Navigating through firm–environmental groups' relationships: The impact of societal trust on corporate environmental strategy

This study examines the impact of societal trust on corporate environmental strategy with particular reference to the firm–environmental groups' relationship, which has received very little attention in trust literature. Using data on 2332 firms from 16 countries, we find that societal trust exerts a negative effect on the likelihood of ISO 14001 certification. The negative relationship between societal trust and the likelihood of ISO 14001 is more pronounced for firms having intense collaboration with environmental groups. However, this effect appears to be weak in higher market uncertainty. These findings, besides significantly adding to the literature, have practical and managerial implications.     

An analysis of political uncertainty and corporate investment cycles in Pakistan

Quality & Quantity - This paper documents the cycles in corporate investments around national elections in Pakistan from 2000 to 2016. It employed the investment-Q model as the baseline...     

Predicting future financial performance of banks from management’s tone in the textual disclosures

Quality & Quantity - Predicting bank performance is important for investors and regulatory authorities. Previous research on non-financial firms has shown that augmenting the numeric...     

How important is the financial sector to price indices in an inflation targeting regime? An empirical analysis of the UK and the US

This paper investigates whether there are benefits in terms of higher economic stability from incorporating stock prices into the price index targeted by the central banks. It also looks into the question of whether central banks should use stock prices as a component of the output stability index and how the index can be constructed. An optimization technique is employed to estimate weights for the various sectoral prices. The obtained weights, which depend on sectoral parameters, differ from those used in the construction of the consumer price index, CPI. Using data from the UK and the US, our analysis demonstrates that in comparison to the CPI, our measure of inflation leads to a higher output stability. Thus, in an inflation-targeting monetary policy environment, it is important to adopt a broader inflation benchmark than the CPI for the general macroeconomic stability.     

The Impact of Single Stock Futures on Market Efficiency and Volatility: A Dynamic CAPM Approach

The concerns regarding regulations of futures markets and their destabilizing ability are unresolved in both developed and developing markets. Following stringent regulations of single stock futures (SSFs) for resumption episode after financial crises, this study addresses this concern and investigates the destabilizing impact of SSFs on the underlying stocks in an emerging economy using data of companies listed in the Karachi Stock Exchange between 1999 and 2008. Specifically, the study explores whether SSFs have caused a simultaneous increase in the volatility and operational efficiency of their underlying spot market counterparts. The results reported in the study show that the introduction of SSFs has no significant impact on market efficiency and volatility of SSFs underlying stocks and non-SSFs stocks. The results affirm that SSFs have, at least, no destabilizing impact on the underlying stocks.     

Does insurance‐growth nexus hold for Malaysia?

The study investigates the impact of insurance activities on economic growth in Malaysia over the period 1990–2015. Combined cointegration in the presence of identified structural breaks was used to confirm the existence of long‐run relationships among economic growth, insurance activities, human capital, physical capital, and industrial production. The findings indicate feedback effects between insurance activities and economic growth in the long run. The study provides new insights for policymaking to enhance economic growth via insurance activities.     

Diversity goals: Reframing the debate and enabling a fair evaluation

While diversity has enjoyed significant popularity in the corporate world for the last two decades, researchers continue to put forward conflicting results regarding the business benefits of workplace diversity. Some say workplace diversity is good for businesses; others argue it is an undertaking full of challenges; and yet others assert that it doesn’t really matter. With this in mind, we attempted to synthesize the research that evaluates the impact of workplace diversity on the organizational bottom line. We find an over-emphasis on demonstrating the business case of diversity in economic denominations, which—to some extent—has limited our understanding of the complex dynamics associated with diversity. We identify a lack of attention toward institutional forces as one of the reasons that has restricted our focus on mere economic gains. Overall, we recommend broadening our definition of goals that organizations have when adopting diversity initiatives by including ‘gain of legitimacy’ and ‘creation of goodwill’ as part of the essential consequences of diversity programs.     

The Desirability of forgiveness in regulatory enforcement

I present a model that explains two common features of regulatory enforcement: selective forgiveness of noncompliance, and the collection of information on a firm’s compliance activities and not just its compliance status. I show that forgiving noncompliance is optimal if the information on a firm’s compliance activities constitutes sufficiently strong evidence of the firm having exerted a high level of compliance effort. The key benefit of forgiving noncompliance is a reduction in the probability with which the firm needs to be monitored.     

Enhancing Poultry Industry Competitiveness: Consumer Perspective on Chicken Meat Quality Based on Sensory Characteristics

The increasing demand for chicken meat has caused producers to increase their productivity through enhanced production techniques. Further increase in demand for quality meat products has been predicted in the country. This study seeks to investigate factors that influence consumer perception toward chicken meat quality. Face-to-face interviews were carried out with 569 consumers at selected shopping malls located in Klang Valley areas. The majority of the respondents perceived quality as an important criterion for buying decisions. The finding revealed that nine factors have influenced consumer perception on meat quality, namely color, size, springiness, chicken aroma, fatty/oily taste, sweetness, visible fat, tenderness, and fibrousness. Among these factors, tenderness was found to be the most important criterion that influenced consumer preference toward chicken meat quality during buying decisions. Good production practices and proper marketing strategies are among recommendations to poultry industry players toward fulfilling consumer demand for good quality chicken meat.