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Using a large panel of firm-level data, this paper provides an analysis of how inflation shocks in the Baltics between 1997 and 2020 affected total factor productivity (TFP), gross profitability, and net fixed investment in nonfinancial sectors. First, we find that inflation and inflation volatility had mixed effects on TFP growth, profitability and net fixed investment spending in the first year as well as over the medium term, albeit at a dissipating rate. Second, focusing on subsamples, we find that inflation shocks had differential effects on large versus small firms. Third, we explore sectoral heterogeneity in how firms responded to inflation shocks and observe significant variation across tradable and non-tradable sectors. Finally, estimates from a state-dependent model suggest that firms’ response to inflation shocks varied with the state of the economy. The results suggest that nonfinancial firms in the Baltics have been agile in adjusting to inflation shocks, possibly by either transferring higher production costs to consumers or substituting inputs. Given the differences in the level and nature of the recent inflation shock and the sample period on which our analysis is based, empirical findings presented in this paper might not necessarily apply to the latest bout of inflation in the Baltics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conducts quasi-experiment design with Chinese listed companies microdata to investigate the effect and mechanism of corporate participation in carbon emission trading market on firm financial performance by using the staggered difference-in-differences method. We show that: a) corporate participation in carbon emission trading market can enhance firm financial performance; b) an increase in green innovation ability and a decrease in strategic choice variance both partially mediate the relationship between carbon emission trading and firm performance; c) executive background heterogeneity and external environmental uncertainty moderate the relationship between carbon emission trading and firm performance in different directions; d) our further study indicates that carbon emission trading pilot policy has a spatial spillover effect on firm financial performance in the neighboring provinces. Therefore, we recommend that the government and enterprises make an effort to further stimulate the vitality of corporate participation in carbon emission trading market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ESG performance has become vital for business in recent years. Consumers, stakeholders and investors alike seek companies that can show that they are environmentally and socially responsible, especially in periods of uncertainty. Using a new measure of uncertainty, the Climate Policy Uncertainty Index developed by Gavriilidis (Measuring climate policy uncertainty, 2021), this study investigates environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, firm performance and carbon dioxide emission performance in the context of major developments related to climate policy and events. Further, the study provides insights into how ESG performance moderates the impact of climate policy uncertainty on firm performance and carbon dioxide emission performance. Finally, this paper examines how investor sentiment influences ESG performance during periods of high uncertainty. Based on a large sample of 2640 firms (6462 firm-year observations) from the US Fortune 1000 list covering the years 2008–2018, the empirical results demonstrate that climate policy uncertainty positively affects ESG performance and negatively affects firm performance and carbon dioxide emission performance. In addition, we find that firms enhance their ESG performance when investors are pessimistic, especially during periods of high uncertainty. Finally, we show that ESG performance does not moderate the effects of climate policy uncertainty on firm performance and carbon dioxide emission performance. These findings may help managers and policymakers to boost ESG performance to reap the benefits of ESG activities during periods of uncertainty related to changes in climate policy. Further, the results identify a promising channel via investor power that the government and ESG reporting advocates can utilise to encourage firms to act responsibly during periods of uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the correlation between corporate green innovation and its positive impacts by analyzing firm-level data from the S&P 500 spanning the years 2001 to 2022. Drawing on previous studies, this research employs rigorous methodologies and measures to assess the influence of green innovation. The study investigates the drivers of green innovation and assesses its potential effects on firm performance and risk reduction. Firstly, it explores the factors that contribute to the adoption of green innovation. Secondly, it examines how green innovation affects firm performance and mitigates risks. The findings of the study demonstrate that implementing green innovation leads to a reduction in firm volatility and credit risk, while also enhancing firm value and emission performance. The robustness tests conducted further reinforce these conclusions, thereby contributing to the existing body of literature that highlights the crucial role of corporate characteristics in promoting sustainable business practices through green innovation. These insights hold significant value for investors, policymakers, and regulators, providing them with valuable information for making informed decisions regarding green investments and the formulation of policies that foster sustainability through green innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the escalating momentum of Chinese green bond (CGB) issuances, this study aimed to elucidate the intricate relationship between CGB issuances and firm performance. Our findings indicate a significant spillover effect stemming from green government and green financial bonds, whereas the impact on green corporate bonds was relatively subdued. Intriguingly, the data reveals that environmentally conscious companies are disproportionately benefiting from cities’ issuance of CGBs. Upon delving into the underlying mechanisms, we observed a noticeable improvement in firm performance, especially for eco-friendly companies, who gain from enhanced total factor productivity and reduced debt. This data underscores the far-reaching and beneficial impact of CGBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open innovation, characterized by the collaborative sharing and management of knowledge and technologies, is posited to be a strategic tool for corporate resilience during crises. To empirically assess the validity of this proposition, this paper employs a text analysis technique to construct the open innovation variable and analyzes its impact on the performance of publicly listed Chinese firms during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the event study, we find that firms actively engaging in open innovation before the pandemic experienced fewer losses in the stock market when the pandemic broke out. Utilizing a difference-in-differences framework, we provide evidence that the positive impact of open innovation on firm performance is more pronounced during the pandemic compared to normal periods. We also suggest that firms with higher absorptive capacity and those practicing moderate levels of open innovation can benefit more from open innovation during the pandemic. The results of our study underscore the strategic importance of open innovation, particularly during bad times, and contribute to the broader understanding of innovation management under adverse conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technology has produced deep changes in the business world. However, companies have a hard time understanding consumers' changing needs and new consumption patterns, especially small and medium-sized enterprises that currently face growing challenges in an era characterized by a lack of time and information overload. New mechanisms must be found that not only can keep businesses competitive in digital environments but can do so in innovative and sustainable ways. This study sought to address this issue by adopting a process-oriented approach and developing a decision-support tool for SMEs that are considering joining online marketplaces. The proposed analysis model helps these companies decide whether they are ready to take advantage of these digital platforms or whether they have to take action to improve in specific areas of their business operations. The model-building process relied on a combination of cognitive mapping and the best–worst method. An expert panel was recruited to identify the most relevant factors determining SME readiness to join online marketplaces. The model was applied to a set of real companies to assess their propensity for online marketplaces. The practical applicability of this decision-support system was then discussed in a consolidation session with a member of Portugal's Agência Nacional de Inovação (National Innovation Agency), who acknowledged the strong potential of the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study delved into an analysis of 128 public companies in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria to explore the influence of diversified board expertise on firm performance. We also investigated the impact of firm size and age on this relationship. Our results indicate that a varied blend of professional experts on corporate boards significantly boosts a company's ROA, although there is no significant effect when Tobin's Q measures firm performance. Nevertheless, we discovered that combining firm size and age negatively impacts the correlation between board expertise diversity and firm performance. Our findings support the significance of integrating agency, resource dependence, and convergence theories, implying that businesses can improve their financial performance by including an appropriate mix of expertise on their boards, especially for relatively younger small-sized firms. In contrast, more prominent and ageing firms may not see the same financial benefits. Consequently, we recommend that corporate executives and practitioners consider implementing board expertise diversity to enhance their firms' financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is important for both the academic and business environments due to the extraordinary results obtained. Additionally, the significance of the study is also attributed to the addressed topic, which is intensively studied in the world of corporate finance. The primary aim of this research is to scrutinize a cohort of 66 information and technology (IT) companies, all of which are constituents of the American Standard and Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500). The study period spans two decades, covering the years 2003–2022. To summarize the outcomes, the analytical framework incorporated linear models with both fixed (fe) and random effects (re), as well as quantile regression models. This study's key outcomes highlight that firm size, sales growth, current ratio, long-term debt to capital, free cash flow, asset turnover and receivable turnover, board meeting frequency, female board representation, chief executive officer age, audit committee independence, and the presence of compensation and nomination committees, alongside a pandemic indicator, positively impact firm performance. Conversely, firm age, dividend payout ratio, effective tax rate, board size, chief executive officer duality, and corporate social responsibility committee presence have negative effects on performance. Also, regarding quantile regressions, CEO duality significantly influences companies with high profitability rates, and companies with low to medium profitability rates are more strongly and negatively influenced by board size. The implications of the core policy in this research focusing on corporate governance will consider certain rules and guidelines regarding financial transparency and protecting shareholders' interests. Additionally, it will take into account the independence of the board of directors and the presence of its committees, as well as ethical leadership practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examine the effects of the degree of CEO optimism on their risk-taking behaviors and on firm value and show that CEOs with low overconfidence tend to take on more risk (in terms of tail risk) and have a lower Tobin's Q than companies whose CEOs have moderate or high overconfidence. To do so, we use a sample of life insurance companies divided into three subsamples, based on the degree of CEO overconfidence (OC): low OC, moderate OC, and high OC. Our additional analyses indicate that, before the 2008 global financial crisis, all three OC subsamples have a positive effect on Tobin's Q from the net credit default swap (CDS) sell positions. But, after the financial crisis, all the three OC groups use CDS to reduce firms' risk-taking behavior, rather than to increase firm value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The servitization literature has evolved into a rich field of academic inquiry that today calls for a consolidation of extant knowledge and opens new opportunities for meta-analytic reviews. The present research provides a fine-grained understanding of the servitization–firm performance relationship. We first develop an integrative conceptual framework that systematically ties together factors identified in prior research that affect the relationship. Through a meta-analysis of 379 effect sizes across 85 studies, we then provide broad-based empirical evidence that servitization indeed exerts a positive effect on firm performance. We further examine a broad set of potential moderators affecting the servitization–performance relationship to understand and explain the heterogeneity and, at times, the inconsistency of prior results regarding the relationship's directionality and strength. Finally, we provide guidance for future research, from both a substantive and methodological standpoint, and sketch out an integrative conceptual model for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the perspective of enterprise risk management(ERM), this paper adopts excess return of shareholders as a proxy variable for firm performance and divides ERM into strategic decision-making effectiveness and internal control based on the theory of resilient risk management. Using panel data of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2015 to 2020, A multiple linear regression model was established to empirically investigate the impact of digital transformation on firm performance and its underlying mechanism. The findings reveal that enterprise digital transformation can improve performance and can increase performance by improving both strategic effectiveness and internal control level. The results also show that the sample enterprises prioritize internal control during the implementation enterprise risk management. Finally, the study finds that board IT governance negatively moderates the influence of digital transformation on enterprise risk management. Further analysis demonstrates that non-state-owned firms exhibit stronger motivation than state-owned firms in promoting digital transformation for achieving higher performance outcomes. However, it is important for enterprises not to blindly increase investment in digital technology as it may lead to potential pitfalls associated with digitization paradox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the influence of family ownership and family control on firm performance while considering the moderating effect of gender diversity. Utilising a dataset of 226 nonfinancial firms listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange spanning from 2008 to 2019, the paper employs the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation to test the proposed hypotheses. Additionally, the paper uses ordinary least squares regression (OLS) analysis, industry-adjusted measures of firm performance, difference-in-difference (DID) estimation, and Blau and Shannon index to confirm the results. The findings indicate that family ownership and control positively affect firm performance. This relationship is further enhanced by the presence of female directors on the board. Using the agency theory and stewardship theory frameworks, the paper delves into the dynamics of agency conflict and family owner behavior within family firms, highlighting the role of gender-diverse boards. Overall, the analysis reveals that family owners, motivated by a strong attachment to their businesses and a desire to preserve socio-emotional wealth, tend to adopt a stewardship role, thereby mitigating principal-principal conflicts within our sample firms. The study contributes to the literature on family businesses by elucidating the behavior of such firms within an emerging economy context and revealing the role of gender diversity in the presence of family ownership. The findings suggest useful implications for investors regarding the positive influence of family owners on firm performance and underscore the importance for policymakers to prioritize female career development and professional growth. This, in turn, can yield economic benefits through the integration of female directors in boardrooms, thereby reducing agency costs and enhancing overall governance structures within firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relationship between Organizational Inertia (OI) and Firm Performance (FP) and how this relationship is mediated by Green Business Model Innovation (GBMI) and Green Open Innovation (GOIN) for manufacturing small & medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. The data were collected from 465 managers of 465 SMEs in 2021. The OI was found to have an indirect relationship with FP, and this relationship is negative and significant. Further, the two direct relationships between OIN and BMI with FP consecutively were found to be positive and significant. The contribution of this study has significant implications in the field of OI, OIN, and BMI. This study examines how adversely OI affects business innovation, particularly OIN, and BMI. In addition, this study provides a mechanism for sustaining and improving FP by promoting open innovation and developing innovative business models in the organization. This transformation leads to flexibility in the organization. This study implies how SMEs can overcome OI by focusing on managerial actions such as organizational learning, cross-functional groups, and reflective practices that generate open innovation and BMI to become sustainable and provide insights to business practitioners, entrepreneurs, and organizational directors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are present in key sectors of economies around the world. While they can provide an important public service, there is widespread concern that their activities and financial performance are hindered by corruption. In the meantime, cross-country analysis on the cost of corruption for SOEs remains scarce. We present new cross-country evidence on how corruption affects SOE performance using firm level data. We find that SOEs perform as well as private firms in core sectors when corruption is low but are significantly less efficient when corruption is high. We also show that, in turn, improvements in fiscal transparency and specific SOE governance reforms have the potential to improve SOE performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to gain more understanding of the entrepreneurial marketing concept and its dimensions' effect on the firm performance. Until now, the EM concept is enduringly presenting a new and fresh field of research. Indeed, even being aged, researches within this domain are still original, and each of them holds diverse knowledge and different experiences. Actually, regarding other researches treating the same relation, we have integrated large companies within our sample in addition to SMEs. Indeed, to respond the main objective, we have conducted a quantitative research using a survey that included 328 SMEs and large firms from different sectors from the region of Sousse, Tunisia. Descriptive analysis and multiple regression analysis were done by using the STATA software. As a result, we have found that overall firms' performance is positively associated with different EM dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the impact of chief executive officers (CEOs) power on corporate strategies has attracted significant public debate in the academic milieu. In this study, we comprehensively review the academic literature on CEO power in relation to different corporate policies. We conduct a comprehensive review by dividing the literature into four streams: CEO power and firm performance, CEO power and executive compensation, CEO power and firm risk-taking, and finally, CEO power on other corporate strategies. Our review shows that the findings are mixed in relation to the effects of CEO power on firm strategies. Overall, the negative impact of CEO power on firm performance is attributed to agency theory, where CEOs pursue their own vested interests, thereby leading to weak corporate governance. The review reveals that the positive impact of CEO power on corporate outcomes is due to effective board monitoring, a powerful board, and high market competition. Our study also shows that most of the studies have adopted Finkelstein's (1992) four sources of CEO power but have taken different proxies to measure these powers. We have also identified several gaps in the current studies and recommend avenues for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subsidiaries of foreign-owned multinational firms make significant contributions to national Research and Development (R&D) in many host countries. Policymakers in host countries often support subsidiaries' R&D efforts, through R&D grants and R&D tax credits. A key objective of this funding is to leverage R&D-driven firm performance benefits for the host economy. However, the subsidiary's parent firm may decide not to commercially exploit the results from host country-funded R&D projects, in the host country. Therefore, supporting subsidiaries' R&D presents a unique risk, that significant amounts of scarce public R&D funding may translate into little, or no firm performance payoffs for the host economy. To address this issue, we construct a unique panel dataset, containing 24,404 observations of firms in Ireland over a 10-year period. Using this rich data, we first evaluate the impact of R&D grants and R&D tax credits on subsidiaries' R&D. We then examine the link between policy-induced R&D from each policy instrument, and subsidiaries' firm performance in the host country. Our study provides the first evaluation of (1) whether public R&D funding stimulates additional R&D investment in subsidiaries, (2) whether policy-induced R&D drives subsidiaries' firm performance in the host country, and (3) the differential effects of R&D grants and R&D tax credits. We find that both R&D policy instruments drive subsidiary R&D, and that the policy-induced R&D results in substantial host country improvements in turnover, exports, and value added. Our results suggest several policy implications, particularly for economies pursuing an R&D strategy which targets foreign-owned subsidiaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on total factor productivity (TFP) in the European mining industry, considering micro- and macroeconomic indicators of the relationship between CSR and TFP. Employing data from 40 European mining companies from content analysis, CSR Hub, and the World Bank between 2018 and 2021, this paper utilizes a combination of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and panel regression techniques to test the research hypotheses. The findings suggest that the TFP of European mining firms is positively affected by CSR initiatives implemented by the companies. Also, the empirical results depict that the CSR-TFP relationship is mainly established on institutional criteria. The results also indicate that CSR-related factors, namely, transparency and reporting, training, health and safety, and resource management, are the impacting indicators. The study broadens the horizons of this line of research and can be beneficial to CEOs, managers, experts, policymakers, decision-makers, and economists in the field of mining who are willing to promote responsible and sustainable mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study first determines whether CEO overconfidence decreases the level of firm performance and increases the performance variability. Then, we examine whether CEO structural power simultaneously increases the level and variability of firm performance. Next, we investigate whether and how CEO structural power mediates the effects of CEO overconfidence on a firm's performance. Our samples include listed Chinese firms. Our results demonstrate that CEO overconfidence significantly reduces the levels of a firm's total profitability, shareholder profitability and stock performance and significantly raises the volatilities of a firm's total profitability and shareholder profitability. Finally, CEO structural power from duality strengthens the negative effects of CEO overconfidence on the levels of a firm's stock performance, and CEO power from a founder (duality) exacerbates the effects of CEO overconfidence on the volatilities of a firm's stock performance (total profitability). However, CEO power from a CEO's relative compensation share reinforces his or her incentives to increase the beneficial effect of CEO overconfidence on the levels of a firm's total profitability and shareholder profitability and to weaken the effects of CEO overconfidence on the volatilities of shareholder profitability. Our results help Chinese authorities develop policies regarding the supervision of a firm's CEO overconfidence and power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a systematic literature review on the impact of female directorship on firm performance. We follow Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) to carry out this study. The Scopus database has been used for the identification of all the relevant documents. Several filters and manual screens have been carried out to identify a final set of 984 journal articles. We conduct a content analysis of the top 100 most influential papers ranked based on their average citations per year. The analysis covers a wide range of aspects such as research methodology, the variables and proxies used for female directorship and firm performance, main empirical findings, the sample country, the number of countries included in the sample, the sample region and the sample industry. Most of the top 100 papers (88%) have reported a positive impact on firm performance from having female directors. This study also identifies research gaps and proposes directions for future research. Our findings may have policy implications and can help regulators in devising appropriate corporate governance mechanisms with respect to female directorship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have long been interested in understanding organizational slack. Peng et al. (2010) is a landmark study examining the effect of slack on firm performance. We seek to advance our understanding of the topic in three ways. First, we replicate the core findings of Peng et al. (2010) by drawing on a major and yet less investigated economy in Asia—Taiwan. Second, we differentiate the effect of slack by investigating both short- and long–term performance. Third, in addition to CEO duality, our study also examines the moderating effects of business groups and family firms as two widespread governance factors in Asia. Our results suggest that the effect of organizational slack on firm performance is contingent on the short– versus long–term perspective. Furthermore, we find that the slack–performance relationship is shaped by boundary conditions. Overall, our findings contribute to the literatures on organizational slack, corporate governance, and research in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational capabilities have a key influence on firm performance. Ordinary capabilities, a prominent classification advocated by capability scholars, allow a firm to perform its primary functional activities. Past research indicates that there are limits to the contributions of ordinary capabilities to firm performance, but largely has explored it via contingent effects in an industry context. We argue, however, that these limits also are a function of the development of market-supporting institutions. In this paper, we investigate the effect of capital market development – a key pillar of market-supporting institutions – on a firm's use of two ordinary capabilities, operations and marketing. We trace the heterogeneity of this effect for two key firm resources, investments in R&D and financial slack, that are indicative of different strategies pursued by firms. We test our three-way interaction model using a sample of Indian firms over a twenty-year period of institutional reforms. Our findings contribute to integrating the organizational capability and institutional theory literature and advancing research on the sustainability of firm profits in emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the influence of human capital (HC) and altruism on small- and medium-size firms' (SMEs) performance, contingent upon the effect of family involvement in management. HC, understood as the abilities, skills, and knowledge of firm personnel, has been proved to contribute to firm performance. Even more, firms' outcomes benefit from aptitudes and also from attitudes, such as altruism. What is not so clear is if having a family character enhances the effect of HC and altruism on firm performance. Our results show that family involvement in management presents lights and shadows in its ability to extract all the potential of HC and altruism. By moving one-step forward in understanding these relationships, our findings contribute to the Family Firm, Human Resources Management, and Resource-Based View literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of recent studies have theoretically articulated the importance of organizational learning in formulating and implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies. Yet, there is dearth of empirical investigations to examine the relevance of learning regarding the link between CSR strategy implementation and organizational performance. This research fills this gap. In so doing, it does not only investigate the direct link between CSR strategy implementation and firm performance but also examines the facilitatory role of organizational learning for the above-stated relationship. These relationships were examined by collecting data from the CSR strategists including CEOs, CSR committee members, designated officials, and human resource managers of the leading organizations of Pakistan. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on 391 responses. For the confirmatory factor analysis and partial least squares structural equation modeling, the final sample size consisted of 269 respondents. The results of this study have shown positive and direct relationship for CSR strategy implementation and organizational performance. With respect to the organizational learning, this study has found that learning has been an important underlying mechanism for the link between CSR strategy implementation and organizational performance. Moreover, this finding adds to the existing but limited empirical evidence regarding the pertinence of organizational learning in contemporary organizations. Our findings imply that CSR enablers and managers should devote attention and resources to develop appropriate organizational learning mechanisms to facilitate the implementation of their intended CSR strategies so that organizations can sustain their competitive advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates gender dimensions in the relationship between CEO duality and firm performance, combining feminist theories and stewardship arguments. Using a large sample of listed firms from 23 European countries in the 2014–2020 period, we have found that CEO duality has a positive effect on corporate performance when a woman holds both the roles of CEO and board chair. These findings highlight the 'bright side' of women in governance, suggesting the presence of women in double leadership positions can amplify benefits and/or limits costs related to CEO duality. Having a woman in CEO-chair leadership could optimize a firm's use of its resources and more effectively contribute to improving performance. Directions for future research could include a better understanding of women in leadership in the organizational domain. Our results have a number of managerial and political implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how controlling shareholders influence firm performance through the mediating role of firm efficiency in transforming inputs into outputs. To achieve this objective, it conducts a mediation analysis with 5,000 bootstraps on a dataset of 2,849 firm-year observations of publicly listed firms in Malaysia from 2009 to 2019. The findings reveal a positive relationship between controlling shareholdings and firm performance, with both total and indirect effects having this positive relationship. Moreover, while controlling shareholdings improve firm performance, firm efficiency partially mediates this relationship. Thus, improved firm efficiency plays a critical role in understanding the relationship between governance by controlling shareholders and enhanced firm performance. In summary, this study contributes to the existing literature by expanding our understanding of the complex relationship between controlling shareholdings, firm efficiency, and firm performance. In addition, the findings shed light on the importance of indirect channels in shaping organizational outcomes. As such, this study provides a valuable direction for future research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure on the profitability and firm performance of Halal food companies in Malaysia. Applying a quintitative method, the study utilised a dynamic GMM-based statistical technique for analysing the data from 75 public-listed Halal food companies in Malaysia from 2012 to 2021.The findings highlight a substantial relationship between CSR disclosure and profitability (ROA) as well as firm performance (TBQ) of Halal food companies in Malaysia. The result showed economic, environmental, and social CSR disclosures have a significant effects on ROA and TBQ in dynamic models. The outcome of the study implies that actively engaging in economic, environmental, and social CSR practices provides with a competitive advantage, contributes to long-term viability, and attracts socially conscious investors. It also emphasises the strategic importance of comprehensive CSR strategies for encouraging positive stakeholder relationships, managing diverse aspects of sustainability, and enhancing overall business success, including employee engagement and motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of data-driven innovation (DDI) on firm performance, based on an exploratory case study of a manufacturing firm in China's textile and apparel industry. It explores the influence of various contextual variables on the firm's DDI and suggests ways to enhance DDI and thereby firm performance. Extending the literature on DDI, the paper proposes and validates a theoretical framework that incorporates the influence of various contextual factors on firms' DDI. The findings show that (1) individual context is associated with DDI; (2) organizational context is associated with DDI; and (3) DDI is associated with firm performance. This paper extends our understanding of how firm performance can be improved through DDI and shows that DDI should match a firm's contextual environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data-driven culture is considered to bring business-oriented cultural transformation to a firm. It is considered to provide substantial dividends to the firms' product and process innovations. Recently, several firms have been using different advanced technology-embedded business analytics (BA) tools to improve their business performance. Again, advancement of information and communication technology has helped firms to explore the option to use BA tools with artificial intelligence. This has brought radical change in the business-oriented cultural landscape of the firms to arrive at accurate decision-making to improve their innovation and performance. In this perspective, the aim of this study is to show how a firm's data-driven culture impacts its product and process innovation, which in turn improves its performance and provides better competitive advantage in the current business environment. With the help of background study, a resource-based view model and different theories, a conceptual model has been developed. The conceptual model has been validated with 456 usable responses from the employees of different firms using different business analytics tools. The study highlights that data-driven culture highly influences both product and process innovation, making the firm more competitive in the industry. In this study, leadership support and data-driven culture have been taken as moderators, whereas firm size, firm age and industry type have been taken as control variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to clarify the impact that CSR marketing has on the firm performance. Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility Marketing Activities Employed by Companies Explored through Website, Google Search, Annual Report, and Egyptian CSR Reports. This study employs exploratory and qualitative data acquired through several research methodologies to explore the benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility Marketing Activities Employed by Companies. The collected data are then used to develop an updated and critically analyzed explanatory framework, which establishes the link between financial performance and CSR marketing. The results indicate that the link between CSR and financial performance is strong. The study also provides relevant practical implications for organizations in developing nations, such as Egypt. It shows that adopting and implementing CSR programs can help companies gain competitive advantage. The significance of this study lies in its provision of empirical evidence regarding the influence of marketing practices related to environmental, social, and governance factors on the financial performance of Egyptian companies, specifically in relation to the sustainability index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A firm's aptitude to acquire new knowledge and simultaneously exploit existing capabilities is suggested to improve firm performance. Although resource endowment is important to achieve a balance between exploration and exploitation, the role of a firm's non-scale free resources on the exploration‒exploitation and performance linkage has gained little attention. We transfer and apply the first longitudinal test of the exploration–exploitation and firm performance linkage in a German sample. We argue and replicate an inverted U-shaped relationship between relative exploration and firm performance. Further, we hypothesize the competition for and the access to non-scale free resources to moderate this relationship. While we do not find support for the latter, we reveal that the competition for non-scale free resources weakens the relationship between relative exploration and firm performance. We contribute to the exploration–exploitation literature by testing the proposed relationship between exploration–exploitation and firm performance in a different geographical setting, advancing the generalizability of this relationship. In order to do so, we make the commonly accepted measurement approach of Uotila et al. (Strateg Manag J 30:221–231. 10.1002/smj.738, 2009) applicable to German-speaking countries by translating, refining, and extending the dictionary proposed by March (1991) with more contemporary words. Moreover, we contribute by investigating the competition for non-scale free resources between companies in the context of exploration–exploitation. We thereby reveal lower competition for non-scale free resources as a success factor for improving the relationship between a firm's relative exploration orientation and its performance. This seems particularly important since Germany's economy has been confronted with a decline in its innovative strength and an eminent lack of skilled workforce in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using an international setting consisting of 5410 corporations domiciled in 24 countries, we test the insurance-like effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance in the era of the pandemic and confirm that CSR performance increases socially responsible companies' resilience against the adverse effects of the crisis. Comparing stakeholders' responses to CSR activities during the pandemic and normal periods, we observe that the link between CSR performance and firm value is stronger during the crisis period. We also realize that the social aspect of CSR performance is the main driver for the mentioned effects. Finally, comparing the resilience of highly committed socially responsible companies with those with moderate and very low CSR ratings, we observe that best-in-class companies enjoy the greatest buffering effects, implying that the insurance-like effect of CSR performance is non-linear against systematic crises. Findings are robust to ceremonial CSR activities, extreme values of market-based instruments, endogeneity concern, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

California became the first state in the US to require gender diversity on publicly corporate boards. To provide timely evidence on the heated debate, we investigate the impact of board gender diversity on financial performance and how shareholder activism affects the dynamic relationship in the United States. We find that the relation between board gender diversity and firm performance presents an inverted U-shaped nonlinear form. Firm performance increases as the board is more gender-diverse, but performance decreases after the board diversity level reaches a turning point. Furthermore, shareholder activism through proxy proposals enhances the positive effect of diversity and alleviates the negative effect of diversity on firm performance, and the positive effect diminishes after board gender ratios reach an optimal level. Our study captures the dynamic impacts of shareholder activism and board gender diversity on firm performance and provides insights for regulators to make proper decisions in increasing board diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firm-level bribery and regulation are two of the many determinants of firm performance. However, most of the existing studies examine the direct and linear effects of bribery and regulation and overlook their indirect effects. Using firm-level data, covering 20,343 firms in 78 developing countries, and employing a threshold model, the effects of firm performance's standard determinants vary based on the bribery and regulation levels. Our findings reveal that the impact of bribery and regulation on firm performance varies significantly depending on corruption and regulation levels. Access to external finance improves firm performance if and only if the firms are exposed to bribes and firm-level regulation is below a given threshold. Furthermore, exports boost the performance of the firms that are exposed to more bribery and spend more time with regulation than those that face lower levels of regulation and bribery. While bribery harms firm performance, our findings reveal that spending time with regulation could improve firm performance if firms are exposed to low levels of bribery. Our findings confirm the 'sand the wheels' hypothesis and limiting firm-level bribery improves firm performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have recently been many calls to explore corporate governance in emerging economies, as these countries have distinctive characteristics such as a weaker institutional environment and the dominating influence of controlling shareholders. The literature has revealed that, in such institutional settings, there is the risk that powerful insiders maximize their own benefits at the expense of minorities and firm performance. This study advances our knowledge of corporate governance in emerging economies by exploring the moderating impact of quad-qualified directors – i.e., directors with independence, expertise, bandwidth, and motivation – on the relationship between dominant-owner CEOs and firm performance. We tested our hypotheses on a large cross-sectional sample of Indian listed firms. Our results show that dominant-owner CEOs undermine company performance, but quad-qualified directors may improve board monitoring and consequently attenuate their negative influence. Our findings support the soundness of the quad-qualified model for boards of directors, and contribute to the growing literature investigating which directors' attributes may have a significant impact on board monitoring and firm performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although entrepreneur characteristics and competitive strategy are dominant constructs within business studies, there is still no consensus about how they act jointly to influence firm performance. The paper, therefore, tries to expand the understanding of the joint and individual effects of entrepreneur characteristics and competitive strategy on firm performance in the context of resource-based view advancing that sustainable competitive advantage can be obtained by being in possession of strategically relevant resources and capabilities. The sample units are selected using stratified random sampling procedures and data collected by administering a questionnaire to 314 entrepreneurs dealing with non-timber forest products in Kenya. The data is analysed using multiple linear regression analyses. The results reveal that: (1) a significant relationship exists between entrepreneur characteristics and firm performance before the introduction of competitive strategy in the relationship; (2) a non-significant relationship prevails between entrepreneur characteristics and firm performance after the introduction of competitive strategy; (3) entrepreneur characteristics influence competitive strategy; and (4) competitive strategy influences firm performance. The observations meet conditions defined for mediating effect. It is concluded that the relationship between entrepreneur characteristics and firm performance is indirect and hidden requiring mediation of strategy. Thus, an integrated fit between the entrepreneur and strategy improves firm performance. The findings strengthen arguments advanced by the resource-based view that firms can obtain sustainable competitive advantage through their strategically relevant resources. The theoretical contribution of the study is the integrated approach and review of the multidimensional alignment of strategy with entrepreneur characteristics of education, skills and experience that depict the knowledge capital and entrepreneur's age and gender to improve performance. The study provides entrepreneurs/managers with insights on the importance of aligning their strategies to resources possessed for better performance. It is important that entrepreneurs strengthen their knowledge capital to formulate and implement successful strategies for better performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the impact of dynamic service innovation capabilities (DSICs) on organizational performance of service enterprises based on firms' external and internal contingencies. The study is based on the data from 676 small and medium business-to-business service firms in China. The results revealed significant positive effects of DSICs on firms' financial and market performance, while confirming that the performance effect of DSICs is contingent on organizational structure and competitive intensity. The study results provide valuable insights to both researchers in the service innovation field and practicing managers who make strategic decisions on allocating resources for sustainable growth of service firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical models suggest that standardisation activities in the market may be too high or too low with respect to the market optimum. This paper investigates the association of standardisation engagement with firms' performance as indirect evidence of a sub-optimal level of market standardisation activities. Anecdotal evidence has it that firms can benefit from engagement in standardisation activities, but large quantitative studies on this topic are rather scarce. Based on a large innovation survey, this paper implements matching models to compare outcomes of firms with similar features but different standardisation activities. The outcomes of interest are several measures of innovation and growth. Standardisers and non-standardisers are matched onto a rich set of control variables. Firms engaged in standardisation have better innovation performance than firms with no such activities. However, the results for the performance measures are rather mixed, showing no association or negative association with labour productivity measures. Heteroscedasticity-based instruments mitigate possible endogeneity issues. These results can be interpreted as indirect evidence of low standardisation activity in the market, possibly due to long payback periods and appropriability issues of the standardisation investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several authors have stated that the board of directors serve as the most crucial internal mechanism for improving a company's performance. On the other hand, prior studies argue that the board did not serve its purpose of safeguarding the stakeholders' interests equally and improving the performance of companies. It has piqued the interest of regulatory organisations all around the world, including in India. However, out of the several reforms introduced in India, board size is one of the most significant. As a result, the present study scrutinises the non-linear influence of board size on the performance of 213 Indian companies for 2001–2019. Tobin's Q and Return on Equity (ROE) are the study's performance metrics. The fixed effect panel regression findings depict that board size has an inverted U-shaped non-linear impact, i.e., initially, the performance improves, but after board size reaches a particular point, it diminishes. Thus, this study supports the recent changes made by the regulatory bodies about board size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between firm performance and cost of debt. More specifically this paper empirically shows that fund providers charge lower cost on debt for highly performing companies compared to lower performing companies. We argue that the profitable companies are more resilient, and they have more survivable capacity which impacts on the pricing of the cost of debt. In contrast, lower performing companies are more prone to financial distress or may have higher chances of non-repayment of loans thereby fund providers charge higher interest to compensate the risks. Consistently, analyzing 547 firm year observations for the period of 2015–2019 we find that the cost of debt is significantly lower for the highly performing companies compared to the lower performing companies. The negative relation between the cost of debt and firm performance is highly pronounced in smaller companies compared to bigger companies. It suggests that fund providers create opportunities for smaller companies thereby results in balanced growth in the economy. Our results are robust to a set of alternative measures of firm performance. This study has several policy implications and contributions to the literature of the cost of debt in developing economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internal auditing has been an elementary and powerful component of corporate governance in business strategies. It is highly acknowledged as an important business control system in the realm of quality management. Business performance does not come by itself; it needs plenty of aids and capabilities. Existing studies have investigated the business performance with fewer outcomes in corporate sustainability, firm, and environmental performance. We present analysis and validated improvised hypothesis through structural equation modeling (SEM), using analysis of a moment structures (AMOS), on empirical evidence gathered from 304 Chief Executive Officer (CEOs) in Top Multinational Companies of Pakistan (TMCP). In this paper, we examine the role of internal audit functionality as an influencing factor via corporate governance in corporate sustainability, firm performance, and environmental performance. Moreover, business quality and performance are maintained using functions such as interests of shareholders, personnel and finance. Results suggest that internal audit functionality and corporate governance significantly influence corporate sustainability, firm performance, and environmental performance. Additionally, CEOs and top managers of TMCP are advised to concentrate on internal audit functionality with a mediating role of corporate governance that in turn encourages corporate sustainability, firm performance, and environmental performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The popularity and use of cloud computing has largely been driven by the reported benefits on firm performance. Despite this technology providing a paradigm shift in information technology (IT) services, the process through which the adoption of cloud computing effects organizational performance in the context of developing countries is still unclear. The aim of this study is to provide a theoretical discussion that advances our understanding about the mediating and moderating roles of organizational mindfulness in the context of cloud computing adoption and organizational performance. A research model is developed and tested using structural equation modelling. A firm level cross sectional survey was conducted on a sample of 180 organizations in the financial, manufacturing and IT sectors in Kenya. The findings reveal that organizations need to systematically develop mindfulness capabilities to benefit from the adoption of cloud, and IT innovations in general. The study has implications for research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cutting-edge technologies like big data analytics (BDA), artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, blockchain, and digital twins have a profound impact on the sustainability of the production system. In addition, it is argued that turbulence in technology could negatively impact the adoption of these technologies and adversely impact the sustainability of the production system of the firm. The present study has demonstrated that the role of technological turbulence as a moderator could impact the relationships between the sustainability the of production system with its predictors. The study further analyses the mediating role of operational sustainability which could impact the firm performance. A theoretical model has been developed that is underpinned by dynamic capability view (DCV) theory and firm absorptive capacity theory. This model was verified by PLS-SEM with 412 responses from various manufacturing firms in India. There exists a positive and significant influence of AI and other cutting-edge technologies for keeping the production system sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, fiscal policy is an important tool to facilitate green recovery of the economy. This paper uses the low-energy-intensive incentive support policy implemented by the Chinese government as a trial and explores the impact of fiscal policy on the green recovery of firms. Using Chinese listed-firm data from 2019Q1 to 2021Q1, we use the difference-in-differences method to estimate policy effects, leading to several findings. First, our fundamental results show that the government's low-energy-intensive support policy can significantly improve low-energy-intensive firm performance more than that of high-energy-consuming firms, with respect to return on assets, return on equity and Tobin's Q. Second, regarding the mechanisms involved, our estimation results indicate that the low-energy-intensive support policy works by alleviating financial constraints to improve firm performance. Third, our empirical findings indicate that low-energy-intensive support policy can increase current ratio, liquidity and cash flow, resulting in improved firm financial resources. Finally, the fiscal support policy reduces management and financial costs, thus improving firm performance. Our findings recommend adoption of well-designed fiscal policies in regions where green economic recovery is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that corruption risks may distort market incentives in high-risk contexts. However, there is a dearth of evidence on the potential impact of corruption in settings characterized by low corruption and high-quality institutions. Against that background, this paper delves deeper into the alleged consequences of corruption by examining the link between corruption risks in public procurement and the profitability of firms in the Swedish construction industry. We introduce a novel measure of corruption risk based on the share of single bidder contracts that a firm has won. Validity analysis confirms that our measure is correlated with an alternative corruption measure and local tender winners. Our results reveal that firms that win many single bidder contracts have higher profitability than other firms in the sector: 10 percentage points higher single bidding rate firms have a 0.2–0.6-percentage-point higher sales margin. The findings underscore that public procurement corruption risks distort markets and economic incentives, and that this risk is present even in low-corruption contexts such as in Sweden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-efficacy reflects the self-belief that one can persistently perform difficult and novel tasks while coping with adversity. As such beliefs reflect how individuals behave, think, and act, they are key for successful entrepreneurial activities. While existing literature mainly analyzes the influence of the task-related construct of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, we take a different perspective and investigate, based on a representative sample of 1,405 German business founders, how the personality characteristic of generalized self-efficacy influences start-up performance as measured by a broad set of business outcomes up to 19 months after business creation. Outcomes include start-up survival and entrepreneurial income, as well as growth-oriented outcomes such as job creation and innovation. We find statistically significant and economically important positive effects of high scores of self-efficacy on start-up survival and entrepreneurial income, which become even stronger when focusing on the growth-oriented outcome of innovation. Furthermore, we observe that generalized self-efficacy is similarly distributed between female and male business founders, with effects being partly stronger for female entrepreneurs. Our findings are important for policy instruments that are meant to support firm growth by facilitating the design of more target-oriented offers for training, coaching, and entrepreneurial incubators. Plain English Summary: The self-belief in own abilities to cope with adversity and succeed at an endeavor is called self-efficacy. This belief can outweigh other doubts or self-beliefs such that we can be resilient on our path to reaching goals. Can this belief influence the performance of entrepreneurs with nascent start-ups? Is this influence different for female and male entrepreneurs? Accounting for other factors that might influence business outcomes, we find that self-efficacy alone influences the chances of business survival, having employees, applying for patents or trademark protection, as well as the start-up generated income. On the other hand, we find similar levels of self-efficacy between female and male entrepreneurs, observing that self-efficacy affects the probability of growth-related outcomes for both females and males. This contributes to the understanding of what drives start-up growth and success, which is crucial for the development of target-oriented policies, including training measures, coaching offers, and business incubators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The supply chain disruptions caused primarily by the COVID-19 pandemic catastrophe are expected to prolong the global chip shortage for several more years, making it a pressing concern across industries worldwide. Nonetheless, the influence of supply chain disruptions on firm performance within the semiconductor industry, especially in developing countries like Malaysia, has received limited attention in previous studies. This study aims to determine how supply chain adaptive techniques that combine robustness, agility, and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic affected multinational firms' performance in the semiconductor industry in Malaysia. The nature of the study is quantitative, using survey methodology. The data were collected from 82 multinational corporations of semiconductor firms through an online platform. The findings show that resilience in supply chain adaptive strategies significantly impacted multinational corporations' semiconductor industries during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the success of semiconductor firms during the COVID-19 pandemic was not greatly affected by the resilience and agility of supply chain adaptive strategies. The findings offer valuable insights into how firms implemented supply chain adaptive strategies during the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic. The knowledge can enable them to lessen the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic supply chain disruption and eventually enhance the firm's performance. Future studies should examine the new aspect of supply chain strategies, such as demand-driven planning, which uses technological tools for climate adaptation in times of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the years, researchers have used various theoretical frameworks and analytical tools to evaluate the relationship between board gender diversity and firm financial performance. The results, however, have remained largely inconclusive, perhaps because the role of board gender diversity has been studied separately from other board and firm characteristics. To address this issue, we examine the relationship between board gender diversity and firm financial performance through the theoretical framework of complexity theory, using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). Our sample comprises 204 non-financial firms listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). We find that board gender diversity does not affect firm financial performance in isolation, but rather in combination with other board and firm characteristics. In some combinations it is associated with both stronger firm financial performance and in other configurations with weaker firm financial performance. We also find that greater gender diversity on boards mitigates the negative effects of CEO duality on firm financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]