November 3, 2002
Faculty Accomplishments
Professor Gary Ford, Marketing Department, presided over a research seminar given to the marketing faculty and doctoral students of the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Professor Ford presented his paper, “Philosophy of Science and the Supreme Court: The Impact of the Daubert Decision on Survey Research in Litigation.”
Professor Mark Clark, Management Department, published a research article in the latest edition of the Journal of Business Management. The article, “Cross-Functional Team Decision-Making and Learning Outcomes: A Qualitative Illustration,” focuses on how members of cross functional teams complete various decision tasks.
Cross-functional teams (CFT) are groups comprised of individuals from separate functional areas convened with a specific purpose for a defined period of time. CFTs are particularly important in competitive organizations as a means to accomplish tasks ranging from new product development, strategic planning, to quality improvement programs. Professor Clark’s research with CFTs supports how components of the group decision-making process including the decision scenario, the team’s functional diversity, and external information exchange drive the learning process, resulting in a knowledge directory system with organizational learning and individual learning components.
Professor Barbara Bird, Management Department, was appointed Associate Editor of Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, one of the top peer-review journals in the field of entrepreneurship.
Professor Kent Baker, University Professor, Department of Finance and Real Estate, has recently published two articles with co-authors, “Revisiting Managerial Perspectives on Dividend Policy,” and “Why Firms Adopt and Discontinue New-Issue Dividend Reinvestment Plans” in the Fall, 2002 issue of the Journal of Economics and Finance.
One aspect of Professor Baker’s research examined how companies pay dividends. Of four explanations, his research found strongest support for the “signaling explanation” for paying dividends. The “signaling explanation” reflects how the market interprets changes in dividend policy. When firms increase dividends, this typically sends a positive signal about the company’s future prospects and reflects confidence that the company can maintain its dividend payments. On the other hand, when companies decrease or omit their dividends, the market typically interprets such changes as negative signals and management’s lack of confidence that the company can maintain growth and profits needed to sustain dividend payments.
In addition to his recent research publications, four of Professor Baker's papers were presented at the annual meeting of the Financial Management Association (FMA) held recently in San Antonio, Texas:
“Direct Investing: The Role of Stock Purchase Plans,” with Walayet A. Khan and Tarun K. Mukherjee
“Impact of Insider Trading on Market Liquidity in NASDAQ,” with Walayet A. Khan, Suneel K. Maheshwari, and Mukesh Kumar Chaudhry
“In Search of a Residual Dividend Policy,” with David M. Smith
“Why Companies Use Open-Market Repurchases: A Managerial Perspective,” with Gary E. Powell and E. Theodore.
At the FMA meeting, he also chaired a session on "Dividends, Share Repurchases, and Investment." Professor Baker's term as a member of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Finance Association was extended through 2004.
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