Equity Positions Research Articles

Unobserved Performance of Hedge Funds

ABSTRACTWe investigate hedge fund firms’ unobserved performance (UP), measured as the risk‐adjusted return difference between a firm's reported gross return and its portfolio return inferred from its disclosed long‐equity holdings. Firms with high UP outperform those with low UP by 6.36% per annum on a risk‐adjusted basis. UP is negatively associated with a firm's trading costs and positively associated with intraquarter trading in equity positions, derivatives usage, short selling, and confidential holdings. We show that limited investor attention can delay investors’ response to UP and lead to longer lived predictability of fund firm performance.

Racial and ethnic diversity in academic nursing leadership: A cross-sectional analysis

Background/PurposeTo characterize the representation of racial and ethnic minoritized faculty in leadership positions at the top 50 National Institutes of Health-ranked academic nursing institutions. MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional observational study to characterize the racial/ethnic composition of academic leaders, including those in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) positions from September 2020 to December 2020. DiscussionAmong the 409 leaders, the sample was predominantly composed of females (86.6%), White leaders (80.9%), affiliated with public institutions (75.1%), and in the southern region (42.1%). Exactly 13.6% were from minoritized groups. Minoritized leaders were less likely to hold dean and higher executive positions than their nonminoritized counterparts (p < .002). DEI leadership positions were mostly concentrated in lower executive positions (e.g., director) and primarily consisted of minoritized leaders (>60%). ConclusionUnderrepresentation of racial and ethnic minoritized individuals in academic nursing leadership persists, necessitating structural interventions within nursing academia to promote inclusivity. Achieving this goal requires a concerted investment in diversifying academic nursing leadership and ensuring positions that minoritized leaders are in, hold weight.

The Influence of Sustainability Marketing, Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethical Branding, and Green Consumerism on Brand Equity and Market Position in the Fashion Industry

In an effort to break into foreign markets, this study looks into how brand equity and market position are affected by sustainability marketing, corporate social responsibility (CSR), ethical branding, and green consumerism in the Indonesian fashion sector. Data obtained from 197 Indonesian fashion customers was subjected to a quantitative analysis. The associations between the variables were examined using Partial Least Squares (PLS) 3 and structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings show a strong positive correlation between brand equity and market position and sustainability-related criteria (green consumerism, CSR, sustainability marketing, and ethical branding). The results highlight how crucial sustainability and ethical branding are from a strategic standpoint for Indonesian fashion firms looking to gain a competitive edge and become more visible in the international fashion scene.

Modeling the Nexus between European Carbon Emission Trading and Financial Market Returns: Practical Implications for Carbon Risk Reduction and Hedging

The carbon–financial nexus helps firms evaluate susceptibility to carbon risk more effectively. This is the first research article to model the short- and long-run co-integrating association between European financial markets, the CBOE oil price volatility index (OVZ) and the European carbon emission trading system (EU-ETS) by using the daily returns from 1 October 2013 to 1 October 2023. We utilize co-integration test followed by the ARDL framework with an error correction mechanism (ECM). Moreover, we utilize the DCC-GARCH-t copula framework to estimate the hedge ratio and to select an optimal portfolio weight for carbon risk hedging. Overall, the findings suggested that EU-ETS (OVZ) has a consistent positive (negative) short-term influence on all the equity returns of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the stock indices of the whole Eurozone. However, in the long term, EU-ETS has a positive (negative) effect on the stock returns of France and the Eurozone (Belgium and Spain). Belgian and Spanish companies could implement long-term carbon reduction policies. Belgian and Spanish firms should focus on the utilization of green energy resources and the internalization of carbon emission-free mechanical processes as this may offer a safeguard against the additional pressure arising from escalating carbon prices. Finally, an optimal portfolio weight selection strategy based upon the DCC-GARCH-t copula approach aims for higher hedging effectiveness (HE) than the hedge ratio strategy when adopting short-term positions in Italian and Danish equity markets to reduce the risk of long-term EU-ETS volatility.

Equality on Male Terms or Reconstruction of Gender Roles? Association 9 and the Finnish Sex Role Ideology of the 1960s

ABSTRACT The public and political discussion on women’s position in society and gender equality was initiated in the Nordic countries in the 1960s in the form of the so-called sex role debate. Previous studies have characterized sex role ideology as narrower in its goals than the radical feminist ideology of the late 1960s and 1970s. Sex role ideology has also been criticized for understanding equality on male terms, whereas feminist ideology has been thought to aim at radically reform gender roles and society. In this article, I argue that the Finnish sex role association called Association 9 had a much broader vision of gender equality than has been previously claimed. The starting point of the sex role ideology that the Association 9 represented and aimed at to promote was, similarly to feminist ideology, to reconstruct society by re-evaluating gender roles, particularly by demonstrating that they are socially constructed. In addition, they both aimed to deconstruct the gendered division of society into the masculine public sphere and the feminine private sphere.

Beyond Homes Around a Mosque: Muslim-Led Community Development in a Major U.S. City

This paper examines Dream of Detroit (DREAM), a Muslim-led community development initiative, and its impact on Muslim community-building and Detroit's Dexter-Linwood neighborhood. DREAM addresses housing, economic development, sustainability, and cultural preservation. Born from diverse community efforts, it aims to combat housing insecurity, blight, poverty, and racial disparities.&#x0D; DREAM has successfully renovated vacant homes, engaged local youth, and empowered residents to shape their community's future. While facing funding challenges and gentrification risks, DREAM's commitment to equity, inclusion, and partnerships positions it as a model for sustainable community development rooted in Islamic values.&#x0D; This case study showcases the power of faith-inspired, community-driven approaches and comprehensive strategies in revitalizing marginalized neighborhoods. It offers insights for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers seeking effective community development models in diverse urban settings.

The impact of the US stock market on the BRICS and G7: a GVAR approach

PurposeThe authors investigate the impact of the US stock market on the economies of the BRICS and major industrialized economies (G7).Design/methodology/approachThe authors construct the world economy and the vulnerability between economies using three economic integration variables: bilateral trade, bilateral direct investment and bilateral equity positions. Global vector autoregressive (GVAR) empirical studies usually adopt trade integration to estimate models. The authors complement these studies by using bilateral financial flows.FindingsThe authors summarize the results in four points: (1) financial integration variables increase the effect of the US stock market on the BRICS and G7, (2) the US shock produces similar responses in these groups regarding industrial production, stock markets and confidence but different responses regarding domestic currencies: in the BRICS, the authors detect appreciation of the currencies, while in the G7, the authors find depreciation, (3) G7 stock markets and policy rates are more sensitive to the US shock than the BRICS and (4) the estimates point out to heterogeneities such as the importance of industrial production to the transmission shock in Japan and China, the exchange rate to India, Japan and the UK, the interest rates to the Eurozone and the UK and confidence to Brazil, South Africa and Canada.Research limitations/implicationsThe results reinforce the importance of taking into account different levels of economic development.Originality/valueThe authors construct the world economy and the vulnerability between economies using three economic integration variables: bilateral trade, bilateral direct investment and bilateral equity positions. GVAR empirical studies usually adopt trade integration to estimate models. The authors complement these studies by using bilateral financial flows.

Capital Structure and Financial Performance of Listed Brewery Firms in Nigeria

This study investigated the relationship between Capital Structure and Financial Performance of Listed Breweries Companies in Nigeria with the moderating factor of firm size. The study developed five specific objectives, five research questions as well as five hypotheses and used generalized mean, standard deviation and multiple regression with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to analyze the secondary data extracted from the annual reports and accounts of the companies studied. Data was gathered from secondary sources. Secondary data were sourced from annual reports of the companies available at the Nigerian Exchange Group (websites). Correlational research design was adopted and population of the study consists of five (5) listed breweries companies on the Nigerian Exchange group December 2021. Using census sampling technique, the five companies were selected to constitute the sample for the study. Capital Structure predictor variables were proxied by Equity Financing and debt financing. While Financial Performance criterion variables were measured by return on asset and return on Investment. The study found that capital structure has a positive and insignificant relationship with financial performance of listed brewery companies in Nigeria. Based on the findings, conclusions were reached that Equity financing has a positive, very weak and insignificant effect on Return on and return on investment. Similarly, Debt financing has a positive, very weak and insignificant relationship with return on asset and return on investment. Finally, Firm size has a positive, very weak and insignificant moderating effect on the relationship between capital structure and financial performance of listed brewery companies in Nigeria. The study recommended amongst others that, there should be a review of the capital structure of the firms so as to ascertain the optimal capital structure that can be used to enhance financial performance, Equity position of the firms should be reviewed as well as this could have a way of increasing their performance in terms of return in investment if used adequately, the size of the firm in terms of its total asset base should be considered by the management of the listed firms so that the right kind of capital structure for the company can be adopted.

Sectors versus borders: interest group cleavages and struggles over corporate governance in the age of asset management

Abstract Universally invested asset managers like BlackRock have established a dominant position in equity markets around the globe. While extant contributions have explored their voting behaviour and role in shaping corporate governance at the firm level, less is known about their potential to build interest coalitions with other business groups, and their leverage over state-level corporate governance institutions. This article investigates conflict over a far-reaching reform to co-determination in Germany. Qualitative content analysis of over 100 stakeholder statements yields that asset managers forge coalitions with short-term-oriented investors to abolish key tenets of corporatist institutions. However, a domestic countercoalition of financial and non-financial firms prevented momentous institutional change. This article improves our understanding of international asset managers’ preferences and highlights coalition building as a key determinant of the political power of international finance. By aligning the costs of institutional change for incumbents, corporatist institutions continue to act as shields against financialization.

Swiss National Bank: Is the Recent Loss a Threat to Monetary Policy? A Research Note1

Abstract The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has announced it will refrain from profit distribution in 2022 owing to the accumulation of a huge financial loss. In this paper we examine key determinants of the SNB’s loss and shed light on its implications to monetary policy pursuit. In particular, we show that different accounting principles yield different results concerning the equity position of a central bank’s balance sheet, yet not affecting the ability to run monetary policy.

NANN Membership Recommendations: Opportunities to Advance Racial Equity Within the Organization.

Neonatal care has advanced significantly in recent years, yet racial health inequities persist in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), with infants from racial and ethnic minority groups less likely to receive recommended treatment. Healthcare providers acknowledge that there are steps that can be taken to increase knowledge and awareness regarding health inequities. To better understand current health equity-related initiatives in the neonatal community and solicit feedback from National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN) membership about advancing racial equity within the organization. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in January 2021. The anonymous, onetime survey was distributed to active NANN members via SurveyMonkey and included questions related to racial equity initiatives, recommendations, and demographics. Data analysis was conducted using an exploratory approach using descriptive statistics, and thematic analysis was used to summarize responses to open-ended questions. There were 325 members who completed the full survey, of whom were White (83%), female (96%), staff nurses (42%), and those with more than 16 years of experience (69%), and most (69%) were familiar with NANN's racial equity position statement. Recommendations were summarized into the following themes: (1) research, (2) education, (3) workforce diversity, (4) communication, (5) scholarships, (6) resources, and (7) community outreach. NANN members offered clear and actionable recommendations to advance health equity within the neonatal community and organization, which included offering more diversity, inclusion, and equity education at the annual conferences, in ANC articles, and newsletters, and the creation of scholarships or reduced membership fees to encourage diverse enrollment in the organization.

Holding Onto the Past: Previous Homes, Post-Move Housing Consumption, and the Great Recession

We document that households relocated during the 2007-2009 Great Recession and its aftermath were substantially more likely to hold their previous homes for an extended period of time. We identify two contributing factors to this phenomenon. First, falling house prices pushed many homes into the “negative-equity” and “near-negative-equity” territories, and this made it challenging for owners to sell their homes. Second, we also show that falling home values had a more widespread effect that made all homeowners, regardless of their equity positions, more reluctant to sell. Additionally, we find households without mortgages are more likely to hold previous homes. Overall, we show the relationship between the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio and the likelihood of holding is U-shaped. We further examine the impact of holding previous homes on post-move housing tenure and housing consumption choices. We find that holding previous homes is associated with renting for a longer period. For households that bought new homes after relocation, holding previous homes is associated with the new residences that are less expensive and smaller. Our results suggest that, for households that moved during the housing bust, the Great Recession has a long-lasting effect on their housing consumption choices.

Use of Simulation Resources for Underrepresented in Medicine Youth Engagement: A National Survey of Academic Anesthesiology Programs With Specified Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Positions.

Background The utilization of simulation resources can be an effective strategy to offer early medical exposure to underrepresented in medicine (URiM) youth populations, with the objective of promoting diversity in the field of medicine. Currently, it is unclear what proportion of academic anesthesiology programs with simulation centers utilize these resources for community engagement events. Methodology A survey was created using REDCap® and distributed via email to 38 anesthesiologists from 30 departments in the United States holding a leadership position dedicated to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. The survey assessed whether their programs had conducted community engagement events for URiM students, what simulation resources were available at their program, and which of these resources they had used at any community engagement events. Additionally, we assessed program characteristics such as region, academic versus community practice, and urban versus rural locations. Survey responses were collected between March and April 2023. Results We received responses from 15 of the 30 institutions sampled for an institutional response rate of 50%. The majority of respondents (86.7%) reported holding community engagement events. Most respondents reported a wide variety of simulation resources available, including 11 (73.3%) having access to full simulation centers. However, only three (27.3%) of the 11 with full simulation centers reported utilizing them for community events. Conclusions Despite the potential benefits of using simulation resources for community engagement events, our results suggest that academic anesthesiology departments may not commonly utilize simulation centers to provide URiM youth with exposure to the field of medicine. Anesthesiology departments with access to simulation resources are in a unique position to be leaders in advancing diversity in medicine by increasing URiM youth interest in medicine as a career through simulation-based exposure.

Diversity-Related Positions in Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programs.

The Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons have incorporated diversity and inclusion as one of their primary goals. Orthopaedic surgery remains the least diverse medical specialty when measured for practicing physicians and trainees. The purpose of this study was to determine the number and distinct types of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) positions within orthopaedic surgery residency programs in the United States. The Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database was used to obtain a list of all Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited orthopaedic surgery residency programs. The following was collected from 193 residency program websites between June 6, 2022, and June 26, 2022: program location, university or community based, allopathic or osteopathic recognition, number of faculty in the orthopaedic department, number of residents per year, diversity-related statements, and diversity-focused faculty positions. Of the 193 programs evaluated, 74 (38.9%) included DEI statements on their website while only 42 (21.8%) had at least one DEI-specific faculty role (e.g., diversity committee, diversity liaison, vice chair for DEI). For 16 (8.3%) programs, the faculty role was nonspecific to the orthopaedic residency program. Nonspecific roles were primarily created by the affiliated school of medicine, but in 4 (2.1%) outlier cases, faculty members assumed DEI roles through a medical center, a graduate medical education program, or a department of surgery. Less than half of orthopaedic surgery residency programs currently advocate for DEI on their associated websites while fewer than 25% have a DEI faculty position. Previous studies have called for a greater number of DEI positions and committees among orthopaedic residencies because of the lower admittance rate of qualified Under Represented in Medicine (URiM) applicants. A role dedicated to DEI may increase the number of women and URiM applicants pursuing a career in orthopaedic surgery.

The asymmetric impact of COVID-19: A novel approach to quantifying financial distress across industries

This paper assesses corporate financial distress in terms of liquidity and risk of insolvency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We develop a novel multivariate approach to obtain monthly data on industry turnover, exploiting real time data to capture the atypical character of industry-specific disturbances. By combining the estimated set of industry revenue shocks with pre-pandemic financial statements, we quantify the impact of the pandemic on the risk of insolvency in the EU non-financial corporate sector. Our definition of risk of insolvency takes into account not only the equity position of firms, but also risks relating to overindebtedness. The analysis controls for firms that were financially vulnerable already before the pandemic, thus being prone to become at risk of insolvency also in absence of the COVID-19 turmoil. We find that, for the EU as a whole, 25% of firms exhausted their liquidity buffers by the end of 2021 (a practical cut-off date of the analysis, not an assumed end of the pandemic). Furthermore, 10% of firms which were viable before the pandemic, appear to have shifted into risk of insolvency as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. The magnification of financial vulnerability in the hardest-hit industries mainly occurs among firms with no legacy issues, i.e. firms with positive profitability pre-pandemic. A similar finding is reported for some of the hardest-hit countries, such as Italy and Spain. In other countries, such as Germany or Greece, the magnification of financial vulnerability mainly occurs among firms with negative profitability pre-pandemic.

Discussion of “The Asymmetric Impact of COVID-19: A Novel Approach to Quantifying Financial Distress across Industries”

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis and the associated lockdown measures have exerted significantly adverse effects on corporate sectors globally. Archanskaia et al. (2023) provide a novel empirical strategy to timely assess corporate financial distress in the EU. The contribution is two-fold. First, this paper’s notion of financial distress considers both the equity position and corporate indebtedness. Second, the methodology proposed in this paper allows the authors to estimate corporate financial distress in the EU at a highly granular level and link micro-level simulations to sectoral macroeconomic outcomes. The methodology employed by Archanskaia et al. (2023) consists of three steps. First, the authors apply a nowcasting model to acquire monthly industrial turnover data. Second, they feed the obtained monthly industrial turnover into a profit-generating process via an accounting identity to estimate monthly firm profits at the firm level. Third, the authors use the estimated firm profits with a snapshot of information on pre-existing liquid assets to deduce the firm-level liquidity needs and the depletion of equity through the focus period during COVID-19. These estimated results on firm equity position and indebtedness enable the authors to quantity corporate financial distress in the EU via various angles (e.g., country-level heterogeneity, industry heterogeneity, and the targeting of COVID support policies). The primary advantage of this approach is that it deals with large datasets at the granular level and produces firm-level results almost in real-time. Therefore, it can help policymaking track the effects of crises over time. However, one can quickly critique this three-step approach for its susceptibility to the usual Lucas critique. That said, since the objective here is to estimate firm-level financial distress, a large structural model being more or less aggregate in nature, though able to mitigate the Lucas critique concern, will encounter significant challenges in estimating firm-level results with the requisite level of granularity offered by the available data. Therefore, I broadly concur with the authors’ position that ‘the specific contribution of this paper consists in striking a better balance between the need to carry out a multi-country evaluation of the pandemic’s effects on industrial activity in a strongly integrated region like the EU and the difficulty of capturing time, industry, and country variation in turnover with sufficient granularity.’

Unintended change of ownership structure and acquisition of IJVs: the effect of initial structural conditions

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to demonstrate the effect of initial international joint ventures (IJV) structural conditions on two main equity-based instability facets: change of IJV ownership structure and acquisition of the IJV by one of the IJV partners. Drawing on the transaction cost theory, the authors examine three key initial structural conditions: IJV formation mode, number of partners and IJV’s ownership structure.Design/methodology/approachThe authors apply the “Event history analysis” technique to test the hypotheses using a data set of 140 French-foreign JVs.FindingsThe findings show that the mode of an acquisitive IJV and unequal equity positions held by partners increase the likelihood of a change of IJV’s ownership structure and its eventual acquisition by one of the partners. In addition, the findings show that while an increase in the number of IJV partners is directly related to the change of IJV ownership structure, it has a statistically insignificant effect on IJV acquisition.Originality/valueDrawing on “transaction costs” arguments, this study advances the literature by offering fine-grained results related to the effects of initial structural conditions on aspects of unintended instability in French-foreign JVs.

Taxation as a factor in investment attractiveness in the Visegrád countries

ABSTRACT Managers take into account the tax burden when they decide about a new investment; therefore, they seek countries with lower tax rates. Governments respond to these requirements and battle for new investments by lowering tax rates as part of tax competition. This study focuses on the Visegrád countries as a region of new foreign investments from other OECD countries, and analyses the determinants of a bilateral FDI position of equity. As a model, it uses dynamic panel regression with GMM estimation. Results show that FDIs are affected by the level of difference in corporate taxation and the size of both countries. Every other potential determinant has no effect on the level of investment. These results show that foreign investors care about tax burdens more when investing within the Visegrád Group. Visegrád countries are relatively close when considering conditions for business; therefore, the most important difference becomes the taxation of profits.

The Company You Keep: Implications of Co-Brand Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Positions

The Company You Keep: Implications of Co-Brand Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Positions

MISQ's DEI initiatives: A continuing journey

Key points MIS Quarterly's (MISQ's) mission is to help develop, publish, and promote the finest scholarship within the IS academic community, and to do so without discrimination and bias. To address the above, MISQ's Editor‐in‐Chief and DEI Director published a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) position statement with an accompanying MISQ Editorial in 2021. MISQ decided to direct its DEI efforts equally towards ‘scholars’ (e.g., authors, reviewers) and the ‘scholarship’ (e.g., topics we study and approaches we take). Formation of a DEI workgroup was an early effort aimed at ensuring that the DEI‐related practices are developed and implemented through a collective voice. A year‐long mentoring programme including paper and career development sessions was designed to help scholars who had been inequitably affected by the pandemic. Initiatives such as flexible accommodation for board members and mentorship track for authors from disadvantaged groups/regions are being designed.