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Through a proprietary dataset of listed firms on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, we establish a positive link between firms' financial technology (Fintech) business and their corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. Such a link can be more pronounced among firms of stronger political connections, lower agency costs, and better internal control. Enhanced supply of bank loans, internal capital market, public scrutiny, and firms' strategic differences are underlying the link. Fintech business may also effectively curb firms' corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) behaviour. Fintech business may have become a strategic endeavor to sustain long-term economic growth in the digital age. • Fintech business positively contributes to firm CSR practices. • The impact is strengthened by political connections, lowered agency costs, and internal control. • Bank loans, internal capital market, public scrutiny, and strategic differences are underlying elements. • Fintech business also curbs corporate social irresponsibility behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the pavement network maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) programming problem, over a certain planning horizon and in the context of limited funding. We designed an integer programming model to fulfill three purposes, namely, optimize the road conditions, minimize user disturbance costs, and minimize agency costs. We present a case study in which this model is applied to the pavement network of Shanghai. We investigate the results through the use of five M&R strategies, to identify the Pareto-optimal trade-offs inherent in developing pavement network M&R planning. The results demonstrate that there is a positive relationship between PCI improvement and user disturbance costs and between PCI improvement and agency costs. Additionally, we conduct a comparative analysis between agency and government-oriented strategies to evaluate the effectiveness and equity consideration. The findings suggest that the government-oriented strategy improves the pavement condition effectively with low user disturbance costs, and the agency-oriented strategy accounts for more equity consideration. Finally, we formulate an extension model that considers multiple road types, for application to pavement network M&R programming. The results show that light rehabilitation and preventive maintenance are the most frequently implemented treatments on arterial roads and secondary trunk roads from the case network implementation. This study helps decision-makers identify the trade-offs made when developing a pavement network M&R program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the data of A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2016 in Shanghai and Shenzhen, we establish a panel threshold model which the threshold variable is internal control, and analyse the nonlinearity relationship between dividend and agency cost. The result shows:There exist threshold effects between dividend and agency cost based on internal control. Cash dividend can reduce agency cost when internal control quality is higher than the threshold, otherwise, cash dividend will no longer have any effect. That means, a valid internal control is the foundation of dividend governance function. Furthermore, the descriptive statistics result implies that, companies with higher internal control quality than threshold are popular. This paper proofs that agency theory is effective in Chinese market, and higher internal control quality higher propensity to pay. So we disagree with the previous hypothesis of "result" and "substitution" between internal control and dividend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]