Commitment to Sustainability in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises: The Influence of Strategic Orientations and Management Values

Ecosystem degradation and social sustainability have become important issues in the corporate sphere during the last few decades. However, research discussing corporate social responsibility and related concepts has often focused on larger companies, sometimes neglecting the specifics of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between two common strategic orientations, market orientation (MO) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO), in relation to sustainability commitment, sustainability practices and management values in SMEs. Questionnaire responses from 450 Swedish SMEs were analyzed, confirming the influence of MO, EO and sustainability practices on commitment to sustainability, implying that firms committed to sustainability see both market and entrepreneurial advantages of sustainability. The results also show that different parts of MO and EO differ in importance for commitment to sustainability among SMEs. Implications concern the importance for firms and policymakers to work with sustainability issues using both internal and external perspectives. © 2015 The Authors. Business Strategy and the Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Home Equity,Household Savings and Consumption

The home-owning family’s equity is a piggybank that can be broken open by borrowing. Each borrowing increases liabilities and cash equally, initially leaving net wealth unchanged. When those funds are spent and cash balances fall, consumption increases even as net wealth can decline. In a dynamic optimization, the marginal propensity to consume from net wealth is not always positive and can be positively correlated with housing debt.

服务国家政治外交战略的政府主导型展会促进城市发展的实证分析——以中国—东盟博览会为例

以东博会为例,对服务国家政治外交战略的政府主导型展会促进城市发展进行了定性分析和实证检验。此类展会在政治收益方面能提升城市的国家战略地位,获得发展资源的投入;在社会收益方面能提升城市居民素质发展、城市知名度和就业水平;在经济收益方面通过促进宏观经济增长和对外开放、带动产业发展及调整产业结构实现,其中展会质量比规模更能促进经济发展和开放水平提升,展会不仅带动第三产业发展而且能够跨产业实现带动作用。     

Financial risk exposure of returns to education: Panel evidence from Korea*

The present study examined financial market risk exposure of human capital returns, which are represented by the returns to education, using panel data for Korea. Overall, financial market shocks seem to be irrelevant to returns to education. However, when we divide a financial market shock into cash flow news and discount rate news leading to a negative risk premium, returns to education increase after positive news about future cash flows and unexpected increases in discount rates Therefore, the risk exposure to cash flow shocks is offset by the exposure to discount rate shocks. The returns to education of low‐income workers were significantly exposed to the cash flow risk as compared to those with a high income, but they were offset by the positive correlation to discount rate shocks. In contrast, considering the gap between generations, the old generation was not only less exposed to the cash flow risk compared to the young generation regarding returns to education but also positively correlated with the discount rate shock, resulting in less exposure to financial market risks.     

On dividends in the phase–type dual risk model

The dual risk model assumes that the surplus of a company decreases at a constant rate over time, and grows by means of upward jumps which occur at random times with random sizes. In the present work, we study the dual risk renewal model when the waiting times are phase-type distributed. Using the roots of the fundamental and the generalized Lundberg’s equations, we get expressions for the ruin probability and the Laplace transform of the time of ruin for an arbitrary single gain distribution. Then, we address the calculation of expected discounted future dividends particularly when the individual common gains follow a phase-type distribution. We further show that the optimal dividend barrier does not depend on the initial reserve. As far as the roots of the Lundberg equations and the time of ruin are concerned, we address the existing formulae in the corresponding Sparre-Andersen insurance risk model for the first hitting time, and we generalize them to cover also the situations where we have multiple roots. We do that working a new approach and technique, approach we also use for working the dividends, unlike others, it can be also applied for every situation.     

Too big to fail: Measures,remedies, and consequences for efficiency and stability*

This paper evaluates whether reform efforts addressing “too big to fail” actually enhance the stability of the financial system, and whether trade‐offs exist between stability and efficiency. We also present and discuss various measures of bank size and complexity since such measures are essential for implementing appropriate corrective remedies. As we will show, there are no unambiguous measures of size or complexity that can fully capture a bank's contribution to systemic risk. Their effects on efficiency are also impossible to capture with certainty. While we recognize the need for additional research and empirical evidence, we do identify weaknesses and strengths of proposed and implemented reforms that could have consequences for bank stability and efficiency.     

领先顾客的消费者创新性对新能源汽车采用意愿的影响

将领先顾客的消费者创新性分为3个维度——一般创新性、特定创新性和替代创新性。界定了3个维度的具体内涵,并将参照群体示范效应作为消费者创新性的3个维度与新能源汽车采用意愿之间的调节变量。结合技术接受模型,从内外部动机的视角研究消费者创新性对新能源汽车采用意愿的影响机制。在此基础上,构建新能源汽车采用意愿的结构方程模型,对研究假设进行验证。实证结果显示:消费者创新性的3个维度以及感知有用性、感知风险对新能源汽车采用意愿具有不同程度的显著影响;参照群体示范效应有显著的调节作用;感知易用性对新能源汽车采用意愿的影响不显著。     

A capital adequacy buffer model

We develop a new capital adequacy buffer model (CABM) that is sensitive to dynamic economic circumstances. The model, which measures additional bank capital required to compensate for fluctuating credit risk, is a novel combination of the Merton structural model, which measures distance to default and the timeless capital asset pricing model (CAPM), which measures additional returns to compensate for additional share price risk. We apply the model to a portfolio of mid-cap loan assets over a 10-year period that includes pre-GFC (global financial crisis), GFC and post-GFC. An analysis of actual defaults over this period shows the model to be far more accurate in determining the capital adequacy levels needed to counter credit risk than an unresponsive ratings model such as the Basel standardized approach.     

我国对外开放战略的跨越式发展--从特区建设到“一带一路”

中国改革开放从特区建设到“一带一路”的实施推进,经历了设立经济特区、进一步开放沿海城市、沿江沿边和内陆省份开放、加入WTO和“一带一路”五个阶段,并表现出鲜明的特点。我国对外开放战略,具有渐进性、阶段性和互利性,对“一带一路”战略的有效实施有着重要的作用。     

OCB and external–internal social networks: effects on individual performance and adaptation to change

In this study, we develop and test a model that links one's internal and external social network structures to his or her willingness and ability to adapt in a changing work context. Using a survey data from 371 employees working in 133 different branches of a large financial firm, we find that individual behaviors that explain task performance and individual adaptation to change are affected by a number of supportive social ties (size of the support network) with which one receives support inside and, mostly, outside the workplace. The results also show that individual performance and adaptation to change are affected by the level of workers' organizational citizenship behavior. We also identify a mediating effect exerted by the informational network structure (mostly an internal network) on the relationship between the support network (mostly an external network) and individual task performance.