Knowledge Transfer through Computer-based Systems in Manufacturing Networks: A Study on Albanian Plants

This study shows a general view about knowledge transfer between manufacturing plants in developing countries like Albania, which are part of multinational companies’ network (MCN). Part of this goal is the study of computer-based systems from conference calls and intranets to more advanced ones like data warehouses, management information systems (MIS) and executive information systems (EIS), as enablers of knowledge flow and absorptive capacity. The paper examines four case studies based on semi-structured interviews, where the data collected highlight a good coverage of computer-based systems in function of knowledge sharing. In half of the cases, this is done internally in the plant and not over the network of plants. We propose to upgrade where possible the systems used in a distributed way to have data and information connections across the network. In some cases, emerge barriers such as lack of time, lack of tolerance for errors, or the need for assistance. Conclusions show that staff training related to computer-based systems in the optics of knowledge enablers is important for the companies, while the incentives are not considered as a key factor for knowledge transfer. Received: 15 July 2021 / Accepted: 23 September 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

MARKET REACTION TO THE TONES OF EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALLS

RESUMO Este estudo tem como objetivo analisar os diferentes tons transcritos utilizados pelos participantes nas teleconferências de resultados e sua influência na geração de retornos anormais das ações. Este estudo preenche uma lacuna de pesquisa que é a segregação da análise do tom por tipo de analista e de representantes corporativos durante a teleconferência de resultados. A amostra abrangeu o período de 2010 a 2017, totalizando 1.165 transcrições de teleconferências de resultados de 44 empresas brasileiras listadas na B3 – Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão. O principal achado é que o tom transcrito e as palavras utilizadas com base no dicionário de Loughran e McDonald (2011) têm poder de previsão significativo sobre as reações do mercado de ações após as teleconferências de resultados.

The language of profit warnings: a case of denial, defiance, desperation and defeat

PurposeTaking a communication perspective, the paper explores management's rhetoric in profit warnings, whose sole purpose is to disclose unexpected bad news.Design/methodology/approachAdopting a close-reading approach to text analysis, the authors analyse three profit warnings of the now-collapsed Carillion, contrasting the rhetoric with contemporaneous investor conference calls to discuss the profit warnings and board minutes recording boardroom discussions of the case company's precarious financial circumstances. The analysis applies an Aristotelian framework, focussing on logos (appealing to logic and reason), ethos (appealing to authority) and pathos (appealing to emotion) to examine how Carillion's board and management used language to persuade shareholders concerning the company's adverse circumstances.FindingsAs non-routine communications, the language in profit warnings displays and mimics characteristics of routine communications by appealing primarily to logos (logic and reason). The rhetorical profiles of investor conference calls and board meeting minutes differ from profit warnings, suggesting a different version of the story behind the scenes. The authors frame the three profit warnings as representing three stages of communication as follows: denial, defiance and desperation and, for our case company, ultimately, culminating in defeat.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is limited to the study of profit warnings in one case company.Originality/valueThe paper views profit warnings as a communication artefact and examines the rhetoric in these corporate documents to elucidate their key features. The paper provides novel insights into the role of profit warnings as a corporate communication vehicle/genre delivering bad news.

Does Analyst Coverage Affect Workplace Safety?

We find firms’ work-related injury rates are negatively associated with the level of analyst coverage. This result is also robust at the establishment level at which we find local analysts have a more profound impact than distant analysts. Cross-sectionally, our results are exacerbated in firms with weak internal governance mechanisms and in industries with low union representation. Finally, management is more likely to discuss safety issues during earnings conference calls in the presence of more analysts. Overall, our results suggest analysts play an effective external monitoring role and have a subtle yet important impact on employee welfare. This paper was accepted by Brian Bushee, accounting.

When Do Associate Analysts Matter?

Although extant literature investigates the role of sell-side equity analysts in capital markets, most studies do not consider that sell-side equity analysts often work in hierarchical teams. Lead analysts manage a team of associate and junior analysts who participate in the team’s tasks. Building on the delegation theory in the management literature, we hypothesize and find a division of labor between lead and associate analysts, where lead analysts are more likely to delegate tasks (1) that are less significant, (2) that are simpler, (3) when the workload of the lead analyst increases, and (4) when the associate analyst is more competent. Our results further suggest that associate analysts play a significant role in forecasting. By contrast, lead analysts are the main contributors to the qualitative aspects of analyst reports and are more likely to participate in earnings conference calls. Overall, our study documents the significant role of associate analysts in forecasting and the division of labor between lead and associate analysts. This paper was accepted by Brian Bushee, accounting.

The Effect of Misalignment of CEO Personality and Corporate Governance Structures on Firm Performance

We utilize the IBM Watson Personality Insights service to analyze CEOs’ verbal communication during conference calls to infer CEOs’ Big Five personality traits, which we employ to estimate their risk tolerance levels. We then explore whether the misalignment of CEO risk tolerance and governance structures is associated with company performance. Using a two-stage contingency approach, we test two hypotheses: (1) CEO risk tolerance and corporate governance structures are associated; and (2) misalignment of these structures with risk tolerance is negatively associated with financial performance. Based on a sample of 8208 firm-year observations during 2002–2013, we find support for both predictions. Our results support upper echelons theory and suggest that knowledge about CEOs’ inherent personality traits is important and relevant for governance mechanisms to work effectively.

Pacific relationalities in a critical digital space: The Wellington southerlies as a leadership experience

Understanding, articulating and managing relationality, the state of being related, is a central feature of research, teaching and other people-centred matters in the Pacific. Although various groups in this diverse region, Indigenous and otherwise, bring their own concepts and protocols to relationships, physical, social and spiritual connection are salient. Connection is most visible between people but also extends to other entities, including land. Recent events have accelerated the significance of connections constructed in virtual space, such as through conference calls augmented to facilitate presentation and discussion. This phenomenon, relatively new in Pacific academic practice, re-draws attention to relationality in a novel context. In this article we look at one such initiative through the lens of relational leadership to understand the role of leadership in the deliberate curation of a virtual space. The setting is the inaugural Wellington southerlies virtual tok stori. This event, attended by over 90 students and academics from across the region, is discussed through the experiences of four of the events’ instigators who were also active during the session as co-presenters, chair and Hautohu Matua or advisor. The discussion examines how the experience of Pacific orality affected our (re)framing of leadership in a digital space. Our learning points to ways relationality may be invoked, enabled and shaped by dialogic, relational leadership in virtual spaces so as to mediate limitations and construct new possibilities in a world where technology is fast affecting the ways we gather information and communicate one with another.