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Corporate stakeholders are intrigued by the potential collaboration between AI and environmental reporting to maintain competitiveness in the digital and sustainable economy. This exploration is crucial given the persistent pressures driving companies to engage in greenwashing practices for legitimacy. Aiming to shed light on the function of AI in reducing the prevalence of greenwashing by Chinese businesses, the findings, derived from panel data estimation of Chinese A‐share firms, suggest that the implementation of AI has a positive impact on the fight against greenwashing. The investigation presents compelling evidence that greenwashing mechanism control can be accelerated by AI technologies. Organizations that invest strategically in artificial intelligence exhibit a diminished propensity to obfuscate environmental performance by means of AI‐enabled automation and enhanced data‐driven decision‐making. Intriguingly, the study demonstrates that the substantial disparate greenwashing impact of AI depends on ownership structure. In comparison to non‐SOEs, state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) demonstrate diminished AI control over greenwashing. Significantly, the research utilizes a variety of validation methods, such as instrumental variable approach, propensity score matching, and two‐stage least squares, to ensure the validity of the primary findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the determinants of corruption in Russia based on an original survey of 1,376 businesspeople in 39 regions. Regression analysis reveals economically and statistically significant correlations between bribes, development, and state intervention in the economy. Using the instrumental variable of geographical location, this paper provides supportive evidence for a causal (negative) relationship between prosperity and bribes. It finds a positive correlation between regional corruption and state ownership and a negative one between corruption and the size of the bureaucracy. These results hold for both perceived and experiential corruption. This paper contributes to the investigation of corruption in Russia and post-communist countries. It illustrates the importance of economic development, effective bureaucracy, and the reduction of state property for mitigating corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we explore the paradigms of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Bulgaria. The author has conducted qualitative research based on case studies with in-depth interviews with long-term executives in key Bulgarian SOEs. The results of the author's findings on the nature of innovation and barriers to innovation in Bulgarian SOEs are presented. Research results illustrate the nature of innovations in SOEs as well as management’s understanding of innovation in the context of entrepreneurial activities. The results show the role of SOEs and their contribution to the level of innovation in the country's economy. A unique combination of barriers to innovation for SOEs are identified that are specific to the Bulgarian context. The study contributes to the understanding of the functional dynamics of innovations in SOEs in Bulgaria, offering conclusions and recommendations for policy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an increasingly complex and dynamic era, the capabilities of naval armaments become crucial aspects in ensuring a country's maritime sovereignty. State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) have significant potential to act as drivers in strengthening the capabilities of naval armaments. This paper aims to delve deeper into the role and contribution of SOEs in the development of the defense industry, particularly in the context of strengthening the capabilities of naval armaments. This approach includes conceptual analysis and case studies that allow researchers to explore various aspects of policies and practices related to SOE development in the defense industry. The experts were interviewed with a total of 12 expert panels. Several important findings resulting from this analysis reinforce awareness of the crucial role of SOEs in supporting maritime defense while highlighting the potential of specific strategies in achieving the goals of strengthening naval armaments, such as Variation of Strategies Adopted by SOEs in Developing the Defense Industry, consists of Product Diversification and Technological Innovation; Collaboration with Strategic Partners; Operational Efficiency Improvement. Besides that, the success of SOE development policies in the defense industry encompasses coordinated inter-agency cooperation, investment in research and development (R&D), and supportive regulations. Further improvement and development steps in the maritime defense industry include enhancing synergy with the government through the establishment of special teams and discussion forums, boosting R&D investment through fiscal incentive programs and the establishment of innovation centers, as well as improving responsive regulations through the formation of regulatory committees and independent audits.

In an increasingly complex and dynamic era, the capabilities of naval armaments become crucial aspects in ensuring a country's maritime sovereignty. State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) have significant potential to act as drivers in strengthening the capabilities of naval armaments. This paper aims to delve deeper into the role and contribution of SOEs in the development of the defense industry, particularly in the context of strengthening the capabilities of naval armaments. This approach includes conceptual analysis and case studies that allow researchers to explore various aspects of policies and practices related to SOE development in the defense industry. The experts were interviewed with a total of 12 expert panels. Several important findings resulting from this analysis reinforce awareness of the crucial role of SOEs in supporting maritime defense while highlighting the potential of specific strategies in achieving the goals of strengthening naval armaments, such as Variation of Strategies Adopted by SOEs in Developing the Defense Industry, consists of Product Diversification and Technological Innovation; Collaboration with Strategic Partners; Operational Efficiency Improvement. Besides that, the success of SOE development policies in the defense industry encompasses coordinated inter-agency cooperation, investment in research and development (R&D), and supportive regulations. Further improvement and development steps in the maritime defense industry include enhancing synergy with the government through the establishment of special teams and discussion forums, boosting R&D investment through fiscal incentive programs and the establishment of innovation centers, as well as improving responsive regulations through the formation of regulatory committees and independent audits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have argued that water risk affects corporate sustainability, but few of them have fully explored whether or not and how water resources have a direct impact on corporate finance and strategy. This study takes the listed companies in the Chinese A-share market from 2019 to 2023 as a sample to understand the threat of water vulnerability to corporate sustainability from the perspective of capital cost. This study argues that water vulnerability positively relates to corporate capital cost by increasing corporate financing constraints. Meanwhile, this study also examines the role of water regulation and water investment in the relationship between water vulnerability and corporate capital cost. Water regulation brings legitimate pressure to corporations and increases the transformation risks faced by them, so it has a positive moderating effect. Water investment can alleviate the vulnerability of local water resources and reduce the physical water risk faced by corporations, so it has a negative moderating effect. The study finds that the two measures mainly play a significant moderating effect on the cost of debt. In addition, the study finds that the positive relationship between water vulnerability and capital cost has industrial and firm-level heterogeneity, while the moderating effect of government water governance has only industrial heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effects and transmission mechanisms of research and development (R & D) efficiency and the proportion of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) on carbon intensity using data from 30 Chinese provinces. The findings show that improving R & D efficiency can lower carbon intensity by promoting technological progress. However, more SOEs can increase carbon intensity by inhibiting technological progress. Thus, a higher proportion of SOEs can reduce the positive impact of R & D efficiency on decreasing carbon intensity. Additionally, the proportion of SOEs has a moderating effect that extends beyond provincial boundaries, resulting in spatial spillover due to strong interconnections between provinces. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that this moderating effect is particularly pronounced in the central and western regions, as well as in the electricity sector. This variation is due to differences in economic development levels and government priorities. Given the characteristics of China’s carbon intensity, policymakers should shift from a one size fits all carbon reduction policy to prioritizing enhancing R & D efficiency, boosting the innovation capabilities of SOEs, and considering spatial linkages and regional disparities.

Objectives: This paper analyzed corporate governance reporting practices in State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in South Africa. Approach: The study used qualitative content analysis methodology to identify information for assessing the published annual reports of twenty-one purposively selected SOEs in South Africa. A checklist based on the corporate governance requirements of the King IV Report was used to identify the corporate governance reporting practices in SOEs. Results: The study found that most of the SOEs adhered to the King IV reporting recommendations. However, there are areas such leadership, ethics, corporate citizenship, value creation process, board evaluation and committee evaluation that detailed disclosure. Furthermore, the study found that there was inadequate guidance and oversight in terms of ethical standards and organizational culture. Implications: The study recommended that in areas where the entity has not fully complied, management should include a statement explaining the entity's commitment to comply with the required corporate governance practices and how it plans to address any weaknesses in the future. This study also recommended that the South African government should appoint board members with the necessary skills and competence to implement sound corporate governance reporting practices. Value: This research provides valuable insights into the corporate governance reporting practices of South Africa's SOEs, highlighting both adherence to and gaps in compliance with the King IV Report. It offers actionable recommendations for improving governance transparency and emphasizes the importance of skilled board appointments to strengthen oversight and ethical standards within SOEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: The article aims to propose the scope of an aggregated annual report on the performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Poland. Design/methodology/approach: Analysis of the literature regarding the publication by supervisory authorities of aggregated annual reports on state-owned enterprises. Analysis of aggregated annual reports from 5 EU countries selected for comparative analysis. The choice of 5 out of 24 countries preparing an aggregated annual report on all SOEs resulted from the number and importance of SOEs in these countries. Findings: The analysis of aggregated annual reports from selected 5 countries showed that not all reports contain selected consolidated data of all SOEs or separate data about individual SOEs. In only 3 out of 5 countries (Sweden, Finland, and Norway) the reports contained aggregated data of all SOEs, and in 4 (apart from France) separate data of individual SOEs. Research limitation/implications: Due to the length of the article, only 5 countries out of 24 preparing annual aggregated reports on SOEs were included in the comparative analysis. Practical implications: The analysis is useful for all SOE stakeholders, especially politicians who create regulations concerning the state’s ownership policy and Polish society. Social influence: Introducing the need to publish an aggregated annual report on SOEs by the appointed state body (preferably the Ministry of State Assets) will positively impact the improvement of ownership supervision over these companies, to benefit the entire Polish society and other stakeholders. Originality/value: The analysis of aggregated annual reports on SOEs prepared in other countries and the indication of elements in these reports that can be used in the Polish report is a new solution. The results of the analysis are useful to politicians responsible for creating the state’s ownership policy, Polish society, and minority shareholders of SOEs interested in improving transparency in the supervision of SOEs, and thus in their operational effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firms with big customers are associated with not only high operational efficiency but also high operational risks. We study the effect of big customers on various aspects of bank loan contracts using a manually collected contract‐level dataset from China over the period of 2001–2016. We find that, big customers help firms obtain lower borrowing interest rates, longer loan duration, and larger loan amounts, though this is accompanied by more restrictive borrowing conditions. We further find that state ownership and political connections are important considerations when banks make loan decisions to firms with big customers. Overall, our results show how benefits and costs of big customers are evaluated by banks and priced into bank loan contract terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the impact of China's economic stimulus plan in 2008 on the total factor productivity (TFP) of China's listed firms. We hypothesize that firms operating in regions characterized by greater resource misallocation would experience a more pronounced decline in TFP following the implementation of the stimulus plan. To gauge the extent of resource misallocation, we employ the proportion of state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) as a measure. Our findings reveal a substantial decrease in TFP for firms located in provinces with higher SOE shares compared to those in provinces with lower SOE shares, amounting to approximately 9.2%. These results highlight the unintended policy consequence of the stimulus plan for firm‐level productivity in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does China's 2008 economic stimulus plan affect housing price through the channel of state-owned enterprises (SOEs)? Utilizing a sample of 206 Chinese cities and a different-in-difference approach, we show that the housing prices in cities with a higher prevalence of SOEs, tend to grow disproportionately faster than that in cities with lower prevalence of SOEs after the shock of 2008 China's stimulus plan. The heterogeneity tests show that the SOE channel plays a more important role in cities with more city investment bonds, less financial development and lower level of marketization. Our conclusion is robust across a battery of sensitivity tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the implementation of the compliance management guidelines issued by China’s SASACs, we construct a quasi-natural experiment to examine the impact of the implementation of these guidelines on the investment efficiency of SOEs. The investment efficiency of SOEs is significantly improved after the implementation of the guidelines. The impact is more pronounced on SOEs with significant financing constraints, high financing requirements and intense competition in the product market. We also find that the guidelines improve efficiency investment by reducing management’s risk appetite, mitigating the Type I agency problems and enhancing the level of internal control. The conclusions indicate that compliance management is an important strategy for enhancing the investment efficiency of SOEs.

This study aims to provide empirical evidence of the ability to predict financial distress using financial variables (current ratio, cash flow operation, leverage, gross profit margin, and return on assets) and non-financial variables (going concern opinion, audit report lag, opinion shopping, the additional state capital, and subsidies). Model testing uses three steps. First, financial ratios (CR, CFO, LEV, GPM, ROA); second, non-financial ratios (GCO, ARL, SHOP, ASC, SUB); and third, all variables at once. This study uses panel data (2011-2020) with a sample size of 50 Indonesian SOEs. Data analysis uses ordinal logistic regression. The first test results show that CR and ROA positively affect financial distress, while LEV and GPM have a negative effect. The second test results show ARL has a negative effect, while SHOP and SUB have a positive effect. Meanwhile, the third test results show LEV, GPM, and ASC have a negative effect, while ROA and SUB have a positive effect. Based on the r-squared and correctly predicted values, the third model test results are better than the first and second models. Statistically, the ability to predict financial distress that combines financial and non-financial ratios is better than models that only use financial and non-financial ratios. Financial ratios are the most consistent predictor of financial distress in terms of significance.

The method is providing and overview of the organization in the management perspective, within the health big data analysis, especially for the elderly employees, the organizations could sign the elderly employees within the right tasks, it reducing the costs by increasing the employees' job performance and organization performance. By addressing the importance role of big health data analytics (BDHA) in the healthcare system.moreover BDHA enables a patient's medical records to be searched in a dynamic, interactive manner. One billion records were made in two hours. Current clinical reporting compares large health data profiles and meta-big health data, giving health apps basic interfaces. A combination of Hadoop/MapReduce and HBase was used to generate the necessary hospital-specific large heath data. One billion (10TB) and three billion (30TB) HBase large health data files might be created in a week or a month using the concept. Apache Hadoop technologies tested simulated medical records. Inconsistencies reduced big health data. An encounter-centered big health database was difficult to set up due to the complicated medical system connections between big health data profiles. Associated with job performance such as the gender, current/past job positions and the health conditions are important. For genders the 66.36% of respondents in the experiments are females, 33.64 are males, majority of are healthy which are 66.97%, 30.58% are common geriatric disease, rest 2.45% are suffering from occupational disease; In terms of the current/past job positions, 20% of the respondents are working as accountant, followed by sales and management level. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, lists 157 distinct illnesses. Individuals may be diagnosed with one or more illnesses as a consequence of medical health professionals watching and analyzing their symptoms. It has been discovered that mental health issues have a negative impact on employees' job performance. For example, research on individuals with anxiety and depression has a direct impact on concentrations, decision-making process, and risk-taking behavior, which can be determined for job performance. Machine learning focuses on approaches that can be used to create accurate predictions about future characteristics based on previous training and post training. Principles such as job task and computational learning are crucial for machine learning algorithms that use a large amount of big health data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key economic structure in China is the co‐existence of state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) being bank‐favored firms as well as policy tools, and more productive private firms who can borrow from SOEs through entrusted lending. We explore macroeconomic implications of such a structure in China. Our findings suggest SOEs dampen output volatility at the cost of productivity volatility. In contrast, the healthy development of entrusted lending dampens variations of both output and productivity by reallocating credits between firms. Focusing on the recent growth slowdown in China, we further show conducive effects of entrusted lending on economic growth by mitigating capital misallocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effect of decentralisation of SOEs on stock price crash risk. In so doing, we test two competing hypotheses. Under the Political Influence Hypothesis, decentralisation aggravates local government's expropriation of minority shareholders (type II agency conflict), and thus increases crash risk. Under the Local Information Hypothesis, decentralisation decreases monitoring distance (type I agency conflict), strengthens external monitoring and thus decreases crash risk. We find robust evidence supporting the Political Influence Hypothesis. Cross‐sectional analyses show that our baseline results are more pronounced when firms are decentralised to the provincial level and politicians have greater incentives to pursue their political objectives. We further show that bad news hoarding and risk‐taking are two potential channels through which SOE decentralisation increases crash risk. Taken together, our results imply that the decentralisation exacerbates the type II agency conflict rather than ameliorates the type I agency conflict in SOEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extant theoretical and empirical literature show that profitability, efficiency, capital expenditure, output and dividends improve (increase) after privatisation. However, previous studies showed a mixture of results on employment levels after privatisation: some showing increases and some showing decreases in employment levels after privatisation. Previous studies also showed that leverage levels decrease after privatisation. In this study the author reviewed some literature regarding privatisation initiatives carried out in various countries and their repercussions on financial and operating performance of firms being privatised. He then used the case of Tanzania Breweries Ltd and compared its pre- and post-privatisation performance levels to evaluate whether there was any post-privatisation improvement. The t-test Paired Two Sample for Means available in Data Analysis Tool of Ms Excel was used to calculate pre- and post-privatisation means (averages) and mean differences for selected performance metrics and also for hypotheses testing. The results show that profitability (in terms of return on sales, return on assets and return on equity), operating efficiency (in terms of sales efficiency and net income efficiency), capital expenditure (in terms of capital expenditure to sales), output (in terms of hectolitres produced and real sales), dividend payout (in terms of dividend to sales ratio and dividend per share) and earnings in terms of earnings per share improved (increased) significantly after privatisation. Capital expenditure in terms of capital expenditure to assets increased but there was no strong evidence to support that the increase was attributable to privatisation or it was just by chance. Financial leverage (in terms of debt to assets and debt to equity) and number of employees improved (decreased) significantly after privatisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) encounter various constraints on sustainability in low-carbon development due to institutional hybridity. This study aimed to examine how SOEs develop sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) toward low-carbon development. Drawing on a case study of Shanghai Metro, we developed a process model for sustainability-oriented low-carbon innovation (SLI) in SOEs. The model illustrated that implementing a national low-carbon strategy introduces environmental, social, and financial constraints on sustaining value pluralism for SOEs, triggering the actors to develop SLI involving sensing and idea generation, configuration, and transformation, resulting in innovative low-carbon operational processes, products/services, and business models which reconcile environmental benefits, financial returns, and social welfare. This paper enriches the emerging research on SOI and extends the existing understanding of low-carbon innovation. Beyond this, the findings also offer a new lens of SLI to the conventional research and managerial practices concerning SOEs' hybridity and low-carbon development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research discusses the limitations on the privatization of State- Owned Enterprises (BUMN) in the field of electricity supply and its correlation with the implementation of the sub holding structure in PT PLN (Persero). This discussion is crucial, given that electricity is a vital sector of production for the nation and profoundly impacts the well-being of the general populace, necessitating state control. The study adopts a normative legal research approach, employing conceptual frameworks and secondary data. The research’s conclusion is that the constitution restricts the privatization of State-Owned Enterprises in the electricity supply sector, emphasizing that only State-Owned Enterprises are authorized to manage electricity-related businesses. National or foreign private companies are only permitted to participate if invited to collaborate by State-Owned Enterprises. The implementation of the sub holding structure in PT PLN (Persero), utilizing the shareholder scheme involving Geothermal Co and New Energy Co as subsidiaries, contradicts the 1945 Constitution because it leads to an escape from state control.

This study investigates how R&D affects firm performance and examines whether and how state ownership moderates the R&D–firm performance nexus. Moreover, this study investigates whether and how product market competition moderates the association between R&D and performance across the different natures of firms. Employing a sample of Chinese listed firms from 2000 to 2020, the study performs estimations by applying pooled ordinary least squares regressions, fixed-effect panel regressions, and a two-step system GMM model to account for endogeneity problems. The findings reveal that firm performance reduces as R&D expenses rise, with the impact being less pronounced for state-owned enterprises. The adverse impact of R&D on corporate performance is also alleviated under intense competition. The results have important implications for policymakers, investors, and corporations seeking to understand how R&D spending influences corporate performance in competitive industries. JEL classification: L25, G32, O3 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of the mixed-ownership reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), we investigate the involvement of non-SOEs shareholders in fostering the digital transformation of SOEs. We find that the active engagement of non-SOEs shareholders plays a pivotal role in expediting the digital transformation process of SOEs. Specifically, we identify two potential ways through which the reform promotes digital transformation in SOEs: the reduction of agency costs and the enhancement of executives' risk-taking propensities. Our empirical findings substantiate the notion that mixed-ownership reform serves as a catalyst for digital transformation, which is a crucial driver of long-term sustainability and growth for SOEs. Our heterogeneity testing indicates that mixed-ownership reform has a more profound impact on advancing the digital transformation of local SOEs and those operating in competitive industries. Overall, we provide novel insights into the integration advantages of mixed-ownership reform by examining the determinants of digital transformation in SOEs from the perspective of ownership structure. These findings offer valuable guidance to policymakers and corporate leaders aiming to facilitate digital transformation in SOEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We need to know more about the financial accountability of corporatized public services. In this article, the authors analyse the audit fees of a large sample of English local SOEs from 2009–2017, assessing the impact of board composition and ownership structure on those fees. SOEs with more politicians on their boards of directors had higher audit costs and this was especially so for majority-owned SOEs. This article highlights the need for policy-makers to evaluate the consistency of auditing arrangements for the hybrid arm's-length organizations delivering public services. This article investigates the relationship between political control and audit fees for local state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in England—hybrid public service organizations not subject to public sector audit. Panel regression techniques are used to analyse secondary data on 405 SOEs for 2009–2017 where major local authorities held an interest. Statistical results suggest greater political representation on boards of directors of local SOEs is associated with higher audit fees and positive relationship between political control and audit fees is stronger for majority public ownership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) bear a significant policy burden in promoting economic development and enjoy preferential government resources such as tax breaks. This study investigates the effect of the policy burden of China's SOEs on tax incentive resources and allocation efficiency using ordinary least squares regressions for state-owned listed companies from 2007 to 2021. This study found that the heavier the policy burden borne by the SOEs, the more tax incentives they receive. Moreover, SOEs become more likely to invest inefficiently after receiving tax incentives. These negative effects are more significant for local SOEs, those in poor business environments, and those with low information transparency. This study not only expands the research framework of the resource allocation efficiency of tax incentives but also provides direct empirical evidence to reduce the policy burden of SOEs. Therefore, our findings can be used to promote SOE reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State-owned enterprises' (SOEs) performance is currently under increasing pressure. SOEs are businesses that the government controls, at least with a majority stake, in particular fields that typically concern public interests. The purpose of this study is to investigate how investment efficiency in Indonesian state-owned enterprises is affected by the implementation of precise and measurable risk management. The information utilized is board information from 25 non-monetary SOEs recorded on the Indonesia Stock Trade during the 2013-2018 period. The panel regression method is used for testing, and it was found that the joint implementation of risk management has a significant impact on investment efficiency. Linear regression is used in this study's quantitative research approach. Financial reports from non-financial SOEs that were listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange between 2013 and 2018 were used as the data. The processed data from this study indicate that the implementation of risk management in non-financial SOEs in Indonesia between 2013 and 2018 has a significant impact on investment efficiency. The commitment to execute SOE risk the executives requires the board to deal with having choices to channel business decisions put forth to stay away from unprofitable attempts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food regime theory identifies three distinct food regimes on a world scale: the British (1870–1930s), American (1945–1970s), and corporate food regimes (since the 1980s). In the first two regimes, political economic orders were dominated by two separate nation states, whereas the current third regime is dominated by a few mega-corporations. Consequently, traditional super nation states are finding it challenging to use food trade measures to ensure favourable world orders. However, China's state-owned agribusiness enterprises are quickly joining hands with the corporate food regime. This study aims to answer the following questions: Where is the state in the contemporary corporate food regime? How are these rising Chinese state-owned agribusiness enterprises changing the current food regime context? Applying the food regime theory, this paper aims to analyse the expansion of China's influence in the global soybean commodity chain, which is driven by four forces from the corporate food regime: liberalisation, technologicalisation, securitisation, and accumulation. These forces lead the Chinese state apparatus to address China's domestic food needs and then to establish agricultural free trade projects, biotechnology projects, soybean commodity-chain nationalisation projects, and transnational land-grabbing investments. Furthermore, such a dynamic Chinese food security context is gradually moving towards a "state-owned enterprise corporate food regime." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation activities create substantial firm value, but they are difficult to manage owing to agency risk, which is commonly thought to result in shirking, and hence underinvestment in innovation. However, agency risk can also create inefficient allocation of resources among innovation activities, on which the literature has provided limited understanding. We examine an important outcome created by agency risk—that agents pursue quantity of innovation at the expense of novelty—and investigate how it is influenced by corporate and public governance. We theorize that improved corporate governance tools, including better alignment of agents' private incentives and stronger monitoring, and high-quality public governance reduce such agency risk in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Furthermore, higher-quality public governance enhances the functioning of corporate governance tools in further reducing such agency risk in innovation. We test our theory by examining SOEs in China that responded to the state's pro-innovation policies relying disproportionately on quantifiable outcomes (e.g., patent counts) for assessing innovation performance. Our difference-in-differences estimates provide overall support for our hypotheses. These findings provide new insights on how agency risk affects innovation by distinguishing the consequences for quantity and novelty of innovation and for how conventional corporate governance tools shaping innovation depend on public governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the factors that determine the financial management behavior of administrators in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Nigeria. The rising cases of financial mismanagement, which was associated with the financial management behavior of top administrators in these SOEs, prompted this study. It is believed that identifying the factors that determine the financial management behavior of these administrators would help to find solutions to the problem. Based on the multistage sampling technique, 385 top administrators from the SOEs at the federal level in Nigeria participated in the survey. Quantitative analysis was used to analyze the data and the results show that income, family size, and financial literacy are the most important factors affecting the financial management behavior of the administrators. It is recommended that there should be an improvement in income and other working conditions of the administrators in the SOEs since income has been confirmed to be an important shift factor of financial management behavior. In the same vein, given the role of family size, it is recommended that efforts on population reduction should be intensified. Finally, financial literacy should be given priority in checkmating irresponsible financial management behavior.

This study examines whether directors' and officers' liability insurance (D&O insurance) plays a governance role in the Chinese capital market. We hypothesize and find that D&O insurance restrains corporate misconduct and that this phenomenon is much more significant in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) than in non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs). We think purchasing of D&O insurance can import supervisors to mitigate agency costs caused by owner absence. When agency costs are high, SOEs with D&O insurance experience less corporate misconduct. Our study also finds that when the agency problem caused by owner absence is more serious in SOEs, the role of D&O insurance in corporate governance becomes increasingly important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the nexus between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and corporate capital financing decisions. Further, we also analyze the effect of audit quality and type of ownership (state-owned enterprises (SOEs) vs non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs), local vs central SOEs in this relationship. By applying panel regression (fixed effects) on 6295 firm-year observations of Chinese A-listed enterprises data for 2010–2019, we conclude that firms' ESG information is crucial to their financing decisions. In particular, firms with superior ESG performance have lower debt financing. The findings suggest that enterprises with strong ESG performance have easy access to equity funding via stock markets. Further, this relationship is more pronounced in SOE compared to non-SOEs and in central SOEs compared to local SOEs. These results demonstrate that the market may promote desired social outcomes by rewarding ESG performance; however, we find no significant effect of audit quality in this relationship. Findings are robust to different sensitivity tests, including an alternative estimation, sysGMM regression to address endogeneity issues, and lagged regressions to address reverse causality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technical efficiency (TE) and total factor productivity (TFP) are important criteria to ensure the enhancement of the quality and efficiency of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and function as important indicators to assess the quality of their accomplishments. The purpose of this study is to explore whether the efficiency of SOEs is higher or lower than that of private enterprises. Transcendental logarithmic production function and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) are used to assess the TE and TFP of listed central SOEs, local SOEs, and private enterprises, the data of which were taken from 2006–2020. The results show that the sampled private enterprises had the highest average TE during the study period, followed by the central and local SOEs. The private enterprises also had the highest average TFP growth rate, followed by the local and central SOEs. The TFP decompositions show that the TE change (TEC) and technical change (TC) indices of the SOEs were lower than those of the private enterprises. The TC, TEC, and scale change (SC) are limiting the TFP growth rates of the SOEs in labor-intensive industries. The SC of the SOEs has changed less than that of private enterprises in the sampled capital-intensive industries. Northern and southern China had the highest rates of TE and TFP growth. Indeed, this paper measures and decomposes TFP, and analyzes the efficiency of SOEs and private enterprises in different industries and regions in an international context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper pursues a mixed methods approach of conducting both quantitative and qualitative content analysis of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports in two types of Chinese companies: State-owned (SOE) and non-state-owned (non-SOE) enterprises. Quantitative content analysis revealed overall homogeneity in CSR reporting among SOEs and non-SOEs in China, which can be explained by coercive isomorphism on a national scale. The Chinese government has created an intricate system of incentives encouraging both SOEs and non-SOEs to engage in socially responsive behavior and disclosure. As a result of qualitative analysis, a recurring theme of "strategic emerging industries" (SEI) was identified in the CSR reports of predominantly state-owned banks. This finding provides empirical evidence of the link between the social and economic objectives of the Chinese government, and it shows how state-owned banks mediate between the state and business (SOEs and non-SOEs) as part of a coercive isomorphism apparatus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development and circular economy (CE) policy perspectives are growing in importance. However, there is little empirical research about the implementation of a CE or a critical review of its indicators at the country level. Using an institutional approach, this paper explores CE implementation strategies in advanced small open economies (SOEs) in the European Union (EU). We used a principal components analysis (PCA) and a clustering analysis based on data from the EU monitoring framework for the CE, specifically 13 small open economies from 2010-2017. The main findings reveal three CE implementation strategies correlated with CE development stages: integrated to value chain, focused on institutional compliance and fragmented profiles. Surprisingly, we found no evidence for the expansion of CE-related sectors based upon persons employed, value added or gross investments. This topic deserves further investigation, with important implications for future research and policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-time development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has sparked debates between scholars who emphasize a state-led approach and those who see decentralized project operations initiated by profit motives. This study bridges this divide by examining the practices of Chinese firms within the BRI, shedding light on state-business relations. Focusing on Kenya, a pivotal maritime BRI location, it explores Chinese state-firm relational dynamics in infrastructure, trade, and manufacturing BRI projects. The findings reveal that Chinese firms in Kenya, private or state-owned, play a partial strategic role. The Chinese state selects activities crucial for establishing a mutually beneficial narrative and guides firms through official visits and awards to build positive reputations. However, firms remain commercially oriented and seek state assistance based on business needs. Private and state-owned Chinese firms in Kenya share a certain level of similarity in accessing state support, both financial and operational. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how government corruption shapes state-owned enterprises' (SOEs) privatization. To establish causality, we exploit a natural experiment (i.e., the investigations of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection) to document that SOEs significantly deepen privatization after the crackdown on corruption. Further evidence demonstrates two plausible mechanisms driving our findings. Specifically, anti-corruption campaign: 1) accelerates privatization process by curbing the underpricing transfers to state entities and encouraging the normal transfers to private entities or individuals; and 2) by reducing managers' incentives to maintain the dominance of state ownership for expropriation through the discretion of perk consumption. Moreover, our findings are particularly pronounced for SOEs located in areas with high levels of social trust, government intervention, and less information asymmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To avoid balance of payments crises, two Argentine presidents tried to make deals ('oil contracts') with multinationals to transfer technology and know-how to YPF , which is a state-owned company in the oil sector. The aim was to substitute imports. The 'oil nationalism' doctrine opposed these agreements, arguing that multinational companies threaten national security. In both cases, the story ended in a coup d'état, first in the period 1954/1955 (against President Juan Domingo Perón) and the second in 1962/1963 (against President Arturo Frondizi). Based on a demand-led growth model in small open economies, we show that the process of import substitution led by government agreements with multinational firms can increase national production. Using an original dataset, we corroborate this theoretical result by applying a narrative ARDL approach to the Argentine experience (1958-1962), where a government policy to promote technological transfer from multinational firms to YPF , to substitute imports was in place. We conclude that the oil contracts were successful. • We analyze a case of import substitution led by government agreements with multinational firms. • We incorporate this process in a demand-led growth model. • Using an original dataset in the oil sector, we corroborate this theoretical result. • We apply a narrative ARDL approach to the Argentine experience (1958-1962) in the oil sector. • This strategy resulted in an increase of national production of oil. • We conclude that the 'oil contracts' were successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today’s commercial-oriented world, intense social attention makes it easier for CEOs to become celebrities. This social escalation and characteristic change of CEOs into celebrities tend to influence their motivation and behavior, and thus the strategic decisions and results of firms. Despite the significance of recognizing CEOs’ social identity, the impact of celebrity CEOs on innovation strategy remains unknown. Integrating identity and upper echelons theories, this study examines and provides empirical evidence on how celebrity CEOs affect firm innovation investment using data of Chinese listed companies from 2015 to 2020. We argue that celebrity CEOs’ engagement in innovation investment is driven by their motivation for preserving celebrity status. Further, we show that analyst coverage plays a positive moderating role between celebrity CEOs and innovation investment, and the positive effect of celebrity CEOs on innovation investment becomes weaker in state-owned enterprises. This study confirms the important role of CEOs’ specific social identity in firm innovation strategy, which is motivated by celebrity CEOs’ attempt to maintain their established status and reputation. The results expand the research on the influencing factors of firm innovation investment that focus on executives’ social characteristics. They also provide managerial implications for board of directors to recruit and supervise a celebrity CEO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored how the risks encountered by Chinese state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) affected their decision‐making on outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), using data regarding the relationship between the host countries and China. The following conclusions were drawn. Larger SOEs with fixed capital exhibited a higher probability of conducting OFDI and did so on a larger scale. Various risks in host countries significantly hindered the OFDI of Chinese SOEs. In pursuit of natural resources, Chinese SOEs chose to take risks. The amount of OFDI by SOEs was positively related to the political, economic, and geographical relations between China and the corresponding host country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]