Aspects Of Corporate Performance Research Articles

The Effect of Board Gender Diversity on the Company: A Literature Review

This study explores the influence of gender diversity in boards of directors on various aspects of corporate performance. Through the literature review method, this research gathers empirical evidence to assess how gender diversity affects risk-taking, social responsibility, and decision-making processes within the firm. The results show that the presence of women on boards can contribute positively to corporate performance, innovation, investment, and ESG issues, while bringing diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise that support more effective decision-making and risk management. On the other hand, the study also recognizes that underrepresentation of women may reduce the benefits of gender diversity. Furthermore, the presence of women on boards is associated with reduced agency problems, increased dividend payouts and more responsible tax avoidance practices. However, there are mixed views regarding the impact of gender diversity, emphasizing the importance of considering the firm-specific context in evaluating the impact of gender diversity on firm performance. This study contributes to future research by providing a broader and deeper knowledge base on the topic of gender diversity in the context of business and management.

The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Corporate Financial Performance from Multiple Literature Perspectives

Corporate Social Responsibility’s (CSR) impact exceeds beneficiary communities to include the practitioner companies itself. That impact on business-related aspects is more obvious on the financial performance of these companies relative to non-financial performances. Thus, this has become a hot subject for literature over the past 15 years to investigate. However, these literatures ended up by an ongoing argument on the type of impact that CSR places on corporate financial performance (CFP). Therefore, this paper aims to reorganize the findings of previous studies that had tested the impact of CSR on CFP to enable upcoming researchers to accurately understand the nature of mixed or conflicting findings approached by former researchers. Thus, enhancing chances of more effective research contributions on this particular front compared to existing knowledge. In that accordance, this paper classifies concerned literature review into six categories as follows: Firstly, studies that had reported a direct or complete positive impact of CSR dimensions on CFP in general. Secondly, studies that had reported a typical impact for all or some of CSR elements on certain dimensions of CFP. Thirdly, studies that had reported occasional or conditional impact of CSR dimensions on CFP. Fourthly, studies that had reported a negative impact for CSR on CFP. Fifthly, studies that had reported a role for moderating and mediating factors on the impact of CSR on CFP. Finally, studies that had offered some explanations for the mixed results on the relationship between CSR and CFP in particular and other aspects of corporate performance in general.

The influence of environmental regulations on business innovation, intellectual capital, environmental and economic performance

Currently, there are two main trends in the field of corporate environmental management regarding the role of environmental regulations in corporate environmental and economic performance. The first trend examines environmental regulations such as barriers or risks of corporate operations since they increase the adaptation and compliance costs which negatively influence their competitive advantage. The second trend examines the potential positive effects of environmental regulations on firms’ operations like reduction in operational costs, creation of intellectual capital and enhancement of economic performance. In this debate, this paper examines a set of hypotheses to analyze the relationships between environmental regulations and various aspects of corporate performance. Hypotheses are tested by utilizing information disclosed in a sample of 100 sustainability reports published by 25 firms in the metal products sector over a four-year period. To collect all the necessary non-financial information a methodological framework was used which is based on a scoring system and a set of indicators derived from GRI guidelines and the relevant literature, while well-known financial indicators were used to assess firms’ economic performance. The findings show positive relationships between the environmental performance and the level of corporate compliance with environmental legislation as well as between corporate environmental innovation and environmental performance. There is also a positive correlation between the level of corporate compliance with environmental legislation and components of green intellectual capital.

The Relationship between Green Supply Chain Management and Profitability

In today’s business environment, companies are facing increased pressure from different sources, such as consumers and communities, stricter governmental regulations and scarcity of resources; to enhance their sustainable behavior. This escalating global awareness of the impact of manufacturing and operational processes on the environment has translated into increased managerial action to balance incorporates economic, financial and environmental performance. Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) has emerged as an important organizational philosophy to achieve targeted economic and market objectives while reducing environmental risk, reducing cost, optimizing resources and enhancing operations throughout the supply chain. Green supply chain management practices, activities, and their impact on different aspects of corporate performance have been gaining increased attention from academia, industry and customers. The current research aims to investigate the effect of GSCM practices; Greenhouse Emissions, Recycling, Waste, and Renewable Energy on firms’ profitability. Results showed that waste had a significant negative impact on the profitability measured by return on equity which implied that companies should strive to reduce their waste to be able to increase their profitability.

Investment Practices of State and Local Pension Funds: Implications for Social Security Reform

The investment practices of public pension funds have become a topic of major interest in the wake of President Clinton's 1999 proposal to invest a portion of the Social Security Trust Funds in equities. This study explores four possible avenues through which social or political considerations could enter the investment decisions of state and local pension funds. The first section focuses on economically targeted investments (ETIs), those investments that are designed to meet some special need within the state. The second section looks at instances of pension fund activism, whereby the fund managers attempt to influence corporate behavior to improve profitability or other aspects of corporate performance. The third section investigates the extent to which state and local pension plans have avoided or divested certain holdings in order to make a political or ethical statement. The fourth section investigates the extent to which states and localities have used pension funds as an escape valve for general budget pressures.

Do Auditors Respond to Unique Characteristics of Individual Executives? Evidence from Audit Pricing Decisions

Individual executives influence many aspects of corporate performance and financial reporting. In this study, we examine whether auditors observe and respond to characteristics of individual executives by adjusting the price of audit services. Using the group connection method for separating firm and executive effects, we find that unexplained audit fees exhibit a statistically and economically significant association with executive fixed effects after controlling for other factors related to the firm and environment. Our tests show only limited evidence that common, observable proxies are associated with the auditor’s perception of an individual executive’s style. Finally, we observe positive and significant associations between the executive fixed effect coefficients and measures of financial reporting risks and audit report delay, indicating auditors’ decisions to adjust fees for executive traits are related to factors representing audit risk and auditor effort. Our findings highlight the importance of differences across individual executives in the external auditor’s decision-making process.

Mapping Out Key Performance Indicators in a State-Owned Entity: A South African Example

In South Africa, state-owned entities are part of a dynamic environment that offers consumers increasing power in demanding higher quality products, lower prices, and better services. This trend has underscored the need to construct appropriate and measurable indicators of corporate performance, which are then subjected to rigorous shareholder and stakeholder review at the end of each fiscal year. This paper examines the recent efforts of one of such institutions-the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority-to map out its key performance indicators in a strategic manner that enables it to move beyond a mere collection of indicators grouped in the four traditional dimensions. In pursuit of breakthrough performance, the organization uses the scorecard to align and focus business activities, adopting strategy mapping to articulate how it creates value for its clients and stakeholders. With a strategy map reflecting the organization's three strategic themes of thought leadership, operational excellence, and livelihoods transformation and sustainability, the emergent performance indicators focus on those aspects of corporate performance that are most critical for competitive success into the future.

Examining corporate reputation judgments with generalizability theory.

The researchers used generalizability theory to examine whether reputation judgments about corporations function in a manner consistent with contemporary theory in the corporate-reputation literature. University professors (n = 86) of finance, marketing, and human resources management made repeated judgments about the general reputations of highly visible American companies. Minimal variability in the judgments is explained by items, time, persons, and field of specialization. Moreover, experts from the different specializations reveal considerable agreement in how they weigh different aspects of corporate performance in arriving at their global reputation judgments. The results generally support the theory of the reputation construct and suggest that stable estimates of global reputation can be achieved with a small number of items and experts.

The internet and change in corporate stakeholder engagement and communication strategies on social and environmental performance

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to examine the use of the web as a means of stakeholder engagement and as part of a strategy for communicating to stakeholders particularly on social and environmental performance.Design/methodology/approachA postal questionnaire was sent to over one hundred companies in Australia, Germany and in the UK and interviews were conducted with six companies (two British, one German and three Australian) identified as adopting best practice.FindingsA key finding was the limited understanding of the advantages of using the web as part of a communication strategy on all aspects of corporate performance. The study also found that the lack of resources made available for web‐based communication limited its potential.Research limitations/implicationsWeb technologies provide the possibility of communicating on performance with a broad group of stakeholders. This is particularly relevant to reporting on social and environmental performance which is of interest to a broader group of stakeholders than financial reporting. Stakeholder involvement is important in developing organisational change strategies aimed at improving social and environmental performance.Practical implicationsThe findings have implications for companies developing strategies to enhance their communication with key stakeholder groups.Originality/valueThe paper considers the use of the web as part of a communication strategy to a broad group of stakeholders. This is particularly relevant to reporting on social and environmental performance which is aimed at a broader group of stakeholders than traditional financial reporting.