Political career concerns and bank lending in China

This study examines how politician's career concerns affect the bank loans using a sample of bank branches at the county-level in China. We use politician tenure to measure an important dimension of the politician incentives to intervene in the local economy, which is determined by their career concerns about perceived promotion probability. We find that there is a curvilinear relationship between politician tenure and bank loans (i.e., reversed U-shape). We also construct a promotion pressure index and document a positive relationship between this promotion index and bank loans. These results are more significant for banks located in counties with underdeveloped institutions or weak government capacity, and those with political ties. These results support the view that politicians have strong incentives to utilize local banks to promote local economic growth if it is also consistent with their private goals, especially in the environment with significant government ownership in banking systems.     

高管团队价值观、团队氛围对冲突的影响

文章实证分析了高管团队成员的社会价值观和团队氛围对冲突的影响。结果表明,高管团队的绩效观和集体主义观与任务冲突有正向联系,集体主义观异质性和绩效观异质性抑制任务冲突,利己权力观异质性引起任务冲突。研究发现高管团队开放性和信任构成的团队氛围与任务冲突有正向联系,总经理的集体主义导向与任务冲突正相关。研究没有发现价值观与关系冲突联系的直接证据,关系冲突更可能与情绪因素相联系。     

Revisiting the Effect of Family Involvement on Corporate Social Responsibility: A Behavioral Agency Perspective

This paper sheds light on the incongruent findings concerning the relationship between family involvement and firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR). While prior studies have mainly taken the perspective of families’ socioemotional wealth preservation, we approach this relationship from the perspective of behavioral agency theory, highlighting the important role played by CEOs’ family memberships. Specifically, we posit that family firms are more likely to invest in CSR when their CEOs are members of the controlling families. Furthermore, we examine how family firms can employ long-term incentives to encourage non-family CEOs to act in the interests of the controlling families to preserve SEW and thus enhancing family firms’ CSR performance. We tested our hypotheses using hand-collected data of family firms included in the S&P 500 index, in the period of 2003–2010. The empirical findings support our hypotheses that (a) family firms with family members as the CEOs have better CSR performance and (b) family firms tend to provide a high level of long-term incentives to non-family than family CEOs. In addition, long-term incentives strongly motivate CEOs to improve firms’ CSR performance, regardless of their family memberships.     

Systematic ESG exposure and stock returns: Evidence from the United States during the 1991–2019 period

Using a sample of US stocks over the period 1991–2019, we test whether stocks with high exposure to a social index exhibit high returns. Using a univariate analysis, our in-sample results show that stocks with high sensitivities to the MSCI KLD 400 Social Index underperform stocks with low sensitivities by an annual risk-adjusted performance of 7.02%. The negative premium is also larger in the post-crisis period of 2007–2019 and is equal to 10.25%. The out-of-sample results offer, however, only weak evidence of such a finding, with a risk-adjusted performance difference of merely −0.84% over the full sample period and no significant differences between the pre-crisis and post-crisis periods. In the multivariate regression, we find evidence of a negative relationship between exposure to the social index and stock performance. Moreover, we find that stocks with high exposure to the social index display a low corporate social responsibility score, a high Tobin’s Q, high long-term debt, a large size, high total risk, a high market beta, a high SMB coefficient, a low HML coefficient, and a small MOM coefficient.     

中国纺织外贸企业履行社会责任与企业绩效的关系——基于 20家上市公司的面板数据分析

企业履行社会责任与企业绩效的关系一直是社会责任实践和理论研究中的热点问题。纺织行业作为典型的劳动力密集型行业,社会责任问题随着全球社会责任运动备受关注。本文以利益相关者理论为理论基础,以中国20家纺织业上市公司2001～2010年的数据为样本,利用实证的方法,从财务角度分析企业履行社会责任对企业经济效益的影响。从整体分析看,履行对各利益相关者的责任与企业绩效呈现较强的正相关性。     

Abandoning distinctiveness: The influence of nostalgia on consumer choice

This study proposes that when feeling nostalgic, consumers are more likely to choose the option that the majority of others prefer. Four studies consistently demonstrate that nostalgia can enhance consumers' social connectedness, which motivates them to maintain the feelings of connection to the group and thereby increases their preference for majority-endorsed options in the subsequent product choices. Moreover, the strength of social ties between consumers and others moderates the mediation effect of social connectedness. In the weak social ties condition, social connectedness mediates the effect of nostalgia on preference for majority-endorsed products. In the strong social ties condition, the mediation effect of social connectedness diminishes. These findings complement previous work on how nostalgia influences consumer behavior.     

How Economic Incentives May Destroy Social,Ecological and Existential Values: The Case of Executive Compensation

Executive compensation has long been a prominent topic in the management literature. A main question that is also given substantial attention in the business ethics literature—even more so in the wake of the recent financial crisis—is whether increasing levels of executive compensation can be justified from an ethical point of view. Also, the relationship of executive compensation to instances of unethical behavior or outcomes has received considerable attention. The purpose of this paper is to explore the social, ecological, and existential costs of economic incentives, by discussing how relying on increasing levels of executive compensation may have an adverse effect on managerial performance in a broad sense. Specifically, we argue that one-dimensional economic incentives may destroy existential, social, and systemic values that influence the manager’s commitment to ensure responsible business conduct, and have negative spillover effects that may reduce the manager’s performance. There are well-documented findings that demonstrate that reliance on sources of extrinsic motivation (such as economic incentives) may displace intrinsic motivation. Our perspective is a holistic one, in the sense that we will explore the influence of sources of extrinsic motivation on the manager’s intrinsic commitment to different types of values. We will in particular investigate how it may influence the manager’s ethical reflection and behavior or lack thereof.     

Entrepreneurial orientation,entrepreneurial competencies,innovation, and performances in SMEs of Pakistan: Moderating role of social ties

The current study examines the mediating role of innovation and entrepreneurial competencies in entrepreneurial orientation’s relationship with financial, social, and environmental performance. This research also determines the role of social ties in strengthening the association between innovation and entrepreneurial competencies with social, financial, and environmental performance. Using multi-source and time-lagged studies, the data was collected from 297 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan, and structural equation modeling was used to test direct, indirect, and moderating hypotheses. The findings show that entrepreneurial orientation, entrepreneurial competencies, and innovation positively correlate with all the types of performance under investigation and confirm the mediating role of innovation and entrepreneurial competencies. Additionally, social network ties strengthen innovation—financial performance, and entrepreneurial competencies—social performance relationship. This research proposes significant theoretical and managerial implications by determining the impact of entrepreneurial orientation on SMEs in Pakistan.     

Rivalries and sponsor affiliation: Examining the effects of social identity and argument strength on responses to sponsorship-related advertising messages

This study examines how social identities and message characteristics influence the processing of sponsorship associations and persuasive messages. Using an experimental approach we found that sponsor affiliation with a rival team results in a negative response by highly identified fans, even when message characteristics include strong, favorable arguments. Conversely, less identified fans formed evaluations based on message characteristics, such that strong arguments were evaluated more favorably than weak arguments, independent of sponsorship affiliation. Overall, the study confirmed that strong social identities influence information processing in ways that are favorable for in-group associations and unfavorable for out-group associations. The implications for both consumers and marketing communications practitioners are discussed.     

社会资本、社会网络与企业家集群——基于宁波和温州的比较研究

基于社会网络理论,文章通过研究温州和宁波两地企业家集群产生的过程,分析社会资本如何促进大规模的企业家集群产生。研究表明,企业家个人的社会资本在区域文化、共同价值观和群体信任的发酵下结成社会网络,社会网络促使更多企业家产生从而形成企业家集群。研究显示,温州企业家社会网络具有强联系、同质性和自组织的特点,创业倾向集体行动,依赖本地资源,产业升级代际锁定;宁波企业家社会网络具有弱联系、异质性和他组织的特点,外部资源掌控力强,容易引发产业升级。     

社会化商务沟通如何提高B2B企业净推荐值？

文章聚焦于探讨和解释社会化商务沟通的核心特质及其对企业净推荐值影响。基于社会交换理论，研究一运用扎根理论发现社会化商务沟通具有广关联性、泛可见性与富载体性三个核心特质，同时提炼出净推荐值这一关系绩效的核心要素。研究二通过问卷调查进一步证实了社会化商务沟通的核心特征，并通过回归分析验证了社会化商务沟通通过关系强度影响净推荐值的作用机制，同时揭示了IT可供性感知在广关联性、泛可见性、富载体性与关系强度之间关系中发挥的负向调节作用以及合同详尽性在关系强度与净推荐值之间关系中发挥的负向调节作用。文章有助于深入认识社会化商务沟通对净推荐值的影响机制，并有效指导企业的关系绩效管理。     

Gender,Social Networks,and Entrepreneurial Outcomes in Tanzania

This article presents results of a study that investigates egocentric network differences between female and male entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial outcomes in Tanzania. Based on a random sample of 272 micro-, small, and medium-size enterprises, the study reveals that female and male entrepreneurs have diverse networks. However, when compared to their male counterparts, female entrepreneurs' strong ties included more kin members. No significant gender difference in the composition of weaker ties was observed, suggesting gender differences in the choice of individuals with whom to have strong ties but not with whom to have weak ties. A significant gender difference in entrepreneurial outcomes at both start up and at the time of research was found, suggesting an antecedent networking behavior influence on performance.     

Social Relationship of a Firm and the CSP–CFP Relationship in Japan: Using Artificial Neural Networks

As a criterion of a good firm, a lucrative and growing business has been said to be important. Recently, however, high profitability and high growth potential are insufficient for the criteria, because social influences exerted by recent firms have been extremely significant. In this paper, high social relationship is added to the list of the criteria. Empirical corporate social performance versus corporate financial performance (CSP–CFP) relationship studies that consider social relationship are very limited in Japan, and there are no definite conclusions for the studies in the world, because of scant data and the inappropriate methods, especially for supporting linear hypothesis which these studies are based on. In this paper, the CSP–CFP relationship is analyzed by an artificial neural networks model, which can deal with a non-linear relationship, using 10-year follow-up survey data.

平台经济视域下的商家投机行为治理——基于平台主动治理视角

平台型网络市场的虚拟性与隐蔽性导致商家隐瞒、欺骗消费者的行为愈演愈烈，衍生了新的治理难题。基于交易成本理论和社会交换理论，立足平台主动治理视角，文章探索平台主动治理中的事前商家规范机制、事中交易保障机制和事后争议处理机制对商家强、弱投机行为的影响，以及平台声誉对其影响的调节作用。基于消费者视角开展问卷调查，对数据进行结构方程模型分析和分层回归分析，结果表明：弱投机行为对强投机行为具有显著正向影响；商家规范机制和争议处理机制对强、弱投机行为均具有抑制作用；而交易保障机制对弱投机行为具有促进作用；平台声誉对交易保障机制、争议处理机制和弱投机行为之间的关系具有负向调节作用。     

How does social trust affect corporate financial performance? The mediating role of corporate social responsibility

Prior studies assert that social trust may positively influence the economic performance of countries and firms (within those countries). This paper proposes a more nuanced mechanism whereby corporate social responsibility (CSR) mediates the relationship between country-level social trust and firm-level financial performance. Anchored in neo-institutional theory, we theorize that social trust instills norms of trustworthiness and willingness to trust others guiding individual and corporate behaviors. In order to comply with such norms and gain legitimacy, firms in high-trust society are more likely to commit to CSR activities that serve the interests of stakeholders. CSR activities, in turn, can positively influence financial performance by enabling firms to access stakeholders' resources and capabilities and to decrease transactions costs in the stakeholder relationships. We tested our theory by analyzing 9818 firm-year observations across 34 countries, during the 2006 to 2015 period. Our analysis shows the expected CSR mediation in the relationship between social trust and firm-level financial performance. Our findings are robust across different models addressing the concerns of endogeneity, alternative measures, and potential moderators.     

Social Capital,Informal Governance,and Post-IPO Firm Performance: A Study of Chinese Entrepreneurial Firms

Social capital can serve as informal governance in weak investor-protection regimes. Using hand-collected data on entrepreneurs’ political connections and firm ownership, we construct several original measures of social capital and examine their effect on the performance of entrepreneurial firms in China after their initial public offerings. Political connections or a high percentage of external investors tend to enhance firm performance, but intragroup related-party transactions commonly lead to performance decline. These forms of social capital have a strong influence on the performance of Chinese firms, whereas formal governance variables such as board size or board independence have little effect. Although social capital may serve as an informal governance mechanism and effectively substitute for formal governance mechanisms in an emerging market, this role of social capital raises several ethical concerns, notably the development of rent-seeking and crony capitalism.     

Managerial Compensation and Firm Value in the Presence of Socially Responsible Investors

Shareholders with standard monetary preferences will give a manager incentives to increase firm profits, which can be achieved with equity grants. When shareholders are socially responsible, in the sense that they also value corporate social performance, it is not clear which incentives the manager should receive. Yet, in a standard principal–agent model, we show that the optimal contract is surprisingly simple: it consists in giving equity holdings to the manager. This is notably because the stock price will incorporate expected profits as well as the social performance of the firm, to the extent that it is valued by shareholders. Consequently, equity holdings give the manager incentives to jointly maximize the profits and the social performance of the firm according to shareholders’ preferences. To facilitate alignment of interests, more socially responsible firms will optimally hire more socially responsible managers. We conclude that neither the shareholder primacy model nor equity-based managerial compensation is necessarily inconsistent with the attainment of social objectives.     

当今中国社会公正问题研究——以马克思社会公正观为指导

社会公正是社会主义的本质要求,其根本体现是按劳分配和人权保障的统一。当今中国处于社会转型期,由于社会生产力不够发达、社会体制不够完善、传统发展理念不够科学、人们的社会公正意识不够强烈等原因,社会弱势群体边缘化、居民收入差距过大、社会公共权力运用失当、社会再分配力度弱化等社会公正问题较为突出。只有坚持马克思社会公正观的指导,以大力发展生产力为基础、以深化体制改革为保障、以全面落实科学发展观为关键、以培育人民群众的社会公正意识为动力,当今中国社会公正问题才能获得现实解决。     

Nostalgia and consumer preference for indulgent foods: The role of social connectedness

Prior qualitative research suggests a strong association between nostalgia and indulgent food consumption. Nonetheless, these qualitative findings do not explain the causal relationship between nostalgia and indulgent food consumption, or the mechanism underlying this relationship. To this end, the authors conduct four studies and show that highly nostalgic consumers have greater preference for indulgent foods. This relationship is mediated by social connectedness, whereby high (low) nostalgia works through high (low) social connectedness to increase (decrease) consumers’ preference for indulgent foods. This effect is moderated by eating companions, such that the effect of nostalgia on consumers’ preference for indulgent foods would be strengthened (vs. weakened) when eating with friends (vs. with strangers or alone). These findings have significant implications on consumer well‐being and policy‐making pertaining to consumer health.     

Mobile Money and Financial Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa: the Moderating Role of Social Networks

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to test the moderating effect of social networks in the relationship between mobile money usage and financial inclusion in rural Uganda. The results revealed that there is a significant and positive moderating effect of social networks in the relationship between mobile money usage and financial inclusion in rural Uganda. Besides, mobile money usage and social networks have direct and significant effects on financial inclusion in rural Uganda. Thus, the findings suggest that existence of social networks of strong and weak ties among mobile money users promote financial inclusion in rural Uganda. Previous studies have concentrated only on investigating the impact of mobile money in promoting financial inclusion in developing economies, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, this particular study introduces the moderating effect of social networks in the relationship between mobile money usage and financial inclusion in rural Uganda, which seems to be sparse and lacking in literature.