Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: A non-linear and disaggregated approach

The present paper examines the relationship between Corporate Social Performance (CSP) and Corporate Financial Performance (CFP), using both accounting-based (Return on Assets and Return on Capital) and market-based (Excess Stock Returns) performance indicators. We use Bloomberg's Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Disclosure score covering the S&P500 firms in the period 2007–2011 which allows for the examination of both linear and nonlinear relationships to be considered. The results of the linear model suggest that there is a significant negative relationship between CSP and Return on Capital. However, the non linear models provide evidence of a U-shaped relationship between CSP and the accounting-based measures of CFP, suggesting that in the longer run CSP effects are positive. Most prominent among our results is that fact that by disentangling the ESG Disclosure score into its environmental, social and governance sub-components, we find that a U-shaped relationship exists only between the governance sub-component and CFP. A straightforward implication of our findings suggests that in order for CSR to serve the interests of the shareholders, a long-run planning and considerable resources should be dedicated at this direction, given that CSR expenditure pays off only after a threshold of CSP has been reached. Furthermore, the fact that governance is the key driver affecting the CSP-CFP relationship suggests that CSR investments should be directed to this component.     

Application capability of e-business, e-business success, and organizational performance: Empirical evidence from China

Previous research efforts suggested that firms' overall e-business success tends to deliver greater organizational performance. However, few researchers examined how a firm leverages e-business investment to gain greater e-business success. Even fewer researchers investigated the different impacts of different levels of e-business success on organizational performance. This paper addresses two questions: (1) what capabilities influence a firms' ability to build e-business success and enjoy greater organizational performance, where firm-level e-business success is measured by e-business service capability and IT-enabled collaborative advantage; and (2) whether the two ways of measuring e-business success result in different impacts on organizational performance? We propose that a firm's application capability of e-business involving systems development and systems usage is positively related to a firm's overall e-business success, thus having a positive impact on organizational performance. We use survey data from 152 Chinese manufacturing firms and their B2B e-business systems participants to test our theoretical hypotheses and proposed model. The findings suggest that both systems development and systems usage have significant and positive impacts on e-business service capability, which in turn leads to greater IT-enabled collaborative advantage. This finding could be translated into the important role of a firm's application capability of e-business on e-business success. It is concluded that the application capability of e-business acts as one of the main mechanisms through which the e-business investment leads to greater e-business success. We also find that IT-enabled collaborative advantage, compared with e-business service capability, has a more significant and greater impact on organizational performance. This study extends prior e-business success research by opening up the ‘black box’ between a firm's e-business investment and its e-business success, and by distinguishing the relative impacts of e-business service capability versus IT-enabled collaborative advantage on organizational performance. Another contribution of this study is that the effect of context factors (firm size, industry, and system duration) in developing country on our proposed model.     

Unit root and cointegration tests: timeseries versus panel estimates for international health expenditure models

Classical regression estimates of the determinants of the OECD health expenditures are useful for policy formulation and evaluation. However, if the underlying timeseries data are not collectively stationary in levels, the estimated parameters are faulty and can misguide health policy. Until very recently, the crucial stationarity tests were ignored in a large number of studies on international comparisons. Stationarity (ADF, Phillips-Perron, IPS heterogeneous panel) and cointegration (Engle-Granger bivariate, Johansen's multivariate) tests are conducted here using 1960–1997 health expenditures data (1998 CD ROM) of 19 OECD countries. It is found that extending the time series data length affects the order of integration and number of cointegrating vectors. However, it is arguable whether the order of integration decreases or increases as more observations are added for testing. The failure of the Johansen and Engle-Granger cointegration tests for most of the OECD countries cautions policy makers against reliance on earlier research findings that were based on unstable relationships among variables in the regression models. (This is not the case for the UK, Greece and Ireland; policy implications have been derived for the UK.) Consequently, data calibrated in growth rates may be more appropriate for investigating the long run relationships collectively in a panel of OECD health expenditure model specifications.     

The long-run relationship between import flows and real exchange-rate volatility: The experience of eight European economies

This paper provides new evidence on the long-run relationship between imports and exchange-rate volatility in eight European countries. The period examined is 1973:2 through 1995:1. Cointegration analyses are based on Johansen's (1992, 1995) approach and robust single-equation methods. In conformity with theoretical considerations, the major results show that exchange-rate volatility has a significant negative effect on the volume of imports of six countries whereas for Greece and Sweden, it is positive and significant. These findings are reasonably robust in terms of measures of exchange-rate volatility, different estimation methods and membership in the European Exchange-rate Mechanism (ERM). Therefore, it can be argued that exchange-rate volatility will have significant effects on the allocation of resources by market participants and that policy-makers can no longer rely on an import demand with only conventional variables for long-term international trade planning, forecasting and policy formulation.     

Financial development and governance relationships

In any country, financial development has a huge influence on country’s economic developments. Financial development strengthens financial stability of countries and enhances deep and broad access to capital and financial services by improving efficiency of financial markets and effectiveness of financial intermediation. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationships between various aspects (pillars) of financial development and dimensions of governance for countries listed in the Financial Development Index of the World Economic Forum. The Index provides a score for the breadth, depth and efficiency of 62 of the world’s leading financial markets. The study utilized the data from the World Economic Forum presented in the financial development report (2012) and attempted to model the relationships between various pillars of financial development and dimensions of governance by structural equation modelling (SEM) methodology. The study used the Worldwide Governance Indicators for year 2012 of the World Bank as the measure of governance. According to the SEM results, there seems to be a significant positive relationship between governance and financial development. Thus, as governance is enhanced, we may expect financial development to strengthen as well.     

浅谈集团企业财务战略及财务管理

财务战略。是指为谋求企业资金均衡有效的流动和实现企业整体战略,为增强企业财务竞争优势,在分析企业内外环境因素对资金流动影响的基础上,对企业资金流动进行全局性、长期性与创造性的谋划,并确保其执行的过程。财务管理则是在一定的整体目标下,关于资产的购置,资本的融通和经营中现金流量,以及利润分配的管理。财务战略主要是考虑财务领域全局的,长期的发展方向问题,而财务管理则是为企业财务战略提供资金支持,是为提高经营活动的价值而进行的管理。财务管理对于企业的长期生存和健康发展具有重要意义。     

环境不确定性、知识管理战略与企业绩效

基于354家中国企业的样本数据,对环境不确定性、知识管理战略与绩效之间的关系进行实证研究,着重考察IT型、获取型和学习型战略的内部匹配以及这三种战略和环境不确定性的外部匹配关系。结果表明：不同知识管理战略对企业绩效的影响不同。IT型战略与获取型战略的交互作用对短期绩效有正向影响,对长期绩效有负向影响;IT型战略与学习型战略的交互作用对长期绩效有正向影响;获取型战略与学习型战略的交互作用也对长期绩效有正向影响。IT型战略分别与环境动态性、复杂性和威胁性的交互作用对短期和长期有负向影响;获取型战略分别与环境动态性、复杂性和威胁性的交互作用对长期绩效有负向影响;学习型战略分别与环境动态性、复杂性和威胁性的交互作用对长期绩效有正向影响。     

Exports and economic growth in industrialized countries

The prima-facie causal relationships between growth, exports and factor inputs (capital and labour) are investigated in five industrialized countries (germany, Itlay, Japan, United Kingdom and United States) over the period 1960–87 by analysing a four-variable vector autoregressive (VAR) model for each country. Our results indicate that Germany and Japan experienced export-led growth. Reverse causality between exports and growth is found in the case of the US and UK, while to causal relationship between exports and output is found for Itlay.     

企业战略、项目、运营的三者整合管理

项目管理作为一种科学的管理方法，已经被越来越多的组织接受和采用。本文对企业的战略、项目和日常运营三者之间关系进行了分析，并从系统整合管理的理念出发，提出了一些具体思路和方法。     

石墨烯技术及产业发展现状

石墨烯(graphene)是一种新型的碳基材料,具有极好的结晶性及电学性能,在能源、半导体、生物医学等多个领域具有良好的应用前景,已成为发达国家必争的战略制高点。美国在全球率先将石墨烯研究上升为国家发展战略,欧盟投入巨资资助开发石墨烯在能源和数字技术等领域的应用,英国拟投资6 100万英镑建立国家石墨烯研究所,日本、韩国也持续开展了一系列与石墨烯相关的研究和应用。我国对石墨烯材料的基础研究处于国际领先地位,但在器件制造和应用方面仍很欠缺。我国应加强石墨烯规模化制备技术和改性技术的研究,加强石墨烯的应用研究,并在石墨烯研究方面加强产学研联合研究和国际合作。     

基于不确定性的EVA战略模型研究

“财务战略矩阵”以财务为视角,为企业战略的定位及决策提供了一种极具可行性的定量方法。在时其基本思想作以借鉴的基础上,保留了模型中反映价值创造能力的变量、反映企业资源利用效率的变量,并增添了第三因素,即反映企业未来面临的不确定性的波动率指标,提出了“基于不确定性的EVA战略模型”,为企业战略定位与决策提供了更具柔性的方法选择。     

跨国公司技术战略的理论分析与我国的政策回应--以汽车产业为例

国家间的经济联系,乃根源于资本、技术、信息等各类生产要素在全球范围内的流动和配置,形成事实上的各国经济相互联系与依赖。跨国公司的技术战略作为其全球战略的重要部分,构成了母国与东道国经济的合作与竞争关系。根据最新研究,跨国公司在东道国技术战略发生了复杂的和具有较为明显特点的变化,标志着东道国投资环境、国际技术研发合作、技术在国家间转移的经济因素发生了改变。作者以汽车产业为例,分析跨国公司对外直接投资技术战略变化的原因和特点,结论是我国应更深层次地理解跨国公司的技术战略,并予以政策回应。     

知识共享与项目绩效关系的实证研究

本文在回顾国内外项目管理理论与知识共享相关研究的基础上,以建筑施工企业的项目管理为实例,分析了项目生命周期阶段对知识共享活动与项目绩效间关系的调节作用,构建了相应的理论模型,并对25家建筑施工企业从事项目管理及相关工作的750名人员进行实证问卷调查。结果表明,在项目生命周期阶段的调节作用下,知识共享对项目绩效具有积极的作用。企业如果在项目规划阶段就积极开展知识共享,比在项目施工阶段开展会对项目起更加明显的促进作用。     

Evaluating international financial integration under leverage constraints

The global financial crisis has undermined many economists' views about the benefits of open financial markets. Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that financial linkages may propagate shocks during crises. This paper develops a simple two-country model in which financial liberalisation across countries takes place in the presence of credit market distortions within countries. Countries may be subject to macro risk coming from productivity shocks and direct shocks to the credit system (‘financial shocks’). Three different degrees of financial linkages between countries are examined. It is shown that the type of financial integration is critical for both macroeconomic outcomes and welfare. In particular, financial integration in bond markets alone may increase aggregate consumption volatility and reduce welfare. Financial integration in both bond and equity markets generates high positive co-movement across countries, but is welfare-improving.     

Inflation in the USA,UK and Australia:Some Comparisons*

USA, UK and Australian wage inflation experiences during the post-World-War-II period are examined principally within the framework of the long-run Phillips curve model. Attention is drawn to the sensitivity of wage rate changes to retail price level changes and to the possibility of a temporal change in this relationship. The analyses of these countries are compared so as to highlight similarities and differences.     

俄罗斯国家身份转变及其对中俄关系的影响

国家身份是影响俄罗斯对外战略和中俄关系的重要因素。俄罗斯在国际社会的互动中，逐渐调整其国家身份：由世界性大国转变为地区性大国，由西方国家调整为欧亚国家。转变后的俄罗斯国家身份与中国的国家身份比较接近，这对中俄关系产生重大影响，使两国关系不断密切并走上良性发展的轨道。     

论印度在中国地缘战略中的角色定位及相关影响

随着中美矛盾日益加深，如何突破美国的遏制以获得自身的发展成为当前中国地缘战略的核心。在来自美国的共同压力下，提升与地区大国印度的战略合作，并建立一个更有利于发展中国家的全球合作机构，既有助于突破美国的遏制，又有利于周边环境的安宁稳定，从而对中国在中亚、南亚和东亚的具体战略安排带来积极作用，符合当前中国地缘战略宏观层次上的整体布局。     

Policy uncertainty and international financial markets: the case of Brexit

ABSTRACT

This study assesses the impact of the Brexit probability on both the UK and on international financial markets, for the first and the second statistical moments. As financial markets are by nature highly interlinked, one might expect that the uncertainty engendered by Brexit also has an impact on financial markets in several other countries. We first estimate the time-varying interactions between UK policy uncertainty, which to a large extent is attributed to uncertainty about Brexit and UK financial market volatilities. Second, we use two other measures of the perceived probability of Brexit before the referendum, namely daily data released by Betfair and results of polls published by Bloomberg. Based on these data sets, and using both panel and single-country SUR estimation methods, we analyse the Brexit effect on levels of stock returns, sovereign CDS, 10-year interest rates in 19 predominantly European countries, and those of the British pound and the euro. We show that Brexit-induced policy uncertainty will continue to cause instability in key financial markets and has the potential to damage the real economy in both the UK and other European countries. The main losers outside the UK are the ‘GIIPS’ economies: Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain.     

Growth and the current account: Malaysia and Singapore

A foreign trade model is estimated for two South East Asian countries, selected because they represent two extremes as far as the current account balance is concerned—Malaysia, deficit, Singapore, surplus. The specification highlights, (a) the simultaneous interdependence of exports and import flows—a result of what Krugman [1995] denotes as the slicing up of the production process—and, (b) the impact of investment on imports as a result of productivity shocks on the current account. The estimation results point to the instability of the market for foreign exchange. Using an intertemporal framework, a methodology to derive the external long run equilibrium is applied to the estimated model. The implied constraint on domestic growth turns out to be mild. This research has been financed by the Dgicyt under grant PB94-1502, and the Junta de C. y L. under grant SA 35/97. The comments and suggestions of the editor of the journal and an anonymous referee are gratefully acknowledged. The paper has also benefited from the comments of the participants at the Fifty-First International Atlantic Economic Conference, March 13–20, 2001, Athens, Greece, and at the AEA conference on New Financial Instruments and Emerging Markets, Paris, 1998. Any possible remaining errors are the authors.     

Entrepreneurship and Unemployment in the UK

The influence of industrial structure, more specifically of entrepreneurship, is investigated on the level of unemployment in the UK. The question is to what extent entrepreneurship, i.e., business ownership can reduce the level of unemployment. The alleged differences between the managed and the entrepreneurial economy will be discussed as well as the links between entrepreneurship and unemployment. It will be concluded that the UK is a relative outlier when using a simple model of the relationship between unemployment and the rate of business ownership. The model is calibrated using recent data of some 23 OECD countries. It underestimates the decrease in unemployment in the UK in the period 1982–1990. Some arguments are brought forward why this might be the case.