Cognitive ability has been identified as a factor which is associated with accounting expertise, yet little is known about its effects on accounting task performance. The widely-accepted model of accounting performance proposed by Libby and Luft (1993) predicts that cognitive ability influences accounting performance directly and indirectly by affecting task-specific knowledge. Empirical inconsistencies found in these relationships are largely unexplored in the accounting literature, and so a complete understanding of the ability~performance relation remains elusive. The psychology literature suggests that cognitive style, as well as cognitive ability, contributes to the cognitive processes that underlie accounting performance. Research has shown that cognitive style can affect accounting performance, particularly under conditions of cognitive misfit (Chan 1996). Cognitive misfit occurs when an accountant's cognitive style interacts with incongruent demands of the accounting task. Theory suggests the condition of cognitive misfit may explain empirical inconsistencies found in prior ability~performance research. The existing accounting literature has not investigated how cognitive misfit impacts the ability~performance relationship in accounting tasks. The current study explores how the condition of cognitive misfit affects direct and indirect relationships between cognitive ability and accounting performance proposed in the Libby and Luft (1993) performance model. The new knowledge generated in this research will benefit the accounting profession in its quest to identify the determinants of expert performance.

O propósito desta dissertação consiste em verificar quais seriam as consequências das conexões políticas estabelecidas por algumas empresas de capital aberto no Brasil no que se refere a seu desempenho e acesso a crédito concedido pelo BNDES. O conceito de conexão política é amplo, mas as empresas de capital aberto que fizeram parte da amostra utilizada no trabalho buscam se aproximar do governo de duas maneiras: (i) inserindo em seu conselho de administração membros que atuem (ou que já atuaram) no governo, visando estabelecer um ponto de contato com o Estado, ou ainda, (ii) realizando doações às campanhas políticas brasileiras. Para realizar a análise proposta, utilizaram-se dados do conselho de administração das empresas listadas na BM&F Bovespa no período de 2010 a 2013, informações sobre doações de pessoas jurídicas às campanhas políticas realizadas em 2002, 2006 e 2010, juntamente com outros dados extraídos das demonstrações financeiras das companhias contempladas na amostra. Os testes de regressão múltipla com dados em painel não revelaram significância estatística entre as variáveis de estudo e os indicadores de desempenho e de acesso a crédito concedido pelo BNDES. Embora não conclusivos, os resultados apresentados acrescentam à literatura das conexões políticas motivando a realização de trabalhos futuros que objetivem testar outras hipóteses capazes de explicar quais são os motivos que levam as empresas no Brasil a estabelecerem conexões com o Estado. / The purpose of this dissertation consists in verifying the consequences of political connections established by some Brazilian public companies with respect to their performance and access to credit granted by the BNDES. The concept of political connection is broad, but the public companies used in our sample aim to approach themselves to the government by two means: (i) electing a member of the board of directors that works, or has a history in working in the government, or (ii) donating money to political campaigns. In order to accomplish this analysis, we collected data of the board of directors from public companies listed on the BM&F Bovespa during the period of 2010 to 2013, information on political donations made by companies in Brazil along the years of 2002, 2006 and 2010, as well as data extracted from the sample companies\' financial statements. The multiple regression tests ran with panel data showed no statistical relation between the main variables and the performance indicator or the variable that measures company\'s access to loans provided by BNDES. Although inconclusive, the presented results add to the literature motivating further studies that can test other hypotheses able to explain the reasons that induce companies to establish political connections.

O propósito desta dissertação consiste em verificar quais seriam as consequências das conexões políticas estabelecidas por algumas empresas de capital aberto no Brasil no que se refere a seu desempenho e acesso a crédito concedido pelo BNDES. O conceito de conexão política é amplo, mas as empresas de capital aberto que fizeram parte da amostra utilizada no trabalho buscam se aproximar do governo de duas maneiras: (i) inserindo em seu conselho de administração membros que atuem (ou que já atuaram) no governo, visando estabelecer um ponto de contato com o Estado, ou ainda, (ii) realizando doações às campanhas políticas brasileiras. Para realizar a análise proposta, utilizaram-se dados do conselho de administração das empresas listadas na BM&F Bovespa no período de 2010 a 2013, informações sobre doações de pessoas jurídicas às campanhas políticas realizadas em 2002, 2006 e 2010, juntamente com outros dados extraídos das demonstrações financeiras das companhias contempladas na amostra. Os testes de regressão múltipla com dados em painel não revelaram significância estatística entre as variáveis de estudo e os indicadores de desempenho e de acesso a crédito concedido pelo BNDES. Embora não conclusivos, os resultados apresentados acrescentam à literatura das conexões políticas motivando a realização de trabalhos futuros que objetivem testar outras hipóteses capazes de explicar quais são os motivos que levam as empresas no Brasil a estabelecerem conexões com o Estado. / The purpose of this dissertation consists in verifying the consequences of political connections established by some Brazilian public companies with respect to their performance and access to credit granted by the BNDES. The concept of political connection is broad, but the public companies used in our sample aim to approach themselves to the government by two means: (i) electing a member of the board of directors that works, or has a history in working in the government, or (ii) donating money to political campaigns. In order to accomplish this analysis, we collected data of the board of directors from public companies listed on the BM&F Bovespa during the period of 2010 to 2013, information on political donations made by companies in Brazil along the years of 2002, 2006 and 2010, as well as data extracted from the sample companies\' financial statements. The multiple regression tests ran with panel data showed no statistical relation between the main variables and the performance indicator or the variable that measures company\'s access to loans provided by BNDES. Although inconclusive, the presented results add to the literature motivating further studies that can test other hypotheses able to explain the reasons that induce companies to establish political connections.

La tesi affronta il tema dell’utilizzo delle informazioni in ambito pubblico sulla scia di quanto avviato dalle teorie di (bounded) rationality, e di diversi filoni di (public) management che si sono occupati nel tempo di indagare i meccanismi attraverso i quali le informazioni vengono identificate, selezionate e utilizzate nei processi decisionali. Attraverso l’analisi delle politiche sociali nei comuni italiani, la tesi si occupa di indagare tre specifiche situazioni: la presentazione delle strategie e politiche pubbliche; la costruzione di piani strategici; la risoluzione di situazioni critiche e di trade-off complessi. La tesi mostra che le informazioni sono usate per presentare le decisioni tramite meccanismi di razionalità ed altri legati alla creazione di consenso per l’innovazione dei contenuti, governance e contesto di riferimento delle politiche sociali. Nella pianificazione strategica le informazioni vengono spesso solamente raccolte oppure utilizzate in modo strumentale. Nel caso di situazioni complesse e caratterizzate da trade-off, le informazioni di accounting hanno sia una valenza manageriale che politica di costruzione del consenso e delle motivazioni ad agire. / The PhD thesis deals with the issue of information use in the public sector. Building on (bounded) rationality theories and (public) management studies focusing on mechanisms through which information is identified, gathered and used in decision making processes, the thesis analysed what happens in Italian Municipalities, in the field of social care policies. Three different situations are analysed: public presentation of social care policies; social care strategic plans; wicked problems resolutions and trade off discussion. The thesis shows that information is used to present public strategies through rationality or by building consensus towards innovation in contents, governance and context of social care policies. In the case of strategic plans, information is often only presented or used instrumentally. In the case of trade-offs and wicked situation information is used both in a managerial perspective and in a political fashion so to build consensus and motivation for action.

本研究以適用於民國九十九年九月修法前之「公開發行公司辦理私募有價證券應注意事項」辦理私募增資之上市櫃公司，並有內部人參與之私募案為研究對象，研究期間為民國九十四年十月十一日至九十九年八月三十一日，以探討私募應募人行為對經營績效與異常報酬之影響。 實證結果發現，當辦理私募公司前一年度為稅後淨損，並有內部人參與之私募案，若內部應募人於私募前後三個月內有老股出售之情事者，其私募後之會計經營績效較私募前差，但私募後之公司價值卻較佳。再將這類公司與其他私募案相比，其會計經營績效較差，公司價值仍較佳，皆顯示這類公司會計經營績效與公司股價於私募後未呈同向變化。另外，以事件研究法測試有內部人參與之私募案，發現其在董事會決議日前後確實有異常報酬，顯示私募訊息在董事會決議日前已走漏，陸續反映於股價。 / Based on firms’ net profit/loss before private placement and inside investors stock selling, this study classifies private placements with inside investors into four types to examine the effect of insiders’ activities and the operating condition on firm performance after private placement and the abnormal returns around private placement events. It’s shown that for firms with net loss before private placement while the insiders selling stocks around the event, the accounting performance worsens but Tobin’s Q gets better after the event. In addition, inside investors gain abnormal return around the board meeting. It implies that information leakage before board meeting is severe and the investors even gain abnormal return after the meeting.

本研究以在民國96~98年間辦理私募引進策略性投資人之公司為樣本，檢視宣告日前後異常報酬之走勢，並探討私募後研發投資及會計績效是否顯著增加。 本研究以事件研究法測試企業利用私募方式引進策略性投資人，發現宣告日前後之異常報酬率確實有顯著增加，表示投資人看好私募公司未來的發展，但在利用Healy, Palepu and Rubak (1992)模型檢驗現金流量報酬率、EPS、營業利潤率、資產報酬率與股東權益報酬率及Tobin’s Q等不同的經營績效指標，比較公司私募前後經營績效時，卻發現私募後兩年內，公司之績效並未如市場之預期顯著地提升。但私募後公司在研發費用確實有顯著的提升，代表公司在投資方面有顯著的成長，或許這類私募公司需要更長的時間，會計績效才有可能會顯著的提升。 / This study investigates two issues, the abnormal return and the R&D investment and accounting performance before/after the announcement of the strategic private placement. We found that investors gain abnormal return before/after the announcement of the strategic placement. It indicates that the information leakage before the announcement is severe and, as investors expected, they gain high abnormal return even after the strategic placement. However, based on Healy, Palepu and Rubak (1992) model, we found that the accounting performances after strategic placements are not as investors expected when they are measured in terms of cash flow returns on investments, EPS, gross profit, ROA, ROI and Tobin’s Q. On the other hand, the companies do invest more R&D input after strategic private placement. Observing these two facts together, we may conclude that the strategic private placement makes firms input more R&D expenditure but couldn’t gain significant accounting performance within 2 years.