I Feel Your Pain: The Effect of Regulator as a Minority Shareholder on Merger and Acquisition Performance

We examine the effect of a regulator-led advocate for minority shareholders on merger and acquisition (M&A) performance in China. In recent years, the China Securities Regulatory Commission established the China Securities Investor Services Center (CSISC), which began its ownership of 100 shares of public firms in 2016. The CSISC advocates for the interests of minority shareholders proactively. Focusing on abnormal stock returns in M&A announcements, we find that acquirers that have the CSISC as a shareholder (CSISC acquirers) exhibit higher positive abnormal stock returns than non-CSISC acquirers. Cross-sectional analysis suggests that the core results are mainly driven by firms with severe agency problems and weak external/internal monitoring, and those not controlled by the state. In addition, we find that CSISC acquirers have better long-term performance and encounter more M&A failures than non-CSISC acquirers. Our findings indicate that although the CSISC only holds 100 shares of listed companies, it plays an effective role in monitoring and driving firms to make appropriate M&A decisions.     

Does china income FSDs follow Benford? A comparison between Chinese income first significant digit distribution with Benford distribution

Since Benford’s law is an empirical phenomenon that occurs in a range of data sets, this raises the question as to whether or not the same thing might be true in terms of the Chinese income distribution data. We focus on the first significant digit (FSD) distribution of Chinese micro income data from the 2005 Inter-Census sample, which corresponds to 1% of Chinese population and other micro income data from the China family panel studies (CFPS) and Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS). We use information theoretic-entropy based methods to investigate the degree to which Benford’s FSD law is consistent with the FSD of Chinese income data and our findings suggest consistency between the Chinese FSD income distribution and Benford’s distribution. The close connection between the two distributions has implications for the quality of the sample of Chinese micro data.     

Doing more and doing better are two different entities: Different patterns of family control and environmental performance

Family firms bear two types of agency costs, including type I and type II agency problems, in corporate environmental practices: (1) Outside executives at family firms hesitate to engage in environmental strategies, which can lead to drops in profits; (2) Controlling families employ opportunistically environmental management to achieve their interests. We argue that a primary cause for the agency problems lies on ineffective internal corporate governance at family firms, which can cause loss of managerial (or power) balance between outside executives and family executives. Our findings show that family firms with ownership and strategic control (FSC), which family executives and outside executives monitor and constrain each other, can achieve the highest environmental performance. Moreover, external controls, including product market competition and provincial environmental regulations, substitute effective internal control of FSC. The environmental performance premium of FSC is more prevalent when the production market competition is lower. Family firms with ownership, operational, and strategic control (FOSC) can achieve higher environmental performance within a province with more stringent environmental regulations.     

Environmental proactivity,competitive strategy,and market performance: The mediating role of environmental reputation

This article examines the impact of small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) proactive environmental strategy on market performance through the mediating mechanism of environmental reputation. In addition, we investigate the potential moderating role of competitive strategies on the environmental reputation-market performance nexus. Data were collected from 223 SMEs. Using the hierarchical multiple regression analysis, the results show that a proactive environmental strategy positively enhances environmental reputation. Also, the influence of proactively environmental strategy on market performance is mediated by environmental reputation. In addition, our findings show the relationship between environmental reputation and market performance is greater for firms that adopt the differentiation strategy but not significant for firms adopting the low-cost and integrated strategies. Our study offers several theoretical and practical implications.     

Understanding sustainable development flexibility: An information perspective

Although flexibility has been considered critical in responding to uncertainty in a business environment, few studies have explored firms' flexibility in sustainable development. To understand the nature of firms that can respond better to uncertainty in their sustainable development practices, this study defines sustainable development flexibility and investigates the mechanism underlying its formation. The study proposes a conceptual framework on the interactions of managers' environmental attitude and cognitive style, as well as firms' information integration on sustainable development flexibility. A questionnaire survey was developed to test the corresponding hypotheses, and 241 valid responses were received from middle- and top-level managers in Chinese firms. The results show that (a) the higher the manager's environmental attitude, the higher the firm's information integration and greater sustainable supply chain flexibility, and (b) the more intuitive the manager's cognitive style, the greater the impact of environmental attitude on sustainable development flexibility.     

土地复垦监管行为规范的主体性合作治理形式选择

研究目的:根据相关主体性意愿的指引,阐明合作治理范式在土地复垦监管行为领域展开具体运用的现实性,及其可能的规范设定方向,进而尝试在相应行为规范维度来检视行政行为法理论的发展任务命题。研究方法:文献分析法。研究结果:土地复垦监管行为的形式选择往往与相应的合作治理主体性意愿有关,该意愿主要表征为利益导向、工具载体以及协同组织选择意愿。应厘清该类选择意愿指引于土地复垦监管行为规范所分别呈现的形式选择:逐利心态与信任习惯选择、科学事实工具与行政规制工具选择、内部协同组织与外部协同组织选择。研究结论:土地复垦监管行为在行为观念和当事人方面与合作治理的主体性意愿在一定程度上是相互耦合的,有必要构建一种合作行政模式下的治理型土地复垦监管行为规范。     

Enhancing environmental information transparency through corporate social responsibility reporting regulation

This research aims to contribute to the scientific debate about the lack of interlinkages between mandatory non-financial reporting and sustainable business models. For our purposes, a counter-accounting analysis was conducted on the non-financial reports of a sample of 145 Italian firms interested by the Directive 2014/95/EU effects. Specifically, the study adopts an empirical approach to evaluate environmental information transparency, which represents one of the main critical issues concerning the non-financial declarations prepared by European Italian Public Interest Entities (PIEs) to comply with Directive 2014/95/EU. The results highlight that corporate governance and report characteristics affect environmental transparency. Furthermore, the results confirm the overall attitude to avoid the disclosure of unfavourable or unavailable environmental information through impression management strategies. Finally, the analysis underlines the opportunities for policymakers to rethink mandatory non-financial reporting to sustain the ecological transition of European PIEs.     

医工交叉创新成果转化中法律制度保障研究

医工交叉是医疗器械持续创新的基础动力,是我国医疗器械产业升级的关键。近年来,我国出台了一系列政策促进科技成果转化,但医工交叉领域具有周期长、多方参与、投资巨大等特点,导致其失败风险高并制约了科技成果转化的效率。本文通过分析医工交叉成果转化中存在的问题,从法律保障的视角提出能够促进科技成果转化的法律制度建议,从科研工作者权益保障、资金托管安全和知识产权收益等角度综合保障转化成果,促进我国医疗器械产业的可持续发展。     

Social media and sustainable purchasing attitude: Role of trust in social media and environmental effectiveness

The role of social media in promoting sustainable attitudes is currently understudied. Underpinned by social learning theory, this study unveils the effect of social media usage and browsing on sustainable purchasing attitude, the underlying mechanism, and the boundary condition. Drawing on a sample of 693 experienced respondents analyzed using structural equation modeling, this study reveals that social media usage and browsing have a significant positive association. Both constructs significantly impact sustainable purchasing attitudes with complementary partial mediation of the drive for environmental responsibility. Further, trust in social media and perceived environmental effectiveness significantly moderate the relationships belongs to the browsing and drive for environmental responsibility. Contrary to the theorization, moderating constructs cannot substantially impact the proposed associations of social media usage. In this manner, the present research is innovative and provides valued knowledge to comprehend social media's role in encouraging sustainable attitudes.     

我国物流业2019年发展回顾与2020年展望

2019年是中华人民共和国成立70周年,也是物流业稳中有进、变中求新的一年。面对严峻形势,我国物流业顶住下行压力,实现平稳运行,取得多方面进展。具体而言,一是社会物流需求增速持续放缓,总体运行缓中趋稳;二是物流需求结构持续优化,物流供给结构稳步升级,供需结构加速调整;三是科技应用引领数智化转型,科技赋能物流数智化、平台化;四是新兴的供应链服务企业向标准化发展迈出了重要一步,供应链创新发展进入新阶段,现代供应链成为新亮点;五是物流基础设施网络加快升级,物流枢纽网络建设进入实质推进阶段,助力枢纽经济发展;六是物流业"走出去"空间加大,国际物流打开对外开放新局面,我国对外投资合作与对外援助执行保持平稳有序健康发展;七是绿色物流配合污染防治攻坚战,绿色可持续物流取得新进展;八是物流政策落地,物流企业获得感增强,从业人员稳定性增强,物流营商环境持续改善。2020年,我国经济稳中向好的基本趋势不会改变,物流业平稳增长的总体方向不会改变,物流业主要经济指标将继续保持平稳增长,但物流业下行压力依然较大,发展不平衡、不充分矛盾依然比较突出,与人民群众日益增长的美好生活需要和现代化经济体系建设的要求相比依然存在差距,高质量发展任重道远。在新的一年里,为更好地推动我国物流业发展,一要平衡物流稳增长与高质量发展关系,决胜全面建成小康社会;二要坚持目标导向,探索新时代物流业发展的新使命新要求;三要突出新发展理念,推动传统数量型降成本向效率型降成本转变;四要深化产业联动融合,从低水平粗放式发展向精细化、高品质发展转变;五要坚持科技引领和技术驱动,激发物流业高质量发展新动能;六要推进国家物流枢纽联盟工程和全国百家骨干物流园区互联互通工程,建设物流基础设施网络;七要配合"一带一路"倡议,推动国际物流合作与交流;八要进一步处理好政府与市场、国家与地方、市场与企业的关系,营造政府、企业与协会合力推动物流业高质量发展的产业生态圈。