Boon Seng Tan

Knowledge Transfer, Perceived Environmental Turbulence and Innovation in China

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of individual entrepreneurs on the operating environments as potential opportunities or threats, which influence the relationship between knowledge transfer and innovation by drawing on the threat‐rigidity thesis and prospect theory.Design/methodology/approach – The authors examine the relationships among knowledge transfer, perceived environmental turbulence and innovation, using data from a mail survey of 66 technology‐based entrepreneurs in China.Findings – Results showed that knowledge transfer was positively related to innovation, but that this relationship was moderated by perceived environmental turbulence.Research limitations/implications – Research limitations of this paper include causality, common method bias, and generalizability. In future research, it may be helpful to use field experiments and longitudinal research designs, and to replicate this research in other industries and contexts.Practical implications – This research ...

Bitcoin – Its Economics for Financial Reporting

There is yet any official guidance on the financial reporting of Bitcoin transaction from the standard setters as the crypto-currency become increasingly popular and tax accounting guidance begin to appear in 2014. Designed as a decentralized currency, Bitcoin will not become a reporting currency and will instead complement fiat money. We argue that the accounting principle of faithful representation requires interpreting the economic substance for financial reporting that varies with reporting entity: trading firms recognize Bitcoin like a foreign currency and measure the revenue, or expense, at the equivalent amount of the reporting currency; digital currency exchanges recognize Bitcoin as goods in line with tax accounting treatment. An Economica paper by Radford (1945) describing cigarette being used as commodity money in a POW camp has alluded to this economic basis. This paper applies accounting principle to a practical issue and contributes to the thinking process which may help standard setter issue an interpretation.

How relevant is the MBA: A revisit

Abstract The master of business administration (MBA) is the centerpiece of management education and holds the promise of systematically preparing its graduates for their managerial roles. However, there is escalating criticism that MBA programs are losing their relevance based on empirical evidence that competencies indicated by managers to be most critical are least represented in core MBA curricula. The authors re-examine the evidence and argue that the misalignment appears to be overstated. Consideration for relevance in preparing graduates for managerial roles needs to consider not only curricula, but also actual learning, social capital from the alumni network, and the signaling effect of graduating from an MBA program.

Blockchain - A Database with a Twist

This paper reviews the concept that a blockchain is simply a database without a central authority. This concept means that a blockchain-based application is inherently a database application that leverages on the strength blockchain has over a traditional database with central authority. Two major areas of applications are: (a) shared database containing records of interdependent transactions, (b) asset registries where the chain of historical ownership (i.e. provenance) is valuable. The absence of a central authority means that traditional security via login linked to permission to read and write the database is no longer the primary strategy. Instead, immutability of the blockchain, together with identification and allocation of the validator, becomes the primary security strategy. These conceptual differences are the driving force behind the unusual data and database structure of the blockchain. This paper presents these concepts to a non-technical audience at two levels: (a) an easy to read-no complexity level without explanation of mechanics, and (b) building on the previous level, explain the key mechanics for a non-technical audience.

Technology and Innovation – Lessons from the Dismal Science

This article discusses some facets of technological innovation well known to contemporary economists and provides a useful basis to think rigorously about some societal problems arising from innovation. I review the role of innovation and economic growth, the evolution of the concept of disruptive technology, and the debate about technological unemployment. I hope to provide the lay person a more balanced view about technology and innovation in a time when news stories focus more on news worthiness than rigor.

Budgeting Practice in Singapore – An Exploratory Study Using a Survey

This study is conducted to better understand budgeting practice in Singapore which may be critical for increasing competitiveness and productivity for firms, and increasing value-add contribution for accountants. We obtained 356 valid responses from an online survey administered to members of a professional accounting organization. We found that most firms prepare budget and many (about 30%) incorporate significant strategy assumptions in budgets. The time spend on budgeting (10%-20%) is lower than reported in US studies, and more time is spent in preparing than using budget. Budgeting problems (e.g. ratcheting and sandbagging behaviour) are well recognized, but firms preparing budgets with business plans generally deem pros for budgeting exceeding cons. Firms with annual revenue below

Interim financial reporting: how frequent should it be?

1m prepare budget primarily for forecasting cashflows; larger firms focus more on guiding and coordinating business activities, with increasing importance on variance analysis as firm size increases. For firms that prepare budgets with business plans, employee compensation based on budget performance is not as prevalent as expected: About 70% of the firms set budget targets to monitor strategy execution, about 50% set budget target for employee performance evaluation, and about 43% compensate by budget performance. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Mandatory Annuitisation, Wealth Transfer and Utility Enhancing Policy: Singapore’s CPF Life Scheme

The choice of interim financial reporting frequency is a policy decision framed as the choice of quarterly or semi-annual reporting. The arguments in the debate on the frequency are position dependent. Proponents argue that quicker incorporation of firm specific information into share prices is beneficial for capital allocation and corporate governance. Opponents argue that frequent reporting induces short term behaviour. Scholarly research examines aspects of the cost or benefit rigorously, usually with supporting empirical evidence, and is sometime used in policy debate. This paper integrates the arguments of stakeholders from both sides of the debate using a cost-benefit analysis framework. Ideally, empirical analysis using the framework should be used to support evidence-based policy making.

Bitcoin - Its Economics for Financial Reporting: Bitcoin - Its Economics for Financial Reporting

We estimate the wealth elasticity of longevity in Singapore and discuss its implication for the CPF Life policy in Singapore. Using data from 220 obituaries in 1989 and controlling for the trend of improved longevity over the century, we found a statistically significant wealth elasticity of longevity. Despite weaknesses of the research design, this result suggests that a mandatory life annuity is a regressive wealth transfer but not always a bad policy. When consumption and bequest are perfect substitute, there is no insurance benefit from annuity, and the policy is inefficient if administrative cost is positive. For the other extreme case that bequest has no value based on Brown (2003), the small elasticity of 0.0126 means that utility improvement from insuring longevity risks more than compensate for utility loss from the regressive transfer even for the poor, resulting in Pareto improvement. The plausible case that bequest and consumption are imperfect substitute most likely result in Kaldor-Hick efficiency meaning the policy is utility enhancing but requires compensatory redistribution of wealth towards the poor.