Basic Interactions between Members of the Knowledge Market

The interconnections and information interactions between main members of the Knowledge Market are presented in the paper.

Pre-adoption market reaction to IFRS 9:a cross-country event-study

We are the first to examine the market reaction to 13 announcement dates related to IFRS 9 for over 5400 European listed firms. We find an overall positive reaction to the introduction of IFRS 9. The regulation is particularly beneficial to shareholders of firms in countries with weaker rule of law and a smaller divergence between local GAAP and IAS 39. Bootstrap simulations rule out the possibility that sampling error or data mining are driving our findings. Our main findings are also robust to confounding events and the extent of the media coverage for each event. These results suggest that investors perceive the new regulation as shareholder-wealth enhancing and support the view that stronger comparability across accounting standards of European firms is beneficial to international investors and outweighs the costs of poorer firm-specific information.

An Information Model for Pension Fund Management

In this paper the issues of Ukrainian new three-level pension system are discussed. First, the paper presents the mathematical model that allows calculating the optimal size of contributions to the non-state pension fund. Next, the non-state pension fund chooses an Asset Management Company. To do so it is proposed to use an approach based on Kohonen networks to classify asset management companies that work in Ukrainian market. Further, when the asset management company is chosen, it receives the pension contributions of the participants of the non-pension fund. Asset Management Company has to invest these contributions profitably. This paper proposes an approach for choosing the most profitable investment project using decision trees. The new pension system has been lawfully ratified only four years ago and is still developing, that is why this paper is very important.

Some Aspects of the Theme "Information Platform" in the Training of Students in Economic Majors

Information Platform has a major impact on the core activities and development of businesses. In this connection it is necessary for students of economics (the future leaders of such entities) to submit any problems related to the Information Platform, the risks they may pose, and exemplary approach to solve part or all of the problems and minimizing risks. The current issue examines the adaptation of the above problems when presenting them to students in economic majors. To the students are presented generalizations based on long observation of the occurrence and development of Information Platforms to the businesses in Bulgaria in a growing market economy.

Losses, dividend reductions, and market reaction associated with past earnings and dividends patterns

This paper examines investors' reactions to dividend reductions or omissions conditional on past earnings and dividend patterns for a sample of eighty-two U.S. firms that incurred an annual loss. We document that the market reaction for firms with long patterns of past earnings and dividend payouts is significantly more negative than for firms with lessestablished past earnings and dividends records. Our results can be explained by the following line of reasoning. First, consistent with DeAngelo, DeAngelo, and Skinner (1992), a loss following a long stream of earnings and dividend payments represents an unreliable indicator of future earnings. Thus, established firms have higher loss reliability than less-established firms. Second, because current earnings and dividend policy are a substitute source of means of forecasting future earnings, lower loss reliability increases the information content of dividend reductions. Therefore, given the presence of a loss, the longer the stream of prior earnings and dividend payments, (1) the lower the loss reliability and (2) the more reliably dividend cuts are perceived as an indication that earnings difficulties will persist in the future.

Kontraszelekció és erkölcsi kockázat a politikában. Vázlat az információs aszimmetria közgazdaságtani fogalmainak politikatudományi alkalmazhatóságáról (Negative selection and moral risk in politics. An outline of the usefulness to political science of the economic concept of information asymmetry)

Az írás a kontraszelekció és az erkölcsi kockázat információ-gazdaságtani fogalmának politikatudományi alkalmazhatósága mellett érvel. Azt kívánja bemutatni, hogy a politikai piac szereplői közti információs aszimmetria mechanizmusainak éppúgy lehetnek súlyos negatív hatásai a demokratikus politikai rendszer működésére nézve, mint ahogy a gazdasági szereplők közti információs aszimmetria - Nobel-díjas közgazdászok érvei szerint - alááshatja a piaci verseny hatékonyságát. Az írás új megvilágításba helyezi a - már Platón óta ismert - politikai kontraszelekció jelenségét, továbbá részletesen foglalkozik az erkölcsi kockázat és a megbízó-megbízott relációk megjelenésével a politikában. Érinti tovább azoknak a mechanizmusoknak - a jelzésnek és a szűrésnek - a megjelenését a politikában, melyeket a közgazdászok az információs aszimmetria csökkentésére ajánlanak. / === / The paper argues in favour of employing in political science the economic concept of information asymmetry, seeking to show that the mechanisms of information asymmetry among the players on the political market may have negative effects on the operation of a democratic political system as information asymmetry among economic actors – according to arguments of Nobel prize-winning economists – has on the efficiency of market competition. The paper sheds new light on the phenomenon of negative political selection (known since Plato's time), and goes on to deal in detail with the appearance of moral risk and client/agent relations in politics. The author touches also on the appearance in politics of mechanisms – signals and filters – that economists suggest for reducing information asymmetry.

A felsőoktatási képzések munkaerő-piaci szempontból (Higher education programs from point of view of labor market)

A munkaerő-piaci követelményeknek megfelelően kialakított képzések versenyképesebbek a társaiknál. A napjainkban is zajló magyar felsőoktatási reform központi elemét alkotja a képzések ennek megfelelően történő átalakítása. Mindez létjogosultságot ad egy olyan rendszernek, amely a Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem gazdaságinformatikus BSc-képzésének kompetenciaelemeit kívánja vizsgálni az állásajánlatokban megnyilvánuló munkaerő-piaci igények tükrében. Az ontológiaalapú módszertan egy egységes fogalmi kört biztosít a munkaerőpiac eltérő szemléletű oldalán kifejlesztett modellek egységesítésére és összehasonlítására. ____ Tendencies can be observed on international and domestic levels that call for restructuring of higher education according to the needs of labor market. This paper presents an information system that can investigate the compliance of education programs and current labor market needs. Competences serve as a basis for this compliance checking, which is built on ontologybased approach. Having examined the distribution of roles (developer, operator etc.) appeared in IT job offers in time and space, a prototype of this system will be showed, related to Business Informatics degree program at Corvinus University of Budapest.

Az értékesítés és a marketing kapcsolatának piaci tájékozódásban betöltött szerepe és meghatározó tényezői (Role of the sales and marketing relationship in market orientation and its determining factors)

A szerző kutatásában azt vizsgálja, hogy az értékesítés területén dolgozó munkatársak piaci megfigyeléseit milyen mértékben képesek beépíteni a marketingvezetők a menedzsmentmunkába. Az értékesítési munkatársak piaci megfigyelései mindig naprakészek, ráadásul jelentősebb ráfordítás nélkül hozzáférhetők. A marketing- és a sales munkatársak közötti hagyományosan konfliktusokkal terhelt kapcsolat miatt azonban a vállalatok sokszor mégsem aknázzák ki a piaci tájékozódásnak ezt a lehetőségét. A nagyvállalati mintán empirikusan tesztelt modell szerint a menedzserek azon képessége, hogy felhasználják a vállalaton belül rendelkezésre álló információkat, alapvetően nem egyéni, hanem szervezeti képesség. Azok a menedzserek, akik olyan cégeknél dolgoznak, ahol a vállalati továbbképzések során más részlegek munkájába is bekapcsolódhatnak, nagyobb mértékben támaszkodnak a munkatársak piaci megfigyeléseire döntéseik meghozatala során. _____ The author examines in her research that to what extent marketing leaders can build market experience of sales employees into the management activity. Because of the traditionally problematic relationship between marketing and sales employees, companies do not exploit this opportunity of market orientation. According to the model tested on a big corporation sample, the capacity of managers to use information available within the company is basically not an individual but organisational capacity.

How trust affects the use of information obtained through intra- and extraorganizational relationships?

We have limited knowledge on the potential pattern similarities/differences of trust’s role that may exist in information use obtained through intra- and extra-organizational relationships. This study addresses this question by investigating how trust leads to information use. Data from 338 intra-organizational and a sub-ample of 158 interorganizational dyadic information exchange-relationships showed that trust is an important driver of the utilization of market information in both cases. Trust has no direct relationship to information use, instead has a strong indirect effect through a mediator, perceived quality of information. The effects of trust on the use of information obtained through inter- and extra-organizational dyadic relationships proved to be similar.

Vállalati döntés egy új információbiztonsági eszköz, a kvantumkulcscsere bevezetéséről (Corporate decision about the installation of a new information security device the quantum key distribution)

A szerzők tanulmányukban az információbiztonság egy merőben új, minőségi változást hozó találmányával, a kvantumkulcscserével (QKD-vel – quantum key distribution) foglalkoznak. Céljuk az, hogy az újdonságra mint informatikai biztonsági termékre tekintsenek, és megvizsgálják a bevezetéséről szóló vállalati döntés során felmerülő érveket, ellenérveket. Munkájuk egyaránt műszaki és üzleti szemléletű. Előbb elkülönítik a kvantumkulcscsere hagyományos eljárásokkal szembeni használatának motiváló tényezőit, és megállapítják, milyen körülmények között szükséges a napi működésben alkalmazni. Ezt követően a forgalomban is kapható QKD-termékek tulajdonságait és gyártóit szemügyre véve megfogalmazzák a termék széles körű elterjedésének korlátait. Végül a kvantumkulcscsere-termék bevezetéséről szóló vállalati döntéshozás különböző aspektusait tekintik át. Információbiztonsági és üzleti szempontból összehasonlítják az új, valamint a hagyományosan használt kulcscsereeszközöket. Javaslatot tesznek a védendő információ értékének becslésére, amely a használatbavétel költség-haszon elemzését támaszthatja alá. Ebből levezetve megállapítják, hogy mely szervezetek alkotják a QKD lehetséges célcsoportját. Utolsó lépésként pedig arra keresik a választ, melyik időpont lehet ideális a termék bevezetésére. _____ This study aims to illuminate Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), a new invention that has the potential to bring sweeping changes to information security. The authors’ goal is to present QKD as a product in the field of IT security, and to examine several pro and con arguments regarding the installation of this product. Their work demonstrates both the technical and the business perspectives of applying QKD. First they identify motivational factors of using Quantum Key Distribution over traditional methods. Then the authors assess under which circumstances QKD could be necessary to be used in daily business. Furthermore, to evaluate the limitations of its broad spread, they introduce the vendors and explore the properties of their commercially available QKD products. Bearing all this in mind, they come out with numerous factors that can influence corporate decision making regarding the installation of QKD. The authors compare the traditional and the new tools of key distribution from an IT security and business perspective. They also take efforts to estimate the value of the pieces of information to be protected. This could be useful for a subsequent cost–benefit analysis. Their findings try to provide support for determining the target audience of QKD in the IT security market. Finally the authors attempt to find an ideal moment for an organization to invest in Quantum Key Distribution.

Formalization of the informal venture capital market - Business angel networks and syndicates

Business angels are natural persons who provide equity financing for young enterprises and gain ownership in them. They are usually anonym investors and they operate in the background of the companies. Their important feature is that over the funding of the enterprises based on their business experiences they can contribute to the success of the companies with their special expertise and with strategic support. As a result of the asymmetric information between the angels and the companies their matching is difficult (Becsky-Nagy – Fazekas 2015), and the fact, that angel investors prefer anonymity makes it harder for entrepreneurs to obtain informal venture capital. The primary aim of the different type of business angel organizations and networks is to alleviate this matching process with intermediation between the two parties. The role of these organizations is increasing in the informal venture capital market compared to the individually operating angels. The recognition of their economic importance led many governments to support them. There were also public initiations that aimed the establishment of these intermediary organizations that led to the institutionalization of business angels. This study via the characterization of business angels focuses on the progress of these informational intermediaries and their ways of development with regards to the international trends and the current situation of Hungarian business angels and angel networks.

The applied computer science of economic analyses: Internet prioritization and Internet pricing, and software engineering and software pricing for the mass market

This research examines evolving issues in applied computer science and applies economic and business analyses as well. There are two main areas. The first is internetwork communications as embodied by the Internet. The goal of the research is to devise an efficient pricing, prioritization, and incentivization plan that could be realistically implemented on the existing infrastructure. Criteria include practical and economic efficiency, and proper incentives for both users and providers. Background information on the evolution and functional operation of the Internet is given, and relevant literature is surveyed and analyzed. Economic analysis is performed on the incentive implications of the current pricing structure and organization. The problems are identified, and minimally disruptive solutions are proposed for all levels of implementation to the lowest level protocol. Practical issues are considered and performance analyses are done. The second area of research is mass market software engineering, and how this differs from classical software engineering. Software life-cycle revenues are analyzed and software pricing and timing implications are derived. A profit maximizing methodology is developed to select or defer the development of software features for inclusion in a given release. An iterative model of the stages of the software development process is developed, taking into account new communications capabilities as well as profitability. ^

Using extreme value theory to value stock market returns

Extreme stock price movements are of great concern to both investors and the entire economy. For investors, a single negative return, or a combination of several smaller returns, can possible wipe out so much capital that the firm or portfolio becomes illiquid or insolvent. If enough investors experience this loss, it could shock the entire economy. An example of such a case is the stock market crash of 1987. Furthermore, there has been a lot of recent interest regarding the increasing volatility of stock prices. ^ This study presents an analysis of extreme stock price movements. The data utilized was the daily returns for the Standard and Poor's 500 index from January 3, 1978 to May 31, 2001. Research questions were analyzed using the statistical models provided by extreme value theory. One of the difficulties in examining stock price data is that there is no consensus regarding the correct shape of the distribution function generating the data. An advantage with extreme value theory is that no detailed knowledge of this distribution function is required to apply the asymptotic theory. We focus on the tail of the distribution. ^ Extreme value theory allows us to estimate a tail index, which we use to derive bounds on the returns for very low probabilities on an excess. Such information is useful in evaluating the volatility of stock prices. There are three possible limit laws for the maximum: Gumbel (thick-tailed), Fréchet (thin-tailed) or Weibull (no tail). Results indicated that extreme returns during the time period studied follow a Fréchet distribution. Thus, this study finds that extreme value analysis is a valuable tool for examining stock price movements and can be more efficient than the usual variance in measuring risk. ^

The men behind the market: Merchants, the Atlantic slave trade, and the shaping of South Carolina plantation society, 1700–1756

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the role played by merchants in the shaping of South Carolina plantation society in its early stages of development. In 1700 South Carolina was on the fringes of the British Empire. By mid-century the colony had become an integral part of the British Atlantic system. This dissertation addresses merchants' activity in the shaping of plantation society through their involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. Records of the British and South Carolina governments, and petitions from merchants on both sides of the Atlantic have been extremely valuable in understanding the complex and rapidly changing political affiliations of merchants on both sides of the Atlantic. These sources are valuable to this study since they illustrate the merchants' strategy of utilizing government policies to acquire the absolute best terms of trade. Records such as wills and inventories yielded valuable information on merchants' economic portfolios and provided valuable insight into their personal lives. The data shows that the integration of Colonial South Carolina into the global economy can be attributed to its merchant class, who actively sought out business opportunities in the global economy while working within the framework of British mercantilism.

Three essays on the interrelationships among financial restatements, corporate governance, market microstructure and the firm's rate of return

The increase in the number of financial restatements in recent years has resulted in a significant decrease in the amount of market capitalization for restated companies. Prior literature did not differentiate between single and multiple restatements announcements. This research investigated the inter-relationships among multiple financial restatements, corporate governance, market microstructure and the firm’s rate of return in the form of three essays by differentiating between single and multiple restatement announcement companies. First essay examined the stock performance of companies announcing the financial restatement multiple times. The postulation is that prior research overestimates the abnormal return by not separating single restatement companies from multiple restatement companies. This study investigated how market penalizes the companies that announce restatement more than once. Differentiating the restatement announcement data based on number of restatement announcements, the results supported the non persistence hypothesis that the market has no memory and negative abnormal returns obtained after each of the restatement announcements are completely random. Second essay examined the multiple restatement announcements and its perceived resultant information asymmetry around the announcement day. This study examined the pattern of information asymmetry for these announcements in terms of whether the bid-ask spread widens around the announcement day. The empirical analysis supported the hypotheses that the spread does widen not only around the first restatement announcement day but around every subsequent announcement days as well. The third essay empirically examined the financial and corporate governance characteristics of single and multiple restatement announcements companies. The analysis showed that corporate governance variables influence the occurrence of multiple restatement announcements and can distinguish multiple restatements announcement companies from single restatement announcement companies.