“Non‐Financial” Is a Misnomer,but Doesn't Have to Be a Missed Opportunity

With enterprise values now representing increasing multiples of companies' net book assets, investors are clearly looking beyond financial reporting for enhanced insights and understanding of when and how companies are adding value. This shift includes growing attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. Although ESG data presents its own unique challenges, dismissing it as “non‐financial” can be misleading. When explicitly linked to a company's long‐term value creation strategy, ESG information can serve as a valuable input to more farsighted financial analysis. Market‐driven initiatives, notably that of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), aim to standardize a subset of business‐critical, industry‐specific sustainability data for investors. Research indicates such approaches can generate positive outcomes not only for providers of financial capital, but for their portfolio companies and markets in general. In illustrating these concepts, the authors explore ESG impacts in three sectors and industries, while examining how access to consistent, comparable, reliable sustainability information in those sectors can augment an analysis of traditional business fundamentals. One example focuses on water management in the Oil & Gas Exploration & Production industry, a major environmental issue where geographic considerations can shed light on company‐specific exposures to cost increases, production disruptions, increased CapEx and R&D spending, as well as the potential for asset write‐downs. In the Food & Beverage sector, health and nutrition concerns are shown to be changing consumer preferences, triggering regulatory action, and reshaping companies' product portfolios—with significant implications for the companies' brand values and ability to compete for market share. Finally, in Aerospace & Defense, lapses in business ethics such as bribery of government officials present a governance challenge that comes with the risk of value‐destroying fines and penalties and, even more significant, associated reductions in revenues.     

Can experimental measures of sensitivity to social pressure predict public good contribution?

Public good contributions may be affected by the social demand to contribute that is implicit in them. Sensitivity to social pressure predicts behavior in paired dictator and money burning games; the evidence for effects on public good contribution is mixed.     

数字赋能企业商业生态系统跃迁升级的机理及路径研究

数字技术应用融合叠加商业模式创新催生商业生态新业态,实现跃迁升级。本文结合扎根理论与模糊集定性比较分析（fsQCA）方法,阐释数字赋能企业商业生态系统跃迁升级的机理,探究多重组态路径。从生态视角揭示了数字资源通过与传统要素资源融合释放数据价值,并驱动形成价值循环体系、实现价值共创、塑造商业群落,最终实现企业商业生态系统跃迁升级。基于fsQCA的多组态分析发现,数字赋能企业商业生态系统跃迁升级历经两个阶段分别为价值共创和商业群落生成。其中,价值共创实现有两条组态路径,即产品创新与要素融合相组合,技术融合同低产品创新、低数据资产相组合,且产品创新构成了价值共创的核心条件。商业群落生成的组态路径表现出以下特征：价值共创和价值链接协同下分别和网络组织、数据赋能相组合,网络组织和数据赋能互为替代,即在一方缺失时,分别与价值共创或价值链接组合实现商业群落构建。研究结论为企业商业生态系统的结构与功能持续优化,实现数字商业生态资源的充分共享及最优利用,提供了关键方法和思路。     

Validating the international tourist role scale

This study was designed to validate the international tourist role scale and the three dimensions it revealed. The purpose of this attitudinal scale was to measure the tourist role typology. United States adult outbound tourists flying with 11 major airlines returned useful questionnaires. This study validated the role scale as a reliable one that properly identified three conceptual dimensions of international tourist typology and successfully provided measures of tourists’ novelty-seeking preferences on the three dimensions. The study demonstrated, however, that the scale would measure the novelty-seeking preferences of international tourists more effectively if it were supplemented by other measures.     

Impacts of climate change on lower Murray irrigation*

This article evaluates irrigated agriculture sector response and resultant economic impacts of climate change for a part of the Murray Darling Basin in Australia. A water balance model is used to predict reduced basin inflows for mild, moderate and severe climate change scenarios involving 1, 2 and 4°C warming, and predict 13, 38 and 63% reduced inflows. Impact on irrigated agricultural production and profitability are estimated with a mathematical programming model using a two‐stage approach that simultaneously estimates short and long‐run adjustments. The model accounts for a range of adaptive responses including: deficit irrigation, temporarily following of some areas, permanently reducing the irrigated area and changing the mix of crops. The results suggest that relatively low cost adaptation strategies are available for a moderate reduction in water availability and thus costs of such a reduction are likely to be relatively small. In more severe climate change scenarios greater costs are estimated. Adaptations predicted include a reduction in total area irrigated and investments in efficient irrigation. A shift away from perennial to annual crops is also predicted as the latter can be managed more profitably when water allocations in some years are very low.     

The impact of climate change on labour demand in the plantation sector: the case of tea production in Sri Lanka

Limited opportunities for crop switching and lengthy preharvesting periods make the plantation sector particularly vulnerable to climate change. Surprisingly, however, the economic consequences of climate change on plantation crops are seldom analysed. Drawing on a unique primary panel data set from a representative cross section of 35 tea estates in Sri Lanka over the period 2002–2014, this study implements a structural model of estate profit maximisation to estimate the elasticity of labour demand with respect to different components of weather. Results indicate a negative relationship between labour demand and rainfall in the south‐west monsoon, the north‐east monsoon and the second inter‐monsoon. A positive relationship is found between labour demand and rainfall in the first inter‐monsoon. Overall, predicted changes in rainfall by 2050 are anticipated to reduce labour demand by approximately 1,175,000 person‐days per year across Sri Lanka's tea plantation sector. This is likely to have considerable social and welfare implications, particularly for the Indian Tamil women who comprise the majority of the sector's workforce.     

Estimating the impact of farmer field schools in sub‐Saharan Africa: the case of cocoa

This study measures the economic impact of the first phase of the Cocoa Livelihood Program (CLP‐I), a current World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) project, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and aimed at improving the livelihood of over 200,000 small cocoa producers in sub‐Saharan Africa via training, crop diversification, and farmer‐based organizations. Using data collected from 2,048 pre‐ and post‐CLP‐I interviews of cocoa producers in Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Cameroon, the results show that yield enhancements attributable to CLP‐I are 32%, 34%, 50%, and 62% in Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Cameroon, respectively. Using a total program cost of $151–$200 per beneficiary and estimated annual benefits of $109–$322 per beneficiary over 25 years, the benefit‐cost ratios are estimated to range from $18 to $62 for every dollar spent on human capital development. These results suggest the WCF should endeavor to increase the number of farmers who receive all, not some, of the components of the program. This would not only help ensure that each producer obtains as much human capital as possible from each of the training programs but increases the probability of reaching the CLP goal of doubling the income of cocoa‐growing households.     

Beach safety education for primary school children

Childhood drowning remains a serious public health problem worldwide. The Australian Water Safety Council has set as one of its highest priorities the reduction of drowning deaths in children aged 0–14 years. However, concerns have recently been raised that many students completing primary school still lack the ability to recognize potential aquatic risks, cope with emergencies or assist someone else in danger. In this study, 107 primary school children aged 11–12 completed a one day training programme led by surf lifesaving instructors. Pre, post and eight week follow-up measures showed statistically significant improvements in recognition of the red ‘beach closed’ flag, aquatic safety signs, how to identify a rip current and choosing the safest place to swim at a beach that included a rip current in the picture. Following training students were more willing to provide first aid assistance to family members and friends in an emergency situation. Findings reinforce the value of school-based training that provides a general foundation for aquatic safety, with the caveat that current programmes must be evaluated to ensure their content has a robust prevention focus.