Institutional quality and corporate financing decisions around the world

We investigate the influence of the recent comprehensive institutional quality dimensions of Karolyi (2015), such as market capacity, operational efficiency, foreign accessibility, corporate transparency, legal protection, and political stability, on financing decisions of firms across 56 countries between 2000 and 2015. We find that stronger institutional quality or lower fundamental risks in a country ease firms' access to long-term debt, and equity financing. We attribute our results to institutional environments influencing financing decisions by shaping the severity of market frictions, such as agency conflicts and information asymmetry, and transaction costs. As a result, we conclude that any improvement in a country's institutional environment will boost firms' access to long-term financing, and thus longer-term investments that promote countries' economic growth will be more feasible. Our findings are robust to potential endogeneity issues.     

政府质量、市场化程度与现金—现金流敏感性——来自后金融危机时期的经验证据

在中国式经济增长进程中,政府作为"幕后推手"日益引发各界关注。政府的质量取决于政府所提出的制度安排,而企业行为是对政府所制定的制度的反应。本文以2009—2011年我国上市公司经验数据为样本,检验政府质量、市场化程度与现金—现金流敏感性间的关系。实证结果发现,随着政府质量的提升,企业运用内部现金流积累现金的倾向减弱,表现为现金—现金流敏感性降低。同时发现,这种变化在不同市场化程度地区的企业中会呈现不同的特征。具体而言,伴随政府质量的提升,市场化程度较低地区的企业受惠于制度环境的优化,其现金—现金流敏感性显著降低,而市场化程度较高地区的企业这一变化并不明显。本文为解释地方政府推出制度优化经济环境的微观机制提供了经验证据。     

推行双语——建立和谐语言生态环境的有效措施

推行双语是建立和谐语言生态环境,延缓少数民族语言逐渐走向濒危的有效措施之一,在本文的论述中解释了双语、双语现象及其类型,阐述了推行双语的必要性、优越性和重要性,并指出了推行双语必须要树立的正确观念——和谐发展。这对于形成健康的双语社会,更好的发挥母语和通用语在社会生活中的功能和作用,有着一定的理论指导价值。     

养老建筑室内建筑环境的构建——以某市社会养老服务中心为例

养老地产在我国是一项新兴产业,作为该类建筑中的一个重要组成部分——供暖、通风与空气调节工程,其设计合理与否,对于居住环境和老年人身体健康的影响至关重要。设计人员为了力求打造一个更为适合老年人居住的建筑环境,结合具体工程,做了较为细致的探讨。文章对工程设计方案,包括采暖、空调方式,室内空气质量的控制,气流组织,工程材料选择,振动噪声控制,共五大方面,逐一作了介绍。     

Greenwashing Revisited: In Search of a Typology and Accusation‐Based Definition Incorporating Legitimacy Strategies

Is greenwashing a concept describing companies using misleading communication or is it co‐constructed in the eye of the beholder? By discussing the literature, we find that existing definitions of greenwashing overemphasize the strategic intention to mislead and do not incorporate unjust allegations. Then, by combining signaling theory with legitimacy theory, we frame the communication process of the greenwashing accusation and the emergence of a negative narrative caused by the accusation and its effect on legitimacy. Hence, in this paper we argue that greenwashing epistemologically is constituted in the eye of the beholder , depending on an external accusation. Following this view, the greenwashing accusation is understood as a distortion factor altering the signal reliability of green messages. Based on our conceptual analysis, we provide a conceptual framework introducing a new typology of case‐based greenwashing (greenwashing , false greenwashing , potential greenwashing and no greenwashing ) and the effects of these types on corporate legitimacy. Finally, we propose a revised definition of greenwashing as co‐creation of an external accusation toward an organization with regard to presenting a misleading green message. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Helping behavior in a virtual crisis situation: effects of safety awareness and crisis communication

Incident evaluations show that bystanders tend to help: they do not wait for professionals to arrive, but act as required by the situation at hand. In the present study, we investigated how safety awareness (induced before an accident happened) and providing a course of action by emergency services affect helping behavior after witnessing a virtual accident with two victims. The main task of the participants was to arrive at a job interview in time. Safety awareness was manipulated by the specific organization they went to: either promoting safe traffic or healthy living. The results show that all participants were inclined to help. Participants who were primed towards safe traffic more often called the emergency number, but talked to the victim less often. Participants who had received specific courses of action moved the victim less often. In all, the results clearly indicate the value of effective risk communication (before an event occurs) and crisis communication (after an event has occurred), as both types of information improve the quality of actual helping behavior at the scene.     

Understanding the factors affecting the adoption of the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoTs) is widely considered as one of the most important infrastructures for promoting economic development and technological innovation. The purpose of this study is to find the key factors influencing IoT adoptions, specifically in Taiwan’s logistics industry. In this study adopts a model which is a hybrid of technology, organisation and environment (TOE) and the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method (DEMATEL) to evaluate the complex factors influencing the adoption of IoT. The study employs the TOE framework as a basis to develop a general evaluation framework, and the DEMATEL technique conceptualises a structural model and then identifies the causal relationships among factors through a cause-effect relationship diagram. Finally, we also divided the complex influencing factors into cause and effect groups to better clarify the causal relationships for decision-making, to ensure the efficiency of IoT adoption.     

Experiential places or places of experience? Place identity and place attachment as mechanisms for creating festival environment

Tourism theory suggests mechanisms of place are critical in the construction of tourism environments. However, contradictory place theory has created confusion as to exactly what these mechanisms are and how they affect perceived environment. Literature identifies place attachment and place identity as primary mechanisms in the construction of tourist relationships with tourist environments. An interpretive methodology is used to explore these mechanisms during a festival experience, and thematically analyzed unstructured interviews show identity and attachment do influence attendees' place-based perceptions. Within the festival context, environments become either creations of the festival or exist independently of them. The latter allows realistic place identity to form, resulting in consonance between environmental expectations and reality. The former creates abstract identities resulting in unrealistic expectations and weak/no immediate attachment to the festival environment. A Model of Festival Place provides continuity-based festival recommendations allowing for clearer theoretical and practical understanding across tourism events.     

Turning entrepreneurs into intrapreneurs: Thomas Cook,a case-study

The purpose of this paper is to understand how Thomas Cook can turn Entrepreneurs into Intrapreneurs by: looking at the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators as well as the factors in a corporate environment that are conducive to, and act as barriers against entrepreneurial behaviour. A case study approach was adopted. Interviews were carried out with, amongst others, entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs in Thomas Cook.It was found that Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs have complementary skills, particularly in navigating a corporate political environment. With top level sponsorship and support, they achieve their goals by sometimes breaking rules. Connecting the Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs to engage with each other, and utilising their skills for bigger and wider challenges, provides development opportunities for both groups. Due to an embargo, the paper refers to research carried out in the late 2000's.     

The effect of physical environment on passenger delight and satisfaction: Moderating effect of national identity

This study aims to examine the influence of an international airport's physical environment on passengers' delight and satisfaction. This study also aims to assess the moderating role of national identity on the relationship between physical environment and passengers' delight and satisfaction. A convenient sampling technique was used to select the sample. A total of 271 questionnaires distributed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia were used for data analysis. The result from the structural analysis suggests that physical environment in an international airport influences passengers' delight and satisfaction. Moreover, national identity portrayed in airport moderates the relationships between physical environment, passengers' delight and satisfaction. Overall, findings of this study extends the understanding of physical environment, passengers' delight and satisfaction and national identity in the context of an international airport and offer implications for international airport authorities. Discussions and implications for airport practitioners, limitations, and suggestions for future research are also provided.