Broader Time Horizon Research Articles

Fiduciary Responsibility of Governance: Operational and Financial Management

This article, as part of research in development, aims to propose an analytical, theoretical-positivist model to assess the fulfillment of the fiduciary responsibility of managers, under operational and financial aspects, based on the efficiency indicator of the fiduciary responsibility of governance (FRG), supported by a set of equations that measure the efficiency of operational management, through the Degree of Operational Leverage (DOL), and the efficiency of financial management using the Financial Efficiency Ratio (FER), the Current Ratio (CR) and the Liquidity Sustainability Ratio (LSR). The model is empirically tested with laboratory data, retrieved from the Standardized Financial Statements (SFS), of a sample of firms listed on B3, in the post-COVID-19 period, in the time horizon 2021 to 2023, in the environment of the research groups “Laboratory of Research and Extension of the Third Sector - LRETS” and “Sustainability of Financial Liquidity Management - SFLM”, at the University of Brasília, accredited by CNPq. The results provide robust evidence of the adequate specification of the model, and the empirical tests using the data from six firms from the laboratory indicate that none of the firms complied, as a whole, with the requirement of fiduciary responsibility of operational and financial management. Finally, it is expected that research with a broader scope of firms and business segments, in a broader time horizon, can evaluate, criticize and test the model to obtain more robust and significant results.

Who Gets Believed? Trust and Investor Reaction to Earnings Announcements in Sharīʿah-Compliant vs. Sharīʿah Non-Compliant Firms

Purpose ‒ Considering the proclamations of trustworthiness within the Islamic financial system and the positive relationship between stock market reaction and earnings announcement of the trustworthy firm, this paper aims to empirically test the presence of trust in Sharīʿah-compliant listed firms in Pakistan. Design/Methodology/Approach ‒ The research question has been addressed by investigating firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020. Event study method has been used by taking Abnormal Return Variance (ARV) and Abnormal Trading Volume (ATV) as proxies to measure the investors’ reaction following earnings announcements. Findings ‒ The results suggest that stock price variations around earnings announcements are negatively related to trustworthy firms compared to less-trusted firms (i.e., Sharīʿah non-compliant firms). For ATV, it was found that traders react to annual earnings announcements for both types of firms in a similar way. Originality/Value ‒ This research is an attempt to evaluate the Islamic financial system from its trustworthiness perspective. Sufficient literature has already documented that being trustworthy is obligatory for Sharīʿah-compliant firms. This study contributes to the literature by examining whether the market/investors trust such firms or not. Research Limitations/Implications ‒ This research is based on a single-country analysis with a research span of one year. Cross-country analysis with a broader time horizon may give further clarity. Practical Implications ‒ This paper has made a valuable contribution to the literature by providing the guideline on how investors’ reactions to Sharīʿah-compliant firms differ from their reactions to Sharīʿah non-compliant firms. It also indicates how religious elements may subdue other social factors such as trust. This paper has also explored the market reaction by assessing both the liquidity and volatility of the stock market in Pakistan.

Socially responsible investments (SRIs) – mapping the research field

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to perform a mapping of the studies field about socially responsible investments (SRI), showing the different existing lines of research about nowadays theme. Additionally, the study shows considerations and prospects possible future agenda of research related to the SRI thematic.Design/methodology/approachIt was performed a systematic literature review from a database of 691 articles selected in the ISI Web of Science. The computer software – HistCite is used to define the lines of research.FindingsBased on the study and analysis of the identified lines of research, future study possibilities in this area were shown. So, it was identified five lines of research, which were named by the construction of SRI portfolio, investors’ behavior, SRI versus corporate social responsibility, institutional investors and comparison between conventional investors and SRI. These lines were evidenced in a citation map.Originality/valueThis paper complements the existing literature reviews, as it uses a broader time horizon (1981 to 2018) and has a different approach, using the HistCiteTM software, which enabled the identification of the different lines of research related to SRI. Additionally, it has been raised ten possible ways to future studies related to the SRI thematic.

Burocracia y saberes de Estado: la producción de estadísticas en Chile (1750-1870)

This article studies the formation of the Chilean statistical service in a period that ranges from the last decades of colonial rule to the 1870’s. The purpose of this chronology is to place the first republican scientific efforts in a broad time horizon, linking them with the proto-statistical researches ordered by the Spanish Crown during the second half of the eighteenth century. I argue that the colonial experience was crucial, but not determinant for the production of statistics in the early republican period. This line of continuity rested primarily on those intellectuals and bureaucrats who did research for the Empire and later performed similar tasks in the nascent republic. Such scientific heritage, however, started to change in parallel to the consolidation of the Chilean State, which brought about the development of a more robust and better anchored bureaucracy, the emergence of a specialized institution in charge of producing statistics, the increasingly national focus of the State research programs, and the inclusion of the local statistical production in global networks of knowledge exchange. By tracing the connections between scientific knowledge and State bureaucracy at provincial level, this article seeks to show the role statistics played in the forging of the Chilean State.

Measuring the Efficiency of Public and Private Delivery Forms: An Application to the Waste Collection Service Using Order-M Data Panel Frontier Analysis

Many studies have been undertaken to determine whether waste collection services are provided more efficiently by private or by public management. To date, however, the findings reported are inconclusive, partly due to the need to evaluate this question over a broad time horizon. In this paper, the question is examined taking into account an extended study period (2002–2014) and applying an order-m data panel method that provides more robust findings than those reported in previous research. The results show that, in general, public-sector provision of the waste collection service is more efficient than private alternatives.

Dynamic-opportunistic behaviour in local government contracting-out decisions during the electoral cycle

ABSTRACTA major question for public managers is whether municipal services should be rendered in-house or contracted out. In view of the negative perceptions often aroused by contracting out, this political decision might be framed within a theoretical model that we term ‘dynamic-opportunistic behaviour’. According to this model, the probability of municipal services being contracted out is greater in the years immediately following elections; moreover, during this period the decision is taken more quickly. In this theoretical model, not all factors (budgetary, economic, political, service characteristics and socio-economic) have an equal impact on the contracting-out decision during each year of the electoral cycle. The model was applied to a sample of 2,274 Spanish municipalities, with respect to a broad time horizon (2002–2014), and the results obtained confirm our hypotheses regarding dynamic-opportunistic behaviour in the contracting out of local public services.

Knowledge-based decision-making model for the management of transit system alternative fuel infrastructures

ABSTRACTEnergy-efficient and environmentally sustainable public transportation systems are within the solution space provided by alternative fuel vehicles. Given the large revenue service potential of alternative fuel buses within the urban space, they are good candidates for emissions reductions when they are employed as part of a comprehensive urban transit planning process. The determination of the most appropriate alternative fuel bus asset for a given application is not necessarily that straightforward. The typical bus fleet is developed over a broad time horizon with each asset being acquired to meet a certain agency need or to close a perceived gap in the delivery of public transportation service. Therefore, as new assets are considered, it is critical for the fleet manager to consider as many factors of the fleet infrastructure to better ensure the positive impact that the newly acquired asset will have on fleet performance relative to the overall service goals and objectives of the fleet. This study investigates a broad range of alternative fuel bus technologies and the associated factors that will inform the decision-making process. Further, this work utilizes the inventory and understanding of the range of technology factors and leverages the perspective knowledge of industry experts on each of these factors to develop an expert systems decision-making philosophy to aid in the adoption of industry standards, best practices, consistency and sustainability in fleet asset management over time.

Friends or strangers? It all depends on context: A replication and extension of Beckman, Haunschild, and Phillips (2004)

Research summary: The formation of interorganizational ties is a consequential phenomenon examined in strategic management research. Beckman, Haunschild, and Phillips (2004) is one of the first studies to comprehensively consider interorganizational network change by exploring factors that affect both alliance and board interlock formation. They find that firm‐specific uncertainty relates to broadening actions, whereas market‐level uncertainty causes firms to reinforce current structures. Our replication considers whether these relationships operate similarly in a differing temporal context. Building from the framework of the original study, we suggest our findings offer intriguing new empirical evidence highlighting the importance of time as a boundary condition in understanding embedded firm actions.Managerial summary: The development of interorganizational relationships, such as alliances and ties between boards of directors, has an important impact on innovation, strategic actions, and firm performance. This study examines whether the dynamics of interorganizational relationship formation remain consistent over time. We replicate earlier work by Beckman and colleagues (2004), but with an expanded data set covering more than 20 years. Over this broader time horizon, we find a shift in behavior, with companies facing firm‐specific uncertainty seeking to reinforce their current relationships and companies facing industry‐wide uncertainty seeking to diversify their risk by expanding their network. Our results demonstrate the importance of replication studies in research and contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the complexity surrounding interorganizational relationships. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Expenditure trends of orphan drugs in Serbia: 8-Year analysis of orphan drug market in Serbia

Background/Objective: Orphan drugs are medicinal products which treat life-threatening or chronically debilitating diseases which affect small patient populations. So far there is a substantial knowledge gap on actual expenditure on orphan drugs in Serbia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide insight into the expenditure trends of orphan drugs in Serbia. Material and methods: Annual reports on turnover and the consumption of pharmaceuticals in Serbia published by Medicines and Medical Devices Agency of Serbia (ALIMS) for the period 2006-2013 were used to extract data on expenditure on orphan drugs. Drugs were eligible for inclusion in the analysis if they had active European orphan designation and European marketing authorization during the period covered by the study (2006-2013). Data were analysed across time series. Simple descriptive analysis and observation of chronological trends were applied. Results: Data for annual expenditure on 12 different orphan drugs were available in the analysed reports. Orphan drug expenditure and share of orphan drug expenditure in total drug expenditure increased constantly from 2006 to 2010. Both began to slightly decrease over the next two years (2011-2012), and then suddenly declined nearly threefold in 2013. Share of orphan drug expenditure didn't exceed 1% of total drug expenditure over a period of eight years. The highest share of expenditure on orphan drugs was attributed to imatinib (87.36%-97.13%), so abrupt decline in 2013 could be explained by its withdrawal from European Community Register of Orphan Medicinal Products in 2012. Conclusions: Expenditure on orphan drugs in Serbia from 2006 to 2013 was considerably low compared to total expenditure on drugs. In the last available year we noted substantial decline of orphan drug expenditure, mainly because of imatinib losing its orphan designation. A broader time horizon would be needed to investigate long term trends.

Valuation of the ecosystem services of beach nourishment in decision-making: The case study of Tarquinia Lido, Italy

Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) is a systematic process commonly employed by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to assess primarily benefits stemming from storm damage reduction and recreation enhancement by beach protection. The USACE goal is to quantify federal money disbursement to local communities to counter the consequences of coastal erosion. The EU has recommended the use of CBA for shoreline management (both at regional and local scales), looking not only at the financial aspects of project assessment, but also at non-market benefits (ecosystem services of the beaches) and environmental costs, assessed on a broad time horizon in a given sediment cell. In this paper, several ecosystem services provided by beach protection are considered and some of them monetised to assess the local net benefits of a nourishment project carried out along the Tyrrhenian coast of Italy. The paper shows that free riding emerges by the public supply of coastal protection, and that it could be possibly partially removed charging the cost of beach maintenance to the local users. In addition, supply of coastal protection may generate negative environmental externalities. However, costs of environmental damage of the beach nourishment are not easy to be internalised. This suggests alternative market mechanisms (charges or insurance premiums) to reduce the development pressure on coastal areas subject to high rates of erosion or to explore the adoption of subsides such as payments for ecosystem services (PES) at seascape scales.

Alternative management structures for municipal waste collection services: The influence of economic and political factors

Identifying and characterising the factors that determine why a local authority opts for a particular way of managing its waste collection service is an important issue, warranting research interest in the field of municipal solid waste (MSW) management. This paper presents empirical evidence spanning a broad time horizon (2002–2010) showing that economic and political factors impact in different ways on the provision of waste management services. We examine five alternatives in this area, including public and private service delivery formulas and, within each field, individual and joint options. Our findings highlight the importance of the service cost and that of the various indicators of fiscal stress as determinant factors of management decisions regarding the provision of MSW management services.

Constantly proving the opposite? A test of CPTO using a broad time horizon and correcting for discounting.

PurposeAn important assumption underlying the quality-adjusted life year (QALY) model is that people trade off life years against health in the same proportion irrespective of the number of remaining life years. This is known as the constant proportional trade-offs (CPTO) condition. Previous studies have produced mixed empirical evidence about the validity of CPTO. This paper is the first to test CPTO using the time trade-off (TTO) method for a broad time horizon.MethodsIn a sample of 83 students, we use a choice based TTO protocol to elicit TTO scores for back pain, using ten different gauge durations ranging between 1 and 46 years. The TTO scores are corrected for discounting, which is elicited by means of the direct method.ResultsWe find average TTO scores varying between 0.72 and 0.81. Although the scores do not differ much for different durations in absolute terms, some differences are significant, rejecting CPTO, with and without correcting for discounting. No clear relationship between TTO scores and gauge duration is found. An anchoring and rounding heuristic to some extent explains our results.ConclusionsOur findings highlight the importance of elicitation methods and context dependencies in QALY measurement and warrant detailed investigation of their influence.

The Decade in Review

In an earlier editorial, I noted that good science has difficulty with compliance, in that innovation derives from noncompliance. In this volume, we have the opportunity to explore growth and innovation, to review advances of the last decade, and to move beyond this scope and consider a broader time horizon, both across the distant past and within the glimmer of the future. There have been three previous decade reviews including the initial one edited by Carlfred Broderick, which actually spanned three issues of the journal (November, 1970; February and May, 1971), one edited by Felix Berardo (November, 1980), and the most recent edited by Alan Booth (November, 1990). All have had a similar purpose and have been highly influential in guiding the next generation of scholars and their scholarship. Planning for the decade reviews began in November 1997 at the annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations and proceeded in several stages. I first established a purpose as noted above and identified the major topics included in the two previous decade reviews. The initial plan was presented to the editorial board and subsequently revised. In defining the scope of the project, I excluded topics better dealt with in other arenas (e.g., child development, or family therapy), as well as issues having to do with methodology or analytical procedures. Advances in the methods of family research was the subject of a recent issue of the journal (November, 1995) edited by Marilyn Coleman, and will likely form the basis of a future issue of the journal. Early in 1998, the full board was mailed a revised planning document and a questionnaire that listed the topics featured in previous decade reviews, asking members to rate each topic in terms of priority and needed coverage. Topics with the highest ratings were those that, in the opinion of the rater, saw considerable growth and investment over the previous decade. Raters were encouraged to suggest additional topics not included in the previous decade reviews or to suggest new ways of reorganizing or reconceptualizing topics, and they did so on all counts. Fifty-four board members responded to this survey (a 77% response rate), and they often provided very detailed commentary. From their ratings and suggestions I identified topics that were clearly highly rated and seen as important areas of continuing inquiry, innovation, and growth (e.g., marital quality and interaction, work and family, divorce and its consequences), as well as areas that were relatively new and rapidly advancing (e.g., fatherhood, biosocial perspectives on families). Some areas covered in past reviews received consistently low ratings, indicating they were viewed as witnessing relatively little growth over the decade. These included the areas of mate selection, religion and family life, family enrichment, power, and kinship. With the exception of religion and kinship, which seem to be neglected topics, the other areas are best viewed as areas undergoing dynamic shifts in their conceptualization. Mate selection, far from being entirely neglected, has merged into the more general field of close relationships; family power continues to be of interest to many, especially those in the field of family violence, although often under the guise of control (see Johnson & Ferraro, this volume). Research on kinship has certainly changed in focus, with research on caregiving among the elderly and grandparenting seeing growth (see Allen, Blieszner, & Roberto, this volume), while otherwise being largely neglected as a form of relationship or context in which families develop (see Johnson, 2000). Family enrichment is another area receiving low ratings although this probably represents the limits of the journal's purpose, rather than a comment on the area's vitality (see Bradbury, Fincham, & Beach, this volume). Parallel with the evaluations of the editorial board, I conducted a content analysis of articles published following the last decade review. …