Exploring the Ethical Identity of Islamic Banks via Communication in Annual Reports

Islamic Banks (IBs) are considered as having ethical identity, since the foundation of their business philosophy is closely tied to religion. In this article, we explore whether any discrepancy exists between the communicated (based on information disclosed in the annual reports) and ideal (disclosure of information deemed vital based on the Islamic ethical business framework) ethical identities and we measure this by what we have termed the Ethical Identity Index (EII). Our longitudinal survey results over a 3-year period indicate the overall mean EII of only one IB out of seven surveyed to be above average. The remaining six IBs suffer from disparity between the communicated and ideal ethical identities. We further found the largest incongruence to be related to four dimensions: commitments to society; disclosure of corporate vision and mission; contribution to and management of zakah, charity and benevolent loans; and information regarding top management. The results have important implications for communication management if IBs are to enhance their image and reputation in society as well as to remain competitive. Roszaini Haniffa is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Accounting and Finance at the Bradford University School of Management. She holds a PhD from Exeter University and has published papers in Abacus, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Journal of Business Finance and Accounting and other journals. Her research interests focus on social responsibility reporting, corporate governance, international accounting and the Islamic perspective of accounting. Ros has reviewed papers and is a member on the editorial board of several journals. Mohammad Hudaib is a Lecturer in Accounting at the Bradford University School of Management and holds a PhD from Essex University. He has previously taught at Exeter University and prior to his teaching career, was an auditor in Saudi Arabia. He has published papers on auditing and corporate governance in Journal of Business Finance and Accounting. His current research interests include auditing, Islamic perspective of accounting, accounting theory and ethics.     

Price determinants of bred heifers: Do reputations matter?

Replacement brood cows are among the most significant investments for cow-calf operations, thus crucial to profitability. Many cow-calf producers find it cost effective to purchase replacements from a reliable replacement heifer seller, though by doing so they increase risk of reproductive inefficiency due to unknown characteristics of the heifers. When important information about a product is missing to buyers, a seller can build a reputation over time that acts as signal for quality. Previous work has explored reputation effects in feeder cattle markets, but to our knowledge we are the first to explore reputation effects in bred replacement cattle markets. Using data from an annual replacement heifer sale, we analyze the values of heifer characteristics and test for premiums from reputation development. After controlling for reproductive practices, breed, and other characteristics, we find reputation does not play the role that Shapiro theorized. In this sale, the lot order is strategically chosen and may indicate bred heifer quality to buyers, replacing the need for reputation as a signal. This study highlights the importance of quality signals and regional preferences in bred replacement cattle marketing and lays the empirical groundwork for future studies to test Shapiro's theory.     

民办高校筹资渠道研究

从中国的民办普通高等学校(下面简称:民办高校)的发展历程和发展现状来看,民办高校想要壮大起来有很大的阻碍,其中最主要的就是经费短缺。一个学校的发展必须要以充足的资金做后盾,民办高校也不例外,现在如何实现多渠道、全方位筹资成为民办高校急需解决的问题。本文从介绍我国民办高校的筹集渠道入手,对比美国的私立大学的资金来源,从中分析出中国民办高校存在的筹资问题,进而借鉴国外的先进经验,提出包括政府、民办高校自身、社会力量三个方面的拓宽民办高校筹资渠道的方法。     

Reputation and the league standing effect: the case of a split season in minor league baseball

Split season league design resets standings at the midpoint of the season, thus allowing for two periods in which a team can potentially achieve success in a single season. This context allows us to test both the reputation of the first half winner and the league standing effect on demand. Examination of game-level data from the 2010 Southern League reveals fans are unaffected by measures of both team quality and league standing in the second half of the season. On the other hand, the first half winners saw an 11% increase in attendance as a percent of stadium capacity, suggesting that in the second half of the season winners matter more than winning.     

企业声誉、慈善捐赠与消费者反应

以实验问卷法,探讨在慈善捐赠额度一定的情况下,企业的社会责任声誉是否影响消费者对捐赠企业的反应(包括对捐赠企业的评价、动机归因与购买意向),以及消费者对企业捐赠动机的归因是否影响他们对企业的评价与购买意向.研究表明:企业声誉显著影响消费者对捐赠企业的反应,声誉好的企业所获得的评价、动机归因与购买意向都显著地比声誉差的企业更好.而消费者对企业捐赠动机的积极归因显著提升他们对企业的评价以及增强他们的购买意愿.该研究暗示企业应该通过持续的社会责任行动来提升其声誉.     

企业社会责任表现、报告质量与企业声誉——基于中国上市公司的实证研究

近年来,越来越多的企业通过发布企业社会责任（CSR）报告与利益相关者沟通CSR表现的情况。在CSR与企业声誉之间的关系备受关注的背景下,CSR报告质量在其中发挥着什么样的作用呢？梳理现有文献,将CSR表现划分成责任管理、市场责任、社会责任以及环境责任,通过实证检验,分别探讨各自与企业声誉之间的作用机理,并研究CSR报告质量在二者之间关系中的调节效应。研究结果显示CSR表现正向作用于企业声誉,相较于责任管理,责任实践的正向作用更强。同时CSR报告质量在二者之间的关系中具有调节效应,能够进一步提升企业声誉,并且对环境责任的调节效应最为明显。     

中国评级市场被“劣币驱逐良币”机制主导了吗

声誉机制能够产生“优胜劣汰”的压力,是对评级机构行为的重要约束。中国舍本逐末的评级制度安排和不成熟的市场环境不仅阻碍了声誉机制的形成,还为评级机构出具过高评级提供了空间。根据该情况构建的评级合谋市场均衡模型,证明了我国评级市场竞争增加会导致评级质量的下降。利用鹏元资信评估有限公司进入城投企业债评级市场作为自然实验的进一步研究对理论进行了验证。分析表明,“劣币驱逐良币”的恶性竞争机制在我国评级市场占据主导地位。为此,我国在长期内应当对评级行业的制度安排进行重新设计,建立以声誉机制为主导的市场环境;短期内则需要加强监管,同时控制评级市场的竞争程度。     

公司声誉对公司效益影响的实证分析——基于“中国最佳雇主Top100”评选结果

根据"中国最佳雇主Top100"的排名结果,采用统计方法将声誉排名量化,并以净资产收益率和主营业务资产收益率作为上市公司效益的代理变量,采用相关分析和多元回归分析方法,利用样本上市公司的数据,对公司声誉和公司效益之间的关系进行实证检验。研究显示:公司声誉可促进公司后期效益的提升;获得声誉的公司的盈余持续性较强;声誉能够降低公司后期财务效益对前期财务效益的敏感程度和依赖性。     

基于声誉视角的企业社会责任实施策略研究

企业应当如何寻求社会责任与社交媒体交融背景下的企业社会责任(CSR)实施策略?这已成为全球经济面临的现实难题,对于处在声誉压力下的中国企业更是如此。文章通过全面回顾"声誉机制与CSR之间存在关联"的相关研究成果,以来自中国的两家企业(联想与宏碁)为商业案例,从公司治理、工作环境以及企业公民实践三个维度对其CSR实践进行了详细比较与系统分析,以期验证西方学者提出的"声誉机制对CSR实施策略具有正面影响效应"观点。结果表明:声誉机制确实可以促进企业加强自我约束,选择负责任的商业实践,成为法律规制、政府监管等正式制度的有益补充和替代,对中国企业来说也不例外。最后,结合中国企业现实处境,文章提出从回报角度认知CSR、取得行业标准认证、从局部小处起步等将CSR策略性融入到企业日常运营中的几点启示。     

战略联盟中的非正式治理机制:信任和声誉

战略联盟在迅速发展的同时也面临着高失败率的挑战,因此构建能够有效地应对伙伴机会主义风险的联盟治理机制至关重要。法律契约条款、专用资产投资、联盟治理结构、声誉体系和信任都可以作为控制联盟伙伴的治理机制。除此之外,联盟治理也可以依赖基于社会关系规范的非正式治理机制,即信任和声誉,它们不仅可以作为有效的进化选择机制避免资产专用性中的机会主义行为,还可以降低层级化治理结构的官僚成本。