Banks' business strategy and environmental effectiveness: The monitoring role of the board of directors and the managerial incentives

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how banks' climate strategies affect environmental performance. To extend this line of research, the carbon disclosure of worldwide banks is examined. In particular, we focus on specific governance strategies: board of director monitoring and managerial incentives. Panel data are employed on a sample taken from 330 bank-year observations in the period after the financial crisis. The results show an increase in environmental performance through the implementation of managerial incentives related to climate change, associated with the highest level of responsibility of the board of directors. Overall, the present study contributes to both the academic literature and corporate governance, highlighting the importance of banks' business strategy on climate change risks and opportunities with respect to environmental performance goals.     

Drivers of Philanthropic Foundations in Emerging Markets: Family,Values and Spirituality

Journal of Business Ethics - This article discusses the ethics and drivers of philanthropic foundations in emerging markets. A foundation organizes assets to invest in philanthropic initiatives....     

International supply chains and trade agreements

There is a growing literature that examines the role of trade agreements on the formation of international supply chains. The evidence indicates that in general countries that share trade agreements are more likely to develope cross-border supply chains. In this analysis, we argue that in order to examine the effects of trade agreements on the formation of supply chains between two countries, it is not enough to analyse the impact of the trade agreements that the two countries share but it is also important to assess the impact of the trade agreements that they share with third countries. Using data on trade in value added for 129 countries, we show empirically that about 40% of the potential increase in trade in value added induced by a trade agreement between an importing country and a sourcing partner is wiped out by each additional trade agreement signed by the importing country with third nations in which the sourcing partner is not a member. The result has important implications for regions seeking to develop international supply chains but in which the process of integration is highly fragmented.     

Hegemony,Technological Innovation and Corporate Identities: 50 Years of Agricultural Revolutions in Argentina

The technological changes that have occurred since the mid‐1960s in Argentine agriculture – first the Green Revolution and then the Agribusiness Paradigm – have been conceptualized as revolutionary not only with regard to their productivity improvements but also because they brought with them a change of mentality. Based on two different business conceptions, during each period an agrarian elite led the ‘revolutionary’ process, offering a technological response as the means of guaranteeing agriculture's ‘survival’ after various crises. For each period, we can identify a correspondence between the status given to technology, the conception of business and the type of government regulation. This paper analyses how the proposition of a ‘technological revolution’ corresponds to the construction of the ideological leadership through which the agrarian bourgeoisie managed to orientate agrarian development.     

Perceived Differences: Chinese and Russian Farmers on Business,Law, Management,and Environment

The People's Republic of China has been following a strategy for several decades to encourage its enterprises to invest overseas. Since the liberalization of the Sino-Soviet border in the 1990s, Chinese farmers have been actively engaged in the economy of the Russian Far East (RFE). This article examines Chinese and Russian public relations messages broadcast by media about Chinese-Russian agricultural cooperation that use different arguments, methods of reasoning, and points of view. There is a clash of different national management methods. Legislation applying to Chinese working in Russia has been erratic and unstable, and that makes cooperation more challenging. The concepts of environmental protection and obedience to the law are understood differently by Russians and by Chinese. Cross-cultural management differences affect the way people on both sides interpret institutions, interactions, and the ability to trust third parties. There are different values and priorities expressed by Russians and by Chinese when it comes to development of rural areas in the RFE.     

Chinese Migrant Farmers in the Russian Far East: Impact on Rural Labor Markets

The close proximity of China and Russia, the activities of Chinese farmers, and the reduction in Russian labor resources have created job opportunities for Chinese workers in the Russian Far East (RFE). Chinese workers fill a labor shortage in agriculture, but little research has been done on them. We developed an econometric model to test the effects of Chinese intermittent migration on labor markets in the RFE. We found the proximity of Chinese to Russian farms reduces wages for both Russian and Chinese workers and increases their part-time employment on Russian farms. The greater availability of Chinese workers in the region results in lower number of family members working on Russian farms. Thus, the influx of Chinese workers may contribute to demographic shifts in the Russian population.     

Chinese ODI in Italy: an empirical investigation at the firm-level

This paper provides original evidence about Chinese Outward Direct Investments in Italy. Data have been collected at the micro level, through a multiple-choice questionnaire, designed by the author and submitted to the whole population of Dragon multinationals. With a response rate of 86%, we draw a detailed profile of Chinese parent companies and document their pull, push factors, and entry mode strategies. Empirical findings are consistent with the theoretical literature.