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The aim of this study is to empirically examine the four elements of intellectual capital (human capital, customer capital, structural capital and innovation capital) and their relationship with business performance in the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE). This study was conducted based on a psychometrically validated questionnaire developed and launched by Bontis (1997) and Bontis et al. (2000). Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Model have been used as statistical methods to analyse the five hypotheses developed. Our results are designed to extend it to degrees consistent with those revealed by Bontis et al. (2000) for a Malaysian set of industries. In particularly, we found that: (a) human capital is important and positively associated to customer capital in both service and non-service industries; (b) customer capital has an influence in structural capital rather than in non-service industries; (c) innovation capital seems to have an important and positive relationship to structural capital, regardless of the industry type; and (d) structural capital has a positive relationship to business performance in both industry types, and especially in non-service industries.

This paper investigates the various methods and techniques used by Greek investors (both professional and individuals) when evaluating potential additions to their investment portfolios. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses both a questionnaire survey and a series of interviews to examine the practice of investment management in terms of stock market forecasting and stock valuation. The respondents consists of six different groups of investors which are drawn from the whole geographic area of Greece: official members of the ASE, mutual funds management companies, portfolio investment companies, listed companies, brokers, and individual investors. Findings: The results indicate that individual investors rely more on newspapers/media and noise in the market when making their investment decisions, while professional investors rely more on fundamental and technical analysis and less on portfolio analysis. The investment horizon seems to have a direct association with the relative importance of the techniques that professionals use for stock analysis. Also, the use of specific techniques seems to have a different impact on the performance of professionals. Practical Implications: The results highlight the practical methods and techniques used by various Greek investors when making their stock investment decisions as well as analysing the consequences of these methods on their performance. Originality/Value: This paper is the first study of the methods used by different classes of investor in the relatively underdeveloped capital market of Greece.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the explanatory power of two value-based performance measurement models, Economic Value Added (EVA w ) and shareholder value added (SVA), compared with three traditional accounting performance measures: earnings per share (EPS), return on investment (ROI), and return on equity (ROE), in explaining stock market returns in the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE). Design/methodology/approach -The paper uses the Easton and Harris formal valuation model and employs both a relative and an incremental information content approach to examine which performance measure best explains stock market returns; and the explanatory power of the pairwise combinations of one value-based performance measurement model and one traditional accounting performance measure in explaining stock market returns. For this purpose, pooled time-series, cross-sectional data of listed companies in the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) over the period 1992-2001 have been collected and modelled. Findings -Relative information content tests reveal that stock market returns are more closely associated with EPS than with EVA w or other performance measures. However, incremental information content tests suggest that the pairwise combination of EVA w with EPS increases significantly the explanatory power in explaining stock market returns. Practical implications -The results suggest that the market participants in the Greek stock market should pay additional attention to EVA w but they should also consider other determinants to develop their investment strategies. Originality/value -The paper is one of the first studies on the value relevance of traditional accounting (EPS, ROI, and ROE) and value-based (EVA w and SVA) performance measures in explaining stock market returns in the ASE. The results extend the understanding of the role of EVA w and SVA in explaining stock market returns in the ASE, and, moreover, whether they may affect investors' decisions in a continental European market with market characteristics similar to that of Greece.

This paper examines the bank productivity growth and integration process for the 28 EU countries during three main phases of the financial crisis: the U.S. subprime crisis (2007-2008), the global financial crisis (2009-2010) and the sovereign debt crisis (2010-2012). We extend the Malmquist Productivity Index by applying an additive two-stage DEA model. This allows us to explore the sources of growth in different stages of production. Furthermore, we assess the integration of European banks by analyzing the β-convergence and σ-convergence of the twostage Productivity Index. Our results show a productivity growth during the U.S. subprime crisis, but a consistent decline during the global financial crisis. The loss of competitiveness of the European banking system is due to the drop of the performance stage and technical change. Finally, we find a strong convergence pattern during the financial crisis, mainly driven by the catch up process of some Eastern countries and the drop in performance of Western countries.