Has the CSR engagement of electrical companies had an effect on their performance? A closer look at the environment

Even though electrical companies attain a top ranking in the publication of CSR reports, they are often accused of 'green‐washing' due to their bad environmental reputation. The current economic crisis is testing their real CSR commitment more than ever, especially when this goes beyond its economic consequences. Based on a worldwide sample of electrical companies, we are going to study why companies are being socially responsible. We wish to know if it is due to the impact on the firms' performance or whether there are other motives (legitimation, improving their reputation) that lead companies to carry out these practices. We will also consider if it changes across the kind of CSR action considered. The results show that there is an economic justification beyond the socially responsible behaviour of the electrical companies. Additionally, most kinds of CSR action (community, diversity, corporate governance, product responsibility) are also carried out looking for economic rewards. However, the CSR actions oriented to the environment are mainly motivated by their need to improve their image and reverse their negative impact. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Long‐term economic consequences of corporate environmental responsibility: Evidence from heavily polluting listed companies in China

In this study, we aim to investigate the long‐term economic consequences of corporate environmental responsibility (CER) by companies from the perspective of earnings persistence and investors' response. Based on firm‐level data of 1,010 heavily polluting listed companies in China, the empirical results are as follows. First, the CER of China's heavily polluting listed companies has significantly improved their earnings persistence, that is, earnings quality. Second, the positive long‐term economic effect of CER has been achieved through two paths: improving companies' operational efficiency and reducing their credit costs. Third, CER increases investors' response to heavily polluting companies' accounting earnings. Moreover, state‐owned listed companies achieve more significant positive long‐term economic effects from CER than others. The results suggest that heavily polluting companies should correctly identify the long‐term value of CER rather than pay excessive attention to the impact of CER on their current costs and benefits.     

Efficiency Determinants and Capacity Issues in Angolan Insurance Companies

This paper describes a variety of approaches used to assess the efficiency of a sample of major insurance companies in Angola between 2003 and 2012. Starting out with the bootstrapping technique, several data envelopment analysis (DEA) estimates were generated, allowing the use of confidence intervals and bias correction in central estimates to test for significant differences in efficiency levels and input‐decreasing/output‐increasing potentials. Previous studies have focused on the measurement and explanation of the factors affecting the performance rather than the prediction. The use of neural networks combined with DEA results as part of an attempt to produce a model for insurance companies’ performance with effective predictive ability is investigated. The findings indicate that older insurance companies with Portuguese origin tend to be more efficient. Results also suggest that opportunities for accommodating future demand appear to be scarce.     

Effects of hiring former employees of multinationals in the absorptive capacity of local firms

The attraction of foreign direct investment seeks, among other things, to increase the productivity of local companies through knowledge spillovers. However, the empirical evidence in this regard is contradictory. One influential factor is the absorptive capacity of the local companies. This article analyzes the effect of the presence of former employees of multinational corporations as employees of local companies, on the absorptive capacity of said companies. The study was done in Costa Rica, a country known for its successful strategy in the subject matter. The data come from a survey applied to 1167 companies by the Observatorio Costarricense de las Pymes in 2011. It was found that the hiring of former employees of multinational corporations by local companies has a positive effect on the index of absorptive capacity of companies in all productive sectors. Specifically, this hiring of former employees increases the index of absorptive capacity by nine percentage points, with differences by sector and the size of the company.     

上市公司内部审计独立性的现状分析

独立性是内部审计的灵魂,是决定内部审计职能能否得到充分发挥和内部审计目标能否实现的关键因素。目前,我国上市公司内部审计部门主要隶属于董事会、审计委员会和总经理,并且隶属于审计委员会已经成为主流态势,独立性较高。内部审计独立性因上市公司的财务状况、控制人性质、所处行业、所在地区不同呈现出较为明显的差异。     

Critical success factors for the sustainability of Kaizen event human resource outcomes: An empirical study

Kaizen events have been widely reported to produce positive change in business results and human resource outcomes. However, sustaining or improving upon the results of a Kaizen event over time can be difficult for many organizations and has received limited empirical research attention to date. This paper identifies the factors that most strongly influence the sustainability of work area employee attitudes and commitment to Kaizen events based on a field study of 65 events in eight manufacturing organizations. The findings also present guidelines for organizations and areas for future research.     

Modus operandi of transnational transfer pricing for window dressing

A goal of transfer pricing may be to maximize after tax revenue by setting transfer prices that reduce the total tax paid. ＂Transfer pricing＂ is the pricing of products or services provided by one division to other division of the same corporate entity. Most of the corporate entities are using the method of ＂Window dressing＂, which is a technique used in preparation of financial statements of corporate entities. A transnational corporation is any enterprise that undertakes Foreign Direct Investment （FDI）, owns or controls income gathering assets in more than one country, produces goods or services outsides its country of origin, or engages in international production. Profitability of the transnational corporate entities is being manipulated by the technique of transfer pricing. Abuse of transfer prices is a key tool used by the corporate entities to think that they have virtually no profit; hence, they shouldn＇t pay any taxes. India needs to realize the fundamental need for co-operation among tax administrations in order to remove the obstacles that international double taxation presents to the free movement of goods, services and capital between various countries. In this context, one needs to consider that transactions among associated enterprises may take place under different conditions from those taking place among independent enterprises, while enforcing the act of transfer price mechanism. This paper focuses on transfer pricing and its implications in transnational transactions.     

我国消费金融业务的发展困境及对策刍议

根据2009年银监会文件成立的四家消费金融公司，是我国在拓展内需促进经济发展模式转型过程中作出的有益尝试，在前期发展过程中体现出自身的价值。文章针对消费金融公司前期发展过程中出现的业务发展较慢等问题，进行了简要的分析评述，并结合2014年开始施行的《消费金融公司试点管理办法》，针对发展困境提出了对策与建议。     

Global Advertising Practices

Abstract

This empirical study of European, Japanese and U.S. multinational companies provides a cross-sectional investigation on the degree of standardization practiced in advertising strategy and message elements, objectives and types of content of standardized advertising and ways of using adapted strategy. Based on the sampled data, no statistical difference was found for any of the analyses at the 0.05 significance level. However, it can be concluded from the data that global marketers are moving toward standardization in their advertising. The contributions of this research can be significant for both academicians and practitioners. Managerial implications and future research directions were also provided.     

Petromin: The slow death of statist oil development in Saudi Arabia

The paper recounts the history of Saudi Arabia's first national oil company, Petromin, which was originally supposed to take the place of foreign-owned Aramco. As a result of Petromin's inefficiency and personal rivalries among the Saudi elite, however, Petromin was progressively relegated to the sidelines in favour of a gradually ‘Saudiised’ Aramco. As a result, the organisation of the Saudi oil sector today is very different from – and more efficient than – that of most other oil exporters in the developing world. The paper concludes with a tentative taxonomy of national oil companies, based on the circumstances of nationalisation.