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Working from home (homeworking) is currently a much discussed topic and an area of working life that is already becoming a standard issue for employees. Homeworking (HW) provides employees with a very important degree of flexibility and freedom in their work organization and thus represents an important management tool for an effective work-life balance. The ability to work from home has proved essential in the face of the two-year Covid-19 pandemic, which has confronted the whole world and especially business managers. A whole range of work (especially administrative work) moved to employees' homes very quickly. Homeworking has also become very widespread due to better IT support and online communication capabilities in most businesses and is poised to become even more prevalent in the future. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the aspects that influence the adoption of HW in the Czech Republic and to describe the different perceptions of HW depending on the size of the enterprise. The research was conducted towards the end of 2020 during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The authors managed to collect data from 216 enterprises through a questionnaire survey. Managers as the Covid-19 crisis, the nature of HW-enabling work and the possibility of working most frequently cited the main reasons for HW adoption during light sickness. Important aspects influencing the adoption of HW from managers' perspectives include the possibility of working in light sickness, the required availability of employees, as well as employee satisfaction and flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The security architecture of modern networks undergoes periodic changes, given (i) the diversity of security solutions, (ii) the emergence of new attack vectors, and (iii) corporate needs in terms of access control (ZTNA: Zero Trust Network Access). The complexity of setting up a secure infrastructure lies in the design of the network architecture, on the one hand, and the choice of configurations appropriate to the company's security policy, on the other. Indeed, misconfiguration is considered a vulnerability, which makes the task of setting up a secure network somewhat critical, given the technical skills it requires. In this paper, we will address this problem by proposing a modern security architecture applied to all sizes of enterprises: medium-sized, large, and sometimes even small companies. Therefore, we will describe the equipment required and their roles in the security layer, the security technologies adopted, and best practices for optimal deployment. To evaluate our proposal, we generated malicious traffic using the firewall inspection tester based on the "fit.py" script to study the architecture's resilience and behavior in the face of multiple attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern networks no longer only require a good level of quality of service. Indeed, thanks to the powerful infrastructures of operators and the variety of bandwidth available to businesses, Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) is now a reality. For this reason, security is currently a major challenge for businesses of all sizes, because all corporate data is exchanged via this public infrastructure. The problem of choosing the right security attributes for a given company for a specific flow always remains a challenge for the research community. Companies are currently opting for multi-site architectures for several reasons, including established business-to-business, business-to-consumer, or business-to-government partnerships. Our article involves measuring the impact of the security layer on the performance of multi-site infrastructures by varying a combination of 1) the number of sites, 2) the encryption algorithms, 3) the hashing algorithms, 4) the key extraction algorithms, and 5) the nature of the traffic (real-time, elastic, network). The results obtained will enable a company to choose the attributes that offer the best indicators of quality of service, taking these different variables into account. For the experimental study to be valid, we took measurements on a connected campus of several sites using solutions from different manufacturers, namely Cisco and Fortinet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The successful implementation of Business Process Management (BPM) requires a holistic perspective. Previous studies have found that the adoption of BPM Methods (BPMM) indirectly contributes to Process Performance (PP) by building a culture that supports BPM. This study examines the mediating role of BPM Culture (BPMC) and the moderating role organization size on the Performance of BPMM and Processes in Situbondo Regency and Surabaya City. Surveys were designed and distributed to employees in each agency. The results are analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results reveal that organizational size also influences the BPMC relationship between BPMM and PP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to assess the readiness of Italian farms to actively engage in the journey of "Agriculture 4.0" (Agri 4.0). Specifically, the focus lies on analyzing the levels of knowledge and adoption of specific Agri 4.0 enabling solutions, while also considering the underlying business needs and the primary benefits of the paradigm. A descriptive survey was conducted involving 543 respondents associated with agricultural companies of varying sizes. The collected data was analyzed to address four specific research questions. The survey findings indicate that Italian farms are at different stages in their progression towards the Agri 4.0 paradigm, primarily influenced by their revenue and land size. Furthermore, notable similarities exist in both the benefits associated with adopting the Agri 4.0 paradigm and business needs that bring farmers in adopting such technologies. In terms of future research, conducting a similar study in other countries would be beneficial for comparative and benchmark analyses. Despite scholarly discussions regarding technology adoption and the benefits of the Agri 4.0 paradigm are present to the authors' knowledge few empirical surveys have been conducted thus far to evaluate the level of digital solution adoption in agriculture within a specific country. Specifically, this preliminary study follows research conducted two years ago, paving the way for a longitudinal comparison of the two datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the modern business world, where hybrid business processes are widespread, effective resource and operations management defines the success of companies. One of the most critical areas is logistics, which is a critical component for many organizations, regardless of size or industry. The management of logistics processes is becoming more complex every year, as the demands on the industry are becoming more complicated and today consists not only of efficiency issues but also of environmental friendliness, and globalization. In this situation, RPA technology is one of the main solutions, enabling companies to achieve new levels of efficiency, accuracy, and speed in managing warehouse processes. In this article, we will consider modern approaches to managing hybrid business processes using the example of warehouses and explore how RPA technology has become the main optimization tool. The paper observes specific examples of the use of RPA in the context of warehouse management, identifies the benefits and risks associated with automation, and defines the development prospects and future of this innovative technology in logistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The remote work model had been functioning before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the economic space regardless of the size of enterprises, however, its largest intensity was observed in large enterprises. Yet, its application scale was incomparably lower than the condition that was necessitated by the introduction of epidemiological isolation. The need for many employees to immediately switch to this model of working increased the likelihood of potential problems related to a proper level of digital competencies in utilising remote work tools. The aim of the article is to identify changes that have taken place in large enterprises as part of the use of tools for remote work at the time of COVID-19 pandemic. The authors refer to digital competencies of the executive staff in the scope of remote work and their experiences with the functioning of tools for this type of work. These issues have been analysed for the time before the pandemic and for the period of its duration. The authors have presented the results of the research conducted in Poland in 2022. They demonstrate that a vast majority of the executive staff in large enterprises worked remotely during the pandemic. A progress in the scope of digital competencies among the survey respondents has been recorded, which was driven by the necessity to move work into the remote space, and organising proper training in the enterprises. A significant group of the respondents indicates willingness to work in a hybrid mode when the pandemic finishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changing environment brings new challenges to businesses, while the development of ICT and digital innovations offer new opportunities for growth. The purpose of the article is to determine whether high uncertainty conditions in the environment make it difficult for companies to undertake innovative actions and whether companies change their innovation strategies. The situation of high environmental uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021) was adopted. The conducted research confirmed changes in digital innovation strategies in the majority of cases studied. The research showed that the tendency of companies to change their innovation strategy depends on the size of the company and the type of activity, but not on the years of operation and market scope. It was found that the innovation strategies of most companies were based on the use of modern information technologies. In this case, there is a correlation with the size of the company and market reach. The influence of variables such as the length of the company's presence on the market and the type of business activity was not confirmed. The most commonly implemented digital innovations were related to internet technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past several decades, the global economy has undergone a significant transformation, primarily driven by advancements in automation and robotics. This paper aims to examine recent progress in manufacturing automation and shed light on potential challenges that contribute to the observed disparities in automation adoption. Despite the limitations imposed by a lack of comprehensive statistical data, this analysis has yielded several significant insights. These include insufficient investment in automation, variations in enterprise size structure, and ongoing disparities in labor costs and productivity. Of these factors, the latter appears to be the primary obstacle to rapid industrial automation, as it encourages the reshoring of manufacturing operations to home countries and offshoring to medium- and low-income economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud computing is a solution of information systems that are more commonly used in the functioning and management of enterprises. The use of solutions offered as part of cloud computing facilitates and accelerates the implementation of business processes in the enterprise and affects how the main assumptions of the sustainable development concept are implemented. While initially, the enterprise's primary goal in cloud computing was its positive impact in terms of technology and economic aspects, nowadays, cloud computing solutions are more often considered in the context of sustainable development. The ecologic and social benefits of using cloud computing are often indicated. The scale and assessment of these benefits may differ depending on the size of the enterprise. Thus, this article's primary purpose is to identify significant differences in the assessment of the benefits achieved in terms of sustainable development related to the use of cloud computing in different sized enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of inland freight planning from the perspective of a medium size transport company operating in the EU market is studied. The authors embark on a path to put Information Technologies to work in order to reduce manual overhead and facilitate decision-making within this domain by algorithmically approximating the potential profitability of freight offers based on multiple criteria and shortlisting the most promising offers. Following the Design Science Research approach, the Proof of Concept of IT-enabled decision support solution for logistics companies is delivered and validated. Several strategies for choosing an offer among many for a truck with a given spatio-temporal location are investigated and compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the antecedents of cashless payment systems among businesses in Malaysia. The adoption of cashless payment systems by businesses has the potential to reduce the costs related to handling huge amounts of cash in the market and enhance transaction speed. Unfortunately, its current adoption in Malaysia is still small and very little is known about the factors. A seven-factor model based on the TOE framework was developed and tested. The partial least square (PLS) statistical approach was employed to analyze data collected from 200 business entities in Malaysia. The results reveal that compatibility and technology competence have higher significant relationships with the adoption of cashless payment systems. Management support, firm critical mass, competitive pressure, and information intensity are significantly related to the adoption of cashless payment systems, while firm size is not associated with it. The findings of this study provide significant practical implications for Malaysian stakeholders and technology vendors to recognize factors that affect a firm's adoption of cashless payment systems to support business transactions. By investigating the phenomenon through the TOE framework, this study presents an integrated model of cashless payment systems by businesses. Our findings also offer guidance for future application of the PLS method in cashless payment and related research. The paper provides a more holistic understanding of the factors influencing cashless payment systems among businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital transformation has profoundly influenced various socio-economic fields and induced retailing firms to utilize digital innovations to maximize business effectiveness in the digital era. The study aims to pinpoint the motivations for online retailing (ORE) adoption and business performance among Vietnamese businesses in the formative digital transformation stage within an extended technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework. The questionnaire-based data are accumulated for this study. Firm respondents are those who have used and increased their familiarity with ORE in Vietnam. All analysis is performed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results posit that important factors of technological context (i.e., relative advantage, compatibility, and observability), organizational context (i.e., top management support, entrepreneurial orientation, and technological orientation), and the environmental context (i.e., perceived trend, government support, and legal framework) substantially boost ORE adoption. Additionally, firm age is an essential control variable that strongly influences firms' engagement in ORE. Unexpectedly, firm size, competitive pressure, and control variable (i.e., number of employees) do not significantly affect ORE adoption. Besides, ORE adoption serves as an underlying motivation for business performance. Ultimately, theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to analyse the influence of frugal innovation on the sustainability performance of Mexican SMEs and evaluate the moderating effect of firm size. A quantitative, predictive, and cross-sectional research design was carried out through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM). Using a simple random sampling technique and a self-administered questionnaire to gather data from a sample of 225 business managers in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. The outcomes indicate that frugal innovation significantly contributes to sustainability performance. Moreover, the firm size plays a significant moderating role in the relationship between frugal innovation and sustainability performance, thus, when these types of firms achieve greater size, the relationship between frugal innovation and sustainability performance increases to the same extent as the size of the interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impact of company size on financial performance and company value, with a particular focus on the moderating role of IT innovation in the Indonesian commercial banking sector. Utilizing data from Category 4 commercial banks listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange from 2016 to 2022, the study employs the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method facilitated by the WarpPLS package to analyze these relationships. The results demonstrate that both company size significantly enhance financial performance and company value. Furthermore, IT innovation is found to significantly moderate these effects, amplifying the positive impacts on company value. Specifically, IT innovation strengthens the relationship between financial performance and company value, reflecting its crucial role in modern banking operations. This research provides empirical evidence on the strategic importance of IT innovation in enhancing financial determinants and offers recommendations for integrating technological advancements in banking strategies to improve overall performance and value. The findings underscore the transformative potential of IT innovation in the financial sector, particularly in emerging markets like Indonesia. Recommendations for future research include exploring the long-term impacts of IT innovation on banking performance and its broader economic implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the industrial chain ripple effect of ESG in upstream and downstream companies from the perspective of the entire industrial chain, utilizing data from Chinese A-share listed companies. The study reveals that the ESG performance of upstream and downstream companies significantly enhances the ESG performance of midstream focal companies within the industrial chain. The ripple effects of industrial chain ESG are more pronounced when the focal firm demonstrates financial stability, maintains geographic proximity to the upstream and downstream chains, possesses a larger firm size, or operates under private ownership. Further, the paper finds that corporate ESG initiatives exert industrial chain ripple effects through two channels: optimizing the matching of supply and demand between upstream and downstream companies and focal firms; and stabilizing the supply-demand relationship through interactions between focal firms and upstream and downstream entities. This study aims to elucidate the phenomenon of focal firms adopting ESG practices, and how it is affected by upstream and downstream entities within the industrial chain. It offers a novel perspective for fortifying the resilience of industrial chains against market uncertainties and disruption risks, thereby advancing the sustainable development of these chains. • Upstream and downstream firms' ESG significantly promotes midstream focus firms' ESG improvement in the industry chain. • Financially stable, adjacent to upstream and downstream firms, large-scale and privately owned firms are more affected. • Optimizing the matching of supply and demand and stabilizing the supply-demand relationship are two underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the relationship between functional subsidies, selective subsidies, and investment efficiency through meticulous compilation of information on government subsidies, and the implementation of an innovative categorization methodology based on the nature and timing of funds (ex-ante versus ex-post). Our findings suggest that the effects of subsidies exhibit asymmetry by alleviating underinvestment while exacerbating overinvestment, and functional subsidies exert a stronger influence compared to selective subsidies. Financial constraints are found to serve as the major mechanism, and firms with easier access to financing may not effectively utilize subsidies, while those facing severe financial constraints are less prone to misusing them. • We distinguish functional subsidies from selective subsidies through compilation of information on government subsidies. • Functional subsidies exert a stronger influence on investment efficiency compared to selective subsidies. • The effect of subsidies exhibit asymmetry by alleviating underinvestment while exacerbating overinvestment. • State ownership, firm size and dividend payments lead to heterogeneity in the effects of subsidies. • Corporate financial constraints serve as one of the mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud computing is now an increasingly common solution used by enterprises, regardless of their size or business profile. Cloud computing is a solution that measurably affects the company's operations, offering many benefits and solutions. As a result, more enterprises have decided to implement cloud computing, expecting many benefits from the acceleration of management processes or the convenience of activities carried out in the daily operations. Therefore, cloud computing is the subject of research in terms of its impact on the activities of enterprises. However, no analyzes have been carried out so far to illustrate the perception of various aspects of cloud computing depending on the size of enterprises. Thus, the article's primary goal is to identify significant differences in the perception of selected aspects of cloud computing by small and medium enterprises. For this purpose, the analyses carried out showed substantial differences in the perception of selected aspects of cloud computing by the surveyed groups of companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern enterprises base their operation on information systems, among which enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems play a key role. Of course, these are not universal systems, and factors such as company size and location play an important role in system selection and adoption. The aim of the article is to evaluate the ERP systems available on the Polish market, intended for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The assessment of the systems was based on a hierarchical structure of criteria relating to functionalities related to the management of production, procurement, distribution, sales, as well as analytical options and the possibility of adjusting the system. The tool used to compare individual systems was the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Additionally, thanks to the sensitivity analysis, the uncertainty of the weighting of criteria and sub-criteria was considered, taking into account the hierarchical structure. The undertaken actions allowed to indicate the systems of the highest utility, regardless of the applied criteria weights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing literature has shown that research-based spin-off firms usually exhibit lower death risks than other start-ups. However, few studies have focused on the survival determinants of these particular firms. From a matched employer-employee data set this paper fills in this gap by providing evidence using a sample of RBSOs created in Portugal from 1979 until 2007 and observed until 2012. Specifically, we use duration analysis – both accelerated failure time models and proportional hazard models - to investigate if firm characteristics and location characteristics play a role on these firms' survival. Results from the Weibull model show a positive impact of variables such as firm size and age on these firms' survival probability as well as the location of spin-offs in municipalities with high entry rates and low exit rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a conventional wisdom claims that larger firms perform better than smaller ones, the conclusions drawn by the literature are ambiguous. This study examines the effect of firm size on productivity, using a dataset on European electricity generators from 2012 to 2020. European electricity generation sectors are particularly interesting given the substantial liberalisations in the past decades and strong subsidisation of electricity generated from renewables. Next to estimating productivity of electricity generators and establishing a link between firm size and performance in this industry, the analysis allows for heterogeneity of impacts of firm size on productivity across various dimensions (e.g., regulation scheme, state ownership), as firm size may attenuate or fuel associated problems and benefits. Besides, it adds to the literature by investigating whether and how renewable subsidies impact reallocation from the technically less efficient to the more productive firms, since they often favour smaller generators in European countries that might be less productive. The overall results highlight that firm size significantly boosts firm performance. Effects, however, diminish with size. Last, renewable subsidies deteriorate allocative efficiency. Hence, renewable subsidies favouring smaller generators are at the cost of allocative efficiency. • The study estimates production functions for electricity generation companies. • It also analyses the firm size-performance relationship in this sector. • It allows for heterogeneity of impacts across various dimensions (e.g., state ownership). • Firm size is measured continuously, allowing to control for unobserved heterogeneity. • I examine the effect of renewable subsidies on reallocation from less to more productive companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, there is an increasing recognition of the value of eco-innovation in both academic and practical spheres. Establishing the connection between eco-innovation and corporate performance is highly important. This paper aimed to analyze the correlation between eco-innovation, corporate performance, and company size. To accomplish this goal, the paper collected unique data from 383 global non-financial companies using the Refinitiv Eikon database from 2013 to 2022. This paper uses fixed effect and (generalized method of moment) GMM techniques to overcome possible endogeneity concerns. The strong empirical results display a positive relationship between eco-innovation and corporate performance. Importantly, this paper discovered that the size of companies significantly magnifies the effect of eco-innovation on corporate performance. Our findings are still robust to endogeneity concerns. The results confirm that prioritizing eco-innovation can benefit larger companies in multiple ways, including boosting productivity, avoiding penalties, expanding into new markets, improving green image, and gaining a competitive edge, all of which ultimately enhance corporate performance. Additionally, the extensive evaluation by stakeholders enables these larger corporations to generate increased profits. This paper aims to contribute the innovation literature by exploring an under-explored topic using extensive panel data and offering practical guidance for non-financial firm stakeholders. The implications of the findings have various impacts on future research and policy development. Furthermore, this paper aims to assist policymakers in establishing impactful mechanisms and guidelines that foster ecologically conscious attitudes. The conclusion assists managers in grasping the importance of context-based eco-innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The benefits of research and development (R&D) investment extend beyond the undertaking firms and may impact the wider economy through spillovers. This study examines the effect of Multinational Companies (MNCs)' R&D intra-industrial spillovers on total factor productivity (TFP) using firm-level data from Indonesia between 2017 and 2019. To address the cross-sectional dependence, we employed a fixed-effects estimator with Driscoll and Kraay's (1998) standard errors. We also incorporate a cost-based approach with a weighting matrix that integrates human resources into R&D activities to capture the R&D intra-industrial spillover from foreign companies. The findings indicate that intra-industrial R&D spillovers from MNCs negatively impact TFP, suggesting product-market rivalry in the domestic market. Foreign and domestic firms operating in a subsector that relies on similar technologies compete to enhance productivity, resulting in business theft. Increasing firms' capability in human resource absorption, access to foreign inputs, firm size, and market concentration can improve TFP in manufacturing firms. This finding has policy implications for the proportions of R&D spending. The results also support the need to foster open innovation by creating an environment that encourages collaboration, skill development, and local innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study examined the impact of the Foundations for Safety Leadership (FSL) training by size of business. • The FSL training improves safety leadership outcomes regardless of the size company for which the leader worked. • However, those from small and medium sized companies reported the greatest improvement in their use of safety leadership skills. Introduction: The majority of construction companies are small businesses and small business often lack the resources needed to ensure that their supervisors have the safety leadership skills to build and maintain a strong jobsite safety climate. The Foundations for Safety Leadership (FSL) training program was designed to provide frontline leaders in all sized companies with safety leadership skills. This paper examines the impact of the FSL training by size of business. Methods: Leaders, defined as foremen or other frontline supervisors, from small, medium, and large construction companies were recruited to participate in a study to evaluate the degree to which the FSL changed their understanding and use of the leadership skills, safety practices and crew reporting of safety-related conditions. We used linear mixed modeling methods to analyze pre-post training survey data. Results: Prior to the training, leaders from small and medium sized companies reported using safety leadership skills less frequently than those from large ones. After the training, regardless of business size, we observed that the FSL training improved leaders understanding of safety leadership skills from immediately before to immediately after the training. Additionally, leaders reported greater use of safety leadership skills, safety practices, and crew reporting of safety-related conditions from before to two-weeks after the training. However, those from small and medium sized companies reported the greatest improvement in their use of safety leadership skills. Conclusions: The FSL training improves safety leadership outcomes regardless of the size company for which the leader worked. However, the FSL may be even more effective at improving the safety leadership skills of leaders working for smaller sized construction companies or those with lower baseline levels of safety leadership skills. Practical applications: The majority of construction companies employ a small number of employees and therefore may not have the resources to provide their frontline leaders with the leadership training they need to be effective leaders who can create a strong jobsite safety climate. The Foundations for Safety Leadership (FSL) training can help fill this gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open Innovation becomes one of the most important concepts very discussed in these 16 years. This paradigm introduced in 2003 by Chesbrough has been applied in various fields, principally the different size firms. It has become one of the interesting topics in innovation management. The principle of this concept is based on sharing and collaboration. In this work, we analyze the state of the art of the Open Innovation concept and we present a bibliometric study and analysis from 2003 to 2019. The information for analysis in this research was obtained from the SCOPUS database that contains the information developed by Elsevier [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and medium industries (SMEs) savings analysis can help to reduce energy consumptions and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and support the individual company to make a better decision to improve facility energy performance. The main idea was to get enough data to recreate simple Excel-based tool so that SMEs could conduct quick energy and GHG emission benchmarking and to come up with potential savings by using their utility bills and plant specifications. Having such knowledge will help these industries to promote energy efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness in their operation. Energy consumption data of eleven companies have been collected and analyzed. The methodology involves energy benchmarking, separation of process and seasonal energy consumptions, heating degree days estimation, normalized annual energy consumption, and normalized process and seasonal energy consumptions. The leading performance indicator was identified energy intensity of oven. It was estimated, the energy intensity of bake ovens varies from 24 m3/ft3 to 30 m3/ft3, while the energy intensities of ovens with finishing process varies from 8 m3/ft3 to 36 m3/ft3. Potential savings can be realized from retrofits such as the addition of a VFD controller (exhaust loss), insulation (shell loss). Depending on the investment and the type of estimated retrofits, the return on investment can be realized in less than a year or up to ten years. It was also noted that by optimizing production scheduling; 8%–69% of energy consumption could be saved by proper shut-down and scheduling the non-production hours. Flow diagram of research program to investigate energy-saving opportunities of SMEs in the GTA. Image 1092 • Small and Medium Enterprises energy analysis, performance indicators, and savings potential. • Methodology involves heating degree days, normalized annual process and energy consumptions. • The observed energy intensity of ovens varies from 24 m3/ft3 to 30 m3/ft3 (and 8 m3/ft3 to 36 m3/ft3). • Savings can be realized from retrofits of a VFD controller (exhaust loss), insulation (shell loss). • Natural gas savings from the facilities processing varies from 19% to 53%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global businesses are facing increasingly significant climate risks. Firms with ESG controversies will likely suffer from higher financing costs and inadequate investment capability, leading to investment inefficiency. We use a newly introduced ESG Controversy Score database to investigate the relationship between ESG controversies and corporate investment efficiency. The results show that ESG controversies significantly reduces firms' overall investment efficiency, and such adverse impact is manifest in underinvestment inefficiency. Further analysis indicates that such a negative effect is more pronounced in firms with larger size and higher analyst coverage. Our findings highlight the significant role of ESG misbehaviour in corporate sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few years, there has been increasing awareness regarding the significance of the Green Innovation Strategy (GIS) in the academic and practical fields. Hence, it becomes important to determine the correlation between the GIS and the Corporate Financial Performance (CFP). This study attempted to determine the dynamic correlation between the GIS and the CFP, with regards to the firm size. For this purpose, this study has collected data for 163 international automotive firms, from the CSRHub database, for the period ranging between 2011 and 2017. Furthermore, we also used the dynamic panel data system, i.e., the Generalised Method of Moment (GMM) method, for estimating this relationship. The empirical results indicated that the GIS positively affected the CFP. Interestingly, we also uncovered that the firm size moderated the negative correlation between the GIS and the CFP. The small-sized firms showed higher green innovation investments return than the larger-sized firms, which indicated that these smaller firms were more prone to seek variation and visibility, for accessing better resources. Furthermore, due to the extensive scrutiny of the stakeholders, these small firms could generate higher profits. The implications for managers and the theories in this regard are then discussed. • The relationship between firm-level green innovation strategy and corporate financial performance is investigated. • Green innovation strategy interacts with firm size to affect organisational performance. • The paper controlled for endogeneity that emerges from unobservable heterogeneity of firms using the dynamic method of moments estimator. • Green innovation strategy shows significant positive effect on corporate financial performance. • The small-sized firms shown GIS than the larger-sized firms, which more inclined to pursue variation and visibility, for accessing better resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies and analyzes the key factors of the sectoral structure of ownership, the effect of the CEO and competition between owners at the sub-sectoral level and the size of the business. Based on an example of the manufacturing and construction sectors we show a positive effect on the company's financial stability of the share ownership of the CEO (in comparison with average sectoral share). We also show that in the case of a more uniform distribution of property between the owners, a positive effect is achieved in terms of the stability of the company. Thus, companies with a group of owner-founders are the most favorable structure for the formation of the corporate governance system in Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information Security Governance Systems are not adequate to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of security tasks for the enterprises. Although some of the systems offer ways for measurement, they still need the definition of measurement objectives and metrics. This study proposes a conceptual framework mode which has human and tool/process related metrics. This system also allows the collection of evidence data for security-related tasks and ways to motivate the security staff to provide a more productive environment. This system may be applied to any size of enterprise independent of its business domain or functions as long as the aim is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of security-related tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study explores asymmetric effects of monetary policy on firm scale at different firm size levels. We find that Chinese firms respond to raising benchmark lending interest rates and deposit reserve requirements by decreasing their scales. Our quantile regression results also indicate that larger firms respond more strongly to both policy instruments by adjusting their scales to a greater degree than smaller firms. Moreover, SOEs react less strongly to policy changes than non-SOEs at all firm size distribution. The impact of monetary policy on firm scale is also stronger after commercial banks having greater leeway in setting interest rates. Highlights • Explore asymmetric effects of monetary policy on firm scale at different firm size levels. • Chinese firms respond to raising benchmark interest rates and deposit reserve ratios by decreasing their scales. • Larger firms respond more strongly to both policy instruments by adjusting their scales to a greater degree. • SOEs react less strongly to monetary policy changes than privately controlled listed firms at all firm size distribution. • The impact of monetary policy on firm scale is stronger when banks having greater leeway in setting interest rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tests the impact of carbon neutrality initiatives on shareholder value and explores how equity returns achieved as a result of carbon neutrality vary across operating environments. Based on 226 carbon neutrality announcements made between 2017 and 2021, we conducted an event study to estimate the impact of carbon neutrality initiatives on Chinese firms' shareholder value. Under the opportunity-motivation-ability (OMA) framework, we further analyzed the heterogeneous effects of distinctive firm characteristics (social rating and firm size), in which carbon neutrality announcements represented opportunity, social rating represented motivation, and firm size represented ability. We further demonstrated how the announcement characteristics and industry differences affected stock market responses. The results indicate that carbon neutrality initiatives have a significant average abnormal return of 0.99% on the announcement date and a positive long-term impact on shareholder value. This equity return is more pronounced for smaller firms with higher social ratings, and the stock market reacts less positively to firms that announce carbon neutrality initiatives in social responsibility reports. The stock market does not react strongly to manufacturing firms' carbon neutrality initiatives. The study provides some important insights toward the CSR-firm performance debate by providing a new measurement of CSR (i.e. carbon neutrality initiative) and examining the relation from an OMA perspective and looking into some contingency factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest certification, originally introduced to promote sustainable forest management and protect forests from threats such as deforestation, has become a large-scale market tool. There is no consensus in the literature on the impact of forest certification on exports. Few studies have analyzed the impact of forest management certification on exports, and none have analyzed this effect at the firm level, taking into account firm heterogeneity. The current paper aims to fill this gap by analyzing the impact of the difference in the level of forest management certification between an exporting country and importing or destination countries. In particular, we determine how this impact differs by firm size. Our study focuses on the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). We use a panel of exports of wood and wood products at the level of French firms. We find that when the level of forest management certification in the exporting country increases relative to that of the importing countries, exports increase; but this occurs to a lesser extent as firm size increases. This result is robust to the various additional analyses. For example, an increase in the difference in the share of PEFC-certified forests by 0.15 is associated with a 90% increase in the value of exports. We also find heterogeneity by product category, geographic area, and income level of destination countries. Our study highlights the role played by forest certification on exports and the need to develop forest certification in a market-driven manner. [Display omitted] • We analyze the impact of forest management certification on exports. • We use a panel of wood and wood product exports at the level of French firms. • We conduct an empirical analysis and find heterogeneous effects. • Exports are increasing with a higher share of certified forests. • Forest certification must be developed with market requirements in mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-commerce is a strategy that can be used by micro and small industries (MSIs) to boost business performance in the current digital era. Using the resource-based view (RBV) perspective, this study aims to examines the effect of e-commerce on MSI performance and the moderating role of firm size in this relationship. This study used secondary data from 1084 MSIs located in Karanganyar Regency, Central Java Province, Indonesia, and the multiple linear regression (OLS) method as an analytical tool. The results show that e-commerce significantly and positively affects the financial performance of MSIs, as measured by turnover, profit, and return on asset (ROA). Business size, proxied by the number of workers, is found to moderate the effect of e-commerce on the financial performance with a weakening effect. It means that smaller MSIs gain a higher financial performance increase than larger MSIs from e-commerce adoption as a resource to improve their customer base, brand recognition, and advertising. This study expands the RBV theory through the role of e-commerce as a resource of MSIs in improving firm performance. The findings also demonstrate to the government and micro and small enterprises (MSEs) the value of the e-commerce method in improving MSE performance and encourage them to utilize it as effectively as feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing importance of corporate social responsibility over recent decades has led research on its drivers to grow exponentially. However, the mystery of different levels of commitment despite comparable firm characteristics related to size, such as financial resources and similar external pressures, has still not been completely unravelled. Given that corporate engagement in social responsibility is not only shaped by firm characteristics but also – and even especially – by the preferences and motivations of its leaders, this study explores how CEOs' reputational ambitions moderate the relationship between firm size and corporate social responsibility. We argue that CEOs who actively manage their reputation are more aware of the reputation-enhancing potential of corporate social responsibility. We test our ideas with a cross-sectional sample of 128 listed companies from seven Western European countries, operationalising CEOs' reputation management with a novel measure based on their self-presentation and posting behaviour on LinkedIn. Our results show support for a weakening influence of CEOs' reputation management on the positive relationship between firm size and corporate social responsibility controversies, but we do not find support for a strengthening effect on corporate social responsibility performance. In light of the fact that adequate corporate social responsibility performance involves more than just staying away from scandals, our findings indicate that CEOs who actively present themselves as environmentally and socially committed are more likely to do so in response to the pressure and current trend of being green and social than out of a real commitment. [Display omitted] • Firm size is positively related to CSR performance as well as CSR controversies. • CEO reputation management weakens the influence of firm size on CSR controversies. • CEO reputation management is not found to moderate the impact of firm size on CSR. • CEOs seem to prevent damage from CSR scandals rather than improve CSR performance. • We introduce a new reputation management measure based on CEOs' LinkedIn profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses a gap that exists in studying waste business characteristics and the performance of a waste management system (WMS). Temporal and spatial analyses of the WMS in four Western Canadian provinces are systematically assessed over a 16-year period. The average waste business size in Canada ranged from 13.4 to 22.1 employees per business. Jurisdictions with lower disposal rates generally have larger waste companies. An average employee handled 1098 to 1426 t of waste annually. The diversion rates tended to be higher when less waste is managed per employee, suggesting total employee count may be important to improve WMS sustainability in Canada. Waste transfer costs are substantial during the study period, totaled $1276 million annually, or about 40.7% of the total government waste spending. BC only spent an average of 2.5% of the budget on operation of recycling facilities, but has the highest waste diversion rate. Expenditure distribution alone is unable to explain BC's superior waste diversion performance. Capital expenditures have been increasing from $15.7/t to $26.2/t. In this study, a business with more full-time employees correlates well with higher operating revenues. Part time workers were more predominant in SK, and may be responsible for the subpar diversion rate and operating revenue. More research is needed to determine waste business characteristics given increasing interest in circular economy and WMS efficiency. • Waste management systems (WMS) in Canada are examined over a 16-year period • Capital expenditures increased gradually, with an average of $22.7/t • Total employee count may be vital to improve WMS sustainability in Canada • A business with more full-time employees correlates with higher operating revenues • Studies on business characteristics and their effect on WMS performance are limited [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the motivations for firms in India to participate in voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) using a unique data set of cement, power and steel industry for the year 2012. It examines the effects of regulatory, societal, market and internal factors in influencing voluntary environmental behavior. To this objective we estimate both, ordinal (Ordered Probit) and cardinal (Poisson) models. We find that the firm size, its location, export orientation, and intangible valuation have a positive and significant relationship with the number of VEPs undertaken by the firm. The MNC status of the firm has no impact while the debt equity ratio and average age of the firm has negative impact on the adoption of VEPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction industries have significant impacts on the economy, society and environment. To transform construction industry towards sustainability, construction enterprises' perceptions and performance on sustainability needs to be understood and evaluated, which has not be fully explored by existing studies. This paper holistically examines the Chinese construction enterprises’ attitude towards and performance on various aspects of sustainability (e.g. the economic, social and environmental aspects) in order to identify those aspects the firms perceive to be the most and least important and those aspects the firms perform best and worst on. The associations among the sustainability attitude, sustainability performance, and firm size are also explored. The findings show that quality management and customer service are perceived as the most important as well as the best-performed aspects by the firms while supporting community development is the least important and worst-performed aspect. Sustainability attitude is positively correlated with performance, and larger firms tend to have better sustainability performance than that of small ones. However, larger construction firms do not necessarily perceive sustainability more important. This study provides a useful reference for policy makers and researchers to understand how sustainability is perceived and implemented by the Chinese construction firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enforcement of environmental regulation relies on the willingness and capacity of the regulator. The willingness could be disabled by regulatory capture which is widespread, and that how many public resources should be invested in environmental regulation is always debatable. We develop a 3-stage game to analyze the nonlinear effects and mechanism of regulatory capture and regulatory capacity on environmental regulatory welfare. Our model suggests that the importance of the regional economy to government, the firm size, and the customer’s disutility on pollution emissions will influence the possibility of regulatory capture. Furthermore, the dynamic research suggests that when the regulatory capture is controlled, with the improvement of governmental regulatory capacity, the regulator’s and customer’s welfare continues to grow until the capacity achieves a threshold. Beyond the threshold, the regulatory capacity will be redundant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The size and number of firms in a region represent key characteristics of that regional economic ecosystem, but few studies have linked such characteristics with the stringency of local environmental regulation. In this study, we discuss the effects of local firm scale on environmental regulation and its mechanism, and the optimal strategic choices theoretically and empirically for environmental regulation in regions with different firm scale. We find that when government capacity is insufficient, regional environmental regulation will be relatively more stringent when dealing with fewer but larger firms because of the government scale effect. When government capacity is sufficient, firm size has no influence on environmental regulation. Our results are robust and offer insights for government decision makers to improve local environmental regulation efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether Chief Executive Officer (CEO) temporal focus—the extent to which CEOs devote their attention to the past, present, and future—is related to firms' identification and interpretation of grand challenges. Using the exemplary grand challenge of water scarcity, we adapt mechanisms of the temporal focus literature to the particularities of grand challenges and propose that CEO temporal focus is related to whether firms identify water scarcity as an issue and whether they interpret the identified issue as an opportunity. In our empirical analysis of 727 firm-year observations for the years 2002–2012, we find no support for the hypothesis that firms' identification of water scarcity is related to CEO temporal focus. However, we show that having a CEO high in future focus is positively, and a CEO high in past or high in present focus is negatively related to interpreting water scarcity as an opportunity. • We investigate differences in firms' responses to water scarcity. • Managers' temporal focus matters for firms' interpretation of water scarcity. • Industry, time, and firm size matter in identifying water scarcity as an issue. • Results are based on German firms from 2002 to 2012, resulting in 727 observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system literature reports little research on the specificities of an industry analysis. Based on a theoretical model we assess ERP Value between Manufacturing and Services industries in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across the Iberian region (Portugal and Spain). The empirical test was conducted through structural equation modeling, using data from 261 firms. Results show that Firm size, Analytics and Collaboration contribute to ERP Value in those industries, with Analytics being more important for the Services industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the firm value determinants for domestic acquisitions within BRICS countries considering both acquirer and target shareholders. Targets earn significant positive announcement returns of 1.45% on average. Acquirers lose slightly. We employ a comprehensive set of explanatory variables and test for cross-sectional return drivers. Target returns are negatively related to pre-announcement returns and firm size, while they are positively related to GDP growth. Our results are consistent with insider trading capturing some of the target excess returns, which are highest for small targets based in countries with high recent GPD growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, offering services as an addition to the product, or even shifting to service provision seems an interesting and promising means for the manufacturer to become more competitive and distinctive. The article presents the basics of the servicization of the manufacturing industry concept. The main scientific purpose of the paper is to recognize the kind of services machinery manufacturers in Poland integrate with their products, if any. Also, the assessment is made to ascertain whether the number of services offered by manufacturing companies depends on the size of the organisation. The analysis enabled identification of thirteen forms of services, with the most popular being the warranty support and industrial services. The research has also proved that the number of services that are included in the offer depends on the company size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the drivers of declining energy intensity is necessary in order to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy in China. To date, studies have typically adopted case analysis to link enterprise features and energy-saving performance. The impact of internal industrial configuration in terms of size and ownership structure on aggregate energy intensity remains to be examined. To fill this research gap, this paper tests the impact of the internal structure of industries on city-level energy intensity, by employing a unique panel dataset of 283 cities for the period 2005 to 2010. The Driscoll-Kraay method and instrumental variable are used to treat residual cross-sectional dependence and endogeneity, respectively. Results suggest that small-scale enterprises exerts a negative effect on energy intensity. A 1% increase in the output-value proportion of small-sized firms will lead to a decrease in total energy intensity of 0.067%. In contrast, the same change by medium enterprises will raise energy intensity by 0.031%. A negative and/or non-significant coefficient suggests that for most energy-intensive large and state-owned enterprises, China's 2006 top-down energy-saving regulation has been quite effective in targeting key energy-intensive enterprises in China. The findings reveal that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) can act as promoters of, rather than barriers to, low-carbon policy implementation in China. Given that the effectiveness of energy-saving regulation will be undermined as a result of diluted regulatory strength in each enterprise, market-oriented energy price reform is proposed as a fundamental driver for guaranteeing a continual decline in energy intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (hereafter TPB), this study aimed to empirically examine the influence of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on companies' online advertising services (OAS) continuous adoption intention. Additionally, the study assessed the impact of self-efficacy, a second-order construct, on perceived behavioral control. Finally, the study attempted to determine the moderating impact of firm size on the relationship between the factors in the TPB model in the OAS context. A semi-structured outline was employed to discuss qualitative research, and data were collected from 1118 businesses in five of Vietnam's most populous cities using a structured questionnaire. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling method validated the conceptual research model. The study's results suggest that the company's attitude toward online advertising services, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control of the organization all affected the willingness to continue utilizing OAS. Furthermore, the research found that self-efficacy positively influenced behavioral control, a reflective notion. Furthermore, the result investigated the impact of business size on the relationship between the intention and attitude toward continued consumption of OAS and perceived behavioral control. Hence, the OAS business should improve the implications related to the TPB model for firms' continuous adoption intention and evaluate firm size as the critical factor, which moderates the relationship between attitude and perceived behavioral control and continuous intention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasingly complex environmental governance causes the authorities responsible for implementing environmental policies fragmented. Whether environmental policy integration could improve governance effectiveness remains unclear. This paper investigates the short-term impact of China's One Permit Management (OPM), aiming at integrating existing environmental regulations, on environmental performance. Using unique high-frequency facility-level data and the difference-in-differences-in-differences (DDD) approach, we find that noncompliant facilities reduced emissions after being issued the discharge permit. Specifically, COD, NH 3 -N, SO 2 and NO X declined by 7.75%, 29.88%, 18.21%, and 11.04%, respectively. In addition, the analysis of the heterogeneity of firm size suggests that large firms that interact more frequently with regulators are less affected and the analysis of heterogeneity in the capacity of regions to implement policy integration shows that the effect of policy integration is more significant in eastern regions. The emission reductions of COD, NH 3 -N, SO 2 and NO X achieved by the issuance of pollution permits accounted for 7.72%, 14.66%, 11.31% and 19.89% of the five-year target emission reductions, respectively. Given the prevalence of policy fragmentation, policymakers need to focus not only on how to set goals, but also on how to achieve those goals in a coordinated and coherent manner. • China's one permit management reform is a successful case of policy integration in response to policy fragmentation. • One permit management reform improves the environmental performance of treated polluters. • Large firms that interact more frequently with regulators are less affected by policy integration. • The effect of policy integration is more significant in eastern regions. • China's one permit management reform achieves 7.72%–19.89% of the five-year target emission reductions for major pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopting the contingency theory framework, this study investigated the extent to which Malaysian public listed companies (PLCs) implement environmental management accounting (EMA) and whether the implementation varies across corporate characteristics. Five corporate characteristics, namely, environmental sensitivity of industry, company size, ownership status, Environmental Management System (EMS) adoption and the proportion of non-executive directors (NEDs), were examined. The results, derived from postal questionnaires, indicate that the extent of EMA implementation was moderate and that more emphasis was placed on environmental cost effectiveness activities. The results also imply that complying with environmental regulations is more important than incorporating EMA information into performance measurement, control and reporting. Except for ownership status, the extent of EMA implementation, however, did not vary among corporate characteristics, and thus, provides limited support to contingency theory in explaining the extent of EMA implementation among Malaysian PLCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing literature has highlighted the importance of entrepreneurs' status for corporate decisions over social issues. However, our understanding of the differential effects of entrepreneurs' multiple statuses on corporate environmental actions remains limited. This study draws upon status research and upper echelons theory and empirically explores how two types of entrepreneurs' status affect corporate environmental actions in different ways. We collected data from 11,339 Chinese private enterprises through six rounds of a large-scale national survey from 2006 to 2016. The ordinary least squares regression and robustness analyses were employed to test our research model and hypotheses. The empirical results show that while entrepreneurs' political status positively affects corporate environmental actions, economic status has a U-shaped relationship with corporate environmental actions. Furthermore, we find that firm size can strengthen the effect of political status and weaken the effect of economic status on corporate environmental actions. These findings reveal the complex effects of entrepreneurs' status on corporate environmental actions. • The article highlights the importance of entrepreneurs' status for corporate environmental actions. • Two different statuses (economic status vs. political status) are considered and discussed. • Entrepreneurs' political status has a positive linear relationship with corporate environmental actions. • Entrepreneurs' economic status has a U-shaped relationship with corporate environmental actions. • Firm size can strengthen effect of political status and weaken effect of economic status on corporate environmental actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]