Robustness of Optimal Investment Decisions in Mixed Insurance/Investment Cyber Risk Management

An integrated risk management strategy, combining insurance and security investments, where the latter contribute to reduce the insurance premium, is investigated to assess whether it can lead to reduced overall security expenses. The optimal investment for this mixed strategy is derived under three insurance policies, covering, respectively, all the losses (total coverage), just those below the limit of maximum liability (partial coverage), and those above a threshold but below the maximum liability (partial coverage with deductibles). Under certain conditions (e.g., low potential loss, or either very low or very high vulnerability), the mixed strategy reverts however to insurance alone, because investments do not provide an additional benefit. When the mixed strategy is the best choice, the dominant component in the overall security expenses is the insurance premium in most cases. Optimal investment decisions require an accurate estimate of the vulnerability, whereas larger estimation errors may be tolerated for the investment-effectiveness coefficient.     

The effects of leadership change on team escalation of commitment

Although teams benefit from developing plans and processes that boost efficiency and reduce uncertainty, they may become too attached to these plans and escalate commitment when an alternative response is needed. Drawing on theories of team leadership, team processes and escalation of commitment, we propose that a change in leadership can help the team reduce commitment to outdated plans and avoid further escalation over time. Across two studies, we tested and found support for our hypotheses and provide evidence that leadership change can break the cycle of escalation by enhancing leader-driven team reflection and refocusing the team on error correction instead of additional investment. We discuss how the results of these studies extend existing theory and add to our understanding of the important role leaders play in enhancing team adaptation and preventing team escalation.     

Information Technology Project Escalation: A Process Model*

Information technology (IT) a common and costly problem. While much is known about the factors that promote escalation behavior, little is known about the actual escalation process. This article uses an in‐depth case study to construct a process model of escalation, consisting of three phases: drift, unsuccessful incremental adaptation, and rationalized continuation. Each phase encompasses several within‐phase escalation catalysts and the model also identifies triggering conditions that promote transition from one phase to the next: project framing (antecedent condition), problem emergence, increased problem visibility, and imminent threat to project continuation (triggering the outcome deescalation). The results show that escalation is not necessarily the result of collective belief in the infallibility of a project. Rather, escalation results from continued unsuccessful coping with problems that arise during a project. Furthermore, the results suggest that the seeds of escalation are sown early: the very manner in which a project is framed contributes to whether or not the project will become prone to escalation. As problems ensue, repeated mismatches between attempted remedies and underlying problems contribute to fueling the escalation process. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

价格与技术不确定条件下的发电商碳捕获投资模型及分析

碳捕获与储存技术是降低碳排放的有效方法之一。论文针对碳价和碳捕获技术不确定的情况,构建双重不确定条件下的碳捕获技术投资模型,并在模型求解基础上进行了数值仿真分析,其分析结果表明:1)碳价的波动性将延迟碳捕获技术投资,若碳价的波动性足够大,发电商会选择不投资;2)碳捕获技术进步也将延迟投资,但政策性补贴将抵消该投资延迟。     

THE EFFECTS OF VARIABLE AND FIXED TRANSACTION COSTS ON OPTIMAL INVESTMENT DECISIONS

This paper studies the impact of variable and fixed transaction costs on investment decisions under conditions of risk. The decision model is first formulated as a mixed-integer nonlinear program. The following subjects are then examined: the structure of the investment frontier facing the investor and the effects of transaction costs on this frontier, the impact of transaction costs on the investor's optimal investment strategy, and the conditions for the equilibrium structure of risky asset prices and risk-return relationships. The main finding is that the relaxation of the assumption of the absence of transaction costs eliminates some of the most unattractive implications of the classic capital asset pricing model (CAPM) while preserving the more attractive implications of this model. Also, our model provides explanations for some discrepancies between the theoretical CAPM and empirical findings and, therefore, is a step toward narrowing the gap between theory and practice.     

THE ESCALATION OF COMMITMENT IN SEQUENTIAL DECISION MAKING: SITUATIONAL AND PERSONAL MODERATORS AND LIMITING CONDITIONS*

Two laboratory studies manipulated variables in order to observe their effect on the escalation of individuals' commitment to earlier investment decisions. The experimental results indicated that escalation of commitment to a failing course of action is not a general phenomenon. Information pertinent to the future prospects of reinvestment and to decision alternatives provided main effects. Neither study showed a main effect for initial success vs. failure. Decision-maker gender consistently influenced decisions in both studies through interactions with success/failure feedback and through the communicated attributions of “powerful others” regarding the causes of previous decision outcomes. Implications for theory and research are discussed.     

研发投入对企业绩效的影响研究 ——基于企业金融化水平门限回归

本文选取1435家A股上市公司2011—2018年度的面板数据,以企业金融化水平作为门限变量,研究企业研发投入对企业绩效的非线性影响关系。研究结果表明:(1)企业金融化行为给研发投入对企业绩效的促进作用带来严重的时滞效应,研发投入对当年企业绩效不存在促进作用;(2)研发投入对未来一年企业绩效有双门限效应,二者呈倒N型关系,在第二区间内研发投入促进未来一年企业绩效;研发投入对未来二年企业绩效有单门限效应,在第一区间内研发投入促进未来二年企业绩效;(3)在适度的企业金融化水平区间内,研发投入才会促进未来企业绩效。本文指出上市公司金融化水平最优区间占比分布具有区域、行业和企业性质异质性,并进一步基于实证研究结果提出了相应的政策建议,有利于企业合理管理研发投入和防止企业脱实向虚。     

竞争环境下双边平台增值服务质量投资竞争研究

为了提高竞争环境下双边平台效益与竞争优势,讨论了平台企业对双边用户增值服务质量投资竞争决策问题。在考虑三种不同用户归属条件的基础上,构建了双边平台增值服务投资竞争模型。通过比较分析发现：当双边用户单归属时,无论对平台单边还是双边进行增值服务投资,投资高质量增值服务均是两平台的占优策略。当单边用户多归属时,若对消费者边进行增值服务投资,则投资低质量增值服务为平台的占优策略;若对供应商边或双边进行增值服务投资,则投资高质量增值服务为平台的占优策略。当双边用户多归属时,无论对平台单边还是双边进行增值服务投资,投资低质量增值服务均是两平台的占优策略。     

考虑社会责任的供应链定价与碳减排决策

由于企业社会责任对供应链的可持续发展具有重要影响，所以，针对考虑企业社会责任的供应链管理进行深入研究是十分必要的。在碳总量控制与交易制度下，针对由一个制造商和一个零售商组成的二级供应链，分别分析零售商、制造商领导情形下供应链成员的定价和碳减排决策，并着重探讨零售商的社会（福利）责任关注行为、低碳技术投资效率和消费者环保意识对企业决策和利润（效用）、总消费者剩余以及社会福利的影响。研究表明：零售价格、碳减排水平以及产品销售量可能随着零售商的社会（福利）责任关注度的提高而同时增加；在零售商领导型供应链中，零售商利润的增加并不总是依赖于低碳技术投资效率（消费者环保意识）的提高；在制造商领导型供应链中，零售商的社会责任关注度的提高可使制造商和零售商同时获益，且制造商可能存在先动劣势。     

HRD as design science

The aim of this study was to explore the evaluation practices of a sample of organizations in England and Wales who had signalled some commitment to training and evaluation by embarking on the UK's Investors in People (IiP) standard. A questionnaire survey was sent to 1,000 firms and usable responses were received from 394 organizations. It was found that formative and delayed evaluations were used less frequently than immediate and context (needs analysis) evaluations. In the majority of cases the responsibility for evaluation was that of managers and the most frequently used methods were informal feedback and questionnaires. Operational reasons for evaluating training were cited more frequently than strategic ones. Information derived from evaluations was used mostly for feedback to individuals and to inform the training process and less for return on investment decisions. There were some statistically significant effects of organizational size on evaluation practice. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for evaluation theory and research and HRD practice and policy.     

制造商成本削减策略对风险规避型零售商信息共享策略的影响

考虑一个风险中性制造商和一个风险规避零售商构成的供应链，需求随机且受销售价格的影响。在销售季节之前，零售商对需求进行预测，获取需求信号；制造商对生产进行投资降低生产成本。基于零售商的不同信息共享策略及制造商的投资策略，考虑四种不同策略模型，分别得到最优零售价、批发价（及投资水平），并分析需求预测精确度对供应链成员决策和效用的影响。通过四种模型效用的对比分析，探讨制造商的投资策略以及零售商的风险规避态度对零售商信息共享策略的影响。研究发现，零售商共享需求信息对于制造商总是有益的，且制造商总是愿意采取成本削减策略；只有当制造商采取成本削减策略，且其投资成本系数较低时，共享需求信息对零售商才有益。最后，得到了制造商和零售商的均衡策略。     

CSR投入下产品质量决策与专利授权合同设计

良好的专利授权有助于激发企业持续创新的动力，实现专利技术的商业化和产业化，而产品质量则是决定企业能否取得市场竞争优势的关键。本文针对由专利持有企业和品牌企业组成的系统，考虑市场需求信息不对称以及品牌企业承担社会责任（Corporate social responsibility， CSR），研究品牌企业产品质量决策和专利授权合同设计问题，进而分析CSR投入对各个企业利润、消费者剩余以及社会福利的影响。研究结果表明：不同市场条件下，专利持有企业会策略性地设计专利授权合同形式，即选择仅包含"一次性固定授权费"或者"一次性固定授权费+版税提成"的专利授权合同；品牌企业CSR投入并不会影响专利授权合同的形式，但会提高一次性固定授权费；CSR投入会促使品牌企业提高产品质量，但并不一定会导致产品销售价格的提高；CSR投入虽然会降低品牌企业利润，但能有效提升专利持有企业利润、消费者剩余和社会福利。     

考虑政府补贴与企业社会责任的两级供应链优化

企业社会责任问题日益受到管理者和研究者关注。研究随机需求下由一个供应商与一个零售商组成的分散式供应链，探讨政府补贴对供应链最优生产与社会责任投入决策的影响，并比较分析了分别由供应商与零售商主导下供应链的运作效率。结果表明，在集中式供应链中价格弹性对采购数量和企业社会责任总投入量的影响更为显著；而在分散式供应链中加入政府补贴因素，会使总收益呈现出倒U形的发展趋势，且零售商主导的分散式供应链会因政府补贴的减少表现出迅速下降的趋势；此外增加政府补贴，会使得供应商主导的分散式供应链中的供应商降低其企业社会责任投入，但对于零售商主导的分散式供应链的影响却不大。     

Do individual investors learn from their mistakes?

Based on recent empirical evidence which suggests that as investors gain experience, their investment performance improves, we hypothesize that the specific mechanism through which experience translates into better investment returns is closely related to learning from investment mistakes. To test our hypotheses, we use an administrative dataset which covers the trading history of 19,487 individual investors. Our results show that underdiversification and the disposition effect do not decline as investors gain experience. However, we find that experience correlates with less portfolio turnover. We conclude that compared to other investment mistakes, it is relatively easy for individuals to identify and avoid costs related to excessive trading activity. When correlating experience with portfolio returns, we find that as investors gain experience, their portfolio returns improve. A comparison of returns before and after accounting for transaction costs reveals that this effect is related to learning from overtrading.     

Supply Chain Structure Incentives for Corporate Social Responsibility: An Incomplete Contracting Analysis

Downstream firms increasingly recognize the importance of integrating social and environmental concerns with their businesses. As a consequence, they urge to create incentives for their suppliers to invest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Contracts to provide these incentives are rarely observed in practice. If not totally absent, contracts may be incomplete, in that unforeseen contingencies or some CSR attributes that are difficult to measure may not be included in the contract. We show that incentives for CSR investments can also be provided through the supply chain structure, which consists of the distribution of ownership rights over the firms' assets of production, and involves horizontal and/or vertical alliances among supply chain members. Motivated by examples in agricultural contexts, this study adopts the property rights approach to study the impact of supply chain structures on the adoption of CSR activities. We show that the structure that best incentivizes CSR investments depends on the interaction between CSR vertical synergy, free‐riding, and countervailing power. One of the main findings is that the alliance between suppliers is beneficial only if the revenues generated by a downstream investment are sufficiently high. In fact, only in this case, the suppliers can appropriate a sufficiently large stake of the revenues generated downstream, thanks to their countervailing power. When the upstream investment costs become high, however, the suppliers will invest in CSR only if the downstream distributor is vertically integrated. The resulting structure of a cooperative will best incentivize CSR investments only if the CSR vertical synergy between the two tiers of the supply chain is sufficiently high.     

Exit behaviour of investment companies: the choice of exit channel

For investment companies, selling a portfolio company represents a critical phase in the investment life cycle. The choice of exit channel (initial public offering, secondary buyout, or trade sale) is of particular importance. This paper analyses factors relevant to exit channel selection, deploying a sample of 1,435 European buyout exits between 1992 and 2010. We differentiate between factors which refer to characteristics of the selling investment company and characteristics of the transaction object. Our analysis yields evidence that the reputation of the selling investment company, syndicate size, quality of the transaction object, as well as partial exit are associated with exit channel type. Moreover, our analysis reveals that the economic context and conditions in the capital markets significantly influence the choice of exit channel.     

Drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility Attitudes: The Demography of Socially Responsible Investors

Demographic characteristics of socially responsible investors (SRIs) are likely to play a significant role in shaping their perceptions and behaviour concerning corporate social responsibility (CSR). This paper identifies demographic characteristics of SRIs and explores the relationship of these characteristics with their CSR attitudes. We analyse, using generalized ordered logistic regression, the questionnaire responses of 2464 SRIs from 20 countries. The results demonstrate that younger and female SRIs are more likely to believe that a company's social and environmental performance is as important as its financial performance. Female SRIs and those with high incomes are the most likely to believe that companies should be as responsible to their shareholders as to the broader society. In addition, younger SRIs, those with high incomes and those who have attained higher education levels regard socially responsible companies as at least as profitable as other companies. The benefits which companies can derive from understanding the demographic profile of SRIs are examined, including a potentially lower cost of capital, improved CSR rankings and business policy formulation and communication consistent with CSR views held by specific groups of SRIs.     

变波动率多期复合实物期权定价模型及应用

当前复合期权理论与方法的研究主要集中于两个方面;其一是将简单两期复合期权理论推广至多期情形,其二是建立标的资产具有一般形式随机运动过程的复合期权定价模型及求解方法.本文提出了变波动率多期复合实物期权定价控制方程及相应的边界条件和终端条件,采用隐式差分格式获得了问题的数值解,并结合风险投资的实例展开了讨论.结果表明,与传统复合期权期权定价方法[1]相比较,本文给出的方法计算精度高,收敛速度快;常波动率多期复合期权定价模型明显高估了风险投资期初的执行阚值而低估了后期的执行阚值,且低估了风险投资的内在价值.     

Resilient product and production adaptation in a large-scale disaster: Does it pay off?

Pandemic outbreaks can disrupt firms’ normal operations, so they demand a resilient response. Firms can combine social responsibility initiatives with resilient responses by reconfiguring their production resources for pandemic relief. It remains unclear, however, whether pandemic-relieving product adaptation (in short, PRPA) improves financial performance. We draw on stakeholder theory to analyze the effect of a PRPA strategy on the stock returns of US-listed manufacturing firms during the COVID-19 pandemic—the most enduring and large-scale pandemic in recent history. The results reveal that the stock market reacts more positively to PRPA under severe pandemic circumstances and for firms with low political connectedness, low media coverage, and/or more unique production technology. The findings offer important implications for operations theory and practice.