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SSRN Research Paper Series
The Social Science Research Network’s Research Paper Series includes working papers produced by Stanford GSB the Rock Center.
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The Boundaries of the Firm Revisited
Both Transaction Cost Economics and Property Rights Theories offer explanations of the boundaries of the firm based on ideas of ex post bargaining and hold-up. These theories are quite distinct in their empirical predictions, but neither offers a…
The Characteristics and Valuation of Loss Reserves of Property Casualty Insurers
The extent to which management influences accounting recognized in financial statements and the extent to which investors are able to identify such influence are fundamental questions in financial reporting research. This study contributes to…
The Closing of the American Mind Versus the Closing of the Chinese Mind: The Impact of Need for Cognitive Closure on Social Attribution Varies Across Cultures as a Function of Implicit Theories
We propose that need for closure (NFC) leads attributors to respond to an ambiguous social stimulus by increasing reliance on implicit theories received from acculturation. Hence, the influence of NFC should be shaped by the knowledge structures…
The Evolution of Norms
This paper analyzes the emergence of norms from an evolutionary perspective. It is hypothesized that norms diffuse not necessarily because they are functional for the communities in which they are embedded but because in certain selection…
The Predictive Power of Internet-Based Product Concept Testing Using Visual Depiction and Animation
We measure the predictive accuracy of Internet-based product concept testing that incorporates virtual prototypes of new products. The method employs a two-factor conjoint analysis of prototypes and prices to enable a design team to select the…
The Role of Book Value in Equity Valuation: Does the Stock Variable Merely Proxy for Relevant Past Flows?
We propose an alternative explanation for the value-relevance of book value. Specifically, we suggest that book value can have an indirect role in valuation even under an earnings capitalization framework. We first show that past earnings are…
The Use and Performance Effect of Global Account Management: An Empirical Analysis Using Structural Equations Modeling
We develop a model of the extent to which multinational companies use global account management, its determinants, and its effect on performance. A study of 165 companies shows that use and performance effects are positively related to customers…
Visionaries, Managers, and Strategic Direction
This paper shows that a firm’s ability to provide incentives for profitable innovation may be enhanced if it has a “visionary” CEO. We interpret “vision” likely evolution of the industry. The presence of such a bias is helpful when employees can…
When Social and Knowledge Ties Are Incongruent: Effects on Group Information Sharing
This study investigates how congruence between social and knowledge ties affect group information sharing, specifically, the bias against sharing unique information (Stasser & Titus, 1985). Three-person groups composed of two familiar…
When is Criticism Not Constructive? The Roles of Fairness Perceptions and Attributions in Employee Rejection of Critical Supervisory Feedback
The effects of justice and dispositional attribution on reactions to negative supervisory feedback were examined in two studies. Study 1 showed that criticism delivered with greater interpersonal fairness resulted in more favorable dispositional…
Alternative Valuation Models and the Valuation Parameters of Property-Casualty Insurers' Share Prices
This paper examines the value-relevance of various balance sheet items and earnings streams to the share prices of property-casualty (“P&C”) insurance companies under several alternative valuation model specifications. This study extends…
Asymmetric Volatility and Risk in Equity Markets
It appears that volatility in equity markets is asymmetric: returns and conditional volatility are negatively correlated. We provide a unified framework to simultaneously investigate asymmetric volatility at the firm and the market level and to…
Comparative Dynamics of Parliamentary Governments
This paper presents a dynamic theory of parliamentary governments that incorporates attributes of the institutional system in a country, exogenous events that shape parliamentary and electoral opportunities, and the strategies of the government…
Competitive Reactions and Conjecture: Issues and Prospects
We review recent literature on competitive reactions and strategic thinking and offer several observations. Evidence is mounting that strategic thinking is an unnatural act, made difficult by natural individual biases and organizational…
Dimensions of Brand Personality
While a considerable amount of research in personality psychology has been done to conceptualize human personality, identify the “Big Five” dimensions, and explore the meaning of each dimension, no parallel research has been conducted on brand…
Distributinal Characteristics of Emerging Market Returns and Asset Allocation
The behavior of emerging market returns sharply differs from the behavior of developed equity market returns. Whereas forecasts of expected returns and volatilities in emerging markets have been extensively studied, we focus primarily on…
A Double Auction Model of Interdealer Trading
This paper models trading in a dealer market as a two-stage game. In the first page, risk averse dealers compete in a Bertrand fashion for liquidity-motivated public orders. The resulting inventories are private information. In the second stage,…
Enacting Share Values - Myth or Reality?: A Context-Specific Value Audit
Commonly chosen combinations of methods choices have restricted organizational culture research. We selected an atypical mix of these choices and used them to develop a Values Audit Survey that used a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods…
Faith in Supervision and the Self-Enhancement Bias: Two Psychological Reasons Why Managers Don't Empower Workers
The present study provides evidence for two psychological processes that may help explain managers’ reluctance to use worker empowerment practices such as delegation or self-managing teams: 1) a faith in supervision effect, which reflects the…