The effects of research and development expenditure on long-term stock returns: an analysis of the BRICS nations

Research and development (R&D) facilitate and drive innovation, which plays a critical role in increasing competitiveness for firms and contributing to economic growth. This study examines a sample of 970 firms from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) between 2007-2020 who increased their R&D expenditure or had an unexpected increase in R&D expenditure from one year to the next. The Fama and French (1993) three factor and Carhart (1997) four factor models are used to assess whether these firms earned abnormal returns in the long run. The study finds that value weighted portfolios of firms that increased their R&D expenditure or experienced unexpected R&D expenditure increases exhibited long term positive abnormal returns. This suggests that investors fail to respond immediately to the good news about R&D, consistent with the phenomenon of investor underreaction, and therefore presents an opportunity for market participants to earn abnormal returns by investing in BRICS companies engaged in R&D

Proceedings of CONCORD 2010: 2nd European Conference on Corporate R&D "An Engine for Growth, a Challenge for European Policy". Academic Forum - Summary Report

The European Commission collects and analyses policy relevant information on corporate R&D through its 'Industrial Research Monitoring and Analysis' [IRMA] activities at the Joint Research Centre's Institute for Prospective Technological Studies [JRC ¿ IPTS], in co-operation with DG Re-search. The EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard, the EU Survey on Business Trends in R&D, as well as the Conferences on Corporate R&D [CONCORD] represent some of the main activities in this regard. Please consult http://iri.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ for more information. The 2nd European Conference on Corporate R&D ¿ "CONCORD 2010 ¿ An engine for growth, a chal-lenge for European policy" was organised jointly by the JRC's Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) and the Spanish Centre for Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) under the auspices of the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council. It thus formed part of the IRMA activities of the European Commission's Directorates Joint Research Centre (JRC) and Research (RTD). The Conference was held over two days; with the first day constituting a forum for a more technical and academic discourse and the second devoted to the policy dimension of corporate R&D, based on the most policy relevant outcomes of the first day. This report, by providing a compilation of the indi-vidual reports of the Conference rapporteurs (members of the Scientific Committee of the Confer-ence), highlights the most important ideas arisen from the presentations in the course of the Aca-demic Forum of CONCORD 2010. It thus relies on the contribution of the members of the Scientific Committee.JRC.DDG.J.3-Knowledge for Growt

Corporate Reputation, Available Slack, And Financial Distress Risk

The global COVID-19 pandemic and the associated economic recession have posed significant challenges for companies in Indonesia. Many companies have struggled to survive, leading to mass layoffs or bankruptcy. This study is motivated to research the financial factors (namely, company reputation and available slack) related to the risk of financial difficulties, using 1,699 observations from non-financial public companies in Indonesia from 2020 to 2022. The research was conducted using moderated regression analysis performed with STATA software. The research results indicate that company reputation is negatively related to the risk of financial difficulties, and available slack strengthens this relationship. These results were robustly tested using coarsened exact matching. This study provides information for companies and stakeholders on reducing the risk of financial difficulties by strengthening the company's reputation and available slack

Translating the post-editor: an investigation of post-editing changes and correlations with professional experience across two Romance languages

With the growing use of machine translation, more and more companies are also using post-editing services to make the machine-translated output correct, precise and fully understandable. Post-editing, which is distinct from translation and revision, is still a new activity for many translators. The lack of training, clear and consistent guidelines and international standards may cause difficulties in the transition from translation to post- editing. Aiming to gain a better understanding of these difficulties, this study investigates the impact of translation experience on post-editing performance, as well as differences and similarities in post-editing behaviours and trends between two languages of the same family (French and Brazilian Portuguese). The research data were gathered by means of individual sessions in which participants remotely connected to a computer and post-edited machine-translated segments from the IT domain, while all their edits and onscreen activities were recorded via screen-recording and keylogging programs. A mixed-methods approach was employed for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data. The findings suggest that there are no clear correlations between translation experience and post-editing performance, or post-editing experience and post-editing performance. However, other aspects such as the opinion regarding machine translation seem to be predictors of post-editing performance. Our analysis enabled us to combine multiple factors in order to identify the ‘best’ post-editors in our participant group. Finally, similar post-editing trends were observed for both target languages, suggesting that training, guidelines and automated aids could be targeted at language groups rather than at individual languages. The insight gathered will be useful for devising future post-editing guidelines and training programmes

A corporate failure prediction model for non-financial South African corporates incorporating best practices used by the credit industry

In the context of the current macroeconomic environment there is an expectation of an increase in South African non-financial corporate failure, where advance prediction thereof will become even more important. A number of South African non-financial corporate failures have occurred following the financial crisis. In addition, South Africa experienced a watershed moment with the first default on a non-financial corporate bond in 2013. At the same time, with the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) framework there have been significant advances in the quality of financial information which should improve its usage in predicting corporate failure. This study used the latest sample to date of listed South African non-financial corporates that met the definition of failure but limited the universe of financial information to that which was prepared under IFRS. At the same time, adjustments were made to the financial data based upon pre-selection of independent credit statistic variables most commonly used in ranking relative credit risk for non-financial corporates. Additionally, equity market price data was introduced into the model to add a forward-looking information consideration. This resulted in an eleven variable model where differentiation of corporate failure was facilitated through the use of multiple discriminant analysis

The Internationalisation Process of Emerging Market Multinational Corporations: A Case Study of Nigeria

Further studies are required to provide an insight and understanding into the internationalisation process of EMNCs, because the theories of firms’ internationalisation were developed from studies in advanced countries. However the behaviour of EMNCs may be different from that of firms from advanced countries. Despite a growing number of studies on the internationalisation process of emerging market multinationals (EMNCs), Latin American and Asian firms have dominated the geographical focus. Studies of the internationalisation process of Sub-Saharan African firms, in particular that of Nigerian firms, are lacking in the international business literature. This study examines the factors that have impacted on the domestic growth of Nigerian firms, the factors that have motivated their internationalisation and the location patterns of their internationalisation. It draws on four case studies of Nigerian companies from different sectors of the Nigerian economy; namely, manufacturing, banking, insurance and ICT. This study is important because it brings an in-depth understanding to an under explored new phenomenon. Data were drawn from multiple sources of evidence for triangulation and convergence. “Within-case” and “cross-case” data analysis was undertaken. The primary data were analysed thematically and the Nvivo 11 qualitative software package was used for data coding. It was found that there is no uniform set of factors that have motivated the internationalisation of Nigerian firms. Even though some similarities exist across cases, there are also stark differences. The study shows that Nigerian firms have evolved during a difficult period in Nigeria’s economic development. It also reveals that the economics of liberalisation after the democratic transition in 1999 opened new opportunities, which enabled Nigerian firms to accumulate their specific ownership advantages in the domestic market, which then enhanced their competitive advantage in both domestic and international markets. The home country’s specific advantages, such as resource endowment, favourable domestic business environment and home market profitability have had a positive impact on firms’ ability to develop their specific advantages. The study reveals that institutional and resource based factors drove the domestic growth of the four firms. These included the political environment, social conditions, economic conditions, technological changes, sectorial characteristics, management orientation and the resources and capabilities of the firms. The internationalisation of Nigerian firms also reflects a Pan-African investment strategy. Regional/host markets factors were key motivations for the firms’ internationalisation and their location patterns. Regional markets provided the case firms with opportunities to expand and also served as an international entry point to develop their experiential learning of internationalisation. Home market advantage, network relationships, management orientation, vision, resources and capabilities were found to have impacted positively on the internationalisation process of Nigerian firms. The study indicates that the geographical proximity of the host market, rather than its psychic distance, was a motivation for both Nigerian firms’ internationalisation and their location pattern

Measuring consistency in translation memories: a mixed-methods case study

Introduced in the early 1990s, translation memory (TM) tools have since become widely used as an aid to human translation based on commonly‐held assumptions that they save time, reduce cost, and maximise consistency. The purpose of this research is twofold: it aims to develop a method for measuring consistency in TMs; and it aims to use this method to interrogate selected TMs from the localisation industry in order to find out whether the use of TM tools does, in fact, promote consistency in translation. The research uses an explanatory, sequential mixed‐methods approach. Following a pilot study, the first phase of the research involved a quantitative study of two English‐to‐German and two English‐to‐Japanese TMs. Inconsistencies found in these TMs were categorised and counted. The research found inconsistencies of letter case, spacing, and punctuation in source texts, and inconsistent terminology, formatting, and punctuation in target texts despite the restrictive nature of TM tools. In a follow‐on qualitative phase, thirteen interviews were conducted with translators and others from the localisation industry with experience of TMs. Interviewees believed inconsistency to be a problem in translations completed using TM tools and confirmed that the findings from the quantitative phase corresponded with their experiences. Furthermore, they expressed their frustration with recent developments in TM tool functionality that, they say, do not address their needs and concerns. The thesis collates interviewees’ procedures for minimising inconsistency in TMs and suggests changes to the functionality of TM tools that may improve consistency and prove beneficial to translation professionals

Investigating emerging market economies Reverse REIT-Bond Yield Gap anomalies: a case for tactical asset allocation under the multivariate Markov regime switching model

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Management in Finance and Investments In the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management University of the Witwatersrand, Wits Business School, 2016This paper presents a first time application of a variant of the concepts underpinning the Fed Model, amalgamated with the Bond-Stock Earnings Yield Differential, by applying it to the dividend yields of REIT indices. This modification is termed the yield gap, quantitatively constructed and adapted in this paper as the Reverse REIT-Bond Yield Gap. This metric is then used as the variable of interest in a multivariate Markov regime switching model framework, along with a set of three regressors. The REIT indices trailing dividend yield and associated metrics are the FTSE/EPRA NAREIT series. All data are from Bloomberg Terminals. This paper examines 11 markets, of which the EMEs are classified as Brazil, Mexico, Turkey and South Africa, whereas the advanced market counterparts are Australia, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The time-frame spans the period June 2013 until November 2015 for the EMEs, whilst their advanced market counterparts time-span covers the period November 2009 until November 2015. This paper encompasses a tri-fold research objective, and aims to accomplish them in a scientifically-based, objective and coherent fashion. Specifically, the purpose is in an attempt to gauge the reasons underlying EMEs observed anomalies entailing reverse REIT-Bond yield gaps, whereby their tenyear nominal government bonds out-yield their trailing dividend yields on their associated REIT indices; what drives fluctuations in this metric; and whether or not profitable tactical asset allocation strategies can be formulated to exploit any arbitrage mispricing opportunities. The Markov models were unable to generate clear-cut, definitive reasons regarding why EMEs experience this anomaly. Objectives two and three were achieved, except for France and Mexico. The third objective was also met. The REIT-Bond Yield Gaps static conditions have high probabilities of continuing in the same direction and magnitude into the future. In retrospection, the results suggest that by positioning an investment strategy, taking cognisance of the chain of economic events that are likely to occur following static REIT-Bond Yield Gaps, then investors, portfolio rebalancing and risk management techniques, hedging, targeted, tactical and strategic asset allocation strategies could be formulated to exploit any potential arbitrage profits. The REIT-Bond Yield Gaps are considered highly contentious, yet encompasses the potential for significant reward. The Fed Model insinuates that EME REIT markets are overvalued relative to their respective government bonds, whereas their advanced market counterparts exhibit the opposite phenomenon.XL201