Stock market related pricing mechanisms for the tool and mould manufacturing industry

Tool and mould manufacturers typically prepare their quotation provide an accurate price of, for example, a die casting mould is a key competitive factor for such companies. However, particularly in the customised production area, calculating the quotations and tenders has been proven as extremely challenging and subjective matter. One main cause is that time dynamic costs are rarely taken into consideration sufficiently even though they have a major impact on the final quotation due to the large time frame between the moment of the initial quotation and the actual production start. They neglect can lead to a significant discrepancy of up to 40 percent between pre- And post-calculation and thus to a loss of the corporate added value. A novel method developed at the Institute of Production Engineering and Machine Tools (IFW), Leibniz Universität Hannover, aims to provide a framework which allows tool and mould manufacturer to prepare a more precise and reliable quotation by taking time-dependent dynamic costs into consideration. The prediction of the time dynamic costs takes place by using stock market pricing mechanisms. Subsequently, based on enterprise related knowledge aggregation, this method also accounts for the probability of occurrence of each quotation thereby minimising the discrepancy between the pre- and post-calculation

E-finance-lab at the House of Finance : about us

The financial services industry is believed to be on the verge of a dramatic [r]evolution. A substantial redesign of its value chains aimed at reducing costs, providing more efficient and flexible services and enabling new products and revenue streams is imminent. But there seems to be no clear migration path nor goal which can cast light on the question where the finance industry and its various players will be and should be in a decade from now. The mission of the E-Finance Lab is the development and application of research methodologies in the financial industry that promote and assess how business strategies and structures are shared and supported by strategies and structures of information systems. Important challenges include the design of smart production infrastructures, the development and evaluation of advantageous sourcing strategies and smart selling concepts to enable new revenue streams for financial service providers in the future. Overall, our goal is to contribute methods and views to the realignment of the E-Finance value chain. ..

A Twitter-Based Prediction Market: Social Network Approach

Information aggregation mechanisms are designed explicitly for collecting and aggregating dispersed information. Prediction markets represent one of the best examples of how this kind of wisdom of the crowds can be used. We use a Twitter-based prediction market to suggest that carefully designed market mechanisms can bring to light trends in dispersed information that improves the accuracy of our predictions. The information system we are developing combines the power of prediction markets with the popularity of Twitter. Simulation results show that our network-embedded prediction market can produce better predictions using information exchange in social networks and can outperform other prediction markets that do not use social networks. We also demonstrate that as cost decreases and more and more agents acquire information, the prediction market prices fully incorporate all available information, and the forecasting performance of the network-embedded prediction market is better

Prediction Markets: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Prediction markets (PM) have drawn considerable attention in recent years as a tool for forecasting events. Studies surveying and examining relevant the trends of PM using traditional approaches have been reported in the literature. However, research using meta-analysis to review Prediction markets systems is very limited in Management Information System (MIS). This paper aimed to fill this gap by using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method to study Prediction markets trends over the past decades. Our results are as follows. First, we find that shows that more than 64% of academic studies on Prediction markets are published in top journals such as Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Journal of Consumer Research and Information Systems Research. Second, we showed that Prediction markets applications can be can be divided into two groups: internal use PMS and general public usage. Finally, our significant meta-analysis result show that on average prediction markets is 79% more accurate than alternative forecast methods based

Prediction Markets:A literature review 2014

In recent years, Prediction Markets gained growing interest as a forecasting tool among researchers as well as practitioners, which resulted in an increasing number of publications. In order to track the latest development of research, comprising the extent and focus of research, this article provides a comprehensive review and classification of the literature related to the topic of Prediction Markets. Overall, 304 relevant articles, published in the timeframe from 2007 through 2013, were identified and assigned to a herein presented classification scheme, differentiating between descriptive works, articles of theoretical nature, application-oriented studies and articles dealing with the topic of law and policy. The analysis of the research results reveals that more than half of the literature pool deals with the application and actual function tests of Prediction Markets. The results are further compared to two previous works published by Zhao, Wagner and Chen (2008) and Tziralis and Tatsiopoulos (2007a). The article concludes with an extended bibliography section and may therefore serve as a guidance and basis for further research. (250 WORDS

The development of auditor independence dimensions: Nigerian stakeholders’ perspective

Past studies on auditor independence (AI) generally focused on factors influencing AI by examining individual or group of factors posited to impact AI using various proxies of AI. Since regulatory frameworks define AI along two dimensions (fact and appearance), the use of proxies such as non-audit fees ratio, audit to total fees ratio or client importance is insufficient, because of their inability to capture both dimensions of AI. The study investigated the concept of AI and developed a measure for AI based on Nigerian stakeholders’ perceptions. The first phase investigated the constituents of AI and how they interdependently measure AI. Data was collected from 233 stakeholders comprising practising accountants, bank loan officers, members of the corporate governance body, Financial Reporting Council officers, officers of the Federal Inland Revenue Service and shareholders, using disproportionate stratified sampling. Results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed that the AI measure consisted of nine constructs (perceived objectivity, perceived integrity, perceived professional skepticism, self-interest threat avoidance, selfreview threat avoidance, familiarity threat avoidance, intimidation threat avoidance, advocacy threat avoidance and safeguards implementation). The second phase examined the applicability of the measure among financial directors of listed companies. Data collected from 62 financial directors of listed companies in Lagos was analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling. Results showed that the measure was valid, reliable and applicable in Nigeria. The study contributes to by proposing and operationalizing a holistic measure for AI. It also confirms the existence of a hierarchical model explaining AI in terms of its two dimensions. (Indpendence in fact and appearance) as measured by nine constructs. The study contributes theoretically, methodologically and practically to the body of knowledge and has implications to regulators, auditors and other researchers. It will benefit regulatory and professional bodies in assessing and structuring auditor independence standards, provides an assessment tool for auditors and an avenue for further research for academics

Sustainable environmental manufacturing practices and firm performances: moderating role of environmental regulation and perceived benefits

More attention has been shifted to the environmental impacts of manufacturing companies on firm performance as sustainable environmental manufacturing practice has become an issue of concern to most researchers and practitioners. Theoretical evidence from previous studies showed that a considerable amount of attention has been given to environmental issues in academic studies in the past years and the link between environmental practices and performance of firms has been widely discussed, which results into different views. Thus, the relationship between sustainable environmental practices and firm performance remains inconclusive. This study investigates the impact of sustainable environmental manufacturing practices (SEMP) on firm performance through the moderating effects of perceived benefits (PB) and environmental regulation (ER). In addition, the relationships between the antecedent factors and SEMP were investigated. Data was collected from manufacturing companies in Malaysia using a cross sectional study design and stratified random sampling method. 103 usable questionnaires were collected by using a mail survey method and analysed with SmartPLS-SEM. The result indicated that five out of the 12 hypothesized relationships (both the direct and moderating hypotheses) were supported. Specifically, the study found that top management commitment and stakeholder pressure positively influence sustainable environmental manufacturing practices and that sustainable environmental manufacturing practice has a direct positive influence on environmental performance. The study also established that perceived benefits moderates the relationship between sustainable environmental manufacturing practice and operational performance, while the relationship between sustainable environmental manufacturing practice and environmental performance is moderated by environmental regulation. In addition, it was found that sustainable environmental manufacturing practice is still regarded as ethical behaviour and yet to be considered as a strategic factor of firms in Malaysia. Hence, important implication f this study to the environmental regulatory policy makers, academics and manufacturing practitioners in Malaysia is to create more awareness on the perception of SEMP as a strategic factor towards achieving better firm performance. It also reveals the need for environmental policy makers and the concerned authorities to revisit the environmental regulations on manufacturing practices to provide supportive environmental policies that will enhance a better firm performance in the Malaysian manufacturing industry

A Third-Generation Prediction Market

This article theorizes a new way to predict firm performance based on aggregation of sensing among frontline employees about changes in operational capabilities to update strategic action plans. We frame the approach in the context of first- and second-generation prediction markets and outline its unique features as a third-generation prediction market. It is argued that frontline employees gain deep insights when they execute operational activities on an ongoing basis in the organization. The experiential learning from close interaction with internal and external stakeholders provides unique insights not otherwise available to senior management. We outline a methodology to agglomerate these insights in a performance barometer as an important source for problem finding and innovation

Human resource management practices and employee performance management in Nigerian higher educational institutions

Previous studies on performance management system focus on one or two of its dimensions with little insight in the public sector, so also studies on human resource management practices did not attempt to use all the practices comprehensively. This study examined both individually and comprehensively the relationship between the six human resource management practices and all the four dimensions of performance management system among academics in higher educational institutions in Nigeria. The dimensions of performance management system as operationalized by this study are, organizational objective, individual objective, performance development and employee satisfaction. Human resource management practices also as operationalized by this study are procurement, development, compensation, integration, maintenance and separation. Furthermore, this study also investigated the mediating effects of employee behavior and information and communication technology (ICT) adoption on the relationship between human resource management practices and performance management system among academics in higher educational institutions in Nigeria. Data was collected from five Federal universities in the North Western Nigeria using a cross sectional study design and multimode survey strategy. 800 questionnaires were distributed to the respondents who were sampled using a multi stage sampling technique. SmartPLS SEM was used in testing the study hypotheses. The results obtained indicated that majority of the hypothesized relationships thirteen (13) out of twenty (20) direct relationships were supported. Additionally, the results of the mediation tests provided that five (5) mediating hypotheses out of twelve were significant. The outcome of this study provides a very sound insight of the study on performance management system in the public sector particularly higher educational institutions. It will also benefit the government, the policy makers and other concerned agencies in Nigeria. More so, information and communication technology and employee behaviors have been proven by this study as strategic tools that could be efficiently used by managers to effectively manage performance of their employees. This study encountered limitations such as inability to include other types of higher educational institutions like the polytechnics and colleges of education, unable to cover all the six regions in Nigeria instead focused on only one region the North West region

Factors determining perceived job performance of University leaders in Pakistan

Universities within the tertiary education system perform an imperative job in developing the high-level researchers, specialists, scientists and professionals, required by the economy. World-class University is a need of today. The development of a world-class university requires strong leadership as it has widespread effects on the overall performance of the university. This research focused on the improvement of university leadership based on issues and problems related to it. In this regard, the study explored the effects of managerial competency, self-efficacy and learning orientation as predictors of university leaders’ job performance to enhance their effectiveness and efficiency. The notion of entrepreneurial leadership has received a somewhat little concentration in the tertiary education leadership studies. So the study proposed and analysed the mediating effect of entrepreneurial leadership through which university leaders can improve their job performance. In addition to that moderating effect of the dynamic environment was also examined on the above-stated relationships. The research used a quantitative method through survey instrument and 242 usable questionnaires were collected from the leaders of public higher education institutions of Punjab, Pakistan. Partial Least Squares (PLS) was employed to analyse the data. Results showed support for the theoretical model that was studied. The results implied that managerial competency, self-efficacy, and learning orientation are linked with performance. The mediating process was also empirically justified, but the moderating effect of the dynamic environment was not found on the proposed model. The study has validation for a theoretical framework to trigger the future research and theory on edifying university leadership and to comprehend how such leadership develop and has significance for effective job performance. By summarising the results of this research and building a link to its useful applications the study is also useful and has importance for policy makers, academicians and practitioners for further improving and developing university leadership