Guild Research Articles

Informal financing access: Can fintech development affect trade credit access?

This paper investigates the relationship between fintech development and corporate trade credit access for Chinese listed companies between 2011 and 2022. The empirical results provide evidence that fintech development is significantly and positively associated with a firm’s access to trade credit. We also demonstrate that information asymmetry is a possible economic channel. In addition, fintech has more pronounced positive effects on the credit trade of non-state-owned enterprises and firms with high financing costs. Our primary findings are not driven by alternative measures and endogeneity concerns.

Allocation or Skill? What is Driving Corporate Trading Performance in the EU ETS?

This study empirically analyzes factors related to companies’ profits from trading emission allowances in the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for the period from 2005 to 2017 by combining information on trading activities with company characteristics of more than 6,000 companies. The factors considered include net position (i.e., free allocation of allowances minus emissions), strategic skills (i.e., banking of allowances, timing of trading, transaction frequency, use of intermediaries), skill-related structural factors (i.e., number of installations, sector affiliation), market pressure, year, and region effects. The results from estimating a Panel Heckman Selection Model suggest that companies’ profits from buying and selling emission allowances are related to a company’s net position, banking of allowances, timing of trading, and the number of installations. The findings further indicate that companies choose the number of banked allowances efficiently, that is, they take into account the opportunity costs of selling these allowances on the market. JEL Classification: Q48, Q54, Q58

Ambiguity or specificity: The influence of merchant guild culture on managers' disclosure strategy

AbstractRecent studies indicate that culture attributes significantly influence corporate behaviour. Building on this, our study explores how merchant guild culture (MGC) influences firms' voluntary disclosure practices, specifically through managerial disclosure strategies. Analysing data from Chinese listed firms between 2010 and 2022, we found that MGC significantly reduces the specificity of managerial responses at earnings communication conferences (ECCs). This suggests that firms influenced by MGC favour ambiguous communication, aligning with the value to mitigate competitive risks. Our findings deepen the understanding of cultural influences on corporate disclosure practices and extend literature on the role of informal institutions in corporate behaviours.

The power of the many: how retail investor attention reshapes corporate trade credit and bank loans

Our study on China-listed firms from 2011 to 2022 reveals that heightened retail investor attention significantly decreases corporate trade credit and boosts bank loan accessibility. This effect is consistent across different robust checks, such as propensity score matching and industry/regional shock controls. We find that this attention enhances information transparency, influencing both trade credit and bank loans. Notably, the impact is more pronounced in the absence of professional information intermediaries. This research deepens the understanding of retail investor attention's economic impact, shedding light on the substitutive relationship between trade credit and bank loans.

Review of the Impact of ESG Disclosure on Corporate Commercial Credit Financing

ESG is an extension of the concept of green investment, reflecting the concept of sustainable development of enterprises. In order to deeply understand the impact of ESG on corporate trade credit financing, this paper takes the existing research theories of ESG and corporate trade credit financing as an example to study the development background, application prospect, disclosure significance, and existing problems of ESG. At present, the literature on the impact of ESG performance on trade credit financing mainly focuses on three aspects: environment, society, and management. This paper first introduces the development background and application prospect of ESG, then combs the existing research theories related to ESG and corporate commercial credit financing, and finally comprehensively analyzes the significance and existing problems of ESG disclosure in order to help future related research. The results show that the study of ESG is helpful in comprehensively analyzing its potential role in corporate trade credit financing and the current challenges. It is suggested that the research on the relationship between ESG and corporate trade credit financing should be further strengthened in the future to better promote the sustainable development of enterprises and the stability of financial markets.

Do technology export regulations impact corporate trade credit financing? Evidence from China

Based on an exogenous shock—the 2008 revision of the Catalog of Technologies Prohibited and Restricted from Export in China—we use a difference-in-differences (DID) research design to examine the impact of technology export restrictions (TERs) on corporate trade credit financing. We document that TERs limit a firm's access to trade credit. Specifically, TERs reduce corporate trade credit by approximately 44 % compared with that of an average firm in the sample. Moreover, the negative impact is more pronounced for firms with high financial risk or high product risk. Additionally, our tests show that both upstream and downstream firms reduce their provision of trade credit to firms impacted by TERs. The results suggest that TERs add trade barriers between countries, resulting in restricted corporate trade credit financing.

Unleashing Industry 4.0: Empowering corporate trade credit

Utilizing panel data from publicly listed Chinese manufacturing firms spanning 2013 to 2022, our research demonstrates a direct correlation between the adoption of Industry 4.0 technology and improvements in trade credit. Industry 4.0 also bolsters firms' total factor productivity and internal controls, thereby catalyzing the expansion of trade credit. Notably, this positive effect is accentuated in environments with favorable commercial credit conditions and a lower prevalence of alcohol consumption, particularly within firms guided by top management teams with a strong technological background and a commitment to social responsibility. Through these findings, our study illuminates the pivotal role of Industry 4.0 technology in shaping corporate trade credit dynamics.

Capitalization of a corporate trade enterprise: the genesis of the definition and approaches to management

The paper identifies the genesis of theories of capitalization, which demonstrates the evolution of economic thought from simple ideas of wealth accumulation to complex models that take into account technological innovation, human capital, and institutional factors. It is shown that the development of individual theories reflects a fundamental understanding of the laws of formation, distribution and use of capital to stimulate economic growth and development. It was established that capitalization as an economic category is an important indicator of the financial potential of enterprises and markets, derived from the theories of capital, value, and resources. The main forms of capitalization are defined: financial, market, internal. Management of capitalization processes and results focuses on taking into account internal and external factors. This logic allows enterprises to adapt to post-industrial changes, increase their competitiveness and ensure sustainable growth in the conditions of a globalized economy. It has been proven that the effective management of the capitalization of the enterprise includes a comprehensive approach that covers financial planning, investment management, optimization of working capital, capital attraction, restructuring and implementation of innovations. The use of these methods allows enterprises to grow and increase their competitiveness. It is argued that the increase in capitalization is a strategic task for trade enterprises, which ensures their long-term growth and development based on the activation of investment activities by renewing assets, introducing the latest technologies, expanding the range of goods and improving the efficiency of operations. The concepts of anti-crisis management, category management, and integrated risk management are systematized, within the framework of which the equity of a corporate trading enterprise is considered the main source of capitalization growth. Their practical use requires the formalization of the relationship between the amount and level of equity capital with indicators of financial status, risk assessment, business activity and sales volume.

The impact of economic uncertainty on corporate trade credit policy: insights from the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT During the COVID-19 pandemic, firms exposed to the crisis faced simultaneous shocks to product demand and supply chains. As a result, they faced changing dynamics and greater uncertainty for trade credit for both suppliers and customers. Using regression analyses on quarterly data around the pandemic outbreak, we find that US non-financial firms demanded quicker payments from customers and faced shorter payment periods themselves during the pandemic. We also document that reduced trade credit was more pronounced for financially constrained firms and those with lower operating flexibility. Interestingly, government supplier firms’ trade credit remains unaffected by their COVID-19 exposure. These findings support the precautionary motives guiding firms’ trade credit policies in the face of economic uncertainty.

Does the Confucianism in audit firms enhance the corporate ESG Disclosure?

This paper examines the role of Confucian culture characterized by traditional virtues such as benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust in audit firms and corporate ESG disclosure. Using data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2021, we found that Confucian culture in audit firms significantly promotes the level of corporate ESG disclosure. We also tested the moderating effect of regional culture and corporate culture, and found that in regions with stronger merchant guild culture and higher levels of social trust, as well as in companies with a stronger culture of integrity and cooperation, the promotion effect of Confucian culture in audit firms on corporate ESG disclosure is more pronounced. Furthermore, we discovered that the closer the geographical distance between audit firms and client companies, the greater the positive impact of Confucian culture in audit firms on corporate ESG disclosure. Overall, this study reveals the modern value of Confucian traditional culture for the improvement of enterprises’ environmental friendly behaviors from the perspective of external audit, and highlighted the relevance of informal institutions in corporate governance.

The Merchant Guild’s Business Philosophy and Corporate Innovation

The business philosophy of merchant guilds represents a unique business-related culture that developed gradually through long-term commercial practices. This study investigates how distinctive business philosophies of Chinese merchant guilds affect contemporary corporate innovation. Employing a binary classification of adventurous and conservative business philosophies, we find that firms led by chairpersons with an adventurous guild culture are more likely to engage in innovation activities compared with those led by chairpersons with a conservative guild culture. Further analysis reveals that the influence of these business philosophies on corporate innovation is more pronounced for firms operating in regions with lower marketization, in industries facing greater environmental uncertainty, and when the chairpersons possess greater discretionary power. Our channel tests demonstrate that an adventurous business philosophy fosters innovation by enhancing chairpersons’ willingness to take risks. These findings highlight the enduring influence of merchant guild culture and the significant role of chairpersons’ inherited business philosophy in shaping contemporary business practices.

Voluntary food safety information disclosure and corporate financing structure: based on the perspective of trade credit

ABSTRACT The voluntary disclosure of food safety information by companies has attracted significant attention. We empirically examine the impact of voluntary food safety information disclosure (VFSID) on corporate financing structure from the perspective of trade credit. We discover that VFSID reduces corporations’ reliance on trade credit. We find that VFSID reduces corporations’ reliance on trade credit by facilitating additional bank credit. We also observe that the impact of VFSID on corporate trade credit is particularly pronounced for enterprises that disclose more material information and possess stronger motivation for financing structure adjustments. We further explore the economic consequences and find a significant reduction in the cost of corporate financing when corporate trade credit decreases due to VFSID. Our findings enrich the literature on VFSID and financing structure, verify the substitution relationship between bank credit and trade credit, and provide empirical evidence to optimize the financing structure of corporations, reduce the cost of corporate financing, and promote the smooth flow of the supply chain cycle.

Amigo shoring (1940): Washington’s first experiment with “friend shoring” and what it tells us about geo-economic strategy

There has been an intensifying debate lately within America’s circle of allies regarding the merits of “de-risking” the economic relations they conduct with autocratic great powers. Sometimes this debate makes explicit appeal to the novel name of “friend shoring.” The name may be new, but what it represents – namely an American (and allied) desire to minimize security problems stemming from economic ­interdependence – can be dated back to the middle of 1940, with the short-lived Inter-American Trading Corporation (IATC). This bold initiative was the first great instantiation of friend shoring in US foreign policy, and was focused upon the Latin American republics to the southward. This article’s purpose is to describe and analyze, in theoretical and empirical context, that early, unsuccessful, instance of friend shoring, and to suggest ways in which the IATC experience might be considered of relevance to the contemporary debate over the security consequences of interdependence.

The household, the citizen and the city: towards a social history of urban politics in the late Middle Ages

ABSTRACT Histories of politics in the late medieval European town present a struggle between town oligarchs and town citizens. While the conclusions that historians draw differ, the stakes of politics are the same: exclusion, participation and representation in town government. Politics is the ‘public’ domain of officeholding, elections and voting, its actors exclusively male, its locations the council chamber, the craft guild, the workshop. Starting and ending with the evidence of a 1532 ‘insurrection of women’ in the English city of Norwich, this article seeks to reconceptualise town politics in the late Middle Ages. Its premise is that urban citizenship was a social and performative practice as much as a formal legal and political status. It argues that the relationship between home, household and family was fundamental to the lived experience of citizenship. The urban household was a complex source of political agency, where the official separation between citizen and non-citizen was difficult to sustain. The 1532 insurrection of women allows us to connect the politics of the household to the politics of the town hall and to write a social history of town politics, in which women were political actors.

Manjolai Estate Conflict in Tirunelveli District - A Historical Survey

Abstract: The tea estates of Manjolai, Kakkachi, Nalumukku, Oothu and Kuthiravetti are situated in the hills of Ambasamudram in Tirunelveli District. Middlemen of the employers brought people of Scheduled Caste communities from Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi regions and the Ezhava people from various parts of Kerala to work as labourers in the estates. The labourers are overseen by the Supervisors addressed as ‘Kangani’ who in turn are answerable to field officers called as Ayya, and they work under Estate Managers respectfully called Durai. The Estate Managers are usually from other states such as Karnataka and Punjab, and the Officers are from other districts in the State. In the year 1948, the Tamil Nadu Estates (Abolition and Conversion to Ryotwari) Act was enacted, and consequentially the Singampatti Zamin’s lands too came under the control of the Government. As a result, in the year 1952, BBTC had to renew its lease contract with the then Congress-led government in Tamil Nadu. Even though decades have passed, many of the demands raised by the labourers still remain unfulfilled. In painful contrast to the fresh leaves of tea that they pluck in the scenic hills up in Manjolai, the lives of the Tea Estate labourers remain as barren as a desert. The deceased workers were employed at the Bombay Burma Trading Corporation’s (BBTC) tea estates in Manjolai. Manjolai labourers massacre or Thamirabarani massacre of 23 July 1999 was the death of 17 Dalit labourers, including two women and a two-year- old child, when they got into the river to escape Tamil Nadu Police lathi-charge. Public were going in procession to Tirunelveli Collectorate to submit a memorandum demanding wage settlement for the tea plantation workers of Manjolai estate. An altercation between the police and the marchers resulted in a lathi charge by police. When the marchers ran helter-skelter, many fell into the river and died.Human Rights Watch condemned the brutal police attack and killing of Dalit tea plantation workers

Agency and Institutional Change: The Dissolution of the Guild System in the 18th Century Rhineland

Agency and Institutional Change: The Dissolution of the Guild System in the 18th Century Rhineland

FACT OR FICTION? — CLIMATE CHANGE RISK AND TRADE CREDIT

The economic consequences of frequent weather events at the firm level have received considerable attention in recent years. This study empirically investigates the impact of climate change risk on firms’ trade credit, using Chinese-listed firms as research subjects. The results suggested that climate change risk has a negative impact on corporate trade credit by deepening firms’ financial distress and lowering the level of industry competitiveness. Both digital transformation and government transparency were found to have a significant negative moderating effect. Heterogeneity analyses showed that firms without environmental background executives, nonstate-owned firms, and nongreen firms were more significantly affected. Finally, we found that the green, low-carbon city pilot policy had a benign effect on corporate trade credit.

Historical and legal foundations of the development of insurance in the Republic of Italy: theoretical and legal analysis

The article examines the historical and legal aspects of the development of insurance and the legal regulation of insurance relations in Italy. It is noted that the foundations of insurance relations and their legal regulation were observed in many countries of modern Europe, including Italy. It has been investigated that the first forms of insurance in Italy were observed as early as the times of the Roman Empire in the form of activities of religious societies and military colleges. It has been proven that the initial forms of insurance in the Roman Empire were built on the basis of the common interests of the participants, were non-commercial in nature and were not aimed at making a profit. It was established that from the 13th century. in Italy, there are mutual aid associations, which were created within the framework of craft guilds, which aimed to help their members in the event of certain insurance cases. It has been studied that starting from the 13th century. Italy becomes the center of marine insurance formation, centered in Genoa, Florence and Venice. The article states that the legal regulation of marine insurance was carried out in accordance with the norms specified in the Pisa Statute and other legislative acts, as well as insurance contracts that had a notarized certificate. It is noted that at the end of the 13th century. special courts were established to resolve disputes in the field of marine insurance. It has been studied that starting from the 14th century. in Italy, the formation of commercial insurance was observed, which was regulated by the Venetian Code of Marine Insurance and the Florentine Ordinance of 1523. It was analyzed that in the 15th-16th centuries. Art. in Italy, such types of insurance as dowry insurance, as well as annuities, tontines and loans, bets have become widespread. It was found that starting from the 18th century. in Italy, insurance companies are created in the form of joint-stock companies, marine insurance is provided by the Maritime Exchange Insurance Chamber, and fire insurance is developed. It is noted that since the XX century. in Italy is developing life insurance. It has been established that today Italy is one of the leading states that carries out insurance activities on the market of insurance services.

Banking crises and corporate trade credit: The role of creditor protection

This study examines the impact of banking crises on corporate trade credit and the moderating role of creditor protection, using a large sample of firms from 45 countries. The findings suggest that banking crises increase firms’ reliance on trade credit due to reduced lines of credit. Moreover, strong creditor protection can weaken the adverse effect of banking crises on firms’ credit access. Our results are robust to a series of sensitivity tests. Finally, this study generates important policy implications. Policymakers should strengthen creditor rights protection to mitigate the credit contraction due to banking crises.

“Fighting Pirates” as a Paradigm

This article analyzes the emergence of the paradigm of “piracy” and “fighting pirates” among the urban elites of the Hanse city of Lübeck in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. While recent studies of maritime conflict management in this period have questioned the use of the term “piracy,” this study shows that towns such as Lübeck instrumentalized a discourse on “piracy” to criminalize and marginalize their competitors at a moment of structural economic change. A close reading of the records of the Lübeck Bergenfahrer, a guild of merchants trading to Norway, demonstrates how this concept was mobilized to justify actors’ own violence as a struggle against so-called pirates and thus to stabilize group identities. The notion of “fighting pirates” gradually became a paradigm for urban elites like the Bergenfahrer, representing their social coherence as communities of violence.