Strategy implementation for the 2030 agenda: Insights from Brazilian companies

While firms' engagement with Corporate Social Responsibility has been associated with positive performance impacts, little is known about the incorporation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda into business practices. Precisely, although the literature suggests that firms are pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there are limited insights on their strategy to implement them in the context of developing countries. To address this gap, we conducted a comprehensive large-scale investigation of 2030 Agenda adoption by Brazilian companies. Accordingly, the analysis of our multicase study reveals (1) variations on the business opportunities brought by the SDGs depending on the firm position in the value chain, (2) which SDGs and target stakeholders are addressed through corporate policies and practices, (3) the different ways firms embrace the SDGs to pursue ambidexterity. Our findings clarify how firms in the developing countries interpret the institutional pressures and assemble their internal resources to respond to the SDGs challenges. Boundary conditions and policy implications are further discussed.     

Bias-optimal vol-of-vol estimation: the role of window overlapping

Decisions in Economics and Finance - The simplest and most natural vol-of-vol estimator, the pre-estimated spot variance-based realized variance, is typically plagued by a large finite-sample bias....     

Global talent management during the COVID-19 pandemic? The Gods must be crazy!

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought terrifying effects for labor markets all around the world. Just as we witness rapid changes in terms of the ways of working (working from home), we are also observing an increase in unemployment. The ways in which major corporations with international operations process their global talent management (GTM) already represents a challenge in relatively stable times and clearly, in a period of such great and sustained turbulence as current experienced, this task becomes still more difficult. Hence, our research aims to study the impact of GTM on the international performance of major companies during the COVID-19 pandemic period. To this end, we surveyed a sample of 59 large companies that act in external markets. Through recourse to multiple linear regressions, we conclude that GTM practices return positive impacts on levels of international performance. Our research returns theoretical implications in terms of the application of integrated GTM models and with the results of significant relevance to corporations operating internationally, and thus enabling them to better understand which strategic human resource management policies will return the best GTM results.     

Assurance of corporate social responsibility reports: Does it reduce decoupling practices?

Recent research shows the existence of a selective corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure strategy that creates a gap between CSR disclosure and actual performance. These CSR decoupling practices compromise the credibility of CSR reports and have triggered a demand for the adoption of credibility enhancement mechanisms, such as adherence to the global reporting initiative (GRI) reporting guidelines, and the external assurance of CSR reports. The effectiveness of such mechanisms is not clear, however. This paper draws on legitimacy theory and addresses the issue of symbolic versus substantive use of assurance, and compliance with GRI reporting standards, by analysing their effect on CSR decoupling using an international sample of 1,939 companies (15,219 observations from 2002 to 2017). Analysis of a sub-sample of 708 firms (3,730 observations from 2011 to 2017) also shows that the application of GRI guidelines and the specific characteristics of the assurance provider—accountant, experience and specialisation—reduce CSR decoupling practices. The results provide researchers, managers, assurance providers, investors, stakeholders and regulators with additional insight into the value of the external assurance of sustainability reports and have important managerial and policy implications.