Corporate Adoption Research Articles

Adoption of Life Cycle Thinking: Impact-driven comparative assessment of Japanese construction corporations’ trends in practices

Although life cycle thinking offers a well-founded set of concepts, methods, and tools for organizational contexts, only little is known about its relevance in the construction sector. In this sector, construction corporations are key players. In this work, a novel impact-driven method to assess the adoption of life cycle thinking by construction corporations is introduced. Japan, as a high-income country with a relatively long history of environmental policies informed by material flow analysis, is chosen as the context. Five Japanese construction corporations and respective reporting are used as case studies. Trends in environmental impacts over time of the case study corporations are assessed using two indicators: resource and carbon productivity. In comparison, an automated text corpus analysis workflow is presented to explore the corporate report’s life cycle thinking-related content in a meaningful way. Comparing the period of 2014–2018 and 2019–2023, an overall relative increase in framework adoptions (77%) and their integration in corporate categories (85%) in corporate reports indicates its increased procedural relevance among Japanese construction contractors. Findings show how the carbon indicator is embedded in various frameworks and, for instance, reveal an increased relevance of Scope 3 emissions as a framework on a low level. However, Scope 3 is also utilized as a performance indicator. To this end, considerable temporal differences in adoption practices are observed. Finally, a potentially effective corporate adoption model is identified through the comparative research design. The proposed method can be applied to other construction corporations and regional contexts.

Temperature and corporate industrial robot adoption: evidence from China

ABSTRACT Our study explores the impact of temperature changes on corporate industrial robot adoption using data from Chinese non-financial listed firms in the manufacturing sector between 2009 and 2019. We find that an increase in temperature positively affects corporate adoption of industrial robots. This positive relationship between temperature increases and corporate adoption of industrial robots is significant in the years following the introduction of China’s high-temperature subsidy policy and for non-state-owned firms, eastern-located firms, firms with low equity concentration, and firms with high financial constraints. A mechanism analysis reveals that rising temperatures decrease labour productivity and increase the employee cost.

From CFOs to crypto: exploratory study unraveling factors in corporate adoption

Cryptocurrency adoption has gained significant attention across various fields owing to its disruptive potential and associated challenges. However, companies' adoption of cryptocurrencies remains relatively low. This study aims to comprehensively examine the factors influencing cryptocurrency adoption, their interrelationships, and their relative importance. To achieve this objective, we employ a Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) approach coupled with network analysis tools. By adopting a practical approach rather than a purely theoretical one, our unique contribution lies in the valuable insights derived from experienced Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of various companies with experience in both traditional finance and cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, the unique blend of analytical rigor and industry expertise supports the study's relevance, offering nuanced insights that are not only academically robust but also immediately applicable in the corporate landscape. Our findings highlight the paramount importance of safety in transactions and trust in the chosen platform for companies considering cryptocurrency adoption. Additionally, criteria such as faster transactions without geographical limitations, lower transaction fees, seamless integration with existing systems, and potential cost savings are identified as crucial drivers. Both the DEMATEL approach and network analysis reveal strong interconnections among the criteria, emphasizing their interdependence and, notably, their reliance on transactional safety. Furthermore, our causes and effects analysis indicates that CFOs perceive company-led cryptocurrency adoption to positively impact the broader cryptocurrency market.

Inside the successful make-up of ‘AI-first’ organisations

The corporate adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has been rapid in recent years, but the stumbling block is how those investments translate into attractive returns. This paper provides a systematic analysis of key success factors tied to the total productivity gains generated by global companies out of their AI factory programmes. Successful AI transformation necessitates a multifaceted approach, encompassing strategic pivot, robust data and AI governance, augmented human capital programme and a commitment to innovation.

The Role of Company Board Diversity in Corporate Adoption of Digital Inclusion Policies in the US

Objective The digital divide is increasingly becoming a source of social and economic inequality, as access to digital technologies remains limited for many populations. In response, digital inclusion initiatives have emerged to bridge this gap and provide more equal access to digital resources. These initiatives have gained significant traction in the corporate world, as companies recognise the importance of digital inclusion in expanding their customer base and fulfilling their corporate social responsibilities. However, there is limited research on the company-specific factors that influence the adoption of digital inclusion policies in companies. Methodology Using data from the ISS ESG dataset, we apply panel data methods to analyse more than a hundred technology and media companies between 2016 and 2021. Results Our findings reveal that minority CEOs and Presidents and higher representation of women on the board of directors are positively associated with increased adoption of digital inclusion policies. The results of our study extend previous research on digital inclusion/divide and determinants of ESG scored. We provide valuable insights on the role of board diversity in the adoption of digital inclusion policies and underscores the importance of diversity and inclusion in shaping equitable technology access. Limitations and Implications While this is the first study to address the determinants of corporate digital inclusion policies, its limitations are the use of a single dataset (ISS) measuring the ESG scores and the relatively low number of observations. Originality / Contribution This paper addresses this gap by exploring the impact of corporate board diversity (in particular, gender and racial/ethnic diversity) on the adoption of digital inclusion policies by US companies. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to investigate this relationship.

Corporate reporting by cooperatives: Mapping the landscape and identifying determinants

Cooperatives conform to a model that is different to what is normally understood to be an enterprise, with distinctive interpretations of property rights, governance, and values. A unique characteristic of cooperatives’ corporate reporting is it essentially addresses member-owners, and not shareholders. Despite this, most research has been performed from the perspective of investor-owned firms. The aim of this study is to obtain an understanding of the nature and extent of the adoption of corporate reporting conventions, and to identify the determinants of such adoptions by cooperatives, by means of ordinal regression and binary logistic models on a sample drawn from the Global Top 300 cooperatives. Despite the expectations implicit in the differences in the users of financial reports (cooperative members), there was a lack of cooperative-specific reporting in that the most common categories of published corporate reports are still annual reports and annual financial statements. Approximately half of the cooperatives publish environmental and social reports, governance reports and/or management reports, while only a miniscule number publish integrated reports. Results also suggest the stakeholder, legitimacy, institutional, transaction cost and agency theories help to explain the determinants for the of adoption of corporate reporting. We have identified common determinants (market, country and institutional factors) for the adoption of cooperative reporting, as well as idiosyncratic determinants that are unique to cooperative entities. We found that cooperatives with external shareholders are more likely to adopt environmental and social, management and governance reporting. Idiosyncratic determinants indicated that cooperatives who more assertively draw their attention to their identity are more likely to adopt annual reporting. Cooperatives who limit the distribution of profits to members only are also more likely to adopt management reporting.

The construction of the normative persuasion of social and environmental reporting regulation

PurposeThis study aims to understand why some social and environmental reporting (SER) regulations are more successful than others in modifying collective corporate reporting behaviour and expectations. More specifically, it presents a qualitative and historically informed exploration of the construction of the enabling conditions for corporate adoption of SER regulation in a national context.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on insights from structuration theory and the sociological approach to legal studies, the authors examined the normative persuasion of the first regulation in Spain requiring firms to disclose social and environmental information in a stand-alone report: Article 39 of the Spanish Sustainable Economy Law. The case study is based primarily on 38 semi-structured interviews with relevant actors involved in this SER regulation from 2008 to 2014. Other sources such as legal and policy documents, historical documents, books, press reports and field notes from attendance at technical meetings related to the phenomenon under study help inform and complement the analysis of the interviews.FindingsThe analysis reveals that the agency of regulators, regulatees and other relevant actors involved in the SER regulation led to the law becoming a dead letter. However, only by examining the structural circumstances, shaped by history and socio-economic context, can the authors understand how the normative persuasion of law is constructed or undermined.Research limitations/implicationsThe study underscores the importance of the national context in developing corporate social responsibility (CSR) regulation and the crucial role of history. The results of this research also suggest that significant progress towards a more transformative CSR regulation cannot be achieved without the support of enabling structures/Practical implicationsRecent SER regulations (European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and IFRS sustainability standards, to mention those that are gaining most traction) may not achieve sufficient compliance if those responsible for drafting them do not ensure that the conditions for the emergence of regulatory persuasion are met. Regulators must therefore have a profound understanding of how these conditions are constructed as part of a historical process inextricably linked to the social structures of the environment in which the law is to be applied.Social implicationsThe study reveals the changing landscape of corporate social responsibility, where scientists, academics, NGO activists and civil society organisations struggle to gain some agency in a field populated by actors, such as trade unions or employers, who were constitutive of Western industrial liberal democracies.Originality/valueThis study presents an in-depth and historically grounded analysis of the dynamics involved in creating the conditions that lead to successful SER legislation in a national context.

Blockchain and earnings management: Evidence from the supply chain

We investigate whether corporate adoption of blockchain technology is associated with a change in firms' financial reporting behavior. On one hand, the features of blockchain technology (immutability, decentralized consensus, and real-time data sharing) can enhance data integrity, suggesting corporate blockchain adoptions may reduce earnings management. However, despite fast growth in blockchain adoptions, it remains unclear whether improved financial reporting quality or reduced accounting manipulation is a motivating factor in firms' blockchain adoption as firms vary in how they implement this new technology. On the other hand, the hype and/or increased expectations associated with blockchain adoptions, as well as the market's misperception that blockchain adoption could increase data integrity, may incentivize and provide opportunity for firms to upwardly manage earnings. We conduct our tests in the setting of the supply chain, as prior work establishes that shocks to one firm can impact linked firms through customer-supplier relationships. Our empirical evidence supports the latter prediction, as we find robust evidence that supplier firms' earnings management increases after their customers adopt blockchain. This result holds with numerous robustness tests. We provide direct evidence consistent with hype/increased expectations and reduced monitoring of supplier firms. Our findings suggest unintended consequences of blockchain adoption on financial reporting.

An Overview of the Reasons for the High Separation Rate of Post-90s

The phenomenon of job-hopping among the post-90s is frequent, which is not good for the development of companies and the mental health of contemporary young people. Now that the post-00s generation is gradually entering the workplace, more attention should be paid to solving the problem of frequent job-hopping among young people. Many researchers have analyzed the reasons for their frequent turnover from multiple perspectives, but there is no relevant review on the psychological reasons for job-hopping among the post-90s generation when searching the literature. Therefore, by reviewing and summarizing relevant literature, this paper summarizes the psychological factors of frequent job-hopping among the post-90s generation, including unsatisfied self-needs, insufficient psychological capital and low career adaptability, and summarizes the effectiveness of corporate adoption. Compared with their predecessors, the post-90s generation has both a need for salary and more psychological needs in their workplace life. Understanding and meeting young people's psychological needs is conducive to the mental health of the post-90s generation and the stable development of companies.

Predicting Sustainable Development Goals through the Industry 4.0: Insights from Public Listed Companies

In an ideal world, publicly listed companies would be forced to publish a report on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The abandonment of SDG reporting in annual reports by public corporations is the focus of this study. We noticed in recent years that many companies are unable to recognise and commit to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their annual reports. We observed that Malaysia prioritises economic growth above environmental concerns. Malaysia's economic growth and health system have been jeopardised as a result of the current COVID-19 outbreak. It will be difficult to achieve the other sustainable development objectives if there is a significant prevalence of chronic infectious and non-infectious diseases, as well as a lack of physical, mental, and social well-being in society. In this study, a collection of primary data gathered from the Bursa Malaysia will be used for performance analysis and forecasting. The analytical tools used for this inquiry were Power BI and RapidMiner. In the first activity, we discovered that software and services businesses who use IR 4.0 had the best SDG implementation performance. According to the study, there is a significant relationship between organisations' use of IR 4.0 and their efforts to fulfil the SDGs. It will be easier to meet the Sustainable Development Goals with broad IR 4.0 adoption in a company. According to the results of the survey, Selangor is the state with the highest degree of company SDG implementation. In conclusion, predicted data reveal that states and specific SDGs have a substantial influence on corporate adoption of SDGs. Finally, Selangor-based software and service enterprises provide the most contribution to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Accelerating the adoption of renewable energy certificate: Insights from a survey of corporate renewable procurement in Singapore

Corporate adoption of renewables has been lukewarm at best in Singapore. This study aims to identify the drivers and barriers to renewable procurement, establish key criteria for renewable energy certificates (RECs, a type of renewable energy product), and recommend policies to accelerate corporate renewable energy adoption in Singapore. We surveyed seven drivers, 12 barriers, nine criteria of RECs, and 11 actions for REC adoption with 35 experienced professionals from major business sectors in Singapore. The top three drivers of corporate renewable procurement were to meet corporate sustainability goals, reduce energy procurement costs, and demonstrate corporate leadership. The most concerning criterion of RECs was traceability that RECs must be generated and transacted through a REC tracking system endorsed by the government or a third party. The most significant barrier to REC adoption was the lack of awareness of RECs and their benefits. Plausible actions to address the barriers include seeking support from senior management, establishing corporate sustainability targets, developing national standards for RECs, promoting successful local business cases, and for government to endorse private-sector REC tracking system(s). The findings could raise corporate awareness and assist policymakers in formulating policies, infrastructure, and initiatives to accelerate renewable energy adoption in Singapore.

Organizational Adoption of Sentiment Analytics in Social Media Networks

Enterprise adoption and application of sentiment analytics (SA) has recently attracted significant interest from both academia and industry, as it offers exciting opportunities to generate competitive intelligence on consumer attitudes and opinions. Yet, there is limited understanding of the factors underlying successful and widespread adoption of SA in enterprises. This study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) to analyze and summarize previous research on corporate adoption of SA in social media. The SLR examines the results of 83 studies and focuses on tasks, techniques, application domains, and factors that influence enterprise adoption of SA. The findings provide insights into (i) key factors influencing SA adoption, (ii) research trends and paradigms across disciplines, and (iii) potential areas for future research on enterprise adoption of SA. These findings recommend actionable future research agendas for scholars and inform practitioners' understanding of the decision-making processes involved in enterprise adoption of SA in social media.

MNEs’ CSR Decoupling: How Host-Country Stakeholder Pressures Matter

The literature suggests that organizations tend to use corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a means to establish and enhance legitimacy, particularly when they operate internationally. Meanwhile, organizations that adopt voluntary CSR initiatives, such as the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), may decouple symbolic CSR claims from actual CSR performance. Despite extensive research on organizational decoupling and the legitimation strategies of multinational enterprises (MNEs), we have limited understanding of how host-country conditions affect MNEs’ CSR decoupling. Building on the idea of decoupling in institutional theory and the research on corporate adoption of voluntary codes of conduct, this paper analyzes how host-country stakeholder pressures will discourage CSR decoupling of MNEs that adopt the UNGC. We also identify possible contingencies, host country press freedom, and institutional and normative distances between home and host countries, and investigate how they moderate MNEs’ responses to host-country stakeholder pressures. We test our theory using an international sample of the UNGC signatories during the period 2007-2018. Our main analyses rely on a dataset containing 4,359 observations for 305 listed firms from 36 home countries, with negative CSR events (i.e., corporate violations of the UNGC principles) taking place in 117 host countries. The results support our predictions.

Career Anchors of Executives and Soccer Managers in Brazil

The professionalization of football has led to the adoption of corporate and strategic management. In this sense, attention to the hiring of trained professionals is increasingly high, both in terms of experience, training, skills and their motivations. In addition to skills, it is also considered their Career Anchors, which are a combination of motivations, preferences, interests, aspirations and values that represent the essence of the worker. This study aimed to analyze the Career Anchors of soccer executives and managers. As specific objectives, the ordering and classification of Career Anchors in the sample, verifying similarities between the results obtained with the skills defined for professional practice. This quantitative, cross-sectional and descriptive research sampled 26 soccer executives or managers who worked in clubs of the 2019 Brazilian Soccer Championship, from a population of 70 professionals affiliated with the Brazilian Association of Soccer Executives. The instrument used for data collection was the Career Anchors inventory elaborated by Schein and Maanen (1993), extracted from the book Carrer Anchors by Dutra and Albuquerque (2008), which classify them into eight different categories: Technical Competence, Management Competence General, Independence, Security, Entrepreneurship, Dedication to a Cause, Pure Challenge and Lifestyle. Descriptive analyzes were performed, considering the mean and standard deviation to describe the variables and, to test the significant difference between the means of the anchors, a one-way ANOVA and multiple comparisons with Bonferroni post-hoc adjustment were used. The results found indicate that the anchor that obtained the highest value was Pure Challenge, with an average value of 5.1, followed by the Technical Competence anchor, with 4.8, and Dedication to a cause, with 4.6. It is possible to see that Entrepreneurship had the lowest average and had little variability: 2.7 with a standard deviation of 1.0. The Pure Challenge and Dedication to a cause anchor predominate, both with 30.8% of the total, followed by Technical/Functional Competence with 23.1%. Entrepreneurship was the only anchor that was not the greatest in any case. These findings may contribute to the understanding of the motivations and preferences of football executives and managers in clubs, in addition to subsidizing the analysis of adherence of profiles to positions and functions assumed for professional management.

Are The Independent Area of Beef Cattle Development Ready for Big Data to Reduce the Volume of Imports?

Stakeholders find it difficult to make decisions for both breeders and supporting sectors due to unorganized agribusiness data on beef cattle, it seems very limited information on it. The activities related to this business have not been recorded well, from male selection, feed management, cultivation, as well as marketing and traceability—these factors have caused price disparities in meat to become commonplace. Thus, a model of breeder empowerment is needed through big data maturity. Data play a crucial role in the planning and development of agriculture and agribusiness. The results of the analysis on efforts to digitalize and integrate data on beef cattle business confirm that the progress stops at the Nascent phase. Data digitalization at the Agency for Agriculture Extension of Kediri is at the Nascent phase, while at the Department of Food Security and Livestock Service is in between the Nascent and pre-adoption phase. Data integration in other agencies, such as the Regional Central Bureau of Statistics of Kediri, the Regional Information and Communication Office of Kediri, and the Directorate General of Livestock, fall into the corporate adoption and mature phase. As can be seen, data have not been well-integrated within one interconnected system. The availability of such a model of data integration will be a good alternative in empowering breeders of beef cattle and the public sector, it will also find communication easier with the existence of the model. The government eventually will be able to better improve performance based on the digital data available.

Motivations for voluntary corporate adoption of integrated reporting: A novel context for comparing voluntary disclosure and legitimacy theory

The swift development of integrated reporting as a genre within corporate reporting and the rapid spread of organizations adopting the International Integrated Reporting Council's (IIRC) vision for such shows that corporate voluntary reporting is now moving to a new stage. This provides an opportunity for companies to refine or reveal their hitherto hidden voluntary reporting philosophy by adapting their reporting practices. The motivations for adopting integrated reporting could differ from the legitimation motivations the literature has previously considered to underlie broader social and environmental sustainability reporting. For this reason, this study explores the motivations for companies to shift to integrated reporting or to continue with social and environmental sustainability reporting in terms of voluntary disclosure and legitimacy theory. The analysis employs survival analysis conducted using data from companies listed on the Tokyo and London stock exchanges to explore the relationships between social and environmental performance and the timing and duration of a shift to integrated reporting. The results reveal different motivations underlying voluntary reporting practices between the two countries and across industry sectors. Overall, the findings suggest that the financial transparency and accountability role of integrated reporting proposed by the IIRC has gained traction among Tokyo but not London listed companies. However, there is a trend towards accountability in the shift to integrated reporting consistent with voluntary disclosure theory even for London listed companies at the industry sector level. This supports the view that companies have an incentive to differentiate their voluntary reporting philosophy through different forms of reporting and that legitimacy theory and voluntary disclosure theory are compatible in this regard.

Corporate adoption of SDG reporting in a non-enabling institutional environment: Insights from Libyan oil industries

Drawing on institutional voids, we examine how corporate engagement in sustainable development goals reporting (SDGR) is influenced by Libya's non-enabling institutional environment post the political change in 2011. Specifically, we examine the impact of national-level SDG performance (NLSP) of 2015 to 2010, as a proxy for the non-enabling institutional environment, on SDGR observed in 2015/2016. This study also explores whether the NLSP-SDGR nexus is contingent on the environmental sensitivity of oil industries in Libya. We employ a quantitative content analysis based on word counts to determine the level of SDGR among a cross-sectional sample of 524 observations of the major Libyan oil companies in the 2015/2016 fiscal year. Using measures derived from the World Development Indicators (WDI), a cross-sectional regression analysis has been employed to investigate how NLSP explains variations in SDGR noted in 2015/2016. Descriptive evidence indicates that Libyan oil companies tend to report SDG information on their websites about Good Health and Well-being (SDG3), Quality Education (SDG4), Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG7), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG8), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG9), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG11), and Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG12). Our regression results suggest that the NLSP positively and significantly influences corporate commitment to the SDGR agenda among a sample of the major oil companies in Libya. Additionally, the environmental sensitivity of oil industries appeared to be moderating the NLSP-SDGR nexus. As SDGR tends to be a self-regulation mechanism, our empirical evidence emphasises the importance of establishing effective regulatory agencies to ensure companies' achievements of their social, environmental, and economic responsibilities efficiently and effectively.

Factors affecting the adoption of BYOD in South African small and medium enterprises

AbstractThe advancement in technological development is now altering the conventional order in the diffusion of Information Technology innovation from a top‐down approach (organization to employees) to a bottom‐up approach (employees to organization). This change is more notable in developed economies and has led to the bring your own device (BYOD) phenomenon, which promises increased productivity for employees and their organizations. There have been several studies on the corporate adoption of BYOD, but few have investigated this phenomenon from a small and medium enterprise (SME) perspective and from developing countries specifically. This study investigated the BYOD phenomenon in South African SMEs. The goal was to identify contextual factors influencing BYOD adoption. A conceptual framework using the Perceived EReadiness Model (PERM) was adopted. The study took an interpretive stance and was qualitative. Data was collected from SMEs using semi‐structured interviews and analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. The findings show that for BYOD to be adopted and institutionalized in an SME, there needs to be organizational and environmental readiness. Organizational readiness in terms of awareness, management support, business resources, human resources, employees' pressure, formal governance, and technological readiness. Environmental readiness in terms of market forces, support from industry, government readiness and the socio‐cultural factor. These readiness factors present both opportunities and challenges that SMEs in developing countries need to concentrate on as they prepare for and use BYOD.

Does Employee Care Trigger Innovation Under a Healthy and Safe Working Environment? Evidence from the Pharmaceutical Industry in China.

Sustainability of the workforce becomes a crucial issue, of which responsible care for employees can increase job satisfaction and human capital that impact corporate ability to absorb and generate new knowledge. Firms are obligated to provide a healthy and safe working environment for their employees, but it may in turn hinder innovation due to rigid and structured institutional regulations. Drawing on data of 308 China’s pharmaceutical firms from 2010 to 2017, we investigated whether employee care can trigger innovation under corporate adoption of the occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS). Our results suggest that both employee care and OHSMS adoption have a positive impact on innovation. Moreover, the positive relationship between employee care and innovation was more pronounced in firms that had adopted the OHSMS certification. These findings are valuable to policymakers and corporate managers in emerging economies through corroborating the important role of workforce sustainability in facilitating firm innovation.

Firms and governance factors affecting the adoption of web-based corporate reporting: Evidence from the USA

This paper examines the potential determinants associated with a firm’s decision to use a corporate website. The probability of web-based corporate reporting adoption was measured by using a dichotomous variable, where one is given if the firm has a website and zero otherwise. Based on a sample of 1217 US listed firms, it was found that 950 firms have a website and 267 do not. Those firms with a website are larger, more profitable and have a larger board size with more female directors when compared with firms without websites. In addition, the results of the regression analysis revealed that firm size, profitability, leverage, board size and the percentage of female directors in the boardroom have a significant positive impact on the probability of a firm having a website. However, firm age has a significant negative impact on the probability of web-based corporate reporting adoption. A weakness in the previous literature has been the neglect of firms without an online presence, which implies a potential selection bias. Consequently, this research contributes to the international accounting literature by expanding our understanding in relation to the probability of firms adopting web-based corporate reporting and the economic consequences of them doing so through reducing asymmetric information, which acts as an incentive to encourage investment.