Chih-Shun Hsu, Lopin Kuo and Bao-guang Chang
This study aims to examine how gender diversity within the CPA partnership team impacts the firm’s profit performance.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine how gender diversity within the CPA partnership team impacts the firm’s profit performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use the two-stage least squares method in analyzing the gender–diversity–performance relationship using the pooled sample obtained from the National Survey Reports on Taiwan CPA firms between 1992 and 2008.
Findings
The authors observe a non-linear relationship between gender diversity at the partner level and profit performance. The relationship curves vary according to firm size. After identifying the point of inflexion for these curves, the findings indicate that the average gender diversity is below the inflexion point for large CPA firms, but exceeds the inflexion point for medium size firms.
Practical implications
According to the critical mass theory, increasing gender diversity within the partnership team can have a positive influence on the value of the firm. Hence, the authors argue that for large CPA firms in Taiwan, the proportion of female partners leaves room for improvement. If the average number of female partners could be increased by 0.95 persons, the critical mass would be attained.
Originality/value
The study provides the empirical evidence that increasing a CPA firm’s proportion of female partners positively impacts the firm’s profit performance. The findings serve a practical value as reference source for any further studies.
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Keywords
Bao-Guang Chang and Kun-Shan Wu
The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of financial flexibility (FF) on enterprise performance (EP) within Taiwan’s hospitality industry during the COVID-19 shock and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of financial flexibility (FF) on enterprise performance (EP) within Taiwan’s hospitality industry during the COVID-19 shock and explore whether EP varies with hospitality industry characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
Secondary data of 39 Taiwan Stock Exchange-listed hospitality firms were collected from the Taiwan Economic Journal databases. Quantile regression analysis was applied to examine the FF-EP relationship
Findings
The results evidence that there is a U-shaped (convex) FF-EP relationship for hospitality firms in the 10th, 25th and 50th Tobin’s Q quantiles and in asset-heavy firms. For asset-light firms, FF has an inverted U-shaped (concave) effect on EP in the 90th Tobin’s Q quantile
Practical implications
The empirical results highlight the need for Taiwan’s hospitality industry as a whole to take rolling adjustment and optimization of FF and concentrate on liquidity risk management after the COVID-19 pandemic and for long-term sustainability.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to examine the nonlinear FF-EP relationship in the hospitality industry of Taiwan, particularly amid the COVID-19 shock. Moreover, this study extends current literature by revealing the hospitality industry’s FF-EP relationship and highlights the importance of the pandemic crisis context.
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Lopin Kuo, Hui-Cheng Yu and Bao-Guang Chang
This paper aims to examines whether Chinese firms’ signals of green governance, including environmental management, green innovation, and greenhouse gas (GHG) and pollution…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examines whether Chinese firms’ signals of green governance, including environmental management, green innovation, and greenhouse gas (GHG) and pollution emission, vary significantly with their ownership structure and aim of being environmentally sensitive.
Design/methodology/approach
From corporate social responsibility (CSR)-China website and CNINFO, a total of 781 CSR reports released during 2008-2010 were collected. The collected data were coded and analyzed using content analysis.
Findings
In overall disclosure of environmental protection information (TotalEP), no significant difference existed between state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and privately owned enterprises (POEs). Chinese environmentally sensitive industries (ESIs) have a tendency to disclose significantly more information about their actions of environmental protection than their counterparts. Moreover, SOEs and ESIs scored higher than their counterparts on energy saving and carbon reduction and development of circular economy. A steady increase was also observed in the disclosure ratio for CO2 emission. During 2008-2010, SOEs and ESIs were relatively more committed to the disclosure of SO2 emission as compared to other emission items.
Practical implications
Managers should disclose signals of green governance actively to avoid adverse selection caused by information asymmetry which further lower their financing cost.
Originality/value
There is still a lack of evidence as to whether Chinese firms are implementing actions to slow down climate change. This paper endeavours to provide an insight into Chinese firms’ compliance with the green governance requirements of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan. The study hopes to fill the current gap in understanding the environmental behaviours of Chinese firms under pressure to alleviate climate change.