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International audience; Phylogenomics seeks to use next‐generation data to robustly infer an organism's evolutionary history. Yet, the practical caveats of phylogenomics motivate investigation of improved efficiency, particularly when quality of phylogenies are questionable. To achieve improvements, one goal is to maintain or enhance the quality of phylogenetic inference while severely reducing dataset size. We approach this by assessing which kinds of loci in phylogenomic alignments provide the majority of support for a phylogenetic inference of cockroaches in Blaberoidea. We examine locus substitution rate, saturation, evolutionary divergence, rate heterogeneity, stabilizing selection, and a priori information content as traits that may determine optimality. Our controlled experimental design is based on 265 loci for 102 blaberoidean taxa and 22 outgroup species. Loci with high substitution rate, low saturation, low sequence distance, low rate heterogeneity, and strong stabilizing selection derive more support for phylogenetic relationships. We found that some phylogenetic information content estimators may not be meaningful for assessing information content a priori. We use these findings to design concatenated datasets with an optimized subsample of 100 loci. The tree inferred from the optimized subsample alignment was largely identical to that inferred from all 265 loci but with less evidence of long branch attraction, improved statistical support, and potential 4‐6x improvements to computation time. Supported by phylogenetic and morphological evidence, we erect three newly named clades (Anallactinae Evangelista & Wipfler subfam. nov., Orkrasomeria tax. nov. Evangelista, Wipfler, & Béthoux and Hemithyrsocerini Evangelista tribe nov.) and propose other taxonomic modifications. The diagnosis of Pseudophyllodromiidae Grandcolas, 1996 is modified to accommodate Anallactinae and Pseudophyllodromiinae Vickery & Kevan, 1983. The diagnosis of Ectobiidae Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1865 is modified to add novel morphological characters.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of financial accounting standards on the economic decisions of managers. The primary research question addressed in the paper is whether the hedging behavior of corporate treasurers in France has been affected by the issuance of International Accounting Standard No. 39 and International Financial Reporting Standard No. 9 dealing with financial instruments and hedging. Design/methodology/approach In all, 48 semi-structured interviews were conducted with French corporate treasurers. The interview instrument is included as an exhibit to this paper. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. In addition, three interviews were conducted with representatives of Big 4 audit firms who are experts in accounting for financial instruments. The empirical findings are interpreted using a theoretical framework derived from Jean Baudrillard who argues that the “map” (accounting results) tends to define the “territory” (economic decision-making) in a period of “hyperreality” (when the underlying economic reality is confused). In other words, accounting standards, and the reported numbers that result from such standards, can influence the economic decisions of managers and not merely represent the outcome of economic decisions already taken. Findings Corporate treasurers often make decisions based on earnings impact. This finding is similar to findings in prior literature regarding the effects of accounting standards on economic decisions taken by managers. A fear of increased earnings volatility is central to the treasurers’ concerns. Also key is the complexity of the process for qualifying financial instruments for hedge accounting treatment. The authors also find that the behavior of corporate treasurers is neither stable nor homogeneous. The behavior appears to be the outcome of a collective learning process in which the corporate treasurer is only one actor. Research limitations/implications The type of qualitative research undertaken in this study has its limitations. It cannot be demonstrated that the findings are generalizable. There is a contextual specificity to the treasurer’s function, which reinforces a particular focus on accounting results. The CFO is simultaneously the superior of the treasurer and responsible for financial reporting, and consequently subject to a conflict of interest that does not necessarily apply to other types of managers. Therefore the findings cannot apply to all managerial functions. Practical implications The authors found that corporate treasurers focus on accrual-based earnings despite engaging in a function that is supposed to focus on cash flows. Even if the IASB believes that accounting standards should be used primarily by investors and creditors, they should acknowledge that there is a fear of earnings volatility by managers, and that there is an temptation toward increased use of other comprehensive income as an alternative to reporting volatile earnings numbers. Social implications The research provides support for those who argue that international accounting standards that require fair value accounting for financial instruments have had a negative pro-cyclical impact on the real economy. Originality/value This paper is a qualitative research study conducted in an area of research where there have previously been only quantitative studies. The access to a large number of French corporate treasurers is unique. The study supports prior findings regarding the influence of accounting standards on managerial behavior, but with an added theoretical interpretation related to Baudrillard’s arguments regarding the nature of the “map” and the “territory” in complex economic systems.

International audience; The demand for weather-sensitive products, such as beverages, ice creams, or chocolate varies with changes in temperature. Yet, retailers lack a framework to adapt the marketing mix elements, such as price and advertising, in line with such changes. We provide a theoretical framework to fill this gap by developing an analytical model to derive the optimal marketing mix when product demand depends on temperature. The model prescribes how price and advertising for different demand characteristics should be set following a temperature change. Integrating the temperature element in the marketing mix offers an original profit-enhancing strategy.

International audience

Research focusing on the relationship between measures of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and company financial performance has led to mixed results in the North American context. In addition, the ethical attitudes and approaches toward CSR investments of both companies and rating agencies are not necessarily the same in Europe and the United States. In this study, we use CSR ratings issued by a major European CSR ratings agency (Vigeo) to examine in a bi-directional manner the relationships between CSR ratings and financial performance in the European context. By bi-directional, we mean an examination of the relationship between prior CSR ratings and subsequent accounting and financial performance and reciprocally, the impact of accounting and financial performance of year N − 1 on CSR ratings of year N. Our principal findings are: (1) the greater the market capitalization of a company, the higher the Vigeo rating, (2) the higher the risk of the company, the lower the Vigeo rating, and (3) the greater the stock market return of a company, the lower the Vigeo rating. Based on these findings, we propose (1) a concept of “political visibility” pursuant to which enterprises of a greater size are exposed to greater pressure to conform to norms of socially acceptable behavior, (2) a concept of “priorities” in which enterprises that have resolved their most urgent financial needs have a greater ability to invest in CSR, (3) a concept of “rating downgrading” which reveals the sanctioning role of the rating agency from an ethical standpoint.

The draft genome of Chara braunii reveals many plant-like features important for colonization of land that evolved in charophytic algae and therefore prior to the earliest land plants. Land plants evolved from charophytic algae, among which Charophyceae possess the most complex body plans. We present the genome of Chara braunii; comparison of the genome to those of land plants identified evolutionary novelties for plant terrestrialization and land plant heritage genes. C. braunii employs unique xylan synthases for cell wall biosynthesis, a phragmoplast (cell separation) mechanism similar to that of land plants, and many phytohormones. C. braunii plastids are controlled via land-plant-like retrograde signaling, and transcriptional regulation is more elaborate than in other algae. The morphological complexity of this organism may result from expanded gene families, with three cases of particular note: genes effecting tolerance to reactive oxygen species (ROS), LysM receptor-like kinases, and transcription factors (TFs). Transcriptomic analysis of sexual reproductive structures reveals intricate control by TFs, activity of the ROS gene network, and the ancestral use of plant-like storage and stress protection proteins in the zygote. © 2018 Elsevier Inc.

International audience

International audience

ACL-2; International audience; The usual measure for the factor land is the total area. But total area is a flawed measure because land is of unequal quality. To account for land quality, we use an alternative measure called effective area . Effective area is based on spatial population distribution which captures both natural conditions and human activity. Theoretically, effective area explains economic growth better than total area that biases the measure of total factor productivity (TFP) growth. Empirically on the basis of 40 years of panel data for the United States, an increase of 10% in effective area is associated with an economic growth of 5%, and the omission of effective area undervalues the growth of TFP by 8.1%.

International audience

International audience

International audience

International audience

While it is now evident that a global accounting profession has evolved in response to the growth of global capitalism, an historical survey of the evolution of the accounting profession suggests that the evolution of the accounting profession has not been smooth or constant, and that the State has played a significant role in this evolution. The legal requirement for external audits of company financial statements, which found its inception in the mid-19th century, provided an opportunity for the growth of a global accounting profession, but economic competition among nation states and frequent military conflict during the 19th and 20th centuries inhibited the creation of a truly global profession. Moreover, the ways in which the profession emerged and evolved through time have differed in different countries, and it is only during recent periods that there have been significant efforts to harmonize the regulatory structures for the profession in different countries. A comparative historical survey of the evolution of the accounting profession in several major countries constitutes the primary focus of this paper., Tandis qu'il est maintenant évident qu'une profession comptable globale évoluait en réponse à la croissance du capitalisme global, une étude historique de l'évolution de la profession comptable suggèrerait que l'évolution de la profession n'était pas lisse ou constante, et que l'état jouait un rôle significatif dans cette évolution. Si le statut légal en ce qui concerne les audits externe des comptes annuels, qui ont trouvé son début au mi 19ème siècle, a présenté une occasion pour la croissance d'une profession globale, la concurrence économique parmi les nations et les conflits militaires pendant le 19ème et les 20èmes siècles empêchaient la création d'une profession comptable véritablement globale. D'ailleurs, les façons dont la profession émergeait et évoluait par le temps ont différé dans différents pays, et c'est seulement pendant des périodes récentes qu'il y a des efforts significatifs d'harmoniser les structures de normalisation de la profession dans différents pays. Une étude comparative historique de l'évolution de la profession comptable dans quelques pays européen constitue le but de cet article.

International audience; We report here on the 2007 discovery, in perfect archaeological context, of part of the engraved and ocre-stained undersurface of the collapsed rockshelter ceiling from Abri Castanet, Dordogne, France. The decorated surface of the 1.5-t roof-collapse block was in direct contact with the exposed archaeological surface onto which it fell. Because there was no sedimentation between the engraved surface and the archaeological layer upon which it collapsed, it is clear that the Early Aurignacian occupants of the shelter were the authors of the ceiling imagery. This discovery contributes an important dimension to our understanding of the earliest graphic representation in southwestern France, almost all of which was discovered before modern methods of archaeological excavation and analysis. Comparison of the dates for the Castanet ceiling and those directly obtained from the Chauvet paintings reveal that the “vulvar” representations from southwestern France are as old or older than the very different wall images from Chauvet.

International audience; Cremated soldiers' bones in urns found at the burial ground next to the ancient harbor in Paroikia, at Paros Island, in two monumental cist graves, offer evidence of a forgotten battle fought around 730 B.C. What sort of society did the late eighth and early seventh-century inhabitants of Paros and contemporary Greek cities have? The soldiers' burials in Paroikia offer some clues.

International audience; This paper aims to elucidate aspects of the Clazomenean endeavor to found Abdera, a new settlement in Thrace, around 655 BC. Although earlier versions of this study have been both incorporated into a larger assembly of archaeological data and published independently, no prior report is as comprehensive as this one. Replete with human osteological remains, the primary anthropological data from the Clazomenean burial contexts in Abdera offers significant information with quantitative implications for scholarly research. These include the plausible reconstructions of facets of the demographic dynamics and paleopathological profile characteristics of the population. Beyond the elementary retrieval of anthropological bio-cultural data 4, this reconstructive approach bases itself upon a cross-disciplinary effort, permitting further reflection upon a number of undocumented archaeological-historical issues and allowing new insights into the challenges of the Ionian Greeks in colonizing Aegean Thrace.

International audience

International audience; Accounting history has tended to ignore the accounting research enterprise, focusing instead on particular episodes or periods, such as histories of standards-setting or histories of the accounting profession. In effect, methodological and theoretical differences within the accounting research discipline have so profoundly divided the discipline that researchers working in one area are relatively unable or unwilling to understand the key issues in other areas. This paper seeks to shed some light on what is perhaps the greatest divide in accounting research, that is the divide between positive and critical accounting research. It is the argument of this paper that both positive and critical accounting research can trace their origins to certain key figures who were doctoral students at the University of Chicago in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The paper employs Foucault's concept of genealogy to examine the origins of the positivist and critical paradigms in accounting research.

International audience; The purpose of this article is to discuss the contributions of Norman Macintosh to accounting research, and, in particular, his interest in and intriguing applications of poststructuralist and postmodern concepts and ideas to the accounting research domain. While few accounting scholars have looked at the application of poststructuralist and postmodern positions as inspirations for their work, Macintosh has forthrightly investigated the application of such thought in the accounting field, often expressed as an effort to provide insights into various accounting phenomena and possibly to serve as a critique of what he perceived to be an overreliance on realism and positivism in accounting practice and thought. This review article seeks to highlight Macintosh's contributions to this aspect of accounting research and scholarship.

Cahiers de recherche 2011-10 E3; Purpose - This paper aims to advance buyer-supplier relationship management research by integrating transaction cost economics, social exchange theory, and institutional theory. The specific purpose is to identify the determinants of relational adaptation in the service relationship. Design/methodology/approach - This study used a field survey to collect data. It used structural equation modeling for data analyses. It collected data from the population of supplier organizations of a focal firm, which is an international container port terminal operator. Findings - We find that that transaction specific investment, business uncertainty, trust, and social respect are positively related to a supplier's relational adaptation. Research limitations/implications - this research provides a synthesis of effects of exchange hazards, relational norms, and legitimacy to explain a supplier's adaptation behaviors. Practical implications - Our study has several managerial implications that are helpful for firms to elicit adaptation from their partner firms. First, specific investment can be useful to serve as an interfirm governance mechanism to attain relational adaptation. Second, the development of trust and social respect in customer relationship is important for firms to attain relational adaptation. Originality/value - The novelty of this paper lies in an integrative synthesis of transaction cost economics, social exchange theory, and institutional theory. Based on three different mechanisms, we provide a holistic explanation for relational adaptation behaviors in buy-supplier relationship.

International audience

International audience

The action research methodology used in this article is referred to as ‘intervention research’. In specific terms, it is called the Socio-Economic Approach to Management (SEAM). The SEAM approach is both participatory and collaborative. It is a pragmatic oriented action research methodology and it belongs to the French action research tradition with roots in the UK and the work of Tavistock Institute. The action research project described in this study was carried out in a company in the security sector in France. The findings of the study indicate that a pragmatic oriented action research methodology such as SEAM may enhance the quality of human resource management and capabilities, and thus increase the value of human capital. The article also discusses the measurement of human capital and the factors which contribute to the sustainable development of human capital through time.

This article focuses on the case of the China Accounting Standards Committee (CASC), which acted in 2006 to require the use of the “pooling of interests method” under certain circumstances when accounting for business combinations. In contrast, the pooling of interests method has been explicitly prohibited by the US Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) and the IASB. The paper discusses two principal issues. The first concerns the cultural and economic context of Chinese economic development which led the Chinese standards setters to adopt an approach to accounting for business combinations which differs from the IASB standard. The second deals with the role played by the understanding of the underlying economics of business combinations, which leads in turn to different representations of the combination process. The complexity of accounting for the industrial reorganization that is currently taking place in China has led to the realization that some business combinations are mergers and not acquisitions. This is a significant observation and one which is worthy of greater discussion and consideration by accounting standards setting bodies., Cette communication se concentre sur le cas du comité de normalisation de comptabilité de la Chine (CASC), qui a agi en 2006 de permettre l'utilisation de la méthode de mise en commun des intérêts pour les fusions dans certaines circonstances. Pourtant, cette méthode a été explicitement interdite par le FASB et l'IASB. On discute dans cet article deux questions principales. La première concerne le contexte culturel et économique du développement économique chinois, ce qui a mené les régulateurs chinois à adopter une approche aux regroupements qui diffère de la norme d'IASB. La deuxième traite du rôle joué par la compréhension de la réalité économique qui sous-tende les regroupements. La complexité de la réorganisation industrielle qui trouve actuellement en Chine mène à la réalisation que quelques regroupements sont des fusions et pas des acquisitions. C'est une observation significative qui soit digne d'une plus grande discussion et considération par les régulateurs des normes comptables internationales.

The topic of corporate governance has become increasingly prominent in recent years in many different academic areas in recent years. In this article we address various approaches to corporate governance, with a particular emphasis on the historical role of the State. It seems that certain approaches to corporate governance avoid discussing the role of the State, focusing instead on interactions between corporate managers and shareholders. The changes in corporate governance which have followed various financial crises show that the role of the State and the desires of the larger society are key factors in gaining a better understanding of corporate governance., Le thème de la gouvernance d'entreprise s'est progressivement imposé dans de nombreux domaines académiques au cours des quinze dernières années. Cet article recense les différentes approches de ce concept en mettant en évidence l'influence historique de l'Etat alors que la vision traditionnelle limite cette notion à la simple et traditionnelle relation entre dirigeants et actionnaires. La crise financière récente montre pourtant que le rôle de l'Etat et celui de la collectivité en général sont des facteurs clefs dans la compréhension de la gouvernance d'entreprise.

This article seeks to explain whether the application of IAS/IFRS is a method of corporate governance or whether it is a method of governance at a global level. In the first part of our article, the results of a questionnaire conducted with the financial directors of companies from the CAC 40, Euronext 100 and Next 150 demonstrate that the application of IAS/IFRS was not made in response to corporate governance. In the second part of the article, an interpretative analysis of the economic, financial and political factors which influence companies, as well as an examination of the organizations involved in the application of international accounting standards, allows as to create an inductive model which demonstrates the weigh of global governance in the application of IAS/IFRS in the European Union., Cette recherche tente de répondre à la question de savoir si l'application des normes IAS/IFRS répond à un impératif de gouvernance d'entreprise ou aux objectifs d'une gouvernance mondiale. Dans la première partie de notre article, les résultats d'un questionnaire mené auprès des directeurs financiers des entreprises du CAC 40, d'Euronext 100 et du Next 150 montrent que l'application n'est pas une réponse à une demande de gouvernance d'entreprise. Dans la deuxième partie, l'analyse interprétative des facteurs économiques, financiers et politiques qui influencent les entreprises, ainsi que l'étude des organismes impliqués dans cette application, nous permettent de construire un modèle inductif qui met en évidence le poids de la gouvernance mondiale dans l'application des IAS/IFRS dans l'Union Européenne.

As a framework of analysis, Institutional Theory has been used to explain the various ways that organizations develop and change through time in response to various kinds of institutional pressure. This paper contributes to the Institutional Theory literature in several ways. First, the focus of the paper is on recent changes in the regulatory structures for “statutory auditing”, an important function in contemporary capitalism. Second, we extend Institutional Theory through an international comparative analysis of changes in the regulatory structures for statutory auditing in the United States, France and Canada. Third, in a manner similar to Dillard et al. (2004), we extend Institutional Theory through an increased focus on the political aspects of institutional change with regard to the regulation of statutory auditing. Our overall finding is that there has been significant change in the regulatory structures for statutory auditing in recent years, resulting in increased levels of institutional isomorphism. Pressures, primarily external to the domestic regulatory frameworks, have resulted in greater legalism in the regulation of statutory auditing in the three countries examined. Globalization of international capital markets partly explains this phenomenon, but coercive isomorphism and mimetic isomorphism are also seen as playing important roles in this process. Key words, En tant que cadre d'analyse, la théorie institutionnelle a été utilisée pour expliquer les différentes manières que les organisations développent et évoluent à travers le temps, en réponse à différents types de pressions institutionnelles. Cet article contribue à la littérature de la théorie institutionnelle de plusieurs façons. Tout d'abord, l'objet de l'étude est sur les récents changements dans les structures de régulation de l'audit légale et statutaire, une fonction importante dans le capitalisme contemporain. Deuxièmement, nous étendons la théorie institutionnelle par le biais d'une analyse comparative internationale des changements dans les structures de réglementation de l'audit légale et statutaire aux Etats-Unis, la France et le Canada. Troisièmement, d'une manière analogue à Dillard et al. (2004), nous étendons la théorie institutionnelle à travers une plus grande focalisation sur les aspects politiques de changement institutionnel en ce qui concerne la réglementation de l'audit légale et statutaire. Notre constat est qu'il y a eu des changements significatifs dans les structures de réglementation de l'audit légale et statutaire au cours des dernières années, entraînant une augmentation des niveaux d'isomorphisme institutionnel. Pressions, surtout à l'extérieur de cadres réglementaires nationaux, ont abouti à un plus grand légalisme dans la régulation de l'audit légale et statutaire dans les trois pays étudiés. La mondialisation des marchés de capitaux internationaux explique en partie ce phénomène, mais l'isomorphisme coercitif et isomorphisme mimétique sont également considérés comme jouant un rôle important dans ce processus.

Actes à paraître; In 2006, the China Accounting Standards Committee (CASC) issued its Statement No. 20, which permits both the purchase and pooling of interests (or merger) method of accounting for business combinations. The decision of the CASC in Statement No. 20 stands in contrast to the decisions taken by the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) which both eliminated the pooling of interests method. As a result of the issuance of CASC 20, along with similar pronouncements by the Japanese standard setters and other standards setting bodies, the goal of harmonizing international accounting standards has been faced with a lack of convergence in the area of accounting for business combinations. In this paper we examine the reasons for this lack of convergence in order to develop a reconciled framework. In particular, the Chinese standards setters have sought to develop an approach to accounting for business combinations which distinguishes between instances where the combining entities are under common control or not under common control. Using a relatively narrow definition of common control, both the FASB and the IASB have excluded business combinations among entities under common control from the scope of their respective pronouncements. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the reasons for the distinctly different approach taken by the Chinese accounting standards setters by comparing the provisions of FASB 141, IFRS 3 and CASC 20. Our analysis will show that the technical differences between the standards are based on different understandings of the underlying economics of business combinations (Anthony, 1987), which leads in turn to different representations of the combination process. We believe that a forthright recognition of these differences may lead to a reconsideration of the pooling of interests and merger methods in a new comprehensive framework.

International audience; La loi américaine « Sarbanes-Oxley » est perçue comme une réponse légitime à la crise importante dans les marchés financiers. Pas très reconnu est le fait que l'emphase de la loi sur la reconstitution de la crédibilité aux marchés financiers trahit un engagement idéologique profond à l'entretien du système capitaliste. Récemment, plusieurs mouvements réactionnaires émergeaient qui expriment leur opposition à la loi « Sarbanes-Oxley ». Ces efforts contredisent l'intention de la loi de reconstituer la crédibilité aux marchés financiers. Cet article décrit certains de ces mouvements réactionnaires et les arguments idéologiques avancés.