International Journal of Management, Accounting and Economics
Volume:8 Issue: 1, Jan 2021

Performance appraisal refers to the process of performance measurement, assessment, valuation, and judgement over time. Performance ranking based on several criteria of different values is possible only when multi-criteria decision models are adopted. In this regard, different indicators are used in accordance with the type of ranking. Accordingly, inspired by the support vector machine model (SVM) and the Promethee technique, the present study aimed to develop a performance appraisal model for mutual funds and rank them accordingly. In this study, 34 mutual funds accepted in Iran’s capital market were selected during 2016-2018 using the systematic random sampling method. First, the key performance indicators were detected using the indicators of post-modern portfolio theory, which were then approved by managers, experts, and professionals. Then some information about each indicator was collected, and the experts and professionals’ comments were used to weight the indicators and specify the importance and priority of each indicator. Afterwards, an applied model was developed to represent the indicators effective in ranking mutual funds. Finally, the SVM model and the Promethee technique were adopted to rank the concerned mutual funds. The findings revealed that, in comparison to the indicators of downside risk and Sortino, upside potential ratio has the greatest effect on the performance appraisal of the mutual funds accepted in Iran’s capital market.

The main objective of this study is to find out the effects of board characteristics on firm performance in the listed companies of non-banking financial institutions industry of Bangladesh. This study has considered five board characteristics namely board size, the proportion of independent directors, the proportion of female directors, the number of board meetings and percentage of directors’ ownership. ROA has been taken as the performance indicator. The regression results show that board size and female directors are positively and significantly related to firm performance. On the other hand the proportion of independent directors, the number of board meetings and the percentage of directors’ ownership do not have any significant impact on firm performance. The findings of this study will help the regulators and policymakers to understand the existing weakness of corporate governance structure in the financial institution industry and will aid in their quest for harmonizing the practice of corporate governance of Bangladesh with that of developed countries.

Since early this year, the world has been facing a hazardous new generation of coronavirus named COVID-19 which has rapidly spread to the extent that it has drowned the world into the pandemic condition. The spread of this pandemic has generated a strong contagion effect across markets around the globe. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the impact of COVID-19 for as many markets as possible. This paper aims to analyze the cosmetic retail market’s behavior in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic using a combination of graphical statistics tools to observe the monthly growth of production and sales in cosmetic retail and toilet articles for the period from October 2019 to August 2020. The results assume that the COVID-19 can have a black swan effect on the cosmetic micro-market. These findings are remarkable for the cosmetic sector's investors and marketers to enhance their understanding of cosmetic retail market behavior during unpredictable events such as pandemics.

Commercialization strategy is one of the most crucial decisions a firm makes in terms of its ability to profit from technologies developed within the firm. This study was carried out to propose a model for commercialization strategies success in marketing in Iran. This study was a descriptive survey and the survey instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire. Statistical society was all of managers in industrial companies of Tehran. Statistical society was all of managers in industrial companies of Tehran. Sample size (245 persons) determination is based on the Krejcie & Morgan table and cluster random sampling method was used. After data collection, data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Reliability of research tool was calculated by Cronbach's alpha and the value of that was 0.81. Results and finding of this research showed that government policy, Legal restrictions and Organizational difficulties affect commercialization strategies success in marketing in Iran.