Specific Firms Research Articles

Does Trading Spur Specialization? Evidence from Patenting

Exploiting staggered establishments of patent exchanges in China, we examine how patent trading affects firm innovation and specialization. We find that patent trading and in-house innovation are complements for patent sellers, whereas they are substitutes for the buyers. Our findings demonstrate that the market for technology induces (i) specialization between patent buyers and sellers, (ii) specialization between patent licensors and licensees, and (iii) specialization based on a firm’s R&D efficiency. All these three patterns of specialization indicate that a firm’s response to an emerging market for technology hinges on its comparative advantages. Firms with a comparative advantage in creating innovation redirect their resources from advertising to patenting activities, whereas firms with a comparative advantage in commercializing innovation switch their effort from patenting to advertising activities. Moreover, enhanced patent trading contributes to improved firm performance and increasing market concentration. Our findings suggest patent trading promotes comparative-advantage-based specialization and enhances firm performance.

Firm productivity and functional specialisation

AbstractThis paper examines the relation between productivity and specialisation of firms in business functions. We distinguish between specialisation in R&D, fabrication and marketing based on the firm's employment composition over these functions using unique survey data of Dutch firms. Our results suggest that firms specialised in R&D and marketing are significantly more productive compared to firms specialised in fabrication. We find that measures of upstreamness based on input–output tables do not significantly relate to firm productivity and are uncorrelated to measures of functional specialisation.

The Impact of Sarbanes–Oxley and Dodd–Frank Legislation on Loan Loss Provisioning in US Banks

The Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 and the 2010 Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (DFA) were passed to address weaknesses in the internal control environment of the firm. Elements of these Acts reduce risky behavior of financial institutions by reducing informational asymmetry with borrowers. An important element of managing earnings quality in financial institutions is the loss provision, an annual expense set aside for uncollected loan and lease payments. These Acts affect the selection of loss provision expense levels in distinct ways. Using a dataset of community bank financial information observed between 1998 and 2017, it is shown that banks experience a complementary effect between SOX and DFA on loss provision expenses. Improved governance procedures to establish policy responses to nonperforming loans result in reduced expenses, whereas reduced information asymmetry tends to enhance a moral hazard effect. These results show that incentives for firm growth, income, capital, and loan specialization under the SOX and DFA regulatory environments complicate the loan risk management process.

The effect of auditor industry specialization and board independence on the cash flow reporting classification choices under IFRS: evidence from Taiwan

PurposeThis study aims to explore the relationship between audit partner and firm industry specialization and board of director independence on the decision by Taiwanese firms to use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) flexibility concerning reporting interest income and expense and dividends received in different sections of the statement of cash flows. This flexibility existed in Taiwan for the first time in 2013, the year that Taiwan switched from its own generally accepted accounting principle to IFRS.Design/methodology/approachUsing 2013 data for a sample of 1,227 firms, 354 of whom changed their reporting classification, this study examined the interaction effect of board independence and partner-level and firm-level auditor industry specialization on the cash flow reporting decision using logistic regression.FindingsThe results show there is a substitute relationship between board independence and partner-level industry specialization on the change in cash flow reporting classification, but a complementary relationship between board independence and firm-level auditor specialization. Further, both partner-level and firm-level auditor industry specializations have a complementary (but negative) relationship with board independence as to whether the firm is likely to report interest expense paid in the operating or financing activities sections.Practical implicationsAn important implication is that knowing the levels of audit firm and partner specialization and how independent the board is, is useful for researchers and regulators in investigating auditor-client relationships and understanding the influences of variables investigated here on the outcome(s) of accounting policy and regulatory changes.Originality/valueThis study improved the field’s understanding of the impacts of audit partner and firm specialization, board independence and relevant interactions on cash flow reporting choices.

The Value of Auditor Industry Specialization - Evidence from a Structural Model

This study investigates the value of auditor industry specialization. In the first step, we use a discrete choice model to derive the first-order demand for auditor industry specialization. Our results reveal that clients have a general preference for auditor industry specialization, relating to both audit firm and audit office specialization. Further, we observe that specializations at the audit firm and audit office are substitutes. We also find that larger and more complex clients have a stronger demand for specialization at the audit office but not the audit firm level. In the second step, we use the results from the discrete choice model to quantify the value of auditor industry specialist for clients. We find that the aggregate value of industry specialization for all clients is around 5 million US dollars and that it shapes the audit market as losing it results in the loss of approximately 5% of clients.

On Bundling and Entry Deterrence

A multiproduct incumbent firm faces the threat of entry from another multiproduct (generalist) firm or from single-product (specialist) firms. Assuming that the incumbent offers higher quality products than its rivals, we inquire whether the possibility of bundling by the incumbent is more effective in deterring entry in one setting or the other, and explore how the quality difference affects the comparison. For instance, for relatively high-quality differences the generalist is more vulnerable to bundling than are the specialists; but bundling is a credible action for the incumbent more often against specialists than against the generalist.

Impact of firm-level attributes on listed real estate company performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to test the extent to which company-specific attributes including market capitalisation, capital structure and investment focus impact upon the performance of European listed real estate companies. Enhanced understanding of firm-level performance drivers is important for investors in order to diversify their investment portfolios and to mitigate company-specific risks at different points in the real estate cycle.Design/methodology/approachThe study centres on six key listed European real estate markets selected on the basis of market capitalisation, diversity, transparency and maturity. A series of statistical tests are undertaken using EPRA and Bloomberg data for the period of 2007–2017 using 113 listed property companies, all of whom were contemporaneous constituents of EPRA indices in this period. A series of customised performance indices were constructed to evaluate firm-level performance attributes.FindingsFirm-level attributes collectively account for more variation of risk-adjusted return than sector-level attributes over the investigation period. The impact of firm-specific attributes on performance varies significantly from country to country attributable to the contrasting cyclical property market trends in the pre– and post–Global Financial Crisis period. REITs outperformed non-REITs on a risk-adjusted basis attributed to the strong performance of “niche” market entrants allied with stronger regulatory structure. Finally, the findings showcase that sector specialist firms outperform diversified companies inferring that investors should seek to attain diversification through portfolio-based approaches rather than firm-level strategies.Practical implicationsThe results have implications for real estate companies aiming to raise capital internally for growth as higher return on equity in general signals reduced cost of capital. Secondly, the findings should be of practical use to multinationals specialising in international real estate trading in designing their business plans in general and formulating cross-country investment strategies in particular. Last but not least, a more refined conceptualisation of corporate-level performance drivers should complement existing professional practices in relation to business/company appraisal.Originality/valueThe research integrates EPRA and Bloomberg data sets to create a series of bespoke index constructs to measure the impact of firm-specific attributes on European listed real estate companies. Additionally, the authors construct a Herfindahl Index (H.I.) to further the debate on the impacts of diversification within the listed real estate sector. This serves to further heighten investor understanding of investment allocation and portfolio optimisation strategies for the listed real estate sector given the increasingly diverse range of investment opportunities within emerging sub-markets.

Mantra raises $25 million for exosomes

Mantra Bio, a San Francisco–based start-up quietly founded in 2016, has raised $25 million in series A financing to develop exosome-based therapies. Exosomes are lipid vesicles, released from cells, that usually contain RNA or proteins. Mantra is one of a number of start-ups looking to hijack exosomes for drug delivery. The firm specializes in discovering and engineering exosomes that can target specific cells or tissues in the body.

Multiple‐quality Cournot oligopoly and the role of market size

AbstractWe model an oligopoly where firms are allowed to freely enter and exit the market and choose the quality level of their products by incurring different setup costs. Using this framework, we study the mix of firms in the long‐run Cournot–Nash equilibrium under different cost structures and the effects of market size on market outcomes. Specifically, we consider two alternative specifications of cost structure. In the first specification, quality upgrading requires a large increment in the setup cost or R&D investment. Under this cost structure, we show that in the Nash equilibrium, each firm specializes in a single quality level, and an increase in the market size leads to (a) an increase in the fraction of firms that specialize in the high‐quality product, (b) an increase in the market share of the high‐quality product, and (c) a reduction in firms’ markups and in markup dispersion. Under the second type of cost structure where quality upgrading only requires higher marginal cost, we find that all firms will produce both types of product, and the value share of the high‐quality product increases as the market expands, but in quantity terms, the market share of the high‐quality product does not change. Finally, we find that trade liberalization has broadly similar effects to that of a market expansion, but the supply of the high‐quality product from the smaller economy may decrease.

Two-dimensional vertical differentiation with attribute dependence

This paper studies how the type and magnitude of the interaction between quality characteristics determine the nature of the differentiation strategies of firms. The vertical differentiation models with multi-characteristic product preferences consider that the characteristics are independent. We incorporate a non-additive component into a two-dimensional model. Sufficiently high attribute dependence gives rise to maximal differentiation in both qualities: if the qualities are complements, one firm offers the highest quality in both attributes, while the other firm the lowest; on the other hand, if the qualities are substitutes, each firm specializes in one of the qualities. The usual outcome with maximal differentiation in one quality dimension and minimal in the other is achieved if there is low or no attribute dependence. In our model, the magnitude of attribute dependence determines whether differentiation relaxes or intensifies subsequent price competition. Some examples from the banking sector are presented to illustrate the model.

The Effect of Auditor Industry Specialization and Board Independence on the Cash Flow Reporting Classification Choices under IFRS

This study explores the relationship between audit partner and firm industry specialization and board of director independence on the one hand and the decision by Taiwanese firms to take advantage of IFRS flexibility concerning reporting interest income and expense, and dividends received in the operating cash flow section of the statement of cash flows on the other. A sample of 1,227 Taiwanese firms were drawn for fiscal year 2013, the year that Taiwan switched from using its GAAP to using IFRS principles. Of these, 354 changed their cash flow reporting classifications. We examine the interaction effect of board independence and auditor industry specialization at both partner-level and firm-level on the cash flow reporting classification choices under IFRS. The results show there is a substitute relationship between board independence and partner-level industry specialization on the change in cash flow reporting classification, but a complementary relationship between board independence and firm-level auditor specialization. Further, both partner-level and firm-level auditor industry specialization have a complementary relationship with board independence in not changing a firm’s interest expense paid reported in operating activities to financing activities.

Liverpool Chirochem raises $2.8 million

Liverpool Chirochem, a provider of building-block chemicals for pharma R&D, has raised $2.8 million from investors to hire additional staff and expand output at its headquarters and R&D center in Liverpool, England, and its analytical center and production lab in Taizhou, China. A 2014 spin-off from Liverpool University, the firm specializes in chiral nitrogen heterocycles.

Does Auditor Industry Specialization Increase Analysts’ Forecast Accuracy? Evidence from the Listed Firms of Australia

This paper examines the relation between auditor industry specialization and analysts’ beginning-of-the-year earnings forecast accuracy. It predicts that the higher industry specialization of the auditors will improve the quality of external financial reports and thus mitigates the analysts’ forecast error. It also predicts that higher audit quality will have a negative association with analyst forecast dispersion. The empirical test results on Australian listed firms from the year 2003 to 2012 does not find evidence of association between audit firm industry specialization and analysts’ beginning-of the year earnings forecast error. However, firms with higher analysts forecast error is associated with lower forecast dispersion among analysts, which is consistent with the prediction that analysts are consistent with predicting future earnings and analysts possess similar traits in terms of difference with the actual earnings. Additional analysis also finds that’s larger firms have less forecast errors compared to smaller firms. The findings contribute to the growing literature on auditing and financial reporting quality in Australian context.

LeMar Outdoor Play Products, Ltd.: An Outsourcing Decision to India

This case, based on general business experience, casts students in the role of analyzing the financial effects of a possible outsourcing decision. Lee and Marcia Mills, owners of LeMar Outdoor Play Products, Ltd. (LOPP), a Canadian company that designs, manufactures, and installs outdoor play equipment, are faced with a decision pertaining to whether LOPP should outsource the company's back-office information technology enabled services (IT-ES) functions. Lee engages with an outside advisory firm specializing in matching companies with suitable outsourcing partners in India, and eventually a contract is presented. From just a financial perspective, students must ascertain whether Lee and Marcia should accept the outsourcing offer. Excerpt UVA-C-2440 Jun. 18, 2020 LeMar Outdoor Play Products, Ltd.: An Outsourcing Decision to India Even though their ages were beginning to show, Lee and Marcia Mills were young at heart. For the past 15 years, they had tirelessly worked to build their business, LeMar Outdoor Play Products, Ltd. (LOPP), into a western Canadian industry leader. Of late, their reputation for novel, safe, and well-built products had produced inquiries from potential new customers in the US East Coast and several family-oriented resorts in Latin America. The company designed, built, and installed all types of outdoor play equipment suitable for school-age children. Marcia was the whimsical, creative force behind the company's unique product designs. She was also in charge of the company's marketing, sales, and promotion activities, which were web-based, brochure-based, and via targeted direct mail. Lee, on the other hand, was the primary business manager—overseeing the production operations, product transport and installation, as well as back-office information technology-enabled services (IT-ES) such as accounting, website expansion/maintenance, and personnel payroll/benefits. Late one Sunday afternoon, during a rare moment while relaxing on one of their perpetual self-pushing swing sets, they had agreed on two things that set a number of wheels in motion. First, they agreed that they were both too busy—they were, as the saying goes, “burning the candle at both ends” at an unsustainable level. Second, they wanted to grow the business, taking on the new clients that were calling from more distant locations. Perhaps they would become the world's leader of outdoor play systems, or be presented with a buyout option too good to refuse from an established company already in the recreational equipment industry. Maybe a company like Nike or North Face might want to expand their product offerings and would be interested in acquiring LOPP's. The first of their shared realizations presented an immediate, follow-on task for Lee that he looked forward to addressing. He needed to find a business affiliate that could take on the company's back-office operations (e.g., accounting, employee benefits, and payroll administration) and promotional communications (both hardcopy and web-based), freeing him to focus on the production and installation aspects of the business. Regarding the promotions-related activity, Marcia would still create and design the promotions materials and strategies while the hoped-for outsourcing company would print all pertinent hardcopy brochures and execute all her web-based campaigns. Lee started his research the next morning. . . .

Audit Quality Effects on Earnings Management of Manufacturing Firms in Nigeria: A Comparative Study of Pre- and Post-International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) Period

This study examined the effect of audit quality proxied by Auditors’ Independence (ADI), Audit Firm Size (AFS), Auditor Tenure (ADT) and Audit Firm Specialization (ADS) on shareholders’ earnings (measured as Earnings per Share - EPS) and stock performance (measured as Market Price of Stock - MPS) of listed manufacturing companies in Nigeria, in the pre-and post-International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) periods. To achieve this, the study used eleven (11) listed manufacturing companies listed companies that had consistently published their audited annual financial reports from 2009 to 2018. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and Ordinary Least Square (OLS) univariate and multiple regression technique were adopted to analyse data obtained, with the ex-post facto research design employed in the methodology. The following results were obtained from the test of hypotheses. Auditors independence, audit firm size and auditors firm specialization have significant and positive impact on EPS and MPS. However, auditors’ tenure was found to significantly affect both EPS and MPS negatively. The IFRS moderated model results revealed that audit quality variables have higher and more positive impact on EPS and MPS in the post-IFRS period, relative to the pre-IFRS, with their effects being statistically significant using the wald restriction test. The findings have direct implication on earnings management and stock performance in the Nigerian Manufacturing Industry. Keywords: Earnings Per Share, Market Price, Auditors’ Independence, Audit Firm Size, Audit Tenure, Audit Firm Specialization DOI : 10.7176/RJFA/10-24-03 Publication date: December 31 st 2019

Audit report lag, audit fees, and audit quality following an audit firm merger: Evidence from Hong Kong

This paper examines whether the clients of a merged audit firm have shortened report lag, increased audit fees, or reduced audit quality following the merger. These questions are important for a balanced investigation of a firm merger because regulators focus more on the downside of a merger than on its upside. Using a merger of audit firms in Hong Kong as a setting, this paper reports that clients of the merged firm have shorter audit report lag post-merger in the property industry in which the merged firm subsequently obtained more than one-half of the market share. Simultaneously, the evidence does not suggest that clients of the merged firm are charged higher audit fees or provided with lower quality audits after the merger. Thus, the results suggest that the merger of audit firms can benefit clients without corresponding disadvantages. Because this is a case study where the market share, industry specialization, expertise, and professional development of the audit firms may be unique, more research is needed on audit firm mergers to determine if these results are generalizable.

Debt specialization and performance of European firms

Abstract Relying on a cross-country comparable sample of European manufacturing firms, this paper investigates the relationship between the level of debt specialization (i.e. composition of the various types of debt) and firm turnover reduction in a time of crisis. The analysis is conducted applying the generalized propensity score matching methodology for continuous variables recently developed by Hirano and Imbens (2004) and Imai and Van Dyk (2004). This quasi-experimental setting allows estimating the (average) firm turnover reduction at each level of debt concentration (i.e. the dose–response function). Consistent with the theoretical analysis of De Fiore and Uhlig (2015) on the flexibility of the financial system, results from the empirical analysis suggest that firms having a diversified debt structure are less likely to experience a severe turnover reduction.

Cost-Down Drive

A Huddersfield automotive firm specialising in turbocharger, transmission and engine components for the global automotive market and with manufacturing facilities on three continents has worked with Mapal on a number of projects

The Impact of Auditor Qualifications on Earnings Management of Companies Listed on the Borsa Istanbul Industrial Index

This research aims to reveal whether independent auditor’s (as the real person and the legal entity) qualifications (audit firm size, audit opinion, audit gender, audit firm specialization, audit firm rotation, geographical difference) have any effect on earnings management via discretionary accruals and real activities manipulations by using a panel data regression analyses of 162 units over 5 years (2011-2015). According to the results, independent auditor qualifications (audit firm and engagement partner) has no impact on the real activities manipulation. The results show that an independent audit by Big-4 firms has a decreasing effect on discretionary accruals. Earnings management via discretionary accruals increases when the local audit firms conduct the audit. The audit firms with diversified expertise decrease the earnings management via accruals. The results also confirm that disclaimer of opinion signals an increase in the discretionary accruals in Borsa Istanbul.

Pengaruh Rotasi Audit, Spesialisasi Industri KAP, dan Client Importance Terhadap Kualitas Audit (Studi dengan Pendekatan Earning Surprise Benchmark)

This research was aimed to examine empirically the effect of several factors to audit quality. These factors are Audit Rotation, Audit Firm Specialization and Client Importance. The population that will be used in this research are company listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange. This study uses sampel of 85 manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange in the period 2015-2017. In this study, audit quality is measured by earning surprise benchmark. The method used was purposive sampling. The method of data analysis in this study use logistic regression with SPPS version 23. The results of this prove that (1) audit rotation is not proven to have an impact on audit quality, where sig value 0,915 > 𝛼 0,05 which means H1 is rejected (2) audit firm specialization is proven to have an impact on audit quality, where sig value 0,04 < 𝛼 0,05 which means H2 is accepted (3) client importance is not proven to have an impact on audit quality, where sig value 0,809 > 𝛼 0,05 which means H3 is rejected. The amount of Adjusted R is 0.036 gives the sense that rate is 3,6% of level audit quality can be explained by independent variables while 96.4% can be explained by the other independent variabels that are not tested in this study.Keywords: Audit Rotation, Audit Firm Specialization, Client Importance, Audit Quality