Search results

We model the interaction between a profit-maximizing firm and an activist using an infinite-horizon dynamic stochastic game. The firm enhances its reputation through “self-regulation”: voluntary provision of an abatement activity that reduces a negative externality. We show that in equilibrium the externality-reducing activity is subject to decreasing marginal returns, which can cause the firm to “coast on its reputation,” that is, decrease the level of externality-reducing activity as its reputation grows. The activist, which benefits from increases in the externality-reducing activity, can take two types of action that can harm the firm’s reputation: criticism, which can impair the firm’s reputation on the margin, and confrontation, which can trigger a crisis that may severely damage the firm’s reputation. The activist changes the reputational dynamics of the game by tending to keep the firm in reputational states in which it is highly motivated to invest in externality-reducing activity. Criticism and confrontational activity are shown to be imperfect substitutes. The more patient the activist or the more passionate it is about externality reduction, the more likely it is to rely on confrontation. The more patient the firm and the more important corporate citizenship is to firm’s brand equity, the more likely that it will be targeted by an activist that relies on confrontation.

A large literature studies why firms self-regulate and “signal green.” However, it has ignored that regulators have enforcement discretion, and may act strategically. We fill this gap. We build a game theoretic model of whether a firm should signal its type through substantial self-regulation. We find self-regulation is a double-edged sword: it can potentially preempt legislation, but it can also lead regulators to demand higher levels of compliance from greener firms if preemption fails. We show how self-regulatory decisions depend upon industry characteristics and political responsiveness to corporate environmental leadership. We have made a number of simplifying assumptions. We assume activist groups cannot challenge regulatory flexibility in court, and that regulatory penalties are fixed and are not collected by the regulator. Firms with low compliance costs confront a tradeoff regarding self-regulation. They can blend in with the rest of the industry, and take few self-regulatory steps. This reduces the risk of regulation somewhat, and preserves their ability to obtain regulatory flexibility should regulation be imposed. Alternatively, they can step up with substantial self-regulation. This better mitigates the risk of regulation, but at the risk of signaling low costs and becoming a target for stringent enforcement should regulation pass. Recent work has found negative market reactions to corporate claims of voluntary emissions reductions, despite the conventional wisdom that it “pays to be green.” We offer a new explanation to scholars and managers: regulatory discretion may undermine the ability of industry self-regulation to profitably preempt mandatory regulatory requirements.

The purpose of this study was to identify and determine the best fit model of triple bottom line (TBL) performance. Particularly, it delved into the interrelationships among variables which include sustainable management practices, strategic orientation and organizational culture on TBL performance. This study employed descriptive-correlation technique using Structural Equation Modeling. Data were sourced by administering survey questionnaires to 400 individuals performing key functions among large manufacturing companies operating in Region XII, Philippines. Results displayed that sustainable management practices, strategic orientation and organizational culture positively and significantly correlated with TBL performance. Structural Model 4, which depicted the direct causal relationships of sustainable management practices and organizational culture to TBL performance of large manufacturing companies, satisfied all the indices used and was found to be the best fit model. Finally, this study adds value to a growing body of literature viewing TBL through the lens of corporate sustainability.

Feng found that political institutions (operationalized in terms of political repression, political instability and policy uncertainty) do matter for economic growth by constraining individuals’ decisions in their marketplace (Feng, 2003, p. 296). Political stability is also an important element among the World Governance Indicators developed by Kaufmann et al. as part of the World Bank project to assess good governance in 1996. Economic well-being is also dependent on political stability and consistency in governance policy. Loss of economic and political confidence is therefore accepted as a factor affecting economic well-being of a society. How far these hypotheses are supported or negated by evidence from Northeast region of India that has witnessed insurgency for six decades now is the object of enquiry in this chapter. Alongside pure economic indicators such as Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) and FDI, this article looks at the play of political factors like stability of governments in the representative democratic paradigm sanctioned by the Constitution of India in the Northeastern states of India during the decade 2006–2016.

The extant literature provides much-needed support to understand marketing accountability and how marketing actions are related to financial performance (FP). However, we have limited understanding of the relationships between marketing actions and firms' social performance (SP) and environmental performance (EP). Understanding these links is critical to enhancing sustainable FP, SP, and EP. Moreover, the literature provides limited understanding of the measures by which SP and EP may be operationalized, or the data necessary to reach a conclusion. This study bridges these gaps by extensively reviewing the extant literature to offer a set of measures and data sources to operationalize SP and EP, and empirically show their relationships with marketing actions. We find that greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, environmental disclosure score, waste reduction, energy consumption, and recycling are prominent measures of EP, and that social disclosure score, philanthropy or community spending, and diversity of gender and race are prominent measures of SP. The KLD, ASSET4, and Bloomberg are prominent sources of data that can be used to operationalize SP, to which CDP may be added for EP. We also show that marketing actions positively affect EP and SP. This study contributes to the extant literature on SP and EP by identifying measures and data sources and linking marketing actions to both performance types. It contributes to policy development by identifying the importance of EP and SP and how marketing actions can help achieve such performance.

Given the rising need for measuring and controlling of financial risk as proposed in Basel II and Basel III Capital Adequacy Accords, trading risk assessment under illiquid market conditions plays an increasing role in banking and financial sectors, particularly in emerging financial markets. The purpose of this chapter is to investigate asset liquidity risk and to obtain a Liquidity-Adjusted Value at Risk (L-VaR) estimation for various equity portfolios. The assessment of L-VaR is performed by implementing three different asset liquidity models within a multivariate context along with GARCH-M method (to estimate expected returns and conditional volatility) and by applying meaningful financial and operational constraints. Using more than six years of daily return dataset of emerging Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stock markets, we find that under certain trading strategies, such as short selling of stocks, the sensitivity of L-VaR statistics are rather critical to the selected internal liquidity model in addition to the degree of correlation factors among trading assets. As such, the effects of extreme correlations (plus or minus unity) are crucial aspects to consider in selecting the most adequate internal liquidity model for economic capital allocation, especially under crisis condition and/or when correlations tend to switch sings. This chapter bridges the gap in risk management literatures by providing real-world asset allocation tactics that can be used for trading portfolios under adverse markets’ conditions. The approach to computing L-VaR has been arrived at through the application of three distinct liquidity models and the obtained results are used to draw conclusions about the relative liquidity of the diverse equity portfolios.

Introduction: The internet of things (IoT) is the emerging technology of interconnected objects that can be termed as ‘things’ used to exchange data, connecting with different devices on the internet. It is the future where connected devices are controlled remotely. The insurance sector is one of the leading industries providing financial protection services to their customers to recover losses. Like others, the insurance industry uses the services very efficiently to solve their customer-centric problems and provide the best services to them. IoT in insurance is enhancing customer services.

Purpose: To determine how the insurance industry utilises the different IoT technologies to provide the best services and solutions to their users. The insurance sector is working on other areas of expertise to offer outstanding facilities to their clientele.

Methodology: We reviewed published material covering five years on IoT and insurance and customer services in the media, newspapers, journal publications, and the web. We determined how the insurance sector adapted the new terminology to contribute its best services to the users.

Findings: We observed that IoT services and technologies benefit the insurance industry and the clientele. This shows excellent results in the growth of the sector and heightened facilities for the consumers.

With the increasing understanding of stakeholders on sustainability aspects for the business, companies are nowadays paying more attention to environmental and social issues. This study aims to examine the relationship between Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) Index and firms’ value. Moreover, this study also examines how the controversy score influences the company’s value. The authors employ a dataset of 1.356 companies from 22 countries in Asia which representing the Asian market from 2014 to 2018. This study shows that ESG index score and controversy score are statistically significant, affecting the firms’ value, measured by Tobin’s Q. From the individual tests, the findings of this study indicate that ESG-environmental, ESG-social, and ESG-governance, individually affect the firms’ value. This study suggests that providing disclosure on ESG aspects is essential, not only to increase company value but also to show the company resilience and sustainability. On the other hand, ESG controversy score surprisingly indicates a positive relationship with the company value. The result implies that controversies provide a positive signal to the investor because controversies could provide a signal to the public of companies’ willingness to have transparency and accountability.