Antecedents of Dividend Payout Among Listed Non-Financial Companies listed in Nairobi Securities Exchanges, Kenya

: The objective of this study was to establish the antecedents of dividend payout among listed non-financial Companies listed in Nairobi Securities Exchanges, Kenya, with four specific objectives; to establish the effect of profitability, capital expenditure, leverage and liquidity on dividend pay-out of listed non-financial companies in NSE. The study was founded on Modigliani and miller hypothesis, signalling hypothesis, birds in hand fallacy, Agency and clientele policy. Using correlation research design, the study examined the antecedents of dividend pay-out of listed non-financial companies listed in Kenya for the period 2008 to 2019. The result showed a positive and significant relationship between dividend pay-out ratio and profitability, liquidity and leverage. It also shows negative association between dividend pay-out and capital expenditure. It was concluded that capital expenditure significantly influences dividend paid out negatively. Interest payment for long term debt takes priority as a charge on the profit made by the company. An improvement of a company's liquidity would lead to a better compensation to shareholder inform of dividend distributions. Listed companies therefore are expected to pay dividends when the companies are performing well because otherwise shareholders may question the proceeding of the announced profit or results to signaling effect. Listed companies should arrange the financing of capital expenditure so as ensure shareholder remains at an advantage and enable the company to recover its cost on capital and expected returns.

Using Distribution Alliance to Signal the Seller’s Service Quality in Online Retailing Platforms

Signal plays a significant role in the online retailing market, especially where the service quality of sellers is unobservable. In the current study, a game-theoretical model was formulated to help examine whether the new delivery service called distribution alliance in the electronic market can serve as a superior signal in revealing online seller’s service quality. Our results showed that the certification accuracy and the application fee are closely related to the signaling effect of the distribution alliance. Specifically, we found a concrete analytical boundary where a certain high level of certification accuracy is required to guarantee the existence of market equilibrium, and a corresponding application fee can convoy the signal’s effectiveness. In addition, the potential extensions and limitations of this research were also discussed.

The Transmission of Monetary Policy Shocks

Commonly used instruments for the identification of monetary policy disturbances are likely to combine the true policy shock with information about the state of the economy due to the information disclosed through the policy action. We show that this signaling effect of monetary policy can give rise to the empirical puzzles reported in the literature, and propose a new high-frequency instrument for monetary policy shocks that accounts for informational rigidities. We find that a monetary tightening is unequivocally contractionary, with deterioration of domestic demand, labor and credit market conditions as well as of asset prices and agents’ expectations. (JEL D82, D84, E32, E43, E52, E58, G12)

Is Establishing a New Partnership Useful Information for Investors in the Smartphone Supply Market?

This study analyzed partner volatility (new, old, revocation partners) and country-specific signal effects (United States (US), Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea) for Apple iPhone parts suppliers from 2007 to 2018. Mid- to long-term stock price movements were also analyzed to define trading patterns by investor type. The results using logit regression analysis revealed that new partners and revocation partners each have a signaling effect perceived as positive and negative information in the short term, and the excess returns by country showed a positive signaling effect in the order of the US, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. The findings also suggest that the change in the new partners’ stock price after the preannouncement of new products was useful investment information. Moreover, information asymmetry was found between individual investors, institutions, and foreigners. Results indicate that new partner selection in the smartphone market impacts corporate value and serves as useful investment information.