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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a new framework that shows how different signals of movie quality along with key control variables affect consumers’ post-consumption evaluations, critics’ reviews (CR), and movie box office revenues. Design/methodology/approach – The data set consists of a sample of 332 movies released between 2000 and 2008. Regression was used to test the study hypotheses. Findings – The results suggest that the three signals of movie quality exhibit different effects on three movie performance measures. Of the three cues, the peripheral quality signal is positive related to movie box, moviegoers’ evaluations (ME), and CR. Furthermore, star performance quality is positive related to both ME and CR. Surprisingly, overall quality signal does not display any influence on movie performances. Research limitations/implications – The primary limitation is the use of cross-sectional study design and future research should apply for time-series technique to test the relationships between movie quality signals and movie performances. Practical implications – The findings suggest that consumers and critics evaluate movie qualities based on various movie quality signals. Furthermore, the characteristics of movies also have mixed impacts on movie performances. Movie studios may take these findings into account to produce better movies. Originality/value – This study proposes and empirically tests the impacts of three groups of movie signals – peripheral quality signal, star performance quality signal, and overall quality signal on motion picture performance. This study contributes to service quality literature and signal theory by categorizing different Academy Awards into three groups of quality signals and by empirically testing the proposed relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the evolution of class certification as a battleground for defendants in securities litigation. Specifically, it focuses on the Second Circuit's recent decision in In re Flag Telecom Holdings, Ltd Sec. Litig., in which the Court held - for the first time - that plaintiff bear the burden of proving loss causation at the class certification stage. In ruling that the district court erred in certifying a class in a Section 10(b) action that included in-and-out traders who sold their shares before any curative information regarding the alleged fraud was disclosed to the market, the Second Circuit became the first appellate court outside the Fifth Circuit to hold that plaintiff must prove loss causation to certify a class. The paper argues that this decision may increase the size and strength of the arsenal available to defendants seeking to defeat class certification or limit the size of any such class, and explores the implications of this holding on securities class actions. Indeed, applying the reasoning of Flag Telecom, the Second Circuit has opened the doorfor defendants to make any loss causation argument at the class certification stage. The paper also examines a recent district court's application of Flag Telecom in a significant securities class action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. We determine the rate of nursing home closures for 7 years (1999–2005) and examine internal (e.g., quality), organizational (e.g., chain membership), and external (e.g., competition) factors associated with these closures. Design and Method. The names of the closed facilities and dates of closure from state regulators in all 50 states were obtained. This information was linked to the Online Survey, Certification, and Reporting data, which contains information on internal, organizational, and market factors for almost all nursing homes in the United States. Results. One thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine facilities closed over this time period (1999–2005). The average annual rate of closure was about 2 percent of facilities, but the rate of closure was found to be increasing. Nursing homes with higher rates of deficiency citations, hospital-based facilities, chain members, small bed size, and facilities located in markets with high levels of competition were more likely to close. High Medicaid occupancy rates were associated with a high likelihood of closure, especially for facilities with low Medicaid reimbursement rates. Implications. As states actively debate about how to redistribute long-term care services/dollars, our findings show that they should be cognizant of the potential these decisions have for facilitating nursing home closures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]