Cointegration of stock markets between New Zealand, Australia and the G7 Economies :searching for common trends under structural change

This paper examines whether the New Zealand equity market is integrated with the equity markets of Australia and the G7 economies by applying both the Johansen (1988) and Gregory and Hansen (1996) approaches to cointegration. The Johansen (1988) test suggests that there is no long-run relationship between the New Zealand stock market and any of the other stock markets considered in the study. The Gregory and Hansen (1996) test finds that the New Zealand and United States stock market is cointegrated, but the New Zealand stock market is not cointegrated with the other stock markets in the study. This suggests that in order to avoid some of the risk through international portfolio diversification there is potential for investors to purchase shares in the New Zealand market and either the Australian market or most of the world’s leading equity markets.

New Zealand Boards of Trustees' selection of primary school principals

This study's investigation of selection practices of principals by governing boards showed gendered preferences dominated even within a policy environment of equal opportunities. Boards influenced my market values did select the 'best person for the job' and many women were appointed because equally competent men were unavailable.

New Zealand's perfect storm of entrepreneurship and economic development

Applying a grounded-theory approach to analyzing the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data, we attempt to explain why New Zealand exhibits only a moderate level of economic development despite its high level of entrepreneurship. By statistically analyzing why 34 other countries in the 2005 GEM dataset exhibit small deviations from the classical quadratic curvilinear relationship between entrepreneurship and economic development, we develop a better understanding of the entrepreneurial framework conditions underlying New Zealand’s large deviation from this trend line. Based on our findings from the GEM data we make policy recommendations that could aid in moving New Zealand (and other countries) closer toward the trend line and thus promote economic development.

Impact of board composition and ownership on internationalisation strategy amongst small New Zealand firms

Internationalisation strategies are important for company expansion because New Zealand, with its four million people, has such a small market. Nonetheless, there mayor may not exist ;"agency costs" in the use of Outside Directors. Ownership patterns may also influence Internationalization Strategy. Using Binary Correlation, N-Way Cross-Tabulation, and Principal Component Analysis, we find evidence that Outside Directors have less influence on Internationalisation Strategy than Inside Directors. Family ownership also seems to have a greater association than non-family owned companies. Despite substantial limitations, the methods and models proposed seem to have some utility in examining the association of Internationalisation Strategy with Board Composition and Ownership Patterns.

An empirical and logical exploration of the strategic compatibility of best practice and product innovation : preliminary insights from Australian and New Zealand manufacturing industry

In an attempt to enhance debate focused on an established academic controversy, this study re-investigated selected data from the 1994 AMC survey of Australian and New Zealand manufacturing practices to test the hypothesis that best practice and product innovation may be incompatible generic business strategies. A modification of Robert G. Cooper’s Stage-Gate product development model was used as a theoretical framework to create a measurable construct of ‘product innovation’ as a strategy and compare two groups: firms committed to a best practice strategy (BPs) and firms not utilising best practice (Non-BPs). Eight variables were scrutinised. After logical critique was added to statistical data analysis, four major insights emerged.

(1) Tests yielded several statistically significant but substantively inconclusive results because both studied groups had nearly identical profiles in rating innovation as the factor of lowest importance to commercial success and because the definitional framework which guided construction of the survey instrument treated innovation as a second-order issue. (2) Currently, best practice and product innovation are logically incompatible by definition. (3) Even if the definition of best practice were changed, it is likely that the additional key process of innovation would remain incompatible with the existing key process of benchmarking. (4) However, until the definition of best practice does make an attempt to include innovation as a key process rather than an outcome, testing any hypothesis of strategic compatibility between a best practice focus and an innovation focus will be both empirically difficult and logically unnecessary.