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Equity crowdfunding represents an alternative online financing source. Small, non-accredited investors can back different ventures and earn financial, strategic, and social returns. We find that equity crowdfunding success is dependent on team size, financing target, and the number of backers.

There is an on-going debate on the antecedents and consequences of income inequality. Recent studies find that income inequality was a cause of the recent financial crisis. However, the findings on the inequality-indebtedness relationship are mixed and based on analyses of developed countries. The aim of this research is to test how income inequality influences borrowing in post-communist countries, whose financial markets are not very developed, which has important implications for income inequality. Therefore, we include financial system development in the analysis. We base our analysis on state-level panel data and find that income inequality will increase indebtedness in the private sector. However, these results are model and region specific. To preclude higher income inequality and the emergence of a financial crisis, policies should be directed towards improving the role of financial intermediaries and stock markets.

This study proposes implementation of Boolean consistent fuzzy inference system for credit scoring purposes. Fuzzy inference system (FIS) allows domain experts to express their knowledge in the form of fuzzy rules, which enables combination of automatic rating with human judgment. Crucial for this model is that fuzzy rules are being evaluated using Boolean consistent fuzzy logic, which preserves all Boolean axioms. Experimental results show that the Boolean consistent FIS outperforms the conventional FIS in terms of classification accuracy, precision, and recall. Consistent fuzzy logic could contribute to the rightful approval of more loans which in turn would have positive effects on economic growth.

Cilj ovog istraživanja ogleda se u sveobuhvatnom predstavljanju, analiziranju i utvrđivanju realnih opcija i načina na koje one utiču na povećanje vrednosti za akcionare, kao i definisanje mogućeg pristupa vrednovanju običnih akcija korporacija iz visokorizičnih i fleksibilnih delatnosti. U istraživanju je dat pregled postojećih koncepata vezanih za formulisanje strategije i načini na koji njihova realizacija doprinosi stvaranju vrednosti za akcionare. Realizacija strategije dovedena je u vezu sa različitim vrstama realnih opcija, koje nastaju njenim sprovođenjem. Na osnovu pregleda literature utvrđeno je da postoji određeni broj indikatora fleksibilnosti i neizvesnosti, koji ukazuju na potencijal za postojanje realnih opcija. Ovi indikatori upotrebljeni su kako bi se izvršilo sortiranje korporacija i utvrdilo koje su to korporacije koje na raspolaganju imaju vredne realne opcije. Finansijske mere perfomansi ovih korporacija su izračunate i utvrđene su njihove karakteristike. U doktorskoj disertaciji izvršena je detaljna identifikacija i dat je kritički osvrt na postojeće modele vrednovanja vlasničkih hartija od vrednosti. Na osnovu toga, ekstra prinos na akcije doveden je u vezu sa rizikom, indikatorima realnih opcija i indikatorima različitih vrsta generičkih strategija koje korporacija može realizovati. U istraživanju je upotrebljena analiza panela podataka. Analiza osetljivosti modela izvršena je upotrebom različitih načina na koje je postojeća literatura definisala opciju rasta. U cilju verifikacije definisanog modela i postavljenih hipoteza, izvršeno je grafičko poređenje predviđanja baziranih na osnovu modela i realno generisanog ekstra prinosa. Indikatori postojanja realnih opcija pokazuju značaj u vezi između prinosa i rizika, ali tržište je obazrivije prilikom njihovog vrednovanja. Strategija vođstva u troškovima povećava ekstra prinos investitora., The goal of this research is to present, analyze, and determine different types of real options, and to explore their influence on shareholder value creation. Based on the findings, the aim is to propose a new equity valuation approach, for high risk high flexibility corporations. This research presents an overview of contemporary strategy concepts and relates them to the shareholder value creation. By conducting a certain strategy, company has different real options at its disposal. Based on the literature review, different flexibility and uncertainty indicators were determined which can suggest that there is a potential for the presence of the real options. These indicators were used to sort corporations, and to determine which have valuable real options. Furthermore, financial performance measures of high flexibility, high uncertainty companies were calculated and their characteristics were presented. This doctoral thesis identifies and critically addresses existing stock pricing models. Based on all the findings, excess return is related to the risk, real options, and generic strategies. Panel data analysis is employed in this research. Different growth option definitions were used to test the sensitivity of the proposed approach. Additionally, this approach is verified through comparison of the predicted and actual excess return results. Real options indicators show significance for an explanation of the risk-return relationship, but it can be seen that the market is more conservative when valuing those options. Cost-leadership strategy increases the investors’ excess return.

In the last decade, special attention has been paid to the issue of working capital management. Evidently, many authors suggest that the optimum level of working capital depends on the industry and the nature of its transactions (Walker, 1964; Outram, 1997, Ozbayrak and Akgun, 2006). According to Johnson and Soenen (2003), in order for a company to be able to achieve its aim of shareholder value creation, effective working capital management should be an integral part of its corporate strategy. Net working capital is defined as the difference between firms’ current assets (including accounts receivable, inventories, and cash) and current liabilities (including accounts payable and short term debt). These elements significantly influence company’s liquidity and that is the reason why working capital is often used to evaluate the liquidity of a company. The relevance of this performance measure arises from the fact that the insufficient liquidity of the company can lead to its bankruptcy (Dunn and Cheatham, 1993).

Objective: The paper aims to annotate how selection of equity securities can be made by incorporating sustainability into analysis, and to present review of performance evidence of such an investment strategy. Research Design & Methods: The authors reviewed the scholarly literature and contemporary research on what constitutes a socially responsible investment, what risks are associated with such an investment, and what evidence of its performance are in different markets. They hypothesized that socially responsible investments underperform non-socially aware investments. Findings: This paper provides review of relevant corporate sustainability indicators used in investment analysis. Also, this paper is trying to present evidence of a link between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value. Research of performance of socially responsible investment equity indices and funds; mostly show that they underperform conventional ones. Implications & Recommendations: This paper aims to examine existing findings on socially responsible investing, and to propose modification of corporate strategies accordingly. Contribution & Value Added: This paper provides various insights into implications when incorporating environment, social responsibility, and corporate governance into investment strategies.

Korporativna društvena odgovornost predstavlja proces koji je pokrenut globalizacijom, deregulacijom i privatizacijom. Pristalice koncepta korporativne društvene odgovornosti žele da prikažu da organizacije nisu samo odgovorne za proizvodnju dobara i usluga, ne samo za stvaranje profita, već da njihova odgovornost seže mnogo dalje. Društveno odgovorna organizacija može pomoći da se razreše važni problemi vezani za društvo i ekologiju. Takodje može se reći da organizacije postižu najbolje rezultate kada imaju značajnu ulogu u društvenoj zajednici u kojoj funkcionišu. Svesnost o finansijskim implikacijama koje nose klimatske promene na organizaciju narasta među učesnicima u finansijskom sektoru, naročito posle ratifikacije Kyoto protokola. Većina donetih regulative ograničava emisiju gasova koji izazivaju efekat staklene bašte (GHG) ali istovremeno dozvoljava i kupovinu takozvanih 'emisionih' kredita u okviru i van oblasti u kojima se regulative primenjuju. Sve ovo dovelo je do narastanja tržišta koje se naziva 'karbonsko' tržište. Karbonske transakcije predstavljaju ugovore među dvema stranama, gde jedna strana kupuje od druge strane određenju količinu 'emisionih' kredita koje kupac može koristiti. 'Emisionim' kreditima se može trgovati na formiranim klimatskim berzama. Učesnici na ovom tržištu su različiti, i pored korporacija mogu se javiti i individualni i institucionalni investitori. Karbonski krediti predstavljaju značajan potencijal za ulaganje, takodje investitori mogu diverzifikovati svoj portfolio jer ova klasa aktive pokazuje malu korelaciju sa drugim klasama aktive. Potencijalne koristi i rizici vezani za ovu klasu aktive moraju se istraživati., The corporate social responsibility is a process driven by globalization, deregulation and privatization. Proponents of corporate social responsibility are keen to demonstrate that the businesses have responsibilities beyond the production of goods, services and profit making, and that socially responsible businesses can help solve important social and environmental problems. Hence, businesses perform best when they play a strong role in the communities in which they operate. Awareness of financial implications by climate change is growing among participants in the financial sector, especially after the ratification of the Kyoto protocol. The majority of regulations constrain emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), and on the other hand they enable a purchase of the so-called emission credits within and out of the regulated area. All this led to the growth of market called 'carbon market', Carbon transactions are the contracts between two parties, where one party purchases a certain quantity of 'emission' credits that it can further use as a buyer, from the other party. Emission credits are traded on the climate exchanges. Participants on the carbon market are various, such as corporations, individuals, and institutional investors. Carbon credits represent significant potential for investments, and investors can also diversify their portfolio with it, because this asset class shows low correlation with other asset classes. Potential benefits and risks associated with this asset class are yet to be researched.