Stakeholders’ Perceptions and Future Scenarios to Improve Corporate Social Responsibility in Hong Kong and Mainland China

Globalisation has accelerated economic development in emerging economies through the outsourcing of their supply chains and at the same time has accelerated the degradation of environmental and social conditions. Society expects corporations to play an essential role in creating economic, environmental and social prosperity beyond their country of origin. In order to regulate outsourcing activities in the supply chain, many multinationals are constantly searching for ways to manage their indirect environmental and social impacts accordingly, as well as to meet their stakeholder expectations. Because expectations of stakeholders vary widely across different regions, this study intends, by engaging with major stakeholders, to identify what are the local and regional supply chain stakeholders’ perceptions and expectations. The findings would help in building consensus, strengthening the implementation and establishing the future corporate social responsibility (CSR) framework. This study collects and analyses data from 21 major stakeholders in Hong Kong and Mainland China. The results indicate that local and regional stakeholders perceive that CSR is fairly significant to largely export-oriented businesses, but it is lagging behind the West due to the fact that most local/regional companies only become involved in CSR when this is a client requirement. They see responsible corporations as meeting the local legislative requirement; going beyond this requirement is unnecessary. A voluntary approach favours multi-party partnership initiatives with pilot trust programmes aimed at managers’ and workers’ capacity building. Most stakeholders favour the proposed regional partnership initiative, supply chain task forces aimed at bringing together relevant organisations and people with different sets of skills. Distinct roles of different organisations are identified to assist suppliers to understand CSR, and only this will bring about long-term sustainable change.     

My money or yours: house money payment effects

This paper reports the results of an experiment designed to study how subjects’ decision making may be affected by the timing of participation payments (or show-up fees). The experiment follows Davis et al. (J. Econ. 30:69–95, 2004) where subjects were asked to make a sequential purchase decision and were given the opportunity to purchase information about the value of a good prior to a decision to purchase the good itself. There, subjects purchased information less often than expected which was interpreted as risk-seeking behavior. Here, we test a payment hypothesis by varying the timing of the participation payment. Payment of a show-up fee before the decision-making stages of the experiment increases information purchase, which we interpret as an increase in risk-averse behavior.     

Food literacy competencies: A conceptual framework for youth transitioning to adulthood

Objective : The modern foodscape has changed dramatically in recent decades in terms of where, what, how and with whom we eat. This has been facilitated by a transition from traditional, healthy and basic foods prepared in the home to ultraprocessed, unhealthy foods requiring little planning and preparation prior to consuming. Consequently, many youth lack the food literacy (knowledge, skills and critical perspectives) necessary to be well and minimize their risk of obesity and chronic diseases, in the context of a complex food system. The specific dimensions of these knowledge, skills and dispositions, however, are unknown. This study identified critical food literacy competencies required by youth as they transition to independent adulthood. Design : This study employed a Delphi methodology to achieve consensus statements on critical food literacy competencies within a framework encompassing cognitive, psychomotor and affective dimensions. Participants : A panel of 41 experts including dietitians, teachers and college/university students participated in in‐depth interviews. Analysis : Results were thematically analysed and incorporated into two subsequent surveys completed by panel members. Rater agreement was set at 75% agreeing/strongly agreeing with survey items. A panel subgroup further delineated results into competency statements. Results : Within the themes of “confidence and empowerment,” “joy and meaning” and “sustainable and equitable food systems,” 16 broad competency areas, and 59 specific competencies were identified. These were assembled into a Food Literacy Framework. Conclusion : Results can be used to support food and nutrition education in community settings as well as the formal school system, and to advocate for resources to support food literacy education programmes.     

Holding company affiliation versus branching by independent banks: A cost analysis for interstate banking

Prohibition of interstate branching forced nearly all banks interested in interstate expansion to establish holding company affiliations. But it is not clear whether holding-company affiliation or branching by independent banks is preferable for consumers. By contrasting 1994 data of consolidated multibank holding companies with that of independent banks with branches, we assess their relative scale economies and cost advantages by asset size. Our analysis supports the assertion of the U. S. Department of Treasury that expansion through interstate branching would provide immediate cost savings and increase consumer benefits.     

GROWING AN ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY

Environmental management is becoming increasingly accepted as a key feature of business strategy. However, academic and practitioner publications on the subject develop few guides as to which processes to follow to integrate environmental concerns and strategy. A three-step strategic management process is proposed which incorporates concern for the natural environment throughout a firm's operations. This can result in the growth and nurturing of an organizational environmental strategy.     

The growth of the firm in (and out of) emerging economies

Starting with Peng and Heath (Academy of Management Review, 21: 492–528, 1996), the growth of the firm in emerging economies (EE) has received increasing attention in the literature in the last two decades. This line of research has not only extended our knowledge on firms’ strategic choices to the context of EE, but also proposed new perspectives on the growth of the firm. Leveraging prior research, this article focuses on three major modes for firm growth—organic, acquisitive, and network-based. For each mode, we identify new themes and insights emerging from the last two decades of research. They center on (1) compositional capabilities and frugal innovations for organic growth, (2) business groups and cross-border acquisitions for acquisitive growth, and (3) network capitalism and institutional transitions for network-based growth. Overall, we not only identify new themes and insights, but also outline important yet unresolved debates as future research directions.     

The Challenges for Labour Market Policy during the COVID-19 Pandemic*

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a dramatic economic impact in most countries. In the UK, it has led to sharp falls in labour demand in many sectors of the economy and to initial acute labour shortages in other sectors. Much more than in a typical downturn, the current crisis is not simply a general slowdown in economic activity but also a radical short-term shift in the mix of economic activities – of which an unknown, but possibly significant, amount will be persistent. The initial policy response has focused on cushioning the blow to families’ finances and allowing the majority of workers and firms to resume their original activities once the crisis subsides. These are crucial priorities. But there should also be a focus on reallocating some workers, either temporarily if working in shut-down sectors or permanently by facilitating transitions to sectors and jobs offering better prospects and facing labour shortages. The phasing-out of the furlough subsidies, which is projected to happen in Autumn 2020, brings this into even sharper focus since the alternative for many workers will be unemployment. Active labour market policy will need to be front and centre.     

Building Trust in Crisis Management: A Study of Insolvency Practitioners and the Role of Accounting Information and Processes

This paper seeks to understand how insolvency practitioners attempt to build trust with a heterogeneous creditor body during the crisis of formal insolvency and the role accounting information and processes play. Accounting information is mobilized in different ways according to how insolvency practitioners believe the information will be interpreted and valued. This paper suggests specific qualitative characteristics, accounting principles, and processes which appear to enhance trust building in a crisis context. These include perceived objectivity, comparability, cash flow accounting, “matching” of secured liabilities with secured assets, and “crisis” audit. The value ascribed by insolvency practitioners to maintaining specific creditor relationships also appears relevant to trust-building activities. A “tit-for-tat” strategy emerges with secured creditors, whereby insolvency practitioners engage in demonstrable fee write-offs, but on the implicit understanding that future, lucrative work will come their way. This study points to the importance for researchers and policymakers of understanding the “desirable” properties of accounting through informed understandings of how and why that information is mobilized and received in specific relationships between people.     

Relative Poverty in Great Britain and the United States, 1979–2017

This paper examines the major changes to the face of poverty in Great Britain over the past few decades, assessing the role of policy, and compares and contrasts this with the patterns seen in the United States, using harmonised household survey data. There are various commonalities between the countries, including a shift in the composition of those in poverty towards working‐age households without children, who have not been the focus of policy attention. There are also big differences, with a steadily increasing share of poverty in Great Britain – but a stable share in the United States – found in households with an adult in paid work. This perhaps explains why the anti‐poverty focus in Great Britain is now squarely on the plight of working households, while in the United States it is focused on labour force participation among the low skilled – even though, as we show, the United States has, for decades, been accustomed to in‐work poverty comprising a significantly higher proportion of overall poverty than in Great Britain.