Suchergebnisse

The paper presents an instructional case on earnings quality. The case is based on a real-life financial analyst's report on the acquisition of the U.S. publisher CCH by the Dutch publisher Wolters Kluwer. Although the analyst believed that CCH was a sound investment, he downgraded his buy recommendation on Wolters Kluwer because of the deterioration of earnings quality, caused by a seemingly unusual accounting method for restructuring costs following the acquisition. The questions for discussion address the differences between management and analysts in their preferred earnings patterns, the impact of goodwill accounting on earnings quality, the backgrounds and rationales for the earnings adjustments the analyst made, and whether cash flow accounting would solve the problem.

In the Basque manufacturing firms embracing service‐based competitiveness models, sub‐optimal imbalances can be noted in the kind of knowledge‐intensive services being deployed (strong accent on scientific/technological activities and weak on non‐technological service activities).

PurposeThis paper aims to assess the existence of, or the risk of running into, a smart service paradox for industrial firms and how to overcome it.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative multiple case study is conducted involving four machine tool builders. The main source of data is formed by semi-structured interviews with service business managers. NVivo software was used to structure the interview harvest.FindingsThe findings reveal that a smart service paradox is a realistic threat for industrial firms, that smart service business development is a supply push affair rather than a matter of demand pull, that two types of permissions need to be granted by prospective users (license to operate and license to charge) and that three intermediate steps need to be undertaken and validated to overcome a smart service paradox: value testing or proofing; value recognition; and value sharing.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was vendor-centric and did not involve the industrial customers to whom the smart services were directed. It was based on a small sample, which limits the generalizability of findings to a broader or different (sectoral) context.Practical implicationsLessons are identified for service managers on how to circumvent a smart service paradox.Originality/valueThis study departs from a value creation-delivery-capture ("business model") perspective to assess smart service paradox dynamics. By adopting a relational perspective to it, the present paper succeeds in presenting a more granular version of the base business model.

Purpose
This study aims to explore the requirements that manufacturing companies must meet when implementing advanced services involving financial solutions.


Design/methodology/approach
This study develops a framework to assess the applicability of advanced services from a financial perspective, which is applied in a multi-case study setting.


Findings
This study identifies relevant internal and external conditions to the business implementing financialised advanced services – such as the finance function's level of sophistication, the capacity to assess market potential or the ability to use financial structuring to attract new financial players – that help predict the likelihood of adopting advanced services involving financial solutions. The research suggests planning operations as a "financial product" from the viewpoint of the financer and investor.


Research limitations/implications
The financing culture and market disparities may condition the relative weight of the dimensions analysed in the framework.


Practical implications
Launching services involving financial solutions is a complex process, and hence, the proposed framework can help managers identify the major adjustments needed to embrace those advanced service modalities.


Originality/value
This study investigates the role of financial solutions in advanced services, from both the conceptual and business perspectives.