Exploring the firm and country determinants of the voluntary adoption of integrated reporting

Information used to manage the business and support the decision‐making of stakeholders is being subject to an evolution. In this context, traditional financial reporting is considered not sufficient anymore. This has translated into a sharp increase in the number of firms that have begun to adopt emerging reporting practices. This study aims to examine the influence that both firm‐ and country‐specific characteristics have on the voluntary uptaking of integrated reporting internationally. In order to do so, it analyses a sample of 71 international listed companies that have adopted this reporting form in 2016. The results show that firms are more likely to implement integrated reporting if they are located in countries with a higher level of corruption perception and a better risk rating and that are considered as relatively more collectivist and feminist and with a long‐term orientation. Legal system has resulted to be not significant. As for firms' characteristics, large size, profitability, market‐to‐book ratio, and the size of the board are found to be significant variables. Moreover, the results indicate that the adoption of integrated reporting is not influenced by a higher level of leverage, firm efficiency and board diversity and independence.     

A typology of organisational stakeholder engagement with place brand identity

ABSTRACT

This study explores how stakeholders engage with a place brand identity (PBI) in the context of country branding. This research extends beyond the importance and challenges of stakeholder brand engagement with place brand identity by exploring several typology of stakeholder engagement with PBI. A case study approach using semi-structured interviews with 39 senior-level representatives from national Australian organisations was adopted to explore how internal stakeholders in Australia are engaged with the current PBI initiative in Australia: Australia Unlimited (AU). A typology of stakeholder engagement with a PBI, including philosophical and concrete engagement was identified. Stakeholders’ philosophical engagement is reflected by their moral support, future engagement intention, as well as positive word-of-mouth (WOM) behaviour. Concrete engagement, on the other hand, is reflected by place brand partnership and internalisation of PBI in the organisations’ strategy. The research findings offer practical ways for place brand managing organisations (PBMO) to enhance stakeholder engagement with a PBI. The identification of multicomponent nature of PBI from the research findings allows PBMO to identify which PBI component lacks stakeholder support in order to make necessary improvements. Further, identification of the typology of stakeholder engagement with PBI provides alternative strategies of how stakeholder engagement can be managed.     

Using macro cross‐border trade data to better understand micro‐level country of origin effects

The article adapts an estimation methodology from the border effects literature to reveal consumer ethnocentrism versus cosmopolitanism in each country, and animosity versus nostalgia between country pairs. The measurements rely on actual macro cross‐border trade data rather than individual purchase intentions typically used in the international marketing literature. The results from early 2010s suggest that purchasing intentions against imports found in this literature do not necessarily translate into actual consumption behavior in international trade. It is quite possible that the consumers are unable to assess country of origin of production despite growing ethnocentrism, and base their actual purchases on perceived origin of product brands. Specifically, it is found that most countries are cosmopolitan rather than ethnocentric, particularly developed countries, favoring any foreign product over domestic products. Most countries also have nostalgic purchasing behavior from specific trade partners with historical linkages. Outside the specific traditional animosities between a country pair, a developed country is relatively less open to imports from another developed trade partner, while an emerging country welcomes it more especially from another emerging trade partner.     

Anti‐immigration policy in the destination country and skilled–unskilled wage inequality in a source economy with or without unemployment

This paper is aimed at theoretically examining the consequence of the anti‐immigration policy adopted in the destination country on the skilled–unskilled wage inequality in a source nation using a couple of two‐sector, specific‐factor general equilibrium models in both the presence and absence of unemployment. Emigration requires incurring some capital cost for professional skill formation on the part of every prospective emigrant that adds to the opportunity cost of emigration. The authority of the destination country determines the number of visas to be granted and hence directly controls the magnitude of skilled emigration from the source country. In the migration equilibrium, the expected skilled wage income abroad is equal to the opportunity cost of emigration. In both the presence and absence of unemployment of unskilled labor, the outcome of the policy on the wage inequality crucially hinges on both the magnitude of the fixed cost of emigration and the technological factors. In the specific‐factor Harris–Todaro model, the degree of imperfection in the unskilled labor market is an additional factor. Finally, some policy recommendations have been made for protecting the interest of the poor unskilled workforce.     

城乡规划法之下强制性内容的实现路径

规划强制性内容具有重要的实践意义,是体现规划公共政策属性、实施规划监督和检查的重要内容。城乡规划法赋予了强制性内容的法律地位,并且规定了其区别于一般内容的修改程序。然而强制性内容的规划编制往往研究不够深入、制定不够慎重,随着下位规划的开展,研究逐步加深,在规划编制和实施过程中必然产生较多的难以落实的问题,进行强制性内容的修改将带来较大的效率和效益成本。因此必须提高规划强制性内容编制的科学性和可行性,对强制性内容进行分类分层,指标性、空间载体性内容区别对待,努力探索在规划编制中保障强制性内容得以顺利实现的最佳路径。     

江苏发达县域高新企业“双元”创新发展评价

县域创新作为区域科技创新的“最后一站”,如何提升创新能力是急需解决的问题。选择江苏省发达县域的代表城市张家港为样本,通过对张家港“双元”创新的整体现状进行实地调研,发现县域“双元”创新的困境和制约因素,提出“突出顶层规划,完善创新机制;突出平台建设,增强产业支撑;培育保护知识产权,确保企业创新活力;突出人才引领,强化针对措施;提升全民科学素质,深化‘大众创业、万众创新’”等江苏发达县域高新企业“双元”创新发展对策。     

Wage Inequality and Wage Mobility in Europe

Using data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, this paper investigates wage inequality and wage mobility in Europe. Decomposing inequality into within‐ and between‐group inequality, we analyze to what extent wage inequality and mobility can be explained by observable characteristics. Furthermore, we investigate which individual and household characteristics determine transitions within the wage distribution. We find that overall, mobility reduces wage inequality. While a large part of wage inequality is due to unobservable characteristics, the equalizing effect of mobility mainly occurs within groups. Furthermore, both personal and household characteristics play an important role for wage transitions. Finally, our findings reveal large cross‐country differences across Europe.     

Changes in the Public Accounts Committee of a Less Developed Democratic Country: A Field Study

This paper complements prior studies on the public accounts committees (PACs) by considering the notions of ‘agency’ and ‘structure’ of institutional theory in tandem in understanding the changes in structures and activities of the PAC of a less‐developed democratic country – Bangladesh. While prior studies examined ‘external’ institutional pressures on the development and operation of the PAC in various settings, the role of internal and external institutional agents in this context has not been their primary focus. Our empirical evidence from a qualitative field study indicates that over the past two decades, Bangladesh's PAC underwent significant changes to its internal governance structures and administrative processes. While these changes were indirectly driven by pressures from international donor agencies, PAC members and the national audit office played a key role as institutional agents in initiating and institutionalising the changes in PAC governance and operation.     

优化人力资本配置与推进和谐社会建设的关系探析

和谐社会是一个以人为本,经济、社会全面、协调、可持续发展的社会。人力资本的合理配置是促进产业结构优化和区域均衡发展的基础和动力。本文通过论述人力资本配置与和谐社会建设之间的关系,将人力资本配置提高到和谐社会这个更高的层次上来。