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In 2009, Newsweek published a report in which they ranked the 500 largest US companies and the 100 largest global companies based on its environmental performance measures (http://greenrankings2009.newsweek.com/). This ranking is referred to as Newsweek’s Green Ranking. Included in this ranking is information about water and air pollution, solid waste disposal, toxic wastes, carbon emissions, and enforcement actions. The question we are addressing in this study is how well it measures pollution performance? The question is relevant to environmental accounting/reporting since it is part of a dilemma yet to be answered: Aggregated environmental indices/scores are easy for average information users to percept, while specific information may not be preserved when it is aggregated into the overall score(s).

Specifically, we examine whether Newsweek’s Green Ranking is correlated with pollution measures based on Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) in order to determine how valid or reliable Newsweek’s Green Ranking is – in other words, how much Newsweek’s Green Ranking can explain the pollution by the toxic releases. We find that there is no significant correlation between Newsweek’s Green Ranking and the TRI measures except for the firms in the utilities industry. Concluding that on one measure, which we consider a very important one, there is no justification for the overall Green Ranking Score presented by Newsweek. However, in Newsweek’s three-part score the element that is termed the Environmental Impact Score captures pollution performance measured based on TRI. The contrast between the overall ranking and performance ranking indicates that a composite index that incorporates hard performance and soft measures can dilute the information carried by performance data.

Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on work and employment in contemporary organizations. Covers the human resource management implications of organizational responses to globalization. Examines the theoretical, methodological, empirical and comparative issues pertaining to competitiveness and the management of human resources, the impact of organisational strategies and international production on the workplace, the organization of labour markets, human resource development, cultural change in organisations, trade union responses, and trans‐national corporations. Cites many case studies showing how globalization has brought a lot of opportunities together with much change both to the employee and the employer. Considers the threats to existing cultures, structures and systems.

Reveals the possible influence of trichloroethylene (TRI) and tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene, PER) via drinking water on the body burden resulting from a study of 55 subjects with no known solvent exposure, selected from the residents of the city of Zagreb. TRI and PER were determined in blood and their metabolite trichloroacetic acid (TCA) in plasma and urine. Drinking water samples were also analysed for TRI and PER. TRI concentrations in the blood ranged from <0.015‐0.09 μg/L, PER <0.010‐0.239 μg/L, TCA in plasma 8.6‐123.97 μg/L, in urine 1.67‐85.18 μg/24 h, TRI in drinking water 2.58‐22.93 μg/L and PER 0.63‐7.33 μg/L. Correlation analyses reveal significant relationships between TRI and PER in blood (r = 0.428; p = 0.0014), TRI and PER in drinking water (r = 0.767; p = 0.0000), TCA in urine and TCA in plasma (r = 0.629; p = 0.0000), ln TRI in drinking water and ln TCA in plasma (r = 0.322; p = 0.0164) and urine (r = 0.348; p = 0.0093), ln PER in drinking water and ln TCA in plasma (r = 0.370; p = 0.0055) and urine (r = 0.345; p = 0.0098). The latter quantitative relationships between both ln TRI and ln PER in drinking water relate to ln TCA in plasma and urine and may indicate TCA as a possible biologic marker of environmental exposure to TRI and PER.

The study aims to evaluate the informational value to investors of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) as an external outcome measure of corporate environmental performance. Emphasis is placed on the market response differences between three highly polluting industries.

The study uses pooled cross‐sectional, time‐series data and an event study methodology to examine the effects of TRI emissions on abnormal market returns.

There is empirical evidence that market reactions to TRI emissions information vary by industry. Investors reward decreases in emissions in the electric utility industry, but do not penalize increases. In the chemical industry, increases in emissions are penalized, but decreases are not rewarded. Models do not capture any reaction to emissions changes in the pulp and paper industry. These results may be explained by the significant difference between industries in the US percentage of total firm sales.

This research analyzes only data from US firms in three industries and evaluates a single measure of environmental performance, TRI. The value of TRI information is measured for one stakeholder group. Future research should attempt to address these limitations.

The results suggest that research on the effects of environmental performance on market‐based measures should estimate models by industry, whenever possible. From a public policy perspective, the results suggest that regulators may want to consider alternative methods of reducing chemical emissions beyond TRI disclosure in the chemicals and pulp and paper industries.

The study distinguishes between the value of TRI as a “message service” and the content of the “message”. TRI may provide information of value to investors, but performance changes may not be sufficient to merit a price response. The study also specifically addresses industry differences and clearly shows how average coefficients can be misleading relating to this one environmental performance indicator. The use of pooled industry coefficients may lead to inefficient resource allocation decisions within industries and ineffective policies at the regulatory level.

This article’s indented contribution is to provide novel theoretical insights and empirical observations on “who gets what” in the way of incomes, including wages. The article challenges the conventional wisdom about stratification, especially power and status, as an outcome or function of economic distribution. It posits that income distribution is conditional on pre‐existing social stratification expressed in antecedent differences in class, power, status and related factors.

With increased recognition of the existence of emotions in everyday interpersonal interactions, the need for emotions in cross‐cultural interactions has become more obvious. Emotions play an important role in cross‐cultural expatriate interactions as these experiences are essentially social encounters. Yet, little research addresses the emotions felt and the emotional demands involved in the cross‐cultural interaction. Research on expatriate experiences centres solely on the cross‐cultural training, sensitivity, and adaptability of expatriates. What fails to be addressed, however, is the emotional aspect of this interaction. In this paper, we examine the cross‐cultural expatriate experience, integrating both the cultural and emotional aspects of the interaction. In doing so, we aim to advance understanding of the expatriate experience and the potential reasons underlying expatriate success and failure.

The purpose of this paper is to replicate and refine Parasuraman's 36‐item technology readiness index (TRI) across contexts and cultures to enhance its applicability and generalizability for both researchers and practitioners.

Based on psychometric procedures of scale development, four separate research phases, each one building on the previous, are performed using several samples. Measurement invariance analyses are performed across demographics, industries, and cultures to ascertain the stability of the refined versus the original scale.

A refined 16‐item TRI scale demonstrates sound psychometric properties based on findings from various reliability and validity tests, as well as scale replications employing several samples. The four dimensions remain stable across techniques and samples, while the utility of the refined scale increases due to ease of application. Measurement invariance analyses across demographic groups, industries, and cultures provide further support for the superior stability of the refined TRI.

Assessment of TRI across different contexts and cultures enhances validity, utility, and generalizability by reducing the number of items, building a nomological network, and verifying stability.

Service firms should pay more attention to measurement of customers' technology readiness. For both researchers and practitioners, the refined 16‐item scale benefits from reduced complexity and enhanced utility of TRI across contexts and cultures. Service managers will find the refined TRI less complicated and easier to apply in customer surveys, which greatly benefits service firms attempting to better understand customers' TR when implementing self‐service technologies.

Replication and cross‐validation of new concepts play a valuable role in determining the scope and limit of empirical research findings; they allow researchers to demonstrate how broadly and in what circumstances such concepts can be used. While Parasuraman calls for studies to assess the generalizability of the TRI scale, the current lack of support for TRI's generalizability is an important gap that needs to be addressed. The current study fills that gap, increasing the applicability and generalizability of the TRI scale through refinement, replication and validation across several samples, contexts, and cultures.

This paper presents the outcomes of a study of the choice of location for distribution centres in logistics operations. A conceptual frame work of location selection for distribution centre is worked out through three main stages. At the first stage, a general geographical area for distribution centre is identified based on the Centre of Gravity principle, taking into consideration socio‐economic factors. The second stage of the selection process involves the identification of alternative locations for the distribution centre and the airports and seaports to be used for in bound and out bound cargo flows within the defined general geographical area. The third stage focuses on specific site selection among the identified alternative locations for the distribution centre based on the quantitative approach. This involves a mathematical model which aims to optimise either the total distribution cost or the integration of total distance transport with given relevant volumes of cargo. In order to illustrate the conceptual frame work, a case study of a logistics service provider will be provided. Data from the case study proved that the conceptual framework for selection is valid and can be of value to logistics companies in their operations and management.

Purpose – State and national environmental justice (EJ) programs have expanded in recent years to address new risks and challenges. Several programs including the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Environmental Justice Small Grants (EJSG) program have helped to facilitate this growth. Since 1994, more than 1,000 small grants have been awarded through the EJSG to support communities in developing solutions to local environmental and public health problems. This chapter evaluates the collective impact of these investments.

Design/methodology/approach – Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map the locations of EJSG funds relative to data from the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), this chapter addresses two main questions. First, are grants being awarded to the types of communities (low-income, minority areas facing major environmental hazards) intended to be served by the program? Second, have there been any significant environmental changes in EJSG areas since the start of the program?

Findings – Results of county-level spatial analysis reveal that EJ grants are only in part being awarded to minority or low-income counties facing higher than the national average TRI releases and that average toxic releases have increased significantly in EJSG counties in some EPA regions relative to non-EJSG counties.

Originality/value – These results and the novel application of mapping methods to tracking small grants allocations highlight the need for systematic EJ program evaluation and coordination.