Small- and medium-sized businesses make a significant contribution to the economies of Western countries. Government, industry, and educators commonly train business managers to improve their skills and knowledge in order to improve the performance of these firms. Owner-manager financial skill...

Research in this thesis deals with some unexplored, or only partially explored, issues relating to the information content of volatility of the idiosyncratic component of asset returns at the firm and industry-level, both in the context of developed and emerging stock markets. Specific issues we...