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The profitability (ROA) of US and European defense companies are influenced by past profitability, debt policy, company size, and defense specialization. Taking into account the effect of these variables, individual company characteristics and time specificities, the profitability of US defense companies remains higher than that of European companies. Moreover, US defense firms are more profitable when specialized in defense, while European companies are more dependent on the civilian market and its evolution. The position of a company in the SIPRI ranking has a negative impact on American companies' profitability, while it positively influences European companies' profitability. These results could be due to excessive fragmentation (of orders and industries) on the European market and high concentration on the US market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research aims to determine the influence of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors on market performance. The study shows the perspective of ESG on market performance. The study attempted to test the relationship between ESG and Tobin's Q and the effect of control variables. Design/methodology/approach: The study used panel data from a sample covering 720 firms and ran a fixed-effects model regression during the 2007–2019 period for eight European countries' listed companies. Findings: The findings reveal that ESG positively impacts Tobin's Q. According to the findings, high company ESG performance boosts market performance via the moderator effect of competitive advantage. The results indicate that all control variables are significant. The firm's leverage has a negative relationship with ESG. The size of the firm impacts ESG positively. Also, the results prove that the firm's size and industry positively affect Tobin's Q. Research limitations/implications: The findings of this study suggest that managers, practitioners and authorities interested in learning about ESG scores (ESGSs), market performance and competitive advantage might draw intriguing conclusions from the data. Managers can identify the appropriate levels of competitive advantage that improve market performance. Practitioners must determine whether fit, size, growth, leverage and industry could enhance market performance. The findings also give authorities and the board of directors information on future growth opportunities for the company and the country. Originality/value: The research presents a vision of how ESG factors affect market performance. This study aims to identify the positive link between ESGSs and European market performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the relevance of the agricultural sectors for the European countries' development, but also the volatile features of agriculture, with unforeseen risks induced by climate, ensuring durable economic progress is foremost for the companies. This paper aims to assess the associations of the key parties in corporate governance (directors, managers, advisers, and shareholders), employees and the independence level with the main outcomes and capacity/size of the European companies operating in agriculture, fishing, and aquaculture activities. Using a newly compiled and complex dataset of 3 184 active companies from Europe, provided by the ORBIS database, advanced modelling approaches were employed, based on the robust regression (RREG) and Gaussian Graphical Model (GGM). The main findings emphasised that: directors, managers, and advisors had a strong positive influence on the firms' size, boosting their turnover, and the shareholders' funds; advisors induced positive connections with the companies' liquidity; the number of employees exerted positive impacts on the firms' size and outcomes of these companies; the independence level exerted a negative impact on the firms' size and outcomes. Finally, specific measures must be addressed to primarily reconsider the number of directors and managers and the shareholders' participation in the ownership of these companies due to their unfavourable exerted effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the ongoing debate regarding the relationship between relational capital (RC) and firm performance, by investigating the moderation effect of firm size and its key role in defining conditions for competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses the interpretative lens of the resource dependence theory, and refreshes consolidated studies rooted in RC. It identifies a set of variables to measure the influence of RC on firm performance, including the cost of goods sold, interest expenses and earnings per share. Content analysis was used to capture specific features of corporate disclosure tools using 51 items pertinent to RC. The authors used a specific disclosure index drawing on data collected from 73 listed firms in France, Germany, Italy and the UK. Data covering the period from 2011 to 2013 were analyzed using six regression models. Findings: Firm size has a moderating effect on the relationship between RC and some variables linked to firm performance. Originality/value: The study combines an internal and external perspective to investigate the interplay between firms and market environments, and therefore, enriches the ongoing debate concerning the relationship between RC and firm performance. It outlines possible ways through which RC can become an effective source of competitive advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food safety crises have led governments to increase food firms’ responsibility by asking them to voluntarily implement prevention efforts. In this article, we explore the relationship between food firms’ size and their level of prevention efforts. We show that when cross-contamination between units is unlikely, small firms undertake greater prevention efforts than large firms. But when cross-contamination between units is possible, the effort-size curve is an inverted U-shape. Using these results, we discuss food safety laws in Europe and in the US, which differ in how they deal with the size of food firms’ operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes differences in target leverage and speed of adjustment across three life cycle stages of European listed firms: introduction, growth and maturity. We determine that profitability and tangibility are the most stable determinants, whereas growth opportunities and size exhibit changing effects across stages. The speed of adjustment does not increase as the firms evolve, as firms in introduction are able to adjust the fastest. Firms changing stage adjust leverage at a lower speed, and the ir target is more affected by p ro fitability, primarily when the change is from growth to maturity. Finally, we confirm the existence of long-term debt targets, by providing evidence that the next-year target is a relevant factor to explain current debt when firms change from one stage to another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regulation of capital adequacy within Europe is complex and has only recently started to become coordinated. This paper will first define the European legislation which controls such national regulation and then specifically analyse the functioning of the Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (ICAAP) and the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP) in the largest Western European economies. The specific enforcement regime of the SREP is usually left up to national regulators, and thus the 'main focus' of the SREP in each country will be elucidated with the methodology used in each country explained in "Methodological Focus Areas". The countries examined are: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Conclusions will then be drawn as to the differences in the approaches, and the efficacy of the regulation and the implications for an integrated international enforcement system will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to explore the management of working time flexibility and firm performance, measured by operating hours, in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe. Design/methodology/approach - The paper analyses the European Capital Operating time, Work and Employment Survey (EUCOWE), designed to collect workplace information on operating hours. With data on more than 17,000 establishments in six European countries - France, Germany, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK - the paper analyses working time patterns and operating hours. Findings - The authors show the positive relationship between company size and operating times and how SMEs make more limited use of more advanced forms of working-time organisation that may allow them to extend their operating hours. The use of less complex working time measures such as overtime does not have the same positive association with operating hours. However, the results also highlight that smaller establishments can still benefit from the adoption of certain working time practices. The results suggest that the influence of the regulatory environment on the use of working practices or the duration of operating hours is not straightforward, and as such the impact of national regulatory frameworks cannot be discounted in the country-specific differences identified. Originality/value - The paper uses the first comparable data on operating hours and working patterns to demonstrate the limitations on SME operating times across European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are at the core of the European Commission competitiveness policy. With the entering into force of the latest revision of the European pharmaceutical legislation, new regulatory provisions have been laid down to help these small but dynamic players when dealing with the so-called centralised marketing authorisation procedure and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). The new incentives address both financial and administrative aspects, such as fee reductions and deferrals for a number of EMEA services, handling of translations, and the establishment of a dedicated SME Office within the Agency. In this paper we explore the newly established regulation and the various provisions to analyse its implications for SMEs in general and generic manufacturers in particular. We also review the underlying assumptions, especially the Community SME definition, and discuss the policy objectives that led to the establishment of this new piece of legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the establishment of Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), a partnership-driven programme, which aims to improve global competitiveness in the drug industry in Europe. It cites that June 2008 was the submission of proposals for the IMI to support public research and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). According to Carlo Incerti, president of European Biopharmaceutical Enterprises, IMI will give access to database of several bigger companies for toxicology results.