Corporate performance patterns of Canadian listed firms: Balancing financial and corporate social responsibility outcomes

Based on stakeholder theory and considering the conflicting performance interests of a wide range of stakeholders, this research investigates corporate performance patterns using a cluster analysis of financial, social, and environmental performance dimensions. An analysis of a Canadian sample of 771 company-year observations for the period 2014–2018 reveals three types of corporate performance: financially focused performance, balanced performance, and corporate social responsibility (CSR)-focused performance. Firms in the largest cluster, financially focused performance, deliver poor sustainable performance and prioritize financial performance over social and environmental performance. The CSR-focused performance cluster scores low for financial performance and high for environmental and social performance. The balanced-performance cluster also has higher levels of sustainable performance but is the smallest cluster, accounting for a quarter of the sample. Overall, this study presents a portrait of corporate performance balancing financial and CSR objectives and the evolution of this activity over the research period.     

Relational capital,environmental knowledge integration,and environmental performance of small and medium enterprises in emerging markets

Although several prior studies have examined associations between firm social capital and environmental sustainability, the links between relational resources (i.e., relational capital and ties strength), environmental knowledge integration, and environmental performance have yet to be well established at the micro-level. This study, therefore, aims to determine (1) how environmental knowledge integration serves as a mediating mechanism for the relationship between relational capital and environmental performance and (2) how this impact differs at different levels of ties strength. A quantitative approach has been adopted to examine the main hypotheses using a structural equation model (SEM) technique. Two groups of actors were surveyed, including chief executive officers (CEOs) and financial officers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In total, 216 survey responses were gathered, suggesting a response rate of 73.22%. Our findings suggest that environmental knowledge integration is a vital mediating mechanism for the relationship between relational capital and SMEs' environmental performance. Also, we find that ties strength moderates the indirect effect of relational capital on SMEs' environmental performance via environmental knowledge integration. Our empirical evidence provides recommendations for SMEs' managers and policymakers to promote environmental sustainability in the emerging market context.     

Post-entry internationalization speed of SMEs: The role of relational mechanisms and foreign market knowledge

Prior research shows that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can utilize domestic networks with internationally experienced partners to accelerate their internationalization process. Yet, there is a lack of clarity and limited empirical evidence regarding the role of relational mechanisms within these networks in driving post-entry internationalization speed (PIS) of SMEs. To address this gap, this study examines the relational mechanisms-PIS relationship by drawing insights from the relational view to argue that foreign market knowledge mediates the relationship between relational mechanisms and PIS. The hypothesized study model is tested using a structural equation modelling (SEM) technique on a sample of 394 UK based manufacturing SMEs. Our results show that foreign market knowledge acquisition from domestic networks fully mediates the relationship between relational mechanisms and PIS. Additionally, the linkage between foreign market knowledge acquisition and PIS is moderated by domestic environmental hostility, such that the relationship is strengthened when domestic environmental hostility increases. We discuss the contributions and implications of our results and suggest opportunities for future research.     

Dimensions of civic activism and their effectiveness in exposing corruption: evidence from Italy

This article studies the influence of civic activism in exposing corruption across Italian regions. Using different dimensions of civic activism (including local and national newspapers, the internet, blood donors, and voter turnout), we make the distinction between active (media, internet, voters) and passive (blood donors) activism. Results show interesting different impacts of civic activism on corruption. In particular, voter turnout, blood donors, and national newspaper diffusion consistently increased exposure of corruption, while the internet and local newspapers showed opposite effects. Thus, local newspapers and the internet point to the possibility of media capture (influence) with regard to corruption exposure. The main findings hold following the substantial reforms in the nineties (called Mani Pulite).     

End Matter

This paper presents findings from a qualitative research investigation into tourism firms and the environment. It focuses on the factors preventing a sample of small environmentally accredited businesses from undertaking further action. Attitudinal, financial and operational factors are identified. It argues that in order to encourage businesses to undertake environmentally responsible practices the conditions in which they operate must be favourable; these include adequate support and infrastructure. Crucial, however, is addressing widespread scepticism towards environmental alternatives in both the public and operators, so as to make ‘going green’ commercially viable.     

Small Fiscal Multipliers Do Not Justify Austerity: A Macroeconomic Accounting Analysis of Public Debt-to-GDP Dynamics

In the aftermath of the Great Recession, a debate about the size of fiscal multipliers emerged. Whatever the estimation approach, fiscal multipliers assumed for projections are the result of extrapolations from time-series data. In this article, I take a different perspective by answering the following question: Is it really necessary to know the value of fiscal multipliers to make sensible policy decisions?     

Risk Management of Nonstandard Basket Options with Different Underlying Assets

Basket options are among the most popular products of the new generation of exotic options. They are particularly attractive because they can efficiently and simultaneously hedge a wide variety of intrinsically different financial risks and are flexible enough to cover all the risks faced by firms. Oddly, the existing literature on basket options considers only standard baskets where all underlying assets are of the same type and hedge the same kind of risk. Moreover, the empirical implementation of basket‐option models remains in its early stages, particularly when the baskets contain different underlying assets. This study focuses on various steps for developing sound risk management of basket options. We first propose a theoretical model of a nonstandard basket option on commodity price with stochastic convenience yield, exchange rate, and domestic and foreign zero‐coupon bonds in a stochastic interest rate setting. We compare the hedging performance of the extended basket option containing different underlying assets with that of a portfolio of individual options. The results show that the basket strategy is more efficient. We apply the maximum likelihood method to estimate the parameters of the basket model and the correlations between variables. Monte Carlo simulations are conducted to examine the performance of the maximum likelihood estimator in finite samples of simulated data. A real‐data study for a nonfinancial firm is presented to illustrate ways practitioners could use the extended basket option. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 33:299‐326, 2013     

Enhancing Corporate Accountability for Human Rights Violations: Is Extraterritoriality the Magic Potion?

The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, resulting from the work of John Ruggie and his team, largely depend on state action and corporate good will for their implementation. One increasingly popular way for states to prevent and redress violations of human rights committed by companies outside their country of registration is to adopt measures with extraterritorial implications, some of which are presented in the article, or to assert direct extraterritorial jurisdiction in specific instances. Some United Nations human rights bodies and non-governmental organisations are clearly supporting the use of extraterritoriality and have argued that international human rights law places an obligation on states to embrace extraterritoriality so as to better control the activities of companies registered on their territories. In this context, the article aims to determine whether extraterritoriality is the magic potion that will help enhance corporate accountability for human rights violations committed overseas. The article explores whether such obligation exists and, beyond this, whether extraterritoriality should be further encouraged.