STOCK MARKET REACTION TO DIVIDEND SURPRISES: EVIDENCE FROM RUSSIA # 20 (E)-2015

Abstract: The aim of this study is to empirically investigate an average reaction of emerging market of Russia to dividend surprises on the post-crisis period 2010-2014. Traditionally, unexpected dividend component has been measured in relation to the "naïve" model, which assumes that market players expect dividend levels to remain the same from one time period to another. The study proposes different, rarely applied in the dividend announcements literature analysts' expectations-based approach to measure unexpected component of a dividend announcement. As a proxy for dividend surprise the difference between the actual dividend and the consensus analyst forecast is used. The research was conducted using event study methodology on the sample of Russian public companies, which regularly pay dividends. Obtained results of the study provide the grounds to make conclusions about the fact that Russian market on average reacts negatively to both good and bad dividend surprises. In this research the results are discussed from the point of view of markets efficiency, behavioral finance, economic and legal issues. The results of the study are of practical importance from the point of view of making investment decisions by the market players as well as from the side of the companies, which along with other factors should take into account market reaction when deciding upon dividend payments and enhancing their dividend policies

Organizational change and firm growth

This article presents results from the research dedicated to the organizational change influence on the organizational short-midterm and long-term growth. The study was based on the data collected by the EBRD and World Bank during Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) in 2002 and 2005. As an indicator of the firm growth the sales growth was applied. The hypotheses were tested with the use of OLS regressions and ordinary logistic regressions. The authors developed and introduced in the paper the classification of changes based on their scale and duration. The results of the research let the authors conclude that fast improvement and fast transformation has a bigger influence on the organizational short-midterm growth and smaller influence on organizational longterm growth. The authors didn’t manage to get convincing results considering the slow improvement influence on the organizational growth. However several organizational changes which characterize slow transformation has an influence on both short-midterm and longterm organizational growth. Executive Summary is available at pp. 41.