Guido Orzes, Fu Jia, Marco Sartor and Guido Nassimbeni
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the relationship between the adoption of Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000) – which is considered the most important ethical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the relationship between the adoption of Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000) – which is considered the most important ethical certification standard – and firm performance, building on agency and contingency theories.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyse secondary longitudinal balance sheet data of listed firms employing a rigorous event-study approach and compare SA8000-certified companies to different control groups based on three matching criteria, i.e., industry, size, and pre-certification performance. The authors then study the moderating effects of the cultural features, the country’s development level, and the labour intensity on the causal relationship through multiple regression methods.
Findings
The authors find that SA8000 certification positively affects labour productivity and sales performance but has no effect on profitability. Furthermore, the study supports that the relationship between SA8000 and profitability is moderated by two cultural features of the home country of the firms (i.e. power distance and uncertainty avoidance).
Originality/value
This is the first study, which empirically tests the effects of the ethical certification SA8000 on firm performance using a cross-country sample. In addition, the authors contribute to the wider debate on the effects of corporate social responsibility practices on firm performance.
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Ebere Donatus Okonta and Farzad Rahimian
The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyse the potential of existing buildings in the UK to contribute to the net-zero emissions target. Specifically, it aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyse the potential of existing buildings in the UK to contribute to the net-zero emissions target. Specifically, it aims to address the significant emissions from building fabrics which pose a threat to achieving these targets if not properly addressed.
Design/methodology/approach
The study, based on a literature review and ten (10) case studies, explored five investigative approaches for evaluating building fabric: thermal imaging, in situ U-value testing, airtightness testing, energy assessment and condensation risk analysis. Cross-case analysis was used to evaluate both case studies using each approach. These methodologies were pivotal in assessing buildings’ existing condition and energy consumption and contributing to the UK’s net-zero ambitions.
Findings
Findings reveal that incorporating the earlier approaches into the building fabric showed great benefits. Significant temperature regulation issues were identified, energy consumption decreased by 15% after improvements, poor insulation and artistry quality affected the U-values of buildings. Implementing retrofits such as solar panels, air vents, insulation, heat recovery and air-sourced heat pumps significantly improved thermal performance while reducing energy consumption. Pulse technology proved effective in measuring airtightness, even in extremely airtight houses, and high airflow and moisture management were essential in preserving historic building fabric.
Originality/value
The research stresses the need to understand investigative approaches’ strengths, limitations and synergies for cost-effective energy performance strategies. It emphasizes the urgency of eliminating carbon dioxide (CO2) and greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming and meet the 1.5° C threshold.
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Ly Ho, Van Ha Nguyen and Tung Lam Dang
This study revisits the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities and firm performance. More importantly, it tests whether this relationship is…
Abstract
Purpose
This study revisits the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities and firm performance. More importantly, it tests whether this relationship is moderated by critical yet underexplored factors such as stakeholder engagement, financial constraints, and religiosity.
Design/methodology/approach
A wide range of estimation techniques, including pooled ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed effects, system generalized method of moments (GMM) and propensity score matching-difference-in-differences (PSM-DiD), are employed to investigate such issues in a large sample of firms from 31 countries.
Findings
ESG performance has a positive and significant impact on firm performance. While stakeholder engagement positively moderates this relationship, financial constraints and religiosity negatively moderate it. Interestingly, this positive linkage is driven by environmental and social performance rather than governance performance.
Practical implications
Firms should proactively engage in ESG initiatives and consider the intervening influences of stakeholder engagement, financial constraints and religiosity in making decisions to invest in ESG activities. Furthermore, our findings can help policymakers understand the financial consequences of ESG practices, which can be helpful in designing new policies to further promote corporate engagement in ESG practices.
Originality/value
First, our research findings help reconcile the long-standing debate about the value impact of ESG. Second, our paper investigates relatively new aspects of the ESG-firm performance relationship. Third, our study offers more insight into the ESG literature by showing that not all ESG dimensions equally impact firm performance.
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Dechang Zheng, Shuang Tao, Chengtao Jiang and Yinglun Tang
This study explores whether religion plays an important role in corporate poverty alleviation. Religious atmosphere affects managers' attitude towards corporate social…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores whether religion plays an important role in corporate poverty alleviation. Religious atmosphere affects managers' attitude towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) and then influences corporate poverty alleviation. This study first examines the impact of religious atmosphere on corporate poverty alleviation and then investigates whether formal institutions, such as law enforcement environments and ownership, influence the relationship between religious atmosphere and corporate poverty alleviation behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
In 2016, the Chinese government initiated a nationwide campaign aiming to eliminate poverty in China by 2020. The authors conduct empirical tests with data on Chinese listed firms from 2016 to 2020. The religious atmosphere is measured by the number of Buddhist monasteries and Taoist temples within a certain radius around Chinese listed firms' registered addresses. The authors adopt the ordinary least squares (OLS) method for regression and take the two-stage least squares (2SLS) method to address the endogeneity issue.
Findings
The results show a positive relationship between religious atmosphere and corporate poverty alleviation donations. Law enforcement attenuates the positive association between the religious atmosphere and corporate poverty alleviation donations. Religion and corporate poverty alleviation donations have a more positive association for non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs) than for state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
Research limitations/implications
The authors' findings have important implications. First, this study inspires incorporating the ethical value of traditional culture, such as religion, into CSR. Second, the findings imply that informal institutions have a greater impact on corporate decision-making when formal institutions are weak, suggesting that informal institutions should be emphasized when promoting CSR in countries where formal institutions are relatively weak. The study investigates only religious influence on corporate poverty alleviation based on Buddhism and Taoism, but the authors do not examine the impacts of other religions. Future research may examine the relationships between other religions and corporate poverty alleviation in China.
Originality/value
This study illustrates the positive role played by religion in promoting CSR by relating religious atmosphere to corporate poverty alleviation. It fills the research gap between religion and CSR and also contributes to the literature on determinants of corporate poverty alleviation.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the roles of human resource development (HRD) in open universities. The study also intends to assess the current situation of HRD at…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the roles of human resource development (HRD) in open universities. The study also intends to assess the current situation of HRD at Hanoi Open University (HOU) with an end view of proposing some suggested recommendations to enhance HRD to improve the training quality and effectiveness at HOU.
Design/methodology/approach
The study’s first two parts refer to HRD’s role in open universities. The third one summarizes the existing research literature on HRD used as theoretical base for the author to evaluate the current HRD at HOU in the fourth part. The fifth part involves the methodology to gather the data on HRD practices at HOU while the next two important parts deal with the study’s findings and recommendations for better HRD at HOU. The final part summaries the study’s main points. Referring methodology, the survey data were analyzed through frequency, percentage and weighted mean as statistical tools.
Findings
The study’s findings show that HRD practices at HOU are not as effective as expected in terms of human resource quality, human resource structure and human resource management. There is a shortage of full-time well-qualified employees, inadequate and imbalance working positions, and un-synchronous, fragmented personnel management.
Originality/value
The study’s values are not only useful for building policies on HRD but also for developing strategies to train and foster capable and adequate staff in open universities’ academic environment and in HOU as well.
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Tianchong Wang, Baimin Suo, Jieshu Jiang and Wei Jia
Conducting innovation in low-carbon technology is vital to boost the low-carbon economy. Collaborative innovation among industry-university-research (IUR) is an effective mode of…
Abstract
Purpose
Conducting innovation in low-carbon technology is vital to boost the low-carbon economy. Collaborative innovation among industry-university-research (IUR) is an effective mode of developing low-carbon technologies. There is a lack of visualization and analysis of the spatial-temporal of such collaboration among the IUR. This paper aims to serve as insights to guide IUR’s collaborative innovation in Chinese universities to promote low-carbon technologies.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses IncoPat to collect patent data. Collaborative patent output on low-carbon technologies was selected as the indicator to measure the effectiveness of IUR collaboration. The temporal evolution trend of the collaborative patent output in Chinese universities is analyzed.
Findings
The collaborative patent output of the Chinese IUR varies greatly among the regions, evolving from stronger in the east and weaker in the west, to stronger in the south and weaker in the north region. The triple helix (TH) innovation system in China’s low-carbon sector is dominated by intraregional collaborative innovation, while there is a weak bilateral synergy between universities and research institutions.
Originality/value
This paper innovatively developed a novel TH model that characterize the regional differences of the IUR collaboration in low-carbon technology innovation of Chinese universities. A new attempt focuses on the spatial-temporal evolution of the collaborative innovation of IUR to promote low-carbon technologies.
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The paper examines how local governments’ responses to citizens’ complaints about environment issues are affected when the complaints involve conflicting goals, particularly…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper examines how local governments’ responses to citizens’ complaints about environment issues are affected when the complaints involve conflicting goals, particularly economic versus environmental goals. This study focuses on the responsiveness of provincial governments to citizen environmental complaints on the Local Leader Message Board (LLMB) in China.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected 125,364 environment-related complaints lodged by citizens on the LLMB from 2013 to 2021 and identified complaints embodying conflicting goals through a Structural Topic Model (STM). Advanced supervised machine learning (ML) algorithms were employed to enhance the robustness of the findings.
Findings
The results indicate that provincial governments prioritize citizens’ complaints across different types of issues. However, complaints embodying conflicting goals (related to environmental issues) are less likely to get a response. This relationship is moderated by an inverted U-shaped effect of economic dependence on industries. This suggests that the impact of conflicting goals on government responsiveness is dynamic, with the likelihood of provincial governments responding to conflicting complaints initially increasing and then decreasing as economic dependence on industries rises.
Originality/value
The findings enrich the understanding of the consequences of conflicting goals by highlighting their potential as a mechanism to explain the strategic reactions of governments to citizens.
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Zheyao Pan, Guangli Zhang and Huixuan Zhang
The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of local political uncertainty on the asymmetric cost behavior (i.e. cost stickiness) for listed firms in China.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of local political uncertainty on the asymmetric cost behavior (i.e. cost stickiness) for listed firms in China.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the authors manually collect the turnover data of prefecture-city officials as a measure of exogenous fluctuations in political uncertainty and obtain firm-level financial information from the China Stock Market Accounting Research (CSMAR) database. To perform the analysis, the authors augment the traditional cost stickiness model by including the interaction terms of the prefecture-city official turnover, and firm-level and prefecture-city level control variables.
Findings
The authors find that political turnover leads to a higher degree of cost stickiness, implying that firms retain slack resources when political uncertainty is high. Moreover, the effect of political turnover on cost stickiness is more pronounced for firms residing in regions with weaker institutional environments, and firms that are privately owned and with smaller size. The authors further provide evidence that policy uncertainty and the threat of losing political connection are two underlying channels. Overall, this study documents that the local political process is an important channel that influences corporate operational decisions.
Originality/value
This study provides the first piece of evidence on the relation between political uncertainty and cost stickiness at the local government level. Moreover, the authors propose and demonstrate two underlying channels through which political uncertainty affects firms' asymmetric cost behavior.
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Ming Gao, Anhui Pan, Yi Huang, Jiaqi Wang, Yan Zhang, Xiao Xie, Huanre Han and Yinghua Jia
The type 120 emergency valve is an essential braking component of railway freight trains, but corresponding diaphragms consisting of natural rubber (NR) and chloroprene rubber…
Abstract
Purpose
The type 120 emergency valve is an essential braking component of railway freight trains, but corresponding diaphragms consisting of natural rubber (NR) and chloroprene rubber (CR) exhibit insufficient aging resistance and low-temperature resistance, respectively. In order to develop type 120 emergency valve rubber diaphragms with long-life and high-performance, low-temperatureresistant CR and NR were processed.
Design/methodology/approach
The physical properties of the low-temperature-resistant CR and NR were tested by low-temperature stretching, dynamic mechanical analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. Single-valve and single-vehicle tests of type 120 emergency valves were carried out for emergency diaphragms consisting of NR and CR.
Findings
The low-temperature-resistant CR and NR exhibited excellent physical properties. The elasticity and low-temperature resistance of NR were superior to those of CR, whereas the mechanical properties of the two rubbers were similar in the temperature range of 0 °C–150 °C. The NR and CR emergency diaphragms met the requirements of the single-valve test. In the low-temperature single-vehicle test, only the low-temperature sensitivity test of the NR emergency diaphragm met the requirements.
Originality/value
The innovation of this study is that it provides valuable data and experience for future development of type 120 valve rubber diaphragms.