Capital Characteristics Research Articles

Beyond organizational limits: uncovering the effect of capitalism on environmental disclosure practices

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of the characteristics of capitalism on environmental disclosure. Design/methodology/approach Over a 10-year period (2009–2018), the study examined the environmental disclosure of 3,253 companies located in 16 countries. Environmental disclosure was the dependent variable and the independent variables were economic freedom index, foreign direct investment, availability of specialized training services, corruption perception index and protection of property rights. The hypotheses were tested using panel data regression with fixed effects. Findings The findings showed that in countries with greater economic freedom, less availability of specialized services and less corruption, companies disclose more environmental information. The authors find evidence that confirms the main thesis of the varieties of capitalism approach: the behavior of firms is shaped by the relations between the state and society. Practical implications Managers should pay greater attention to the country’s institutional issues before installing or relocating their industries, as certain national institutions support the development of valuable capacities at the company-level, such as environmental disclosure. Originality/value This study reinforces the understanding of how national institutions can influence environmental disclosure practices, adopting new variables to represent the characteristics of capitalism. Although many previous studies have analyzed the effect of the institutional environment on environmental disclosure, it is still unclear how companies engage with environmental issues in different capitalist contexts.

Empowering farmer groups in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, through a participatory development communication model

The Participatory development communication model is a form of communication process among farming actors to achieve empowerment. In the era of openness and democratisation, participatory communication is an appropriate approach to encourage farmer groups to be fully empowered. With that, the objective of this research are as follows: formulate and develop participatory development communication models and strategy for empowerment. This study uses a positivistic paradigm with a survey method. The objects of farmer groups are scattered in various places and their characteristics are heterogeneous and widespread, making it suitable for a positivistic approach. The results of the study are: (a) Implementation of participatory development communication model for empowerment and influenced by the characteristics of farmer groups, the quality of information, the role of development agents, environmental support and the use of social capital; (b) strategy for increasing the implementation of participatory development communication: the quality of the characteristics of farmer groups, information, development agents, environmental support and social capital.

Agrarian Platform Capitalism: Digital Rentiership Comes to Farming

AbstractWith the rise of digital technologies, a political‐economic configuration recognised as “platform capitalism” has raised concerns over monopolistic tendencies, lack of accountability, expanded rentiership, workers’ precarity, and more. Existing analyses, however, show a distinctly urban bias—centring on housing, transportation, retail, and gig labour—and have yet to engage with the agrarian dimensions of this phenomenon despite considerable potential impacts on the future of farming. Here we begin the process of theorising agrarian platform capitalism, offering a typology of platforms in the agri‐food sector, and bringing together critiques of platform capitalism with the distinctive features of agrarian political economy. Our analysis identifies four prominent characteristics of agrarian platform capitalism which largely corroborate existing critiques albeit with some distinctive contours. As in other sectors, platforms intensify rentiership regarding both real estate and digital assets. Agricultural platforms also display a familiar tendency to thrive in spaces of regulatory retreat and are in some cases even endorsed by regulatory agencies, highlighting the potential for public–private platformisation. Some agricultural platform companies deploy populist rhetoric beyond established tropes of consumer welfare, latching onto farmers’ deep frustrations with the highly concentrated agribusiness sector. Efforts to reign in agrarian platform power may be further constrained by legitimising discourses of hunger relief and sustainability.

Implications of Contemporary Totalitarian Imperialism for the Communist Perspective

Abstract Starting from a brief analysis of the structural characteristics of contemporary totalitarian imperialism, as a dialectical supersession of classical imperialism, and of the continuing crisis of capitalism, we focus on the new characteristics of global capitalism, which are arguably crucial for the unfolding geopolitical conflicts and the struggle for socialism. Referring more specifically to the emerging divide and conflict within world capitalism, between western NATO forces (US, EU, et al.) on the one hand, and the rising block of the BRICS countries on the other, we take a critical stance against those (left-wing) commentators or political currents, which consider this conflict as a typical inter-imperialist rivalry and argue for the need of taking an equal distance from the opposite poles of this rising confrontation. As argued, though the revolutionary forces struggling for socialism worldwide should not, by any means, identify with the BRICS coalition, the equal-distance approach should be criticized on the ground that a multi-polar world would be a more favorable condition for a communist perspective. What is more essentially argued is that, independently from the emerging two poles of geopolitical confrontation, there is an urgent need for a transnational class struggle (from below) towards communism, and that the fundamental capital-labor contradiction and the social question should be prioritized as against any national (or capitalist block) contradictions or national liberation struggles. As historical experience has asserted, the opposite prioritization will always work against social emancipation and the prospect of communism.

Gender and racial minorities on corporate boards: How board faultlines and CEO‐minority director overlap affect firm performance

AbstractResearch SummaryIn this article, we examine the multidimensional and multilevel nature of diversity in the context of corporate boards. Using the concept of faultlines, we argue that when gender and racial background aligns with human capital attributes of board members, faultlines may be formed with negative implications for firm performance. However, the potential negative impact of faultlines can be alleviated by overlaps in the characteristics of the CEO and minority directors. Specifically, we find that higher overlaps in tenure and personal range of functional experiences help overcome some of the disadvantages that minority directors face and moderate the relationship between board faultline strength and firm performance. Empirical tests using 14 years data on 262 firms belonging to S&P500 index largely support our theoretical ideas.Managerial SummaryBoards often suffer from unhealthy team dynamics. In this article, we explore how alignment of board members' attributes may lead to potential subgroup formation within boards. Specifically, we examine how, under existing pressures to increase demographic diversity on corporate boards, alignment of human capital characteristics with gender and racial minority status may lead to the formation of board faultlines that negatively influence firm performance. Our results suggest that the CEO plays a pivotal role in overcoming negative consequences of board faultlines by utilizing shared tenure on board and common functional experiences with minority board members. Our research suggests that board selection needs to focus beyond scrutinizing individual‐level human capital and instead understand alignments of directors' profiles that enable optimal board functioning.

Predicting the Mental Health of Undergraduate University Students in Northeast India with Academic Psychological Capital: A Cross-sectional and Descriptive Study

Abstract Background: Undergraduate students are increasingly experiencing and being affected by mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, stress, substance abuse, and self-injury. Transitioning from a high school to a university student is challenging, stressful, and demanding. Objectives: The present study aims to predict the mental health among undergraduate students in Northeast India with academic psychological capital. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive research study was conducted among undergraduate university students. One hundred and twenty students aged between 18 and 25 were recruited for the study through a multi-stage stratified random sampling technique with proportional allocation. The respondents were administered the sociodemographic datasheet, Academic Psychological Capital Questionnaire, and Mental Health Continuum Long Form. Data analysis was done with the help of the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences version 25. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Ethical Committee. Results: The present study’s findings indicate statistically significant correlations between all of the psychological capital (PsyCap) characteristics and variables related to mental health. Overall-life PsyCap (r = 0.729, P < 0.01), school-work PsyCap (r = 0.610, P < 0.01), and total PsyCap score (r = 0.695, P < 0.01) have a significant positive correlation with total mental health scores. The best model for predicting the mental health score overall-life optimism, overall-life efficacy, and overall-life hope was a linear combination of three of the eight PsyCap variables with R 2 = 0.486, F(3,227) = 51.38, P < 0.001. Conclusion: The study shows that PsyCap is associated with the mental health functioning of university students. The findings have important ramifications for the formulation and content of programs designed to support undergraduate students’ mental health and emphasize the value of further study into positive psychological traits as the cornerstones of university students’ positive mental health.

Research on the Purchase Intention of Social Commerce Consumers in Video Streams: Dual Pathways of Affection and Rationality.

Social commerce blurs the boundary between online social interaction and online shopping. The emergence of video streams introduces novel marketing modalities to social commerce. However, there is a paucity of comprehensive studies investigating the impact of emerging marketing techniques such as short videos and live streaming on consumer purchase intention. This study employs Bourdieu's conceptual framework to construct a Field Theory-based model, investigating the impact of atmospheric and capital characteristics of social commerce platforms on consumer purchase intention through affective and rational pathways, respectively. A survey involving 515 Chinese social commerce consumers demonstrates that atmospheric characteristics (emotion and social presence) and capital characteristics (information quality and quantity) in video streams enhance similarity and power. Both similarity and power are associated with an increase in consumer purchase intention. This study validates the dual-path influence of social commerce characteristics and discusses theoretical and managerial implications.

Employment and work intentions of refugee women. Evidence on Syrians in the Netherlands

ABSTRACT This study examines the employment and work intentions of Syrian refugee women in the Netherlands. While earlier studies showed that refugee women have dramatically low labor force participation rates, it remains poorly understood why this is the case. In this study, we provide new insights, using large-scale, nationally representative data on Syrian refugee women in the Netherlands. Our analyses provide evidence to suggest that beyond human capital characteristics, three gender-specific factors contribute to lower participation rates: discrimination of Muslim women who wear a veil, family constraints and traditional gender role attitudes. Among Syrian unemployed women, we find that wearing a veil or having young children is associated with an inability to work, whereas traditional gender role attitudes are significantly associated with unwillingness to work.

Improving and Maximizing the Financial Performance of MSMEs: A Case Study on MSMEs in the Bangka Belitung Islands Province

Even in times of financial crisis, MSMEs remain an important economic tool that influence Indonesia's economic growth. MSMEs have the power to raise people's standard of living, particularly in terms of money. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the financial performance of MSMEs in the Bangka Belitung Islands Province is impacted by credit giving, financial inclusion, fintech, and intellectual capital characteristics. This study uses an associative methodology and is quantitative in nature. Purposive sampling procedures were used to obtain 102 MSME actors for the sample. SPSS software version 26 is used to assist with the data analysis technique. The study's findings demonstrate that financial inclusion (X2), fintech (X5), intellectual capital (X6), and partial credit giving (X1) all significantly and favorably impact MSMEs' financial performance. The Bangka Belitung Islands' MSMEs' financial performance is positively and significantly impacted by the concurrent factors of credit granting, financial inclusion, fintech, and intellectual capital. The independent variable accounts for 88.5% of the variation in the dependent variable, with the remaining 11.5% being impacted by factors not examined in this study, according to the R Square value of 0.885 in this investigation.

Political Economy in Early Modern China and Its Relevance to Contemporary China

ABSTRACT This article seeks to develop an understanding of the historical political economy of late imperial/early modern China, from the Song through the Qing dynasties, which recognizes its basic features as a distinctive Chinese form of commercial capitalism. Using defining characteristics of capitalism as set forth in Marx’s analysis of European, particularly English, capitalism, this article argues that the structures and functions of the late imperial Chinese economy, and the cultural inflections generated by that economy, constitute a historical form of capitalism clearly different in its details, but substantially embodying the key features of Western capitalism, such as commodity production, elaborate market mechanisms, credit and finance systems, a monetized system of exchange, and the extraction of surplus value from labor for accumulation by commercial actors in both the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. This is important not only for the correct identification of the late imperial/early modern Chinese system and for understanding the diversity of capitalist development outside the traditional Eurocentric framework, but also for its relevance to contemporary China’s project of socialist construction.

You Can Sit with Us, but under Our Terms: The Recognition of Indigenous Self-Determination by Nation-States throughout the Abya Yala

In this paper I discuss Indigenous self-determination in our continent (the Abya Yala and Turtle Island) and how most nation-states address this issue from a standpoint of “you can sit with us, but under our terms.” This position preaches the inclusion of Indigenous peoples in society, but only under the western liberal standard of assimilation, characteristic of neoliberal and neocolonial capitalism. I argue that Indigenous self-determination, based in Indigenous, decolonial and Marxist thought, includes two elements: the right to effectively exercise autonomy in their communities, and the right to participate in decision-making in the nation-state. I then demonstrate that less than a third of the countries in the continent formally recognize Indigenous self-determination in their Constitutions, and that most nation-states with formal recognition only include one of the two elements of Indigenous self-determination, with almost no existing mechanisms in place allowing Indigenous groups to effectively exercise it.

高管激励及人力资本特征对企业经营绩效影响研究 – 以中国信息技术服务业上市公司为例 –

高管激励及人力资本特征对企业经营绩效影响研究 – 以中国信息技术服务业上市公司为例 –

The Influence of Learning Orientation and Human Capital on Absorptive Capacity in SMEs Rattan Cirebon

The purpose of this research is to examine how human capital and learning orientation affect absorptive capacity. This study used a quantitative research design. The small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) that deal with rattan in Cirebon City are the study's demographic. Thirty-six companies provided 146 individuals for the samples. In this study, non-probability sampling is employed in conjunction with data withdrawal procedures and questionnaires with a Likert scale for measuring purposes. Multiple regression analysis with SPSS 26 is the data analysis method employed. The findings demonstrated that learning orientation and human capital characteristics had a favorable and significant impact on absorptive ability.

Human capital and Islamic banking: a systematic literature review

Purpose There are many areas of research that are untapped in Islamic banking, and human capital is one of them. This paper aims to systematical review the relevant literature on human capital and Islamic banking. Design/methodology/approach The review process involved a structured search using well-established academic databases, Scopus and Web of Science, resulting in the selection of relevant articles. The paper has been divided into three major themes, besides other discussions on the literature, including methods of measuring human capital, determinants of human capital and human capital and performance of Islamic banks. Findings A few pioneering studies have explicitly examined human capital in the Islamic banking domain, while others have encompassed it under the broader umbrella of intellectual capital. The most common method of measuring human capital is accounting based, while few have adopted disclosure and survey methods as well. There are few studies that explored the determinants of human capital having focus on corporate governance, while many of the studies have explored the nexus of human capital and financial performance. Practical implications This review strongly highlights the need for more focused research on human capital within the Islamic banking sector. As Islamic banking necessitates unique human capital characteristics, it is essential to delve deeper into this aspect. Furthermore, there is a call to expand the human capital index by incorporating comprehensive aspects relevant to Islamic banking. An important area that requires further exploration is the role of Shariah governance in shaping human capital development within Islamic finance, understanding the reasons behind the observed negative correlation. Originality/value Despite its significance, the relationship between human capital and Islamic banking has received limited attention. This review paper not only addresses this gap but also lays the groundwork for future studies in this important and emerging field.

Social capital, government guidance and contract choice in agricultural land transfer.

This study explores the impact of farm households' social capital characteristics and local government policies on the selection of farmland transfer contracts in China's rural industrial revitalization context. Utilizing field research data from 1,979 households in ethnic areas of Hunan Province, this paper constructs an econometric model to assess how farm households' social capital and local governments' involvement in rural industrial revitalization influence farmland transfer contract selections. The findings indicate that, lacking government program support, farmers' social capital significantly affects contract type and duration, but not the rent. Specifically, farmers possessing extensive social capital prefer verbal and short-term contracts (coefficients of 0.525 and 0.643, significant at the 5% level), whereas their influence on rent (coefficient of 2.418, significant at the 5% level) manifests under government program support. These results challenge the conventional theory of farmland transfer contracts and offer substantial empirical support for the development of local government policies in rural industrial revitalization, underlining the critical role of government guidance and social capital in enhancing farmland transfer.

A Robust Examination of Cheating on Unproctored Online Exams

The rapid growth of online education, especially since the pandemic, is presenting educators with numerous challenges. Chief among these is concern about academic dishonesty, especially on unproctored online exams. Students cheating on exams is not a new phenomenon. The topic has been discussed and debated within institutions of higher learning, and significant levels of cheating have been reported in the academic literature for over sixty years. Much of this literature, however, has focused on student behavior in a classroom utilizing proctored, in-class exams. Grades on exams usually determine most of a student’s final grade in a course, and GPAs are used by employers and graduate schools to indicate a student’s subject matter mastery. As more conventional colleges and universities expand their online course offerings it is natural to wonder if academic dishonesty is more prevalent in online classes than in face-to-face classes. In particular, are students more likely to cheat when no one is watching (i.e., on unproctored assessment assignments) than they do when someone is watching (i.e., on proctored assessment assignments)? The purpose of this study is to investigate whether students cheat more on unproctored online exams than they do on proctored in-classroom exams, and if so, is there any pattern to their cheating behavior. Our findings are derived from careful empirical analysis of 741 undergraduate students who completed three unproctored online exams, several collaboration-encouraged assignments, and a proctored in-class comprehensive final exam in the same course with the same instructor. Additionally, we collected demographic and human capital data for every student. Using bivariate and regression analysis, we find significant evidence of more cheating on unproctored online exams than on proctored in-class exams even though students were given stern honor code violation warnings. Moreover, we discover that student cheating increased with each unproctored online exam, implying that students learn how to cheat as they become more familiar with taking online assessment assignments. Finally, we find that students with certain demographic and human capital characteristics tend to cheat more than others. This research strongly supports the use of proctoring for all evaluation assignments in online classes to ensure that grades in these classes properly reflect student aptitude as opposed to merely reflecting their ability to cheat.

Factors Impacting Chinese Older Adults' Intention to Prevent COVID-19 in the Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Era: Survey Study.

Understanding the factors influencing individuals' health decisions is a dynamic research question. Particularly, after China announced the deregulation of the COVID-19 epidemic, health risks escalated rapidly. The convergence of "no longer controlled" viruses and the infodemic has created a distinctive social period during which multiple factors may have influenced people's decision-making. Among these factors, the precautionary intentions of older individuals, as a susceptible health group, deserve special attention. This study aims to examine the intention of older adults to engage in preventive behaviors and the influencing factors, including social, media, and individual factors, within the context of the postepidemic era. Drawing upon the structural influence model of communication, this study tests the potential mediating roles of 3 different types of media exposure between cognitive and structural social capital and protective behavior intention, as well as the moderating role of negative emotions between social capital and media exposure. In this study, a web survey was used to collect self-reported quantitative data on social capital, media exposure, negative emotions, and the intention to prevent COVID-19 among older adults aged ≥60 years (N=399) in China. The results indicate that cognitive social capital significantly influenced protective behavior intention (P<.001), with cell phone exposure playing an additional impactful role (P<.001). By contrast, newspaper and radio exposure and television exposure mediated the influence of structural social capital on protective behavior intention (P<.001). Furthermore, negative emotions played a moderating role in the relationship between cognitive social capital and cell phone exposure (P<.001). This study suggests that using tailored communication strategies across various media channels can effectively raise health awareness among older adults dealing with major pandemics in China, considering their diverse social capital characteristics and emotional states.

Using indirect survey techniques to investigate the relationship between employee personal experience of abusive supervision and job performance

PurposeTo propose the use of indirect survey protocols, in general and the item count technique (ICT), in particular, that ensure participant anonymity in organizations to explore the effect of employee perceived abusive supervision on job performance.Design/methodology/approachWe apply ICT to a sample of 363 employees (52.6% female) from Greek organizations. Utilizing multivariate statistical techniques, we investigated how employees assess the impact of their personal encounters with abusive supervision on job performance. This approach allowed us to explore the percentage of employees perceiving negative effects on job performance, distinguishing our study from previous studies that primarily focus on quantifying the extent or magnitude of abusive supervision in organizational settings. Also, we investigated how employee socio-demographic characteristics, human capital characteristics and affective traits relate to the evaluation of experienced abusive supervision as a negative factor for their job performance.FindingsWe found that approximately 62% of the respondents evaluated personal experience of abusive supervision as negatively affecting their job performance. We also found that the likelihood of employees evaluating personal experience of abusive supervision as having a negative impact on their job performance is: (1) higher for female employees, (2) does not depend on employee age, job tenure and education; (3) is lower for employees with managerial roles and (4) increases with employee trait negative affectivity.Originality/valueThe study is a response to the call for researchers to use innovative methods for advancing abusive supervision research. The study highlights the significance of taking a proactive stance towards addressing abusive supervision in the workplace, by using indirect survey methods that ensures employee anonymity. The results have implications for organizational strategies aimed at increasing awareness of abusive supervision and its impact on employee performance.

Masyarakat Lokal dalam Konfigurasi Kapitalisme Negara di Sektor Pariwisata Studi Kawasan Ekonomi Khusus Mandalika

Local communities face a situation of infiltration of state capitalism along with the development of the Mandalika Special Economic Zone in Central Lombok. The process of developing regional infrastructure and regional infrastructure carried out by the Development and Management Business Entity with the large support of State-Owned Enterprises raises the question of the extent to which the development process carried out has implications for the lives of local communities. This study aims to determine the implications of the state capitalism approach in the development of the Mandalika special economic zone for local communities as seen from the implementation of the MotoGP event in the Mandalika area. This research is a case study research with a qualitative approach. This research shows an imbalance in the role of state statism intervention in the distribution of benefits from economic regulatory activities by SOEs that are more business-oriented than social development in favor of local communities. This is because the strategy of infrastructure development and event implementation in the region operates in the realm of political goals rather than achieving economic goals at the local level. The support of state statism through events is politically directed to stimulate the activities of business actors in the region and attract investors to be further involved in regional development rather than oriented towards the benefits of local communities directly. The configuration of state capitalism actors in the operation of Mandalika SEZ shows the characteristics of state capitalism characterized by economic inclusive nationalism that combines state statism intervention through strengthening the role of BUMN while opening up opportunities for the involvement of international investors, corporations and business actors in supporting regional development.

The Evolving Attitudes of Institutional Economists: From Growth to Degrowth

The growth imperative characteristic of consumer capitalism rests on continuous mass production, fueled by fossil fuels, legitimized by the assumption that wants are infinite. Institutionalists have generally attributed growth to technology, a manifestation of the community’s knowledge base applied to increasing throughput to produce goods. That same technology, however, may precipitate degrowth, a decline in the throughput making growth possible. The first section attributes the Great Acceleration to continuous mass production, requiring the corporate form of business enterprise. The second section explains the degrowth movement focusing on the work of George Kallis. Degrowth arose in response to the adverse effects of growth, providing an ecological critique of mainstream economics. Degrowth advocates minimizing throughput. The third section briefly traces the evolution of institutionalists’ attitudes towards growth, attitudes guided by the principles of instrumental valuation and social provisioning. The fourth section offers a conclusion, focusing on pecuniary emulation pushing people to live at the pecuniary standard, a standard that continues to rise with increases in throughput and innovation.