The heterogeneous relationship between board social ties and corporate environmental responsibility in an emerging economy

Firms in emerging economies are faced with multiple, incompatible institutional forces in their environmental activities. Which of these forces will be dominant and instantiated within an organization is partly determined by the social relationships that a firm maintains with external actors. This paper investigates the relationship between board social ties and the level of environmental responsibility undertaken by firms in China, an emerging economy, by categorizing board social ties into three types in terms of the three isomorphic forces in the institutional field (coercive, normative and mimetic). Drawing on institutional and agency theories, using a sample of listed firms in environmentally sensitive industries, and a generalized least squares regression method, the results provide empirical evidence that ties that are linked to coercive and normative forces (i.e., political organizations and universities) are related to a higher level of environmental responsibility; however, those that are linked to mimetic forces (i.e., industrial peers) have a negative association with environmental responsibility, which is mitigated by CEO power. These findings suggest that the heterogeneous effects of board social ties on environmental responsibilities experienced by firms in a context of environmentalism are at an early stage.     

The Moderating Effects of Status-Consumption Motive and Age in the Relationship between CSR Advertising Appeal Type and Purchase Intentions

The primary purpose of this study was to examine factors that influence the effectiveness of benefit appeal types (i.e., help-other vs. help-self) in Corporate Social Responsibility advertising. To that end, we designed and administered a between-subjects experiment where participants viewed one of the two CSR advertisements crafted with help-self and help-other benefit appeals. Results provided evidence supporting the moderating effects of status-consumption motives and age on purchasing intentions. Additional analysis suggested consumers younger than 48 years old were more likely to be persuaded by a help-other ad appeal when they didn't have strong desires for status consumption. Results were discussed in light of the self-concept theory and value-expressive framework in CSR advertising.     

Relative-to-rival corporate philanthropy,product market competitiveness,and stakeholders

Unlike most of the literature that examines the relationship between corporate philanthropy and financial performance, this study investigates the mechanisms through which corporate socially responsible behaviors produce financial outcomes. We propose that corporate philanthropy improves corporate competitiveness by eliciting positive responses from stakeholders, who assess a firm’s philanthropic contribution in relation to its rivals to determine what level of support they wish to provide to the firm. We predict that a firm’s philanthropy relative to its rivals has a positive effect on its product market competitiveness, and that this positive effect is moderated by three conditions that influence stakeholder response: stakeholder attention to philanthropy, its perceived legitimacy, and expectations of corporate giving. Our predictions are generally supported by our analyses. Overall, this paper shows that strategic philanthropy has a quantitative dimension, and firms obtain the market competitiveness associated with corporate philanthropy by integrating their rivals’ positions into their decision making.     

Bridging the great divide? Making sense of the human rights-CSR relationship in UK multinational companies

Human rights (HR) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are both fields of knowledge and research that have been shaped by, and examine, the role of multi-national enterprises in society. Whilst scholars have highlighted the overlapping nature of CSR and HR, our understanding of this relationship within business practice remains vague and under-researched. To explore the interface between CSR and HR, this paper presents empirical data from a qualitative study involving 22 international businesses based in the UK. Through an analysis based on sensemaking, the paper examines how and where CSR and HR overlap, contrast and shape one another, and the role that companies’ international operations has on this relationship. The findings reveal a complex and multi-layered relationship between the two, and concludes that in contrast to management theory, companies have bridged the ‘great divide’ in varying degrees most notably in their implementation strategies.     

区域产业簇群的发展与政府职责

本文认为,现代产业簇群是基于地缘关系、产业技术链、同业交往等关系而共生的产生群体,是提高国家经济实力和国际竞争力的重要途径。它的产生与发展是技术进步和社会分工的结果,是产业发展的客观规律,经济全球化是现代产业簇群的必然趋势。为了促进我国产业簇群的发展,文章提出,政府在产业簇群的发展中应遵循产业簇群的发展规律,充分发挥其在重视与定位、研究与规划、宣传与传播、引导与协调、支持与宽容、保障与政策等方面的职能。     

基于顾客满意的企业社会责任与其绩效关系的实证研究

文章通过运用一个概念模型并提出一些假设：企业社会责任部分地通过顾客满意这个中间变量影响其市场价值；企业社会责任与其市场价值的关系依赖于企业产品质量或创新能力。实证研究表明。顾客满意在企业社会责任和其市场价值之间能够起到中介效应；企业能力在企业社会责任与其市场价值之间能够发挥调节效应。     

A change in market responses to the environmental management ranking in Japan

This article investigates stock price reactions to the release of the environmental management ranking issued by Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei newspaper) from 1998 to 2005, by using a standard event study methodology. An examination of stock price movements of the top 100 manufacturing companies reveals that stock prices during the sample period did not respond significantly to the release of the ranking within a 3-day event window. However, market responses became significantly positive after 2003, while they were significantly negative in 1999 and 2000. The stock prices of upgraded companies in particular reacted negatively before 2000, but positively after 2002. These results indicate that market reactions were changed between 2001 and 2002, when the Japanese government showed its strong commitment to environmental policies by establishing the Ministry of the Environment and signing the Kyoto Protocol, following a number of legislations.     

Codes of Conduct in Subcontracting Networks: A Labour Law Perspective

In the past ten years, many European companies organised into subcontracting networks have decided to adopt codes of conduct to regulate labour relations and to ensure the respect of fundamental social rights. This paper first determines the context and the issues to be addressed by codes of conduct within networks of companies, and second analyses the terms under which they can be implemented. The paper argues that codes of conduct can complement the standards developed by States, the European Union or the social partners, but that steps should be taken in order to avoid that these texts replace the existing labour law.     

审计责任与会计责任界定初探

审计责任与会计责任是两个容易混淆的概念。由于目前两种责任界定还不清楚，常常使人们误认为二者可以混同，导致针对注册会计师的审计诉讼案件越来越多。本文从二者的基本概念入手。分析了造成二者混同的原因，并提出了科学界定审计责任和会计责任的几点建议。     

报废汽车回收体系结构模型研究

报废汽车的回收重用一方面是＂生产者责任延伸制＂在汽车行业贯彻实施的结果,另一方面来源于再制造环节中蕴藏的丰厚利润的诱导.目前我国回收利用报废汽车的方式比较落后,主要是对原材料进行重用.本文构建了一个由汽车制造商牵头纽建,以功能多样化的回收中心作为中心处理单元的报废汽车回收体系结构模型,以期实现更高层次的回收重用.