Corporate Social Responsibility,Firm Value and Corporate Governance Code Revisions: The Asian Evidence*

The present study examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm value, and the effects of corporate governance code revisions on the relationship. We examine this relationship for: (i) a high‐income country, Japan; (ii) middle‐income countries China, Malaysia and Thailand; and (iii) low‐income countries India and Indonesia. We use the Heckman two‐stage sample selection bias approach for the empirical analysis. We find that Japanese stakeholder CSR and environmental CSR have a smaller positive effect on firm value compared to the middle‐income countries, but we do not find any statistically significant association for the low‐income countries. In addition, we find that only Japanese corporate governance code revisions significantly contribute to the positive relationship between CSR and firm value, which concurs with the new recommendations documented in the revised codes of corporate governance. The present study reveals that foreign major shareholders matter to the value creation of CSR in Japan and the middle‐income countries of China, Malaysia and Thailand.     

Investigating the causal configurations of cost-efficient firms at the bottom of the pyramid

This study highlights how social and commercial enterprises with local and global presence, balance their economic and social goals, to sustainably serve the bottom-of-the-pyramid (BoP) markets, predominantly in emerging economies. Employing the lens of transaction cost economics and configurational theory, we propose that successful venturing into the BoP markets, sensitize firms to create appropriate governance mechanisms for reducing transaction costs, resulting in creation and capture of values. Further, these mechanisms enable those firms to attain cost efficiency and sustainability in the process of fulfilling their social objectives. To that end, we employed the case survey method to analyse 42 cases, from the Harvard Business School repository, on multinational enterprises (MNEs) in emerging economies. Further, we used qualitative comparative analysis to uncover the various causal governance configurations that enabled those firms to sustainably serve the BoP markets.     

股权集中度视角下高管团队特征对现金股利政策的影响

现金股利政策是上市公司对盈利进行分配或留存用于再投资的决策问题,在公司经营中起着至关重要的作用。探究了高管团队特征(规模、年龄、性别、学历背景)对企业现金股利政策的影响,研究发现管理团队的规模越大、平均年龄越大,企业现金股利支付率越高,表明企业管理团队人数越多,年龄越大,越容易采用较高的股利支付率,而管理团队的平均学历越高,越倾向于选择较低的现金股利分配率。说明更高学历的管理层认为,较低的现金股利支付水平才是有利于企业发展的股利支付水平。男性管理层和女性管理者对企业支付现金股利的高低并没有明显的差异。进一步研究发现,企业的股权越集中,管理者的特征对现金股利政策的影响会被弱化。也就是说,股权集中度会显著削弱管理者特征对公司现金股利政策的影响,该实证结果也印证了上市公司中代理问题的普遍存在。研究结果可为企业管理团队的合理配置提出可以借鉴的依据以及实证结果的支持。     

大数据技术下消费者个人信用信息共享的治理机制

大数据技术下,消费者个人信用信息可以通过共享被加工成知识,从而促进消费者人格的发展以及征信等行业的升级。从本质来讲,信息共享发挥着知识服务的功能。然而,在云计算和区块链等大数据技术支持下,信息共享呈现出信息的集中收集与传输、分节点存储与利用特征,这在方便信息共享与知识服务的同时,造成了共享者组织有序与共享整体高效之间难以调和的矛盾,共享知识服务功能的实现由此受阻。在对我国治理共享实证资料进行文本分析、对现有共享治理机制效果进行测评的同时,重点借鉴欧美共享治理经验特别是英国沙箱监管模式,并运用知识治理理论进行研究发现,与我国现有治理机制相比,知识治理机制更适合化解当前面临的矛盾,有利于实现大数据技术下信息共享的知识服务功能。根据知识治理机制,我国宜加强对共享者准入与退出的外部监管,引导共享者自我完善内部组织并寻求彼此协作,以确保共享有序;同时提高消费者对共享的参与度,合理配置消费者和共享者对信息享有的权利,强化权利保护与侵权规制,激励信息共享高效开展。在知识治理机制实施过程中,治理者既要借助法律等正式制度的规制作用,也要借助行业自律规范的引导作用。在评估知识治理机制绩效时,要着重考察信息共享对相关行业发展的促进作用以及消费者对知识服务的满意度。     

出口经验能助推对外直接投资吗?--基于中国与“一带一路”沿线国家宏观数据的实证研究

以"一带一路"沿线45国2003~2014年数据为样本,实证检验了出口经验能否提升对外直接投资。研究结果显示,出口经验显著提升中国对"一带一路"沿线国家的直接投资。在基准模型的基础上,引入公共治理、能源禀赋和地理区位与出口经验交互项的实证结果还显示,出口经验对直接投资的促进效应随着东道国治理水平提升而提高,对陆上丝绸之路国家的作用显著低于海上丝绸之路国家,而能源禀赋并未直接或间接通过出口经验对直接投资产生作用。这些研究结论说明,企业在不确定性外部环境下进行对外直接投资时,倾向于通过建立出口学习曲线并依此进行直接投资决策。     

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。     

Environmental performance,sustainability, governance and financial performance: Evidence from heavily polluting industries in China

This study seeks to contribute to the existing business strategy and the environment literature by examining the effect of governance structures on Chinese firms' environmental performance, and consequently ascertain the extent to which the financial performance–environmental performance nexus is moderated by governance mechanisms. Using a sample of Chinese companies from heavily polluting industries over a 5-year period, our baseline findings suggest that, on average, board size and governing board meetings are positively associated with Chinese firms' environmental performance, whilst board independence and gender diversity have positive, but insignificant association with firms' environmental performance. Our evidence suggests further that the examined internal governance mechanisms have a mixed moderating effect on the link between financial performance and environmental performance. Our findings have important implications for company executives, environmental activists, policy-makers, and regulators. Our results support insights drawn from agency, resource dependence, stakeholder, and legitimacy theories.     

Drivers of innovation in groundwater governance. The links between the social and the ecological systems

Global groundwater overexploitation positions groundwater governance as a critical issue for improving sustainable water management. Evidence of aquifer recovery after overexploitation is scattered, as is the research on the drivers behind recovery. The Fuencaliente Aquifer in Spain faced a tragedy of the commons situation, but after an innovative governance arrangement was implemented, the aquifer is gradually recovering. In this research, we identify the drivers that made possible the emergence and acceptance of such an arrangement using the social-ecological system framework. We identified external drivers such as market incentives and limited enforcement capacity of the water authority as the main factors that led to groundwater depletion, but we also found that these same drivers, under a new regulatory framework that reinforced monitoring and sanctioning capacities, are the basis for the effective recovery of the aquifer. Internal drivers such as the socioeconomic attributes of the users, their limited collective action and the power differences between traditional and commercial farmers are also critical in explaining the acceptance of the new governance arrangement. Even if these drivers are context-specific, we identified innovations that might be transferable and contribute to the literature on good practices in groundwater governance and management.