Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1986.

Thesis (M.A. Soc. Admin.)--Ohio State University, 1939. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 41). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

This study examines empirically the relationship between a number of corporate attributes and levels of disclosure of information in annual reports of Malaysian public listed companies. The perceived importance of selected information items to two user groups; accountants and fmancial analysts is also examined using a structured questionnaire. Three unweighted disclosure indices (overall disclosure index, mandatory disclosure index and voluntary disclosure index) were applied to 54 corporate annual reports for three different years: 1974, 1984 and 1994. The results indicate that the level of disclosure has improved over the twenty-year period. The overall and mandatory disclosure scores show a substantial increase in 1984 and a moderate increase in 1994. However, only a marginal increase in disclosure level for voluntary disclosure items is noted for the same period. The association between the extent of disclosure and fifteen corporate attributes was examined using several multiple regression models. The results indicate that: (a) the variable total assets shows significant relationship with the three disclosure indices; (b) the variables liquidity ratio, scope of business operations, leverage, and type of management are significantly associated with some of the disclosure indices; (c) the variables number of shareholders, corporate image and fmancial year end show weak relationships with some of the disclosure indices; and (d) the other variables namely, total sales, market capitalisation, proportion of shares owned by outsiders, profit margin, parent company size and type of external auditor show no significant relationship with disclosure scores. Except for total assets, all variables in (b) and (c) above produce inconsistent results when employed under different regression models. The two user groups also demonstrate significant differences in perceptions on 31 (55%) out of 56 items of information. Overall, the financial analysts' group perceive a substantial number of items of information as more important than the accountants' group

This thesis takes as its starting point a set of questions raised by the regulatory politics school of thought. These questions are addressed from the specific perspective of the insurance sector during the European single market programme of the late 1980s to early 1990s. The focus is on German and British sectoral and governmental actors and their interaction with EC-level institutions (in particular the European Commission), rules and policies. The thesis addressesis sueso f regulatory autonomy, regime change, interest representation and the evolution of norms and ideas in the context of the European single market. The issues are examined from three interdependent levels of governance: (a. ) multilateral (the negotiations during the Uruguay Round, leading to the GATS); (Chapter 2); (b. ) the European Community level (the Single Market); (Chapter 3 and Chapter 4); and (c. ) domestic policy reform (German reform of insurance regulation in the context of the Single Market Programme) (Chapter 5). These sector-specific developments are set into the broader context of the debate on the nature of European integration. An institutionalist account is contrasted with a critical evaluation of the realist school of European studies and its origins in public choice theory. A central, guiding question is: what different "landscapes" do we perceive if we observe (de- and re-) regulation through the analytical "lenses" of economic accounts of regulation and institutionalist approaches? Public choice theories, it is argued, focus almost exclusively on efficiency concerns and utility (whether at the level of the individual or at the level of the company), neglecting broader social ideas that motivate decision-makers, as well as the impact of institutions on choice and collective strategies. It is concluded that, despite trade liberalisation and deregulation, regulatory practices in the insurance sector continue to be driven by normative "road maps", anchored in and mediated by national institutions and historical experiences

In this dissertation, I provide two essays that examine how parties in the financial communication process attempt to persuade other market participants. In the first essay, I provide a thought piece in which I accomplish two objectives. First, I explain how the financial communications process involves persuasion, which is defined as “any effort to modify an individual’s evaluations of people, objects or issues by the presentation of a message” (Petty and Cacioppo 1986, p. 25). The parties on which I focus are corporate managers, information intermediaries (hereafter, sell-side analysts), and investors. I describe the typical communications among the three dyads represented by these groups (e.g., managers-analysts, analysts- investors, etc.), and argue that it involves persuasion. Second, I introduce one persuasion theory--the persuasion knowledge model (PKM)--and explain how it can increase our understanding of the financial communications process. The PKM outlines additional factors beyond those suggested by economic theory--such as, topic knowledge, persuasion knowledge, and recipient (provider) knowledge--that influence the selection of and reaction to persuasion strategies in financial communications. In the second essay, I use two experiments to investigate one dyad--e.g., analysts-investors--in the communications process. Within these experiments, I examine one persuasion strategy that sell-side analysts might use to persuade investors. I test the hypothesis that including some negative argumentation in a favorable analyst report (e.g., two-sided argumentation) acts as a credibility enhancer and augments investor response to the positive arguments included in the report. I also examine whether this effect depends on how investors view one- and two-sided reports: separately or simultaneously. Experimental results show that two-sided argumentation influences credibility only when one- and two-sided reports are viewed simultaneously. Further, this credibility effect is moderated by the strength of the positive arguments, as credibility is enhanced only when the arguments are weak. In contrast, when one- and two-sided reports are viewed independently, two-sided argumentation does not enhance credibility. Rather, argument strength alone determines credibility, as well as the likelihood of investment. These results suggest that, under certain conditions, sell-side analysts can use attributes of accounting argumentation to enhance the credibility of their favorable research and generate trade. / text

Although there is no strict definition, the team “financial crisis” usually refers to an event in which the value of financial assets drops rapidly. The causes and consequences of different types of financial crisis could vary. The most recent global financial crisis happened in the year of 2008. The bursting of housing bubble in the U.S. and other countries caused the value of mortgage-related securities, created by financial institutions, to plummet. With governments' efforts to bailout banks, the collapse of global financial system was avoided. However, this crisis has resulted in unfortunate political and social turmoil. In 1910, a financial crisis happened in Shanghai, triggered by the bursting of rubber stock speculation bubble. Forty native banks (錢莊) in Shanghai, out of ninety-one, shut the doors by end of that year, attributed by global rubber material price fluctuation and the fraud in Shanghai capital market. As highly involved with stock speculation, several native banks incurred substantial losses, while the whole financial industry was encumbered with those native banks' insolvency, and then followed by the political and social turmoil, including the Xinhai Revolution (辛亥革命) in 1911. “The 1910 Financial Crisis in Shanghai” has been a popular topic. By further verifying historical materials, especially the articles on English and Chinese newspapers, this dissertation proves that some common understanding about the crisis cannot be re-affirmed. It is also proved that the modern economic model for financial crisis could be applied on the 1910 crisis in Shanghai. / published_or_final_version / Chinese Historical Studies / Master / Master of Arts

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This study focuses on users of online reporting rather than corporations. It examines the extent to which users find online reporting important as a source of corporate information, and whether they perceive it useful and easy to use in making their investment decisions. To achieve this, 2,229 online questionnaires were sent to professional and private investors asking them about their perceptions of online reporting. Based on 162 responses, an Online Reporting Acceptance Model (ORAM) was established to investigate variables that drive users' acceptance of online reporting, proxied by actual usage. Empirical results revealed that there is a room for improving the quality of online reporting in the UK as users are in favour of having more information and technological facilities available on corporate web sites. Furthermore, users find online reporting so useful in making their investment decision that it has become the most important source of corporate information. The Online Reporting Acceptance Model provided evidence that both usefulness and ease of use are major determinants of actual usage. The study also examines the impact of online reporting quality on analysts' behaviour. It proposes a thematic multidimensional online reporting index to measure the quality of online reporting by FTSE 350 listed firms. It is found that companies with higher online reporting quality are more likely to be followed by financial analysts. However, the study found no impact of the quality of online reporting on either error or dispersion of analysts' EPS forecasts and common uncertainty in their information environment. One possible explanation for the insignificant relationship between online reporting quality and properties of analysts' forecasts is herding behaviour by analysts. Consistent with prior studies, results provided evidence of herding behaviour by financial analysts in the UK.