Australian wool traders and researchers have little knowledge of the incomplete adoption of the price risk management strategies that are available to stabilise wool producers’ incomes. Auction is by far the most popular method of selling wool in Australia with an adoption rate of about 85%. However this system exposes users (wool producers and buyers alike) to highly volatile prices and non-specific knowledge of supply and demand. Furthermore, it places differentiated wool types in the same commodity market as mass produced, homogeneous wool types. In order to address these issues, a mixed-method research design was used to develop and test a behavioural model of wool producers’ intentions to adopt the use of forward contracts; a selling method alternative to auction. In the simplest terms, a forward contract is a binding agreement between a buyer and a seller that stipulates price, quality, quantity and delivery date of a product. The behavioural model developed for this research was based on the Theory of Reasoned Action, Theory of Planned Behaviour and Diffusion of Innovations as well as some farm-level constructs that were raised in focus groups with Western Australian wool producers. The focus groups were pivotal in adding a unique, farm-level decision-making dimension to the behavioural model by the inclusion of various factors external and internal to the farm business. Based on the behavioural model, 28 hypotheses were developed and tested. Data was collected via a telephone survey of 305 Western Australian wool producers and analysis was conducted using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach to Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). / A key finding of this analysis, contrary to the initial indications of focus group discussions, is that the current selling and marketing structure of the Australian wool industry, including the dominance of the auction system, is an important but not a limiting factor associated with the adoption of forward contracts for the sale of raw wool. Similarly, some other factors internal to the farm business, such as past experiences with selling wool, level of dependence on wool to earn a living and commitment to producing wool, were also found not to limit the adoption of forward contracts. The main factor limiting the adoption of forward contracts was identified as the wool producers’ perceptions of risk and uncertainty. Farmers’ perceptions of risk and uncertainty and their perceptions and attitudes in general are known to be important influences on farmers’ adoption decisions. While the majority of the hypotheses tested within the model were explained by the data, further data were collected to solve the issues associated with why farmers perceive forward contracting as being subject to risk and uncertainty. Additional research was conducted in the form of four case studies with Western Australian wool producers who had varying commitments to using forward contacts. Results showed that profit-raising, the whole farm system as a basis for decision making, the mass media and social pressures are important behavioural factors that are limiting the adoption of forward contracts by Western Australian wool producers. Overall, the results of the study indicate that the current structure of the Australian wool industry and various factors internal to the farm business account for farmers’ attitudes towards the use of forward contracts to sell their wool. / More importantly, from an agribusiness point of view, it is the perceived risk associated with price that principally accounts for the incomplete adoption of forward contracts in the wool industry. The conclusions of this study resulted in the development of new research questions that focus on the study’s theoretical framework, the impact of supply chain dynamics on the adoption of forward contracts and the empirical testing of additional behavioural determinants such as trust, habit and social cohesion. Based on the results of this study, several contributions have been made to the literature and agribusiness. The study showed that variables from the Diffusion of Innovations model played a significant part in this research. However, the more substantial finding was that the Theory of Reasoned Action is likely to be a superior theoretical framework for modelling wool producers’ adoption behaviours related to forward contracts than the Theory of Planned Behaviour. This claim is based on the finding that perceived behavioural controls are not a significant factor in the intention of wool producers to adopt the use of forward contracts. In terms of the contributions to agribusiness, information and extension initiatives that explain and demonstrate the benefits of forward contracts may be necessary if farmers’ perceptions of the riskiness and uncertainty surrounding these contracts are to be altered.

Abstract not available

Cultivating profitable, long-lasting customer-supplier partnerships is a significant task for today's companies. These relationships bring value-adding benefits, including cost and risk reductions, and bring joint business opportunities (Ravald & Grönroos, 1996; McDonald, et al. 1997). Key account management deals with developing customersupplier partnerships within the business-to-business context. Key account managers are responsible for delivering customised products/services, and defining possible business opportunities for both parties, after carefully selecting buying companies according to their strategic importance for the supplier. However, key account management may be complicated for suppliers to manage especially if the selling companies do not know how to implement a key account management programme appropriately. There have been a number of studies attempting to identify approaches to successful key account management programmes (Millman & Wilson, 1995, Napolitano, 1997, Homburg et al., 2002). Abratt & Kelly (2002) were the first to investigate both buyers' and sellers' perceptions of success factors of a key account management programme. They found that both buyers and sellers hold similar points of view on what a successful key account management programme should contain.This thesis is a replication of Abratt & Kelly (2002), which refined their scale to obtain better reliability assessments and generalisability. Only some of the findings of the original study could be replicated. Six factors were extracted while only three of them were reliable. Some of the items loaded onto the same dimension in the replication as Abratt & Kelly (2002), whereas others did not. The discussion section of the thesis suggests reasons for the difference in findings and suggests future research areas based on this discussion.

<p>Stock lending is primarily a professional activity. The supply of stocks in the lending market comes mainly from pension funds and insurance companies, while intermediaries provide valuable services by taking positions as borrowers as well as lenders. Borrowers use stock lending for various reasons. For instance, hedge funds usually borrow stocks to cover a short position. There has been a lot of controversy in the stock lending industry and the debate has mainly concerned its effects for the stock markets. The objective of this thesis is to describe the Swedish stock lending market by analyzing the historical development from 1995 to 2006. Securities lending has increased enormously in recent years and our aim is to explore what has contributed to this positive development by describing the different perspectives in the stock lending market – lender, borrower, intermediary and the Swedish Securities Dealers Association. Our conclusion is that the number of stocks on loan per week is showing a 977 percent growth between 1995 and 2006. The correlation between the number of shares on loan and its market value is highly positive during the period of study, except for 2002. The stock lending market is a legitimate investment activity which plays an important role in supporting efficient markets. According to our data stock lending supports hedging activities, accelerates price corrections in overvalued stocks and facilitates liquidity in capital markets.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Stock lending is primarily a professional activity. The supply of stocks in the lending market comes mainly from pension funds and insurance companies, while intermediaries provide valuable services by taking positions as borrowers as well as lenders. Borrowers use stock lending for various reasons. For instance, hedge funds usually borrow stocks to cover a short position. There has been a lot of controversy in the stock lending industry and the debate has mainly concerned its effects for the stock markets. The objective of this thesis is to describe the Swedish stock lending market by analyzing the historical development from 1995 to 2006. Securities lending has increased enormously in recent years and our aim is to explore what has contributed to this positive development by describing the different perspectives in the stock lending market – lender, borrower, intermediary and the Swedish Securities Dealers Association. Our conclusion is that the number of stocks on loan per week is showing a 977 percent growth between 1995 and 2006. The correlation between the number of shares on loan and its market value is highly positive during the period of study, except for 2002. The stock lending market is a legitimate investment activity which plays an important role in supporting efficient markets. According to our data stock lending supports hedging activities, accelerates price corrections in overvalued stocks and facilitates liquidity in capital markets.

This paper seeks to fill a gap in the literature regarding the consequences of banning ‘naked’ Credit Default Swaps (CDS). In particular, I use the European Union’s Ban on ‘naked” Sovereign CDS as an event study to evaluate the impact that banning such derivative products has on the price discovery process in the credit markets. Using both Granger Causality tests and a Vector Error Correction Model, I find that before November 1, 2012, CDS are the clear price leader in the credit markets. However, since the official date the regulation was put into effect, CDS’ price leadership was eroded. Moreover, after the ban, CDS and Bond Yield Spreads are no longer cointegrated in the long run, suggesting that different pricing mechanisms now exist between the two securities

In electronic marketplaces, buying and selling agents may be used to represent buyers and sellers respectively. When these marketplaces are large, repeated transactions between traders may be rare. This makes it difficult for buying agents to judge the reliability of selling agents, discouraging participation in the market. A variety of trust and reputation systems have been proposed to help traders to find trustworthy partners. Unfortunately, as our investigations reveal, there are a number of common vulnerabilities present in such models---security problems that may be exploited by `attackers' to cheat without detection/repercussions. Inspired by these findings, we set out to develop a model of trust with more robust security properties than existing proposals. Our Trunits model represents a fundamental re-conception of the notion of trust. Instead of viewing trust as a measure of predictability, Trunits considers trust to be a quality that one possesses. Trust is represented using abstract trust units, or `trunits', in much the same way that money represents quantities of value. Trunits flow in the course of transactions (again, similar to money); a trader's trunit balance determines if he is trustworthy for a given transaction. Faithful execution of a transaction results in a larger trunit balance, permitting the trader to engage in more transactions in the future---a built-in economic incentive for honesty. We present two mechanisms (sets of rules that govern the operation of the marketplace) based on this model: Basic Trunits, and an extension known as Commodity Trunits, in which trunits may be bought and sold. Seeking to precisely characterize the protection provided to market participants by our models, we develop a framework for security analysis of trust and reputation systems. Inspired by work in cryptography, our framework allows security guarantees to be developed for trust/reputation models--provable claims of the degree of protection provided, and the conditions under which such protection holds. We focus in particular on characterizing buyer security: the properties that must hold for buyers to feel secure from cheating sellers. Beyond developing security guarantees, this framework is an important research tool, helping to highlight limitations and deficiencies in models so that they may be targeted for future investigation. Application of this framework to Basic Trunits and Commodity Trunits reveals that both are able to deliver provable security to buyers.

Background: Rhetoric can be traced back to antiquity and is today a well used tool within marketing and persuasion. Although rhetoric is said to be the art of persuasion there is a lack of research concerning rhetoric used in personal selling, even though persuasion is one of the most important aspects of personal selling. Personal selling is said to be an underlying factor for companies marketing success, therefore the authors see the importance of researching the relationship between rhetoric and personal selling. To be able to investigate how rhetoric effects personal selling, this thesis was conducted in cooperation with IKEA Jönköping. Through the cooperation with IKEA Jönköping, the authors will gain a unique real-life insight into the phenomenon. Purpose: This thesis aims to understand how rhetoric is used, and what effects the phenomenon has on the interaction between a customer and a sales person. Method: Since very little was previously researched within the use of rhetoric in personal selling, the foundation for the primary data collection was based on the theoretical framework that was developed. 112 observations and 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted during 9 days, in order to observe the phenomenon in its natural environment. Conclusion: When used correctly, arguments (Logos) were used in order to persuade the customer, character (Ethos) created a higher credibility of the sales person and emotional and personal associations (Pathos) lead customers being more trusting towards the sellers. If expertise and a strong character were absent in the interactions the sales persons were generally not successful in increasing customer’s attitudes and purchase intentions. When using the rhetorical methods correctly trust, credibility, loyalty and a positive customer attitude could be achieved by the sales person.

In electronic marketplaces, buying and selling agents may be used to represent buyers and sellers respectively. When these marketplaces are large, repeated transactions between traders may be rare. This makes it difficult for buying agents to judge the reliability of selling agents, discouraging participation in the market. A variety of trust and reputation systems have been proposed to help traders to find trustworthy partners. Unfortunately, as our investigations reveal, there are a number of common vulnerabilities present in such models---security problems that may be exploited by `attackers' to cheat without detection/repercussions. Inspired by these findings, we set out to develop a model of trust with more robust security properties than existing proposals. Our Trunits model represents a fundamental re-conception of the notion of trust. Instead of viewing trust as a measure of predictability, Trunits considers trust to be a quality that one possesses. Trust is represented using abstract trust units, or `trunits', in much the same way that money represents quantities of value. Trunits flow in the course of transactions (again, similar to money); a trader's trunit balance determines if he is trustworthy for a given transaction. Faithful execution of a transaction results in a larger trunit balance, permitting the trader to engage in more transactions in the future---a built-in economic incentive for honesty. We present two mechanisms (sets of rules that govern the operation of the marketplace) based on this model: Basic Trunits, and an extension known as Commodity Trunits, in which trunits may be bought and sold. Seeking to precisely characterize the protection provided to market participants by our models, we develop a framework for security analysis of trust and reputation systems. Inspired by work in cryptography, our framework allows security guarantees to be developed for trust/reputation models--provable claims of the degree of protection provided, and the conditions under which such protection holds. We focus in particular on characterizing buyer security: the properties that must hold for buyers to feel secure from cheating sellers. Beyond developing security guarantees, this framework is an important research tool, helping to highlight limitations and deficiencies in models so that they may be targeted for future investigation. Application of this framework to Basic Trunits and Commodity Trunits reveals that both are able to deliver provable security to buyers.