Fair Wages and Multiple Fairness Standards – A Lab Study of Co-Employment of Hired and Rented Hands
Dorothea Alewell/Colette Friedrich/Werner Güth/Wiebke Kuklys
We study the relevance of fairness norms in an experimental scenario in which hired and rented hands are co-employed and stochastic influences and multiple reference points for fairness further increase complexity. Co-employment of hired and rented hands is an example out of a broader class of situations with multiple fairness standards. Co-employment has high political relevance and topicality in Europe, and especially in Germany, where a new equal payment rule affecting temporary work agencies has become law. To shed new light on the relevance of fairness norms in complex settings, we explore theoretically and experimentally the possible fairness considerations of the participants.
pp. 2 - 28
From Words to Numbers: How to Transform Qualitative Data into Meaningful Quantitative Results
Katharina J. Srnka/Sabine T. Koeszegi
In proposing a procedure for transforming qualitative data into quantitative results, we address the manifold requests for discovery-oriented research in the business disciplines. We present a systematic classification of combined qualitative-quantitative research designs and argue in favor of the generalization model. We give guidelines for its implementation and provide a blueprint for systematically converting respondents’ words into numbers that can be used for further (statistical) analyses. We delimit and discuss the stages of unitization, categorization, and coding. We also raise quality issues and propose relevant quality criteria in the transformation process. In particular, we suggest the intercoder consistency-matrix for determining the incisiveness of categories developed through content analysis. Finally, we demonstrate in an exemplary study how the blueprint can be applied and highlight the benefits of the proposed research design.In proposing a procedure for transforming qualitative data into quantitative results, we address the manifold requests for discovery-oriented research in the business disciplines. We present a systematic classification of combined qualitative-quantitative research designs and argue in favor of the generalization model. We give guidelines for its implementation and provide a blueprint for systematically converting respondents’ words into numbers that can be used for further (statistical) analyses. We delimit and discuss the stages of unitization, categorization, and coding. We also raise quality issues and propose relevant quality criteria in the transformation process. In particular, we suggest the intercoder consistency-matrix for determining the incisiveness of categories developed through content analysis. Finally, we demonstrate in an exemplary study how the blueprint can be applied and highlight the benefits of the proposed research design.
pp. 29 - 57
The SEC’s MD&A: Does it Meet the Informational Demands of Investors? – A Conceptual Evaluation –
Bernd Hüfner
The SEC’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) is often claimed to provide vital “extra information” for the investment decisions of investors: information that compensates for the reporting weaknesses of financial statements. However, research on the quality of MD&A for investors is rare. In this study I conceptually evaluate whether the SEC’s requirements for MD&A disclosure do in fact provide sufficient information for investors. I use a comprehensive approach for the evaluation by analyzing the extent to which the SEC’s requirements for MD&A disclosure meet investor-oriented reporting principles and contents.
pp. 58 - 84
Stock Market Reaction and Stock Option Plans: Evidence from Germany
Christian Langmann
Stock option plans are probably one of the most controversially discussed compensation elements of the past few years. I look at stock option plans issued by German companies between 1996 and 2002. In addition to a descriptive analysis of 44 launched plans, I perform an event study covering 17 announcements of stock option plan adoptions during this period. The findings show significant positive stock market reactions of around 1% on the day of announcement in the press. Thus, stock option plans appear to be an instrument whose effect outweighs its cost of increasing shareholder value. Significant positive abnormal returns in the weeks preceding the announcements indicate that the timing of stock options coincides with positive market developments just before the adoption of the stock option plans is announced.
pp. 85 - 106
