Articles tagged with Financial Management
A new study suggests that charging consumers a fee at the time of sale can significantly reduce electronic waste (e-waste) in the US. The approach is found to be more effective than fees upon disposal, increasing manufacturer profits while decreasing e-waste quantities.
Researchers found that wishful bettors can contaminate beliefs throughout markets, causing investors with accurate beliefs to become overly optimistic about stock values. This contagion problem could contribute to market bubbles and other anomalies.
Research by Christophe Boone and Walter Hendriks found that IT firms with diverse expertise and work experience tend to be more effective in managing organizations. In contrast, personality diversity hinders firm performance. The study suggests using carefully designed personnel selection techniques to screen for knowledge and experience.
The 2008 financial crisis has radically transformed the business information landscape, with senior information managers seeking to add value and manage costs. The survey found that companies are pushing for more strategic management of their information services, with a focus on appraising how to add value and managing vendors.
A Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute student project has created an open-source app called Vault that tracks and manages personal spending on the iPhone, while protecting users' identities. The app offers features like automatic expense categorization and GPS-located bank branches.
A new INFORMS management insights feature warns that relying on arithmetic means can lead to flawed plans. Non-averaging metrics, such as the artist's maximum sales, are often more accurate and should be used instead.
A new INFORMS study suggests automakers must balance short-term price savings with long-term product life cycle implications when considering outsourcing production. The study finds that in-house development allows for higher performance improvement over the entire product life cycle.
Liverpool Associates in Tropical Health (LATH) has been awarded a £10 million contract to strengthen Malawi's health research capacity. The initiative aims to enhance institutional capacity for high-quality multi-disciplinary health research and improve the use of research in national policy and implementation.
A recent study published in Management Science found that social preferences, such as status and reciprocity, play a significant role in shaping the behavior of supply chain partners. When these preferences are taken into account, partnerships can become more collaborative and mutually beneficial, leading to improved overall performance.
The University of Minnesota study reveals that corporate culture is the most important factor in driving radical innovation across nations. Firms with a supportive internal structure, product champions, and incentives are more innovative than those with other characteristics.
Research suggests that joint bidding on packages can increase consumer surplus and improve profits for both consumers and retailers. In a study, authors found that consumers tend to bid more for individual items when asked to place a joint bid, increasing the probability of a transaction going through.
A University of Illinois expert argues that traditional corporate governing systems failed to prevent risky business deals, contributing to the financial meltdown. In contrast, partnership-based firms have better weathered crises through controls like tying managers' compensation to company fortunes.
The article proposes new best practices for corporate portfolio management, including revamping organizational structure and compensation systems to prioritize investor thinking. An independent group within companies can function like a SWAT team to support objective portfolio management.
A new study found that firms with high analyst coverage engage in excessive external financing and capital spending, resulting in lower future returns. Firms with high analyst coverage tend to have higher levels of investment compared to those with low analyst coverage.
A recent INFORMS study suggests that hiring top talent from competitors may not lead to improved performance. Instead, the performance of stars depends on firm-specific human capital and colleague relationships. The study's findings warn managers against expecting significant gains from hiring stars.
The NIST model assigns a probable risk of attack to guide IT managers in securing their networks by analyzing all possible paths that system attackers could penetrate through. This allows decision makers to make wise decisions and investments to protect their network from data breaches.
A new issue brief examines the current financial status of state retiree health plans, finding that not all states face a fiscal crisis and retirement benefits are not protected by law. States with low unfunded liabilities include North Dakota, Wyoming, Iowa, and Oregon.
Firms in rural areas are less likely to issue equity than urban firms, with rural firms using lower-quality underwriters. This is due to the marginal investor being located far away, creating an information disadvantage for insiders.
A study by Matthew T. Billett and Yiming Qian found that CEOs who exhibit self-attribution bias tend to overcredit their role in successful deals and underestimate the impact of luck, leading to more value-destructive acquisitions. The authors advise CEOs to be cautious and boards to ensure proposed deals are judged on their own merits.
A study by Vanessa Gail Perry found that those who overestimated their credit ratings had lower incomes, less formal education, and were less likely to own their homes. People more likely to overestimate their credit quality tend to be minority consumers with less financial experience.
A study published in Strategic Management Journal reveals that financial markets reward green firms due to their perceived lower risk, resulting in reduced total cost of capital. Additionally, individual investors favor greener firms, leading to increased ownership and lower equity capital costs.
A new Management Insights study by Enno Siemsen reveals that software designers intentionally create complex products to advance their careers. Companies are struggling to cope with increasing design complexity, and the study suggests moving compensation agreements towards short-term project success.
A Management Insights study finds that physicians consider patients' inputs when making prescriptions, improving forecasting performance. However, patient influence diminishes for specialist doctors and those treating severe symptoms. The study has significant implications for pharmaceutical executives and marketing strategies.
A recent study by Management Insights found that IT professionals with MBAs earn 46% more than those without. In contrast, IT professionals with master's degrees other than an MBA earn 37% less. The study analyzed data on over 50,000 IT professionals in the US and found that firms value IT experience more than non-IT experience.
A recent study by Sanjeev Dewan, Charles Shi, and Vijay Gurbaxani found that information technology (IT) investments are substantially riskier than ordinary capital investments. This increased risk is associated with a substantial risk premium, driven in part by the lost option value of making irreversible capital investment decisions.
A new study by Sudip Bhattacharjee and Ram D. Gopal reveals that file sharing has a devastating impact on lower ranked Billboard albums, reducing their survival time on the chart by 42%. Top debuting albums, however, remain relatively unaffected.
A new study published in Management Insights reveals that online auctions where all bids are disclosed after the bidding round benefit buyers. The research finds that buyers pay higher prices when only winning bids are disclosed, leading to better outcomes for consumers.
A study by Melissa A. Schilling and Corey C. Phelps found that large-scale alliance networks with high clustering and reach enhance firm innovation. The research analyzed 1,106 firms in 11 industry-level alliance networks over a six-year period.
A new INFORMS-published study reveals that executive stock options significantly increase the likelihood of financial misrepresentation. Approximately 1 in 10 corporate financial restatements are linked to fraud and illegal practices, with a 9% chance of misrepresentation over five years.
A study by Juan Alcacer and Wilbur Chung found that more advanced technology companies locate near universities to partner in research. These firms are attracted to regions rich with academic activity, rather than competitor-rich areas.
A new study in April Management Insights highlights the risks of pursuing aggressive market share expansion and rapid growth. Firms that adopt such strategies often face losses due to overcapacity when the market saturates, ultimately undermining their competitive advantages.
The study found that firms with managers having more social relationships with peers at other software start-ups have a better chance of surviving external shocks. Managers who prefer to talk to larger firms, not among themselves, are also more likely to survive.
Research by Pino G. Audia and Jack A. Goncalo suggests that successful inventors' creative output decreases over time, while collaboration and exploration goals can help manage this phenomenon. The study's findings have implications for R&D managers seeking to boost their departments' productivity.
A study published in Management Science finds that system quality and perceived usefulness are key determinants of information systems (IS) success. The research suggests that developers and managers should focus on improving system quality rather than increasing user satisfaction, as this will lead to greater system use.
A new study recommends that brick-and-mortar retailers avoid opening online portals when facing e-tailer threats. The authors suggest that staying true to the original business model is the most effective response in markets where price consistency is crucial.
A new study examines the implications of internet forum manipulation on policy decisions, R&D investments, and consumer trust. Strategic manipulation of online forums can have significant effects on both consumers and firms, highlighting the need for investments in technologies that discourage online manipulation.
Management Science has introduced a monthly feature called Management Insights, which provides a digest of important research in business and management. The September issue features studies on airline safety, entrepreneurial risk, and market valuation, offering practical insights for practicing managers.
A new method by University at Buffalo engineers calculates the expected cost of managerial neglect in processes with variability, such as supply chains. The model can help managers justify investments for improvement and save up to 50% in costs over three years.
Patients who received a disclosure were more likely to correctly identify their physician's payment model and report enough knowledge to judge its influence on health care. Loyalty to the physician group was higher among those receiving a disclosure, with no significant decrease in trust.
A study of US government financial managers found that timely feedback from supervisors can mitigate stress and encourage ethical action. The majority of respondents reported feeling less stressed when they received regular, constructive feedback on their performance.
A new three-step process developed by NIST's Office of Applied Economics evaluates the vulnerability of facilities to terrorist threats, considering engineering, management, and financial strategies. The tool assesses the most cost-effective combination of risk reduction strategies to protect facilities from damages.
The UN University has authorized a diploma for graduates of its 10-course, 250-hour online training program in Integrated Water Resources Management. The program aims to upgrade knowledge of modern water management concepts and principles among practicing professionals.
A special section of BioScience provides in-depth analyses of assessment systems for protected area management effectiveness. Key findings include the need for more widespread use of assessments and monitoring, as well as the identification of critical management issues such as funding, staffing, and community relations.
A study found that primary care physicians face challenges in providing high-quality mental health services due to the number of managed care contacts and referral process complexities. To improve access, managed care organizations should develop uniform procedures for obtaining mental health services.
A study by American College of Emergency Physicians found that only half of emergency department visits are paid, with payments decreasing from 60.3% to 53% between 1996 and 1998. The decline threatens the ability of emergency departments to provide care to all patients regardless of ability to pay.
A study of 26,359 managers found that female managers' voluntary turnover rates were slightly lower than those of male managers. Recently promoted women were also less likely to resign than recently promoted men. Managers with graduate degrees who took family leaves were no more likely to resign than non-leave-taking managers.
Research finds HR practices enhance financial performance in British businesses, particularly in manufacturing sector. Companies with specialist personnel relations demonstrate strongest and most consistent association between profit and people management.
A Virginia Tech accounting professor has received a research award for his contributions to government accountability and financial reporting. His research, which spans 19 years, has influenced the development of guidelines on entity identification in government financial statements.
A survey of black and white managers found that black managers report a slower rate of promotion and less psychosocial support than their white counterparts. The study suggests that organizations may be underutilizing qualified African-American employees, leading to resentment, boredom, stress, and turnover.
A review of Canada's waiting lists reveals a need for better infrastructure and information about management approaches, contradicting frequently offered solutions. The authors conclude that information defects are often misdiagnosed as financial shortages, leading to forced decision-making.
A nationwide survey of internists found that up to 50% of physicians in managed care settings failed to prescribe recommended services, while 39% in fee-for-service settings did so. Financial incentives led to a decrease in ordering tests and referrals.