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This study aims to review the computational framework of SDGs in India, so that a mid-course correction can be contemplated.

This study deploys, inter alia, econometric analysis to probe the robustness of indicators of SDG India Index 3.0. Methodologically, the study intensively probes the robustness of SDG India index and extensively refers to the global SDG indexes for cross-checking.

Though the three editions of SDGI index mark significant efforts taken towards measuring the progress of SDGs in India, the paradigm suffers from the problem of too many indicators chasing only few targets, quantitative and qualitative issues with indicators, vintage pollution, partial coverage of targets and robustness issues.

This study has the limitation that it could not check the robustness of SDG scores with different weights assigned to indicators and future researchers can take up that interesting assignment.

Since measuring the SDG progress through SDG index is a global endeavour, the findings of this study are important for almost all countries of the world, as it is still not too late to do mid-course correction because it is not the measurement that matters at the end of the day, rather it is the outcome of sustainable development that every country cares about.

The obfuscation of layers of SDG index in crafty, glossy and power-point-presentation-oriented SDG reports should get the reality check through such review of the computational framework of SDGs.

This is the first study that unpacks the layers of SDG index computation in general and comprehensively reviews the Indian SDG indexing method in particular.

This study aims to address the issue of random movement and non coordination between docking mechanisms and locking mechanisms, and proposes a comprehensive dynamic docking control architecture that integrates perception, planning, and motion control.

Firstly, the proposed dynamic docking control architecture uses laser sensors and a charge-coupled device camera to perceive the pose of the target. The sensor data are mapped to a high-dimensional potential field space and fused to reduce interference caused by detection noise. Next, a new potential function based on multi-dimensional space is developed for docking path planning, which enables the docking mechanism based on Stewart platform to rapidly converge to the target axis of the locking mechanism, which improves the adaptability and terminal docking accuracy of the docking state. Finally, to achieve precise tracking and flexible docking in the final stage, the system combines a self-impedance controller and an impedance control algorithm based on the planned trajectory.

Extensive simulations and experiments have been conducted to validate the effectiveness of the dynamic docking system and its control architecture. The results indicate that even if the target moves randomly, the system can successfully achieve accurate, stable and flexible dynamic docking.

This research can provide technical guidance and reference for docking task of unmanned vehicles under the ground conditions. It can also provide ideas for space docking missions, such as space simulator docking.

This paper aims to explore the development of investment decision tools by understanding the rationality behind the disposition effect. We suspect that not all disposition decisions are irrational. The decisions should be evaluated based on the bounded rationality of the individuals’ target and tolerance level, which is not covered in previous literature. Adding the context of individual preference (target and tolerance) in their decision could improve the classic measurement of disposition effect.

The laboratory web experiment is prepared to collect the responses in holding and selling the stocks within 14 days. Two groups of Gen Z investors are observed. The control group makes a decision based on their judgment without any system recommendation. In contrast, the second group gets help inputting their target and tolerance. Furthermore, the framing effect is also applied as a reminder of their target and tolerance to induce more holding decisions on gain but selling on loss.

The framing effect is adequate to mitigate the disposition effect but only at the early day of observation. Bounded rationality explains the rationality of liquidating the gain because the participants have reached their goal. The framing effect is not moderated by days to affect the disposition effect; over time, the disposition effect tends to be higher. A new measurement of the disposition effect in the context of bounded rationality is better than the original disposition effect coefficient.

Gen Z investors need a system aid to help their investment decisions set their target and tolerance to mitigate the disposition effect. Investment firms can make a premium feature based on real-time market data for investors to manage their assets rationally in the long run. Bounded rationality theory offers more flexibility in understanding the gap between profit maximization and irrational decisions in behavioral finance. The government can use this finding to develop a suitable policy and ecosystem to help beginner investors understand investment risk and manage their assets based on subjective risk tolerance.

The classic Proportion Gain Realized (PGR) and Proportion Loss Realized (PLR) measurements cannot accommodate several contexts of users’ targets and tolerance in their choices, which we argue need to be re-evaluated with bounded rationality. Therefore, this article proposed new measurements that account for the users’ target and tolerance level to evaluate the rationality of their decision.

This experiment examines targeted public diplomacy message effects during a crisis, focusing on effects of whether such messages provide a targeted solidarity call that build a sense of common purpose by comparing the other country’s past crises to Ukraine’s current crisis.

Using an experiment, this study investigates whether such targeting in Zelensky’s speeches increased foreign public policy support for Ukraine, the perceived agenda importance of the war and Ukraine’s legitimacy.

The results found that a targeted solidarity call in public diplomacy messages during an international crisis helps gain foreign public policy support. However, it does not significantly impact the perceived agenda importance and the country’s legitimacy.

There has been a lack of studies on whether targeted messaging is more effective than nontargeted one in public diplomacy literature. The study’s result implies that the inclusion of a solidarity call in public diplomacy messaging is more effective in achieving its strategic goal of receiving aid. This study, therefore, empirically answers the remaining question about the effectiveness of targeted messaging in public diplomacy and advances. It also advances theoretical connections among solidarity, targeted messaging and public diplomacy.

We empirically investigate the hypothesis that the less transparent (more difficult to value) the target’s assets are the more likely it is that the acquiring firm can obtain higher short- and long-term returns. We analyze a sample of 1,538 friendly acquisitions partitioned in two separate dimensions: acquisitions of public versus private firms, and acquisitions of a firm’s assets versus acquisitions of a firm’s assets and its management. Using a sample of (nondiversifying) real estate transactions with a public REIT as the acquirer, we find that acquisitions of public firms have insignificant short-term abnormal returns. Acquisitions of private targets have positive and significant short-term abnormal returns. The acquirer’s abnormal returns are higher in both cases when the transactions involve acquisition of the target firm’s management. We find parallel results when analyzing the acquirer’s Q over the merger year and the three following years. Our conclusions are robust to the type of financing (cash, stock, or a combination) used in the acquisition.

We examine the market valuation of targets with multiple large shareholders (MLS) and single large shareholder (SLS) structures, in an international sample of M&A announcement in 19 countries outside North America. We find that the presence and power of MLS in these firms are negatively associated with abnormal returns and first-bid-to-merger-completion returns, suggesting that MLS mitigate agency problems in the target, and hence their acquisition is perceived as “a loss of good governance.” The negative association between MLS targets and returns is stronger in widely held firms suggesting that MLS indeed curb expropriation of minority shareholders. By contrast, when the second largest shareholder in the MLS structure of the target is a family, we find positive cumulative abnormal returns at the merger announcement, suggesting exacerbated agency problems in these firms that should benefit from the “acquisition of good governance.” Our evidence is robust to a battery of tests and to addressing potential endogeneity.

We consider conditions under which firms hire an intermediary advisor in acquisition deals. Although acquirers pay large advisory fees to investment banks for their assistance in acquisitions, we know little about the conditions under which acquirers form a relationship with an investment bank for an acquisition deal. Specifically, we examine the role of overall acquisition experience, acquisition experience specific to the target’s industry, prior relationship-specific experience, and deal size in relationship formation and continuation. We test their hypotheses using a dataset of US-based acquirers and targets between 1991 and 2015. Our findings provide nuanced insights into the role of acquisition experience for acquirer–investment bank pairing up on acquisition deals.

We explore the impact of equity liquidity on a firm’s dynamic leverage adjustments and the moderating impacts of leverage deviation and target instability on the link between equity liquidity and dynamic leverage in the UK market.

In applying the two-step system GMM, we estimate our model by exploring suitable instruments for the dynamic variable(s), i.e. lagged values of the dynamic term(s).

Our analyses document that a firm’s equity liquidity has a positive impact on the speed of adjustment (SOA) of its leverage ratio back to the target ratio in the UK market. We also demonstrate that the positive relationship between liquidity and SOA is more pronounced for firms whose current position is relatively close to their target leverage ratio and whose target ratio is relatively stable.

This study provides important implications for both firms’ managers and investors. Particularly, firms’ managers who wish to increase the leverage SOA to enhance firms’ value need to give great attention to their equity liquidity. Investors who want to evaluate firms’ performance could also consider their equity liquidity and leverage SOA.

We are the first to enrich the literature on leverage adjustments by identifying equity liquidity as a new determinant of SOA in a single developed country with many differences in the structure and development of capital markets, ownership concentration and institutional characteristics. We also provide new empirical evidence of the joint effect of equity liquidity, leverage deviation and target instability on leverage SOA.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the extent to which a sample of US-based higher education institution’s (HEI’s) climate targets and associated climate action planning efforts align with the definitions of and practices associated with science-based targets (SBTs) that are typically used to organize corporate climate efforts. This analysis will be used to explore similarities and tease out differences between how US-based HEIs and corporations approach sustainable target setting and organize sustainable action.

The degree of intersection between a sample of HEI climate action plans from Ivy Plus (Ivy+) schools and the current SBT initiative (SBTi) general corporate protocol was assessed by using an objective-oriented evaluative approach.

While there were some areas of overlap between HEI’s climate action planning and SBTi’s general corporate protocol – for instance, the setting of both short- and long-term targets and large-scale investments in renewable energy – significant areas of difference in sampled HEIs included scant quantitative Scope 3 targets, the use offsets to meet short-term targets and a low absolute annual reduction of Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

This paper unites diverse areas of literature on SBTs, corporate sustainability target setting and sustainability in higher education. It provides an overview of the potential benefits and disadvantages of HEIs adopting SBTs and provides recommendations for the development of sector-specific SBTi guidelines.

Technology acquisition is a common phenomenon of acquiring external knowledge, but we have a limited understanding of conditions in which the acquirer integrates the target or not. On one hand, the acquirer may have a policy to integrate the target to benefit from its prior knowledge. On the other hand, the target may face challenges in continuing its knowledge creation and the acquirer may want to provide it autonomy to not disrupt it. This paper aims to identify conditions in which targets tend to be less integrated after acquisitions, allowing them to maintain more autonomy and contribute more to knowledge creation.

We test our arguments in the empirical setting of the global biopharmaceutical industry using a difference-in-difference approach on a longitudinal dataset of matched patents. We examine self-cites received by patents belonging to acquirers and the targets before and after the acquisitions.

We find that, on average, the targets’ prior patents do not receive more self-cites after the acquisition. We conclude that this is because their R&D activities are disrupted, suggesting a higher level of post-acquisition integration. However, more nuanced findings reveal that it may not be the case all the time. When the target has more research experience, is international or is specialized in complementary technologies, prior patents of targets continue to receive more self-cites after the acquisition. It indicates that the targets in such conditions continue knowledge creation, suggesting a lower level of post-acquisition integration.

Our findings contribute to post-acquisition integration research. While post-acquisition integration downside is common, we present conditions in which such a downside may be less likely. We highlight that the context of an acquisition may be an important determinant of the extent of integration of the target. Moreover, we supplement the integration research (cultural, structural and human resource and leadership perspectives of integration) by adding a knowledge-based perspective to it. Such dynamics have important implications for acquirers and targets in deriving value from the acquisition.