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The purpose of this paper is to examine the applicability of stock selection criteria of Benjamin Graham in Indian capital market to determine which rules specifically can help the investors to augment their return on investment.

The independent sample t-test has been employed to examine the stock return differences among the companies which fulfill maximum number of the criteria and the companies fulfilling minimal number. The significance of the excess returns yielded by the criteria is assessed through one sample t-statistics. Further, the applicability of each and every criterion is examined using pooled OLS regression analysis.

The mean market adjusted returns of the companies which fulfill maximum number of the criteria are significantly different from the companies which fulfill minimal number. The companies those are able to fulfill at least any five criteria, yield excess returns to the investors. However, regression analysis makes it evident that all the criteria are not applicable in present economic environment.

The study recommends that an investor should give due importance to variables mainly high earnings yield, discount to tangible book value and net current asset value, lower leverage and stability in earnings in order to screen value maximizing securities.

This paper extends discussion on application of Graham's stock selection criteria in Indian stock market. The study also enriches the literature on value investing strategies by extending discussion on reasons for the applicability/inapplicability of the Graham's stock selection criteria.

This paper aims to consider how top corporate executives in a variety of industries can find important lessons in the recently published sixth edition of Benjamin Graham and David Dodd's Security Analysis (New York: McGraw‐Hill, 2008).

This paper includes an interview with the lead editor of the book, value investor Seth Klarman. He explains key strategic lessons that non‐financial executives can learn from the value investing concepts and methodology.

The insights contained within Security Analysis can and should be leveraged by business leaders and strategists to create value for their firms.

Graham and Dodd‐based valuation and investment is a viable method with which to assess corporate strategic initiatives (such as mergers and acquisitions, share buy‐backs, etc.).

This paper, the first in a business strategy journal, explains how business leaders can become adept at using modern applications of Graham and Dodd‐based valuation insights and technology to inform their strategic decision‐making.

This paper aims to illustrates the use of the modern Graham and Dodd valuation methodology as a corporate M&A tool by way of case study.

The paper presents a case study of the 1995 Berkshire Hathaway acquisition of GEICO and draws on previously published Graham and Dodd methodological materials as well as GEICO's publicly available financial information. The valuation presented in the case is the sole work of the authors.

The paper finds that, while Graham and Dodd‐based valuation is a popular investment methodology it has thus far received scant attention as a corporate M&A tool. The results of the GEICO case suggest that Graham and Dodd valuation could be applied successfully to corporate M&A.

The paper explains modern Graham and Dodd valuation in the context of Berkshire Hathaway's 1995 GEICO acquisition. It demonstrates how that acquisition contained a reasonable margin‐of safety, or price discount to estimated intrinsic value, even though it was taken private at a 25.6 percent premium over the $55.75/share market price at the time. The case demonstrates the practical utility of Graham and Dodd‐based valuation in corporate M&A, and provides recommendations for its use in that context.

While Graham and Dodd valuation has been well covered from an investment perspective this is the first work, as far as the authors are aware, that seeks to apply it to corporate M&A.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the value and risks of Disney's 2009 $4 billion acquisition of the Marvel Entertainment Group (Marvel) in a case study utilizing the modern Graham and Dodd valuation approach.

The paper presents a detailed valuation of Marvel in 2009 drawing on previously published Graham and Dodd methodological materials and Marvel's publicly available financial reports.

Disney's $4 billion acquisition price for Marvel contained considerable risks based on certain valuation assumptions, which were identified in the context of our analysis.

This acquisition is a useful one for executives to study because it involves a situation many of them could face: evaluating the purchase of a great company that is seemingly a strategic fit and offered at what appears to be a reasonable price. Assessing such opportunities utilizing the modern Graham and Dodd valuation approach facilitates greater levels of insight into key assumptions, value drivers, and risks.

This is a methodology that has proved useful to successful value investors over time.

Lessons executives in many industries can learn from a Graham and Dodd‐based valuation of the 2009 Disney acquisition of Marvel include: better risk assessment, valuation of entertainment property assets and franchise assessment.

Political risk is a complex phenomenon. This complexity has incentivized scholars to take a piecemeal approach to understanding it. Nearly all scholarship has targeted a single type of political risk (expropriation) and, within this risk, a single type of firm (MNCs) and a single type of strategic mechanism through which that risk may be mitigated (entry mode). Yet “political risk” is actually a collection of multiple distinct risks that affect the full spectrum of foreign firms, and these firms vary widely in their capabilities for resisting and evading these risks. We offer a unified theoretical model that can simultaneously analyze: the three main types of political risk (war, expropriation, and transfer restrictions); the universe of private foreign investors (direct investors, portfolio equity investors, portfolio debt investors, and commercial banks); heterogeneity in government constraints; and the three most relevant strategic capabilities (information, exit, and resistance). We leverage the variance among foreign investors to identify effective firm strategies to manage political risk. By employing a simultaneous and unified model of political risk, we also find counterintuitive insights on the way governments trade off between risks and how investors use other investors as risk shields.

“Shareholder activism works when shareholders understand something about the characteristics of the business that the board doesn’t”. As complex the term shareholder activism may seem, it demonstrates a very simple phenomenon of how shareholder take control of a situation to turn it in their favor. The whole world has taken an activism “twist” where every person has a word to say. The same characteristic of the society is showcased in this paper where engagement of shareholder is questioned whether it helps to promote effective corporate governance. Given the fact that Mauritius has a rather low shareholder activism framework, this research aims to depict the international picture of the issue at different levels to reach a consensus with the local market. It was a major challenge as very little research has been conducted to accurately contrast shareholder activism with corporate governance. However, the international standards aim at giving a clear picture of how the shareholder activism actually functions.

The research has adopted a black letter approach by analyzing relevant laws and legislations governing corporate governance matters in Mauritius and the USA, Malaysia, France and South Africa. Thereafter, a comparative analysis was made between Mauritius laws and the aforementioned countries. Recommendations were then put forward on the subject matter which is shareholder activism.

Research has shown development in corporate governance alongside the increase in shareholder activism. However, these research studies fail to prove that the development is because of shareholder activism itself. In fact, it could be because of increase in corporate intellects, removal of trade barriers, sustainable corporate practices and many such changes that have affected the corporate market somehow. Hence, it is difficult to conclude, with certainty, that the driver of good corporate governance is, in particular, the phenomenon of shareholder activism. Nevertheless, many result of shareholder activism has demonstrated a rather positive impact on the ongoing of the corporate dealings and on a personal note, it can be said that shareholder activism is a domain where much research and development should be effected as it represents a promising improvement in the way corporations are governed.

The concept of shareholder activism is quite new to the Mauritius legislation. There has not been research done on whether shareholder activism, particularly, is the reason for corporate success or failure. In this light, this paper aims to analyze shareholder activism practices in other countries and puts forward recommendation in the Mauritius context which may be of use to stakeholders concerned.

This paper aims to introduce the reader to investigate some aspects of investment decision making from a constructivist perspective.

The constructivist perspective is introduced in its dual nature of epistemology and of modelization. From constructivist epistemology, the paper mentions the corollaries of theoretical pluralism and cognitive pragmatism. From Kruglanski and Ajzen's Lay epistemology theory, the paper presents in more detail a constructivist modelization for the study and improvement of formal processes of investment decision making.

Beginning from the proposed framework, the paper indicates the lines for the development of a critical (or reflective) investment decision‐making attitude. This is an investment decision making which is able to reflect on its own constructs and cognitive processes in order to develop investment processes with a higher “constructivist awareness” and efficacy.

The proposed modelization can contribute to the work of those dedicated to the development of better formal processes of investment. The paper presents three examples of possible applications potentially useful for the improvement of the processes of asset valuation of value investors.

Foundational work on institutional theory as a framework for studying organizations underscored its relevance to analyses of entrepreneurship, but entrepreneurship research has often ignored the insights provided by this theoretic approach. In this chapter, we illustrate the utility of institutional theory as a central framework for explaining entrepreneurial phenomena by discussing three primary questions for entrepreneurship researchers: Under what conditions are individuals likely to found new organizations? What are key influences on the kinds of organizations they found? And what factors determine the likelihood of the survival of new organizations? We describe the kinds of answers that an institutional perspective provides to these questions, illustrate some of our arguments by drawing on a recent field of entrepreneurial endeavor, hedge funds, and discuss the implications of our analysis for further work by entrepreneurship researchers.

This paper seeks to analyze the applicability of the time‐tested margin of safety principle from value investing to corporate strategy.

The main source of this paper is the book Margin of Safety, supplementation materials, including a discussion with the book's author, Seth Klarman, were also referenced.

The paper finds that the margin of safety principle is broadly applicable to corporate strategy in areas such as M&A, hedging, balance sheet management, share buybacks, special dividends, divestments, and cash management. Each of these areas is discussed in the paper and illustrated by way of timely examples as part of the analysis.

Further research could be conducted into valuation methods in general, including the method practiced by noted value investors. Research could also be conducted into the margin of safety principle and its applications in corporate strategy, corporate finance, strategic risk management, shareholder communications, and operations management.

This is the first paper that the author is aware of that analyzes the applicability of the investment‐based margin of safety principle to corporate strategy and strategy‐related initiatives.