Negativity Bias in Investors’ Reactions to Board of Directors’ Risk Oversight Disclosure

This study investigates how disclosure of the board of directors’ leadership and role in risk oversight (BODs oversight disclosure) influences investors’ judgments when information on risk exposures is disclosed. The theoretical lens through which we examine this issue involves negativity bias. Sixty-two stock market investors who engage in the evaluation and/or investment of stocks on a regular or professional basis participated in our study. Our results reveal that the addition of BODs oversight disclosure (positive information) does not carry significant weight on investor judgments (i.e., attractiveness and investment) when financial statement disclosures indicate a high level of operational and financial risk exposures (negative information). In contrast, under the condition of a low level of risk exposures, BODs oversight disclosure causes investors to assess higher risk in terms of worry, catastrophic potentials and unfamiliarity about risk information and, in turn, make less favorable investor judgments. Our findings add to the literature on negativity bias and contribute to the debate on the usefulness of disclosures about risk

UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECT OF DETERRENCE MECHANISMS ON CYBERLOAFING: EXPLORING A GENERAL DETERRENCE MODEL WITH A SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE

As the use of the Internet has grown, so have new ways for employees to loaf. Cyberloafing has become a pervasive problem for firms. Information systems researchers have suggested that a deterrence approach through the use of acceptable use policies for Internet-based applications coupled with Internet monitoring mechanisms can be an effective way to reduce cyberloafing without actively blocking websites and impeding on the positive aspects of the Internet. However, the effectiveness of the deterrence approach is still in question due to inconsistent results in existing research. This study aims to reconcile these inconsistencies by exploring how other factors interact with the deterrence model. We propose that the deterrence model will affect more deviant types of behaviors differently than those that are perceived to be more socially acceptable. We also suggest that employees will self-impose expected ramifications or sanctions on themselves when they expect to get caught cyberloafing

A Study of How Underperforming Firms Follow Industry Leaders When Adopting ERP Systems and the Economic Effects of Their Adoption Decisions

Researchers have proposed but not tested that early-stage adopters of ERP systems tend to be higher-performing firms that adopt as a means of gaining or maintaining a competitive advantage. In contrast, they have proposed that late-stage adopters are underperforming firms that experience institutional pressures and make adoption decisions partly in response to those pressures and to try to improve performance and catch-up to industry leaders. In this study, we examine the relationship between firm performance and ERP adoption. We found that late-stage adopters tend to have lower financial performance relative to the overall market in the years leading up to adoption decisions as compared to early-stage adopters that tended to outperform the market in years leading up to adoption decisions. This finding demonstrates the relationship between firm performance and ERP adoption. We also found that, post-adoption, the relative performance of late-stage adopters tends to improve more than early-stage adopters. This finding suggests that following the actions of industry leaders and adopting ERP systems can have economic benefits for underperforming firms

Cyber-Slacking: Self-Control, Prior Behavior And The Impact Of Deterrence Measures

To further our understanding about how to control Internet abuse in the workplace, this study examines how a person’s level of self-control leads to cyber-slacking, how deterrence measures commonly used within organizations impact individual decisions to cyber-slack, and how self-control moderates the relative salience of one of the commonly used deterrence mechanisms against cyber-slacking, detection (monitoring) systems.  The results suggest that individuals that rate low in self-control overlook potential consequences for abusing the Internet in favor of immediate rewards, thus they have difficulty self-regulating themselves and have a higher propensity to cyber-slack.  The results also indicate that detection systems and awareness of the enforcement of sanctions are the biggest deterrents on individual intentions to cyber-slack and detection systems are even more salient to individuals that rate low in self-control.

Exploring The Effects Of Social Exchange Relationships On The Scholarly Productivity Of New Faculty Members In Accounting

This paper explores how social relationships between new accounting faculty members and their former dissertation chairs can influence the publishing productivity of the new faculty members in their early academic careers. The focus on social relationships offers a unique approach to studying the effectiveness doctoral education. Our findings show that strong social exchange between new faculty members and their former chairs can have a significant impact on new faculty members’ scholarly productivity and provide some reasons for those effects. We also find differences in relationships between mixed and same gender pairs and examine reasons for those differences

Exploring Sarbanes-Oxley's effect on attitudes, perceptions of norms, and intentions to commit financial statement fraud from a general deterrence perspective

This paper uses an experiment to examine how deterrence mechanisms within the Sarbanes-Oxley Act's (SOX) Sections 404 and 906 influence the fraudulent financial reporting behavior of individuals. The results indicate that the threat of potential jail time can be an effective mechanism for reducing financial statement fraud, but its effectiveness is limited and influenced by a wide range of social, environmental, and demographic factors. The findings show that the incremental increase in potential jail time imposed by SOX creates little deterrence beyond mechanisms that were in place pre-SOX. The findings also reveal that the effect of jail time is primarily a function of economic consequences, such as lost career opportunities that are created from serving just a minimal amount of time in jail. The results should be of interest to regulators and practitioners wanting to understand how SOX-based deterrence mechanisms can influence individual behavior. The results contribute to the general deterrence theory literature by showing how the effect of deterrence mechanisms on illicit behavior can be influenced by social, environmental, and demographic factors.

Genomic variation in the MAP3K5 gene is associated with beta-thalassemia disease severity and hydroxyurea treatment efficacy

Aim: In this study we explored the association between genetic variations in MAP3K5 and PDE7B genes, residing on chromosome 6q23, and disease severity in beta-hemoglobinopathy patients, as well as the association between these variants with response to hydroxyurea (HU) treatment. Furthermore, we examined MAP3K5 expression in the context of high fetal hemoglobin (HbF) and upon HU treatment in erythroid progenitor cells from healthy and KLF1 haploinsufficient individuals. Materials & methods: For this purpose, we genotyped beta-thalassemia intermedia and major patients and healthy controls, as well as a cohort of compound heterozygous sickle cell disease/beta-thalassemia patients receiving HU as HbF augmentation treatment. Furthermore, we examined MAP3K5 expression in the context of high HbF and upon HU treatment in erythroid progenitor cells from healthy and KLF1 haploinsufficient individuals. Results: A short tandem repeat in the MAP3K5 promoter and two intronic MAP3K5 gene variants, as well as a PDE7B variant, are associated with low HbF levels and a severe disease phenotype. Moreover, MAP3K5 mRNA expression levels are altered in the context of high HbF and are affected by the presence of HU. Lastly, the above-mentioned MAP3K5 variants are associated with HU treatment efficacy. Conclusion: Our data suggest that these MAP3K5 variants are indicative of b-thalassemia disease severity and response to HU treatment