Numerous value relevance investigations use the Ohlson (1995) model to empirically explore the value relevance of accounting variables such as earnings and goodwill amortisation by employing equity price as the dependent variable, but do not incorporate the most recent prior period’s equity price as an additional explanatory variable. The Ohlson (1995) model and the efficient market literature indicate that, since share prices represent the present value of future permanent earnings in an efficient market, the most recent prior period’s equity price should be a crucial variable for explaining the current price in value relevance models. This thesis therefore outlines how the Ohlson (1995) model incorporates the most recent prior period’s price as a potentially important value relevant explanatory variable, and reformulates the Ohlson (1995) model to demonstrate how the empirical specification of value relevance regression models can be greatly improved by including the most recent prior period’s price as an additional explanatory variable. We revisit the Jennings, LeClere, and Thompson (2001) empirical specification used to study whether goodwill amortisation is value relevant and potentially informative with respect to future earnings to illustrate the improvement to the Ohlson (1995) value relevance model empirical specification. When the model specification is improved by including the most recent prior period’s price as an additional explanatory variable, trailing earnings are shown, using time series, cross-sectional, and returns-based analysis, to be at best marginally value relevant when empirically explaining share prices in value relevance regression models. The thesis also indicates that goodwill amortisation should not be deducted from earnings in accounting statements because the presence of goodwill amortisation is significantly positively (not negatively) related to equity prices. This effect is eliminated when the most recent prior period’s price is included as an additional explanatory variable in the regression analysis, thus indicating that goodwill amortisation information as well as trailing earnings information have already been incorporated into the most recent prior period’s price. The thesis further indicates that value relevance studies that use the Ohlson (1995) model should use, for econometric reasons, change in price or else returns, not the price level, as the dependent variable. When returns are used to test the value relevance of goodwill amortisation, firms that report positive goodwill amortization actually have higher subsequent returns, a result that could possibly be due to the fact that growing firms tend to possess goodwill when they use acquisitions to expand. Results obtained when using returns to test whether goodwill amortisation is value relevant therefore extend the existing literature, since the prevailing expectation in the accounting literature is that goodwill amortization either represents a reduction in the value of goodwill over time or is not value relevant.

This thesis explores issues related to bank switching costs, in the context of the New Zealand banking market. Switching costs comprise the range of economic costs faced by customers changing bank, including monetary switching costs, the loss of the relationship with bank staff, and needing to learn new systems. An important effect of switching costs is customers become locked in to their bank, which has implications for market competition, and this raises questions about the need for a regulatory response. The study comprised a mail survey to 2983 people drawn from New Zealand electoral rolls, with a response rate of 34%. The survey instrument was a questionnaire of 70 questions in four sections: banking relationships, switching behaviour, switching costs, and demographic information. Nine categories of switching costs were used: Learning, Search, Monetary Loss, Benefit Loss, Personal Relationship, Brand Relationship, Service Disruption, Uncertainty, and Hassle. These categories are found to be appropriate. Furthermore, the three higher order categories of Procedural, Financial and Relational found by Burnham, Frels and Mahajan (2003) are confirmed. Although prior studies have recognised different switching costs, there has been limited work to understand whether they differ in their impact on attitudes and behaviour around switching. Different switching costs are found to have different effects. The study also examined whether the experience of switching matches the perception, and found switching is easier than expected. Furthermore, customers who have switched banks have different perceptions of switching costs to those who have not. Customers are different, and their attitudes and needs should therefore vary. Prior research has found differences in attitudes towards financial issues based on the family life cycle, but the relationship between switching costs and family life cycle has not been explored. This thesis finds perceptions of switching costs and switching behaviour vary significantly between life cycle groups, which appears in part to be related to associated changes in the complexity of the banking relationship. Four recommendations for regulators are generated from the results of the study. These include recommending greater acknowledgement of the existence and effect of switching costs, and investigation of bank account number portability.

The corporate governance best practice code (Code) of the New Zealand Exchange (NZX) came into effect on October 29, 2003. However, so far there is no systematic study of compliance with and impact of NZX Code on the performance of NZX companies. This study attempts to provide some answers to the perceived knowledge gap. The NZX Code recommends certain governance mechanisms to enhance corporate performance. The mechanisms analysed in this study are the percentage of independent directors, duality, presence of board subcommittees (audit, remuneration, and nomination), and the performance evaluation of board and individual directors. This thesis examines the possible relationship between recommended governance structures and the performance of NZX companies for the years 2003 (pre-Code) and 2007 (post Code), using data from the same 89 companies for each year. Although the number of companies adopting the NZX structures has increased, the rate of full compliance of the Code remains disappointingly low, rising from 5.6% in 2003 to just 22.5% in 2007. Probably due to the small sample size relative to the number of independent variables, and the problem of co-linearity, the multiple linear regression results do not seem to be conclusive and may be unreliable as the basis to form any formal statistical inference. However, treating the 89 companies as the whole population (89 out of 90), and using a simpler and more descriptive statistical tool to analyse the impact of individual independent variables on firm performance, the 2007 results show a consistent pattern of a positive relationship between Code compliance and firm performance, assuming all other factors being constant. This positive relationship is further reinforced by dividing the population into the various industry groupings as classified by the NZX, which also results in a consistent pattern of companies which comply fully with the Code structures financially outperforming companies that only partially comply with the Code during 2007. Surprisingly, listed companies adhering to the Chairman/CEO dual role do not seem to have impacted negatively on firm performance, contrary to agency theory expectation.

This research examines how the interval of observation affects the assessment of risk in stocks. I do this by analysing the economic and statistical significance of the worst returns on stocks, and by analysing the relationship between the interval of observation and factors which are thought to affect the return on stocks. This research shows the interval of observation used to assess the risk in stocks is important and the conclusions change considerably depending on how the data is drawn. In addition, the results indicate an investor’s time horizon is important in deciding their asset allocation and the style of investment should be suitable for the time horizon selected.

This thesis explores issues related to bank switching costs, in the context of the New Zealand banking market. Switching costs comprise the range of economic costs faced by customers changing bank, including monetary switching costs, the loss of the relationship with bank staff, and needing to learn new systems. An important effect of switching costs is customers become locked in to their bank, which has implications for market competition, and this raises questions about the need for a regulatory response. The study comprised a mail survey to 2983 people drawn from New Zealand electoral rolls, with a response rate of 34%. The survey instrument was a questionnaire of 70 questions in four sections: banking relationships, switching behaviour, switching costs, and demographic information. Nine categories of switching costs were used: Learning, Search, Monetary Loss, Benefit Loss, Personal Relationship, Brand Relationship, Service Disruption, Uncertainty, and Hassle. These categories are found to be appropriate. Furthermore, the three higher order categories of Procedural, Financial and Relational found by Burnham, Frels and Mahajan (2003) are confirmed. Although prior studies have recognised different switching costs, there has been limited work to understand whether they differ in their impact on attitudes and behaviour around switching. Different switching costs are found to have different effects. The study also examined whether the experience of switching matches the perception, and found switching is easier than expected. Furthermore, customers who have switched banks have different perceptions of switching costs to those who have not. Customers are different, and their attitudes and needs should therefore vary. Prior research has found differences in attitudes towards financial issues based on the family life cycle, but the relationship between switching costs and family life cycle has not been explored. This thesis finds perceptions of switching costs and switching behaviour vary significantly between life cycle groups, which appears in part to be related to associated changes in the complexity of the banking relationship. Four recommendations for regulators are generated from the results of the study. These include recommending greater acknowledgement of the existence and effect of switching costs, and investigation of bank account number portability.

With the intense competition and increasing globalization in the financial markets, bank management must develop customer-oriented strategies in order to compete successfully in the competitive retail banking environment. The longer a bank can retain a customer, the greater revenue and cost savings from that customer. However, customers are also more prone to changing their banking behaviour when they can purchase nearly identical financial products provided by the retail banks. In order to stay competitive, bank managers need to understand the factors that influence and determine consumer’s bank switching behaviour. With China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), their financial services market was liberalized and deregulated. As a result, customers have a greater choice between domestic and foreign banks. Furthermore, the emergence of the internet allows customers to access financial products without limitation, and increases the Chinese retail banks’ ability to prevent customers’ switching banks. This study identifies and analyses the factors that influence bank customers’ switching behaviour in the Chinese retail banking industry. The findings reveal that Price, Reputation, Service Quality, Effective Advertising, Involuntary Switching, Distance, and Switching Costs have an impact on customers’ bank switching behaviour. The results also reveal that the Young Age and High Income Groups are more likely to switch banks. In general, the results of this research allow service marketers and practitioners to develop and implement services marketing strategies to decrease customer defection rates, and in turn, increase bank profits. Furthermore, this research provides useful information for future researchers who study switching-behaviour in the banking industry.

This thesis explores issues related to bank switching costs, in the context of the New Zealand banking market. Switching costs comprise the range of economic costs faced by customers changing bank, including monetary switching costs, the loss of the relationship with bank staff, and needing to learn new systems. An important effect of switching costs is customers become locked in to their bank, which has implications for market competition, and this raises questions about the need for a regulatory response. The study comprised a mail survey to 2983 people drawn from New Zealand electoral rolls, with a response rate of 34%. The survey instrument was a questionnaire of 70 questions in four sections: banking relationships, switching behaviour, switching costs, and demographic information. Nine categories of switching costs were used: Learning, Search, Monetary Loss, Benefit Loss, Personal Relationship, Brand Relationship, Service Disruption, Uncertainty, and Hassle. These categories are found to be appropriate. Furthermore, the three higher order categories of Procedural, Financial and Relational found by Burnham, Frels and Mahajan (2003) are confirmed. Although prior studies have recognised different switching costs, there has been limited work to understand whether they differ in their impact on attitudes and behaviour around switching. Different switching costs are found to have different effects. The study also examined whether the experience of switching matches the perception, and found switching is easier than expected. Furthermore, customers who have switched banks have different perceptions of switching costs to those who have not. Customers are different, and their attitudes and needs should therefore vary. Prior research has found differences in attitudes towards financial issues based on the family life cycle, but the relationship between switching costs and family life cycle has not been explored. This thesis finds perceptions of switching costs and switching behaviour vary significantly between life cycle groups, which appears in part to be related to associated changes in the complexity of the banking relationship. Four recommendations for regulators are generated from the results of the study. These include recommending greater acknowledgement of the existence and effect of switching costs, and investigation of bank account number portability.

While much of the previous research on mutual funds has concentrated on finding the relationship between the investment style, the past performance and the future performance of funds, very few of the studies have paid attention to the effect of a mutual fund manager’s execution of investment style on fund returns. Using return-based analysis methodologies for measuring the style consistency of Chinese mutual funds, this thesis demonstrates that the less style-consistent funds tend to produce higher future risk-adjusted returns than more consistent mutual funds, even after controlling for past performance and net asset value (NAV). Further, these findings are robust across mutual fund investment style classifications, test period intervals (one-year or one-quarter interval), and the model used to calculate the expected returns (four-factor model and Sharpe’s style analysis model). This thesis also documents the performance-persistency effects that exist in Chinese mutual funds, which remain persistent even under the condition of style consistency. More importantly, the research discovered that at a time of change in the Chinese stock market, the negative correlation between style consistency and future performance becomes weaker. The study concludes that style consistency does matter for mutual funds’ future risk-adjusted returns and that there is a significant negative correlation with mutual funds’ future risk-adjusted performance in the longer term (i.e., over the entire test period). Moreover, this connection is distinct from those related to the past risk-adjusted performance and NAV of mutual funds. It is also clear that a significant negative correlation between style consistency and the future risk-adjusted return does exist in Chinese stock and asset allocation mutual funds, even after adjusting for the investment style of the fund. Finally, this thesis provide a mutual funds picking strategy for investors base on the main findings of this study, which can provide significant positive alpha at each year during the test period.

The Chinese stock market has experienced tremendous growth and development over the past years. It is now the second largest stock market in Asia (after Japan). The increasing numbers of stock investors and the generally upward trend of the local stock indexes transform the Chinese stock market into one of the most actively traded stock market. This study examined the “pricing errors” of the Chinese stock market. The intrinsic values of equities, which can be compared to actual index prices, were estimated using the dividend discount model. Using a database of daily dividend based index prices of Shanghai composite index 180 and Shenzhen composite index 100 from July 2002 to June 2005, our study shows the stocks were undervalued during the sample period, on average, by approximately 0.09% and 1% for Shanghai and Shenzhen composite indexes respectively. The result reveals during July 2002- June 2005, the Chinese stock markets were close to the real value. Another objective of this study is to examine the impact of the economic conditions on the “pricing errors” of Chinese stock market. We find that the Chinese stock markets are much price momentum driven. The relationships of the economic factors and the deviation between the estimated cost of equity (based on CAPM) and the implied cost of equity (based on the actual index prices) showed similar results. We conclude that the Chinese stock markets do not sufficiently reveal local economic conditions.

The New Zealand economy in the period up to 2006 provides an opportunity to assess an alternative disclosure based approach to the prudential regulation of deposittakers, in a market free of many of the distortions which arise from traditional regulatory schemes. The overall objective of this research has been to assess the effectiveness of the prudential regulation of New Zealand financial institutions and judge if the country is well served by it. Analysis of New Zealand’s registered bank sector suggests public disclosure adds value to New Zealand’s financial system. However, the significant relationship found between disclosure risk indicators and bank risk premiums was not as a result of market discipline, rather it is argued self-discipline was the mechanism, demonstrating bank management and directors are discharging their duties in a prudent manner. A feature of the New Zealand disclosure regime for banks is the significant responsibilities placed on bank directors; directors are then held accountable for their actions. Findings in the management of banks were in contrast to non-bank deposittakers, where disclosure was judged to be ineffective, and of no practical use due to its poor quality. The management of non-bank deposit-takers appeared to receive very little oversight from depositors, their trustees or official agencies. As a result, many appear to have managed their institution in their own interests, with little consideration given to other stakeholders. Failures which occurred in NBDTs from 2006 resulted from deficiencies in the prudential regulation of these deposit-takers, demonstrating the severity of asymmetric information and moral hazard problems which can arise if prudential regulation is not correctly designed and management interests are not aligned with other stakeholders. The New Zealand disclosure regime will never guarantee a bank will not fail, nor should it try to do so, but it should assist the functioning of a sound and efficient financial system. To this end, it is recommended that the Reserve Bank, in re-designing the regulatory framework for NBDTs, hold the management and directors of NBDTs similarly accountable, while also incorporating regular disclosure and minimum prudential standards. Governments have an important role to play in ensuring the financial system is efficient.