The socio-economic impact of certification schemes in conflict-affected regions: The case of arabica coffee in the Eastern DRC

The paper investigates the benefits of certification of cooperatives in conflict-affected areas. We study whether and how certification may contribute to attenuate the impact of conflicts on the members of coffee cooperatives in the Eastern DRC. We use an inverse probability weighted difference-in-difference approach to study data collected between December 2017 and October 2019 from four NGO-supported cooperatives. Two of these cooperatives got organic certification in 2018, of which one got an additional Small Producers Symbol (SPP) certification in 2018. Certified cooperatives allow Arabica coffee producers to access markets and buffer against drops in market prices. Results indicate that certified cooperatives were better able to resist the international price drop than non-certified cooperatives and the alternative informal markets. The results also suggest that certified cooperative members increased their sales to the cooperative instead of turning to informal side-selling. We find a decrease in reported food deficits by the members of certified cooperatives and an increase in the importance of coffee in their household's income. We conclude that certification is an effective way forward for smallholder coffee producers and cooperatives in unstable regions.     

Demand for ISO 14001 adoption in the global supply chain: An empirical analysis focusing on environmentally conscious markets

This paper analyzes the environmental preferences and pressures of customers in environmentally conscious markets influencing the number of adoptions of ISO 14001—the international standard certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) concerning an Environmental Management System (EMS)—in a country. Customers in different countries have different priorities and ideas with regard to the environment and its management, and therefore it is possible that environmental preferences and pressures of customers in environmentally conscious markets are greater, although many earlier studies suggest that foreign customers generally form a significant stakeholder group encouraging the adoption of ISO 14001. A random-effects Tobit estimation using a sample of 155 countries over eight years supports the view that the environmental preferences and pressures of customers in environmentally conscious markets (including Finland, Japan, Germany and Denmark) are more likely to encourage domestic along with foreign suppliers to adopt ISO 14001. As it is easier for firms in environmentally conscious markets to adopt ISO 14001 because of their better economic performance, they have already adopted certification and consequently require their domestic and foreign suppliers to do likewise in the global supply chain. For this reason, suppliers wishing to access environmentally conscious markets can obtain an advantage with ISO 14001 certification.     

认证中介的效率基础:信托市场监管规则选择的例子

在资产管理领域中 ,投资者面对的信息劣势来源于实体项目收益的不确定性和理财机构专业水平的不确定性两个方面。我们的研究着力于分析 ,对项目风险和理财机构评估项目专业水平的信息缺乏导致的柠檬效应 ,以及引入认证中介机构后市场效率的改善。本文以信托市场为例 ,比较了认证中介面临不同市场结构时 ,效率后果的差异 ,说明完全竞争市场中的认证中介对信息不对称问题的解决更加有效。     

Does eco-certification boost regulatory compliance in developing countries? ISO 14001 in Mexico

Private sector initiatives certifying that producers of goods and services adhere to defined environmental process standards are increasingly popular worldwide. According to proponents, they can circumvent chronic barriers to effective public sector environmental regulation in developing countries. But eco-certification programs will have limited effects on producers?? environmental performance if, as one would expect, they select for those already meeting certification standards. Rigorous evaluations of the environmental effects of eco-certification in developing countries that control for selection bias are rare. We use plant-level data on more than 80,000 Mexican facilities to determine whether ISO 14001 series certification of environmental management systems boosts regulatory compliance. We use propensity score matching to control for nonrandom selection into the program. We find that plants recently fined by environmental regulators were more likely to be certified, all other things equal, but that certified plants were subsequently fined just as often as similar uncertified plants. These results suggest that in Mexico, the ISO 14001 program attracts dirty plants under pressure from regulators??not just relatively clean ones??but does not have a large, lasting impact on their regulatory compliance.     

Green certification,heterogeneous producers,and green consumers: a welfare analysis of environmental regulations

We develop a vertical differentiation model to analyze welfare implications of environmental policies in a competitive market with production and consumption heterogeneity. Consumers with heterogeneous preferences choose between non-green and certified green products, while producers with heterogeneous production costs decide whether to engage in green production. In order for green products to be recognized by consumers, producers must join a green club. Key findings are summarized as follows. (i) The number of green producers, environmental standard, and overall welfare under the market solution are all socially sub-optimal. (ii) The introduction of a subsidy policy for greener production and standards is shown to increase social welfare, but is not Pareto optimal. (iii) A dual policy, which combines abatement subsidizes for a greener production standard and a tax charge for green certification, is shown to be the Pareto-optimal outcome.     

企业竞争优势、战略选择与业绩增长模型——基于我国高科技天生全球化企业的跨案例研究

针对我国高科技天生全球化企业的竞争优势、战略选择与业绩增长间的关系进行了跨案例研究。指出:此类企业在发展初期的竞争优势主要表现在技术创新、网络关系、品牌声誉和信息化四个方面;这些竞争优势决定了企业采取差异化和集聚两种竞争战略,在业务层面具体表现为技术领先、以B2B营销模式为主、以ODM品牌模式为主和采用多种类型的国际化方式;企业的竞争战略反过来促进其竞争优势的提升;业绩增长是竞争优势和竞争战略共同作用的结果。     

Third-party certification and post-IPO acquisitions

ABSTRACT

We explore the link between third-party certification (venture capital backing, analyst following and having a top underwriter), and post-IPO acquisition activity through the reduction in valuation uncertainty channel. In a sample of 2,424 U.S. IPOs, we find that third-party certification facilitates post-IPO acquisitions. The certified firms are both more likely and conduct acquisitions sooner after the IPO. Our results support the notion that third-party certification reduces post-IPO valuation uncertainty and thereby facilitates a more efficient acquisition strategy.     

竞争战略演化技术创新的影响——以江苏民营制造企业为例

基于江苏民营制造企业的问卷调查数据,在控制了地区和产业类别影响前提下,探讨同一情境下处于生命周期不同阶段企业取得竞争优势的竞争战略所构成的演化路径,并从技术创新视角揭示竞争战略演化的动因。研究表明,处于初创期、成长期、成熟期的企业,竞争战略呈现＂没有明确选择-低成本战略-差异化战略＂的演化路径。工艺创新对低成本战略演化有显著影响,产品创新对差异化战略演化有显著影响。总体上看,工艺创新是企业竞争战略演化的主要推动力。推进制造企业转型升级,需要加大产品创新力度,提升产品创新对竞争战略的影响。     

Factors influencing commercial buildings to obtain green certificates

Identifying the key factors that influence commercial buildings’ decision to obtain voluntary green certificates is essential to building sustainability enhancement. Using commercial buildings in the state of New York, multinomial logit and nested logit models demonstrate that there is a significant correlation between the characteristics of commercial buildings (such as square footage, lot size, and years built) and green certification. More interestingly, if a commercial building is occupied by its owner, likelihood of green certification is actually smaller. This finding not only confirms that ongoing energy savings are heavily discounted when deciding whether to incur the upfront cost of green certification, but also suggests that the rental premium enjoyed by green buildings is likely greater in terms of present value than the expected operating cost savings. Another explanation could be that investor owners must operate in a competitive market for tenants while owner-occupiers do not operate in that competitive market, so they do not need to obtain green certificates to attract tenants. Consequently for policymakers, building owners that plan to rent out their commercial property space should be the early targets to promote green certification.     

Organic certification,agro-ecological practices and return on investment: Evidence from pineapple producers in Ghana

The recent empirical literature on economic sustainability of certified export crops shows that certification standards that enhance yields are important for improving farm revenues and household welfare. However, limited evidence exists on the impact of organic certification on the adoption of agro-ecological practices. In this study, we use unique farm-level data from pineapple producers in Ghana to examine the impact of organic certification on the use of agro-ecological practices such as organic fertilizers, organic pest and weed control, crop rotation, and soil and water conservation, as well as how using these measures affect farm outcomes such as return on investment. Our empirical results reveal that organic certification increases agro-ecological practice use, although from a very low starting point. Using a generalized propensity score approach, we show that there is a positive, but nonlinear relationship between the intensity of agro-ecological practice use and return on investment.