On growth drivers of high-tech start-ups: Exploring the role of founders' human capital and venture capital

In this paper, we jointly analyze the effects of the human capital of founders and access to venture capital (VC) financing on the growth of 439 Italian new technology-based firms (NTBFs). We rely on econometric models that control for survivorship bias and the endogeneity of VC financing. As to non-VC-backed firms, the competence-based argument that the capabilities of NTBFs coincide with founders' skills is confirmed. Nonetheless, once a NTBF obtains VC, this coincidence vanishes, pointing to the “coach” function performed by VC investors. Conversely, the view that sees the “scout” function as the main task performed by VC investors is not supported.     

The effects of the provision of consulting services on audit reporting quality

The growing complexity of the global business environment is leading innovative firms to demand further external counselling to better handle rapid change and increasing uncertainty. Likewise, the implementation of new information systems is usually carried out with the help of external advisors. This paper examines whether the provision of consulting services undermines audit reporting quality by testing for an association between advisory services and audit reporting. A cross-sectional logistic regression is estimated to test the relationship between consulting fees and the audit outcome. The evidence suggests that there is no statistically significant association between non-audit fees and audit outcome. This finding is consistent with the idea that audit reporting quality is not impaired by the provision of consulting services.     

Modelling CSR: How Managers Understand the Responsibilities of Business Towards Society

The purpose of this article is to develop a model of how managers perceive the responsibilities of business towards society. The article is based on the survey responses of more than 1,000 managers in eight large international firms. It is concluded that the managerial perceptions of societal responsibilities differ in some respects from the mainstream models found in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business ethics literature. The article is an output of RESPONSE: an EU- and corporate-funded research project on managerial perceptions of CSR.     

CSR: Consumer responses to the social quality of private labels

This paper investigates the responses of French consumers to the communication of the “social quality” of private labels (PL) in terms of perceived quality of the PL and intentional loyalty to the brand and the retailer. It also treats the role of some individual variables in these responses. Using experimentation with two independent groups, we show that communicating the “social quality” of the PL improves his perceived quality and the consumer′s intentional loyalty to the brand and the retailer. We also suggest through some individual variables a profile of the most sensitive consumers to the socially responsible PL.Few papers treat the relational potential of the socially responsible private label (PL) in the retailer′s strategy. This paper, through experimentation (N1=N2=400), studies this aspect on three levels: (a) consumers′ response to PL′s social quality in terms of perceived quality, (b) loyalty towards the socially responsible PL and the retailer, (c) and the role of individual variables in these responses. The findings reveal that (a) the communication of the PL′s social quality improves the perceived quality of the PL, (b) it also improves consumers′ intention of loyalty towards the PL and the retailer. It studies also (c) individual characteristics of consumers sensitive towards PL′s social quality.     

The role of the audit committee in enhancing the credibility of CSR disclosure: Evidence from STOXX Europe 600 members

This study examines the influence of audit committee attributes, namely financial expertise, independence, meeting frequency and size, on the adoption of CSR assurance. The study also offers insight into the effect of audit committee attributes on the scope and level of CSR assurance and the selection of CSR assurance providers. Contextually, this is achieved using a sample of European companies listed on the STOXX 600 index over the period 2012–2018. The findings show that attributes related to audit committee financial expertise, audit committee independence and audit committee meeting frequency and the existence of a CSR committee, are positively linked with the adoption of CSR assurance. Moreover, our empirical analysis further highlights the critical role of audit committee financial expert members in enhancing the scope and level of CSR assurance. Furthermore, audit committee with more frequent meetings lead to higher assurance scopes. Our findings offer significant and multidimensional insights for regulators, policymakers and professionals, regarding the revision and establishment of regulations concerning the audit committee structure.     

The influence of source credibility on attitude certainty: Exploring the moderating effects of timing of source identification and individual need for cognition

This research investigates the influence of source credibility on attitude certainty, referring to an individual's subjective confidence in his/her attitude. Results of a laboratory experiment (N = 220) show that low source credibility, compared with high source credi‐bility, leads to greater attitude certainty. This relationship, however, only holds when the source is identified before message exposure and for people who are low in need for cognition. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. ©2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Exploring the innovation strategies of young firms: Corporate venture capital and venture capital impact on alliance innovation strategy

We investigate how governance structure and power influence alliance exploration strategy. Adopting a real options perspective and the agency view, we suggest that innovation strategies differ based on the firm's governance authority. We find that the motivations of corporate venture capitalist firms, venture capitalists, and firm founders may have an impact on the formation of exploratory alliances among adolescent firms. Using a sample of 122 adolescent firms, we examine the influence that governance structure has on the firm's alliance portfolio and innovation potential. While the influence of corporate venture capitalist firms alone do affect alliance formation strategy, corporate venture-backed firms with founders having high influence (knowledge or ownership in the firm) are more likely to form innovation-focused alliances. In contrast, venture capitalist-backed firms tend to avoid innovation-focused alliances, preferring more exploitive ones, even when founders have high influence within the firm.     

拓宽券商融资渠道 促进资本市场发展

经过10余年的发展，我国的证券市场已经初具规模，迄今为止一级投资银行大约有120家，二级投资银行100家左右，但是我国证券业还存在不少问题，证券公司规模过小、资本实力弱、业务雷同、经营成本高等仍制约我国证券业的进一步发展。加入WTO后，我国资本市场将逐步对外开放，证券业也不可避免地遭遇挑战。因此，提升我国券商     

Effects of the euro on trade, capital markets and the international monetary system

The implications of the introduction of the euro undoubtedly reach far beyond Europe. How will the rest of the world be affected? What role will the euro play as an international trading, investment and reserve currency? Will it be able to function as a stabilising element in the international monetary system?     

Accessing capital markets: Aristocrats and new share issues in the British bicycle boom of the 1890s

The article reconsiders the mid-1890s boom in which a large number of firms in the bicycle, pneumatic tyre and related industries were floated. It investigates why so many of these issues featured aristocratic directors in their prospectuses and finds that they represented social connections that were a necessary condition for regional industrial firms to gain a London listing. The case shows that the role and value of these directors was to access capital markets and financial resources, as opposed to a temporary aberration designed to inflate share prices and mislead investors.     

How institutions affect CSR practices in the Middle East and North Africa: A critical review

This systematic literature review integrates the Varieties of Institutional Systems (VIS) framework and Patchwork Institutions lens to unpack how institutional heterogeneity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) impacts the practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Our review of 154 articles published between 1995–2017 extracts the variegated nature of institutions in MENA countries and sheds light on how country-specific institutional forces affect CSR. Doing so, we take the first step to move away from a monolithic understanding of the institutional effects on CSR in MENA, acknowledging the role that collective actors play in shaping the institutional realities affecting CSR.     

Exchange rate regimes, globalisation, and the cost of capital in emerging markets

This paper presents a multifactor asset pricing model for currency, bond, and stock returns for ten emerging markets to investigate the effect of the exchange rate regime on the cost of capital and the integration of emerging financial markets. Our results suggest that a fixed exchange rate regime system can help reduce the cost of capital in emerging markets by reducing the currency risk premia demanded by foreign investors.     

Mitigating the dual liability of newness and foreignness in capital markets: The role of returnee independent directors

Foreign firms undergoing an initial public offering in developed economies face a dual liability of newness and foreignness that can negatively impact the firm’s ability to access capital. In this study, we examine the ability of returnee independent directors to overcome such a liability among 232 foreign listings in the U.S. We find that returnee independent directors positively impact the price premium of the foreign IPO. We also find that this relationship is contingent on the level of ownership retained by non-independent directors, the level of ownership retained by venture capitalists, and investor protection in the firm’s country of origin.     

Exploring the Role of CSR in the Organizational Identity of Hospitality Companies: A Case from the Spanish Tourism Industry

Recently, organizational identity is being given more attention than ever before in the business world. This notion has grown substantially in importance in the hospitality industry. Facing increased competition, hospitality companies are driven to project a positive image to their stakeholders. Therefore, these organizations have begun to develop new organizational identity programs as part of their strategies to achieve their desired identities. This study analyzes the role of corporate social responsibility in the definition of the Organizational Identity of these organizations, employing a qualitative research methodology based on an illustrative case study. Particularly, the authors analyze the case of Meliá Hotels International, a leading hotel company in Spain with a presence in 27 countries. The findings indicate that the company has formally integrated CSR into its strategy to align its actual identity with its desired and conceived identity in view of the critics in its local community. Moreover, the interest of the firm toward its stakeholders suggests that the company understands its conceived identity as an important link in understanding its organizational identity. This paper demonstrates that firm’s organizational identity is a set of several elements. When analyzing Meliá Hotels International’s identity, we see that the firm defines this concept as that which is most central, enduring, and distinctive about the organization. In this sense, the company appears to follow the vision-driven approach by referring to the organizational mission and vision statements, organizational philosophy, and core values as the basis of organizational identity.     

The hunt for international legitimacy: Examining the relationship between internationalization,state ownership,location and CSR reporting of Russian firms

This paper explores the relationship between internationalization and corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication in Russian firms. Our baseline argument is that internationalization positively affects CSR reporting, as it is expected to enhance the legitimacy of Russian firms abroad. We examine the role of state ownership, and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) vs. non-CIS location, as two boundary conditions on the relationship between internationalization and CSR reporting. We test our hypotheses on panel data of 223 large Russian firms for the period 2012–2017, collected from company annual reports, databases, and official company websites. Our data include financial and non-financial indicators, and firm-level organizational characteristics. The results reveal the context specificity of CSR reporting. We find that state ownership moderates the relationship between internationalization and CSR reporting in CIS and non-CIS markets differently, and the positive effect is stronger for non-CIS locations. Our study goes beyond the traditional approach, treating CSR reporting as a unidimensional construct. We show that the effect of internationalization, both direct and moderated, differs for the different types of CSR activity.     

Interactive effects of information exchange,relationship capital and environmental uncertainty on international joint venture (IJV) performance: An emerging markets perspective

Prior research on the role of international joint ventures (IJV) in the emerging markets generally ignores the impact of information exchange on IJV performance as well as the mediating role of relationship capital (a key measure of competitive dynamics and co-evolution) and the moderating impact of environmental uncertainty in this process. This paper addresses these important research gaps by exploring the direct effect of information exchange on IJV performance as well as indirect (mediated) effect through mutual trust and reciprocal commitment, two key components of relationship capital. In addition, this paper investigates the role of environmental uncertainty as a moderator of these mediating effects. Results from a study of 205 contractual IJVs in China, a highly competitive and dynamic emerging market, show that foreign and local partners collaborate and co-evolve through regular information exchange that helps them build relationship capital with each other in the form of mutual trust and reciprocal commitment, which in turn leads to better IJV performance. In addition, environmental uncertainty negatively moderates (weakens) the positive effects of information exchange on mutual trust and reciprocal commitment but not their impact on IJV performance. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for future research on the role of relationship capital in the successful formation and management of IJVs in the emerging markets.     

How CSR Leads to Corporate Brand Equity: Mediating Mechanisms of Corporate Brand Credibility and Reputation

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships among corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate brand credibility, corporate brand equity, and corporate reputation. Structural equation modeling analysis provided support for the hypotheses from a sample of 867 consumers in South Korea. The results showed that CSR has a direct positive effect on corporate brand credibility and corporate reputation. In addition, the results indicate that corporate brand credibility mediates the relationship between CSR and corporate reputation. Moreover, corporate brand credibility mediates the relationship between CSR and corporate reputation. Finally, the relationship between CSR and corporate brand equity is sequentially and fully mediated by corporate brand credibility and corporate reputation. The theoretical and managerial implications of the results and limitations are discussed, and future research directions are suggested.     

Margin trading and spillover effects: Evidence from the Chinese stock markets

Using a sample of Chinese stocks, we demonstrate that liquidity and return in stocks with margin trading can spread to other stocks causing spillover effects. Furthermore, the level of margin interest has a positive relation with the degree of spillover effects from relevant stocks. In addition to the deleverage mechanism which has received support from recent studies, we propose the cross-asset learning behavior in stock markets as a new mechanism to explain such relation. The mediation models suggest that the cross-asset learning mechanism can explain a large proportion of the relation between margin trading and spillover effects in stock markets.