Corporate social responsibility and Eurozone corporate bonds: The moderating role of country sustainability

In this paper, we empirically examine whether superior performance in corporate social responsibility (CSR) results in lower credit risk, measured by credit ratings and zero-volatility spreads (z-spreads). We are especially interested in how the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) related performance of the corresponding countries moderates this relationship. We find only weak evidence that superior corporate social performance (CSP) results in systematically reduced credit risk. However, we do find strong support for our hypothesis that a country’s ESG performance moderates the CSP–credit risk relationship. Superior CSP is regarded as risk-reducing and rewarded with better ratings and lower z-spreads only if it is recognized by the environment. In addition, we find a reduction of corporate bonds’ z-spreads by approx. 9.64 basis points if the CSP of a company mirrors the ESG performance of the country it is located in.     

Relationship Between Sustainable Development and Financial Performance: International Empirical Research

The aim of this paper is to clarify the relationship between companies' sustainable behavior and their financial performance (FP), which has been studied for several years without reaching a consensus on the effect and the direction of it. Hypotheses are tested for an unbalanced sample of 1960 multinational non‐financial listed companies from 25 countries and one administrative region for the period between 2002 and 2010. Due to the use of an international database and the differences among countries, it is possible to observe divergence between institutional settings. For this reason, a corporate governance system (Anglo‐Saxon, Germanic, Latin and Asian) is used as characteristic of the macro‐environment. Results obtained via the generalized method of moments estimator allow us to support the existence of a positive bidirectional relationship between corporate social responsibility and FP, evidencing the existence of a synergistic circle. The use of market value indicated that investors are able to identify economic, social and environmental practices generating a positive effect on FP. These relationships differ between corporate governance systems, due to the specific characteristics of each system. Findings are robust for each sustainable sub‐index (society, human rights, environmental and board). Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

中国绿色发展中企业环境责任立法探讨

经济活动过程和结果的绿色化主要靠企业承担环境责任来实现，但基于企业的营利本质，期望企业自觉承担环境责任并不现实，必须通过立法从内外部保障、强制其承担环境责任。我国环境保护法及企业法中无法容纳大量的企业环境责任条款，因此我国有必要制定专门的《企业环境责任法》，要求企业承担产品从设计、生产直至废弃的环境责任，并建立环境信息披露、税收优惠等企业承担环境责任的激励约束措施。同时我国应修改环境保护法，提高企业污染环境的成本、将企业环境成本内部化。     

论儿童阶段教师权威地位的重要性——对“师生平等”的反思

“平等”概念进入教育领域后，为我们解决了一些困扰已久的师生关系问题。但这种看似民主的师生平等观点，是否也夹杂着整个社会的权威退化值得探讨。在权威普遍丧失的今天，教育领域中万万不能丧失权威的概念，师生平等并不是师生关系最高标准，它甚至有弱化教师权威的倾向。如何建立起师生关系的最佳模式，如何帮助教师重塑在学生心目中应有的权威地位，阿伦特的权威观念也许可以作为一个指引。     

反腐倡廉环境下创新国有企业领导人员经济责任审计内容探讨

反腐倡廉环境下创新国有企业领导人员经济责任审计内容是一项新的课题。本文对探索创新国有企业领导人员经济责任审计内容的必要性和我国法律规定的国有企业领导人员经济责任审计内容进行了综述，并根据审计实践，提出了“探索开展国有企业绩效审计”等5项审计内容，对创新国有企业领导人员经济责任审计内容进行了探讨，并针对目前创新国有企业领导人员经济责任审计内容面临的困难提出了健全绩效审计法律法规和评价指标、完善企业增资扩股行为的法律法规、加强对基层审计人员的培训学习等3条对策。     

数控车床加工实训中的故障分析

本文通过分析学生在数控车床实训时易产生的故障和操作失误,阐述了故障发生的原因、避免或排除的对策,以切实提高学生的数控加工能力。     

Evaluating Board Roles Performance in Adopting Corporate Social Responsibility （CSR） Practices

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the board roles that make a board effective in the performance of adopting corporate social responsibility （CSR） practices. This paper examines directors＇ perceptions of the three main roles： monitoring, service, and strategic, which provide tools for critically understanding how the board adds the value in moving the organization towards more CSR practices. The stakeholder theory is used to distinguish the influence of the three main roles on the adoption of CSR practices. Primary data were collected for this research by conducting structured questionnaires with a sample of 461 directors from Saudi listed companies for study purpose. The results show that an appropriate mix of directors＇ roles and the development of sound board monitoring and service roles are the most crucial determinants of CSR adoption in Saudi listed companies. As the extant corporate governance and CSR literatures do not provide a clear perspective with contradictory outcomes about board roles in influencing CSR practices, the originality of this research is its contribution by evaluating the directors＇ perceptions of developing a direct relationship between the board roles and the adoption of CSR practices. Furthermore, the use of the stakeholder theory provides additional insights into identifying the most influential board role factors enhancing stakeholders＇ expectations of CSR practices.     

The impact of four CSR dimensions on a gaming company’s image and customers’ revisit intentions

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives affect casino customers’ corporate image as well as the customers’ behavioral intentions (i.e., revisit intentions), through the lens of Carroll’s corporate social performance model, stakeholder theory, and legitimacy theory. This study also examines the mediating effect of corporate image on the relationship between perceived CSR and behavioral intentions. An onsite survey was conducted with 596 casino customers in South Korea. The results revealed that ethical CSR had the strongest impact on corporate image, followed by economic and philanthropic CSR. Only philanthropic CSR had a significant and direct effect on behavioral intentions. Corporate image mediated the relationship between three types of CSR (ethical, economic, and philanthropic) and behavioral intentions. Companies can benefit from these findings by understanding how specific CSR initiatives can enhance corporate image and increase customer retention. This study advances the emerging field of CSR in the gaming industry.     

论我国实行强制性环境责任保险制度的可行性——以环境责任保险制度的发展演进为视角

近年来,我国经济的高速发展带来了大量的社会问题,日益严重的环境污染问题就是其中之一。为了治理环境污染,提高污染企业的环境保护意识,我国于20世纪90年代初开始试行环境责任保险,经历了从任意性责任保险到强制性责任保险的发展历程,发展思路和模式也逐渐清晰,当前已经具备构建强制性环境责任保险制度的基本条件。实行强制性环境责任保险与企业社会责任理念相契合,投保环境责任保险是企业承担社会责任的方式之一。近年来我国政府相继出台了一系列推进强制性环境责任保险制度发展的规定,为制度构建奠定了政策基础。2014年4月24日新修订的《环境保护法》第52条明确规定国家鼓励投保环境强制责任保险,为制度构建提供了法律依据。我国在船舶油污损害强制责任保险和交强险方面的立法和实践可以为制度构建提供参考,同时在保险模式选择上可以借鉴西方国家成熟的环境责任保险制度。     

Reactive or proactive? Investor sentiment as a driver of corporate social responsibility

Investors and financial markets have been a neglected stakeholder group in studies on a firm’s motivations to be socially and environmentally responsible. Despite being a strong driving force behind firm value, no study has investigated the influence of market and investor sentiments on CSR behaviour. Using a global sample, we investigate the effects of market and investor sentiments on firm CSR performance. We find negative market and investor sentiments in the prior year motivate firms to improve their CSR performance in the next year. We also find the magnitude of improvement in CSR performance differs not only by country, but by CSR sub-category as well. These findings imply that a firm’s motivation to improve its CSR performance is reactionary, rather than being driven by altruism. Regulators and proponents of CSR should thus seek to persuade investors and financial markets to put pressure on firms to further advance the CSR agenda.