A re-examination of socially responsible consumption and its measurement

Socially responsible consumption is increasing and many companies are responding to the desires and, in some cases, demands of socially and environmentally responsible consumers. Theoretically, the domain of socially responsible consumption has changed over the years, as have socially responsible corporate programs in the marketplace. The Socially Responsible Purchase and Disposal (SRPD) scale is developed to reflect recent developments that have occurred in theory and practice. Three dimensions of socially responsible consumption emerge: (1) purchasing based on firms' corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance; (2) recycling; and (3) avoidance and use reduction of products based on their environmental impact. The SRPD provides a tool for academicians and practitioners in the development of theory and marketing strategy.     

The contrasting interaction effects of improvisational behavior with entrepreneurial self-efficacy on new venture performance and entrepreneur work satisfaction

Although improvisation is often considered to be an elemental component of entrepreneurship, little work has been done to evaluate factors that influence the relationship of entrepreneur improvisational behavior with important outcome variables. In an attempt to partly fill this gap, the current study examines the moderating effect of entrepreneurial self-efficacy on the relationship of founders' improvisational behavior with both the performance of their startups and their individual level of work satisfaction using a national (United States) random sample of 159 entrepreneurs. In alignment with our predictions, improvisational behavior was found to have a positive relationship with new venture performance (i.e., sales growth) when exhibited by founders who were high in entrepreneurial self-efficacy, whereas improvisational behavior was found to have a negative relationship with new venture performance when exhibited by founders who were low in entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Contrary to our expectations, entrepreneurial self-efficacy was found to have a negative moderating effect on the relationship between entrepreneur improvisational behavior and work satisfaction.     

Testing Baumol: Institutional quality and the productivity of entrepreneurship

Baumol's [Baumol, W.J., 1990. Entrepreneurship: productive, unproductive and destructive. Journal of Political Economy 98 (5), 893–921] theory of productive and unproductive entrepreneurship is a significant recent contribution to the economics of entrepreneurship literature. He hypothesizes that entrepreneurial individuals channel their effort in different directions depending on the quality of prevailing economic, political, and legal institutions. This institutional structure determines the relative reward to investing entrepreneurial energies into productive market activities versus unproductive political and legal activities (e.g., lobbying and lawsuits). Good institutions channel effort into productive entrepreneurship, sustaining higher rates of economic growth. I test and confirm Baumol's theory, and discuss its significance to the literature, economic prosperity, and policy reform.     

Institutions and entrepreneurship development in Russia: A comparative perspective

In this paper we use a comparative perspective to explore the ways in which institutions and networks have influenced entrepreneurial development in Russia. We utilize Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data to study the effects of the weak institutional environment in Russia on entrepreneurship, comparing it first with all available GEM country samples and second, in more detail, with Brazil and Poland. Our results suggest that Russia's institutional environment is important in explaining its relatively low levels of entrepreneurship development, where the latter is measured in terms of both number of start-ups and of existing business owners. In addition, Russia's business environment and its consequences for the role of business networks contribute to the relative advantage of entrepreneurial insiders (those already in business) to entrepreneurial outsiders (newcomers) in terms of new business start-ups.     

DO MARKETS PENALIZE AGENCY CONFLICTS BETWEEN CONTROLLING AND MINORITY SHAREHOLDERS? EVIDENCE FROM CHILE

Using a sample of Chilean listed firms with widespread presence of economic conglomerates that use pyramid structures to control affiliated companies, we find that firms where controlling shareholders have higher coincidence between cash and control rights are persistently more valued by the market. We carefully check that our results are not driven by omitted variable biases and control for reverse causation using a feature of Chilean Corporations Law that provides an exogenous instrument for ownership concentration.     

The influence of firm,industry and network on the corporate social performance of Japanese firms

We develop and test the thesis that corporate social performance (CSP) constitutes a socially constructed and shared strategic asset, which is not only influenced by factors specific to a firm, but also by the social performance of firms in its industry and inter-corporate network. Using variance decomposition, we analyze data from 130 large Japanese firms and find that both firm-specific and industry-level factors account for significant variance in CSP, but network-level factors do not.

中国上市公司治理结构的实证研究

我国上市公司的市场价值与其治理结构有无联系?投资者愿为治理良好的公司付出多大的溢价?本文旨在对上述两大问题进行全面和系统的实证研究,揭示当前上市公司存在的治理弊病,为建立具有中国特色的公司治理体系提供依据。为此,我们充分考虑了公司治理的内外部机制,并结合中国的市场环境,归纳出一系列变量来描述公司治理在我国的具体实践。基于这个变量体系,我们运用主元因素分析法编制了一个可反映上市公司治理水平的综合指标——G指标。我们的实证研究发现:( 1 )治理水平高的企业其市场价值也高;( 2 )投资者愿为治理良好的公司付出相当可观的溢价。     

基于价值创造和公司治理的财务状态分析与预测模型研究

我国约70%的上市公司处于价值损害状态。考虑到公司在对债权人违约之前,必先经历损害股东价值的阶段。因此,本文根据“价值创造观”(Value-Creation)来考察“价值损害型公司”的动态变化及其影响因素,并收集我国1998—2003年540家价值损害型上市公司的有关财务变量,首次引入公司内外部治理变量,应用“排序因变量模型”分析财务状态变化的影响因素,并采用“人工神经网络技术”,预测价值损害型企业的五种变化趋势:财务康复、财务转好、财务维持、财务转差或财务困境。结果表明:(1)总资产收益率等财务指标的改善,公司治理水平的提升或投资者保护程度的增强都有助于公司财务康复,反之则将导致公司陷入财务困境。(2)若公司在T年被界定为价值损害型公司,当采用T年和T+1年的数据分别构造“LMBP神经网络模型”来预测企业T+2年的财务状况的五种态势时,则预测准确率分别为55.1%和77.8%。(3)除财务指标外,股票超额收益率、本文构造的公司治理指数和投资者利益保护指数有助于预测价值损害型企业未来财务状态的变化趋势。     

Corporate social responsibility in times of need: Community support during the COVID-19 pandemics

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the hotel sector has engaged in various corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to show solidarity with local communities. Our research examines the impact of such initiatives on tourists' intentions to spread positive word-of-mouth (WOM) and their intentions to visit when the current pandemic ends. Our experimental results suggest community support in the form of providing free accommodation to homeless people increases tourists' intentions to spread positive WOM, bringing reputational benefits. But such initiatives reduce tourists’ intentions to visit, presenting potential business risks. Our results further suggest that community support in the form of providing free accommodation to medical professionals has little impact, as it shows no significant difference to control (no CSR initiatives).     

Artificial intelligence activities and ethical approaches in leading listed companies in the European Union

This study explores the information regarding Artificial Intelligence (AI) included by European listed companies in their annual and/or sustainability reports. The study mainly focuses on (1) the development and use of AI systems/projects reported by companies, (2) the extent to which companies disclose ethical principles or guidelines regarding AI and (3) the factors explaining these practices.The study analyses the reports of 200 companies listed in the major indexes of Germany, Sweden, Finland, France, Spain, and Italy, both from qualitative and quantitative perspectives. All reports are analysed, using content analysis methodology, to identify expressions such as ‘artificial intelligence’, ‘machine learning’, ‘deep learning’, and ‘big data’, and then classified accordingly. The study’s findings suggest a growing interest in the above-mentioned technologies, although 41.5% of companies do not report any activity in the field of AI. The adoption of ethical approaches to AI is at a very preliminary stage, and<5% of companies report on that issue. The quantitative analysis shows that larger companies, companies in the Technology and Telecommunications industries, and companies based in Southern countries are more likely to disclose information on AI activity. The majority of companies that develop ethical principles are listed in the Northern region and belong to the Technology and Telecommunications industries.The study provides evidence of AI disclosure, a type of non-financial disclosure that has not been explored yet in the literature. Unlike existing studies, we propose a first definition of the topic and a taxonomy that can be used in further research on AI disclosure and can contribute to the development of KPIs in the field. Furthermore, this study provides a theoretical framework integrating some traditional theories, such as Voluntary disclosure theory, Signalling theory, and Legitimacy theory, specifically drawn to interpret AI disclosure practices, which can help with a further in-depth exploration of AI disclosure combining concurrent perspectives. The study’s results may serve as a starting point for researchers and companies interested in the topic.