Customer-Base Concentration, Investment, and Profitability: The U.S. Government as a Major Customer

2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Cohen ◽  
Bin Li
Keyword(s):  
Demand Uncertainty ◽  
Efficiency Gains ◽  
Differential Impact ◽  
Customer Base ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Specific Investments ◽  
Firm Profitability ◽  
Corporate Customers ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Jel Classifications

ABSTRACT We examine whether customer-base concentration has a differential impact on profitability for firms contracting with major government customers versus firms contracting with major corporate customers. We document that firm profitability increases with the concentration of major government customers, but decreases with the concentration of major corporate customers. We attribute the contrasting results to the differential impact of major government and corporate customers on demand uncertainty. Specifically, firms contracting with major government customers face lower demand uncertainty that enables them to realize more efficiency gains from customer-specific investments, whereas firms contracting with major corporate customers are exposed to higher demand uncertainty that reduces the efficiency of customer-specific investments. Overall, our study suggests that major government customers are unique and important in the composition of customer base, and they impact firm outcomes in a significantly different way than major corporate customers. JEL Classifications: M41; L25; G14; H57.

Spatial Competition at the Intersection of the Large and Small Audit Firm Markets

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth L. Bills ◽  
Nathaniel M. Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Market Share ◽  
Spatial Competition ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Differential Impact ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Audit Market ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Jel Classifications

SUMMARY In this paper, we study spatial competition in the U.S. audit market while accounting for its two-tiered nature. We provide evidence on the differential impact that market share distances within and between the players in the large and small audit markets have on competition. We find that the market share distance from small audit firm competitors has a greater effect on the Big 4's audit fees than distances from other Big 4 competitors. This finding suggests that small audit firms play a significant part in the competitive landscape in local markets. Further, we find that audit fees are increasing with the distance between a small audit firm and its closest competing small audit firm while audit fees are decreasing with the distance between a small audit firm and its closest competing large audit firm. This suggests that while obtaining separation in market space from competing small audit firms reduces competitive pressure from other small audit firms, as a small audit firm gets closer to the market space of a large audit firm it is perceived as being more like the larger audit firm and is able to obtain a fee premium like that attained by the larger audit firms. JEL Classifications: M4; M40; M41; M42; M49.

Divestiture and Its Market Reaction in a Consolidating Industry: The Global Brewing Industry

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Ludwig Erl ◽  
Florian Kiesel
Keyword(s):  
Mergers And Acquisitions ◽  
Capital Market ◽  
Market Reaction ◽  
Market Performance ◽  
Abnormal Returns ◽  
Brewing Industry ◽  
Efficiency Gains ◽  
Market Values ◽  
Jel Classifications ◽  
The Capital Market

Abstract This study provides a perspective on the market performance of divestitures in the global brewing industry. In 2018, the five largest players accounted for 60% of the global beer volume. We analyze to what extent the capital market values divestitures in an industry where players usually seek efficiency gains and growth through mergers and acquisitions. Based on a sample of 61 divestiture intent announcements in the period from 1999–2018, this study shows that publicly listed brewing groups experience significant positive abnormal returns of about 1.4%. We measure the influential effect of success determinants concerning the underlying industry, the divested business, the divestiture structure, and the divestor itself. (JEL Classifications: G14, G34, L25, Q14)

Long-Term Prospects of the International Wine Trade

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 442-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Bargain ◽  
Jean-Marie Cardebat ◽  
Raphael Chiappini ◽  
Corentin Laffitte
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Great Emphasis ◽  
Market Structures ◽  
On Demand ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Comparative Advantages ◽  
The Future ◽  
Jel Classifications ◽  
Wine Trade

AbstractThis article discusses key comparative advantages of wine-producing nations and suggest prospective views on their evolution. Our methodology is twofold. First, we study comparative advantages in 16 countries using Porter's diamond. Then, we report results from a survey in which wine economists are asked to assess the future trade performance of these countries. Results are relatively consistent across methods regarding the future “heavy weights” like China, but also New Zealand and Chile, countries show the greatest potential to succeed in the future global wine trade. It is also expected that Georgia, the United Kingdom, and Australia play an important role, although to a lesser extent. Our findings indicate that comparative advantages in wine trade are neither uniform nor static; especially, terroir is no longer sufficient. The diamond approach contradicts experts from two countries in particular, France and Argentina, suggesting that experts put great emphasis on demand and market structures as key trade determinants for the future. (JEL Classifications: F14, Q17)

Code Section 304: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-39
Author(s):  
Doron Narotzki ◽  
Melanie G. McCoskey
Keyword(s):  
Tax Avoidance ◽  
Tax Planning ◽  
Expected Loss ◽  
Legislative Change ◽  
Planning Tools ◽  
The Gift ◽  
Foreign Corporations ◽  
Jobs Act ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Jel Classifications

ABSTRACT The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has created a unique opportunity to utilize Code Section 304 and Code Section 245A as powerful tax-planning tools. By utilizing the rules established for redemptions between related corporations under the anti-abuse provisions of Code Section 304 combined with the new 100 percent DRD of Code Section 245A, extracting earnings from affiliated foreign corporations tax-free has never been easier. This paper explains how these two code sections interact with each other and the resulting ability to extract certain foreign-sourced earnings tax-free. It also identifies incentives created by the TCJA to operate profitable businesses overseas and expected loss operations in the U.S. Finally, the paper offers a legislative change to close the tax avoidance loophole created by the TCJA. JEL Classifications: H2.

The Trend in Firm Profitability and the Cross-Section of Stock Returns

2017 ◽  
Vol 92 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferhat Akbas ◽  
Chao Jiang ◽  
Paul D. Koch
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Stock Returns ◽  
Cross Section ◽  
The Other ◽  
Analyst Forecast ◽  
Forecast Errors ◽  
Earnings Surprise ◽  
Firm Profitability ◽  
Earnings Momentum ◽  
Jel Classifications

ABSTRACT This study shows that the recent trajectory of a firm's profits predicts future profitability and stock returns. The predictive information contained in the trend of profitability is not subsumed by the level of profitability, earnings momentum, or other well-known determinants of stock returns. The profit trend also predicts the earnings surprise one quarter later, and analyst forecast errors over the following 12 months, suggesting that sophisticated investors underreact to the information in the profit trend. On the other hand, we find no evidence of investor overreaction, and our results cannot be explained by well-known risk factors. JEL Classifications: G12; G14.

Mitigating Choice Overload: An Experiment in the U.S. Beer Market

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (01) ◽  
pp. 48-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trey Malone ◽  
Jayson L. Lusk
Keyword(s):  
Product Quality ◽  
Choice Overload ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Search Cost ◽  
Market Interactions ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Jel Classifications

AbstractThis study tests the prevalence of choice overload (CO) in the U.S. beer market. We reveal that even if CO exists, sellers have mechanisms to reduce CO's negative consequences. The article describes the implementation of search cost-reducing private nudges (i.e., product quality scores and prominently listed specials) sellers commonly utilize to minimize CO's negative consequences. Our results suggest that, while CO exists for some buyers, it can be eliminated by market interactions on the part of the seller. (JEL Classifications: C93, D03, Q13)

Don't Judge a Wine by Its Closure: Price Premiums for Corks in the U.S. Wine Market

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (01) ◽  
pp. 3-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton Bekkerman ◽  
Gary W. Brester
Keyword(s):  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Grocery Stores ◽  
Purchase Decisions ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Quantile Regressions ◽  
Wine Quality ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Price Premiums ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Jel Classifications

AbstractFor many purchases, consumers often possess only limited information about product quality. Thus, observable product characteristics are used to determine expected quality levels when making purchase decisions. We use more than 1 million weekly scanner-level observations from grocery stores across ten U.S. markets between September 2009 and August 2012 to examine how consumers value a wine bottle's closure type (i.e., cork or screw cap). We focus on lower-priced wines—those with sale prices less than $30 per 750 milliliter bottle—to more accurately evaluate decisions of consumers for whom seeking additional information about wine quality is likely more costly than the benefits derived from that information. Using both pooled ordinary least squares and quantile regressions to estimate price premiums for bottles with corks or screw caps, we find that U.S. consumers are willing to pay, on average, approximately 8% more (about $1.00) for a bottle of wine that has a cork closure. In addition, we show that the size of this premium increases as wine prices decline. (JEL Classifications: D81, M31, Q11)

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document