HEC Paris

About: HEC Paris is a education organization based out in Jouy-en-Josas, France. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Investment (macroeconomics) & Market liquidity. The organization has 584 authors who have published 2756 publications receiving 104467 citations. The organization is also known as: Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales & HEC School of Management Paris.

Committed to professionalism: Organizational responses of mid-tier accounting firms to conflicting institutional logics

Abstract: We study how mid-tier accounting firms deal with changes in their institutional environment that resulted in a shift in emphasis from the trustee logic to the commercial logic. We find that these mid-tier firms selectively adopt practices related to the commercial logic, while retaining a principal commitment to the trustee logic. Interviews with high level informants in these firms show how specific strategic choice opportunities serve as independent critical events framing practice-adoption decisions. Main strategic issues for the mid-tier firms relate to the changing role of the accountant and changes in organizational structure and practices. As these issues fundamentally challenge characteristics of their professional identity, there is internal resistance against this transformation. Non-partnered accountants mainly challenge new roles that upset their extant work routines, whereas partners resist changes affecting their autonomy. These types of resistance directly impact the strategic organizational responses of the accounting firms to institutional pressures.

The Level and Quality of Value-at-Risk Disclosure by Commercial Banks

Abstract: In this paper we study both the level of Value-at-Risk (VaR) disclosure and the accuracy of the disclosed VaR figures for a sample of US and international commercial banks. To measure the level of VaR disclosures, we develop a VaR disclosure index that captures many different facets of market risk disclosure. Using panel data over the period 1996-2005, we find an overall upward trend in the quantity of information released to the public. We also find that Historical Simulation is by far the most popular VaR method. We assess the accuracy of VaR figures by studying the number of VaR exceedances and whether actual daily VaRs contain information about the volatility of subsequent trading revenues. Unlike the level of VaR disclosure, the quality of VaR disclosure shows no sign of improvement over time. We find that VaR computed using Historical Simulation contains very little information about future volatility.

Is luxury compatible with sustainability? Luxury consumers’ viewpoint

Abstract: The luxury sector thus far has received scant attention from sustainable development activists and watchgroups. Yet, this focus is changing. Even if other sectors may be more relevant to the cause of sustainability, luxury brands that have gained intact reputations for sustainability must take care to maintain it. Therefore, the present research investigates the level of sensitivity of actual luxury buyers to the cause of sustainable development, insofar as it concerns the luxury sector, luxury brands and their purchases. Do consumers’ attitudes towards sustainability spill over to their opinions about the sustainability of luxury itself, or is luxury a world apart? The findings show that luxury buyers have ambivalent attitudes, such that they consider luxury and sustainability somewhat contradictory, especially with regard to the social and economic harmony facet of sustainable development.

The Dog That Did Not Bark: Insider Trading and Crashes

Abstract: This paper documents that at the individual stock level insiders sales peak many months before a large drop in the stock price, while insiders purchases peak only the month before a large jump. We provide a theoretical explanation for this phenomenon based on trading constraints and asymmetric information. We test our hypothesis against competing stories such as patterns of insider trading driven by earnings announcement dates, or insiders timing their trades to evade prosecution. Finally we provide new evidence regarding crashes and the degree of information asymmetry.