Female directors and impression management in sustainability reporting

This study proposes a new research approach to examine the relationship between board diversity, in terms of gender differences, and the quality of sustainability reporting, measured by several aspects: balance, conciseness, clarity, comparability and reliability of information. In addition, this study examines the moderating role that institutional factors exert on this relationship through the stakeholder orientation of the country of origin. The research questions are examined using an international sample of 273 firm-year observations from 2006 to 2014, applying several regression models for panel data. Our evidence is consistent with the existence of positive externalities associated with the presence of women in supervisory and senior management positions. That is, we evidence how boards with greater female representation decrease the risk of impression management strategies on sustainability disclosure. Female directors are positively associated with more balanced, comparable and reliable information; although, they are also associated with less precise and clear information, given their narrative character. Moreover, evidence reports that these effects are greater in firms located in more stakeholder-oriented countries. Results are robust for alternative gender diversity measures.     

An exploration of entrepreneurs' identities and business growth

The purpose of this study is to determine whether certain types of identities are more likely than others to be present before and during business growth. We collect data from six entrepreneurs and adopt an interpretivist approach, using Van Gennep's theory of transitions, to explore the challenges faced by entrepreneurs after startup and during business growth. We find that business growth challenges entrepreneurs' identities as they aspire to achieve their personal goals and reach self-fulfillment. These identities consist of entrepreneurial, manager, personal, and social identities, and each has distinct roles within the business. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for entrepreneurs and policy makers. We recommend that entrepreneurs receive a combination of personal and business support, especially during more uncertain, high-pressure, and complex times.     

A cluster analysis of highly productive business and management education scholars

The authors examined the publications and impact of highly productive business and management education (BME) scholars across the business disciplines of accounting, economics, finance, information systems, management, marketing, and operations management. Results from a hierarchical cluster analysis revealed five clusters of scholars: leading BME Scholars, leading discipline-focused BME scholars, high-profile BME scholars, focused BME scholars, and recognized BME scholars. The article includes a discussion of findings and their implications for BME scholarship, future BME scholars, and business schools.     

Key institutions in business and management education research

The authors investigate institutional productivity in business and management education (BME) research based on the analysis of 4,464 articles published by 7,210 authors across 17 BME journals over a 10-year period, involving approximately 1,900 schools worldwide. Departing from traditional disciplinary silos, they examine the BME research field as a whole by including all traditional business disciplinary areas and producing two top 100 rankings, one based on raw number of author publications and the other based on weighted scores reflecting journal quality and coauthorship.     

网络经济与集团财务集中管理

在网络经济下传统财务管理的弊端日益突出,其管理手段比较落后,预算控制体系不建全与资金控制失灵,不利于实现资源配置最优化。网络技术为集团公司建立集中财务管理模式提供了保证,集团公司要实现集团公司整体利益的最大化,财务管理的模式就必须从分散管理向集中式管理转变,发挥监控职能作用,强化资金的集中管理和财务人员权限设置,以适应网络经济发展的要求,实现财务管理变革与创新。     

An ecosystemic framework for business sustainability

This article introduces an ecosystemic framework to foster innovation for business sustainability. We emphasize the idea of systemic thinking in which the business operates as a system similar to a living organism. In this framework, businesses impact the environment in which they operate in a fluid, dynamic, and interdependent way. This approach contrasts with the linear approach commonly used in business and other disciplines, which tries to explain what might cause an action or reaction but ignores any feedback effect between the subsequent action and its cause. This article offers practical solutions and guidance for business leaders to incorporate complexity science into creating sustainable businesses.     

Retail supply chain management practices in India: A business intelligence perspective

The study surveyed executives of a major food retailer in India and explored their perspectives on supply chain management practices, competitive advantage and firm performance; to assess the importance accorded to application of business intelligence (BI) in their operations. Nine dimensions for SCM practices and four dimensions for competitive advantage are identified which are found to strongly relate to each other. The dimensions of SCM also strongly relate to firm performance. Though information sharing with suppliers and their inclusion in strategic decision-making emerge as key dimensions of SCM, their impact on competitive advantage is perceived to be insignificant by retailers.     

Enrichment for retail businesses: How female entrepreneurs and masculine traits enhance business success

Studies indicate that more male entrepreneurs are pursuing business ventures than their female counterparts. Latterly, there has been increased research interest in female entrepreneurs and their positive contribution to the retail economy. The main purpose of this study was to examine how some specific masculine traits can be enculturated into individuals (i.e. female entrepreneurs). The study also reviewed literature that discussed reasons which hinder female entrepreneurs in the retail world. The reasons range from being risk averse, being too agreeable and being overly anxious about failure. Through qualitative research exploration of female entrepreneurs, semi-structured interviews were undertaken to examine and understand their experiences. Themes which emerged from questioning the ten female entrepreneurs enabled the researcher to construct a theoretical framework. Analysis of the content findings showed that female entrepreneurs were indeed willing to adopt specific masculine traits. The result of this investigation is that through implementing specific masculine traits, female entrepreneurs have greater chances of success in their retail businesses. Although the research presented valid findings regarding the benefits of masculine traits on the retail industry, the research was limited by the sample size and the location of the research. This contribution remains unique in the way that it provides valuable information to the retail industry about the process of overcoming failure through enculturating masculine traits into female entrepreneurs.     

Business model risk and uncertainty factors: Toward building and maintaining profitable and sustainable business models

Business models and business model innovation—and particularly their opportunities—have been a popular topic recently, but we find the extant literature on the subject lacking. The risk and uncertainty aspect typical of business models has not been sufficiently addressed. We draw upon the existing literature and triangulate results with an extensive expert group interview to identify 28 risk and uncertainty factor groups, creating a checklist that can be used as the first step in an integrative business model risk management process for existing and new iterations. With an established process for managing and identifying risk in business models, managers can make more conscious and well-informed decisions.     

Risky business: How social psychology can help improve corporate risk management

Drawing on research in management theory, risk analysis, and the social sciences, this installment of Business Law & Ethics Corner promotes diversity of thought in corporate governance as not only beneficial to business growth and creativity, but also imperative to managing risk successfully. The article begins with a review of four major worldviews and the risk preferences of each. Next, it examines psychological processes that guide human decision making and greatly influence risk perception. The article then applies these worldviews and psychological phenomena to the case of risk management. It offers a critique of current risk management practices, drawing on evidence from the 2007–2008 financial crisis. The article concludes by promoting increased diversity of worldviews in corporate governance as a way to prevent the same risk blindness that led to the Great Recession.     

Impact of assertive and defensive impression management tactics on recruiter evaluation: The case of post-failure entrepreneurs in employment interviews

This study investigates how human-resource professionals examine, during a job interview, the application of post-bankruptcy entrepreneurs seeking to rebound as salaried workers. We assume that the way candidates talk about their failure (impression management tactics—IM) impacts the assessment of the recruiter. Thanks to an experimental methodology we compare the impact of three distinct IM tactics on the assessment of the hiring manager (a defensive IM tactic based on excuses, a defensive IM tactic based on justification, and an assertive IM tactic). We demonstrate that recruiters are more inclined to recruit the post-bankruptcy entrepreneur if the candidate has been able to turn the ordeal into an element of self-valorization.     

Dual-track versus single-track sell-outs: An empirical analysis of competing harvest strategies

We investigate two non-traditional harvest strategies for selling a privately-held company. Dual-track private firms file for an IPO while also courting acquirers. These firms withdraw the IPO to be taken over. Dual-track public firms complete an IPO and are taken over shortly thereafter. Examining 679 takeovers from 1995–2004, we find private dual-track sell-outs earn a 22–26% higher premium and dual-track public sell-outs earn an 18–21% higher premium than single-track sell-outs. Larger, VC-backed, prestigious underwritten, and bubble-year firms have a higher propensity to take the dual-track path. The implication is that entrepreneurs may increase their harvest value by using a dual-track strategy.     

Resources for business resilience in a COVID-19 world: A community-centric approach

COVID-19 has drawn renewed focus on the importance of resilience, both among practitioners and in academia, as companies struggle to cope with the rapid swings, changing patterns, and disruptions in supply and demand. This article identifies and delineates a way forward for companies to support resilience, particularly recognizing the wider communities they are nested in and the resources that exist there. To identify such productive resources, known as capitals, we provide a novel and actionable integrated capitals framework (ICF). ICF integrates 10 existing frameworks drawn from both practice and academia and is comprised of nine different forms of capital that businesses can leverage and contribute toward supporting resilience. We provide insights into how businesses can use this framework to achieve resilience through this useful, yet underutilized, path.     

Gender diversity on boards for organizational impression management: An empirical study of Japanese firms

The literature on gender diversity on corporate boards is growing, yet firms' motivation for achieving such diversity remains underexplored. This study examines the potential objective behind appointing female directors that could be driven by organizational impression management based on the hypothesis that firms strategically propose to nominate female directors when they need to form a favorable impression to their stakeholders, especially in relation to executive compensation. This study analyzed annual shareholders meeting agendas for 3585 listed Japanese firms between 2011 and 2020 and found that firms placed female director appointments on the meeting agenda when they needed approval for the revision of executive compensation. This tendency was strengthened for firms with more outside directors. This study's approach and findings contribute to the literature on corporate board gender diversity by suggesting organizational impression management as a potential strategic motivation behind the appointment of female directors.     

Insights on the go: Leveraging business podcasts to enhance organizational performance

Managers need to stay connected to current trends and gather new insights to maximize organizational performance, but many struggle to find the time to read enough to remain informed. Business podcasts—digital episodic series covering a variety of business topics in an easy-to-consume audio format—are a relatively new tool that can help solve this dilemma. Business podcasts that offer unique perspectives on salient topics can teach managers valuable techniques for dealing with common business issues and keep them up-to-date on the latest business news. In this article, we introduce 10 popular business podcasts and discuss the insights for improving organizational performance offered in exemplary episodes of each series. Episode content ranges from detailed profile interviews of top executives and their day-to-day activities to the impact of national and global events on specific industries or businesses.     

Reading the room: Leveraging popular business books to enhance organizational performance

Managers need to think creatively about ways to improve organizational performance. We explore one such tool. Popular business books that offer unique takes on important topics can serve as an effective tool to engage workers and lead them to new understandings. In particular, we discuss the key insights for organizations offered by ten classic and popular bestselling business books. Each one offers enduring lessons of value for employees interested in helping their organizations become more successful.     

Data mining student choices: A new approach to business curriculum planning

The authors used a clustering technique to analyze business course choices made by students who completed an individualized degree in a large, urban, public university. They looked for patterns to answer the research question, “What can we learn from students' choices to inform the curricular redesign process in business programs?” The authors found five well-defined clusters; two clusters (marketing-management and marketing-management economics) did not correspond to academic paths in the university's business school. These clusters illuminate trends to be considered in business curricular design. This is the first known study to data mine students' courses choices for curricular design purposes.     

Innovation and business research in Latin America: An overview

Innovation in Latin America is a challenge for achieving development. Several Latin American countries and businesses are attempting to increase innov ation and entrepreneurship but they face substantial challenges and difficulties. Institutional, governmental and business policies and practices need to be enhanced in order to increase such innovation. Increasing business research in Latin America and university-business partnerships is probably key in such endeavor. This special issue provides some evidence regarding these challenges at the company level, industry level, and country level. This issue also includes three cases showing Latin American company experiences with financial, marketing and new product innovations and market changes.     

财务管理在企业管理中的作用

财务管理作为一门管理科学,与生产管理、质量管理和营销管理一样是管理学科的一个分支,财务管理是研究企业的资源和行为的管理,是企业管理中不可缺的部分.经济的发展使得经济环境日益复杂,我国企业将面临更多的机遇和挑战.因此,新形势下企业应该加强财务管理.文章对财务管理在企业管理中的地位做了一些初步的阐释.