Genetically Modified Organisms ( Gmo ) - 1794 Words

Throughout history, humankind has tried to make things easier for themselves by controlling what is around them. This has always been the case and then humans evolved into an agricultural based society. Breeding different strains of plants became something of a popular topic for scientists in hopes to getting the elite possible plants for food. Although time has passed, these practices have continued and technology has expanded and developed. Now rather than breeding two similar plants or animals, mankind has taken it a step further and can alter the genetic sequence of the DNA in species. This option to be able to alter plants and now particularly crops, has raised many moral and safety concerns. Did you know that more than sixty†¦show more content†¦Genetic modification has been going on for years. Yet, not everyone seems to agree that GMOs are favorable to our society. Moreover, it is not a mystery that the human population continues to increase. The world population w as estimated in 2050 to be 9.3 billion, 400 million more than previously estimated. It would seem that GMOs would be seen as a light at the end of the tunnel for 3rd world counties, and the health risks of pesticides, and for the years to come. Nonetheless, many people see GMOs as a major danger to the nation. Genetic engineering and biotechnology is creating new methods to help scientists with the issue of feeding the world. Some people argue that GM technology will replace traditional breeding and this is not the case. The importance of solving the problem of food production for a growing population like ours needs to be without harming the environment and will require traditional breeding and organic farming, plus GM crop technology, used to solve the problem at hand. Our human civilization will have the greatest challenge to ensure sufficient food production in the next few years unless all the methods are used accurately and as necessary. (Herrera-Estrella and Alvarez-Morlaes, 256-257). GMOs are among one of the most tested products. Over 1,500 peer-reviewed studies have yet to find evidence that GMO crops affects humans or livestock. World Health Organization,

Community Readiness For Adolescents And Obesity Prevention

The article by Pradeilles et al., (2016) which is titled, Community readiness for adolescents overweight and obesity prevention is low in urban South Africa: a case study is a case study about teaching and obesity prevention in South Africa. A case study according to Wright (2014) is an approach which is used to describe a community, system, event or individual (p.108).This article explored the relationship between community interaction and teaching about healthy eating habits from religion organizations. This article is trustworthy on many different levels including credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability. Through discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of this article will provide evidence to the†¦show more content†¦Pradeilles et al., explain in the method session how a mixed methods design provided a wider in-depth understand on overweight and obese prevention in the community. The Community Readiness Model survey was used to generate to how re ady this community is for obesity interventions and the Focus Group Discussions was complemented by providing an in-depth interpretation of the scores achieved to help to understand what might be appropriate target points for future interventions (Pradeilles et al., 2016, p. 3). This article provides any different areas which prove credibility. The transferability of a study according to Wright (2014) is the concept of external validity which is when the study and its findings could be repeated by other researchers working in different venues (p.115). â€Å"Researchers should provide sufficient information on the informants and the research context to enable the reader to assess the findings’ capability of being fit or transferable† (Cope, 2017, p. 89). The study by Pradeilles et al, provided a detailed time line, note-taking methods and criteria for choice of codes to demonstration its transferability. 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The Usa Beef Exported To Eu Is Safe And Should Not Be Banned Free Essays

string(151) " four decades have confirmed that the proper use of these compounds, according to approved registered labels, poses no risk to human or animal health\." It has been a decade since the European Union (EU) issued a 10-year ban of U. S. imported beef treated with hormone additives. We will write a custom essay sample on The Usa Beef Exported To Eu Is Safe And Should Not Be Banned or any similar topic only for you Order Now The primary reason set by EU was the fact that â€Å"scientific advertisers are convinced the hormone additives in beef are harmful to human health† (James, Barry 1999). Despite the fact that the World Trade Organization (WTO), the international body that regulates international trade policies and laws, ruled out the ban, the EU preferred to defy such ruling. Such a vital economic event posed multi-faceted effects in the international relations of both nations: economic, political, ethical and cultural relations. The main point is not the ban itself, rather, it is the fact that there has been no solid scientific evidences yet established by the EU before it ordered the ban on US hormone-treated beef. In fact, three neutral members of the WTO panel arbitrators ruled that the EU’s decade-old ban on the import of hormone-treated beef broke global trade rules (Thompson, Sharon R. 1999 cited in Orr, Rena 2001). This paper will focus on the health safety of hormone-treated beef exported by U. S. to the EU. In this premise, this paper will present facts and figures that will prove the safety claims relative to hormone additives using scientific studies by the representatives of both nations. The events leading up to the ban on the domestic use of hormones in cattle raising and on imports of hormone-treated beef are important in explaining the political longevity of the issue in Europe. In many ways the story begins with the emergence of non-governmental institutions, such as the consumer and environmental groups, together with the rise of the European Parliament, each cutting their political teeth on issues that appeared to resonate with public opinion. The beef-hormone controversy was made to measure for these organizations. Trade concerns were not dominant in the early years, and the disciplines applied by trade rules were in any case weak. European livestock producers were searching for ways to stimulate growth in cattle, and took eagerly to the use of hormones, but sometimes with inadequate knowledge of the consequences of misuse of such chemicals. Regulatory control sometimes slipped between the cracks, as coordination and harmonization of national regulations progressed haltingly in the European Union. The United States has about 90% of its beef production raised with growth hormones (Paulson, Michael 1999). Growth hormones are injected to cattle for the purpose of enhancing muscle and fat growth and thereby allowing cattle to produce more milk (Bald, Renee and Bill Bigelow 2002). The process is as simple as injecting tiny pellets of these hormones into the ears of the cattle (Jacobs, Paul 1999). Such hormones are approved and permitted to be legally used as per federal laws by ranchers in producing meaty and lean cows (Paulson, Michael 1999). There are generally six types of hormones used in beef production and three of these are natural sex hormones- testosterone, progesterone and oestradiol-17 beta (Bald, Renee and Bill Bigelow 2002). In the fact sheet published by Health Canada (2005), hormonal growth promoters are defined and explained as follows: â€Å"Hormonal growth promoters are naturally occurring or synthetic products. They are approved for use in beef cattle. The effect of hormonal growth promoters (HGPs) is to increase lean tissue growth. Fat deposition is reduced and since fat is so energy dense, food conversion efficiency is increased. The result is a healthier product which is produced at a lower cost to the consumer. † The fact sheet also defined the growth hormone somatotropin as â€Å"a naturally occurring substance in both humans and animals. It is responsible for skeletal, organ and cell growth’’ and Recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST) as â€Å"a synthetic version of the naturally occurring growth hormone somatotropin which is approved for use in the US to increase the production of milk in dairy cattle. † The safety of growth promoters has been confirmed by the Codex Alementarius. Codex Alementarius with FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives recommended minimum daily intake of 17 beta estradiol, progesterone and testosterone but maximum residue limit was not indicated (Orr, Rena 2001). â€Å"This means that the available data on the identity and concentration of residues of the veterinary drug in animal tissues indicate a wide margin of safety for consumption of residues in food when the drug is used according to good practice in the use of veterinary drugs† (ibid). As background information, the Codex program is under the supervision and sponsorship of the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization. The said program aims to develop food standards that would fit the requirements or needs of participating nations of which as of 2001 as already 150 nations. Primarily, Codex program targets to minimize non-tariff trade barriers. Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), on the other hand is an independent international arm composed of experts in food general health and safety issues. It is this international body that focuses on the scientific evaluation of a veterinary drug without consideration of government policies and politics (Orr, Rena 2001). Codex Alementarius with FAO/WHO concluded that the presence of drug residues does not present health concern and does not pose any health risk to humans (JECFA Fifty-second Meeting: Summary and Conclusions, 1999 cited in Orr, Rena 2001). In addition, JECFA concluded that there is no need to establish maximum residue levels for the hormones Estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone because the presence of residues would not present a health concern (ibid). The Lamming Committee convention (1982) and the Scientific Conference on Meat Production (1995) confirmed growth promoters are safe (Galvin, Timothy US Dept of Agriculture, 2000). Timothy Galvin is the Administrator of Foreign Agricultural Service of US Department of Agriculture. In his statement before the Subcommittee on Forestry, Conservation and Rural Revitalization, Galvin stressed that â€Å"the EU’s ban ignores a body of scientific evidence showing that the growth promotants in question are safe when used in accordance with good animal husbandry practices† (Galvin, 2000). Studies in the last four decades have confirmed that the proper use of these compounds, according to approved registered labels, poses no risk to human or animal health. You read "The Usa Beef Exported To Eu Is Safe And Should Not Be Banned" in category "Papers" EU’s own Scientific Conference on Growth Promotants held in 1995 reached the same conclusion (BBC News Online, May 13, 1999). In its statement released and published in BBC News Online on May 13, 1999, the United States speakers insist those experts from JECFA, FAO and WHO have already released its reconfirmation on the safety of growth hormones under accepted veterinary practice. With this, there should have been no reason to continue with the ban. In addition, they pointed out that â€Å"EU already presented these arguments to an impartial WTO dispute-settlement panel in 1997 and lost and even in its appeal a year after† (ibid). Galvin (2000) also stressed in his statement: â€Å"In each of its decisions, the WTO found that the EU beef hormone ban is not supported by an adequate risk analysis nor is there credible evidence to indicate that there are health risks associated with hormone-treated beef. † The US Food Administration, USDA and WTO and other researchers have concluded that growth hormones are safe if used properly (Lusk, et. al. 2003). Although EU consumers have negative perceptions as to the health hazards of genetically modified foods, of which hormone-treated beef belongs, it should not be a basis for the ban. Perceptions are clearly different from scientifically proven evidences of health risks. According to Bureau of Consumer Unions based in Brussels, EU consumers are demanding â€Å"risk-free† foods because of the phobia they got from past experiences of pesticide contaminated meats (Lusk, et. al. 2003). However, if we are to base on available facts from scientific studies, hormones are unlike pesticides that can pose health hazards when in food. In fact, there are studies that show that hormones are naturally present in infinitesimal amounts in all meat whether implanted or not (QA Growth Promoting Hormones, cited in Orr 2001). Aside from this, the National Cattlemen Beef Association (2001) stressed that â€Å"the amount of estrogen in plant-source foods is larger than in meat. A standard serving of potatoes contains 225 nanograms of estrogen while a three-ounce serving of beef from an implanted steer contains 1. 9 nanograms of estrogen. † Published in the Los Angeles Times in April 19, 1999, Paul Jacobs presented the argument of the US government that three of the six hormones used in beef production are legal as per federal laws and that these are hormones that are naturally in the human system, thus confirming the statement of the National Cattlemen Beef Association as stated above. Ironic to the EU ban, scientific panel organized by the EU agreed with the WTO stand that these hormones are perfectly safe (Jacobs, Paul 1999). Even if 17-beta estradiol has tumor initiating and promoting effects, the substance is freely available over the counter in the United States along with other hormone additives (James, Barry 1999). The human body naturally produces hormones in amounts greater than what is being consumed by eating meat or any food (National Cattlemen Beef Association cited in Orr, Rena 2001). â€Å"What often is not recognized is that the [natural] levels that are found in other animal foods, such as eggs or milk or butter, are substantially higher than those that occur in animal tissue as a result of use of these hormones† (Ellis, Richard cited in Jacobs, Paul 1999). Ellis is the director of scientific research oversight for the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Dan Glickman, the U. S. secretary of agriculture, also insists that â€Å"U. S. beef, whether grown with hormones or not, is absolutely safe, and that EU scientists have consistently failed to come up with proof to the contrary† (Barry, James 1999). EU is also fearful of the effect of rBST hormone, as one of the six hormones being used in cattle production in the US. The said hormone was said to have an effect of increasing the rate of infection in cattle. Although this is true, the infection is not applicable in humans (Bald, Renee and Bill Bigelow 2002). Another fear of the EU consumers and its government is the mutation effects of hormones. Although EU scientists identified at least one commonly used hormone (17 beta estradiol) as complete carcinogen, it was a common mistake to assume that the substance like other hormones causes cell mutation (James, Barry 1999). Such hormones are feared as endocrine disrupters which was explained by an American scientist as having an effect in the process of cell development but does not have solid explanation as to how it really works as of this moment (Sonnenschein, Carlos cited in Barry, James 1999). The scientist explained that â€Å"in assessing the risk of endocrine disrupters, therefore, it is necessary to consider their effect not only on individual cells but on the relations among cells. † In this ground, EU does not have the reasonable and supported evidence as to fearing the mutation effects of hormone-treated beef especially with humans. â€Å"Lacking proof, the EU can only fall back on observed effects, such as the specific distribution and observed increase of hormone-associated diseases, such as breast cancer and prostate cancer, in many countries of the world that may be caused by hormones and hormone-like substances in the human diet† (ibid). Growth promoting hormones has been used in the beef industry for decades by countries other than the U. S. The Health Protection Branch of Health Canada approved the use of natural hormones: 17 estradiol, progesterone, testosterone and synthetic hormones as zeranol, trenbolone acetate and melengestrol acetate (Taylor, 1983). The Center for Global Food Issues also has approved the safety of the growth hormones in beef production in relation to human health. There are three factors enumerated and explained by the scientific body. The first factor is the process by which the hormones are administered to the cattle. According to the authors, the doses of hormone implant are specific as to legal and authorized doses per FDA regulations (Avery, Alex and Dennis Avery 2008). The authors also stressed that â€Å"the implant ensures that the hormone is released into the animals’ bloodstream very slowly so that the concentration of the hormone in the animal remains relatively constant and low† (ibid). Here is an interesting fact stated by the authors: â€Å"Because the ear is discarded at harvest, the implant does not enter the food chain. † There is no way that cattle raisers or producers of hormone-treated beef will administer the hormone in excess of what is required since it will just bring them additional cost for such unnecessary step. This second factor stressed by Avery et. al. (2008) is very significant in proving the cattle raisers were stuck to the limits of hormone dosage and that is economically wise. IN fact, there is very little impact on weight gain when such hormone will be administered beyond required dosage. Avery (et. al. 2008) also stressed that USDA is conducting annual monitoring of hormone administration in cattle to ensure everything is done with proper precautions and safety measures. The third factor is relative to the dosage of hormones administered in cattle and its impact on hormone levels in beef. Even with reference to the natural hormones produced by the human body, such dosage is comparatively low level. â€Å"A pound of beef raised using estradiol contains approximately 15,000 times less of this hormone than the amount produced daily by the average man and about 9 million times less than the amount produced by a pregnant woman† (Avery, Alex et. al. 2008). According to JECFA’s calculation, even if a person is consuming one pound of beef and that the amount of hormone in such beef is at the highest level of ingestion amount (50 nanograms of estradiol, it is still less than one-thirtieth of the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of estradiol for a 75 pound child. This is based on the regulatory requirement set by WHO/FAO Expert Committee (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. 1999 cited in Avery, et. al. 2008). In a separate study, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), stated that â€Å"a person would need to eat over 13 pounds of beef from an implanted steer to equal the amount of estradiol naturally found in a single egg and that a glass of milk contains about nine times as much estradiol as a half-pound of beef from an implanted steer† (Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA 1999 cited in Avery et. al. 2008). Avery et. al. (2008) stressed that governing bodies that can prove the safety of hormone treated beef exported by the United States which include The European Agriculture Commission Scientific Conference on Growth Promotion in Meat Production (1995) and Sub-Group of the Veterinary Products Committee of the British Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (1999). Having been proven of its safety, let us now look into the consumer preferences and awareness as to buying hormone-treated beef produced in the United States. Consumers are actually aware of Genetically Modified Foods (GM Foods) but are still willing to buy them. A survey on US consumers found that concern on the hazards of hormone residues in food ranked average on the list, even below the concerns for contaminants (bacteria and pesticides) (Kramer and Penner, cited in Lusk, et. al. 2003). In a separate study, by the Food Marketing Institute found that only 1% of consumers volunteered to be concerned with hormone residue (Lusk, et. al 2003). Apart from this, 65% of US consumers are aware of biotechnology, 73% of who were willing to buy GM foods while 21% biotechnology as health risk (Hoban, 1996). A survey of EU consumers found that consumer awareness of biotechnology ranged from 55 to 57% in France and the United Kingdom to 91% in Germany. Only 30% of German consumers were willing to buy GM foods whereas 57% viewed biotechnology as a health risk. In France and the United Kingdom, 60 and 63% were willing to buy GM foods with 38 and 39% viewed them as a health risk (Hoban 1996). An experimental auction found that consumers placed more value on the leanness of pork than the use of hormone itself (Lusk, et. al. 2003). A survey of US student consumers found that 70% were unwilling to pay a premium to exchange a bag of GM corn chips for a bag of non-GM corn chips but 20% were willing to pay at least $. 20/oz in exchange (Lusk, et. al. 2003). EU’s ban of US beef for safety reasons is baseless and a clear violation. WTO rules 3 times that the ban on the use of certain hormones to promote growth of cattle violated the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement (Galvin, Timothy, Foreign Agricultural Service, US Department of Agriculture, 2000). Europeans who traditionally get their beef from aging bulls and dairy cows–are sometimes subjected to far higher amounts of natural sex hormones than they would get from U. S. cattle. Americans point out that a slaughtered bull, for example, can have 10 times more natural testosterone in its flesh than a treated steer (Jacobs, Paul, The Los Angeles Times, 1999). Estrogen levels from treated cattle are, on average, 3% higher than the meat from an untreated animal. For testosterone and progesterone, the differences are less than one-tenth of 1% (Ellis, Richard, US Dept. of Agriculture cited in Jacobs, 1999). These evidences of the health safety of hormone-treated beef produced by the United States did not move the EU authorities and did not at all lift the ban. As of this time, there has been no solid scientific evidence yet presented by the EU authorities to justify the decade-long ban. Despite the continuing ban on US beef, the federal government, in cooperation with the USDA and the American livestock producers has been taking all the efforts they could possibly exert in keeping the market alive and growing without the EU market. What the government did was to support the cattle raisers and beef producers in seeking and developing new markets to make it up with the lost EU beef market which is undoubtedly significant to the US beef export. â€Å"As a result, U. S. beef exports represent one of the true success stories in our agricultural trade† (Galvin, 2000). Galvin stated that the United States is now able to export more than 80 percent of what is being imported based on volume, and the trade surplus in beef exceeds $1 billion annually. † The bottom line therefore is that the United States should not be wasting its time and resources in appealing to the EU to lift the ban on hormone-treated beef. This is primarily because it has already proven its case on the safety of the products. Secondly, the United States have proven itself able to establish and develop new markets and strategies to cover what is being lost in the ban. Lastly, the United States have all the resources to support the cattle and beef industry as it can with other industries so what it needs to focus now is to help the industry continue to rise. WORKS CITED Avery, Alex and Dennis Avery (2008). The Environmental Safety and Benefits of Growth Enhancing Pharmaceutical Technologies in Beef Production. Retrieved on March 22, 2008 from http://www. thecattlesite. com/articles/1240/the-environmental-safety-and-benefits-of-growth-enhancing-pharmaceutical-technologies-in-beef-production Bald, Renee and Bill Bigelow (2002). The Beef Hormone Controversy: Whose Free Trade? Retrieved on March 09, 2008 from http://www. rethinkingschools. org/publication/rg/RGBeef. shtml Battle over beef hormones. BBC News Online, May 13, 1999. Retrieved on March 09, 2008 from http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/business/the_economy/342310. stm Galvin, Timothy (2000). Statement of Timothy J. Galvin Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service U. S. Department of Agriculture Before the Subcommittee on Forestry, Conservation and Rural Revitalization Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, Washington, D. C. September 25, 2000. Retrieved on March 09, 2008 from http://www. fas. usda. gov/info/speeches/ct092500. html Health Canada (2005). Questions and Answers – Hormonal Growth Promoters. Retrieved on March 22, 2008 from http://www. hc-sc. gc. ca/dhp-mps/vet/faq/growth_hormones_promoters_croissance_hormonaux_stimulateurs_e. html Hormones in Cattle. Retrieved on March 09, 2008 from http://www. foodsafetynetwork. ca/en/article-details. php? a=4c=19sc=162id=308 Jacobs, Paul (1999). U. S. , Europe Lock Horns in Beef Hormone Debate. The Los Angeles Times, April 09, 1999. Retrieved on March 09, 2008 from http://www. organicconsumers. org/Toxic/beefhormone. cfm James, Barry (1999). Behind Contested EU Ban, a Scientific Puzzle: Battle to Prove Beef Hormone Risk. The Herald Tribune, October 18, 1999. Retrieved on March 09, 2008 from http://www. iht. com/articles/1999/10/18/snhorm. t. php Lusk, Jayson L. ; Roosen, Jutta ; Fox, John A. (2003). Demand for beef from cattle administered growth hormones of fed genetically modified corn: a comparison of consumers in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. American Journal of Agricultural Economics. Retrieved on March 09, 2008 from http://goliath. ecnext. com/coms2/summary_0199-2500157_ITM National Cattlemen Beef Association: Myths Facts about Beef Production: Hormones and Antibiotics. http://www. beef. org/librfacts/mythfact/mythfact_11. html in Orr, Rena (2001). Growth-promoting Hormones in Cattle. Retrieved on March 09, 2008 from http://www. foodsafetynetwork. ca/en/article-details. php? a=4c=19sc=162id=308 Orr, Rena (2001). Growth-promoting Hormones in Cattle. Retrieved on March 09, 2008 from http://www. foodsafetynetwork. ca/en/article-details. php? a=4c=19sc=162id=308 Paulson, Michael (1999). WTO Case File: The Beef Hormone Case. Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 22, 1999. Retrieved on March 09, 2008 from http://seattlepi. nwsource. com/national/case22. shtml QA Growth Promoting Hormones: Contact: Julie Bousman 202-347-0228 http://hill. beef. org/ft/qagph. htm in Orr, Rena (2001). Growth-promoting Hormones in Cattle. Retrieved on March 09, 2008 from http://www. foodsafetynetwork. ca/en/article-details. php? a=4c=19sc=162id=308 Taylor, W. (1983): Risks Associated with the Exposure of Human Subjects to Endogenous and Exogenous Anabolic Steroids Anabolics in Animal Production. OIE p 273-287 in Orr, Rena (2001). Growth-promoting Hormones in Cattle. Retrieved on March 09, 2008 from http://www. foodsafetynetwork. ca/en/article-details. php? a=4c=19sc=162id=308 Thompson, Sharon R (1999): International Harmonization Issues. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice. Vol 15 No 1, 181-195 in Orr, Rena (2001). Growth-promoting How to cite The Usa Beef Exported To Eu Is Safe And Should Not Be Banned, Papers

Case Study-Shippit Company-Free-Samples for Students-Myassignment

Question: Discuss about the Case Study-Shippit Company. Answer: Introduction This is a report, which throws light on an emerging company, which looks promising and can become a multinational company in the near future. The company that has been chosen for the report is named Shippit. Shippit is a start up company that has been established in the year of 2014 and has its headquarters in Pyrmont (Shippit., 2017). The report includes the background of the company, the product and the target market, macro environment and micro environment analysis of the company. Background Shippit is a start up company, which has used innovative ways to establish their business in the market. The company acts as an intermediary between the companies and the consumer and provides extraordinary services on both the sides. The company offers various packages where the customers are allowed to choose among the various delivery systems. The tracking system developed by the company is very unique and customers can use multiple trackers to track the whereabouts of their respective packages (Swan Swan, 2017). The company provides very fast delivery services and they do all the bargaining for the consumers to make sure that the consumers save the desired amount of money for the project. The company joins the retailers with the traditional courier services, which helps to speed up the delivery processes for the retailer. The retailer saves a lot of money on transportation and the quality of service offered by Shippit is of utmost quality. This innovative idea of becoming a seco nd line of distributor among the retailer and the traditional parcel services is helped the company grow so fast and become one of the most promising upcoming companies in Australia (Swan Swan, 2017). Pest analysis Political The political stability of Australia is good and the economy of the country is growing at a rapid rate. There are less numbers of barriers and the laws related to shipping quite liberal for the country (Brindley, 2017). The legal laws of the country will not cause any hindrance for the company and the political environment is working in the favour of Shippit. Economic The market economy of the country is very good and ecommerce has flourished which has increased the demand of shipping. The market economy is growing at an unimaginable rate and the demand of the e commerce in the country is expected to increase even more (Yao Minner, 2017). This will act as a benefit for the company and at the same time attracts the attention of multinational companies in the market who has the ability to diversify their business portfolio. Social The social market trends show that more and more consumers are buying products from the online medium, which has increased the demand for the logistics companies (Attaran, 2017). This market will eventually become more popular and the company has established a good reputation in the market, which will act as an advantage for the company. Technological Globalization has lead to the advancement of technology and Australia has been making improvements in this filed. However, the main objective of the company is to make the operations simpler for their customers and the company has made efforts to use path-breaking technology to provide them with live tracking platforms (Turkulainen Swink, 2017). SWOT analysis Strength Weakness Opportunities Threat Good reputation Workforce is skilled Innovation Company has been supplied with surplus of funds Less competition in the market Relatively new brand Market penetration is less Expansion in other regions International expansion Up gradation of the existing technology Presence of other big companies New entrants in the same market Existing substitutes in the market The swot analysis of the company shows that the company is in a promising condition right now and they have developed a good reputation in the market. The employees for the company are very skilled and the company has been able to maintain the operational output. The innovative ways the company executes has grabbed the attention of many investors and the company currently has surplus of funds (Jali, Abas Ariffin, 2017). The availability of capital for Shippit will help them to achieve their goals and objectives within a short period. Moreover, there are less number of companies in this genre so the competition in the market of the company is less. However, the company is relatively new and they have a long way to go, they will have to increase the penetration by expanding their businesses to other parts of Australia (Turkulainen Swink, 2017). The company also has the opportunity to expand their business at an international level because of the surplus funds available to them. Howev er, there are large companies who can act as a substitute for the business so the company will have to make sure that they maintain goodwill and image of the brand. Business Model There are lot of conventional business models but the company needs a unique business model to improve their growth in the market. Freemium Model is a model, which is apt for companies who offer business and personal services though the online medium. This model allows the company to provide bare minimum service at minimum cost where as the addition services will be provided taking adequate cost. The company maintains a simple cloud platform, which provides efficient service to the company, and at the same time they have the option of providing variety of services according to the needs of the consumers. Recommendations The company has been able to capture the market because of the fact they have kept the procedure for the consumers as simple as possible. The company will have to keep on doing the same thing as it the unique selling proposition for Shippit. The cloud based shipping system used by the company is very simple for the consumers to understand for the consumers. Thus, the company should maintain this factor even if they have to change the structure of the organization. Thus, it can be concluded from the report that innovation is providing start up companies with competitive advantage in the market. Moreover, the consumers are ready for something new and simple, the companies who will be able to identify the need of the consumers and capitalize on with the help of innovation will gain competitive advantage in the long run. Thus, it can be determined that Shippit is in a good position in the market and they should keep on integrating their overall process of supply chain so that they can create a stronger and better business model. References Attaran, M. (2017). Additive Manufacturing: The Most Promising Technology to Alter the Supply Chain and Logistics.Journal of Service Science and Management,10(03), 189. Brindley, C. (Ed.). (2017).Supply chain risk. Taylor Francis. Jali, M. N., Abas, Z., Ariffin, A. S. (2017). Social Innovation in the context of Strategic Knowledge Management Processes for Supply Chain Performance Enhancement.International Journal of Supply Chain Management,6(1), 233-237 Shippit. (2017).Shippit.Shippit.com. Retrieved 1 August 2017, from https://www.shippit.com/ Swan, D., Swan, D. (2017).Shippit hopes $3m delivers goods.Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 1 August 2017, from https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/shippit-is-parcelled-up-ready-for-series-a-capital-delivery/news-story/9a4a8e4a6dac190e7616261f13565738 Swan, D., Swan, D. (2017).Shippit says no to extra cash.Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 1 August 2017, from https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/shippit-says-no-to-extra-funding-in-latest-raise/news-story/9049019e1c191fde4603a5bed17ebb14 Turkulainen, V., Swink, M. L. (2017). Supply chain personnel as knowledge resources for innovationa contingency view.Journal of Supply Chain Management,53(3), 41-59. Yao, M., Minner, S. (2017). Review of multi-supplier inventory models in supply chain management: An update.

Justin Timberlake †The 20/20 Experience free essay sample

RB music has been extremely lacking in passion and originality lately. When I hear the hopped-up club beats of Chris Brown or the remarkably similar Usher songs, I feel as if the genre has forgotten about creativity, and is just focused on making money and producing music people can dance to. â€Å"The 20/20 Experience† is the first RB album in a long time that feels new and fresh. Justin Timberlake reaches for the stratosphere and ends up in this star in what might be his magnum opus. Justin leaves behind all the pop stylings of â€Å"Justified† and â€Å"FutureSex/LoveSounds,† instead going for a more grown-up style of old-fashioned Motown soul. However, he stays modern by embracing electronic instruments even more than he did on his biggest hit, â€Å"SexyBack.† His soaring falsetto sounds beautiful and rich against both the lush violins and chugging hip-hop beats. â€Å"20/20† opens with the best song on the album, â€Å"Pusher Love Girl. We will write a custom essay sample on Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page † It starts with Motown-style background vocals and piano, and ends with beautiful electronica similar to Portishead. Following that is â€Å"Suit Tie,† the biggest pop track on the album and the one youve probably heard before. Its fun to dance to and has a hot hook, and Jay-Z has a great cameo, but its not nearly as artistically brilliant as the rest of the album. Timberlake is a newlywed, having married actress Jessica Biel last October, so its no surprise that most titles here are love songs. â€Å"Mirrors† is a beautiful, though long, love song with heaps of violin and synthesizers. It follows in the RB love song tradition of greats such as Marvin Gaye. The beautiful strings remind me of one of Timberlakes most ambitious songs to date, â€Å"What Goes Around †¦ Comes Around† from â€Å"FutureSex/LoveSounds.† Songs like â€Å"Dont Hold the Wall† and â€Å"Blue Ocean Floor† show Timberlake pushing his creative limits far past club favorites like â€Å"SexyBack† and â€Å"Rock Your Body,† incorporating elements of jazz, trance, and even Radiohead-like indie rock, with his brave use of the theremin on several songs. While some do run a little long, such as â€Å"Strawberry Bubblegum,† an eight-minute song about how his girlfriend smells like, well, bubblegum, Timberlakes charm shines through on every track. If you are a die-hard JT fan, an old-fashioned soul lover, or an indie-rock adventurer like me, I suggest you buy this album immediately. Justin Timberlake proves himself to be a true talent who can last for the ages. Its really nice to see him becoming a master music craftsman again. But, then again, you cant call it a comeback if hes been there for years.

Free Essays on Intelligence And I.Q

INTELLIGENCE & I.Q TESTING In this essay I will be examining the question â€Å"Are I.Q tests an accurate measure of intelligence?† In order to do this I must first define the world intelligence and second examine the context of an I.Q test. Defining the word intelligence is in itself a complex task, does being intelligent mean a person has the potential to learn and apply their knowledge, to solve problems or to merely think rationally and deal with situations effectively?. And if so are these qualities learnt or are we born with them. Psychologists have many conflicting views on the subject and the debate over its true meaning is still continuing. What influences our intelligence is also inconclusive. Some psychologists believe it may be due to environmental factors whilst others believe it is genetics and even health that are the main influence. My own view is that all the factors play a part in our intellect. I believe that we are first influenced by our genetic make up but the environment in which we develop influences the extent to which our given ability is used, good parenting with stimulation and encouragement and a good social environment which opportunities must surely play a key role, but there is no clear conclusion and the definitions will vary depending on what you read. So to try and put forward some kind of summary, if at all possible, may be to say that intelligence is the ability to respond to a given situation in an appropriate and accurate way, whether the reason for response be due to innate or learnt factors. Does an IQ test measure this ability? I.Q tests were first proposed in 1904 by Alfred Binet as a means of assessing problems associated with subnormal children in schools. Binet was to devise a test to measure the intellect of these children whilst relying on no particular intelligence theory. He was only interested in testing a child’s ability against children of the same age. He tried to ... Free Essays on Intelligence And I.Q Free Essays on Intelligence And I.Q INTELLIGENCE & I.Q TESTING In this essay I will be examining the question â€Å"Are I.Q tests an accurate measure of intelligence?† In order to do this I must first define the world intelligence and second examine the context of an I.Q test. Defining the word intelligence is in itself a complex task, does being intelligent mean a person has the potential to learn and apply their knowledge, to solve problems or to merely think rationally and deal with situations effectively?. And if so are these qualities learnt or are we born with them. Psychologists have many conflicting views on the subject and the debate over its true meaning is still continuing. What influences our intelligence is also inconclusive. Some psychologists believe it may be due to environmental factors whilst others believe it is genetics and even health that are the main influence. My own view is that all the factors play a part in our intellect. I believe that we are first influenced by our genetic make up but the environment in which we develop influences the extent to which our given ability is used, good parenting with stimulation and encouragement and a good social environment which opportunities must surely play a key role, but there is no clear conclusion and the definitions will vary depending on what you read. So to try and put forward some kind of summary, if at all possible, may be to say that intelligence is the ability to respond to a given situation in an appropriate and accurate way, whether the reason for response be due to innate or learnt factors. Does an IQ test measure this ability? I.Q tests were first proposed in 1904 by Alfred Binet as a means of assessing problems associated with subnormal children in schools. Binet was to devise a test to measure the intellect of these children whilst relying on no particular intelligence theory. He was only interested in testing a child’s ability against children of the same age. He tried to ...

The Netflix Financial Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Netflix Financial Statement - Essay Example Netflix needs to develop some new business strategies in order to survive in this rapidly changing movie industry. The firm can emerge as a reputable provider of DVDs by maintaining its brand identity and differentiating itself from its competitors present in the market. Meanwhile, the streaming service of Netflix can be considered as a complementary service to the firm’s DVDs rental business in the coming years. Although the movie watching market or the video market is mature the streaming market has not yet fully emerged. This means that Netflix cannot just rely on its strategies of the past but must try developing a hybrid strategy that will help in addressing the future market demands and customer’s expectations. An emerging market offers new companies an easy entry pass. Therefore Netflix must make sure that all of its strategies should be focused on the new and emerging market practices. The differentiation strategy is where the company concentrates all of its efforts in developing a single product and then incorporating unique and different attributes for meeting the needs and addressing the demands of its customers. When a firm adds value and uniqueness to their products for attracting customer, it is likely that the customer will be willing to pay the much higher price for such products and services. Same is the case with Netflix. The firm entered the online business and targeted the online renting of DVDs. This strategy can be achieved by Netflix by using the recently developed or the upcoming marketing technologies which have not been yet incorporated by other companies in their business. Netflix introduced an integrated search engine in its newly launched website enabling the customers to search and access the products of their choice. The management of Netflix must reflect ingenuity and talent while marketing their products by employing the already establishe d and available supply chain technology and infrastructure.

BUSINESS FUNCTIONS & PROCESSES Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

BUSINESS FUNCTIONS & PROCESSES - Assignment Example These functions within an automotive industry based organisation include automobile design development, formulation of effective marketing and advertisement strategies and implementing them accordingly (Ing. Punzenberger COPA-DATA GmbH, 2010). In the similar context, operations management within the automotive industry can be described as all the functions and activities associated with effective utilisation of raw materials for carrying out the manufacturing and the maintenance processes. This includes keeping record of all the fixed cost and variable costs associated with the daily production process. Operations management is also at times referred as the parent process of production management. Within this parent process, all other management processes such as inventory management, human resource management, and production management exist (Slideshare Inc., 2014). The concept has gained importance due to the increasing competitiveness in the current marketing scenario. Adding to this, this concept has proved its effectiveness and values provision to the automotive industry. The value part can be described in relation to that of quality, quantity, time factor and profitability. As already described above, production management within the automotive industry is all about manufacturing the demanded quantity of cars with set quality standards within specified period of time to make its availability in the market certain. It also ensures that the manufacturing process gets carried out in a timely fashion and effective selling strategies get formulated through which high profitability can be attained by the companies (Ing. Punzenberger COPA-DATA GmbH, 2010). In contrast to production management, which focuses on profitability earning, the operations management provides value to the manufacturing companies in terms of cost cutting. As

Labor Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Labor Management - Essay Example Workers become members of unions seeing the past record, strength of the union and the reputation of its leaders in the organization. Union security often works to the advantage of the organization as well, because in such a situation the management holds discussions with a representative body of the workers and comes out with requisite policies. In addition, the management also gets a feel of the shortcomings prevailing in the organization. Ensuring the basic minimum wage standards: Law of the land stipulates some minimum wage for different types of jobs. But at times, some companies try to maximize their profits by cutting on the salaries and perks of their workers. The individual worker finds it difficult to raise his/her voice against such practices fearing adverse reaction from the management. But when such instances are taken up by the management, it helps in resolving the issues without any adverse impact on the individual worker. Protection of the basic human rights of workers: While working in difficult situations like coal factories, steel furnaces, chemical and fertilizer industry, colder places etc. the workers are supposed to have some protective equipment or shorter working hours in the harmful conditions. In case the management tries to compromise on these aspects, unions try to highlight it with the management or at other appropriate forums. Collective Bargaining Agreements: Quite often the wage stan... fixed by the management in consultation with the workers representatives by way of mutual agreements termed as Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA). Protection against discriminatory policies: If there are any effort by the management to discriminate on the basis of race, sex, age etc. the union will take up the matter with the management. Providing an informal forum to discuss problems concerning personal issues or official matters: Union meetings, conferences and conventions provide opportunities for interaction amongst the members, union representatives and the management. Quite often, it proves a very useful forum for coming out with remedial measures and taking feedback. (3) Identify actions by Government that have tended to strengthened or weakened union security in the private sector. Unions are not always liked by the government and the management, for a variety of reasons. Therefore the tug of war continues between the management and union representatives. Some actions of the government in the recent past which have resulted into strengthening the unions are; i. Enacting laws protecting the rights of workers ii. Fixing minimum wage standards and working hours iii. Taking cognizance of the hazardous situations in which workers of some industries have to operate and stipulating the requirements for adequate safety precautions. One of the key actions initiated by the governments which have resulted into weakening of the union movement is the excessive emphasis on outsourcing and contractual employment, which at times makes the workers ineligible for the membership of unions. Off-shoring and outsourcing implies that works are done by people in other countries, which again results in attrition in the organizations, thus weakening the unions. B. (1) Discuss

The Operational Management Of The Hsbc Marketing Essay

The Operational Management Of The Hsbc Marketing Essay This paper aims to explain the operational management of the HSBC and how to develop and apply the concept of operational management, which refers to the operational routines that shape the way the firms strategic path is developed over time. There are total four task of analysis in this paper. The first task is to analysis the orientation of it organization and how this orientation affects the ability to deliver the key operational components for its survival such as speed, quality and flexibility. The second task is to identify the key changes within the organization. The third task, is to argue the case for or against to maintaining its orientation in the organization. At the last task is to discuss the important of new product development and how the operation can input in the development hence to reduce the risk of failure of products and services in the market. Outside the stakeholders are taking an increasing interest in the activity of the organization. Mainly look to the outer circle what the organizations has actually done such as: good or bad, in terms of its products and services, in terms of its impact on the environment and on local communities, or how it treats and develops its workforce. Out of the various stakeholders, the financial analysts who are predominantly focused as well as past financial performance on quality of management as an indicator of likely future performance. Flexibility- HSBC continues to enhance certain products development which the core to the companys customer group offering and some products will be managed or coordinated globally. These products include the HSBC cards, which exploits the experience and platforms provided by the Insurance, Cash Management, Household, for scale and international reach, Asset Management, Custody and Funds Administration, and Retirement Benefits. Quality- Besides that, improving the products, HSBC will ensure the customers that the company has the best capabilities, and will be able to offer a comprehensive service to their product expertise globally. Developing and improving their product is important because always aside from the trust of the consumers of the bank, this is also a good source of their profit for with good products and services, the HSBC can attract more customers and maintain old ones, and in turn, determine their success in the market, and maintain their reputation being the worlds local bank. Dependability- Through improving and developing their products and their services, the HSBC can deliver growth by enhancing their revenue generation culture, and this involves four aspects. These aspects including strengthening use of marketing as a key management tool of the business lines, rewarding revenue performance and penalizing mediocrity, focusing investment on businesses and geographies with largest growth potential, and benchmarking growth targets and achievement rigorously against peer group. Growth can continuously be achieved if these aspects will be implemented effectively and efficiency in the market. 1.3.2 The marketing strategic of HSBC HSBC launch the managing for growth program, which is a strategic plan that provides the company with a blueprint for growth and development the company business. The strategy builds on the companys strengths and addresses the areas where further improvement is considered both attractive and attainable. Its core values are integral to its strategy, and communicating them to their customers, shareholders and staffs is deemed as intrinsic to the plan. These values comprise an emphasis on long-term, high productivity through teamwork, ethical client relationship, a confident and ambitious sense of excellence, being international in outlook and character; prudence; creativity and customer focused marketing. The key marketing and business strategy for HSBC is as follows: Brand: make HSBC and its hexagon symbol one of the worlds leading brands for customer experience and corporate social responsibility. Personal Financial Services: drive growth in key markets and through appropriate channels to make HSBC the strongest global player in personal financial services. Consumer Finance: extend the reach of this business to existing customers through a wider product range and penetrate new markets Commercial Banking: make the most of HSBCs international customer base through effective relationship management and improved product offerings in all the Groups markets. Corporate, Investment Banking and Markets: accelerate growth by enhancing capital markets and advisory capabilities focused on client service in defined sectors where HSBC has critical relevance and strength. Private Banking: serve the Groups highest value personal clients around the world. People: attract, develop and motivate HSBCs people, rewarding success and rejecting mediocrity. TSR: fulfil HSBCs TSR target by achieving strong competitive performances in earnings per share growth and efficiency. 1.3.3 The marketing strategic perspective of HSBC The basis for HSBC to develop their strategies is aim to maintain their global competitiveness and reputation. The marketing strategic of HSBC delivery the following key operational components of: Speed- In order to effectiveness the fast product or service delivery and client relationships, the HR team would retain their individual specialist responsibilities and knowledge base on each business area would have a specific individual in the team to act as their client relationship manager (CRM). This is a simple change given that each team member based on their expertise, developed deeper relationships with certain business areas than others. The CRM give the team an up to date overview of all activities in several business area, the businesses challenges, needs and wishes at any point in time. This created a situation that often occurs in small HR teams with competent and enthusiastic members, namely over utilization by specific business areas and a focus on operational delivery. This is again a product of the way the business and team have grown. Team members keen to deliver good quality development to the business have jump at the opportunity to create a positive relationshi p where a need have to identify. Quality- HSBC is to maintain their position as the worlds local bank, which enables them to approach each country uniquely, blending local knowledge with a worldwide operation platform. This is a good approach for each of these regions are distinct from each other, having different culture and beliefs, making it difficult to implement a single project for all client around the world. The difference in this approach is to addressing the different needs of their customers, which is a good basis from the improvement of customer service at the business organization, and their aim is to find good solutions and techniques in the development and improvement of their rendered products and services. Dependability- Different geographies will provide different products or services to different customers. HSBC will concentrate activities on geographies where growth and critical mass and located. Such activities include global outsourcing strategy, which was also implemented by the company in several countries including in Philippines. The company was able to establish itself in call centers to provide their services in relation to sales and checking of accounts. Outsourcing contributes is to aim of HSBC to focus on the needs of their customers, for these all call centres are responsible for providing their customers with an information regarding their accounts. Call centres agents are also take responsible for answering the queries of customers regarding the company. Flexibility- Usually design or innovate new products or services to their customers, provide various products or flexibility services to fit different customers needs and ability to change the timing of delivery of its product and services to customers. 1.3.4 Comparison of orientation affect operational performance objective in HSBC Operational performance objectives Definition Product orientation Marketing orientation Quality Quality is consistent conformance to customer expectation. By providing high quality product and error free transaction of services to customers. Finding what customers want and expect by using research such as: survey, focus group for interview and other techniques that integrated customers voice. And research must reveal what the customers view of quality and whether customers are getting it. Speed The elapsed time between customers requesting products and services and their receiving them. Provide fast delivering products or fast transaction services to customers. Fast decision to change to improve customers satisfaction. Dependability Delivery or making available, products or services when they were promised to the customers. Different part of countries might deliver different type products or services. Different part of countries might have their own marketing strategy to its customers needs. Flexibility The degree to which an operations process can change what it does, how it is doing it or when it is doing it. Ability to introduce new or modified products and services to customers. -Ability to produce a wide range or mix of products and services. -Ability to change the level of output or activity to produce different quantities or volume of products and services over time. Ability to change the timing of delivery of its product and services. Cost One major operations objective, especially where companies compete with prices is cost. Low price is a universal attractive objective to customers, which can be achieved by producing goods at lower costs. Offer a reasonable price for a product and services that customers can afford to paid. In order to gain competitive advantage, the cost will be identifying through market condition and competitors performance. Task 2 2.0 Market Orientation Market orientation is generally regarded as the implementation of the marketing concept. The marketing concept is a philosophy of doing business, which puts the customers needs at the central of the organisation. In terms of the HSBC bank, the marketing concept starts with the customers needs as the top function of banking purpose. The HSBC must identify these needs and then decide which ones it should try to satisfy. The opportunity to meet bank objectives will occur through the banks efforts to determine customers satisfaction. 2.1 Key features of market Orientation According to Narver and Slater (1990) market orientation composed of three behavioral characteristics: Customer Orientation: understanding the potential customer needs in order to create an added value for him on a continuance basis. Competitor Orientation: knowing the strength and weaknesses as well as capabilities and strategies of key competitors. Inter Functional Coordination: coordinating use of the firm resources for creating high added value to target customers. Figure 1: Narver and Slaters view on market orientation. Source: Narver and Slater (1990). 2.1.1 Customer orientation The vital of this characteristic is to demonstration the understanding and commitment that results in enhanced value to the clients. The key behaviours of a customer approach include such as: providing services of values, researching customer needs, concentrating on needs, committing to customers, focusing on customers satisfaction; reporting and measuring satisfaction, and augmenting existing services. In order to focus customer orientation, HSBC should analyse the behaviour of their customers and using research such as survey, group focus interview and other technique that integrated customers voice to their expectation. 2.1.2 Competitor orientation This characteristic meets with the most resistance, who believe that competition amongst banks is unhealthy and counterproductive. But competition needs to be defined more broadly to include generic competition. Competition, from the viewpoint of the customer, is whatever will directly or indirectly satisfy a need. To understand the market, the HSBC must recognise that there is competition and that it is advantageous to benchmark the bank against other quantity programs and facilities that are offered by other banks as well evaluate the offerings from other generic competition. Key behaviours are open discussion of competitors; evaluating competitor behaviour; assessing competitor strategies; and examining opportunities for improvement. 2.1.3 Inter-functional Coordination The key indicator of this characteristic is the total commitment of all members to a marketing philosophy and the integration of marketing activities to provide value to the customer. Typical behaviours in HSBC should include those aspects: teams and departments working together to meet up customers needs, teams and departments sharing market information, teams and departments are integrating strategies, all sections working together to offer great value to customers, and the teams willing to share the resources. 2.1.4 Long-term Growth Focus HSBC normally regard a five year cycle as long term, claiming that the environment is too uncertain to plan beyond this time frame. Despite this, research indicates that organisations should develop a strategic plans, or strategic intentions, that go well beyond a five year cycle. Behaviours associated with this aspect include: adopting a long term focus in matters of expansion or survival, attempting to service all customers (shareholders, suppliers, staff and so on)in the long run, aiming for effective organisational performance in the marketplace, implementing and identify new value added services, and identifying the overcoming deficiencies in banking services. Task 3 3.0 Where Industry Life Cycle comes from? The industry life cycle imitates the human life cycle. The stages of industry lifecycle include fragmentation, shake out, maturity and decline. (Kotler, 2003) 3.1 Current industry life cycle in UK retail banking Figure 2: the banking industry life cycle (Source: from FSA website)1987 2009 Growth in UK bank has increased dramatically, and the rate of return on equity substantially exceeds the cost capital. UK banking has been a high growth, high return business and leading UK banks show some of the highest market capitalization in the EU. In the past twenty years the proportion of UK households with a bank account has risen dramatically (from 60% in 1980 to 94% in 2009). The number of service that a bank sells to a typical customer has also increased dramatically. In 2009, a bank typically cross-sells the current-account customer to a variety of other services, including likes mortgage, credit cards, personal loans, life and general insurance, car insurance and investment product such as mutual trust and unit trust. Besides that, technology has enabled banks to perform their retail business more efficiency. Advances in communication and information technology have driven down the cost of processing and made it feasible to perform this processing remotely from the banks branches. The introduction of cash machine, internet and phone banking has driven the cost per transaction. So did the consolidation of banking enterprises via merger and acquisition. Together, the expansion in revenue and the reduction in unit cost have lead to dramatic increase in profits from UK retail banking. 3.3 The reason to maintain its orientation in HSBC It enables continuous learning and knowledge accumulation through continuous collection of information about customers and competitors and using information to create superior customer value and competitive advantage. Will confuse customers if bank keep changing its orientation. High risk to change its orientation most of them might face failure in changing a new orientation. Changing may be costly and wasteful of resources such as time to re-training staff into new orientations, RD costs, switching costs, increase advertisement cost and marketing cost. Changing orientation will affect the organization in culture, management, leadership and operational. The operational efficiency and effectiveness is improved if orientation maintained. 3.3.1 The important of maintain marketing orientation and product orientation in HSBC Marketing Orientation Product orientation Is an organizational culture that most effectively and efficiency creates the necessary behaviours for the creation of superior value for buyer and thus, continuous superior performance business (Narver and Slater, 1990). The important to maintain marketing orientation because it usually focus the following advantages aspects: Increased profit through improved customer satisfaction. New opportunities occur due to greater understanding of markets, customers and competitors. Tapping into the knowledge of employees and directors more effectively. Improved understanding of customer requirement. Product and service development strategies greatly improved. Increase level of employee satisfaction Systems to raise both customer retention and customer acquisition. Development of a learning culture. Besides that, marketing orientation can facilitate the HSBC to compete by following sustainable competitive advantage: Creating a link between customer wants and organizational strengths Consider the competition from the customer perspective Creating and maintaining superior value through effective application of the marketing mix. A product orientation leads to marketing myopia (Levitt 1960), by focusing on the product rather than the customers needs. The advantages to maintain product orientation are as follows: Quality should be guaranteed. The product is consistent (any changes are progressive). Future activities are more predictable. 3.4 The reasons against maintaining its orientation in HSBC The environment (such as technologies) keeps changing, and maintaining the orientation may keep the bank off-track with competition. Operations need adjustment to keep with the changes. To attract new customers and sustainable competitive advantage. Where, organization will faced lost confidence or lost attractive by customers with current orientation. Customers have become more demanding to improved services such as: Shorter waiting time, 24/7 services, reduced lending rates, shorter loan approval period, etc. Bank may have to adjust its operations to take note of the changes. To improve reputation- by changing new orientation might help organization to improve well known reputation. To keep growth of product or services in its all market. Task 4 4.0 The new product development process The new product development process (NPD process) can be defined as a disciplined and unambiguous set of tasks and steps that describe the normal means by which an organization repetitively converts embryonic into saleable products or services. Two commonly used NPD process models are described as follows: A five-stage framework linking new product development opportunity to design, testing, information, and profit management. The stage-gate system that recognize the importance of cross-functional teams, parallel processing in activities, and up-front predevelopment activities in the NPD process. Testing Introduction Profit management Design Opportunity identification Stage 1 Preliminary assessment Stage 2 Business case preparation Stage 5 Full Production/ market launch Stage 4 Testing and validation Stage 3 Development Figure3: Two commonly used NPD process Models Primarily (Source: World Class Theory and Practice (International Edition) 4.1 The importance of new product development NPD is typically important for an organization. The importance for ongoing innovation is discussed by Lancaster and Massingham (1993,p. 128) is today, most organizations must either innovate or go out of business. Clearly, then, innovation and the new product development which such innovation gives rise to is not just desirable but is essential to long-term market and competitive success. 4.1.1 Sources of Competitive Advantage HSBC innovate and develop new products or services are because the new products or services offer them unique opportunities for competitive advantage. For example: HSBC was the first bank to launch TV banking and has returned to profitability. The early movers also have the advantage of taking a leading role in setting HSBCs standards for the emerging product categories. 4.1.2 Market Share Gain New product introduced in the marketplace provide additional first mover advantages to the organizations. By developing new products, HSBC can quickly capture a big share of the market before competitive products are introduced. For example HSBC creation of a joint-venture with Merrill-Lynch to create a new Internet based global banking service. 4.1.3 Higher profitability During the early stages, a new product faces less competition than a product in a mature; therefore, its profitability tends to be higher. As the market becomes saturated with several competitive products, prices start falling and profit margin decrease. This general trend is observed in HSBC. 4.1.4 Enhancement corporate image and Brand Name The development of innovative and creative new products will create HSBC in very powerful source of goodwill and creates a positive of corporate image. It is not easy to assign a monetary value to the goodwill associated with enhance corporate image results from new product development. At the same time, brand equity measures used in marketing show that organizations with more successful new product development efforts command higher respect from customers, which leads to enhanced long-term profitability. 4.1.5 Operating Cost and Capacity Utilization HSBC constantly innovate also identify better approaches for producing products. The product development effort is often closely linked with process development. Therefore, over a period of time, production cost is reduced, leading to enhance profitability. Furthermore, new products provide the opportunity for enhance sales, as the demand or older products decreases over time. Therefore, HSBC can continue to operate at a similar capacity id it continues to innovate and introduce new products. 4.2 The operational input into the development of TV banking in HSBC Research found that different development presents different strategic and operations types of actions in HSBC. An example to development TV banking in HSBC, this project involved the development of a new technological capability to manage transactions by TV remote control. Figure 4: The initiative development characteristics Initiative Exploration vs. exploitation The major issue of the initiative Capital investment Decision making style successful Life span (years) TV banking Exploration Technology Medium Top-down Yes 3 The operational inputs into the development are base on 3 stages such as follows: 4.2.1 The First Stage Idea Generation Primarily focus on the initial stage of the initiative and examine the factors that shape the idea as it emerges. This section has two main themes. The first themes is focuses on the origin of each of the initiatives; and the second themes is focuses on the way in which the initiative gains initial approval. In HSBC the major source of initiatives came from senior managers who were following an idea of their departmental mission. The other factors in Harts (1992) categorization were not found to be significant. They are the ways in which the initiatives initials ideas were spark: The investment in TV banking: The first contact came when the other party in the venture approached the bank. At primary, the decision was not to invest in the firm, since the project did not fit the banks requirements. Six months later SKY and BT approached the Head of Strategy, who took the lead. Since the other party changed their requirement for a bank partner, it was possible for the bank to accept the offer. According to Burgelman (1983) the ideas for initiatives in his research cases came from the line managers and was based on technological development possibilities. But my opinion reveals different sources. In my opinion the idea for each initiative emerged from the senior level of management, based on a view of the departmental mission. In order to development TV banking in HSBC, the first step was to organise an informal meeting between a senior member of the top team and the initiator. Without this initial approval, the initiator cannot continue with this project. The development of TV banking projects was presented to the GM of Marketing, who decided to adopt the idea, and the department will began to plan the project in detail. The beginning of the working project involved collaboration with different departments. After finished the concept creation part of the project the marketing department started to think about implementation. And the next steps, the marketing department will took it to implementation planning. 4.2.2 The second stage- Concept development In the second stage, the initiatives basic concept that was permitted by one of the top team is developed into a concrete plan. This plan will be executed in the third stage of development- the implementation stage. This section is discussing two main issues: The development of the concept The preparation for implementation During this stage the bank forms two-layer management style for concept development and implementation. In this management structure, each project has a steering committee and an operational committee that collaborate on the concepts development of the concept and implementation. Looking to the concept development, the process is separated into two parts: Focuses on forming the concept-The initial work on the initiatives concept the study is done by the initiator by using external and internal sources. In the TV banking project the project manager began to form organizational support for the project only after the investment decision and a six-month period of planning and studying the projects needs in the SDU offices. Then, the whole implementations design was conducted by the Marketing Department. Focuses on extending the concept and developing the role of each department in the development of the initiative- By explore the implications for the perceived success of initiatives. In the TV banking project, the planners included more scope for benefits then were initially thought possible. 4.2.3 The Third Stage-Implementation In the third stage of the development is implemented. The main concern of this section is to look at the administrative system through which implementation is achieved. The bank has to develop a particular system through which it conducts its projects. This involves two-layer management structure. The first layer of the management structure is the steering committee, which is headed by the project sponsor, who is usually a senior general manager in the department responsible for the project. The other members of the steering committee are managers from project-related departments. The second management body is the working committee. Figure 4 portrays the structure of development TV banking. The solid line arrow represents the chain of command for the project, and the black down arrow indicates that the steering committee consists of the managers or their department representatives in the working group. When the project is particularly complex, as in the TV banking project, the project itself is divided into many sub-projects, and each may having its own operations committee. However, the whole project has one coordinating operations committee. The project manager, who heads the co-ordination committee, reports to the project sponsor on the development of this committee. Thus, the whole project has one steering committee and one coordinating operations committee. Normally, the steering committee meets once a month (but this can vary according to need) and the operation committee meets once a week. The steering committee includes in the management level of the department, while the operation committee includes in the members of staff who actually conduct the project. The steering committee needs to solve and support the operation committee in all the problems it faces. These could be external or internal in the firm. External in the firm such as: the choice of technologies and the market. Whereas, internal in the firm they could be such as: internal communication and negotiation to priorities objectives between departments. The project sponsor The steering Group The project manager The working Group Figure 5: The two layered management structure 4.3 Step to reduce Failure on new development In order to reduce the risk of failure of products or services in the market, HSBC can utilize marketing research. At the heart of any product success by truly understanding of consumer wants and needs, and how HSBC new product could fill those needs in a meaningful way. There are four steps to follows: Step one: Market understanding HSBC can use tools such as qualitative research, category assessment, and segmentation to understand the competitive landscape, why consumers buy certain products, how they use those products, and what unmet needs they may have. Step 2: Apply that insight in concept development Here HSBC can use brainstorming, concept testing, and volumetric forecasting to generate new product ideas, identify areas for improvement, and determine which products are most promising. Step 3: Building on that knowledge, HSBC can move to product development In this step HSBC can use marketing research tools such as product testing, packaging research, pricing research, and claim substantiation help them to understand how their product performs in real-world conditions, how it compares to competing products, and what competitive claims HSBC can make. Step 4: After product launch, HSBC move to product management. HSBC can use tools such as customer satisfaction research, tracking research and promotion assessment to determine key metrics related to competitor comparisons, product awareness, consumer usage, and optimum marketing approaches. While theres no sure-fire way to ensure product success, marketing research is cruci

Views on Laura Schlessinger :: essays research papers

Laura Schlessinger Pages 34-37 The Facts 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is the first delusion mentioned by Schlessinger? What importance does it have to the main point of the essay? The first delusion that she stated was that you can tell if something is going to happen, by checking it against a checklist. Throughout the essay she shows how some of the people don’t fit into the category. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Schlessinger rejects the notion that a single cause, such as being picked on in school, can turn a teen into a murderer. She suggests a much simpler case. What is it? Schlessinger suggests that some people are evil, and that is why you can’t make a checklist for it. 3. What, according to the author, are the attractions of evil? IN other words, why are people drawn to it so easily? The main reason that the author suggests is that you get results right away. Also you Get the sensation that you are in control and have the power. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One might think that evil would be shunned and avoided, but not so. In fact, according to Schlessinger, how is evil often treated? Laura says that evil is either condoned or even rewarded by our general public in society. 5. What are some of the shortcomings of our criminal justice system, according to the author? What other social systems are no better? The author says that the justice system is not hard enough on the kids. She also says that parents look over things too much. Page 2 The Strategies. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In paragraph 5, what question does the author pose? How does she answer the question? The author poses the question by saying if everyone is evil then why aren’t their more people killing each other. She answers this question by stating while all the kids aren’t killing everyone there is more swearing, stealing, and early age sexual acts. So while she states that they aren’t all murderers she states that they are a lot worse then before. The Issues 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Assigning blame for teenage violence is a complicated issue, made murky by society’s contradictory opinions. Where do you lay the blame for the seemingly increasing amount of teenage violence in out country? I think that while there is an increase in the murders that are being committed, I don’t think that it is at a point where they should be getting so much media attention.

International Diversification and the Market Value of New Product

Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of International Management International diversi? cation and the market value of new product introduction Chi-Feng Wang a,1, Li-Yu Chen b,? , Shao-Chi Chang c,2 a b c Department of Business Administration, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Taiwan Department of Management, Fo Guang University, Taiwan Institute of International Business, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan article info Article history: Received 11 January 2011Received in revised form 31 March 2011 Accepted 31 March 2011 Available online 2 May 2011 Keywords: International diversi? cation New product introduction Technological capability Marketing capability Event study abstract Although previous studies on international diversification are plentiful, they mainly focus on the effect of international diversification on overall firm performance, and the results are mixed. This study extends this line of research and explores the impact of international diversification on new product performance.Specifically, we ask if international diversification explains the stock market reactions to new product introduction (NPI) announcements. We find an inverted-U-shaped relationship between international diversification and the announcement returns of NPIs, revealing that the market value of NPIs initially improves and then declines with increasing international diversification. The results also show that intangible assets, such as technological and marketing capabilities, positively moderate the relationship between international diversification and the market value of NPIs.Our study not only highlights the importance of considering both sides of international diversification in affecting investors' assessments of corporate new product strategies, but also shows the possibility of internal capabilities in changing the fixed relationship between international diversification and the market value of new products.  © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction According to the theory of foreign direct investment (FDI) (Caves, 1996; Dunning, 1988; Hymer, 1976) and portfolio theory (Jacquillat and Solnik, 1978; Lessard, 1973, 1976; Solnik, 1974), international diversi? ation will lead to higher ? rm value. However, existing studies examining the impact of international diversi? cation on ? rm performance have yielded inconclusive results. The results on the relationship between international diversi? cation and ? rm performance has been found to be positive (Delios and Beamish, 1999; Grant, 1987; Rugman et al. , 2008), negative (Collins, 1990; Zaheer and Mosakowski, 1997), U-shaped (Capar and Kotabe, 2003; Gaur and Kumar, 2009; Lu and Beamish, 2001), inverted-U-shaped (Brock et al. , 2006; Garbe and Richter, 2009; Gomes and Ramaswamy, 1999; Hitt et al. 1997) and horizontal-S-shaped (Contractor et al. , 2003; Lu and Beamish, 2004; Ruigrok et al. , 2007). To better understand the in? uence of international diversi? cation, we extend this line of research by studying the impact of international diversi? cation on new product performance. Speci? cally, we test if international diversi? cation explains the stock ? Corresponding author at: Present address: Department of Management, Fo Guang University, No. 160, Linwei Rd. , Jiaosi, Yilan County 26247, Taiwan. Tel. : + 886 3 9871000 23816. E-mail addresses: [email  protected] net. tw (C. -F. Wang), [email  protected] fgu. edu. w (L. -Y. Chen), [email  protected] ncku. edu. tw (S. -C. Chang). 1 Present address: Department of Business Administration, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, No. 123, University Road, Section 3, Douliou, Yunlin 64002, Taiwan. Tel. : + 886 5 5342601Ãâ€"5245. 2 Present address: Institute of International Business, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, 701, Tainan, Taiwan. Tel. : + 886 6 2757575Ãâ€"53506. 1075-4253/ $ – see front matter  © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10. 1016/j. intman. 2011. 03. 002 334 C. -F. Wang et al. / Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 arket responses to new product introduction (NPI) announcements. NPIs are an important dimension of innovation output. 3 Firms with the ability to introduce new products are signaled as those with the opportunity for differentiation and future earnings (Chaney et al. , 1991; Kleinschmidt and Cooper, 1991; Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001). In order to improve the performance of NPIs, many ? rms are engaged in international diversi? cation activities (Kogut and Zander, 1993; Peng and Wang, 2000). Previous studies have documented that international diversi? cation comes with both bene? s and costs (Contractor et al. , 2003; Lu and Beamish, 2004; Ruigrok et al. , 2007). We suggest that these bene? ts and costs might create both opportunities and challenges for ? rms to develop new products, and hence in? uence investors' assessment of the new products introduced by ? rms. International diversi? cation may have positive effects on NPIs. For example, it allows ? rms to reach outside their domestic boundaries, providing them with more opportunities to gain new ideas in terms of the types of new products that can be developed (Hitt et al. , 1997). Internationally diversi? ed ? ms also have better access to the resources resident in foreign countries that may be necessary for producing these new products (Craig and Douglas, 2000; Peng and Wang, 2000). Furthermore, international diversi? cation creates the bene? t of economies of scale by ef? ciently leveraging the initial investments on new products over a broader market base (Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001). In spite of the bene? cial effects of international diversi? cation, we suggest that international diversi? cation may also entail disadvantages when it comes to introducing new products. For instance, cross-nationa l distances increase the dif? ulty for internationally diversi? ed ? rms to transfer technological knowledge between countries. Differential environmental settings among countries might also constrain the ? rm's ability to absorb and apply resources towards new product development. In such cases, new products are expected to be less worthwhile for introducing ? rms with international diversi? cation activities. In addition to investigating the direct impact of international diversi? cation on the stock market reactions to NPI announcements, we postulate that investors' assessments of the value of new products may depend on a ? m's internal capabilities. Extending previous research documenting the importance of technological and marketing capabilities in determining new product success (e. g. , Cooper and Kleinschmidt, 1987; Yeoh and Roth, 1999), we argue that both marketing and technological capabilities assist in enhancing the bene? ts of international diversi? cation while simulta neously restricting its drawbacks with regard to the introduction of new products. We test our hypotheses by measuring the stock market responses to NPI announcements using the event-study methodology framework.The events of NPI announcements are collected for the period 1997–2005. Under the assumption of the ef? cient markets hypothesis (Fama, 1970), NPI announcements bring unanticipated information into ? nancial markets that may change the market value assessments of the announcing ? rms. In response to the new information, changes in stock prices occur, which represent investors' revision of their expectation with regard to the net present value of a ? rm's risk-adjusted expected cash ? ow generated by the new products, or stated differently, the investors' expectation of the wealth impact of NPIs.This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 provides the theoretical background and develops the hypotheses. Section 3 introduces the sample and methodology. The empirical res ults are presented in Section 4. Finally, Section 5 contains the discussion and concluding remarks of this study. 2. Theoretical background and hypotheses International diversi? cation has been suggested by FDI theory and portfolio theory to provide ? rms with bene? ts ranging from the ability to realize scale economies (Grant, 1987; Porter, 1986), the possibility to spread investment risks over different countries (Kim et al. 1993), the potential to arbitrage factor cost differentials across multiple locations (Kogut, 1985) and the opportunity to access resources resident in foreign countries (Hitt et al. , 1997). However, there is considerable theoretical evidence that international diversi? cation comes with both bene? ts and costs. We suggest that that these bene? ts and costs that accompany foreign expansion may create both opportunities and challenges for ? rms in terms of developing new products, and thereby affect the stock market reactions to NPI announcements.In this secti on, we review various theoretical domains in order to identify the channels through which international diversi? cation might in? uence value creation for ? rms in the context of NPIs. 2. 1. Effects of international diversi? cation International diversi? cation provides several advantages towards developing new products. First, international diversi? cation offers opportunities for ? rms to gain new and diverse ideas from a variety of perspectives (Hitt et al. , 1997). Being exposed to heterogeneous customers, technology, cultures, and competitive practices, internationally diversi? d ? rms are able to learn from the experience in foreign operations to ? nd new solutions to bettering product design and improving the quality of manufacturing know-how (Craig and Douglas, 2000). For example, the launch of a new cordless telephone by Sanyo, which had been adjusted to better meet the phone use habits of American consumers (Barkema and Vermeulen, 1998), consequently expanded the company's sales in the U. S. market. 3 Prior studies have used several ways to measure the performance of innovation, which includes R intensity (Hill and Snell, 1988; Hitt et al. 1997), number of NPIs (Cardinal and Opler, 1995; Hitt et al. , 1996) and number of patents (Francis and Smith, 1995). Though they have provided valuable insights, the measures they developed have some limitations in capturing the true value of innovation (Chaney et al. , 1991; Schankerman and Pakes, 1986). For example, R intensity is more related to the input value of innovation but does not directly measure the output value of innovation. Furthermore, numbers of NPIs or patents only measure the quantity of inventive output without considering the quality of innovation.As well, patent counts often represent a very noisy measure of the underlying value of innovation because most patents are not worth anything. The measure used in our study allows us to directly measure the wealth effect of innovation, rather than on ly considering the quantity of inventive output as has been done in prior studies. C. -F. Wang et al. / Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 335 International diversi? cation also allows ? rms to gain access to resources that may only be available in foreign markets but not frequently obtainable in the home countries to develop new products (Peng and Wang, 2000).By tapping into the technological skills and knowledge that originates from other countries, multinational ? rms may be able to successfully increase their technological strength in developing new products (Hitt et al. , 1997; Kotabe, 1990; Peng and Wang, 2000; Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001). Moreover, international diversi? cation provides a ? rm with a wider national network, which helps increase its ability to effectively leverage technological resources and rationalize production processes. These economies of scale can enable the ? m to obtain higher returns from new product innovations (Bartl ett and Ghoshal, 1989; Kogut, 1985). Furthermore, the broader market outlets available to new products create higher returns on the sunk costs of innovative spending (Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001), while cash ? ows generated from large-scale foreign operations provide ? rms with the resources needed for extra investment in new product development (Kobrin, 1991; Kotabe, 1990). Notwithstanding the above bene? ts, international diversi? cation can bring challenges to the development of new products. The ? rst challenge comes from the dif? ulty in transferring technological knowledge between countries. The more countries within which the ? rm operates, the larger geographic distance the technological know-how has to be transferred, and the less effective the ? rm will be in developing new products. Furthermore, with increasing diversi? cation, the differences in cultural, economic and technological settings among the countries increase. These differences reduce the effectiveness in assimilating and applying the technological knowledge that is critical for new product development (Chang and Wang, 2007; Hitt et al. 1997); while knowledge diversity can create greater learning value (Inkpen, 2000), differences in knowledge does not guarantee successful learning (Bowman and Helfat, 2001; Chang and Singh, 2000; Szulanski and Winter, 2002). In addition, arguments from the economic law of diminishing returns suggest that the higher degree of international diversi? cation a ? rm is involved in, the more likely it is to be entering markets whose marginal contributions are relatively minor (Contractor et al. , 2003). Beyond a certain point, after already having expanded into the most advantageous markets, the ? m is left with minor or peripheral foreign markets whose resources for and cash ? ow from new product development will exhibit diminishing returns. By drawing on various theoretical perspectives, the above discussions suggest that international diversi? cation no t only create opportunities but also impose barriers to the value creation provided by new product innovation. With moderate levels of international diversi? cation, ? rms can capitalize on valuable bene? ts of knowledge learning, resource access and production ef? ciency in producing new products.At the same time, economic pro? ts rise as the ? xed costs of new product development are spread across more markets (Kogut, 1985; Porter, 1986). However, ? rms that expand internationally beyond an optimal level may ? nd that the costs of international diversi? cation eventually exceed the bene? ts. Firms at this stage often enter countries that are more geographically and culturally dissimilar, which increases the dif? culties of transferring technological knowledge between countries. The value of new product innovation may also exhibit diminishing returns when international diversi? ation is increased beyond the optimal level. Based on the above, this study proposes a non-linear and inv erted-U-shaped relationship between international diversi? cation and the stock market reactions to NPI announcements, suggesting that the market value of NPIs is expected to improve with increasing international diversi? cation at lower levels of international diversi? cation and then decline with increasing international diversi? cation at higher levels of international diversi? cation. For these reasons, we propose our ? rst hypothesis as follows: Hypothesis 1.The relationship between international diversi? cation and the stock market reactions to NPI announcements is inverted-U-shaped, with a positive slope at lower levels of international diversi? cation and negative at higher levels of international diversi? cation. We utilize event-study methodology to capture the valuation effect of corporate new product strategies. This approach not only permits direct investigation of changes in announcing ? rms' shareholder value, but is also suited to conduct cross-sectional analysis of the strategies underlying the value creation or destruction (Reuer, 2001).Applying event-study methodology to NPIs also facilitates comparisons with previous studies on other corporate major strategic events. 4 2. 2. Interaction effects of intangible assets and international diversi? cation Although our theoretical framework should hold for all ? rms, the effect of international diversi? cation on new product performance may depend on ? rms' intangible assets. Scholars in international business have shown that multinational ? rms with greater marketing and technological capabilities may receive higher returns from international expansion (Kotabe et al. , 2002; Lu andBeamish, 2004). Other researchers also document the importance of marketing and technological capabilities in the success of new products (e. g. , Cooper and Kleinschmidt, 1987; Danneels, 2002; Krasnikov and Jayachandran, 2008; Moorman and Slotegraaf, 1999; Yeoh and Roth, 1999). We make advances in linking these two stre ams of study by investigating the moderating effect 4 Previous studies have used event-study methodology to test the wealth effect of major corporate events, such as diversi? cation (Doukas and Lang, 2003; Hoskisson et al. , 1991), divestitures (Benou et al. , 2008), alliances (Das et al. 1998; Kale et al. , 2002), regulatory change (Bowman and Navissi, 2003), NPIs (Chaney et al. , 1991; Chen, 2008; Kelm et al. , 1995), R expenditures (Szewczyk et al. , 1996), and patents (Austin, 1993). 336 C. -F. Wang et al. / Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 of internal capabilities on the association between international diversi? cation and the stock market reactions to NPI announcements. We suggest that internationally diversi? ed ? rms that have greater marketing and technological capabilities are more able to extract the bene? ts and reduce the costs of international diversi? ation, resulting in higher returns from NPI announcements. Each moderating effect is disc ussed independently below. Marketing capability is related to a ? rm's ability to acquire external knowledge through the processes of gathering, interpreting, and using market information (Day, 1994). Though international diversi? cation gives ? rms opportunities to access new knowledge, ? rms that do not have ability to identify customers' needs and to understand the factors that in? uence consumer choice behavior will not be able to achieve better targeting and positioning of its products.Therefore, ? rms that have invested in developing their marketing capability are more able to integrate the information on consumer needs in diverse markets into new product designs, and thus generate higher returns from the new products (Dutta et al. , 1999). In addition, marketing capability is re? ected in a ? rm's ability to differentiate its products from those of competitors (Kotabe et al. , 2002). A higher level of product differentiation allows a ? rm to charge higher prices for its new p roducts (Day, 1994; Yeoh and Roth, 1999). Furthermore, ? ms that spend more money on advertising and promoting their products are more likely to build successful brands, which are essential to building awareness, reducing the perceived risk that consumers associate with new products, and ? nally increasing the adoption rate of new products introduced (Chandy and Tellis, 2000; Dowling and Staelin, 1994; Sorescu et al. , 2003). This is particularly important for ? rms that are completely new to foreign customers (Helsen et al. , 1993; Srivastava et al. , 1998). Consequently, we expect that NPIs are expected to be more worthwhile for internationally diversi? d ? rms with greater marketing capabilities, leading to Hypothesis 2: Hypothesis 2. Marketing capability will positively moderate the relationship between international diversi? cation and the stock market reactions to NPI announcements. As mentioned, technological capability is also likely to moderate the effect of international d iversi? cation on new product development. Technology capability might represent a ? rm's ability to absorb external knowledge (Penner-Hahn and Shaver, 2005; Tsai, 2001). A ? rm may be able to access certain new knowledge through international diversi? ation, but without the capacity to absorb such knowledge a ? rm may not enhance its capabilities within new product innovation. Since knowledge gained from international markets is often tacit and socially complex (Zahra and Hayton, 2008), ? rms that have established a capability in a particular research skill are better able to interpret and assess the knowledge in that area. Technological capability also refers to a ? rm's ability to apply knowledge gained from foreign markets to commercial ends (Krasnikov and Jayachandran, 2008; Moorman and Slotegraaf, 1999).Kotabe et al. (2002) have stated that ? rms with greater technological capabilities are more capable of ? nding better product design solutions. The technical risks in developi ng new products are more likely to be reduced for such ? rms (Kelm et al. , 1995). Furthermore, ? rms with greater technological capability are more able to lower production costs by improving manufacturing processes. Moreover, technological capability helps ? rms to speed up the product development process and satisfy the market more quickly (Rabino and Moskowitz, 1981). Thus, ? ms that have greater technological capabilities are more likely to enhance their revenues in international markets by providing those markets with new products of better quality. Meanwhile, ? rms that leverage their technological capabilities in the greater scope of the global market may enjoy the bene? ts of economies of scale inherent in the innovation process. As a result, we expect that NPIs are more worthwhile for internationally diversi? ed ? rms with greater technological capabilities, leading to Hypothesis 3: Hypothesis 3. Technological capability will positively moderate the relationship between in ternational diversi? ation and the stock market reactions to NPI announcements. 3. Sample and methodology 3. 1. Sample design We test our hypotheses using a sample of NPI announcement events. We collect the sample data on ? rms listed on either the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) from the Dow Jones News Retrieval Service (DJNRS) database, which provides news-service articles and selected stories from the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones News Wire, and Barron's. We use the words and phrases commonly used to describe NPIs as keys for a database search routine.Examples are â€Å"introduce,† â€Å"new product,† â€Å"unveil,† â€Å"launch,† â€Å"received approval,† â€Å"to market,† â€Å"test market,† â€Å"begin selling,† along with other pertinent words and phrases. When a repeat NPI announcement from a ? rm is found in a different publication, the announcement that has the earliest date is ch osen as it is the earliest date when the information about the NPI is publicly available (Chaney et al. , 1991; Chen, 2008; Kelm et al. , 1995). The sample period is from January 1997 to December 2005. Four criteria are used when selecting ? rms for our sample: (1) the announcing ? rms should not have other announcements ? e days before and after the initial announcement date in order to avoid any confounding events that could distort the measurement of the valuation effects; (2) daily stock return information must be available from the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP), with a minimum of 50 daily returns in the estimation period; (3) companies' ? nancial information must be available from the COMPUSTAT ? les; and (4) since we want to test the effect of international diversi? cation, only those ? rms with foreign sales data available from the COMPUSTAT ? les are included. C. -F. Wang et al. Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 337 Following these procedures, we collect a ? nal sample comprising 3061 new product announcements made by 531 ? rms in 57 industries based on the two-digit Standard Industrial Classi? cation (SIC) codes. 5 Table 1 reports the distribution of the sample by year and industry. Our data shows no obvious cluster by time period. In 2004, there are 530 announcements, accounting for 17. 32% of the total. Observations are nearly evenly distributed through the remaining years. However, our sample shows certain levels of concentration in speci? c industries.The largest concentration comes from electrical equipment (33. 61%), computer equipment (18. 09%), electro-medical instruments (9. 38%), and business services (e. g. , computer programming and the software industry) (7. 19%). These three broad categories constitute nearly 70% of the total sample. As suggested by Chaney et al. (1991), this result is expected since neither the investment opportunities nor their valuation should be random across industries. 3. 2. Measuring the stock market responses to new product announcements We employ the event study methodology to examine the stock price responses to the announcements of NPIs. This approach has been widely used in the management, accounting, economics and ? nance disciplines to examine the impact of ? rm-speci? c events on ? rm value. The event study approach suggests that, in an ef? cient capital market, the market will adjust and result in returns different from those that are normally expected if the NPI announcement has unexpected information content (Hoskisson et al. , 1991). We use the market model suggested by Brown and Warner (1985) to estimate the abnormal returns to NPI announcements. This model captures a ? rm's stock price change after adjusting for general market-wide factors and the ? m's systematic risk (Bowman, 1983; Brown, 1989; Brown and Warner, 1980, 1985). The abnormal return for ? rm i on day t, ARit, is computed by: ARit = Rit ? E? Rit = It ? 1 ? ; where Rit is ? rm i's actual returns on day t, and It ? 1 represents the information set available to the market about the ? rm at time t ? 1. The expected return for ? rm i on day t is estimated by: E? Rit = It ? 1 ? = ? i + ? i Rmt where Rmt is the return for the market portfolio on day t, ? i is the intercept, and ? i measures the risk or sensitivity of the ? rm's returns relative to the market portfolio. We de? e Day 0 (t = 0) as the initial announcement date. We use the value-weighted CRSP Index as the proxy for the market portfolio. The parameters ? i and ? i are estimated using data for the period of 200 to 60 days before the initial announcement date. The two-day cumulative abnormal returns, CAR (? 1, 0), are estimated by summing the daily abnormal returns over the window period of days ? 1 and 0. The equally weighted cross-sectional average abnormal returns on ? event day t, ARt , is further calculated by: 1N ? ARt = ? ARit ; N i=1 where N is the total number of sample NPIs. The cumulati ve average abnormal return over the period (? , 0) is similarly de? ned. 3. 3. Measuring international diversi? cation We use the entropy index to estimate international diversi? cation. 7 The entropy measure of international diversi? cation is de? ned as ? [Pi* ln(1/Pi)], where Pi is the percentage of sales in geographic segment i, and ln(1/Pi) is the weight of each geographic segment. This measure thus considers both the number of geographic segments in which a ? rm operates and the relative importance of sales contributed by each geographic segment. 5 For the industry classi? cation, we follow Hitt et al. (1997) and use the our-digit SIC codes as the indicator of the industry or business segment that a ? rm operates. Therefore, two variables in this study, namely product diversi? cation and industry R&D intensity, are estimated basing on the four-digit SIC codes. However, for the sake of brevity, we report the sample distribution by industry on the basis of the two-digit SIC code s. 6 Other performance measures of new product strategies that are most commonly used in previous studies include return on assets, return on sales, return on equity, return on investment and pro? t margin (e. g. , Li and Atuahene-Gima, 2001; Moorman, 1995).However, these accounting measures have several limitations in measuring new product performance (Chang and Wang, 2007; Kalyanaram et al. , 1995; Pauwels et al. , 2004). For example, the differences in accounting policies across ? rms make performance comparisons dif? cult. These measures are also not risk-adjusted as they do not consider business risks associated with individual ? rms when measuring performance, and they are based on historical accounting data and thus may not adequately re? ect future expected revenue streams resulting from the new products. More importantly, these measures re? ect aggregate ? m performance, making it more dif? cult to directly link them to the effect of speci? c new product introductions. Due to these limitations we employ an event study methodology in order to examine stock price responses to announcements of NPIs. This method captures the ? rm's stock price change after adjusting for the ? rm's systematic risk (Bowman, 1983; Brown, 1989; Brown and Warner, 1980, 1985), as well as re? ects investors' expectations of a ? rm's future cash ? ow related to this new product (Chaney et al. , 1991; Chen, 2008; Chen et al. , 2002; Kelm et al. , 1995). 7 Previous studies have used several proxies of international diversi? ation. The most commonly used measures are the ratio of foreign sales to total sales (Grant, 1987; Tallman and Li, 1996), the ratio of foreign assets to total assets (Daniels and Bracker, 1989; Ramaswamy, 1995), numbers of foreign countries in which a ? rm has subsidiaries (Delios and Beamish, 1999; Tallman and Li, 1996) or a composite index encompassing these three dimensions (Gomes and Ramaswamy, 1999; Sullivan, 1994). However, these measures only capture the extent but not the distribution of international diversi? cation. In this study, we follow Hitt et al. (1997) and use the entropy measure of international diversi? ation to account for the extent of sales in global markets and their weighting. C. -F. Wang et al. / Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 338 Table 1 Distribution of new product introduction. Panel A. Sample distribution by year Year Number of announcements Percent of sample (%) 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Total 354 279 370 313 232 247 391 530 345 3061 11. 56 9. 11 12. 08 10. 22 7. 58 8. 07 12. 77 17. 32 11. 30 100. 00 Panel B. Sample distribution by industry Two-digit SIC code Industry group 01 12 13 15 16 17 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 33 34 Agricultural production cropsCoal mining Oil and gas extraction Building construction: general contractors Heavy construction other than building construction contractors Construction: special trade contractors Food and kindred produc ts Tobacco products Textile mill products Apparel, ? nished prdcts from fabrics and similar materials Lumber and wood products, except furniture Furniture and ? xtures Paper and allied products Printing, publishing, and allied industries Chemicals and allied products Petroleum re? ning and related industries Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products Leather and leather products Primary metal industriesFabricated metal products, except machinery and transportation equipment Industrial and commercial machinery and computer equipment Electronic and other electrical equipment and components, except computer equipment Transportation equipment Measuring, analyzing, and controlling instruments; photographic, medical and optical goods Miscellaneous manufacturing industries Railroad transportation Motor freight transportation and warehousing Transportation by air Pipelines, except natural gas Transportation services Communications Electric, gas, and sanitary services Wholesale trade: durabl e goods Wholesale trade: non-durable goodsBuilding materials, hardware, garden supply, and mobile home dealers General merchandise stores Food stores Apparel and accessory stores Home furniture, furnishings, and equipment stores Eating and drinking places Miscellaneous retail Depository institutions Non-depository credit institutions Security and commodity brokers, dealers, exchanges, and services Insurance carriers Insurance agents, brokers, and service Real estate Holding and other investment of? ces Hotels, rooming houses, camps, and other lodging places Personal services 35 36 37 38 39 40 42 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 67 0 72 Number of announcements Percent of sample (%) 1 1 8 1 1 1 28 4 2 2 3 6 13 76 118 2 9 2 23 21 0. 03 0. 03 0. 26 0. 03 0. 03 0. 03 0. 91 0. 13 0. 07 0. 07 0. 10 0. 20 0. 42 2. 48 3. 85 0. 07 0. 29 0. 07 0. 75 0. 69 554 1029 18. 09 33. 61 72 287 2. 35 9. 38 41 4 2 144 1 1 120 20 19 10 2 3 3 8 6 14 13 2 18 17 34 5 3 9 6 6 1. 34 0. 13 0. 07 4. 70 0. 03 0. 03 3. 92 0. 65 0. 62 0. 33 0. 07 0. 10 0. 10 0. 26 0. 20 0. 46 0. 42 0. 07 0. 59 0. 56 1. 11 0. 16 0. 10 0. 29 0. 20 0. 20 C. -F. Wang et al. / Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 339 Table 1 (continued) Panel B. Sample distribution by industryTwo-digit SIC code Industry group 73 78 79 80 82 87 Business services Motion pictures Amusement and recreation services Health services Educational services Engineering, accounting, research, management, and related services Nonclassi? able establishments 99 Total Number of announcements Percent of sample (%) 220 13 4 2 1 10 7. 19 0. 42 0. 13 0. 07 0. 03 0. 33 36 3061 1. 18 100. 00 As data is not available at the country level, we use sales of regional markets to measure international diversity (as used by e. g. , Hirsch and Lev, 1971; Hitt et al. , 1997; Miller and Pras, 1980). Following Hitt et al. 1997), we group foreign markets into four regions based on economic and political conditions: Africa, Asia and the Paci? c, Europe, and the Americas. Although not perfect, this approach allows us to focus on between-market heterogeneity (Kim et al. , 1989). The international market sales data are from the COMPUSTAT geographic segment tapes for the ? scal year preceding the announcements. 8 3. 4. Measuring intangible assets We measure marketing capability as the average marketing intensity (the ratio of advertisement expenditures to net sales) for the three ? scal years prior to the announcements. 9 We suggest that ? ms who invest more in marketing activities are considered to have superior marketing capabilities. We measure technological capability as the average R&D intensity (the ratio of R&D expenditures to net sales) for the three ? scal years prior to the announcements. We suggest that ? rms outspending their competitors in R&D are considered to have greater technological capabilities. We scale the measures of ? rm capabilities by ? rm size in order to ensure that the capability measure does not merely re? ect higher levels of ? nancial resources of large-scaled ? rms (following Moorman and Slotegraaf, 1999). 3. 5. Other variablesOther potential variables that could affect the value of NPIs are controlled. The ? rst is ? rm size, measured by the natural logarithm of total sales of the announcing ? rm for the ? scal year preceding the announcement (following Kotabe et al. , 2002; Lu and Beamish, 2004). We next control for a ? rm's leverage ratio, measured as the ratio of total debt to total assets for the ? scal year prior to the announcement (following Chen et al. , 2002; Chen, 2008). We also control for the degree of product diversi? cation for the ? scal year preceding the announcement. Product diversi? cation is measured by the entropy index (? Pi * ln(1/Pi)], where Pi is the percentage of ? rm sales in business segment i, and ln(1/Pi) is the weight of each segment). Following Hitt et al. (1997), we de? ne business segments as those having the same four-digit SIC codes. The product-speci? c effects are also controlled. This is necessary as some researchers have suggested that high-newness products are expected to create better opportunities for product differentiation and competitive advantage (Kleinschmidt and Cooper, 1991; Meyer and Roberts, 1986), and as such, high-newness products should receive a larger market value than updates of existing products.Furthermore, scholars have argued that ? rms introducing multiple products are more competitive in the product market and seize more market share than those announcing single products. This implies that ? rms announcing multipleproducts announcers may appropriate much of the bene? ts associated with new products, and are thus expected to experience a larger increase in market value than those announcing a single product (Acs and Audretsch, 1988; Hendricks and Singhal, 1997). Moreover, researchers have documented that the ? rst to introduce a new product in the marketplac e usually enjoys ? st-mover advantages stemming from the creation of entry barriers and switching costs, and from high consumer recognition and preference to the ? rst product (Jovanovic and MacDonald, 1994; Lee et al. , 2000). Therefore, ? rst-moving ? rms are predicted to gain a higher announcement return at the time of NPIs than followers do. The aforementioned ? rms that introduce high-newness and multiple products or ? rms that are the ? rst to introduce new products are suggested to obtain sustained competitive advantage. This argument corresponds to Williamson (1999) that ? ms getting ahead of their competitors by providing multiple and new technology, products and business solutions have more opportunities to ensure lasting sales growth. We identify these product announcement types by using structural content analysis on the news content (as in Chaney et al. , 1991; Lee et al. , 2000; Firth and Narayanan, 1996). Based on the analysis of the news content, we create three dumm y variables: NEWNESS, MULTIPLE and TIME. 8 The main reason for using data one year before the announcements is to capture the most recent impact of a ? m's attributes on the market reactions to new product introductions. Several independent variables are measured by the data one year preceding the announcements, including international diversi? cation, ? rm size, debt-to-asset ratio, product diversi? cation and two industry sector dummy variables. 9 Since the values of advertising and R&D expenditures tend to ? uctuate substantially from year to year, we use the 3-year average values of advertising intensity, R&D intensity and industry R&D intensity to reduce the chance that a random and extreme value in one year disproportionately in? ences our measure of intangible assets. 340 C. -F. Wang et al. / Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 NEWNESS equals one if the product is highly innovative, and zero if it is an update or an enhancement of an existing product (as in Chaney et al. , 1991; Chen, 2008). MULTIPLE equals one for multiple-products announced simultaneously by a ? rm, and zero for single announcements (as in Chaney et al. , 1991; Chen, et al. , 2002). TIME equals one if the announcing ? rm is the ? rst mover, and zero otherwise (as in Lee et al. , 2000; Chen, 2008).Finally, we consider two industry-related factors. The ? rst is the technological opportunity of the industry in which the announcing ? rms operate. Chaney et al. (1991) asserted that the valuation effect of NPIs is higher for ? rms in more technologically based industries, as they are considered to have more innovation opportunities and greater potential for future growth. In contrast, Kelm et al. (1995) found that investors respond positively to new product announcements by ? rms in less-technology-intensive industries because new product announcements by these ? rms are relatively nexpected by investors. Technological opportunities at the industry level are measure d by the average industry R&D intensity (the average values of R&D expenditures divided by net sales for all ? rms in the same four-digit SIC industry) for the three ? scal years prior to the announcements (following Chan et al. , 1990; Kelm et al. , 1995). In addition, we control for the industry-speci? c effect with two dummy variables: MANUFACTURING and SERVICE. MANUFACTURING equals one for announcing ? rms in manufacturing industries, and zero otherwise. SERVICE equals one for announcing ? ms in service industries, and zero otherwise. This is done as several studies have argued that the effect of internationality on performance for manufacturing ? rms is different from that for service ? rms (Capar and Kotabe, 2003; Contractor et al. , 2003). We therefore separate the sample ? rms into service, manufacturing and other industries according to 2-digit SIC codes and apply two industry dummies to control for the industry-speci? c effects. Table 2 presents the means, standard deviati ons, and correlations for all variables for the sample of NPI announcements. 4. Empirical resultsTable 3 provides estimates of abnormal returns around the announcement date and the surrounding days. The results show that innovations such as NPIs are perceived by investors as value-increasing activities. For the two-day announcement period cumulative abnormal returns, CAR (? 1, 0), the new product announcers experience a positive cumulative average abnormal return of 0. 194%, signi? cant at the 1% con? dence level. No signi? cant abnormal returns are observed preceding and following the announcement period. As a result, we use CAR (? 1, 0) as the dependent variable in the following regression analysis.Our results are consistent with prior studies (e. g. , Chaney et al. , 1991; Chen, 2008; Chen et al. , 2002; Kelm et al. , 1995). Table 4 reports the regression results with the dependent variable CAR (? 1, 0). We present the results without centering the variables in the ? rst ? ve mod els, and results with centering the variables on their means in the latter ? ve models. 10 Models 1 and 6 are baseline models that include only the control variables and two measures of intangible assets. Among the control variables, leverage ratio is found to be positively associated with CAR (? 1, 0), though insigni? cant in some models.This result suggests that higher levels of debt lower the expected costs of free cash ? ow (Jensen, 1986), and new products announced by ? rms with a higher leverage ratio are therefore perceived as more worthwhile. Of the two ? rm-speci? c assets variables, both R&D and advertising intensities have a signi? cant and positive impact in most models. Moreover, industry R&D intensity is found to be signi? cantly negatively associated with CAR (? 1, 0). This result suggests that investors respond positively to new product announcements by ? rms in less technology-intensive industries because new product announcements by these ? ms are relatively unexpe cted by investors (Kelm et al. , 1995). Other control variables are not found to have signi? cant explanatory power in terms of the variation in announcement abnormal returns. In model 2 (7), we test the impact of international diversi? cation on the stock market reactions to NPI announcements by including the linear and squared terms of international diversi? cation. We ? nd our Hypothesis 1 is strongly supported, as CAR (? 1, 0) is positively related to the linear term of international diversi? cation and then negatively associated to the squared term of international diversi? cation.This result suggests an inverted-U-shaped relationship between international diversi? cation and the market value of NPIs. Models 3 (8), 4 (9) and 5 (10) test the moderating effects of intangible assets by including the interaction term of international diversi? cation and advertising intensity and the interaction term of international diversi? cation and R&D intensity. 11 Model 3 (8) tests the intera ction effect between international diversi? cation and marketing capability. The statistically signi? cant and positive coef? cient of the interaction term suggests that the market value of NPIs increases when internationally diversi? d ? rms have greater marketing capacities. Thus, Hypothesis 2 is supported. Model 4 (9) tests the interaction effect between international diversi? cation and technological capability. We also ? nd a statistically signi? cant and positive coef? cient of the interaction term. Thus, Hypothesis 3 is supported. To test the robustness of these ? ndings, we simultaneously include the interaction of international diversi? cation and advertising intensity and the interaction of international diversi? cation and R&D intensity in model 5 (10). Results remain unchanged to those in models 3 (8) and 4 (9).It is noted that the â€Å"main effects† between international diversi? cation and the abnormal returns of NPIs remain robust in all models with the additi on of the interaction terms. To gain further insights into our ? ndings, we construct Figs. 1 and 2 by drawing on the results of models 3 and 4. We use CAR (? 1, 0) as the measurement of market value of NPIs. When illustrating the impact of advertising intensity (R&D intensity) and 10 Since some variables are constructed from other variables, we follow Aiken and West (1991) by subtracting each variable from its mean value in the sample to minimize their collinearity. 11To test the robustness of our conclusion, we re-examine the regression analysis by incorporating the interaction of quadratic terms of international diversi? cation and intangible asset proxies. Our conclusions remain unchanged. Variables a Mean s. d. Min Max 1. Two-day announcementperiod abnormal return(%)a 2. International diversi? cation 3. Advertising intensity 4. R&D intensity 5. Product diversi? cation 6. Firm size b 7. Debt-to-asset ratio 8. Newness 9. Multiple 10. Time 11. Industry R&D intensity 12. Service in dustry 13. Manufacturing industry 0. 194 0. 037 ? 0. 242 0. 230 0. 653 0. 012 0. 081 0. 816 8. 541 0. 00 0. 827 0. 302 0. 359 0. 236 0. 236 0. 748 0. 424 0. 022 0. 148 0. 659 1. 860 0. 149 0. 379 0. 459 0. 480 0. 390 0. 425 0. 434 0. 000 0. 000 0. 000 0. 000 ? 0. 781 0. 000 0. 000 0. 000 0. 000 0. 000 0. 000 0. 000 1. 382 0. 317 4. 696 2. 533 12. 060 1. 099 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 2. 334 1. 000 1. 000 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1. 000 ? 0. 033* 1. 000 0. 102*** ? 0. 071*** 1. 000 ? 0. 004 ? 0. 042** ? 0. 016 1. 000 0. 149*** 0. 092*** ? 0. 158*** 0. 399*** 1. 000 ? 0. 111*** 0. 001 ? 0. 090*** 0. 052*** 0. 075*** 1. 000 0. 036** ? 0. 002 0. 010 ? 0. 003 0. 027 ? 0. 021 1. 000 9 0. 076*** 0. 050*** 0. 015 ? 0. 024 0. 016 ? 0. 100*** 0. 33* 1. 000 The two-day period (? 1,0) abnormal return is estimated by summing up abnormal returns from the day before (day ? 1) to the announcement date (day 0). Firm size is measured by the natural logarithm of net sales. ***p b 0. 01, **pb0. 05, *pb0. 1. b 10 11 12 13 0. 045** ? 0. 022 0. 056*** 0. 039** 0. 024 ? 0. 050*** 0. 170*** ? 0. 040** 1. 000 0. 257*** ? 0. 083*** 0. 252*** ? 0. 042** ? 0. 188*** ? 0. 098*** 0. 031* 0. 039** 0. 055*** 1. 000 ? 0. 382*** 0. 000 ? 0. 137*** ? 0. 206*** ? 0. 020 0. 199*** ? 0. 007 ? 0. 147*** ? 0. 064*** ? 0. 151*** 1. 000 0. 342*** 0. 017 0. 143*** 0. 151*** ? 0. 017 ? 0. 222*** . 009 0. 147*** 0. 068*** 0. 166*** ? 0. 960*** 1. 000 C. -F. Wang et al. / Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 Table 2 Descriptive statistics and correlations. 341 342 C. -F. Wang et al. / Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 Table 3 Abnormal returns for new product introduction announcements. Event day Mean AR (%) t-statistic ? 10 ?9 ?8 ?7 ?6 ?5 ?4 ?3 ?2 ?1 0 [? 1,0] +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 + 10 ? 0. 023 ? 0. 005 0. 025 ? 0. 016 ? 0. 025 ? 0. 005 0. 047 0. 001 ? 0. 039 0. 093 0. 101 0. 194 ? 0. 038 0. 058 0. 081 ? 0. 056 0. 027 ? 0. 073 ? 0. 055 0. 053 ? 0. 025 ? 0. 054 ? 0. 4 50 0. 092 0. 471 ? 0. 309 ? 0. 477 ? 0. 099 0. 888 0. 003 ? 0. 731 1. 918* 2. 038** 2. 885*** ? 0. 756 1. 086 1. 329 ? 1. 138 0. 529 ? 1. 403 ? 1. 078 1. 118 ? 0. 471 ? 0. 972 (0. 653) (0. 927) (0. 638) (0. 758) (0. 633) (0. 921) (0. 375) (0. 998) (0. 465) (0. 055) (0. 042) (0. 004) (0. 450) (0. 278) (0. 184) (0. 255) (0. 597) (0. 161) (0. 281) (0. 264) (0. 638) (0. 331) ***p b 0. 01, **p b 0. 05. Values in parentheses are p-values. international diversi? cation on CAR (? 1, 0), we hold other control variables at the average level. If the control variables are dummy ones, we substitute these variables with their modes. 2 Both ? gures provide supportive evidence for our hypotheses. First, the relationship between international diversi? cation and the market value of NPIs is found to be inverted-U-shaped, with the slope positive at lower levels of international diversi? cation but negative at higher levels of international diversi? cation. For example, in Fig. 1, for ? rms with no mar keting capability, at the initial stage, there is a positive impact on the market value of NPIs with an increase of 0. 62% in CAR (? 1, 0) when the level of international diversi? cation increases from zero to 0. 8. Beyond this threshold of 0. , a higher level of international diversi? cation is associated with a decreasing CAR (? 1, 0). In Fig. 2, for ? rms with no technological capability, there is a positive impact on the market value of NPIs with an increase of 0. 63% in CAR (? 1, 0) when the level of international diversi? cation increases from zero to 0. 8. Beyond this point, more international diversi? cation results in lower market values of NPIs. In addition, these graphs illustrate the performance differences across ? rms with different levels of intangible assets. For example, in Fig. 1, for a ? rm with a degree of international diversi? cation of 0. and a level of marketing capability of 0. 3, there is an expected CAR (? 1, 0) that is almost 0. 89% higher than that for a ? rm at the same level of international diversi? cation but with the marketing capability of 0. 1; at a degree of international diversi? cation of 1. 2, there is an expected improvement in CAR (? 1, 0) of 3. 25% when the level of marketing capability increases from 0. 1 to 0. 3. The same procedure can be used to explain the moderating effect of technological capability. In Fig. 2, for a ? rm with a level of international diversi? cation of 0. 4 and a level of technology capability of 1. , there is an expected CAR (? 1, 0) that is 2. 09% higher than that for a ? rm at the same level of international diversi? cation but with the technological capability of 0. 4; at a degree of international diversi? cation of 1. 2, there is an expected improvement in CAR (? 1, 0) of 4. 92% when the technology capability of a ? rm increases from 0. 4 to 1. 6. 5. Discussion and conclusions This paper examines the importance of international diversi? cation in explaining the stock market reactions to NP I announcements. Using NPI announcements from the period 1997–2005, we found an inverted-U-shaped relationship between international diversi? ation and the market value of NPIs, with a slope positive at lower levels of international diversi? cation but negative at higher levels of international diversi? cation. This relationship is moderated by the intangible assets possessed by internationally diversi? ed ? rms. We ? nd that announcing ? rms with greater technological and/or marketing capabilities achieve higher abnormal returns from NPIs. The main effects of the international diversi? cation variables still hold after the inclusion of these moderating factors. In view of recent research having suggested a sigmoid performance effect of internationalization (Contractor et al. 2003; Lu and Beamish, 2004), we test our hypotheses in the framework of an S-shaped relationship by simultaneously adding linear, squared and cubed terms of international diversi? cation in the regressio n. However, our sample does not reveal the S-shaped association between international diversi? cation and the market value of NPI. 12 The equations for the graphs presented in Figs. 1 and 2 are as follows, respectively: CAR (? 1, 0) = ? 0. 0037 + 0. 0157 * ID ? 0. 0099 * ID2 ? 0. 0147 * AD + 0. 1476 * ID * AD and CAR (? 1, 0) = ? 0. 0049 + 0. 0168 * ID ? 0. 0112 * ID2 + 0. 0056 * RD + 0. 295 * ID * RD, where ID = international diversi? cation; ID2 = International diversi? cation squared; AD = advertising intensity; RD = R&D intensity. C. -F. Wang et al. / Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 343 Table 4 Regression analysis of new product introduction on international diversi? cation. Un-centered results Centered results Independent variables Model 1 Model 2 Intercept ? 0. 0005 (? 0. 072) ? 0. 0042 ? 0. 0017 ? 0. 0037 ? 0. 0009 (? 0. 591) (? 0. 233) (? 0. 525) (? 0. 122) 0. 0178 0. 0157 0. 0168 0. 0143 (3. 156)*** (2. 737)*** (2. 967)*** (2. 486)** ? 0. 0099 ? 0. 0099 ? 0. 0112 0. 0113 (? 2. 188)** (? 2. 175)** (? 2. 434)** (? 2. 455)** International diversi? cation International diversi? cation squared International diversi? cation ? Advertising intensity International diversi? cation ? R&D intensity Firm size a Debt-to-asset ratio Product diversi? cation Advertising intensity R&D intensity Newness Multiple Time Industry R&D intensity Service Manufacturing Adjusted R2 F value Number of observations a Model 3 Model 4 0. 1476 (2. 236)** ? 0. 0001 ? 0. 0002 (? 0. 336) (? 0. 484) 0. 0072 0. 0071 (1. 531) (1. 516) ? 0. 0001 0. 0000 (? 0. 069) (0. 037) 0. 0667 ? 0. 0147 (2. 100)** (? 0. 04) 0. 0090 0. 0087 (1. 878)* (1. 832)* ? 0. 0003 ? 0. 0002 (? 0. 182) (? 0. 138) 0. 0016 0. 0016 (1. 085) (1. 055) ? 0. 0007 ? 0. 0006 (? 0. 466) (? 0. 407) ? 0. 0034 ? 0. 0032 (? 1. 804)* (? 1. 686)* 0. 0020 ? 0. 0007 (0. 032) (? 1. 121) ? 0. 0005 ? 0. 0015 (? 0. 079) (? 0. 252) 0. 0051 0. 0064 2. 20*** 2. 41*** 3061 3061 Model 6 0. 0036 (0. 637) 0. 1629 (2. 458)** 0. 0295 0. 0003 (0. 676) 0. 0073 (1. 569) ? 0. 0009 (? 0. 744) 0. 0527 (1. 673)* 0. 0093 (1. 941)* ? 0. 0004 (? 0. 195) 0. 0017 (1. 141) ? 0. 0006 (? 0. 389) ? 0. 0018 (? 0. 977) ? 0. 0030 (? 0. 519) ? 0. 0012 (? 0. 218) 0. 0005 1. 15 3061 Model 5Model 7 Model 8 Model 9 0. 0022 0. 0032 0. 0030 0. 0042 (0. 392) (0. 567) (0. 517) (0. 726) 0. 0178 0. 0174 0. 0192 0. 0189 (3. 156)*** (3. 081)*** (3. 375)*** (3. 326)*** ? 0. 0099 ? 0. 0099 ? 0. 0112 ? 0. 0113 (? 2. 188)** (? 2. 175)** (? 2. 434)** (? 2. 455)** 0. 1476 (2. 236)** 0. 0333 (1. 978)** (2. 225)** ? 0. 0001 ? 0. 0002 (? 0. 257) (? 0. 410) 0. 0085 0. 0086 (1. 803)* (1. 824)* ? 0. 0001 0. 0000 (? 0. 102) (0. 012) 0. 0709 ? 0. 0185 (2. 226)** (? 0. 383) 0. 0056 0. 0049 (1. 107) (0. 971) ? 0. 0002 ? 0. 0001 (? 0. 109) (? 0. 051) 0. 0018 0. 0018 (1. 221) (1. 2061) ? 0. 0009 ? 0. 0009 (? 0. 641) (? 0. 99) ? 0. 0046 ? 0. 0046 (? 2. 341)** (? 2. 302)** ? 0. 0005 ? 0. 0016 (? 0. 082) (? 0. 265) ? 0. 0015 ? 0. 0027 (? 0. 252) (? 0. 463) 0. 0060 0. 0077 2. 33*** 2. 58*** 3061 3061 0. 1629 (2. 458)** 0. 0295 0. 0003 (0. 676) 0. 0073 (1. 569) ? 0. 0009 (? 0. 744) 0. 0527 (1. 673)* 0. 0093 (1. 941)* ? 0. 0004 (? 0. 195) 0. 0017 (1. 141) ? 0. 0006 (? 0. 389) ? 0. 0018 (? 0. 977) ? 0. 0003 (? 0. 519) ? 0. 0012 (? 0. 218) 0. 0005 1. 15 3061 Model 10 (1. 978)** ? 0. 0001 ? 0. 0002 ? 0. 0001 (? 0. 336) (? 0. 484) (? 0. 257) 0. 0072 0. 0071 0. 0085 (1. 531) (1. 516) (1. 803)* ? 0. 0001 0. 0000 ? 0. 0001 (? 0. 069) (0. 37) (? 0. 102) 0. 0667 0. 0817 0. 0709 (2. 100)** (2. 517)** (2. 226)** 0. 0090 0. 0087 0. 0249 (1. 878)* (1. 832)* (2. 659)*** ? 0. 0003 ? 0. 0002 ? 0. 0002 (? 0. 182) (? 0. 138) (? 0. 109) 0. 0016 0. 0016 0. 0018 (1. 085) (1. 055) (1. 221) ? 0. 0007 ? 0. 0006 ? 0. 0009 (? 0. 466) (? 0. 407) (? 0. 641) ? 0. 0034 ? 0. 0032 ? 0. 0046 (? 1. 804)* (? 1. 686)* (? 2. 341)** 0. 0020 ? 0. 0007 ? 0. 0005 (0. 032) (? 1. 121) (? 0. 082) ? 0. 0005 ? 0. 0015 ? 0. 0015 (? 0. 079) (? 0. 252) (? 0. 252) 0. 0051 0. 00 64 0. 0060 2. 20*** 2. 41*** 2. 33*** 3061 3061 3061 0. 0333 (2. 225)** ? 0. 0002 (? 0. 410) 0. 0086 (1. 824)*