Friday, December 27, 2019

Taxation Without Representation - 1753 Words

Oppressors or Bullies? Taxation Without Representation Why weren’t the thirteen colonies willing to abide by England’s laws? While some people were horrified with the Stamp Act, others were completely accepting of this new act. Janis Herbert stated in her book, The American Revolution for Kids, that after the French and Indian War, England had many debts, which obviously needed to be paid (3). England’s Parliament decided the American colonists needed to pay their debts for them. England went about this matter by raising taxes and requiring a stamp for fifty different documents (Gale Encyclopedia Par. 2). Since America was not yet a country, and had no representation, they were trapped with the laws Parliament passed. Even though England was trying to pay off their debts from the French Indian War, they went about it the wrong way, because they expected the American colonists to pay by increased tax dollars. This is an example of taxation without representation, because the Ame rican colonists didnt have representatives, or the opportunity to vote. To help pay off their debt, England scheduled the initiation of the Stamp Act, which placed a tax on fifty different documents, on November 1, 1765 (Gale Par. 2; Brindell 13). This act was to put a tax â€Å"upon every paper commonly called a pamphlet and upon every newspaper† (Copeland 193). Because the Stamp Act was an internal tax, which meant this tax law was only enforced in America, this made the colonists evenShow MoreRelatedDemocracy : No Taxation Without Representation961 Words   |  4 Pagesand participate in democracy. This notion of democracy slowly evolved out of different revolutions and ideas. We saw great leaps forward in in the evolution of democracy during the US revolution which was exemplified by the cry of: â€Å"No taxation without representation.† In the French revolution, in which there has been so much has studied about, is another example of inequality helping democrat ization. In the modern era, we have seen the Arab spring rise and fall, with some countries making modest reformsRead MoreNo Taxation without Representation Essay1851 Words   |  8 PagesTaxation is an extremely controversial topic in the United States because in order to continue to enjoy the American comforts of healthcare, social security, national and neighborhood defense, and regulated clean water and air, to name a few, we continue to increase the demands of our government without wanting to pay for the supply of services. Remember, money is a currency and can be used to consume, invest, save, pay loans (including credit cards), or pay taxes. If asking various families whatRead MoreNo Taxation Without Representation- Revolutionary Movement?1832 Words   |  8 PagesThe demand for no taxation without representation was the primary force motivating the American revolutionary movement, and for many it became a symbol for democracy. Throughout the late 18th century, the Britis h colony of America was oppressed by Parliament from across the pond. This oppression included unequal rights compared to English citizens that lived on the mainland, unneeded taxation, and no representation in Parliament, which resulted in many laws that were unfavorable to the AmericanRead MoreNo Taxation Without Representation On Future Americans1327 Words   |  6 PagesIt is a core founding principle of our nation that there will be no taxation without representation. The current fiscal actions of our nation will pass the burden on to future generations, and they will be the ones required to pay for today’s spending. Without a say in this fiscal burden being passed to them, the lack of a balanced budget is in effect, taxation without representation on future Americans. My proposed amendment to the United States Constitution would create a requirement for a balancedRead MoreEssay on The Injustices of the Crown719 Words   |  3 Pageswhich they grumbled to each other i n secret. Taxation without representation; this was just one of many, many grievances inflicted upon the American colonists, and one which the colonists would eventually fight against with the mass-dumping of tea in the Boston Tea Party. In short, it meant that the colonists were to pay taxes for all of the imports that the mother country wished to tax the colonists for. â€Å"Without representation† meant that the British Parliament would tax the colonistsRead MoreThe Creation Of The United States Of America981 Words   |  4 Pagescolonist considered more taxation with out representation. The Townshend program’s attempt to get a grip on the colonies failed. The colonist were rebellious and organized boycotts on British products. With the tension between the colonies and Great Britain reaching a breaking point the British pass the Tea Act. This act angered the colonists for quite a few reasons but the most important thing it did was reignite the colonist’ s anger for taxation without representation. This soon led to the famousRead MoreA History of the World in 6 Glasses Study Questions Essay1485 Words   |  6 Pagespurposes as a pain killer. â€Å"Spirits in the Colonial Period† 1. The origin of distilled spirits came from the Arabs. 2. The connection between spirits and colonization is that, spirits became an economic good of great importance that with their taxation and control became matters of high political importance and helped determine the course of history. 3. The production of spirits is connected to slavery because the African slavers who supplied the Europeans with slaves, most valued spirits asRead MoreJames Otis s No Taxation Without Representation Essay1630 Words   |  7 Pages1763. In The Rights of British Colonies Asserted and Proved James Otis outlines his perspectives on government s rights and the rights of the people , these perspectives revolutionized colonial opinions and made famous the quote† no taxation without representation.† James Otis was born in 1725 and died in 1783 during that time he lived an eventful and meaningful life. James Otis graduated from Harvard in 1743 and became a successful lawyer in Boston, his experience in law played a largeRead MoreAmerica At The Foundation Was Formed On The Basis Of No Taxation Without Representation2572 Words   |  11 Pages America at the foundation was formed on the basis of no taxation without representation. How then did we become a country so accepting of higher taxes and government reliance? Breaking it down to the simplest arguments there can be two main points, either taxes are beneficial or taxes are harmful. Taxes and high taxes especially in general are always going to be harmful. If the government is coming at the issue in a way that frames them as a form of caring they are lying. Let’s get one thing straightRead MoreTaxation W/O Representation803 Words   |  4 PagesThe colonists strongly desired independence and separation fro m Britain once taxation without representation was imposed on them. The colonies struggled to earn their representation in the Parliament of their mother country. They were turned down repeatedly and this caused huge issues for the colonists; it was the complete reason for the Revolutionary War. Therefore, the demand for no taxation without representation was the primary force to motivate America against Britain and it was also a symbol

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Similarities and Differences between Greek and Roman Gods

Have you ever wondered where things in our everyday lives get their names from? Well the answer could be from Greek or Roman gods. So many things are indeed named after the gods. Like the car company Mercury or the shoe company Nike. There are many gods in both mythologies but this essay will talk about 12 of them, six gods from Greek mythology and six gods from Roman mythology. Each god will have their own corresponding god from the other mythology. Although they might be from different mythologies in essence they are all very similar. If this is an essay about the similarities and difference between the Greek and Roman gods then it would only make sense to start with the kings of the gods, Zeus and Jupiter. They are both the rulers†¦show more content†¦Neptune is better known as Neptune Equester, god of horses and horse racing. Because the Greeks did so many things on the sea they needed Poseidon to protect them. But the Romans were more based around war and the like. So t hey were more focused on praying to the god of war Mars. The gods of war are Ares from Greek mythology and Mars from Roman mythology. There are some major differences between these gods, a lot more than the others. Aries for one was a god to be feared because he was the god of war, bloodshed, and murder that and he just liked to watch mortals kill each other. When he is on the battle field he is usually accompanied by some gnarly people. â€Å"He was followed into battle by Phobos (Fear) and Deimos (Terror), two lesser gods who sometimes are said to be his sons. He was also followed by the goddesses Eris (Strife) and Enyo (Horror)† (â€Å"Encyclopedia Mythica† n.d.) Mars on the other hand was kind of like Ares and Athena put together because he was a god of war and its tactics. Mars was also the god of fertility of crops. Mars is said to have fathered the founders of Rome and the Roman people thus the Romans styled themselves after him. No Greek would be caught dead trying to stylize themselves after Ares. Both of them are po rtrayed as being fully armored. But these warriors needed something to protect and that was the queens of the gods. The queens of the gods were Juno from Roman Mythology and Hera from Greek mythology. TheyShow MoreRelatedGreek And Roman Mythology881 Words   |  4 PagesGreek and Roman Mythology Since the dawn of time, different societies have worshiped gods, believing in their power and being afraid of their fury. People have prayed and made sacrifices in order to achieve the gods mercy and generosity. They believed that, if the gods are in good mood, they will provide people with good weather conditions for growing crops. People needed explanations for different natural phenomena, such as rain, drought, lightning, thunder and earthquake. So, ancient people believedRead MoreThe Religious And Social Differences Between Ancient Greece And Rome Essay1423 Words   |  6 PagesThe Religious and Social Differences between Ancient Greece and Rome In modern day, everyone tends to think of the Roman gods when they think of Greece, or when they think of the ancient gods in general. Juno versus Hera, Jupiter versus Zeus, and Mars versus Ares are some examples of their different and separate deities; not just their names, but their personalities as well. There are many differences between the two religions, as well as differences between each culture’s social standings. NotRead MoreSimilarities And Differences Between Greece And Rome1457 Words   |  6 Pagesfeel There are a variety of vocal points when bringing up similarities and differences between Greece and Rome. The two vocal points I feel strongly about are both their military and leadership. When talking about their militaries we have two of the strongest forces to ever grace the earth. When talking about their respective cultures we are talking about beliefs that spread nationwide. These are the similarities and differences between Greece and Rome. If there was anything that Rome andRead MoreThe Similarities Of The Vedic And Greco-Romans758 Words   |  4 PagesVedic and Greco-Romans Although the though the two religions were worlds apart, numerous features of both religions seemed no different from one another. Through time, there has been many theories as to how this ancient Hindu religion could share so much resemblance to the ancient Greeks. Many traits of the similarities include: the ancient language of Sanskrit and Greek writings, the connections in their polytheistic deities, and even in the stories and legends of the two separate religions. WesternRead MoreComparing Roman And Greek Mythology1354 Words   |  6 Pages Roman Vs. Greek Mythology Roman and Greek mythology are full of complexities. Much of Greek and Roman everyday life revolved around these myths. Many similarities are obvious between Roman and Greek mythology because the Romans borrowed a significant amount of their myths and gods from the Greeks. Although Roman and Greek mythology have a few components in common, they also have many various aspects that cause differences in their cultures. First of all; values, morals, traditionsRead MoreGreek And Roman Ideas778 Words   |  4 Pages Greek and Roman Ideals When considering the ancient Greek and Roman ideals you can see the distinct similarities in their art, government, monotheism, and architecture. The Romans duplicated many of the Greek styles and modified them to suit their lifestyles. Greece and Rome influences can be seen in art today with the use of concepts, techniques, and styles that were founded by the Greek classical ideal. These include techniques for carving sculptures and the construction of massive metropolitanRead More Roman And Greek Gods Essay example1482 Words   |  6 PagesRoman and Greek Gods It has been known that the Romans and the Greeks have had many interactions with each other, whether it would be due to trading or just plain traveling, the stories of their myths have crossed each other in one way or another. This is may be the reason why there are many similarities between Greek and Roman Mythology. Even though a Greek god or goddess may have a different name in Roman Mythology they still performed similar tasks and were worshiped for similar reasons.Read More A Comparison of the Divine in Gilgamesh, the Old Testament of the Bible, and Metamorphoses1132 Words   |  5 PagesMiddle-easterners and Romans had very different beliefs about the divine. For example, Hebrews are monotheistic, while Middle-easterners and Greco-Romans of early time periods believe in many gods. Writings from the ancient time period sketch these differences, as well as the many similarities between religious beliefs. The Old Testament is an excellent reference depicting Hebrew beliefs, while Gilgamesh outlines many Middle-eastern beliefs, and The Metamorphoses shows readers many ancient Greco-Roman beliefsRead MoreAncient Greek And Ancient Roman Cities876 Words   |  4 Pages There are many similarities between Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman cities, mainly because Roman cities were highly influenced by the Greek. Roman culture reflects the Greek’s culture, their mythologies are closely related and so are the characteristics of the architecture. From one grew the forms of the other and the result created were two beautiful cities with massive amounts of history. This paper will go over the three main areas in which Greeks influenced the Romans the most. The firstRead MoreSimilarities And Differences Between Cultures And Societies902 Words   |  4 PagesThe similarities and differences between cultures and societies is what makes the world like it is today. Cultures developed independently, but as time went on and communication technology evolved, people b egan to share their culture’s ideas on religion, political philosophy, and medicinal practices. Cultures started to feed off of and evolve from one another, as highlighted in the similarities in ideals across the world. Not all countries adopted the same ideas though, as evident by the many differences

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Emily Grierson Motive To Kill Homer Barron Essay Example For Students

Emily Grierson Motive To Kill Homer Barron Essay William Faulkners A Rose for Emily is an intriguing tale of the life and death of Emily Grierson, who ends up killing her male companion, Homer Barron. A motive is not stated by the narrator, but when read critically a motive can be found. Several Literary critics have proposed different motives of why Emily Grierson killed Homer Barron. Some say that Homer was going to jilt Emily. Although homer was the not the marrying type, there is no evidence that homer was going to leave her. Another motive was that homer was gay. This motive was taken out of context; homer enjoyed being a bachelor, drinking with the guys at the local bar. Homer filled the void left by her Father, Mr. Grierson, since Homer and Mr. Grierson were very similar character. Yet, Homer probably never intended to marry Emily right away, since he was not the marrying type. Emily could not deal with another man leaving her alone. What can also be taken into consideration was that Emily had an image and the Grierson famil y name to uphold. I believe that Emily Griersons motive to kill Homer Barron is because Emily rather had been with a dead man instead of being by herself, why does Emily kill Homer. Mr. Grierson was from the old south. Not much was said about him directly. An image by the narrator describes Mr. Grierson overprotecting Emily; Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the back-flung front door(308) The Grierson were an upper class family in the town of Jefferson. He scared away any person trying to ask out Emily on a date. He prevented Emily to experience a normal life. All Mr. Grierson wanted was for Emily to stay as his housekeeper. In his critical essay, Jack Scherting uses Sigmund Freud Freudian Principal of Oedipal to describe Emilys relationship and attachment with her father. Emilys father, Mr. Grierson, compressed Emily sexual nature and in return Emily grows attach to him. So when Mr. Grierson dies, Emily rejects the idea of her father being dead. He writes that Emilys subsequent behavior clearly shows that the death of her father was a piece of reality disavowed by her ego. (400) When the women of Jefferson go to pay respect, Emily responds by saying that her father was not dead.(308) She of course was in denial. For three whole days, she preserved Mr. Grierson body in their home. Emily shortly after broke down after every person in town tried to persuade her to let go of Mr. Griersons body. Scherting says that Emily simply just didnt broke down he explains that Faulkners use of the phrase broke down does not mean Emily consciously acknowledged the reality of her fathers deathSignaled a retreat from that reality into the defenses of her own psyche. Emily regressed into her childhood. (400) In short, Emily sort of became this orphan who needed a male wh o resembled her father. It is not a surprise as Scherting says that Miss Emilys libidinal attachment to her father was soon transferred to a surrogate male. (401) That male of course was Homer Barron. Homer Barron was a northerner foreman for a construction company who came to Jefferson to build sidewalks and roadways. Homer seemed to have been a hated person yet a popular person to gossip about. He was the center of attention whenever you heard a lot of laughing about the square, Homer Barron would be in the center of the group.(309) He was seen around town with Emily on Sundays. This was Emilys first relationship after all, Emily was past her prime, she was past 30 years old and forbidden to be involved with the opposite sex due to her father. Homer was basically her first love. He was a strong male figure that filled the void left by her father, Mr. Grierson. Yet like most bachelors, Homer Barron was a guy. Homer liked to hang out with the guys and drink and such. He was not the marrying type. Homer and Mr. Grierson could be considered similar. Scherting point out that both were described to be strong willed men, and in separate scenes, both are described holding horsewhips.(40 1) .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291 , .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291 .postImageUrl , .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291 , .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291:hover , .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291:visited , .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291:active { border:0!important; } .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291:active , .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291 .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u698d6783337ef7329314567f2a423291:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: How does Charles Dickens use the ghost story genre to provoke fear in both the Victorian and modern reader of The Signalman EssayEmily Grierson represented the old south in a new era where old traditions where fading away, the last of a dying breed. The men admired her and the women talked about her. She was Jeffersons modern day celebrity in a sense. And like any other celebrity she was look at to set an example, as well as to serve as a topic of gossip. Dating Homer, a northerner, of course was not normal in the southern tradition nor would have it been pleasing to the Grierson family image. As Emily and Homer were continued to be seen in public, the gossip continued. Th e women of Jefferson were somewhat disgusted with their relationship. They sent the minister to guide Emily, which did not work. The next step was to call on the Grierson relatives that resided in Alabama. The Grierson family was considered the upper class of the town of Jefferson. Homer, a Yankee from the north, would be displeasing to the familys name. Emily and her father lived on a select street as Faulkner described. The Griersons were looked down upon, almost hated for the way they thought about their status as upper class, the town believed that the Griersons held themselves for a little too high for what they really were. Faulkner never included what exactly happen when Emilys relatives came to visit. The relatives were only described to be even more Grierson than Miss Emily had ever been. Scherting came to a conclusion that it was logical to assume that they forced her to make a choice: either marry Homer or stop carrying on with him.(402) What drives Emily to kill homer? Sexual Politics plays another factor. The fact that not only did Mr. Grierson prevented her to interact with the opposite sex; he made her a victim and dominated her all throughout her life. The Town also played a part in sexual Politics. The town men felt sorry for her, especially after she refused to acknowledge her fathers death. Colonel Sartoris even went as far as letting her live tax free. They let Emily purchase the rat poison, which she used to murder Homer Barron. The town also did not confront her on the stench that several neighbors complained about, which in reality was the decaying corpse of Homer Barron. Instead they covered up the stench with lime. Emily has always been referred to Miss Emily Grierson; Judith Fetterley says her status as a lady is a cage from which she cannot escape. To them she is always Miss Emily; she is never referred to and never thought as otherwise.(Fetterley) Emily was no longer dependent of her father Mr. Grierson nor married. The Jefferson residents treated Emily as a burden, therefore allowed her to do whatever she wanted. Fetterley continue to say Not only is A rose for Emily a supreme analysis of what men do to women by making them ladies; it is also an exposure of how this act in turn defines and recoils upon men.(Fetterley) Since Homer was a bachelor and not ready to marry Emily, the only way she could have him and at the same not disgracing the family name by marrying a northerner or go against southern tradition was to kill Homer. That way she could have homer and not be alone, while still upholding her image and the Griersons family name. Emily probably killed Homer with rat poison although it is not stated how exactly homer was killed. All is known is that Homer entered through the kitchen door and never came out. In the end, even if Emily motive was to kill homer, Homer is not the victim. It is Emily who is the victim. Emily slept next to homer for 40 years in the upstairs bedroom. After her death, it is at that moment when the men of Jefferson break down the shut door of the upstairs bedroom and see the remains of Homer, that they realize what harm was done to Emily. I think William Faulkner appropriately titled this story A rose for Emily simply to give compassion to Emily, since no one ever gave it to her.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

International Diversification and the Market Value of New Product Introduction Essay Example

International Diversification and the Market Value of New Product Introduction Essay Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of International Management International diversi? cation and the market value of new product introduction Chi-Feng Wang a,1, Li-Yu Chen b,? , Shao-Chi Chang c,2 a b c Department of Business Administration, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Taiwan Department of Management, Fo Guang University, Taiwan Institute of International Business, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan article info Article history: Received 11 January 2011 Received in revised form 31 March 2011 Accepted 31 March 2011 Available online 2 May 2011 Keywords: International diversi? cation New product introduction Technological capability Marketing capability Event study abstract Although previous studies on international diversification are plentiful, they mainly focus on the effect of international diversification on overall firm performance, and the results are mixed. This study extends this line of research and explores the impact of international diversification on new product performance. Specifically, we ask if international diversification explains the stock market reactions to new product introduction (NPI) announcements. We find an inverted-U-shaped relationship between international diversification and the announcement returns of NPIs, revealing that the market value of NPIs initially improves and then declines with increasing international diversification. The results also show that intangible assets, such as technological and marketing capabilities, positively moderate the relationship between international diversification and the market value of NPIs. We will write a custom essay sample on International Diversification and the Market Value of New Product Introduction specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on International Diversification and the Market Value of New Product Introduction specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on International Diversification and the Market Value of New Product Introduction specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Our study not only highlights the importance of considering both sides of international diversification in affecting investors assessments of corporate new product strategies, but also shows the possibility of internal capabilities in changing the fixed relationship between international diversification and the market value of new products.  © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction According to the theory of foreign direct investment (FDI) (Caves, 1996; Dunning, 1988; Hymer, 1976) and portfolio theory (Jacquillat and Solnik, 1978; Lessard, 1973, 1976; Solnik, 1974), international diversi? ation will lead to higher ? rm value. However, existing studies examining the impact of international diversi? cation on ? rm performance have yielded inconclusive results. The results on the relationship between international diversi? cation and ? rm performance has been found to be positive (Delios and Beamish, 1999; Grant, 1987; Rugman et al. , 2008), negative (Collins, 1990; Z aheer and Mosakowski, 1997), U-shaped (Capar and Kotabe, 2003; Gaur and Kumar, 2009; Lu and Beamish, 2001), inverted-U-shaped (Brock et al. , 2006; Garbe and Richter, 2009; Gomes and Ramaswamy, 1999; Hitt et al. 1997) and horizontal-S-shaped (Contractor et al. , 2003; Lu and Beamish, 2004; Ruigrok et al. , 2007). To better understand the in? uence of international diversi? cation, we extend this line of research by studying the impact of international diversi? cation on new product performance. Speci? cally, we test if international diversi? cation explains the stock ? Corresponding author at: Present address: Department of Management, Fo Guang University, No. 160, Linwei Rd. , Jiaosi, Yilan County 26247, Taiwan. Tel. : + 886 3 9871000 23816. E-mail addresses: [emailprotected] net. tw (C. -F. Wang), [emailprotected] fgu. edu. w (L. -Y. Chen), [emailprotected] ncku. edu. tw (S. -C. Chang). 1 Present address: Department of Business Administration, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, No. 123, University Road, Section 3, Douliou, Yunlin 64002, Taiwan. Tel. : + 886 5 53426015245. 2 Present address: Institute of International Business, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, 701, Tainan, Taiwan. Tel. : + 886 6 275757553506. 1075-4253/$ – see front matter  © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10. 1016/j. intman. 2011. 03. 002 334 C. -F. Wang et al. / Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 arket responses to new product introduction (NPI) announcements. NPIs are an important dimension of innovation output. 3 Firms with the ability to introduce new products are signaled as those with the opportunity for differentiation and future earnings (Chaney et al. , 1991; Kleinschmidt and Cooper, 1991; Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001). In order to improve the performance of NPIs, many ? rms are engaged in international diversi? cation activities (Kogut and Zander, 1993; Peng and Wang, 2000). Previous stud ies have documented that international diversi? cation comes with both bene? s and costs (Contractor et al. , 2003; Lu and Beamish, 2004; Ruigrok et al. , 2007). We suggest that these bene? ts and costs might create both opportunities and challenges for ? rms to develop new products, and hence in? uence investors assessment of the new products introduced by ? rms. International diversi? cation may have positive effects on NPIs. For example, it allows ? rms to reach outside their domestic boundaries, providing them with more opportunities to gain new ideas in terms of the types of new products that can be developed (Hitt et al. , 1997). Internationally diversi? ed ? ms also have better access to the resources resident in foreign countries that may be necessary for producing these new products (Craig and Douglas, 2000; Peng and Wang, 2000). Furthermore, international diversi? cation creates the bene? t of economies of scale by ef? ciently leveraging the initial investments on new prod ucts over a broader market base (Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001). In spite of the bene? cial effects of international diversi? cation, we suggest that international diversi? cation may also entail disadvantages when it comes to introducing new products. For instance, cross-national distances increase the dif? ulty for internationally diversi? ed ? rms to transfer technological knowledge between countries. Differential environmental settings among countries might also constrain the ? rms ability to absorb and apply resources towards new product development. In such cases, new products are expected to be less worthwhile for introducing ? rms with international diversi? cation activities. In addition to investigating the direct impact of international diversi? cation on the stock market reactions to NPI announcements, we postulate that investors assessments of the value of new products may depend on a ? ms internal capabilities. Extending previous research documenting the importance of technological and marketing capabilities in determining new product success (e. g. , Cooper and Kleinschmidt, 1987; Yeoh and Roth, 1999), we argue that both marketing and technological capabilities assist in enhancing the bene? ts of international diversi? cation while simultaneously restricting its drawbacks with regard to the introduction of new products. We test our hypotheses by measuring the stock market responses to NPI announcements using the event-study methodology framework. The events of NPI announcements are collected for the period 1997–2005. Under the assumption of the ef? cient markets hypothesis (Fama, 1970), NPI announcements bring unanticipated information into ? nancial markets that may change the market value assessments of the announcing ? rms. In response to the new information, changes in stock prices occur, which represent investors revision of their expectation with regard to the net present value of a ? rms risk-adjusted expected cash ? ow generated by the new products, or stated differently, the investors expectation of the wealth impact of NPIs. This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 provides the theoretical background and develops the hypotheses. Section 3 introduces the sample and methodology. The empirical results are presented in Section 4. Finally, Section 5 contains the discussion and concluding remarks of this study. 2. Theoretical background and hypotheses International diversi? cation has been suggested by FDI theory and portfolio theory to provide ? rms with bene? ts ranging from the ability to realize scale economies (Grant, 1987; Porter, 1986), the possibility to spread investment risks over different countries (Kim et al. 1993), the potential to arbitrage factor cost differentials across multiple locations (Kogut, 1985) and the opportunity to access resources resident in foreign countries (Hitt et al. , 1997). However, there is considerable theoretical evidence that international diversi? cation comes with both bene? ts and costs. We suggest that that these bene? ts and costs that accompany foreign expans ion may create both opportunities and challenges for ? rms in terms of developing new products, and thereby affect the stock market reactions to NPI announcements. In this section, we review various theoretical domains in order to identify the channels through which international diversi? cation might in? uence value creation for ? rms in the context of NPIs. 2. 1. Effects of international diversi? cation International diversi? cation provides several advantages towards developing new products. First, international diversi? cation offers opportunities for ? rms to gain new and diverse ideas from a variety of perspectives (Hitt et al. , 1997). Being exposed to heterogeneous customers, technology, cultures, and competitive practices, internationally diversi? d ? rms are able to learn from the experience in foreign operations to ? nd new solutions to bettering product design and improving the quality of manufacturing know-how (Craig and Douglas, 2000). For example, the launch of a new cordless telephone by Sanyo, which had been adjusted to better meet the phone use habits of American consumers (Barkema and Vermeulen, 1998), consequently expanded t he companys sales in the U. S. market. 3 Prior studies have used several ways to measure the performance of innovation, which includes R intensity (Hill and Snell, 1988; Hitt et al. 1997), number of NPIs (Cardinal and Opler, 1995; Hitt et al. , 1996) and number of patents (Francis and Smith, 1995). Though they have provided valuable insights, the measures they developed have some limitations in capturing the true value of innovation (Chaney et al. , 1991; Schankerman and Pakes, 1986). For example, R intensity is more related to the input value of innovation but does not directly measure the output value of innovation. Furthermore, numbers of NPIs or patents only measure the quantity of inventive output without considering the quality of innovation. As well, patent counts often represent a very noisy measure of the underlying value of innovation because most patents are not worth anything. The measure used in our study allows us to directly measure the wealth effect of innovation, rather than only considering the quantity of inventive output as has been done in prior studies. C. -F. Wang et al. / Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 335 International diversi? cation also allows ? rms to gain access to resources that may only be available in foreign markets but not frequently obtainable in the home countries to develop new products (Peng and Wang, 2000). By tapping into the technological skills and knowledge that originates from other countries, multinational ? rms may be able to successfully increase their technological strength in developing new products (Hitt et al. , 1997; Kotabe, 1990; Peng and Wang, 2000; Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001). Moreover, international diversi? cation provides a ? rm with a wider national network, which helps increase its ability to effectively leverage technological resources and rationalize production processes. These economies of scale can enable the ? m to obtain higher returns from new product innovations (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1989; Kogut, 1985). Furthermore, the broader market outlets available to new products create higher returns on the sunk costs of innovative spending (Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001), while cash ? ows generated from large-scale foreign operations provide ? rms with the resources needed for extra investment in new product development (Kobrin, 1991; Kotabe, 1990). Notwit hstanding the above bene? ts, international diversi? cation can bring challenges to the development of new products. The ? rst challenge comes from the dif? ulty in transferring technological knowledge between countries. The more countries within which the ? rm operates, the larger geographic distance the technological know-how has to be transferred, and the less effective the ? rm will be in developing new products. Furthermore, with increasing diversi? cation, the differences in cultural, economic and technological settings among the countries increase. These differences reduce the effectiveness in assimilating and applying the technological knowledge that is critical for new product development (Chang and Wang, 2007; Hitt et al. 1997); while knowledge diversity can create greater learning value (Inkpen, 2000), differences in knowledge does not guarantee successful learning (Bowman and Helfat, 2001; Chang and Singh, 2000; Szulanski and Winter, 2002). In addition, arguments from th e economic law of diminishing returns suggest that the higher degree of international diversi? cation a ? rm is involved in, the more likely it is to be entering markets whose marginal contributions are relatively minor (Contractor et al. , 2003). Beyond a certain point, after already having expanded into the most advantageous markets, the ? m is left with minor or peripheral foreign markets whose resources for and cash ? ow from new product development will exhibit diminishing returns. By drawing on various theoretical perspectives, the above discussions suggest that international diversi? cation not only create opportunities but also impose barriers to the value creation provided by new product innovation. With moderate levels of international diversi? cation, ? rms can capitalize on valuable bene? ts of knowledge learning, resource access and production ef? ciency in producing new products. At the same time, economic pro? ts rise as the ? xed costs of new product development are spread across more markets (Kogut, 1985; Porter, 1986). However, ? rms that expand internationally beyond an optimal level may ? nd that the costs of international diversi? cation eventually exceed the bene? ts. Firms at this stage often enter countries that are more geographically and culturally dissimilar, which increases the dif? culties of transferring technological knowledge between countries. The value of new product innovation may also exhibit diminishing returns when international diversi? ation is increased beyond the optimal level. Based on the above, this study proposes a non-linear and inverted-U-shaped relationship between international diversi? cation and the stock market reactions to NPI announcements, suggesting that the market value of NPIs is expected to improve with increasing international diversi? cation at lower levels of international diversi? cation and then decline with increasing international diversi? cation at higher levels of international diversi? cation. For these reasons, we propose our ? rst hypothesis as follows: Hypothesis 1. The relationship between international diversi? cation and the stock market reactions to NPI announcements is inverted-U-shaped, with a positive slope at lower levels of international diversi? cation and negative at higher levels of international diversi? cation. We utilize event-study methodology to capture the valuation effect of corporate new product strategies. This approach not only permits direct investigation of changes in announcing ? rms shareholder value, but is also suited to conduct cross-sectional analysis of the strategies underlying the value creation or destruction (Reuer, 2001). Applying event-study methodology to NPIs also facilitates comparisons with previous studies on other corporate major strategic events. 4 2. 2. Interaction effects of intangible assets and international diversi? cation Although our theoretical framework should hold for all ? rms, the effect of international diversi? cation on new product performance may depend on ? rms intangible assets. Scholars in international business have shown that multinational ? rms with greater marketing and technological capabilities may receive higher returns from international expansion (Kotabe et al. , 2002; Lu and Beamish, 2004). Other researchers also document the importance of marketing and technological capabilities in the success of new products (e. g. , Cooper and Kleinschmidt, 1987; Danneels, 2002; Krasnikov and Jayachandran, 2008; Moorman and Slotegraaf, 1999; Yeoh and Roth, 1999). We make advances in linking these two streams of study by investigating the moderating effect 4 Previous studies have used event-study methodology to test the wealth effect of major corporate events, such as diversi? cation (Doukas and Lang, 2003; Hoskisson et al. , 1991), divestitures (Benou et al. , 2008), alliances (Das et al. 1998; Kale et al. , 2002), regulatory change (Bowman and Navissi, 2003), NPIs (Chaney et al. , 1991; Chen, 2008; Kelm et al. , 1995), R expenditures (Szewczyk et al. , 1996), and patents (Austin, 1993). 336 C. -F. Wang et al. / Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 of internal capabilities on the association between international diversi? cation and the stock m arket reactions to NPI announcements. We suggest that internationally diversi? ed ? rms that have greater marketing and technological capabilities are more able to extract the bene? ts and reduce the costs of international diversi? ation, resulting in higher returns from NPI announcements. Each moderating effect is discussed independently below. Marketing capability is related to a ? rms ability to acquire external knowledge through the processes of gathering, interpreting, and using market information (Day, 1994). Though international diversi? cation gives ? rms opportunities to access new knowledge, ? rms that do not have ability to identify customers needs and to understand the factors that in? uence consumer choice behavior will not be able to achieve better targeting and positioning of its products. Therefore, ? rms that have invested in developing their marketing capability are more able to integrate the information on consumer needs in diverse markets into new product designs, and thus generate higher returns from the new products (Dutta et al. , 1999). In addition, marketing capability is re? ected in a ? rms ability to differentiate its products from those of competitors (Kotabe et al. , 2002). A higher level of product differentiation allows a ? rm to charge higher prices for its new products (Day, 1994; Yeoh and Roth, 1999). Furthermore, ? ms that spend more money on advertising and promoting their products are more likely to build successful brands, which are essential to building awareness, reducing the perceived risk that consumers associate with new products, and ? nally increasing the adoption rate of new products introduced (Chandy and Tellis, 2000; Dowling and Staelin, 1994; Sorescu et al. , 2003). This is particularly important for ? rms that are completely new to foreign customers (Helsen et al. , 1993; Srivastava et al. , 1998). Consequently, we expect that NPIs are expected to be more worthwhile for internationally diversi? d ? rms with greater marketing capabilities, leading to Hypothesis 2: Hypothesis 2. Marketing capability will positively moderate the relationship between international diversi? cation and the stock market reactions to NPI announcements. As mentioned, technological capability is also likely to moderate the effect of international diversi? cation on new product development. Technology capability might represent a ? rms ability to absorb external knowledge (Penner-Hahn and Shaver, 2005; Tsai, 2001). A ? rm may be able to access certain new knowledge through international diversi? ation, but without the capacity to absorb such knowledge a ? rm may not enhance its capabilities within new product innovation. Since knowledge gained from international markets is often tacit and socially complex (Zahra and Hayton, 2008), ? rms that have established a capability in a particular research skill are better able to interpret and assess the knowledge in that area. Technological capability also refers to a ? rms ability to apply knowledge gained from foreign markets to commercial ends (Krasnikov and Jayachandran, 2008; Moorman and Slotegraaf, 1999). Kotabe et al. (2002) have stated that ? rms with greater technological capabilities are more capable of ? nding better product design solutions. The technical risks in developing new products are more likely to be reduced for such ? rms (Kelm et al. , 1995). Furthermore, ? rms with greater technological capability are more able to lower production costs by improving manufacturing processes. Moreover, technological capability helps ? rms to speed up the product development process and satisfy the market more quickly (Rabino and Moskowitz, 1981). Thus, ? ms that have greater technological capabilities are more likely to enhance their revenues in international markets by providing those markets with new products of better quality. Meanwhile, ? rms that leverage their technological capabilities in the greater scope of the global market may enjoy the bene? ts of economies of scale inherent in the innovation process. As a result, we expect that NPIs are more worthwhile for internationally diversi? ed ? rms with greater technological capabilities, leading to Hypothesis 3: Hypothesis 3. Technological capability will positively moderate the relationship between international diversi? ation and the stock market reactions to NPI announcements. 3. Sample and methodology 3. 1. Sample design We test our hypotheses using a sample of NPI announcement events. We collect the sample data on ? rms listed on either the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) from the Dow Jones News Retrieval Service (DJNRS) database, which provides news-service articles and selected stories from the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones News Wire, and Barrons. We use the words and phrases commonly used to describe NPIs as keys for a database search routine. Examples are â€Å"introduce,† â€Å"new product,† â€Å"unveil,† â€Å"launch,† â€Å"received approval,† â€Å"to market,† â€Å"test market,† â€Å"begin selling,† along with other pertinent words and phrases. When a repeat NPI announcement from a ? rm is found in a different publication, the announcement that has the earliest date is chosen as it is the earliest date when the information about the NPI is publicly available (Chaney et al. , 1991; Chen, 2008; Kelm et al. , 1995). The sample period is from January 1997 to December 2005. Four criteria are used when selecting ? rms for our sample: (1) the announcing ? rms should not have other announcements ? e days before and after the initial announcement date in order to avoid any confounding events that could distort the measurement of the valuation effects; (2) daily stock return information must be available from the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP), with a min imum of 50 daily returns in the estimation period; (3) companies ? nancial information must be available from the COMPUSTAT ? les; and (4) since we want to test the effect of international diversi? cation, only those ? rms with foreign sales data available from the COMPUSTAT ? les are included. C. -F. Wang et al. Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 337 Following these procedures, we collect a ? nal sample comprising 3061 new product announcements made by 531 ? rms in 57 industries based on the two-digit Standard Industrial Classi? cation (SIC) codes. 5 Table 1 reports the distribution of the sample by year and industry. Our data shows no obvious cluster by time period. In 2004, there are 530 announcements, accounting for 17. 32% of the total. Observations are nearly evenly distributed through the remaining years. However, our sample shows certain levels of concentration in speci? c industries. The largest concentration comes from electrical equipment (33. 61%), computer equipment (18. 09%), electro-medical instruments (9. 38%), and business services (e. g. , computer programming and the software industry) (7. 19%). These three broad categories constitute nearly 70% of the total sample. As suggested by Chaney et al. (1991), this result is expected since neither the investment opportunities nor their valuation should be random across industries. 3. 2. Measuring the stock market responses to new product announcements We employ the event study methodology to examine the stock price responses to the announcements of NPIs. This approach has been widely used in the management, accounting, economics and ? nance disciplines to examine the impact of ? rm-speci? c events on ? rm value. The event study approach suggests that, in an ef? cient capital market, the market will adjust and result in returns different from those that are normally expected if the NPI announcement has unexpect ed information content (Hoskisson et al. , 1991). We use the market model suggested by Brown and Warner (1985) to estimate the abnormal returns to NPI announcements. This model captures a ? rms stock price change after adjusting for general market-wide factors and the ? ms systematic risk (Bowman, 1983; Brown, 1989; Brown and Warner, 1980, 1985). The abnormal return for ? rm i on day t, ARit, is computed by: ARit = Rit ? E? Rit = It ? 1 ? ; where Rit is ? rm is actual returns on day t, and It ? 1 represents the information set available to the market about the ? rm at time t ? 1. The expected return for ? rm i on day t is estimated by: E? Rit = It ? 1 ? = ? i + ? i Rmt where Rmt is the return for the market portfolio on day t, ? i is the intercept, and ? i measures the risk or sensitivity of the ? rms returns relative to the market portfolio. We de? e Day 0 (t = 0) as the initial announcement date. We use the value-weighted CRSP Index as the proxy for the market portfolio. The param eters ? i and ? i are estimated using data for the period of 200 to 60 days before the initial announcement date. The two-day cumulative abnormal returns, CAR (? 1, 0), are estimated by summing the daily abnormal returns over the window period of days ? 1 and 0. The equally weighted cross-sectional average abnormal returns on ? event day t, ARt , is further calculated by: 1N ? ARt = ? ARit ; N i=1 where N is the total number of sample NPIs. The cumulative average abnormal return over the period (? , 0) is similarly de? ned. 3. 3. Measuring international diversi? cation We use the entropy index to estimate international diversi? cation. 7 The entropy measure of international diversi? cation is de? ned as ? [Pi* ln(1/Pi)], where Pi is the percentage of sales in geographic segment i, and ln(1/Pi) is the weight of each geographic segment. This measure thus considers both the number of geographic segments in which a ? rm operates and the relative importance of sales contributed by each g eographic segment. 5 For the industry classi? cation, we follow Hitt et al. (1997) and use the our-digit SIC codes as the indicator of the industry or business segment that a ? rm operates. Therefore, two variables in this study, namely product diversi? cation and industry RD intensity, are estimated basing on the four-digit SIC codes. However, for the sake of brevity, we report the sample distribution by industry on the basis of the two-digit SIC codes. 6 Other performance measures of new product strategies that are most commonly used in previous studies include return on assets, return on sales, return on equity, return on investment and pro? t margin (e. g. , Li and Atuahene-Gima, 2001; Moorman, 1995). However, these accounting measures have several limitations in measuring new product performance (Chang and Wang, 2007; Kalyanaram et al. , 1995; Pauwels et al. , 2004). For example, the differences in accounting policies across ? rms make performance comparisons dif? cult. These measures are also not risk-adjusted as they do not consider business risks associated with individual ? rms when measuring performance, and they are based on historical accounting data and thus may not adequately re? ect future expected revenue streams resulting from the new products. More importantly, these measures re? ect aggregate ? m performance, making it more dif? cult to directly link them to the effect of speci? c new product introductions. Due to these limitations we employ an event study methodology in order to examine stock price responses to announcements of NPIs. This method captures the ? rms stock price change after adjusting for the ? rms systematic risk (Bowman, 1983; Brown, 1989; Brown and Warner, 1980, 1985), as well as re? ects investors expectations of a ? rms future cash ? ow related to this new product (Chaney et al. , 1991; Chen, 2008; Chen et al. , 2002; Kelm et al. , 1995). 7 Previous studies have used several proxies of international diversi? ation. The most commonly used measures are the ratio of foreign sales to total sales (Grant, 1987; Tallman and Li, 1996), the ratio of foreign assets to total assets (Daniels and Bracker, 1989; Ramaswamy, 1995), numbers of foreign countries in which a ? rm has subsidiaries (Delios and Beamish, 1999; Tallman and Li, 1996) or a composite index encompassing these three dimensions (Gomes and Ramaswamy, 1999; Sullivan, 1994). However, these measures only capture the extent but not the distribution of international diversi? cation. In this study, we follow Hitt et al. (1997) and use the entropy measure of international diversi? ation to account for the extent of sales in global markets and their weighting. C. -F. Wang et al. / Journal of International Management 17 (2011) 333–347 338 Table 1 Distribution of new product introduction. Panel A. Sample distribution by year Year Number of announcements Percent of sample (%) 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Total 354 279 370 313 232 247 391 530 345 3061 11. 56 9. 11 12. 08 10. 22 7. 58 8. 07 12. 77 17. 32 11. 30 100. 00 Panel B. Sample distribution by industry Two-digit SIC code Industry group 01 12 13 15 16 17 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 33 34 Agricultural production crops Coal mining Oil and gas extraction Building construction: general contractors Heavy construction other than building construction contractors Construction: special trade contractors Food and kindred products Tobacco products Textile mill products Apparel, ? nished prdcts from fabrics and similar materials Lumber and wood products, except furniture Furniture and ? xtures Paper and allied products Printing, publishing, and allied industries Chemicals and allied products Petroleum re? ning and related industries Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products Leather and leather products Primary metal industries Fabricated metal products, except machinery and transportation equipment Industrial and commercial machinery and computer equipment Electronic and other electrical equipment and components, except computer equipment Transportation equipment Measuring, analyzing, and controlling instruments; photographic, medical and optical goods Miscellaneous manufacturing industries Railroad transportation Motor freight transportation and warehousing Transportation by air Pipelines, except natural gas Transportation services Communications Electric, gas, and sanitary services Wholesale trade: durable goods Wholesale trade: non-durable goods Building materials, hardware, garden supply, and mobile home dealers General merchandise stores Food stores Apparel and accessory stores Home furniture, furnishings, and equipment stores Eating and drinking places Miscellaneous retail Depository institutions Non