Benchmarking Corporate Social Responsibility within Spanish Companies

In this paper, the authors focus on the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) upon business profitability. In order to be capable of working with homogeneous data, the authors’ starting point is to use the criteria defined by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ work on the subject, and published by the Spanish journal Actualidad Económica. In this work, an index was created which assigns between one and five points to the companies depending on the importance given by them to CSR. The CSR measurement published by the Observatorio de la RSE will also be considered. In order to measure companies’ profitability, this paper will take into account their return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA) of 2005 and 2006. The authors’ purpose is to demonstrate that the relationship between CSR and business profitability is neutral.

社会情感财富对家族企业创业导向的影响

在将家族企业社会情感财富划分为家族控制、家族代际传承意愿、家族认同和家族社会资本4个维度的基础上,研究不同维度社会情感财富间关系及其对家族企业创业导向的影响与作用机制。结果发现：①家族控制对家族代际传承意愿、家族认同和家族社会资本具有显著正向影响;②家族控制对家族企业创业导向具有显著正向影响,家族代际传承意愿、家族认同、家族社会资本在家族控制与家族企业创业导向间起完全中介作用。     

Impact of the adoption of information and communication technologies on firm efficiency in the Tunisian manufacturing sector

This paper aims at measuring the impact of information and communication technology use on the efficiency of the Tunisian manufacturing sector at the firm level within a simple theoretical framework. We are using a firm-level panel data for the manufacturing sector in Tunisia to investigate whether adoption of ICT influences efficiency in factor use. The analysis is conducted through the use of a parametric method to measure technical efficiency. We estimate a stochastic production frontier and the relationship aims to explain technical efficiency differentials in a single stage as suggested by Battese and Coelli [Battesse, G.E, Coelli, T.J. (1995). A model for technical inefficiency in a stochastic frontier production function for panel data. Empirical Economics, 20, 325–332].The results have confirmed the presence of positive returns to ICT capital. We have found that the impact of ICT on efficiency is strong. Our results also suggest that it is important to carefully control for human capital related characteristics of employment when studying the effect of ICT. The evidence shows that achieving benefits from investment in ICT requires complementary investments and changes in human capital. This means that the combined use of ICT and human capital in a firm would enhance its efficiency beyond the direct effects of these factors taken alone.     

The Differential Impact of Public and Private Governance Institutions on the Different Modes of Foreign Investment

This paper examines the respective impacts of public and private governance institutions on foreign direct and foreign portfolio investment inflows. We present two hypotheses: (1) there is a strong correlation between the quality of a country’s public governance institutions and the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) received while the quality of its private governance institutions has no further discernible impact on this correlation; (2) there is a strong correlation between the quality of a country’s public governance institutions and the amount of foreign portfolio investment (FPI) received while the quality of its private governance institutions has a further positive impact on this correlation. Our findings, which are based on panel data analysis, show both hypotheses to be valid.     

Structural equation model for predicting technology commercialization success index (TCSI)

Expecting high return, many firms try to invest on R&D of new technology. However, critical loss of assets would occur, when a firm fails to commercialize the developed technology. It would be of interest to provide the ideal environment for commercialization from the R&D stage. In this study, we use a structural equation model (SEM) to forecast the technology commercialization success index (TCSI) in relation to technology developer, technology receiver, technology transfer center, and environmental factors. The proposed SEM is fitted based on partial least square (PLS) estimation procedure. Individual TCSI is then found following the approach used for American customer satisfaction index (ACSI) for various combinations of characteristics of the type of technology, technology receiver, and technology developer. We expect that the proposed approach for TCSI can be used as guidance for an ideal match of technology with technology developer and technology receiver.     

农户自主发展能力的三商影响研究——以河南省吴沟村为例

通过对河南省吴沟村81家农户依照设定标准所选取的反映不同层次的20家农户的调查,对比分析了具有不同自主发展能力的农户的经济状况及其自身发展情况,探讨了农户自主发展能力和农户三商的度量,以及两者之间的关系.结果显示:在技术、制度、地域基质基本相同的条件下,影响农户发展主要取决于农户自身;农户的智商(IQ)、情商(EQ)、财商(FQ)对农户自主发展能力起着显著作用;但不同程度的农户自主发展能力,三商对其影响有明显差异,即主导商不同.调杳发现:农户都有提高自主发展能力的意识,且在追求农业以外的收入方而有着强烈愿望.在大致相同的环境条件下,提出了不断完善农户自身发展的相关措施,以利于农户自身合理规划,进而推动农村发展.     

Can you do the wrong thing and still be right? Hypothesis testing in I(2) and near-I(2) cointegrated VARs

In this paper, we investigate the small-sample performance of LR tests on long-run coefficients in the I(2) model; we focus on a comparison between I(2) and near-I(2) data, i.e. I(1) data with a second root very close to unity, and report the results of some Monte Carlo experiments. With near-I(2) data, the finite-sample properties of the tests are (i) similar to those found with genuine I(2) data, (ii) systematically superior to those of the analogous tests constructed in the I(1) model, even if the latter is, in principle, correctly specified and the former is not. Therefore, there seems to be strong support to the idea that, in practice, modelling near-I(2) data using the I(2) model may be a good idea, despite the inherent misspecification.     

Identification and analysis of underdeveloped resource-rich regions in China

This paper analyzes the existence of developmental views and compares the results of previous studies for underdeveloped regions.In view of the limitations of previous studies,this study details regional unit,expands index system,applies factor-analysis to structure index system,uses the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model to improve analytic hierarchy process,and identifies the economic developmental levels of 384 regions,including 4 municipalities,333 cities at prefecture level,and 47 counties under the jurisdiction of province.The levels of the 47 counties are identified by dividing the rank of comprehensive values of more than 337 regions unit into five equal graduations and then matching the 47 counties with the five-graduation results.This study provides the distribution of resources-rich region in China qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of coal,oil gas and other 14 kinds of metal mineral resources.Finally,by matching the two parts of results,this study identifies the distribution of underdeveloped resource-rich regions （URRRs）.URRRs are mainly distributed in Shaanxi,Shanxi,Guizhou,Yunnan,Sichuan,He ＇nan,Shandong,Guangxi and Gansu provinces,which accounts for 78.57% of the total in China.To a certain degree,the result of this paper proves that ＂resources curse ＂ existing in the national stratification plane in later 20^th century still takes places in some cities in China,especially in the counties of these cities ＇jurisdiction.     

CAN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IMPROVE STOCK MARKET EFFICIENCY? A CROSS‐COUNTRY STUDY

The rapid advance of information and communication technology (ICT) has revolutionized the dissemination of stock market information. Based on the noise trading theory, this study discusses whether the changes brought by ICT have promoted the transparency of stock market information or instead flooded the stock market with misinformation. A cross‐country panel dataset of 71 countries from 2002 to 2014 was established. The empirical methodologies include panel unit root tests, panel variance ratio tests, and panel multiple regressions. The results of panel unit root tests and panel variance ratio tests show that stock markets in countries with high ICT diffusion are efficient while stock markets in countries with low or medium ICT diffusion are not all efficient. The results of panel regressions further show that the effect of ICT diffusion in reducing market noises was more significant than its effect in magnifying the noises.     

论作业成本管理与企业资源计划的结合

本论文对ERP理论和作业成本管理理论的形成与原理进行了阐释,并介绍了这两种理论目前的研究水平和实践情况。在此基础上,着重分析了目前ERP实施过程中遇到的部分问题,提出了可以将作业成本管理理论引入ERP的管理理论体系,并分析了二者相结合的基础,在理论上指出这种结合不仅可以为作业成本管理理论的应用创造条件,更可以使ERP的理论和实践得到进一步发展。     

碳足迹的概念和核算方法研究进展

碳足迹提供了分析人类活动对气候变化影响的新视角.从概念和核算方法两个方面对有关碳足迹的研究进行了分析:(1)概念上,碳足迹目前无统一的定义.在分析度量单位、温室气体种类及系统边界的基础上,文章提出了碳足迹的建议定义.(2)方法上,碳足迹目前无统一的核算方法.投入产出分析、生命周期评价及混合生命周期评价是三种主要的核算方法.文章对这三种方法的原理、适用范围、优缺点及应用情况进行了分析.最后,从方法、应用和不确定性三个方面对碳足迹研究作了展望.     

跨国公司违背社会责任行为后果与对策分析

近年来,尽管企业社会责任领域的学术研究不断深入,衡量和评价企业社会责任行为的机构、模型和工具也不断涌现,但发达国家的跨国公司,特别是一些世界著名的跨国公司仍然在违背社会责任方面铤而走险。本文在文献研究的基础上,提出了跨国公司违背企业社会责任的后果有两种基本类型,一是败坏东道国社会风气,二是败坏跨国公司自身企业文化;作者进而提出抑制跨国公司违背企业社会责任的核心力量是培育竞争环境,让消费者在选购产品或品牌时有更好的选择对策。     

Average drawdown risk reduction and risk tolerances

We investigate the effects of average drawdown risk reduction on US mutual funds. Due to numerous evidence of the asymmetric distribution of portfolio returns, the asymmetric risk measures have extensively been used in risk management during the recent decades with extensive usages on the n-degree lower partial moment (LPM) methodology. Unlike the previous literature, we use the n-degree average drawdown risk measure, which is a special case of n-degree LPM, to empirically investigate the impacts of n-degree average drawdown risk reduction on the risk tolerances generated by the US mutual funds.The evidence shows that skewness does not impose any significant problem on the n-degree A-DRM model. Moreover, the effect of changing the tolerances of average drawdown risk in the n-degree A-DRM models is a reduction in the fund returns. The n-degree CA-DRM optimization model reduces investors׳ risk more than other models. Thus, the A-DRM can be accommodated with risk-averse investors׳ approach. The efficient set of mean–variance choices from the investment opportunity set, as described by Markowitz, shows that the n-degree CA-DRM algorithms create this set with lower risk than other algorithms. It implies that the mean–variance opportunity set generated by the n-degree CA-DRM creates lower risk for a given return than covariance and CLPM.     

The influence of CSR on firm value: an application of panel smooth transition regression on Taiwan

Previous studies on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm value generally belong to one of the two opposing schools of thought: the social impact hypothesis and the shift of focus hypothesis. This study, however, proposes that the relationship between CSR and company value is non-linear and neither wholly positive nor negative. We employed the corporate social responsibility index (CRSI) to test this hypothesis. The panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) model was used to analyse listed Taiwanese firms from 2010 to 2012 and calculate the value transition threshold of CSR, using CSRI as the transition variable. We then applied PSTR to determine whether CSRI shows a two-regime, non-linear relationship, as inferred by our model. Empirical findings show that the threshold value of CSRI is 13.082, thus, we concluded that investment in CSR does not contribute to enhancing company value until it exceeds the value transition threshold.     

Does financial cooperation agreement improve the cointegration among ASEAN+3 money markets?

This paper aims to empirically examine the degree of cointegration among ASEAN+3 money markets in order to determine and adopt remedial actions pursuant to vulnerabilities in the region’s money markets that indicate an inability to prevent possible financial crises. In order to validate vulnerabilities, this paper investigates the degree to which money markets are integrated. Inter-bank lending rates are divided based on agreement periods as well as on income levels of regional economies. The VAR-based Cointegration test and the VECM have been applied in the investigation process. The findings are: (1) weak integration during the pre-agreement period; (2) substantial progress toward the post-agreement period; (3) both high- and low-income markets integrate in a cooperative way; and (4) the agreement produces an impact that is incomplete in so far as integrating the region’s money markets. The finding of this study offers implications for the regional makers.     

家族企业创业导向与企业成长：社会情感财富与制度环境的调节作用

旨在研究家族企业创业导向对企业成长的影响,并探讨社会情感财富和制度环境在二者之间的调节作用。运用8个省份家族企业问卷调查数据进行分析检验,结果表明：①家族企业创业导向对企业成长具有显著正向影响;②社会情感财富不同对家族企业创业导向与企业成长关系的影响不同,家族控制正向调节家族企业创业导向与企业成长关系,家族代际传承意愿负向调节家族企业创业导向与企业成长关系,即随着家族控制意愿的增强或家族代际传承意愿的降低,家族企业创业导向对企业成长的影响增大;③制度环境正向调节家族企业创业导向与企业成长关系,即随着制度环境的改善,家族企业创业导向对企业成长的影响增大。     

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the Role of Computable General Equilibrium Modelling: An Exercise in ‘Managing Fictional Expectations’

Negotiations between the world's two largest trading partners, the European Union (EU) and the USA, on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) have been ongoing since July 2013. Anticipating the controversy the agreement has sparked, EU trade policy-makers in the European Commission have put considerable effort into discursively framing the agreement on their terms. Drawing on computable general equilibrium (CGE) models of the agreement's likely impact, the central claim has been that the TTIP promises to deliver much-needed ‘growth and jobs’ without stretching the public purse at a time of austerity. Our main argument in this article, drawing on the insights of the economic sociologist Jens Beckert, is that these CGE models – and the figures they have produced – represent an important exercise in ‘managing of fictional expectations’. The models make overly optimistic predictions about the ability of the EU and the USA to eliminate regulatory barriers to trade – which are unlikely to be realised in the face of considerable political opposition – and also downplay the potential deregulatory impact of an agreement. Rather than act as a reliable guide to future outcomes, we thus show that these models serve the pro-liberalisation agenda of the European Commission and other advocates of the TTIP.     

流域生态补偿支付意愿的影响因素分析——以湘江流域长沙段为例

以湘江流域长沙段为例,运用结构方程模型和CVM调查数据对流域生态补偿支付意愿的影响因素进行分析。研究发现,以＂外部特征＂、＂现状评价＂、＂心理特征＂取代传统研究的＂个人社会经济特征＂作为＂支付意愿＂的主要影响因素更具全面性和解释力;运用结构方程模型比传统回归模型分析更具整体建构性和优越性;居民的支付意愿不仅取决于外部条件和现实能力,也取决于居民的心理特征。     

From less promising to green? Technological opportunities and their role in (green) ICT innovation

This article aims to shed light on the role of technological opportunities for green innovation by studying the case of Green ICT innovation. We test whether firms active in low-opportunity technological areas are less likely to be innovative and whether they are more likely to change their direction of technical change. To do so, we construct a firm-level panel data set for the years 1992–2009 combining patent data from the European Patent Office with firm-level data from the German Innovation Panel (Mannheim Innovation Panel). The results are based on dynamic count data estimation models applying General Methods of Moments estimators. Our results support our hypotheses: firms active in low-opportunity technological areas are less innovative but are more likely to switch from pure ICT innovation to Green ICT innovation.     

Thermodynamics and process analysis for future economic scenarios

Economists are increasingly interested in forecasting future costs and benefits of policies for dealing with materials/energy fluxes, polluting emissions and environmental impacts on various scales, from sectoral to global. Computable general equilibrium (CGE) models are currently popular because they project demand and industrial structure into the future, along an equilibrium path. But they are applicable only to the extent that structural changes occur in or near equilibrium, independent of radical technological (or social) change. The alternative tool for analyzing economic implications of scenario assumptions is to use Leontief-type Input-Output (I-O) models. I-O models are unable to endogenize structural shifts (changing I-O coefficients). However, this can be a virtue when considering radical rather than incremental shifts. Postulated I-O tables can be used independently to check the internal consistency of scenarios. Or I-O models can be used to generate scenarios by linking them to econometric macro-drivers (which can, in principle, be CGE models). Explicit process analysis can be integrated, in principle, with I-O models. This hybrid scheme provides a natural means of satisfying physical constraints, especially the first and second laws of thermodynamics. This is important, to avoid constructing scenarios based on physically impossible processes. Process analysis is really the only available tool for constructing physically plausible alternative future I-O tables, and generating materials/energy and waste emissions coefficients. Explicit process analysis also helps avoid several problems characteristic of pure CGE or I-O models, viz. (1) aggregation errors (2) inability to handle arbitrary combinations of co-product and co-input relationships and (3) inability to reflect certain non-linearities such as internal feedback loops.