Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the existence of familiarity bias amongst individual investors in the South African stock market. Problem investigated: According to Warren Buffet, one needs to maintain emotional detachment if one wants to be a successful investor. However, recent research indicates that the perceptions of companies’ products and brands may influence individuals’ investment decisions in the stock market. This phenomenon implies that the investment decisions of individual investors are not purely based on firm fundamentals as suggested by traditional finance theories, but might be driven partly by the positive or negative attitude they have towards certain companies’ products and brands. The existence of familiarity bias amongst individual investors was investigated to determine if individuals prefer to invest in companies they are familiar with as opposed to unfamiliar companies. Methodology: A quantitative approach was followed. An online survey was used to show images of familiar and unfamiliar company brands to respondents, whereafter respondents were asked to indicate whether they will invest in the shares of the identified companies. The statistical analysis entailed descriptive statistics as well as one-way analyses of variance to test the stated hypotheses. Main findings: The results of this exploratory study indicate that investors do exhibit familiarity bias when choosing between different companies to invest in. Value of the research: The inclination of individual investors to invest in familiar corporate brands can have implications for the marketing industry, financial markets, the performance of companies as well as the investment performance of individual investors in the sense that it would seem that company brands could have an influence on investment decisions.

SummaryPurified Vipera palestinae hemorrhagin (VPH) impairs thrombin formation, fibrinogen clottability, FSF activity, platelet clot retracting activity, ADP- and connective tissue-induced platelet aggregation and connective tissue - induced platelet ADP release. The effects of VPH became manifest or increased in intensity on incubation with the respective substrates prior to measurement of their activities. Inactivation of the VPH protease by DFP resulted in complete abolishment of the first four and partial inhibition of the last two of the above VPH activities.Administration of VPH to guinea pigs caused widespread hemorrhages, associated with moderate hypofibrinogenemia but normal platelet count, clotting time and clot retraction. DFP-treated VPH caused hemorrhage without hypofibrinogenemia.

Recently, concerns have been raised as to how Chinese multinational companies (MNCs) can achieve organizational legitimacy and sustainable development in host countries, especially given China’s weak institutional environment. One strategic approach to establish and maintain legitimacy is by promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR). This study examined the relationship between Chinese manufacturing MNCs’ engagement in terms of CSR and gaining moral legitimacy in host countries, and whether the institutional distance between countries is an important moderating factor in this relationship. Using a hierarchical regression analysis and a bootstrapping method on data obtained from 303 questionnaires completed by a sample of Chinese manufacturing MNCs, this paper finds that CSR engagement at both aggregate and disaggregate levels (specifically, customer- and community-related CSR engagement) is likely to be an effective strategy for Chinese manufacturing MNCs’ subsidiaries to gain moral legitimacy in host countries. Furthermore, Chinese MNCs’ subsidiaries are more likely to gain moral legitimacy by means of engagement in customer- and government-related CSR when the institutional distance from China is greater. Overall, this paper contributes to our understanding of the gaining of moral legitimacy by Chinese manufacturing MNCs in host countries. The findings can support Chinese manufacturing MNCs in shaping the CSR strategy of their international businesses.

This article reports on an investigation of whether the introduction of share repurchases in 1999 resulted in differences in the dividend payout ratios of South African listed firms. Dividend payout ratios for the two ten-year sub-periods preceding and following the introduction of share repurchases respectively are compared for a sample of repurchasing firms and all listed firms. The results indicate that dividend payout ratios were statistically significantly lower during the ten-year sub-period following the introduction of share repurchases than before. The payout ratios for those firms involved in specific share repurchases, however, were found not to differ significantly from payout ratios in general. Furthermore, the payout ratios of repurchasing firms did not change significantly during the two sub-periods.

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