Further Evidence on the Role of Gender in Financial Performance

Using a sample of 160 sole proprietors and controlling for other determinants of performance, we hypothesize and find support for the view that gender is not a significant direct explanation of financial performance differences among small accounting practices. The control variables we employ are practice characteristics, motivations, and individual owner characteristics. Our results indicate that although financial performance appears to be significantly different for females' and males' sole proprietorships, these performance differences are explained by several variables other than gender directly. At the same time we find that gender moderates the effects of other practice and personal characteristics on financial performance. One of the more interesting results is that women with a stronger motivation to establish a public practice to balance work and family experienced more positive financial outcomes, while for men the same motivation reduced financial performance.     

The Nature of Managerial Work in Small Growth-Orientated Businesses

In this study we explore the daily managerial behaviour of managers of small growth-orientated businesses and contrast it to previous research of managers in large organisations. We also investigate if one background characteristic, the owner–managers functional experience, is related to daily managerial activity. More specifically, we seek to strengthen the ‘managerial work’ tradition through a replication of Mintzberg’s work (The Nature of Managerial Work, New York: Harper and Row 1973) and an extension of the ‘managerial work’ tradition to another contingency, that of small growth- oriented businesses. The study is based on direct observations of ten CEOs of small growth-orientated businesses. The research provides evidence that organisational size is an important determinant of the nature of managerial work. However, in exploring the variability that may occur in managerial work within a given size context, we failed to establish a relationship between the owner–manager’s functional experiences and daily functional work orientation. The article concludes by speculating why the nature of managerial work in small growth-orientated businesses may provide a template for management in larger (more bureaucratic) organisations.     

Store Manager–Store Performance Relationship: A Research Note

Despite the critical role that store managers play in linking top management teams and service/retail employees, as well as in fulfilling corporate strategy within chain store environments, service management research infrequently addresses the factors that may promote store managers’ effective exchange relationships within the firm and subsequent effects on store operations and profitability. This study focuses on how store managers’ performance orientation, trust of a regional manager’s capabilities, and organizational commitment affect a manager’s relationships relative to regional managers and frontline employees. The direct effect of store managers’ relationship capacity on store performance is also examined. The results, based on survey data from managers of stores of a retail and service chain and company financial reports, generally support the suggested hypotheses. Specifically, a store manager’s relationship with his/her supervisor has a strong influence on how the manager views the supervisor’s leadership support and leadership style, which ultimately influence store performance (primary goods/service sales and store profits).     

Turnaround, Corruption and Mediocrity: Leadership and Governance in Three State Owned Enterprises in Mainland China

We focus on moral climates through case studies of three state owned enterprises (SOEs) in a South China City. In Company A, a shipbuilding company, the general manager persuaded the supervisory bureau to allow him to replace the old top management team with managers chosen on merit, and who supported his desire for reforms. He exercised transformational leadership, established internal rule of law, cultivated a spirited moral climate, and achieved turnaround. At Company B, a financial services conglomerate, the general manager exploited strong political connections, enfeebled the governance structures, and with two subsidiary barons proceeded to milk company resources. That, and a large contingent of sleeping incumbents (idle protégés), bred a moral climate overrun by corruption, dereliction of duty and hubris. Bankruptcy was not averted. Hotel X, a subsidiary of company B, was a partial machine bureaucracy; its moral climate characterised by punishment avoidance and lack of spirit. A headquarters power bloc and the sleeping incumbents whom they protected prevented a law abiding, equity sensitive general manager from improving performance, and he lost heart. From these cases, we build a model of the relationship between moral leadership, institutional superstructure, internal governance and control systems, enterprise moral atmosphere, and performance.     

管理控制与财务管理的关系辨析

管理控制是管理者影响组织中其他成员以实现组织战略的过程,财务管理是研究公司资源的取得与使用的一种管理活动,两者之间的关系是值得关注的论题。本文从管理控制和财务管理的内涵入手,对财务管理在管理控制中的地位进行了阐述,并论述了两者之间的关系和互动作用。     

公司属性、经营绩效与经营管理团队薪酬——基于沪市上市公司的实证分析

以沪市上市公司为样本,采用逐步回归、聚类分析等方法对公司属性、经营绩效与公司经营管理团队薪酬之间的关系进行系统的实证分析。结果表明,公司经营管理团队薪酬水平与行业平均水平、地区平均水平、股权制衡度以及经营绩效呈现显著的正相关关系,与第一大股东持股比例呈负相关关系;公司在制定经营管理团队薪酬政策时,对行业平均水平的关注程度明显高于对地区平均水平的关注;公司股权相对集中时,经营绩效对经营管理团队薪酬水平的决定作用明显增强,而且此时用表征新财富创造的指标(每元净资产实现EVA)衡量公司经营绩效更为科学有效。     

Do Entrepreneurial SMEs Perform Better Because They are More Responsible?

Many scholars have investigated the direct impact of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on performance, but this direct association seems both spurious and ambiguous because many parameters may have an indirect influence on this relationship. The present study thus considers sustainable practices—environmental practices, social practices in the workplace (SPW), and social practices in the community (SPC)—as three probable mediators in the relationship between EO and performance, which is considered in terms of its financial and non-financial dimensions. We seek to show to what extent small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) sustainable practices are useful assets, which are supported by EO, to improve performance. Using a structural equation modeling approach, data collected from 406 French SMEs were tested against the model. Our findings reveal that EO has a positive impact on the implementation of sustainable practices and that SPW partially mediate the link between EO and performance. Taken together, these findings suggest that EO plays a role in indirectly promoting performance by enhancing certain human resource management practices.     

Corporate Donations in China: A Strategic- Political Perspective

This paper explores how the political identity of top managers influences corporate donations, based on upper echelons theory (UET). The results show that the political identity of the top manager has a significant impact on the donation behavior of a company, especially in areas with poor institutional environments. Corporate donations depend not only on whether the top manager has a political identity but also the type of this identity. Furthermore, the impact differs significantly between companies with different ownership structures. This study enriches our knowledge of corporate philanthropy by demonstrating that corporate donation practices are shaped by a range of contextual factors. Corporate giving behaviors in emerging economies such as China are differently motivated according to the fundamentally different aspects of their institutional settings.     

The impact of mergers in banking : Evidence from a nationwide sample of federally chartered banks

Spurred by deregulation, cost, and risk factors, commercial bank mergers have accelerated sharply in recent years. Many banks appear to be positioning themselves for the advent of interstate banking through holding company or reciprocal branching arrangements. Yet, the performance effects of mergers among operating U.S. banks (as opposed to holding company acquisitions) have been examined both infrequently and inconclusively. This study focuses upon the characteristics and performance effects of national bank mergers occurring during the 1970–1980 period. Acquiring national banks were found to have lower operating efficiency and productivity than nonmerging banks and their profitability did not increase following the mergers, but credit availability, productivity, loan losses, deposit service charges, and interest-rate risk did rise. Frequency of merger activity did not significantly influence bank profitability or growth, but did augment stockholder risks and increase business and real-estate credit. In the aggregate, national bank mergers appeared to result neither in significant service benefits nor in significant service costs to the public.Spurred by deregulation of the industry, rising cost pressures, and increased operating risk, merger transactions among U.S. banks have soared in recent years. During the 1982–1986 period, for example, banking led all other industries in the number of consummated mergers and consistently was among the ten leading U.S. industries in the estimated market value of merger agreements. Moreover, the recent upsurge in reciprocal interstate banking agreements and proposals for fully legalized interstate banking hold out the prospect for a further acceleration in bank merger transactions in the years ahead. In view of the fact that legislation in more than 30 states now permits some form of interstate banking by merger or de novo entry and a June 1985 ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court has legitimized regional banking compacts, the public and private impact of bank mergers becomes of much greater importance as a research focus.Despite the magnitude of recent bank merger transactions and their implications for the public, the research literature in this area is surprisingly meager and often contradictory. This article is an attempt to focus more sharply on recent research findings, provide additional evidence concerning the effects of mergers on the financial performance of banks, and assess their impact on the public's interest in an adequate supply of financial services.     

Antecedents and consequences of Internet channel performance

Internet distribution channels may be either advantageous or detrimental for a company. Therefore, this study analyzes their performance, antecedents, and effect on company performance. Using survey data from multichannel retailers and structural equation model methodology, the authors show that Internet channel performance contributes to both financial and strategic company performance, with a greater effect on the latter. Similar and uncoordinated channels hinder Internet channel performance, but experience with direct channels and channel power are not required to pursue an Internet channel successfully. Customer migration and managerial commitment to the Internet channel have strong positive influences on financial performance. Overall, the results encourage the adoption and development of Internet channels.     

The relationships of financial literacy with both financial behavior and financial well-being: Meta-analyses based on the selective literature review

This study conducted meta-analyses of the relationships between financial literacy and both financial behavior and financial well-being. Peer-reviewed articles published on financial literacy in the field of consumer studies were collected by July 29, 2020. Fourteen articles were eligible for the meta-analyses. The results showed positive relationships of financial knowledge with desirable financial behavior and financial well-being. Our comparison of objective and subjective financial knowledge indicated that subjective knowledge had stronger relationships with both financial behavior and financial well-being than objective knowledge. These two types of knowledge also had different paths to financial well-being in that subjective knowledge had both direct and indirect effects on financial well-being through financial behavior, whereas objective knowledge only had an indirect effect. The relationship between financial knowledge and financial behavior appeared stronger in cross-sectional data than in longitudinal data. The implications of these results and possible directions for future consumer science research were discussed.     

Small-Business Owner-Managers’ Perceptions of Business Ethics and CSR-Related Concepts

Recent academic articles point to an increased vagueness and overlap in concepts related to business ethics and corporate responsibility. Further, the perception of these notions can differ in the small-business world from the original academic definitions. This article focuses on the cognition of small-business owner-managers. Given the impact of small-business owner–managers on their ventures, corporate responsibility and ethical issues can take a different route in SMEs. The small-business owner–manager is able to shape the corporate culture and to enact values other than profit. Adopting a cognitive perspective, we have identified how the small-business owner–manager makes sense of notions linked to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business ethics. The concept of sensemaking has recently been applied to CSR (Basu and Pallazzo, 2008; Cramer et al., 2006). Applying a cognitive perspective to small-business owners may help in explaining specific phenomena found within small-business ownership. For this research, the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) is used, a method that has not previously been widely applied in the business and society field.     

Business Growth and Performance and the FinancialReporting Practices of Australian Manufacturing SMEs

This article describes an explanatory study of the impact of financial reporting practices upon business growth and performance outcomes amongst small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in manufacturing in Australia. The study is able to establish some statistically significant bivariate associations between the extent and frequency of financial reporting undertaken and certain measures of SME growth and performance. However, the state of financial reporting practices becomes subsumed by other important influences in multivariate analysis. Management is a complex activity affected by a myriad of interacting internal and external factors, and must inevitably be undertaken in an holistic manner in SMEs. Particular practices make a contribution to the whole task without necessarily standing out as all-embracing solutions to problems generally encountered. Thus, it is argued that improved financial reporting should be realistically viewed as simply part of a broader competence in financial management which, taken together with other functional capabilities, is likely to lead to more effective and efficient management of SMEs and significantly improve their prospects.     

The effectiveness of strategic planning: competitiveness in the Brazilian supermarket sector

This paper considers the relative impact of management strategic planning practices and economic changes on company performance. The paper focuses on the Brazilian supermarket sector during the period 1988–1999. This was a period marked by significant changes in economic and competitive conditions. Using sales figures as indicators of company performance, ANOVA tests were applied. The results derived suggest that variables representing changes in economic conditions and strategic planning were both statistically significant when they were used to explain performance differences among Brazilian supermarket operations. Differences in company management practices were found to play a more important role than changes in the environment. However, the results clearly suggest that management by itself was unable to take advantage of the upward and downward movements in the economy to modify the relative competitive positions of companies operating within the market. This finding challenges the existing literature on strategic planning.     

Strategizing corporate social responsibility: evidence from an Italian medium-sized, family-owned company

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming a mainstream issue as both researchers and managers are realizing its importance, but knowledge gaps persist. In particular, the processes underlying the adoption of responsible managerial practices and the effects associated with them are still at the centre of intense debate. Not surprisingly, managers expect formalized procedures that might influence corporate managerial processes and especially corporate strategies. Given the growing emphasis on the integration of CSR into corporate strategy, the purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the antecedents of this process and the dynamics underlying it. We focus on a medium-sized, family-owned Italian company, SABAF SpA. We find that: the beliefs and value systems of entrepreneurs play a fundamental role in shaping a sustainable corporate strategy; the importance of the relationship between social performance and financial performance depends to some extent on the kind of competitive strategy that a company has selected; and people need to be aware of it – that is, CSR strategies must be explicit and codified into specific managerial procedures.     

Purchasing's strategic irrelevance

The resource based perspective (RBP) is an area within strategy theory dealing with the effects of resources and their management on company financial performance. One sub-set of the RBP literature deals with the effects of resources on strategic performance through the generation of competitive advantage. This paper explores the implications of the RBP for purchasing and its potential contribution to sustainable competitive advantage. It is concluded that purchasing typically has no significant strategic role to play, and that the function's activities are operational in nature.     

There is a secret to success: Linking customer experience management practices to profitability

Customer experience (CX) and customer experience management (CXM) are key tenets of the presently dominant marketing research and management strategy paradigm. Despite CXM's prevalence, very little research explores its practices and links to company performance. This study tackles a rather elusive challenge for practice and research: how to connect customer experience (management practices) to company profitability. Based on a dataset of over 273 companies with dedicated CX strategies, we explore four different clusters of how companies manage their CX programs. Interestingly, each form of practice leads to a different performance outcome. Thus, our work lays the foundation for linking CXM practices to company performance, emphasizing which practices are more rewarding than others. The present study lays the groundwork for research to further elaborate on the cause-effect relationship between CX and performance and what the next and best CXM practices look like.     

Antecedents of the propensity to learn management practices and their impacts on firm outcomes in emerging markets: A Bayesian Model Averaging approach

This article explores the factors that motivate firms to learn new management practices. The hypotheses are empirically tested using a representative sample of 3676 small, medium and large firms from four South Asian countries and across all main sectors of economic activity. Given that we know little about the antecedents of the propensity to learn management practices in emerging markets, the study employs Bayesian Model Averaging approach to overcome the potential issue of model uncertainty. The results reveal that market competition, resource allocation towards internal and external R&D, good quality mobile network coverage and the use of external certified financial auditors have all positive and significant effects on the propensity to learn management practices. The results also suggest that private intellectual property rights protection in the context of inefficient legal systems can deter firms from learning, perhaps in fear of legal ramifications. Finally, the study shows that firms with a higher propensity of learning management practices are more likely to become profitable while exhibiting higher levels of both potential and actual innovation.     

Designing Green Entrepreneurship Model in Sustainable Development Consistent with the Performance of Tehran Industrial Towns

The purpose of this paper design a green entrepreneurship model in sustainable development path consistent with the performance of industrial towns in Tehran (center of IRAN). The population was the active small/medium enterprises (SMEs) with full capacity in industrial towns of Tehran, which were about 3000 active units, accounting for 20% of the companies in Tehran industrial towns. Sample size was obtained as 514, which was used in calculations. The results showed that green entrepreneurship mediates the effect of green innovation, organizational culture, competitive advantage, and social-environmental responsibility of company on the financial performance of company. There was no mediating role concerning the effect of state laws and regulations on company’s financial performance. Additionally, market turbulence moderates effect of green entrepreneurship on organization financial performance, but financial shocks do not modulate the effect of green entrepreneurship on organization finance.     

Managing Relationships with Environmental Stakeholders: A Study of U.K. Water and Electricity Utilities

In this paper we report a study of the approach of six U.K. water and electricity companies towards managing the relationship with their 'green' stakeholders. Stakeholders are accorded increasing importance in political discourse and stakeholder theory is emerging as a promising framework for the analysis of corporate social performance.We studied the companies' general approach towards green stakeholders, their dealings with specific stakeholder groups and whether they emphasised the consultation or the information aspect of stakeholder management. We found that none of the six companies had a systematic stakeholder approach that extended to all potential green stakeholders. Rather, the importance of specific stakeholder groups seemed to be determined by managers' intuition and by the stance that the stakeholders themselves displayed towards the company.Green stakeholders with an institutional power base – government via legislation, environmental and industry regulators – emerged as the most immediately influential stakeholders. The Environment Agency, the environmental regulator, played an especially important role in the companies' environmental management. Customers and the general public – the source of corporate social legitimacy – were also considered to be important, but their influence was more long term and based on voice, rather than the potential for direct retaliation. Economic stakeholders were generally considered to be not very interested in the companies' environmental performance.