Financial and non-financial performance measures and managerial short-term orientation: the interactive effect of performance targets

In this paper, I examine the incentive effects of both performance measures and performance targets and the linkages between these two components of the incentive system. Furthermore, I examine the theoretical claim that non-financial performance measures provide subordinate managers with incentives to be long-term oriented. Finally, I examine the role of risk aversion in setting performance targets. The empirical results show that the short-term orientation of subordinate managers increases (decreases) with the difficulty of financial (non-financial) performance targets but is not related to the use of either financial or non-financial performance measures for incentive purposes. Further, the difficulty of financial (non-financial) performance targets increases with the use of financial (non-financial) performance measures for incentive purposes, which suggests that performance measures have an indirect effect on managerial behavior. Finally, the relationship between the use of performance measures and performance target difficulty is moderated by the risk aversion of the manager. That is, the relationship is less positive the higher the manager’s risk aversion, which implies that superiors take the risk imposed on the manager into account when setting targets.accounting and auditing ;

The Role of Performance Measure Characteristics in the Design of Incentive Systems: An Empirical Analysis

In this paper, I derive three general performance measure characteristics from the literature that are theoretically related to the use of performance measures, i.e., (1) the impact that a manager has on performance (sensitivity), (2) the impact that uncontrollable factors have on performance (controllability), and (3) the degree to which the performance measure is objective and verifiable (measurement accuracy). I empirically examine the effect of information asymmetry and the performance measure characteristics on the use of three types of performance measures. Furthermore, I examine how two types of uncertainty, i.e., task uncertainty and environmental uncertainty, affect information asymmetry and performance measure characteristics. The major finding of this study is that sensitivity is positively related to the use of all three types of performance measures, while measurement accuracy is positively related to two out of these three types of performance measures. Controllability, on the other hand, does not have the proposed positive effect on any of the performance measures examined. These results suggest that sensitivity and measurement accuracy play an important role in designing incentive systems, while controllability seems to play no role.accounting and auditing ;

An Empirical Analysis of the Role of Risk Aversion in Executive Compensation Contracts

This paper empirically tests the principal-agent model prediction that the use of performance measures for incentive purposes is affected by the agent’s risk aversion. We find that the use of both accounting and market performance measures in executive compensation contracts decreases as the level of risk aversions increases. We further find that agent-specific characteristics, i.e., risk aversion, become more important in designing executive compensation contracts when performance measures are less useful due to measure-specific characteristics.Economics ;

1,1′-Fc(4-C6H4CO2Et)2and its unusual salt derivative withZ′ = 5,catena-[Na+]2[1,1′-Fc(4-C6H4CO2−)2]·0.6H2O [1,1′-Fc = (η5-(C5H4)2Fe]

The neutral diethyl 4,4'-(ferrocene-1,1'-diyl)dibenzoate, Fe[[eta]5-(C5H4)(4-C6H4CO2Et)]2 (I), yields (II) (following base hydrolysis) as the unusual complex salt poly[disodium bis[diethyl 4,4'-(ferrocene-1,1'-diyl)dibenzoate] 0.6-hydrate] or [Na+]2[Fe{[eta]5-(C5H4)-4-C6H4CO_2^-}2]·0.6H2O with Z' = 5. Compound (I) crystallizes in the triclinic system, space group P\bar 1, with two molecules having similar geometry in the asymmetric unit (Z' = 2). The salt complex (II) crystallizes in the orthorhombic system, space group Pbca, with the asymmetric unit comprising poly[decasodium pentakis[diethyl 4,4'-(ferrocene-1,1'-diyl)dibenzoate] trihydrate] or [Na+]10[Fe{[eta]5-(C5H4)-4-C6H4CO_2^-}2]5·3H2O. The five independent 1,1'-Fc[(4-C6H4CO2)-]2 dianions stack in an offset ladder (stepped) arrangement with the ten benzoates mutually oriented cisoid towards and bonded to a central layer comprising the ten Na+ ions and three water molecules [1,1'-Fc = [eta]5-(C5H4)2Fe]. The five dianions differ in the cisoid orientations of their pendant benzoate groups, with four having their -C6H4- groups mutually oriented at interplanar angles from 0.6 (3) to 3.2 (3)° (as [pi]...[pi] stacked C6 rings) and interacting principally with Na+ ions. The fifth dianion is distorted and opens up to an unprecedented -C6H4- interplanar angle of 18.6 (3)° through bending of the two 4-C6H4CO2 groups and with several ionic interactions involving the three water molecules (arranged as one-dimensional zigzag chains in the lattice). Overall packing comprises two-dimensional layers of Na+ cations coordinated mainly by the carboxylate O atoms, and one-dimensional water chains. The non-polar Fc(C6H4)2 groups are arranged perpendicular to the layers and mutually interlock through a series of efficient C-H...[pi] stacking contacts in a herringbone fashion to produce an overall segregation of polar and non-polar entities

Parmodulins Inhibit Thrombus Formation Without Inducing Endothelial Injury Caused by Vorapaxar

Protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR1) couples the coagulation cascade to platelet activation during myocardial infarction and to endothelial inflammation during sepsis. This receptor demonstrates marked signaling bias. Its activation by thrombin stimulates prothrombotic and proinflammatory signaling, whereas its activation by activated protein C (APC) stimulates cytoprotective and antiinflammatory signaling. A challenge in developing PAR1-targeted therapies is to inhibit detrimental signaling while sparing beneficial pathways. We now characterize a novel class of structurally unrelated small-molecule PAR1 antagonists, termed parmodulins, and compare the activity of these compounds to previously characterized compounds that act at the PAR1 ligand–binding site. We find that parmodulins target the cytoplasmic face of PAR1 without modifying the ligand-binding site, blocking signaling through Gαq but not Gα13 in vitro and thrombus formation in vivo. In endothelium, parmodulins inhibit prothrombotic and proinflammatory signaling without blocking APC-mediated pathways or inducing endothelial injury. In contrast, orthosteric PAR1 antagonists such as vorapaxar inhibit all signaling downstream of PAR1. Furthermore, exposure of endothelial cells to nanomolar concentrations of vorapaxar induces endothelial cell barrier dysfunction and apoptosis. These studies demonstrate how functionally selective antagonism can be achieved by targeting the cytoplasmic face of a G-protein–coupled receptor to selectively block pathologic signaling while preserving cytoprotective pathways