Stephanie Slater, Stan Paliwoda and Jim Slater
This paper examines the behaviour of Japanese pharmaceutical corporations in the light of recent merger activity, questioning strategic momentum theory given the particularly…
Abstract
This paper examines the behaviour of Japanese pharmaceutical corporations in the light of recent merger activity, questioning strategic momentum theory given the particularly significant influence of culture on the decision‐making process in this market. The international performance of Japan’s pharmaceutical industry has been poor; therefore, we examine the regional orientation of the top global pharmaceutical TNCs, inquiring as to why there has not been greater convergence among Triad countries. Irrespective of cultural differences, this industry has been slow to respond to international macro change, but mergers, acquisitions, and other convergence strategies are now being observed.
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Gabriel Sam Ahinful and Venancio Tauringana
The chapter investigates the relationship between environmental management practices (EMPs) and financial performance (FP).
Abstract
Purpose
The chapter investigates the relationship between environmental management practices (EMPs) and financial performance (FP).
Design/Methodology/Approach
The study is based on a sample of 187 SMEs and uses data on six EMPs (energy, water, waste, material, emissions, and biodiversity) collected through a self-administered questionnaire from owner-managers of SMEs. Ordinary least squares regression is employed to model the hypothesized paths.
Findings
The results suggest a positive and significant relationship between EMPs (energy, water, and material) and FP. There is also a significant positive relationship between an aggregate EMP measure and FP. However, other EMPs (waste, emissions, and biodiversity) are not significantly associated with FP. Overall, these results provide empirical support to the mostly normative suggestion that the conflicting results on the environmental management and financial performance relationship are partly due to the EMP measure used.
Research Limitations/Implications
The study is based on cross-sectional data, and therefore, it is impossible to determine any changes over time. Longitudinal studies could help confirm the relationship between EMP and FP over a longer period. From a policy perspective, this results mean that the Ghanaian EPA must monitor more closely for violations of laws and regulations relating to waste, emissions, and biodiversity since SMEs do not have incentives to manage these impacts without commensurate return.
Originality/Value
The study contributes by documenting evidence of the relationship between multiple measures of EMP and FP. This unlike most existing studies has enabled us to report evidence of how each EMP measure affects FP differently and where win–win opportunities are for SMEs. Thus, the win–win opportunities are associated with some EMP measures but not all.
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Martin Stuebs and Li Sun
This chapter examines the association between corporate governance and environmental performance. The purpose of governance mechanisms is to build trust by ensuring that corporate…
Abstract
This chapter examines the association between corporate governance and environmental performance. The purpose of governance mechanisms is to build trust by ensuring that corporate responsibilities, including environmental responsibilities, are met. We obtain corporate governance data from the Investor Responsibility Research Center, Inc’s (IRRC’s) governance and director database and additional corporate governance and environmental performance data from Kinder, Lydenberg, and Domini’s (KLD’s) database. Our analyses document a significant positive association between corporate governance and environmental performance. Moreover, we find that corporate governance is positively related to environmental strengths, and negatively related to environmental concerns. Our findings contribute to and extend our understanding of the relationship between governance and performance and have important implications for policy makers, managers, investors, and others.
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Edeltraud Guenther, Timo Busch, Jan Endrikat, Thomas Guenther and Marc Orlitzky
The purpose of this literature review is to reorient empirical research on the causal links between corporate ecological sustainability (CES) and corporate financial performance…
Abstract
The purpose of this literature review is to reorient empirical research on the causal links between corporate ecological sustainability (CES) and corporate financial performance (CFP). Toward this end, we summarize the findings of four meta-analyses (conducted between 2012 and 2016), which indicate that there is, on average, a small positive association between CES and CFP. In addition, these empirical associations seem to be contingent on the firm’s strategic approach with regard to ecological sustainability (e.g., proactive vs reactive approach) and on the operationalization of both constructs. We conclude that future research may benefit from an even more explicit, analytic shift to the circumstances under which it pays for firms to go green. The main research limitations we point out are model misspecifications, endogeneity, and problems in the measurement of both CES and CFP.
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It has been suggested by a number of authors that Britain's relative decline as a manufacturing economy is not irreversible. In particular, it has been argued, the relative…
Abstract
It has been suggested by a number of authors that Britain's relative decline as a manufacturing economy is not irreversible. In particular, it has been argued, the relative advantage of the developed economies vis‐à‐vis the developing and newly industrialising countries lies in high‐technology and high‐quality products. The relationship between high value‐added production and trade performance in the 1970s and 1980s is explored. Whilst the theoretical reasoning behind the hypothesis is appealing, traditional empirical methods seem unable to offer evidence in support.
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Chris Schachtebeck and Thea Judith Tselepis
Entrepreneurship Education (EE) has received substantial attention, both in the popular press, as well as in academia, owing to the socio-economic impact it holds. However, while…
Abstract
Entrepreneurship Education (EE) has received substantial attention, both in the popular press, as well as in academia, owing to the socio-economic impact it holds. However, while the importance of entrepreneurship is universally acknowledged, specific higher-order outcomes EE aim to achieve have not received the same level of attention. This study aims to fill this void by analysing teaching and learning approaches to EE in Africa, as well as the competencies that these EE initiatives aim to build. The study makes use of a qualitative research approach in the form of a systematic review of EE studies conducted in Africa. The systematic review aimed to uncover which approaches and competencies EE initiatives apply. Results indicated that teaching and learning of EE in Africa are mainly focussed on learning for and about entrepreneurship, and to a lesser degree through entrepreneurship. The study therefore proposes the development of higher-order competencies in the form of envisioning and constructing. The study contributes in practice by proposing a shift in the approach to EE by building competencies in the areas of visionary thinking and market expansion, rather than gaining market share. The study also makes a theoretical contribution by critically reviewing teaching and learning approaches on EE and developed competencies, and expands the role that EE can play in market development and opportunity creation.
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Sohyoun Shin and Kirk Damon Aiken
The purpose of this paper is to shift the research focus from singular investigations of strategic orientations (i.e. learning, technology, market, customer, and competitor) to a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to shift the research focus from singular investigations of strategic orientations (i.e. learning, technology, market, customer, and competitor) to a broadened exploration of how various combinations of orientations link to firm performance. Further, the paper reveals the mediating role of marketing capability between strategic orientations and firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Mail and e‐mail surveys were received from 198 Korean executives among the nation's Top 500 firms (across various industries). Generally, multiple regression analyses were conducted to test the various hypotheses.
Findings
Data confirm that each strategic orientation has distinct paths through marketing capability (single or multiple, and mediating) that significantly impact firm performance.
Practical implications
Fostering marketing capability, including marketing planning and implementation ability, will have a direct positive impact on firm performance. In addition, companies should understand how differently their cultural resources and orientations affect firm performance.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to argue that a deployment mechanism, marketing capability, is needed between strategic orientations and business performance. The paper further contributes by extending geographic generalizability to Asian countries (since the majority of extant research on organizational orientations and capabilities comes from western countries).
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Bo Pang, Sharyn Robyn Rundle-Thiele and Krzysztof Kubacki
Evidence indicates that active school travel (AST) including walking can effectively lower levels of obesity among school-age children. Yet Queensland has been identified as one…
Abstract
Purpose
Evidence indicates that active school travel (AST) including walking can effectively lower levels of obesity among school-age children. Yet Queensland has been identified as one of the most inactive states in Australia where only 5 per cent of Years 1 and 5 children engaged in AST on a daily basis. The purpose of this paper is to explain walking to school behaviour among Queensland children by investigating the explanatory potential of the ecological and cognitive active commuting (ECAC) model.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey of 537 carers in Queensland, Australia was conducted to collect data about demographics and the variables in the ECAC model. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the ECAC model and the pathways between variables.
Findings
The results indicate that the ECAC model explained 53.4 per cent of the variance in walking to school. Social norms are the dominating factor in the model. Distance to school affects how the ECAC model works by moderating the associations among walking to school behaviours, perceived risks, and social norms.
Practical implications
Changing carers’ social norms and lowering the perceived risks they associate with walking to school should increase the incidence of walking to school in Queensland.
Originality/value
Although the ECAC model was proposed as a comprehensive framework to explain walking to school behaviour, to date, it has not been tested empirically. Informed by a modified ECAC framework this study aims to empirically explore the factors that may be preventing or facilitating Queensland children from walking to school.
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Yu Tian, Alexander E. Ellinger and Haozhe Chen
Based on customer value theory, this paper aims to propose and test a conceptual model of the relationship between third‐party logistics (3PL) provider customer orientation and…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on customer value theory, this paper aims to propose and test a conceptual model of the relationship between third‐party logistics (3PL) provider customer orientation and customer firm logistics improvement.
Design/methodology/approach
The 3PL provider customer orientation is conceptualized as a higher, second‐order construct made up of four key logistics‐driven first‐order indicators: service variety, information availability, timeliness, and continuous improvement. A survey‐based approach is utilized to collect data from managers at 124 manufacturing customer firms in the People's Republic of China; structural equation modeling is performed to assess measures and test the hypothesized relationships.
Findings
Chinese 3PL provider customer orientation significantly influences customer firm logistics improvement.
Research limitations/implications
Findings are based on single source perceptual data from customer firm key respondents. Tests indicate that common method bias is not a problem.
Practical implications
At a time when market pressure is compelling Mainland Chinese 3PL providers to upgrade and expand service offerings, 3PLs with a strong customer orientation create significant value for customers through superior execution on key elements of logistics service.
Originality/value
The paper responds to calls for additional theoretically driven assessment of market orientation in logistics service provider firms by identifying explicit behavioral manifestations of 3PL customer orientation that enhance customer firm logistics performance.
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This paper uses content analysis to compare International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)1 with the Local Accounting Standards (LAS) of South Africa (SA), Mauritius and…
Abstract
This paper uses content analysis to compare International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)1 with the Local Accounting Standards (LAS) of South Africa (SA), Mauritius and Tanzania. It begins by identifying the equivalence of the local accounting standards of these three countries with IFRS and follows with a content analysis of the definition of terms, accounting treatment and disclosure requirements in the standards. The contents of these three items in each of these countries’ standards are compared with those in the IFRS. A score card is used to record the level of harmony between the LAS and IFRS of each country and between the LAS of each country. The score is compared by running statistical test of significant difference using Wilcoxon Matched Paired test. The paper reports that, except for Tanzania, the local accounting standards of the two other countries are more or less similar to IFRS. As regards the level of harmony between the local accounting standards and IFRS, the score card reveals that the accounting standards of SA are more in harmony with IFRS, followed by Mauritius. A lead table is produced at the end.