Gender Role Portrayal in Television Advertisement: Evidence from Pakistan

This study aims to observe the gender role portrayal in food and non-food television advertisement in Pakistan, in order to find out gender discrimination (if any) and association of gender with different content variables. Content analysis of selected TV commercials was used to fulfill the purpose of this study. Services of two independent coders (business graduates) were utilized to code content variables for a sample of 103 commercials (54 food and 49 non-food commercials). Based on the extant literature, seven content variables were selected for this study including: main product user, voiceover, primary character, end comment, soundtrack level, activity level and aggression level. The gender role portrayals in both food and non-food commercials have been compared and discussed. There exists gender discrimination in Pakistani television advertisement, where males dominate more. The reason behind this phenomenon is expected to lie in social and cultural values. This male dominance is higher in food advertisement as compared to non-food advertisement. Results also favor the association of male character with the relatively higher activity and aggression levels in television commercials. The findings of this study are supportive for key players in advertising industry like advertisers and advertising agencies, for self-regulation of their advertising campaigns with respect to gender role. However, more important implication for them is to know about the forces of traditional cultural values and preferences of target audience, for effective planning of the commercials and forecasting their impact. Such knowledge can provide them a better base to assess the need for self-regulation of their advertising campaigns, guiding them towards making more successful commercials. This study reflects the true picture of gender discrimination in Pakistani television advertisement. It has been concluded using a well defined methodology, provides original data for Pakistan and can be considered a good reference for further analysis

The role of behavioral factors in the success of mergers and acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are carried out to be competitive in the market and to grow rapidly by capitalizing on some kind of synergies. However, many mergers and acquisitions fail due to cultural dissimilarities, agency problems, and integration issues. I seek to add to the M&A-related literature in order to create better comprehension of the underlying reasons of frequent M&A failures, however, from a different viewpoint by taking into account ‘behavioral’ element. I strive to see through the investors’ and managers’ preferences to comprehend how their preferences affect post-merger takeover performance in the long run. I begin with investigating investors’ preferences with respect to time, by employing cultural measure on long-term orientation (LTO), and the role of these preferences in defining takeover outcomes. By analyzing a large international sample on M&A deals, I offer a strong empirical evidence that investors’ time preferences have a considerable impact on long-term takeover performance. I offer empirical evidence that investors’ future orientation causes a significant improvement in takeover returns, on the other hand short-term orientation results in deteriorated takeover outcomes. I further observe that the significance of investors’ long-term orientation is stronger in countries with higher level of investor protection and for domestic deals with lower level of cultural disparities. Next, I use national culture based characteristics of individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity to investigate managerial preferences and their likely impact on long-term post-acquisition performance for the acquirers. There are certain cultural characteristics that shape managerial preferences and by doing so may cast a substantial influence on takeover performance over an extended period. I analyze a large international sample on takeover deals and conclude that national culture has a significant impact of takeover outcomes in a long run. I witness that the higher level of individualism and uncertainty avoidance prevailing in the country result in reduced level of post-acquisition risk, suggesting the presence of managerial entrenchment that ultimately reduces takeover returns. Masculinity is found to have a positive impact on deal size, signifying the presence of empire building, however, contrary to my expectations; it does not cast any damaging impact on takeover outcomes. It clearly suggests that the positive attributes connected with masculinity (e.g. assertiveness, competitiveness, and toughness) have more profound impact as compared to the negative impact of empire building. I further observe that my findings are stronger in the case of domestic deals and for less globalized firms due to lower level of cultural dissimilarities. Next, I analyze the use of positive and negative language in financial disclosures and the ability of such language to predict long-term gains to the acquirers. In order to predict long-term takeover performance, I apply textual analysis to the MD&A Section of SEC filings (10-K Form) for M&A deals taking place in the United States. My overall findings reveal that a negative managerial tone has a strong negative association with takeover performance, whereas a positive managerial tone indicates managerial confidence in merger success, and hence reflects an enhanced takeover performance over an extended period. The evidence clearly rejects the hypothesis that a positive managerial tone is interpreted as managerial ‘overconfidence’ in a merger’s success. My findings also affirm that the predictive power of a negative tone is far more pronounced than that of a positive tone and of any other sentiment word lists. Moreover, stock returns do not adjust to the textual description immediately due to investors’ general inattentiveness and inability to process subtle textual information more accurately. I also observe that the significance of predictive power of a negative managerial tone gains strength in the post-crisis period and for cross-border and for riskier deals due to the comparatively higher uncertainty associated with evaluating such deals on the basis of ‘hard information’. Finally, I investigate the usage of virtuous language in the management discussion and analysis (MD&A) section of SEC filings (10-K Form) and the prognostic power of such language for takeover performance. The empirical results, based on textual analysis, reveal that trust is negatively associated with long-term takeover performance, suggesting that managerial virtuous talk is, in practicality, an indication of lower post-acquisition gains for the acquirers in the long run. Furthermore, takeover returns are found to reflect textual information on trust with a delay, owing to general inattention and inability of investors to process soft cues inherent in textual content and to managers purposefully lulling investors to keep them from paying attention and identifying managerial misconduct. Quite interestingly, the significance of virtuous talk becomes more evident in the post-crisis period due to relatively higher uncertainty linked with evaluating such kind of deals on the basis of hard information alone. Finally, an inflated virtuous talk when coupled with pessimistic tone, the ability of managerial ‘good talk’ to create a trustworthy image and to distract investors reduces and the predictive power of managerial trust talk increases even more. Overall, it is concluded that managerial virtuous talk should not be regarded as a ‘cheap talk’. It is, in fact, very pertinent for predicting future takeover returns in the long run

Forecasting Inflation, Exchange Rate, and GDP using ANN and ARIMA Models: Evidence from Pakistan

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to specify an efficient forecast model for the accurate prediction of macroeconomic variables in the context of Pakistan. Design/Methodology/Approach: We particularly investigate the comparative accuracy of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models-based predictions using monthly data of inflation, exchange rate, and GDP from 1990 to 2014. Findings: According to our findings, the ANN-based forecasted inflation series is more precise as compared to ARIMA-based estimates. On the contrary, the ARIMA model outperforms the ANN model for exchange rate forecasts with the forecasted values being very close to the actual values. Further, ARIMA performs comparatively better in forecasting GDP with relatively smaller forecast error. On the whole, our findings suggest the ARIMA model provides appropriate results for forecasting exchange rates and GDP, while the ANN model offers precise estimates of inflation. Implications/Originality/Value: Our findings have important implications for the analysts and policymakers highlighting the need to use appropriate forecasting models that are well aligned with the structure of an economy.                                  &nbsp

Investors' time preferences and takeover performance

International audienceWe investigate investors' time preferences and takeover outcomes in a cross-disciplinary international study. We use a cultural measure on long-term orientation (LTO) to capture investors' time preferences. Additionally, we study how investor protection and the nature of the deal (cross-border vs domestic) in connection with investors' time preferences come into play in explaining long-term takeover performance. Evaluating data on 38,153 M&A deals from 54 countries, over the period from 2000 to 2015, we offer empirical evidence that investors' future orientation significantly improves post-M&A performance, while short-term oriented behavior deteriorates takeover performance. Our findings further suggest that the positive impact of investors' future orientation on takeover performance is more pronounced in countries with strong investor protection. Moreover, the impact of investors' time preferences is stronger for domestic deals where the confounding impact of cultural differences is almost non-existent

Impact of Behavioral Biases and Decision Analysis Methods on Investment Performance of Individual Investors at PSX

Purpose: Market bubbles and crashes remain unexplainable by classical finance theories. Because the history of the Pakistan Stock Exchange has been marked by occasional market bubbles and crashes, a behavioral study is conducted to investigate the impact of investor’s behavioral biases on investment performance. Design/Methodology/Approach: Our research investigates behavioral biases and examines the role of such biases in the selection of investment decision methods. We then investigate the direct impact of behavioral biases on investors' investment performance, as well as how investment analysis methods play a role in mediating the impact of behavioral biases on investment performance. We identified 11 irrational behavior biases based on existing literature and in-depth interviews with brokers, and two decision analysis methods are used: fundamental and technical. Findings: Our findings show that PSX investors exhibit moderately high levels of irrational behavior. Despite their moderately high level of irrationality, investors can use fundamental analysis to make better decisions and achieve better results. Since they use fundamental analysis method, they are boundedly rational rather than completely irrational. Implications/Originality/Value: The fundamental analysis does not fully mediate three determinants of irrationality, namely anchoring, control, and overconfidence. Individual investors and brokers are concerned about reducing the impact of these three biases in order to achieve optimal performance. Brokerage firms and fund managers are recommended to consider the behavioral aspects of investors to predict the future because behavioral factors of investors can not only shape the investment trend of individuals but also the market at large

Re-fashioning Old Orientalism: A study of Cartoons by Cartoon Movement on FIFA World Cup 2022 by using Multimodal Discourse Analysis

The current paper focuses on how cartoons can be used as a vehicle to promote stereotypes about a certain group of people. Orientalism is not a thing of the past. Even in the current times, the concept of Orientalism is refashioned. The present study aims to explore the hidden ideology behind the cartoons shared on a Twitter account, Cartoon Movement which is an online platform that binds together the cartoonists of editorial worldwide. The cartoons have been selected by making use of a purposive sampling technique. For the purpose of analysis, the current research paper hinges on the multimodal discourse analysis. The results show that the people of Qatar; an Arab Middle Eastern country, are depicted in a formulaic manner. Certain traits have been attached with them to represent them in a certain light. Moreover, the results show that the cartoons attach certain stereotypical images to the Islamic identity of the people of Qatar. This image-building process can be summarized as an occidental view of the ‘other’. The study proposes acceptance of other cultures, their norms and values instead of a Eurocentric worldview. &nbsp

What Causes Stock Market Volatility in Pakistan? Evidence from the Field

We examined the presence of volatility at the Karachi Stock Exchange (recently changed the name to Pakistan Stock Exchange) (KSE) by fitting Exponential Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (EGARCH) model to 25 years’ index data. We found that the ARCH effects are present in the data indicating the stock market cluster volatility during the period under study. We found persistent high volatility in the stock market and presence of negative leverage effect. Moreover, we tried to identify the factors causing stock market volatility by collecting and analyzing the primary data obtained from 246 individual investors of stock market and 28 brokers listed with KSE. Our results show that investors consider political situation as the most important factor causing turbulence in the stock market. Interviews with the brokers also confirmed this. The second most important factor identified by investors is the herd behavior among investors that results in over- and underpricing of stocks and the overall market shows a volatile behavior. Our findings suggest that individual investor’s behavioral dimensions of involvement, risk attitude, and overconfidence are significantly associated with factors causing market volatility

What Causes Stock Market Volatility in Pakistan? Evidence from the Field

We examined the presence of volatility at the Karachi Stock Exchange (recently changed the name to Pakistan Stock Exchange) (KSE) by fitting Exponential Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (EGARCH) model to 25 years’ index data. We found that the ARCH effects are present in the data indicating the stock market cluster volatility during the period under study. We found persistent high volatility in the stock market and presence of negative leverage effect. Moreover, we tried to identify the factors causing stock market volatility by collecting and analyzing the primary data obtained from 246 individual investors of stock market and 28 brokers listed with KSE. Our results show that investors consider political situation as the most important factor causing turbulence in the stock market. Interviews with the brokers also confirmed this. The second most important factor identified by investors is the herd behavior among investors that results in over- and underpricing of stocks and the overall market shows a volatile behavior. Our findings suggest that individual investor’s behavioral dimensions of involvement, risk attitude, and overconfidence are significantly associated with factors causing market volatility