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We assess the impact of NZ IAS 32 on the financial reporting of convertible financial instruments by retrospective application of the standard to a sample of New Zealand companies over the period 1988 ‐ 2003. NZ IAS 32 has a broader definition of liabilities than does the corresponding current standard (FRS‐31) and it does not permit convertibles to be reported under headings that are intermediate to debt and equity. The results of the study indicate that in comparison with the reported financial position and performance, the reporting of convertibles in accordance with NZ IAS 32 would result in higher amounts for liabilities and higher interest. Thus, analysts using financial statement information to assess risk of financial distress will need to revise the critical values of commonly used measures of risk and performance when companies report under NZ IAS

This article describes the development of a measure of role conflict. Role conflict was conceptualized as consisting of four dimensions: intrasender, intersender, interrotle, and person‐role conflict respectively. Study 1 (N = 65), which was conducted to pilot test the 96 item questionnaire (reduced from 224 items after expert rating), resulted in the reduction of the questionnaire to 43 items with three interpretable dimensions. Study 2 (N = 100) was carried out to examine the construct validity of the scale and confirm the factor structure. There was convergence with the findings of Study 1. Cronbach alpha for each subscale was adequate, and evidence of concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validities was found. Study 3 (N = 242) attempted to provide some normative data for the measure, in addition to carrying out a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using LISREL. The findings of Study 2 were almost duplicated, and the CFA results lent greater support to a three‐factor structure of role conflict.

The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) made several changes to the crop insurance products available to organic growers for the 2014 crop year. Most notably, a 5 percent premium surcharge was removed and organic-specific transitional yields (t-yields) were issued for the first time. The purpose of this paper is to use farm-level organic crop yield data to analyze the impact of these reforms on producer insurance outcomes and compare the insurance options for new organic growers.

This study uses a unique panel data set of organic corn and soybean yields to analyze the impact of organic crop insurance reforms. Actual Production History values and premium rates are calculated for each farm and crop yield sequence. Producer loss ratios and subsidized premium wedges are compared for yield, revenue and area-risk products before and after the instituted reforms.

Results indicate that RMA succeeded in improving the actuarial soundness of the organic insurance program, though further refinement of organic t-yields may be necessary to accurately reflect the yield potential of organic producers and avoid reductions in program participation.

This paper provides insight into the effectiveness of reforms intended to improve the actuarial soundness of organic crop insurance and demonstrates the effect that the reforms are likely to have on new and existing organic farms. Because this analysis uses data collected independently of RMA and includes farms that may or may not have purchased crop insurance, it avoids the self-selection problems that might affect analyses using crop insurance program data.

This paper sets out to consider the problem that the initial value of the American option is less than its fair price; this implies that the replication portfolio does not exist in the market.

The paper develops an optimization model whose solution provides an optimal strategy for the writer to minimize the expected loss for this problem.

The numerical results reveal that loaning money to construct a replication portfolio may not be an optimal strategy for the writer.

The solution of the minimum expected loss model provides an optimal strategy to construct a lower expected loss portfolio.

The numerical results reveal that loaning money to construct a replication portfolio may not be an optimal strategy for the writer.

Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

Examines the ninth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

Deshopping is the return of products, after they have fulfilled the purpose for which they were borrowed. Previous research indicates that deshopping is a prevalent and growing consumer behaviour. This paper seeks to examine deshopping from a retail perspective. It is a case study of interviews conducted with a mass‐market retailer, to investigate their awareness and management of this behaviour.

This paper is a case study of nine interviews conducted with different levels of staff at a mass‐market retailer in their flagship London store, to investigate their awareness and management of deshopping.

The findings demonstrate the beliefs, attitudes and emotions of the different levels of employees towards deshopping and demonstrate their attempts to manage deshopping and combat the negative affects of this on customer service.

The limitation of this research is that it is only conducted with one high‐street retailer. However, it is important to highlight that this is a large women's wear retailer which is highly representative of other retailers within the sector. There is little detail given regarding the retailer itself or their fundamentals of the actual customer service policy; this is due to the confidentiality agreement between the researcher and retailer. It is important to acknowledge the sensitivity of this type of research to retailers who are reluctant to have this information publicised. It is also important to acknowledge that many retailers have not made any attempts to manage this behaviour by restricting their returns policy. So, this research case study is conducted with a retailer that is actively introducing change to manage this behaviour.

The research concludes with the implications of deshopping and its management and makes recommendations on how to reduce deshopping whilst maintaining customer service for the genuine consumer.

This is the first case study with a mass‐market retailer, highlighting their approaches towards managing deshopping whilst trying to maintain customer service.

Although dysfunctional behaviors by customers is increasingly being recognized by both scholars and practitioners, “illegitimate” complaining, in the form of fraudulent returns by customers, is under‐researched. The aim of this study is to address this gap in extant knowledge through explicitly focusing on uncovering factors which permit consumers to exploit retailers' liberal return policies when fraudulently returning products that they know they have used or damaged.

In‐depth interviews were utilized as the main data collection method. Interviews were conducted amongst service employees and customers. A total of 87 interviews were conducted with front‐line employees and managers of 12 general retail outlets. Customer interviewing involved 96 interviews. Potential customer informants were randomly contacted with a request to participate in a study of customer service and returning goods.

Data analysis revealed ten main factors that appear to be related to customers' likelihood of successfully, fraudulently returning products.

As with other similar studies of this nature, the findings and implications are limited by the research design and methods employed. However, these limitations also indicate potentially fruitful avenues of future research. Future studies could employ different methods and explore differing contexts to gauge the generalizability of findings.

The findings of the study have a range of implications for practitioners and policy makers. Insights are generated into the extent of fraudulent returning and the factors which facilitate successful fraudulent returns. As such, practitioners could use such insights to reduce the frequency of such episodes. Public policy implications centre on highlighting the issues which policy makers may wish to consider.

The current study is the first to explore how (rather than, why) consumers exploit firms' return policies and fraudulently defraud retailers. As such, a fundamental and stark contribution centres on the finding of widespread, recidivist fraudulent returning among those interviewed. Ten facilitators of fraudulent returning were identified, providing rich insights into how customers are able, successfully, to return used and damaged products.

The recent collapse of the corporate giant Steinhoff in South Africa (SA) has highlighted the risks of a dominant Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and an ineffective governing board. For this reason, the purpose of this paper is to scrutinize the influence of CEO power attributes and independent governing boards on the growth of a Johannesburg stock exchange-listed firm.

The purpose of this paper is to answer the research question “Under the monitoring role of the board, what CEO attributes, theoretically and in practice preeminent successful firm growth strategies?” This question was answered by examining 130 companies over six years using the econometric methodology of generalized least squares and ordinary least squares with the specific inclusion of generalized method of moments estimation due to its efficiency in controlling for unobserved heterogeneity, endogeneity, autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity, amongst others. The proxies for CEO power are CEO tenure, turnover and professional skills as well as the explanatory variable of board vigilance. The response variable was firm growth.

This study found that CEO tenure is negatively correlated with firm growth indicating that long-tenured CEOs may stagnate the firm's growth. Furthermore, CEO turnover was positively correlated with firm growth indicating that a new CEO may bring innovative strategies that link to this study's finding on CEO tenure. The membership of CEOs to accounting professional bodies and board vigilance are also positively correlated to firm growth.

SA firms' growth policy does not solely depend on the neoclassical fundamental determinants of profitability, net worth, and cash flows. Since the value relevance of assessing CEO attributes as well as board vigilance in the SA market has proved to be very significant and will contribute to future decision making on growth strategies. This study innovatively illustrates the different drivers of firm growth, which is distinct from the normal macroeconomic indicators. The practical contribution of the study lies in the fact that organizations now discern which CEO attributes contribute to sustainability and profitability.

The current depressed economic environment has several negative implications for the citizens of SA. The rising unemployment levels and inflation has deteriorated living conditions. For the economy to recover, SA needs its listed companies to remain strong performers to protect stakeholder interests and attract investments. The people responsible for steering the companies through this difficult time are the CEOs with the governing board protecting the public interest. This study examines these two important constructs concerning firm growth.

This study uniquely used a firm growth variable as opposed to the multitude of studies that used firm performance variables. Furthermore, this study's robustness was bolstered by an extensive theoretical framework employed to examine the value of a CEO as a firm growth stimulator. The period of this study is also unique as it examines firms in the aftermath of the global recession of 2008. This study provides a fresh perspective on firm growth indicators and has key implications for policymakers, stakeholders and regulatory establishments.

The study aims to explore the types of simulated games and gambling platforms used by adolescents, adolescent’s experiences, motivations and behaviors vis-à-vis simulated gambling and the potential interrelationships between simulated and monetary forms gambling.

Data was obtained from a qualitative longitudinal panel study with three waves of individual interviews. A cohort of 51 young Danes, with varying levels of gambling involvement, were interviewed three times, with a 10-12 frequency from 2011 to 2014. In total, 149 interviews were conducted over the 4-year period.

Enjoying social interactional effects appeared to be the main reasons young people engage in simulated gambling games. The study documented characteristics of both a catalyst pathway and a containment pathway emphasizing that for some young people simulated gambling may increase the likelihood of involvement in real money gambling while it may decrease it for others.

The sample was relatively limited and it involved participants from only one of the five Danish regions. The sample reflects the culture, rural/urban configuration and gambling market of a specific geographic region.

Some forms of simulated digital gambling may provide players with excitement and unrealistic conceptions of winning chances, which, in turn, may encourage participation in real forms of gambling. This may call for regulatory policies aiming at the structural features of simulated gambling products and their rapid global spread. Consumer campaigns aimed at both young people themselves and their parents may be considered.

Few studies have provided insights into the meanings and motivations of young people engaged in simulated gambling. The current study is among the first to explore adolescent’s experiences, motivations and behaviors vis-à-vis simulated gambling and the potential interrelationships between simulated and monetary forms gambling.