Demands for accountability in education are not a new phenomenon, however, they have increased significantly in the recent past and have encompassed not only educational outcomes…
Abstract
Demands for accountability in education are not a new phenomenon, however, they have increased significantly in the recent past and have encompassed not only educational outcomes but also efficiency. In this study, ratio measures, similar to those recommended by the GASB, were compared to measures of relative efficiency determined through the use of data envelopment analysis (DEA). The consistency of the two approaches in distinguishing between relatively efficient and inefficient school districts was examined. It was found that compared to the DEA approach, the ratio measures, may be unable to provide reliable information for educational decision making.
Jirapol Jirakraisiri, Yuosre F. Badir and Björn Frank
Many firms struggle to implement strategies that can successfully enhance the environmental sustainability of their processes. Drawing on the theories of green intellectual…
Abstract
Purpose
Many firms struggle to implement strategies that can successfully enhance the environmental sustainability of their processes. Drawing on the theories of green intellectual capital and complementary assets, this study develops a model describing the mechanism whereby firms can translate a green (i.e., environmental) strategy into a superior green process innovation performance (GPIP).
Design/methodology/approach
Regression analysis of multi-source survey data collected from 514 managers at 257 firms (257 top management members and 257 safety or environmental managers) was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
A firm's green strategic intent has positive effects on the three aspects of green intellectual capital (i.e., human, organizational and relational capital). In turn, these three aspects have positive effects on GPIP. Moreover, green organizational capital positively moderates the effect of green relational capital on GPIP, whereas it negatively moderates the effect of human capital on GPIP.
Research limitations/implications
In order to implement a green strategy successfully, especially in polluted industries such as the chemical industry, managers need to develop not only the firm's tangible resources but also its intangible resources. The more they invest in green organizational capital, the higher the level of GPIP that can be achieved. On average, a firm's green human capital is more important than its organizational and relational capital. Moreover, its organizational capital helps capture the benefits of its relational capital, but it impairs the creativity of its human capital.
Originality/value
The authors contribute to the literature on green strategy implementation by suggesting that green intellectual capital plays a mediating role in the relationship between a firm's green strategic intent and GPIP.
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Cristina M. Ostermann, Leandro da Silva Nascimento, Cynthia Mikaela Chemello Faviero Lopes, Guilherme Freitas Camboim and Paulo Antônio Zawislak
This paper aims to identify and compare the arrangements of innovation capabilities and their correlation with the socio-environmental responsibility of two groups: companies with…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify and compare the arrangements of innovation capabilities and their correlation with the socio-environmental responsibility of two groups: companies with less socio-environmental concern (Group Gray) and companies with greater socio-environmental concern (Group Green).
Design/methodology/approach
Descriptive and quantitative research with 1,322 Brazilian manufacturing companies was conducted. We analyzed (1) the actual arrangement of capabilities and (2) the ideal arrangement of capabilities with the greatest impact on innovation.
Findings
Results suggest that there is a difference in the arrangement of capabilities between the two groups. Also, there is a difference between the capabilities that effectively receive the companies' attention and the capabilities that should be valued and developed. Green companies must focus their efforts on Transaction capability, followed respectively by Management, Development and Operation capabilities. Gray companies must focus on Development capability, followed by Management, Transaction and Operation capabilities.
Originality/value
By identifying the ideal capability arrangement, this research provides important information that can guide managers in planning internal strategies for investments, prioritizing management efforts and rearranging capabilities to boost innovation for sustainability.
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Frank Victor Mushi, Huba Nguluma and Jacob Kihila
Green buildings have proven to be essential contributors to the sustainability of buildings in the construction industry. However, in developing economies, the rate of green…
Abstract
Purpose
Green buildings have proven to be essential contributors to the sustainability of buildings in the construction industry. However, in developing economies, the rate of green building adoption is slow. Moreover, the factors linked to a relatively slow adoption rarely feature in the literature. This study seeks to bridge the gap by first exploring factors influencing the adoption of green buildings. Second, analysing strategies and preferences determining the adoption of green building principles and lastly, exploring case-based opportunities for their adoption in Tanzania.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data from twelve key informants. The qualitative data were analysed using content analysis.
Findings
The findings indicate that the most influential factors in green building adoption are related to key organizational decisions. Moreover, social and environmental factors are more related to green building adoption than economic factors. In addition, energy and water efficiency are the most commonly adopted sustainability features, while certified materials, recycling and reusing are rarely implemented.
Practical implications
Since green building adoption is still in its infancy, this study informs policymakers, professional bodies, developers, and researchers of the empirically supported factors for green building adoption. The conclusions can be amplified within the sustainability movement.
Originality/value
This study provides an in-depth understanding of the precursors of green building adoption, which is increasingly becoming a paradigm shift in the construction sector. The study is the first to present an in-depth analysis of the real-life factors influencing the adoption of green buildings in Tanzania.
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Matjaž Maletič, Boštjan Gomišček and Damjan Maletič
Innovation is the backbone of sustainability. Although many efforts have been made to conceptualize sustainability-oriented innovations, the impact of these organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
Innovation is the backbone of sustainability. Although many efforts have been made to conceptualize sustainability-oriented innovations, the impact of these organizational practices on performance has not been adequately explored. This paper, therefore, aims to fill an important gap in the literature by exploring the relationship between sustainability innovation practices and performance outcomes. Specifically, this study examines the relationship between sustainability innovation practices, non-financial performance and economic performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) to estimate both the direct and indirect effects of sustainability practices on economic performance. The data were collected on the basis of a large-scale survey of 266 European organizations.
Findings
The results show that sustainability innovation practices directly and indirectly influence economic performance through non-financial performance outcomes (i.e. innovation performance, environmental performance and social performance).
Originality/value
The scientific value of this paper is provided by showing that sustainability innovation practices lead to certain performance improvements and by providing a model to better understand the links between non-financial performance outcomes and economic performance.
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Ashu Tiwari, Archana Patro and Soniya Mohil
The systematic risks related to credit financing has received significant attention in the academic domain during and after any financial crisis. However, the role of insurance…
Abstract
The systematic risks related to credit financing has received significant attention in the academic domain during and after any financial crisis. However, the role of insurance has not been adequately studied in the context of crises. The extant literature also shows that the scale of credit financing depends upon the availability of credit insurance and on the policy orientation. Past evidence shows that demand for credit insurance was significantly high during the crisis period. Therefore, this chapter proposes to study the role of various combinations of these two aspects near the period of crisis. The findings of this chapter are based on the outcomesof previous research articles on these topics. The research articles are gathered from various online databases for the years 2000–2014 for the G7 economies. This chapter has alsoincluded facts from contextual policy documents on monetary and fiscal policies where it finds them necessary. Broadly, this chapter describes the role of policies when two mutually dependent industries interact and adversely impact market equilibrium.
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Roberto Fernández-Villarino and J. Andrés Domínguez-Gómez
This study aims to explore how responsible corporate behaviour, specifically self-imposed financial regulatory control, might subsequently be reflected in the financial…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how responsible corporate behaviour, specifically self-imposed financial regulatory control, might subsequently be reflected in the financial performance of companies subject to such regulation.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the authors aim to explore how financial compliance in the form of the Economic Control Regulation (ECR) has impacted on the financial performance of professional football clubs in Spain. To this purpose, the authors adopted a quasi-experimental before and after study design. This type of design assesses the object of study before and after a specific event in order to determine whether this event has had any effects on the object. In this case, the event was the coming into effect of the ECR in the fiscal year of 2012, and the object hypothetically affected was the clubs’ economic performance.
Findings
The authors can confirm that in general terms and for the whole set of clubs analysed, the ECR has had a strong and positive effect on financial performance.
Research limitations/implications
In this study, the authors wish to establish a link between the idea of “compliance” and that of “responsible corporate management practice”. It is not just a matter of compliance with the law. The fact of complying with certain laws could, in general terms, or from the point of view of common sense, be qualified as “responsible behaviour”. However, under the contemporary concept of corporate responsibility, compliance with the law is a behaviour that must be taken for granted. Responsibility, therefore, would entail going beyond such expected behaviour to one that exceeds the environment's expectation of the corporate actor.
Practical implications
What extent improvements in financial performance have also boosted social performance. Confirming such a positive effect endorses the argument that ethical improvements in corporate culture have a general effect on business sustainability in its different aspects: economic, social, environmental and in governance.
Social implications
The authors may foresee that the culture of compliance will spread from the finance departments to other management areas. Its connection with ethical business practice is directly linked to the more complex concept of the “citizen company”. There are suggest interesting bases on which professional football clubs might move from a traditional profit-oriented company model towards a more contemporary one oriented towards relationships of integrity with the sport's environment. This study shows that the ECR has been a starting point for the development of Spanish professional football clubs towards this type of “citizen company”.
Originality/value
It was a single-sector study whose principal value lies in the verification of whether responsible economic management (the main consequence of applying the ECR) had any effects on company profits, financial results and other important indicators. In addition to fostering responsibility, this new management model involves a special innovation, as it is based on self-regulation (i.e. on regulations not imposed by national or supranational states), designed and implemented to ensure the sector's viability.
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Timothy G. Cybulski, Wayne K. Hoy and Scott R. Sweetland
Public schools in the USA face increased pressures for more accountability and improved performance. The objective of this study was to wed two previously separated theoretical…
Abstract
Purpose
Public schools in the USA face increased pressures for more accountability and improved performance. The objective of this study was to wed two previously separated theoretical strands of educational research – economic theory and organizational theory – by using variables from each theory base to develop, compare, and test a series of explanatory models of student achievement.
Design/methodology/approach
A diverse set of schools was provided by 146 elementary schools in Ohio. Teachers in sample schools provided data on the collective efficacy of their schools and the Ohio Department of Education supplied demographic and achievement data. An ex post facto design was used to test a theoretical set of hypotheses and several structural models. Data were collected from the teachers in each school during regularly scheduled faculty meetings and analyzed using correlation analysis and structural equation modeling.
Findings
Collective efficacy of teachers in these elementary schools had a positive direct effect on student reading and mathematics achievement, even when controlling for SES and prior achievement; however, school efficiency was unrelated to both collective efficacy of teachers and student achievement.
Originality/value
This study weds two previously separated theoretical strands of educational research – economic theory and organizational theory – by using variables from each theory base to develop, compare, and test a series of explanatory models of student achievement.
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Jingsi Zhang, Liangqun Qi, Chengdong Wang and Xichen Lyu
This study aims to examine how servitization affects the environmental and social performance of manufacturing firms.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine how servitization affects the environmental and social performance of manufacturing firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypotheses are tested using fixed-effect panel models based on secondary data of 1,413 manufacturing firms publicly listed in the USA.
Findings
Results show that servitization is positively related to the social performance of manufacturing firms; this positive relationship is more prominent under high levels of human resource slack. However, the impact of servitization on environmental performance depends on the level of absorptive capacity and human resource slack. Servitization improves environmental performance under high levels of absorptive capacity and human resource slack, while this positive impact is insignificant under low levels of absorptive capacity and human resource slack.
Research limitations/implications
The study focuses on the degree (depth) of servitization but ignores the scope of services provided by manufacturing firms (breadth of servitization).
Practical implications
This research suggests that servitization is an effective way of achieving simultaneous improvements in environmental and social performance. However, high levels of absorptive capacity and human resource slack are needed to achieve this goal.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the servitization literature by demonstrating the environmental and social sustainability benefits of servitization. The findings also highlight the crucial role of absorptive capacity and human resource slack on improving environmental and social performance through servitization.