Corporations Worldwide Research Articles

Reining in the Behemoths for the Common Good? An Analysis of State Control of State-Owned Enterprises and the Pathway to Better Governance in China

AbstractThe state-owned enterprise (SOE) is the most significant business form in China. In the planned economy era, the state employed SOEs to implement economic policy and to provide employment opportunities. After entering the marketization era, the state still expects SOEs to preserve the state assets and fulfill political goals, notwithstanding the governance issues facing SOEs. SOEs do not generally perform as well as private corporations worldwide and the existing literature attempts to explain the reasons for poor governance problems from many different perspectives. SOEs in China have many distinctive characteristics compared to their counterparts overseas. The ways in which the state exercises its control over SOEs are the primary reasons for creating the vital distinctive characteristics that invite SOEs’ poor governance problems in China. The three most significant problems are discussed here. First, over-politicization and bureaucracy lower SOEs’ operational efficiency. Second, the board of directors (BOD) fails to perform its traditional role in corporate governance in serving the corporate interests. Third, the comprehensive involvement of the Communist Party in China (CPC) needs to be regulated and the accountability of internal organs should be extended to the party committees within the companies. We submit that the existing SOE supervision and control methods need to be changed to clarify the for-profit purpose of SOEs. The BOD needs uninterrupted business management power and the party activities should follow party rules and company law to make party cadres accountable for their business decisions.

The Impact of Board Diversity on Corporate Governance Practices: A Comparative Analysis

This comparative analysis explores the impact of board diversity on corporate governance practices within the contemporary business landscape. With an increasing emphasis on inclusivity and equitable representation, corporations worldwide are reconsidering the composition of their boards to reflect a broader spectrum of perspectives and experiences. This study delves into the multifaceted dimensions of diversity, including but not limited to gender, ethnicity, age, and professional background, and investigates how these factors influence decision-making processes, risk management strategies, and overall governance effectiveness. Drawing upon a comprehensive review of existing literature, empirical studies, and case analyses, this research elucidates the complex interplay between board diversity and corporate governance outcomes.

Economic policy uncertainty and financial system efficiency

Economic policy uncertainty (EPU) adversely affects financial system functioning with potentially critical repercussions for economies and corporations worldwide. Financial system efficiency (FSE) has a vital influence on fostering optimal economic growth and development; however, the impact of EPU on FSE remains under-explored. This study investigates the effect of EPU on FSE along with its components financial institution efficiency (FIE) and financial market efficiency (FME). Using data from 22 countries over a 20-year period (2002–2021), our analysis reveals a significant negative effect of EPU on FSE, FIE and FME. Notably, our split-sample analysis highlights the accentuated adverse effects of EPU in high-EPU regimes, emphasising the importance of vigilance during periods of elevated policy uncertainty. We conduct a series of sensitivity tests, including alternative measures of EPU, FSE, FIE and FME, and apply two-stage least squares and two-step dynamic system generalised method of moments estimators and introduce additional control variables. These tests consistently reaffirm the core conclusions of our study. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings for policymakers.

Carbon Footprint Reduction for Sustainable Data Centers in Real-Time

As machine learning workloads are significantly increasing energy consumption, sustainable data centers with low carbon emissions are becoming a top priority for governments and corporations worldwide. This requires a paradigm shift in optimizing power consumption in cooling and IT loads, shifting flexible loads based on the availability of renewable energy in the power grid, and leveraging battery storage from the uninterrupted power supply in data centers, using collaborative agents. The complex association between these optimization strategies and their dependencies on variable external factors like weather and the power grid carbon intensity makes this a hard problem. Currently, a real-time controller to optimize all these goals simultaneously in a dynamic real-world setting is lacking. We propose a Data Center Carbon Footprint Reduction (DC-CFR) multi-agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL) framework that optimizes data centers for the multiple objectives of carbon footprint reduction, energy consumption, and energy cost. The results show that the DC-CFR MARL agents effectively resolved the complex interdependencies in optimizing cooling, load shifting, and energy storage in real-time for various locations under real-world dynamic weather and grid carbon intensity conditions. DC-CFR significantly outperformed the industry-standard ASHRAE controller with a considerable reduction in carbon emissions (14.5%), energy usage (14.4%), and energy cost (13.7%) when evaluated over one year across multiple geographical regions.

Equilibrium between Environmental and Economic Objectives: An Activity-Based Costing Approach Application for Carbon Emissions Management in the Aluminum Alloy Wheel Industry

In the face of the increasingly dire threat of global climate change, reducing carbon emissions has become an urgent priority for governments and corporations worldwide. The aluminum alloy wheel manufacturing industry bears an even heavier burden for emission mitigation due to its high production volume, complex processes, and proportionally higher carbon footprint. With impending carbon taxes and trading policies looming, the industry urgently needs to strike a balance between maximizing profits and minimizing carbon emissions. Leveraging real-world industry data, this research develops four green Activity-Based Costing (ABC) models and utilizes optimization software to compare the following scenarios: non-continuous carbon tax, carbon tax with trading, tiered tax with exemptions, and exemptions combined with trading. Results demonstrate that integrating carbon trading and targeted tax reductions can improve corporate financial positions without severely compromising environmental goals. Although identifying optimal balance points remains a highly complex process, this study equips enterprises and policymakers with quantitative tools to navigate fluctuating carbon regulatory environments. As national policies progress, more multifaceted dynamic carbon tax models will likely provide more profound insights for sustainable development.

Union membership and the wage gap between the public and private sectors: evidence from China

As trade unions are active in corporations worldwide, their effects on the labor market have attracted global attention. However, there is scarce empirical evidence regarding how trade unions’ effects on the wage gap differ between the public and private sectors, especially in the Chinese context. Using national longitudinal survey data from the China Family Panel Studies for the years 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 and the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method, this study estimates unions’ effect on the wage gap between the public and private sectors in China. The results from the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method indicate the existence of a significant positive union wage premium nationwide. Additionally, the premium in the public sector is greater than that in the private sector. However, this effect becomes insignificant after accounting for individual heterogeneity using the fixed effects model. The decomposition results based on the OLS method indicate that the union coverage difference (the endowment effect) widens the wage gap between the public and private sectors; conversely, the union wage premium difference (the price effect) narrows the wage gap. These results indicate that a policy expanding union coverage in the private sector may effectively narrow the wage gap between both sectors.

Profit shifting of multinational corporations worldwide

We exploit the new country-by-country reporting data of multinational corporations, with unparallelled country coverage, to reveal the distributional consequences of profit shifting. We estimate that multinational corporations worldwide shifted over $850 billion in profits in 2017, primarily to countries with effective tax rates below 10%. Countries with lower incomes lose a larger share of their total tax revenue due to profit shifting. We further show that a logarithmic function is better suited for capturing the non-linear relationship between profits and tax rates than linear or quadratic functions. Our findings highlight effective tax rates’ importance for profit shifting and tax reforms.

The impact of COVID-19 on corporate investment behaviours

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the investment strategies of corporations worldwide. This has led to many companies reevaluating and adjusting their investment approaches in response to the changing business landscape. To understand these shifts, this article used a paired t-test methodology to analyse changes in various financial components, including accounts receivables, inventory, fixed assets, and intangible assets, from 2019 to 2021. The study also examined the proportion of each of these components in the total assets of the companies under investigation. The findings revealed a consistent upward trajectory in the aforementioned asset categories, even during the pandemic outbreak. This implied that companies continued to invest in these areas, which may have been less affected by the pandemic. However, apart from intangible assets, the proportion of the remaining asset categories in the total assets of these companies experienced a decline. The article suggested that companies may change their investment priorities or reallocate resources in response to changing economic conditions brought on by the epidemic. Therefore, it is beneficial to improve the overall performance of the company through efficient use of resources.

Программа «Эразмус» в европейском и многополярном образовательном пространстве

This article delves into the role of the “Erasmus” Programme within the context of European and multipolar educational spaces. Recognized as a significant tool for international academic mobility, the “Erasmus” Programme serves as a catalyst for higher education cooperation between participating countries. The program has grown beyond its initial European scope, encompassing universities, youth organizations, and transnational corporations worldwide. The “Erasmus” is not only instrumental in fostering innovative approaches to education, encouraging knowledge exchange, and strengthening international partnerships, but also performs broader political functions. It contributes to socio-economic resources for European citizens, reinforces the EU's political stability, and promotes solidarity among the member states. The “Erasmus” Programme has become a unifying foundation for not only European countries but also a wide range of partner nations, making it an attractive model for regions worldwide and a successful instrument of the EU's foreign policy. The relevance of the “Erasmus” Program is enhanced from a practical point of view in the context of reforming the higher education system in Kazakhstan and closer integration with European educational models.

The Effectiveness of Meta-Universe on Beauty Brands

Famous worldwide corporations have used the meta-universe marketing technique in recent years: Givenchy built a virtual beauty salon, Givenchy Beauty House, and Mac linked virtual idols. AYAYI, Estee Lauder launched the world's most famous paintings of digital collections, L'Oreal created Reds of Worth Non-Fungible Token (NFT) art, and so on, leading to the research question: how does the meta-universe empower beauty businesses to achieve greater marketing and sales? The study concluded that: First, the quality of the consumer environment is strongly tied to sales via the employment of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies to enhance the realism of the consumer environment in the meta-universe scene. Second, as the meta-universe community is built to suit customers' social requirements, social demands are becoming increasingly prominent in consumer demand. Third, the added value of the brand is to increase market competitiveness through the integration of IP and NFT promotions to increase the added value of the brand. The main contribution of this article is to propose new ideas for beauty brands to boost brand creation and consumption using meta-universe marketing.

Global outsourcing and voluntary disclosure

AbstractReliance on global outsourcing has become an economic imperative for many major corporations worldwide, but at the same time, it has brought substantial risks and complexities to these firms. This study employs novel international supply chain data to examine whether global outsourcing of goods or services shapes US corporate disclosure policies. Our main results suggest a negative impact of global outsourcing exposure on voluntary disclosure, and several identification tests further support this baseline evidence. We find that the adverse effect on disclosure is more pronounced when institutional differences are more significant between the United States and foreign suppliers' countries and when US firms face higher litigation risks. However, the effect weakens when investors and stakeholders demand more information. Collectively, our study provides new insights into the economic implications of outsourcing globally from an information disclosure perspective.

OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2017 – The digital transformation

​The OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2017 draws on the latest international comparative data to uncover the strength of the OECD and other large economies, and shows how the digital transformation is affecting science, innovation, the economy and the way people work and live. Mobility, cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics are among the most important technologies in the digital economy today, empowering businesses, consumers, and society as a whole. However, their development and use are distributed very unevenly. The headquarters of the top 2,000 R&D corporations worldwide are concentrated in just a few economies – notably the United States, Japan, and China – and about 70% of their total R&D spending is concentrated in the top 200 firms. Although the digital transformation is affecting all sectors of the economy, Telecommunications and IT services are consistently ahead in terms of digital intensity, while Agriculture, Mining, and Real estate are consistently ranked at the bottom. Significant differences remain in a majority of OECD countries, including between younger and older generations, between women and men, by educational background, urban and local locations, and firms of different size. This publication aims to help governments design more effective science, innovation, and industry policies in the digital era.

ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN MEDIUM AND SMALL SCALE ENTERPRISES IN NIGERIA

It is impossible to overstate how important employees are to a small business' survival and how well they are managed. This is especially true because, smaller businesses depend more on the individual contributions of the employees to the overall success of the business. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are significantly more prevalent than large corporations worldwide and employ a greater proportion of the labor force. In many economic sectors, SMEs are credited with fostering competition and innovation. While SMEs in Nigeria produce more jobs than large companies do, they also face difficulties that call for the assistance of experts from a variety of fields, including human resources managers. Therefore, this study uses a basic literature review and desk research approach to investigate the potential role of human resource management in SMEs in Nigeria. The main issues with SMEs' prior to the COVID-19 pandemic are identified as being insufficient skills and training, as well as depression and high labor turnover during the pandemic in Nigeria. In order to increase their effectiveness and efficiency in Nigeria, efforts are made to encourage SMEs to implement human resource management philosophies. As a result of the fact that no organization, no matter how big or small, can function without people, the study comes to the conclusion that human resource management is crucial. The study therefore recommends, among other things, that in order for Nigeria to experience sustainable post-COVID-19 business growth, SMEs must immediately implement human resource management strategies.

The role of IT-based technologies on the management of human resources in the COVID-19 era

PurposeThe current pandemic will introduce many novel policies, adaptations, innovations and procedures by innovative human resource (HR) creativity. In particular, information technology (IT) implementation is a field that needs more significant focus and a wider range of creative interventions. The author would undoubtedly see a more human-focused approach to HR management (HRM) in the post-coronavirus disease 2019 (post-COVID-19) era, where enterprises and workers have had to reinvent themselves in a brief amount of time drastically. Following the nationwide lockdown caused by COVID-19, many companies were pushed to opt for remote working, which presents both difficulties and benefits for workers and employers. So the purpose of this study is to investigate some key consequences resulting from COVID-19’s effect on multiple HRM roles, how technology is empowering and fostering HRM, informative forecasts based on how organizations are coping and finally, the path in the post-pandemic environment.Design/methodology/approachThe COVID-19 epidemic has had a significant effect on every area of the global economy. It has had severe implications for public institutions and raises particular questions for medical schools. The emergence of COVID-19 has disrupted many activities and requires intense and prompt attention from medical educators. So, HR leaders now face the difficult task of managing the interests of workers and their corporations. The outbreak of COVID-19 has proved that this is not just a difficult time but rather a testing time for companies across the globe to check and ensure how swiftly they adapt themselves by thinking and planning differently. An enterprise evolves with nature, and change is unavoidable if performance and productivity are to improve. Changes in structure, technology and priorities are overgrowing, posing big obstacles to leaders. Corporations worldwide have looked to technology to pursue creative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems. This study provides a review of articles related to the role of technology in HRM in the COVID-19 period. The analyzed articles are divided into three groups, including articles related to the role of information communication technology, cloud computing and teleworking in HRM in the COVID-19 era. Also, the most important key challenges are collected, and solutions are provided for them.FindingsIn times of trouble, authentic leadership shines through. The actions of pioneering HR leaders throughout the COVID-19 epidemic will significantly affect their respective organizations. When COVID-19 expanded around the world, HR agencies made their workers’ health and welfare a top priority. HRM’s long-term sustainability can be dictated by how they deal with the current crisis. Web-based solutions, such as cloud computing, will also address a vital resource allocation gap. It illustrates the possible efficacy of patient-oriented, web-based applications built on result-driven design, which continues to be validated by more testing and assessment. Many studies have emphasized business innovation as a necessity due to changes in the environment and various challenges and requirements facing businesses. The challenge of observing social distance and limiting face-to-face business services is the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic era.Research limitations/implicationsThis study could entail a joint international collaboration initiative among research centers, allowing information about COVID-19 impacts to be shared more easily. It will favor a worldwide policy to find a response to the epidemic but still address cultural and social issues.Practical implicationsThe survey concludes that, whenever possible, employers and medicals should explore remote working opportunities in all industries to alleviate uncertainty and improve employee psychological well-being. The facilitating considerations and problems are often addressed in order to supply practical views for developing cloud-based solutions.Originality/valueThis research aims to lead to the advancement of scientific knowledge in the HRM area through the use of IT-based technology. It allows businesses to reinvent HRM techniques to save money and maximize efficiency without compromising their employees’ life quality and well-being. More in-depth studies at various pandemic stages would yield more valuable insights into HRM’s emerging position.

Emotion in business communication: A comparative study of attitude markers in the discourse of U.S. and mainland Chinese corporations

Expressing emotion is considered essential in the U.S. business communication tradition; however, its importance is uncertain beyond the U.S., and more specifically, in Chinese business contexts. This study explores emotion in U.S. and Chinese business communication through the analyses of attitude markers in the shareholders’ letters of U.S. and mainland Chinese corporations. The analyses reveal that while emotion is embedded in the discourse of companies from both cultural models, its expression is more frequent and intense in the U.S. texts. The observed dissimilarities are discussed in terms of underlying sociocultural factors. Implications arise for the teaching and learning of business communication which are still largely defined by U.S. approaches. With the rising prominence of mainland Chinese corporations worldwide, the findings provide strong evidence for students and professionals to understand Chinese as well as U.S. rhetorical styles in business communication in order to be better prepared for the global business environment.

Corporate Sustainability: Study of Factors that Affect Corporate Towards Organizational Sustainability in Today Fast-Changing World

Sustainability has always run through social and economic activities. As significant economies have competed for their interests in the past few years, this situation has caused a global economic depression. Additionally, this situation worsened due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world. The international politics, economy, and Culture are undergoing unprecedented destruction and challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused businesses in many countries and regions to close or are about to face bankruptcy. More and more employees are getting laid off every day since the COVID-19 began. Even employees who are employed are feeling unsecured. So, in the face of uncertainties and difficulties facing corporations worldwide, we need to find a better way to extend the company's life cycle in a more structured and sustainable manner. 
 
 The main research question for this study is "What are the factors that have significant effects on organizational sustainability?" In this study, twelve independent variables including Leadership (L.S.), Management (M.N.), Culture (C.T.), Structure (S.T.), Workforce diversity (W.D.), Organizational age (O.A.), Staff age (S.A.), Mindset (M.S.), Technology (T.N.), Organizational dimension (O.D.), Group structure (G.S.), Business locations (B.L.) and one dependent variable called Sustainability (SUS) is the studied. This study aims to understand the structural relationships among these potential variables that could influence corporate sustainability. The dataset utilized to test the hypothesis postulated in this study using Structural Equation Models (SEM). This study suggested that the Leadership, Management, and Staffing Age significantly affects organizations towards organizational sustainability. Considering the different politics, economy, and cultural backgrounds in countries and industries, the study also found that some irreconcilable factors affect the performance of leadership, management, and staff ages. Thus, this study identified effective leadership, management, and staff age as strategies to lead organizations further towards organizational sustainability. The results of this study provide some valuable suggestions for all companies facing the COVID-19 threats right now to bring back to life and become more sustainable in the years to come and provide some evidence for future researchers to explore this field further.

ETHICAL CLIMATE AND BEHAVIORAL INTEGRITY: A STUDY OF THE DETERMINANTS OF ETHICAL LEADERSHIP UNDER POLITICAL MENTORING

Purpose of the study: Unethical behavior has been a source of incremental cost in corporations worldwide, and its consequences are detrimental to organizational health. In today’s turbulent environment, the role of leadership becomes even more vital under uncertainties. This study investigates the impact of ethical climate and behavioral integrity on ethical leadership through political mentoring. Methodology: The data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire distributed to the employees of various service sectors of health, education, banks, insurance companies, telecommunication, hotels, and transportation. The overall useable response rate was 85% (450 in total). The data were analyzed through SPSS version 22 and ADANCO version 2.2. Main Findings: The findings of the study are evidence of a strong association among behavioral integrity, ethical climate, political mentoring, and ethical leadership. We also found the mediating role of political mentoring between behavioral integrity and ethical leadership and between ethical climate and leadership. Applications of the study: This study is significant for the managers of the service sector in developing the ethical climate. It gives an insight to the leaders that they should guide their subordinates about the environment appropriately. It means that the leader’s role matters in building the organizational employees’ character and success. Novelty/Originality of the study: In this study, the role of political mentoring in ethical climate has been recognized, which contributes to business ethics. Furthermore, it bridges the literature gap related to the mediating role of political mentoring in an organizational climate.

Netflix: Estratégia de Criatividade e Inovação para Superação das Barreiras Culturais da Comunicação

In the pursuit ofways to overcome Cultural Communication Barriers, we analyzed Netflix's strategy to stand out in the market as a creative and innovative corporation worldwide. To achieve the objective, we used the qualitative exploratory research methodology and articles related to the theme and the publication of the former Netflix talent chief, Patty McCord. Based on the analysis, we reached three actions that collabo­ rate to reduce the barriers in communication: Action of Resources, Ac­ tion of Processes and Action of Communication. According to the study, we conclude that the results of applying the strategy bring benefits and advantages that not only overcome the cultural barriers of communica­ tion internally, but also contribute to breaking down barriers in which the company is present.

Risk Assessment With Value Added Pythagorean Fuzzy Failure Mode and Effect Analysis for Stakeholders

The new product development process (NPDP) is crucial for maintaining business up and running in manufacturing corporations worldwide. NPDP helps firms improve their profits, where stakeholder attention is mostly focused. NPDP Risk Assessment (NPDP-RA) is a vital activity to achieve a successful new product launch. However, managing different kinds of risks over the process presents enormous challenges; thus, risk assessment over NPDP still shows gaps, even when different tools are employed to identify, mitigate, and eliminate risks throughout the process. The identified gaps are mainly produced because the uncertainty added by the individuals assessing the risks, and the currently used tools are generally focused on a single phase of the NPDP, disregarding the stakeholders’ project objectives. This paper presents the main NPDP risks for stakeholders through the NPDP phases; likewise, the integration of Pythagorean fuzzy dimensional analysis – failure mode and effect analysis and value stream mapping (PFDA-FMEA-VSM). This novel integrated method is intended to improve the manner to perform the NPDP-RA for stakeholders. A practical example is presented to demonstrate the proposed integration of PFDA-FMEA-VSM for stakeholders at NPDP of electronic devices project.

Does Global Outsourcing Affect Corporate Customers’ Voluntary Disclosures?

Reliance on global supply chains (GSCs) has become an economic imperative for many major corporations worldwide, but at the same time, it has brought substantial risks and complexities to these firms. This study examines whether global outsourcing of goods or services shapes U.S. corporate disclosure policies. Our main results suggest a negative impact of GSC exposure on voluntary disclosure, and several identification tests further support this baseline evidence. We find that the adverse effect on disclosure is more pronounced when institutional differences are more significant between the U.S. and foreign suppliers’ countries and when U.S. firms face higher litigation risks. However, the effect weakens when investors and stakeholders demand more information. Collectively, from an information disclosure perspective, our study provides new insights into the potential costs of outsourcing globally, leading to a reduction in forward-looking information provided to capital markets.