Market drivers of sustainability and sustainability learning capabilities: The moderating role of sustainability control systems

This study examines (i) the impact of market drivers of sustainability on the adoption of sustainability learning capabilities and (ii) the moderating role of sustainability control systems (SCS) on the relationship between market drivers of sustainability and sustainability learning capabilities. Drawing on the levers of control framework, stakeholder theory and organisational learning literature, survey data were collected from 175 large scale local and multinational companies operating in Sri Lanka. Findings reveal that market drivers of sustainability have a significant positive impact on sustainability learning capabilities. Whereas the interactive use of SCS shows a positive moderating impact, the diagnostic use of SCS shows a negative impact. The study enhances our understanding of (i) the influence of market drivers of sustainability on the adoption of sustainability learning capabilities and (ii) the use of SCS in enabling sustainability learning capabilities. The study reveals novel insights for managers responding to changing market drivers of sustainability, on how to (re)align different uses of SCS to enable sustainability learning capabilities.     

Corporate Social Responsibility,Firm Value and Corporate Governance Code Revisions: The Asian Evidence*

The present study examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm value, and the effects of corporate governance code revisions on the relationship. We examine this relationship for: (i) a high‐income country, Japan; (ii) middle‐income countries China, Malaysia and Thailand; and (iii) low‐income countries India and Indonesia. We use the Heckman two‐stage sample selection bias approach for the empirical analysis. We find that Japanese stakeholder CSR and environmental CSR have a smaller positive effect on firm value compared to the middle‐income countries, but we do not find any statistically significant association for the low‐income countries. In addition, we find that only Japanese corporate governance code revisions significantly contribute to the positive relationship between CSR and firm value, which concurs with the new recommendations documented in the revised codes of corporate governance. The present study reveals that foreign major shareholders matter to the value creation of CSR in Japan and the middle‐income countries of China, Malaysia and Thailand.     

Leadership succession planning for today’s digital transformation economy: Key factors to build for competency and innovation

Digital transformation is rapidly changing the competitive landscape and the war on talent for today’s organizations. As part of this economy, organizations and their HR units must continuously reevaluate leadership structures and practices that exploit core competencies while allowing for innovation (i.e., leadership ambidexterity) and incorporate big data with predictive analytics. In this vein, understanding how HR executives can create better solutions around this problem remains sparse. Specifically, what frameworks can HR executives apply to identify potential alignment failures in leadership succession planning in light of newer emerging markets? What internal decision-making traps need to be recognized? Finally, what specific forms of data and evidence must test these plans for relevance and recharge and renew the talent-to-strategy pipeline? In this article, we examine these questions by reviewing the gaps in the literature and identifying through our four-step model how organizations can incorporate ambidexterity-building as a leadership succession planning practice.     

Investment performance of “environmentally-friendly” firms and their initial public offers and seasoned equity offers

We employ a sample of 748 environmentally-friendly (or “green”) firms listed on U.S. stock exchanges to extend studies of the effects of socially responsible investment (SRI) on stock investment returns and the performance of initial public offerings (IPOs) and seasoned equity offerings (SEOs). Our empirical tests document positive and statistically significant excess returns for our environmentally-friendly firms and their IPOs and SEOs, in contrast to our control IPO and SEO samples which underperform. In summary, a “green” equity premium is evident in returns calculated from a variety of benchmarks.     

Will FinTech make regional banks superfluous for small firm finance? Observations from soft information-based lending in Germany

Regional banks have a competitive advantage in that short distances to clients enable the use of soft information for superior lending decisions. If the ambition of FinTech start-ups to create superior screening and monitoring technologies materialises, this advantage would be diminished and regional banks would become superfluous for small firm finance. To explore this claim, the paper in hand analyses qualitative empirical data about the lending processes and rating system use of regional German savings banks. In essence, the results from participant observation and interviews clarify the importance of “real” soft information for critical lending decisions. The context specificity and limited verifiability of “real” soft information hamper it from being hardened through the use of rating systems and other bank-ICT. Though FinTech's scoring technologies may overcome the first limitation, it appears likely that in the course of scoring development “real” soft information will be systematically crowded out due to the manipulation problem. The paper expects improved access to finance for SMEs if FinTech solutions overcome both limitations of “real” soft information use, or if peer-to-peer lending and regional banks coexist. Deteriorated access to finance is expected if FinTech companies displace the relationship banking of regional banks due to enhanced competition, without preserving the advantages of “real” soft information with superior screening and monitoring technologies. The paper concludes with recommendations on how to prevent deteriorated access to finance for small firms by promoting fair competition and FinTech innovations.     

Financial crises,debt overhang,and firm growth in transition economies

ABSTRACT

We examine the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008 and the European debt crisis of 2011 on the relationship between capital structure, investments, and performance for Eastern European companies. While the existing literature documents how firms’ investments are sensitive to the availability of internal funds and to debt holdings, we further investigate whether this investment sensitivity also translates in different levels of performance, and document that capital structure indeed has both a direct and an indirect effect, mediated by the capital expenditure channel. We show that firms with higher financial flexibility experience higher investments and returns on capital. Over-levered firms instead suffer from a debt overhang condition, forcing them to curb investments, and consequently experiencing lower performance. Overall, we provide evidence on the importance of capital structure and financial flexibility on investments and performance, showing the real consequences of the debt overhang condition on firm value creation. Firms should therefore aim at maintaining adequate financial flexibility in order to be able to pursue future profitable investment opportunities, and avoid the under-investment problem arising from a debt overhang situation.     

Financial Insecurity in a World of Plenty

Abstract

The U.S. economy is addicted to the simulative impacts of household borrowing. Household debt has grown dramatically since the 1990s and has served to mitigate the detrimental effects of stagnant household wages. The accumulation of this debt has also had the macroeconomic impact of stimulating the economy, pushing it closer towards full employment. However does full employment stimulated by household indebtedness actually represent economic progress? It is argued that even the poorest citizen in a modern industrialized society is better off than a king of feudal Europe, yet in the United States such material prosperity is often tied to social insecurity thanks to debt. The growth of this debt has been enabled by a financial system that has evolved dramatically over the past forty years. The U.S. financial system’s primary role is no longer to finance investment but is rather a tool that enables a separation of ownership from use. Debt has fueled corporate profits which have enriched the shareholding class while at the same time the system has reduced the financial security of the majority of workers. This article crystalizes these issues by analyzing the differentials in financial circumstances faced by workers and shareholders in several major U.S. firms.     

Is there a profit premium for market-oriented firms? A panel data investigation

ABSTRACT

This paper provides an empirical investigation of the impact of market orientation on firms' economic performance during the period 1998–2012 using a panel of Italian manufacturing firms. We introduce a dynamic concept of market orientation, in that we define a market-oriented firm as one that persistently undertakes product and marketing innovation, while at the same time introducing organizational changes and training efforts to manage and improve its knowledge assets over the long term. This notion of market orientation is therefore crucially related to the so-called dynamic capability approach. The related empirical model shows that being a market-oriented firm significantly affects profitability, in a framework in which this latter is simultaneously estimated with productivity, thus allowing for more precise estimates of the profit premium which is earned accordingly.     

A capabilities perspective on the joint effects of internationalization time,speed, geographic scope and managers’ competencies on SME survival

This study examines the effect of key internationalization contingencies on SME survival. We argue early internationalization increases the probability of firm failure, while international experience reduces it. However, the survival odds among international new ventures may be improved by their post-entry international expansion scope and speed, and by managers’ competencies. These internationalization facets provide firms with opportunities to develop and exploit their resources and capabilities, and thus enhance their survival chances. Drawing on a sample of 271 manufacturers followed between 2005 and 2014, we find results that provide support to most of our arguments, and hold theoretical and managerial relevance.     

REGIONAL ANTI‐CORRUPTION EFFORT,POLITICAL CONNECTIONS AND FIRM INNOVATION EFFORT: EVIDENCE FROM CHINA

This paper examines how firm characteristics and local anti‐corruption effort moderate the influence of political connections on enterprises’ private R&D investment using data from 2,587 Chinese A‐share listed enterprises. Our results show that the local anti‐corruption institutional environment significantly moderates the strong relationship between political connections and enterprises’ private R&D investment. Firm characteristics (i.e., firm size and firm age) also show a moderating effect on the relationship between political connection and enterprises’ private R&D investment; larger and older enterprises are more likely to have innovative resources and business cooperation partners, and thus are able to reduce their degree of reliance on political connections and government funding. The results of our study suggest the importance of having a transparent and fair institutional environment for enterprise innovation activities.