderating effects of age and partner trust on the relationship between control mechanisms and perceptions of performance in 129 US‐based international joint ventures (IJVs). A reliance on formal control mechanisms and general managers’ perceptions of IJV performance were found to be positively related in younger IJVs, but this relationship became negative in more mature IJVs. In addition, social control mechanisms and perceptions of IJV performance were positively related, but only in the presence of affect‐based trust between the parents.
Relationship Quality, Trait Similarity, and Self‐Other Agreement on Personality Ratings in College Roommates
Authors: Kurtz John E. , Sherker Jennifer L. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractPrevious research has shown that the level of self‐other agreement for personality trait ratings increases with the length of acquaintanceship between the target and the informant. These findings emerge exclusively from studies of well‐acquainted pairs in natural relationships and relative strangers interacting in laboratory and classroom settings. The present study examines self‐other correlations for trait ratings using the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO‐FFI; Costa & McCrae, 1992) with 103 pairs of previously unacquainted female college roommates. Assessments were obtained at approximately 2 weeks and again at approximately 15 weeks subsequent to the roommates' initial introduction. Self‐other correlations increased for all five NEO‐FFI scores and agreement correlations for Conscientiousness were significantly higher than for Extraversion at both occasions. Differences in relationship quality did not moderate self‐other agreement for any of the traits. However, better relationship quality was associated with higher other‐ratings of Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness and lower other‐ratings of Neuroticism after controlling for self‐ratings on the same trait. Higher similarity in self‐ratings of Neuroticism and Openness was associated with higher self‐other agreement for these ratings, and similarity in Conscientiousness was associated with higher relationship quality. These results are considered in light of existing theories of differential trait observability and the effects of unique contexts on trait perception.
Difference and the Concept of the Political in Contemporary Political Philosophy
Authors: O'Sullivan Noël 
Published: March 2003

A striking feature of contemporary political philosophy is the emergence of the nature of the political itself as a central theme of discussion. There are various reasons for this development, but all of them merely reinforce the problem posed in its most stark form by postmodern theory. This is the problem of determining what concept of the political, if any, can accommodate the extreme diversity that is the main feature of contemporary western life. That is the question with which the present paper is concerned. The three currently influential concepts of the political are analysed, after which it is suggested that a fourth concept, which is a revised and reformulated version of the classical idea of civil association, provides the basis for a concept of the political best suited to modern conditions of increasing diversity.
Measuring Liberal Democratic Performance: An Empirical and Conceptual Critique
Authors: Foweraker Joe , Krznaric Roman 
Published: March 2003

Liberal democratic performance is understood as the delivery of liberal democratic values, and not as regime longevity or government efficacy. Measuring it is a matter of how far liberal democratic governments achieve in practice the values they endorse in principle. It is recognized that the performance of liberal democratic governments varies widely. But extant attempts to measure this variation suffer problems of reliability and validity, and the object of measurement is often unclear. By defining the range of liberal democratic values we demonstrate that performance is multidimensional and that trade-offs across different values can create distinct performance profiles. The narrow gauge of the extant meaures – usually of just one or two values – is often disguised by single scales that masquerade as summary performance indicators.
Valuation of venture capital investments: empirical evidence
Authors: Seppä Tuukka J. , Laamanen Tomi 
Published: March 2003

Using the valuation data of 421 US venture capital transactions and 176 initial public offerings, we test a simple binomial valuation model in modelling the risk‐return profiles of venture capital investments. We find that the model is consistent with the previous knowledge on the risk‐return profile of venture capital investments. The results also confirm the hypotheses that early‐stage ventures have higher implied risk and implied volatility of the returns than more established ones.Additionally, we analyse the predictive power of the binomial pricing model and compare it to corresponding ‘traditional’ models that utilize risk‐adjusted rates of return. We construct one‐step ex post return forecasts for the sample ventures and compare the results to the actually realized returns. The findings indicate that the fit of the binomial model is better than the fit of the corresponding ‘traditional’ models.The results imply that option‐based methods have empirical relevance in the pricing analysis of privately held companies and projects. Furthermore, practitioners can benefit from using these methods when analysing the risk‐return structure of private companies and R&D projects.
Evaluating growth options as sources of value for pharmaceutical research projects
Authors: Loch Christoph H. , Bode‐Greuel Kerstin 
Published: March 2003

The financial value of research projects is difficult to assess because they are highly uncertain. Often, the result is either an overly conservative approach to strategic innovation, based on net present value analyses, or an overly aggressive approach based on optimistic qualitative portfolios. R&D project evaluation requires recognizing threats as well as opportunities from uncertain events, and incorporating flexibility in managerial action in response to them. Real options pricing analysis is a widely discussed tool for evaluating such managerial flexibility.The limitation of options pricing lies in its requirement for complete financial markets, in which a replicating asset can be found that reproduces (or, at least, is correlated with) the project’s payoffs in all possible states of the world. However, the major risks of research projects are typically project specific and cannot be replicated in external markets. In this situation, a decision tree is a better tool to represent managerial options during execution of the project, and to evaluate its value. A decision tree is equivalent to options pricing for risks that can be priced in the financial markets (if trading of securities is explicitly included), and moreover, it can incorporate risks and flexibility that are not traded in financial markets.Using decision trees, we demonstrate a quantitative evaluation of compound growth options from research at BestPharma, a large international pharmaceutical company. A growth option is a future opportunity that may arise from a current R&D investment. The growth option may not be related to the primary purpose of the R&D project, or not even be directly foreseeable. Kester (1984) has argued that growth options may account for a large part of project value. BestPharma faced the problem of choosing among several strategic research initiatives. They developed a decision tree representation of the projects, which helped to provide transparency about project value and strategic options. Most importantly, carefully thinking through the tree helped to identify growth options, represented by additional branches in the tree, and to quantify that they represented major sources of value.
Small firm networks: a successful approach to innovation?
Authors: Hanna Victoria , Walsh Kathryn 
Published: March 2003

This paper considers the increasing trend of inter–working among small firms. Networks of small firms co–operate in certain activities, such as marketing, purchasing, R&D, training or manufacturing. But does co–operation lead to innovation? To answer this question published evaluations of small firms co–operating for mutual benefit are reappraised. Inter–working among small firms is then investigated further by interviewing three network brokers. The brokers were funded by regional governments and they facilitated co–operation between small firms. These semi–structured discussions explored the key characteristics of successful networks, the responsibilities of the broker and the level of innovation occurring.Networking is primarily a competitive response. It needs to evolve into a mechanism to enable small firms to develop innovative products and processes jointly. Small firms may have to rethink their approach to co–operation, and their motives for initiating inter–working if they are to benefit fully from co–operation.
Standard–setting processes: evidence from two case studies
Authors: Chiesa Vittorio , Manzini Raffaella , Toletti Giovanni 
Published: March 2003

In many hi–tech sectors one of the most important dimensions of competition is standardisation. This is particularly true in modular markets (i.e. markets characterised by the existence of modular architectures) and in network markets (i.e. markets where users would like to buy products compatible with those bought by others). Different processes may lead to the standard–setting. Sometimes there are fierce standardisation wars whereas in other cases competitors are able to agree on a common standard before the introduction of the technology on the market. In this paper we endeavour to provide an interpretative framework of the standardisation process and validate such a framework through an in–depth analysis of two case studies in a typical network market (the multimedia sector): the case of the Modem 56k and the case of the Information Appliances–Enhanced TV.The two case studies offer some evidence of the standardisation process and of the growing importance of super–partes organisations (Standard Development Organisations) in the mediation process between different interests and technologies to impose a common standard on the market.
The Labour Input Response to Permanent Changes in Output: An Errors‐in‐Variables Analysis Based on Panel Data
Authors: Biørn Erik , Klette Tor Jakob 
Published: March 2003

Using panel data for Norwegian manufacturing, we revisit ‘the increasing returns to scale puzzle’ for labour inputs. We consider the response of the input of white‐collar workers, blue‐collar workers, and blue‐collar worker hours to permanent changes in output. Permanent and temporary changes in output are treated as latent variables. We compare OLS, IV, and GMM estimates of the response elasticities and conclude that the distinction between permanent and temporary changes is essential. Our GMM estimates suggest that the ‘increasing returns to scale puzzle’ remains for all measures of the labour input also when we consider their response to permanent changes in output. For materials, the output response indicates approximately constant returns to scale. This suggests non‐homotheticity of the production technology. JEL classification: C23; J23