Stock Repurchases in Canada: Performance and Strategic Trading

During the 1980s, U.S. firms that announced stock repurchase programs earned favorable long-run returns. Recently, concerns have been raised regarding the robustness of these findings. This comes at a time of explosive worldwide growth in the adoption of repurchase programs. This study provides out-of-sample evidence for 1,060 Canadian repurchase programs announced between 1989 and 1997. As in the U.S., the Canadian stock market seems to discount the information contained in repurchase announcements. Value stocks announcing repurchase programs have particularly favorable returns. Canadian law requires companies to report how many shares they repurchase on a monthly basis. We find that managers are sensitive to mispricing as completion rates are higher in cases where undervaluation may be a more important factor. Moreover, trades are linked to price movements; managers buy more shares when prices fall and reduce their buying when prices rise.

Off-peak truck deliveries at container terminals: the 'Good Night' program in Israel

Purpose – Avoiding truck congestion and peaks in landside activity is one of the challenges to container terminal managers. The spreading of truck arrivals at terminals can be facilitated by widening the opening hours of terminals at the landside. Israel’s Ministry of Transport has instituted the “Good Night Program”, involving monetary incentives for importers and exporters who deliver containers to ports at night. Design/methodology/approach – This paper aims to quantitatively examine the market utility resulting from shifting traffic from daytime to nighttime, and analyzes customer considerations regarding nighttime transportation. Findings – The external utility found in the traffic-economics model is quite similar to the economic incentive given to customers. Therefore, a significant increase of the incentive is not feasible. Originality/value – Furthermore, it seems that an incentive method by itself is not effective enough, and does not motivate customers to act and find creative solutions to the obstacles they face. To achieve a considerable change in nighttime transport to Israeli ports, more effective methods should be examined

Racial Americanization

Goldberg argues that the popular contemporary recourse to the notion of “racialization,” in academic writing on race and racism, both lacks specificity and often fails to distinguish between descriptive, analytic, and normative uses. Focusing on the U.S., he contrasts racialization with racial regionalisms. As he shows the latter's application in elaborating what he calls “racial americanization,” he suggests new forms of americanized segregation, outlines the circle of presuppositions on which “racial americanization” rests, and maps global applications of the concept. Goldberg argumenta que el recurso popular contemporáneo a la noción de “racialización,” en la escritura académica sobre raza y racismo, tiene precisión de carencia y a menudo deja de distinguirse entre usos descriptivos, analíticos, y normativos. Concentrándose en los EEUU, contrasta racialización con regionalismos raciales. Cuando muestra la aplicación de éste en la elaboración de lo que llama “americanización racial,” sugiere nuevas formas de la segregación americanizada, perfila el círculo de presuposiciones que es el fondo de “la americanización racial,” y traza algunas aplicaciones globales del concepto. Goldberg argumenta que o recurso contemporâneo popular da noção de “racialização,” nos escritos académicos sobre a raça e racismo, falta indicação e frequentemente não consegue distinguir entre usos descritivos, analíticos e normativos. Ao enfocar nos Estados Unidos, ele contrasta racismo com regionalismos raciais. Mesmo quando demostra a aplicação dos regionalismos em elaborar o que chama “americanização racial,” ele sugere novas formas de segregação americanizadas, esboça o círculo de implicações sobre os quais “americanização racial” está estabelecida e traça aplicações globais do conceito. Goldberg affirme que la tendance actuelle à recourir à la notion de «racialisation», dans les écrits académiques sur les races et le racisme, n’est pas assez spécifique et bien souvent ne parvient pas à faire la distinction entre l’usage descriptif, analytique, et normatif. S’attachant particulièrement à l’étude des Etats-Unis, il établit un contraste entre la racialisation et les régionalismes raciaux. En démontrant la portée de ces derniers dans l’élaboration de ce qu’il appelle «l’américanisation raciale», il suggère l’existence de nouvelles formes de ségrégation américanisée, il expose les grandes lignes des présuppositions sur lesquelles se base «l’américanisation raciale», et dresse la carte de la mise en pratique de ce concept à travers le monde

Online Communities and Dynamic Capabilities: A Cross-Case Examination of Sensing, Seizing, and Reconfiguration

Strategy researchers have long been concerned with the sources of competitive advantage, i.e., why some firms’ performance is superior over others. One argument to answer this question is provided by the dynamic capability view which posits that some firms are better at adapting to a changing business environment than others. This study scrutinizes online communities and their interplay with dynamic capabilities. We present evidence which shows that organizations may use online communities to sense and shape opportunities and threats, to seize opportunities, and to reconfigure the enterprise’s intangible and tangible assets, thus helping their host organizations adapt to a changing business environment. In doing so, the paper bridges the strategy and the information systems literature and provides novel empirical insights into the strategic use of information technology

The Future of Thinking

How traditional learning institutions can become as innovative, flexible, robust, and collaborative as the best social networking sites. Over the past two decades, the way we learn has changed dramatically. We have new sources of information and new ways to exchange and to interact with information. But our schools and the way we teach have remained largely the same for years, even centuries. What happens to traditional educational institutions when learning also takes place on a vast range of Internet sites, from Pokemon Web pages to Wikipedia? This report investigates how traditional learning institutions can become as innovative, flexible, robust, and collaborative as the best social networking sites. The authors propose an alternative definition of “institution” as a “mobilizing network”—emphasizing its flexibility, the permeability of its boundaries, its interactive productivity, and its potential as a catalyst for change—and explore the implications for higher education. The Future of Thinking reports on innovative, virtual institutions. It also uses the idea of a virtual institution both as part of its subject matter and as part of its process: the first draft of the book was hosted on a Web site for collaborative feedback and writing. The authors use this experiment in participatory writing as a test case for virtual institutions, learning institutions, and a new form of collaborative authorship. The finished version is still posted and open for comment. This book is the full-length report of the project, which was summarized in an earlier MacArthur volume, The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age

The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age

In this report, Cathy Davidson and David Theo Goldberg focus on the potential for shared and interactive learning made possible by the Internet. They argue that the single most important characteristic of the Internet is its capacity for world-wide community and the limitless exchange of ideas. The Internet brings about a way of learning that is not new or revolutionary but is now the norm for today's graduating high school and college classes. It is for this reason that Davidson and Goldberg call on us to examine potential new models of digital learning and rethink our virtually enabled and enhanced learning institutions. This report is available in a free digital edition on the MIT Press website at http://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262513593. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learnin