Board Structure and Corporate Performance
Özgür Arslan, Mehmet Baha Karan, Cihan Eksi

This paper attempts to analyze the impact of board structure attributes on their accounting and stock market performance. Our analyses are built on an emerging market, Turkey for the period between 1995 and 2006. We conduct our analyses through binary logistic methodology. Our findings show that, while board ownership does not have any impact on the accounting performance, it has a fairly positive influence on the stock market performance of firms during the crisis period. Similarly, the situation when the ceo of a firm is also the chairman of the board is not found to have any impact on the corporate performance of firms, although its negative impact is present during the crisis period. Moreover, board independence is found to not to have an effect on accounting performance, yet the stock market perceives board independence positively, both in general and in the crisis periods. Finally, board size has a positive impact , both on the accounting and on the stock market performance of firms, yet the impact on the corporate performance reverts to adverse during the crisis period.

Key Words: board size, board independence, ROA, Tobin’s Q
JEL Classification: G14, G20
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Valuation of Slovene Publicly Traded Companies with a Valuation Model Based on Expected Earnings and Growth Opportunities
Igor Stubelj

The article sheds light on valuating Slovene publicly traded companies. The research aim is to solve the problems about company valuation in an emerging market, such as the Slovene market certainly is. The critical point is how to evaluate the variables to put in the valuation model. The chosen methodology deals with these problems, and minimizes the analyst’s subjective judgment and the bias the analyst puts into the valuation. Twenty Slovene publicly traded companies are valuated with a valuation model based on expected earnings and growth opportunities. The research provides the assessment and the usefulness of valuation with the model and the conclusions from the valuation results.

Key Words: company valuation, earnings, investments, capital, cost of equity capital
JEL Classification: G30, G34
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The Impact of Firm Size on Dividend Behaviour: A Study With Reference to Corporate Firms across Industries in India
Azhagaiah Ramachandran, Veeramuthu Packkirisamy

The objective of this paper is to examine the association between the Corporate Leverage (CL) and the Dividend Policy (DP) of firms across industries in India in respect of Size of Corporate Firms. The investigation is conducted on a panel sample of 73 firms across industries [Cement, Chemical and Fertilizer, IT, Oil and Gas, Pharmaceutical, Shipping, and Textiles], which listed their shares in National Stock Exchange (NSE) in India for the period 1996–2007. The impacts of Capital Structure (CS) variables (leverage) on DP measures – dividend payout (Net dividend paid/net income) in the presence of some basic fundamental variables are considered to be the determinants of DP, using the Multiple Regression Technique (OLS method). The results of the cross-sectional ols Model for the selected sample firms under various sectors show that there is a significant effect of selected independent variables. Therefore, this study proves that the DP of Small Size, Medium Size, Large Size, and Overall Corporate Firms across industries in India is dependent on the level of debt in CS.

Key Words: capital structure, dividend policy, corporate leverage,long term debt, short term debt, total debt
JEL Classification: G30, G32, G35
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Change Management in Adult Educational Organizations: A Slovenian Case Study
Romana Martinčič

Successful implementing andmanaging of change is urgently necessary for each adult educational organization. During the process, leading of the staff is becoming a key condition and the most significant factor. Beside certain personal traits of the leader, change management demands also certain leadership knowledges, skills, versatilities and behaviour which may even border on changing the organizational culture. The paper finds the significance of certain values and of organizational climate and above all the significance of leadership style which a leader will adjust to the staff and to the circumstances. The author presents a multiple qualitative case study of managing change in three adult educational organizations. The paper finds that factors of successful leading of change exist which represent an adequate approach to leading the staff during the introduction of changes in educational organizations. Its originality/value is in providing information on the important relationship between culture, leadership styles and leader’s behaviour as preconditions for successful implementing and managing of strategic change.

Key Words:change management, educational organization, leadership, process of changes, qualitative research
JEL Classification: I10, M10
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Understanding ISO’s 9001 Benefits and Research through an Operations Strategy Framework
Borut Rusjan, Pavel Castka

Despite the success that the ISO 9001 standard has achieved it has been extensively criticized and empirical studies have shown controversial results about its impact on performance. Our conceptual study was motivated by the mentioned dilemma about iso 9001 effectiveness, and the controversy that this dilemma raises in literature on the one hand and on the other by almost exponential growth of certifications among companies world-wide. It is our opinion that in order to understand results related to ISO 9001 implementation we need to take a step back from empirical research and instead try to analyze iso conceptually by taking into account also the results of empirical studies implemented in the past. The purpose of the paper is to clarify the purpose of implementation of ISO 9001 and, in relation to this purpose, to analyze different possible benefits resulting from its implementation. In order to achieve this purpose our goal is to analyze the criticism of the old ISO 9001:1994 by using a specific framework of the operations strategy theory. The paper emphasises that in accordance with its conformance purpose, ISO 9001 is successful in building conformance capability and that by using ISO 9001 practices companies can also benefit in relation to production economics through improved process efficiency and to other competitive capabilities. It also emphasises that empirical results expected from ISO 9001 implementation are strategy contingent and therefore this should be taken into account in designing empirical studies about ISO’s benefits.

Key Words: ISO 9001, quality assurance, conformity, standards
JEL Classification: L15, M10
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