Search Results (6)

Camelina, a traditional oil-producing plant, has gained global interest due to the high-quality oil found in its seeds. It has numerous applications, including human dietary consumption, aviation biofuel, and biodiesel production. Seed quality testing is crucial for identifying suitable seed batches for market sale. Currently, vigor tests have been established for a limited selection of commercially cultivated plant species, including camelina. This study aims to assess seed vigor and contribute to the development and validation of methods/tests for reliable vigor assessment. The experiment used two camelina genotypes developed at the Institute of Field and Vegetables Crops in Novi Sad, Serbia. The findings revealed a noteworthy reduction in germination percentages for both genotypes across all the conducted tests, as compared to the conventional laboratory germination. Simultaneously, there was a notable increase in abnormal seedlings. However, no statistically significant differences in the values of growth parameters were observed among the applied tests. In summary, the reduced seed vigor values indicate potential issues with this trait, despite generally sound germination. Additionally, the preliminary findings and methodology developed for testing the camelina seed vigor highlighted the need for optimization when applying these tests to other species to ensure their reliability and applicability. Full article

With customers’ increasing reliance on e-commerce and multimedia content after the outbreak of COVID-19, it has become crucial for companies to digitize their business methods and models. Consequently, COVID-19 has highlighted the prominence of e-commerce and new business models while disrupting conventional business activities. Hence, assessing and forecasting e-commerce growth is currently paramount for e-market planners, market players, and policymakers alike. This study sources data for the global e-commerce market leader, the US, and proposes an integrated framework that encompasses automated algorithms able to estimate six statistical and machine-learning univariate methods in order to accomplish two main tasks: (i) to produce accurate forecasts for e-commerce retail sales (e-sale) and the share of e-commerce in total retail sales (e-share); and (ii) to assess in quantitative terms the pandemic impact on the size and structure of the e-commerce retail sales sector. The results confirm that COVID-19 has significantly impacted the trend and structure of the US retail sales sector, producing cumulative excess (or abnormal) retail e-sales of $227.820 billion and a cumulative additional e-share of 10.61 percent. Additionally, estimations indicate a continuation of the increasing trend, with point estimates of $378.691 billion for US e-commerce retail sales that are projected to account for 16.72 percent of total US retail sales by the end of 2025. Nonetheless, the current findings also document that the growth of e-commerce is not a consequence of the COVID-19 crisis, but that the pandemic has accelerated the evolution of the e-commerce sector by at least five years. Overall, the study concludes that the shift towards e-commerce is permanent and, thus, governments (especially in developing countries) should prioritize policies aimed at harnessing e-commerce for sustainable development. Furthermore, in light of the research findings, digital transformation should constitute a top management priority for retail businesses. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic related government interventions produced rapid decreases in worldwide economic and social activity, with multifaceted economic and social consequences. In particular, the disruption of key industries and significant lifestyle changes in the aftermath of the pandemic outbreak led to the exponential adoption of web and video conferencing Software as a Service (SaaS) programs and to the solutions-led video conferencing market growth. However, the magnitude and persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the video conferencing solutions segment remain uninvestigated. Building on previous evidence linking population web-search behavior, private consumption, and retail sales, this study sources and employs Google Trends data as an analytical and forecasting tool for the solutions segment of the videoconferencing market. It implements a univariate forecast evaluation approach that assesses the predictive performance of several statistical and machine-learning models for the relative search volume (RSV) in the two SaaS program leaders, Zoom and Teams. ETS is found to provide the best forecast of consumer GT search interest for both RSV series. A baseline level for the consumer interest over the first pandemic wave is subsequently produced with ETS and further serves to estimate the excess search interest over the February 2020–August 2020 period. Results indicate that the pandemic has created an excess or abnormal consumer interest in the global web and videoconferencing SaaS market that would not have occurred in the absence of the pandemic. Other findings indicate that the impact is persistent as the excess interest stabilized at higher levels than in the pre-pandemic period for both SaaS market leaders, although a higher saturation of the Zoom market is detected. Full article

Theoretically, accounting earnings could be used to estimate the intrinsic value of equity. If accounting earnings could be predicted accurately, then, so could be the value of equity, thereby, creating much less risk in equity investment. However, earnings surprises are common, and therefore so is the risk in equity investment. To quantify the risk in the investment implied from accounting earnings, I propose to use financial statements to construct abnormal sales growth rates (ABG) and abnormal changes in profit margins (ABPM) to measure the uncertainty embedded in the accounting earnings. I measure ABG (ABPM) as the difference between the current value of sales growth rate (profit margin) and its benchmark, a weighted value of the three preceding years’ sales growth rate (profit margin). Then, I quantify whether and to what extent the news of ABG and ABPM are material enough to change the expected earnings (proxied by analysts’ forecasted earnings revisions [FREV] and predicted unexpected earnings [UE], and future stock returns [SAR]). Fama–MacBeth regression results show that, together, solely ABPM and ABG could explain 8.2% (2.3%) (5.4%) of the variation of FREV (UE) (SAR). The risk-predictability of ABPM and ABG is robust to the presence of abnormal growth in net operating assets and accruals quality, which, suggested by previous literature, might influence unexpected earnings. Further contingent analyses indicate that the capital market reacts more strongly to the bad news embedded in the ABPM/ABG (with negative signs) than the good news in ABPM/ABG (with positive signs). Full article

Many still rightly wonder whether accounting numbers affect business value. Basic questions are “why?” and “how?” We aim at promoting an objective choice on how optimizing the most suitable valuation methods under a “value-based management” framework through some performance measurement systems. First, we present a comprehensive review of valuation methods. Three valuations methods, (i) Free Cash Flow Valuation Model (FCFVM), (ii) Residual Earning Valuation Model (REVM) and (iii) Abnormal Earning Growth Model (AEGM), are presented. We point out advantages and limitations. As applications, the proofs of our findings are illustrated on three study cases: Marks & Spencer’s (M&S’s) business pattern (size and growth prospect), which had a recently advertised valuation “problem”, and two comparable companies, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, all three chosen for multiple-based valuation. For the purpose, two value drivers are chosen, EnV/EBIT (entity value/earnings before interests and taxes) and the corresponding EnV/Sales. Thus, the question whether accounting numbers through models based on mathematical economics truly affect business value has an answer: “Maybe, yes”. Full article

In this study, we evaluate the impact of R&D intensity on acquiring firms’ abnormal returns by examining 925 Canadian completed deals between 1993 and 2002 that have information on R&D expenditures. While examining the returns to acquiring firm shareholders in the R&D intensive firms we evaluate two competing hypotheses: ‘growth potential hypothesis’ and ‘integration failure hypothesis’. According to the ‘growth potential hypothesis’, in light of the growth potential of the targets acquired by R&D intensive firms, investors are likely to react positively. ‘Integration failure hypothesis’ focuses on integration difficulties of a target by an R&D intensive firms and suggests that investor might be skeptical of such acquisitions and react negatively. Our results show that R&D intensity (i.e. R&D expenditure by sales) has a positive and significant effect on cumulative abnormal returns of the acquiring firms around the announcement dates. This implies that market generally favors the M&A deals by R&D intensive firms. An analysis of the differentiating characteristics reveal that R&D firms have a significantly higher growth potential and undertake more stock financed deals compared to the non R&D firms. Further, our results show that there is no significant change in long-term operating performance subsequent to the M&A deals for both R&D firms and non R&D firms. In general, our results show support for ‘growth potential hypothesis’. Full article