Performance Of Russian Companies Research Articles

Emerging economies and investment in intellectual capital in crisis time: The case of Russia

Emerging economies have specific characteristics that condition the use of intellectual capital. The economic crisis has had important consequences for emerging countries. The investments in intellectual capital could slow down this influence. This paper uses a new model for assessing the effects of an investment in intellectual capital on the performance of Russian companies in a period of crisis. The model is applied in Russian companies with data from 1,096 companies for the period 2004–2014 and 12,056 observations were made. The panel data included only active companies (from January 2004) listed with annual reports and were obtained from Bureau Van Dijk’s Ruslana database. Each company’s data cover at least seven years. The study used hierarchical linear models to unravel the effect of intellectual capital on value-added. The results show that investments in structural capital and relational capital have a direct effect on the stock of intellectual capital and generates value. The results show that investments in structural capital and relational capital have a direct effect on the stock of intellectual capital and generates value.

The impact of ESG and personal environmental concern on performance of Russian companies

The article aims to empirically test the hypothesis on the impact of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) practices and employees’ personal environmental concerns on the performance of Russian companies. The methodological basis is the theory of corporate social and environmental responsibility embodied in the ESG concept. Exploratory factor analysis and linear regression are used to assess individual factors of corporate responsibility and personal environmental concerns on the ability of companies to perform better, i.e. to achieve their long-term goals. The empirical basis is the survey data of 339 employees of Russian companies. The research results show that strategic aspects of environmental responsibility and corporate governance are strongly connected within a single theoretical framework, while social responsibility of companies and environmental concern can be identified as a separate area of managerial efforts. Originality of the chosen approach is related to the proposed structured questionnaire that reveals various aspects of personal environmental concern and contributes to ESG practices assessment. The conducted regression analysis has demonstrated a positive impact of ESG strategies on the performance of the Russian companies in question, showing that social responsibility plays a decisive role in the ESG formula. Environmental concerns of employees do not have a significant effect on their personal assessment of organizational performance. The authors propose that managers should implement the most relevant ESG practices discussed in this article to sustain high levels of organizational performance.

Rule with an iron hand: powerful CEOs, influential shareholders and corporate performance in Russia

PurposeThis study examines whether CEO power influences the book-based and market-based performance of Russian companies when it is restricted by the presence of essential shareholders, namely, state and influential businessmen.Design/methodology/approachManagerial power is divided into structural, ownership, expert and prestige. The proposed power metrics include not only CEOs but also the board of directors' characteristics that may restrict or enhance CEO power. The empirical analysis is based on the sample of 90 large traded Russian firms, which shares are included in the Moscow Stock Exchange Broad Market Index (MICEX BMI), observed from 2012 to 2019.FindingsPanel data analysis suggests that higher board ownership and tenure may restrict CEO power, which in turn would be beneficial for corporate performance. the authors also see that in companies owned by influential businessmen, CEO power influence on M/B value is more negative, while state ownership does not moderate it. CEO power metrics, based on political experience and tenure, affect corporate performance differently in companies affiliated with extractive industries.Originality/valueFirst, the authors consider two channels through which a company in emerging markets may get additional resources: CEOs and influential owners. Second, the authors develop power metrics based on Finkelstein's managerial power classification (1992) and the idea of relative power proposed by Bebchuk et al. (2011). It allows identifying whether the board of directors' may constrain or enhance CEO power to raise corporate performance. Third, the authors analyze developing Russian markets that represent a good ground for testing the question, whereas empirical research on Russia is relatively scarce (Grosman and Leiponen, 2018). Fourth, the authors pay particular attention to the CEO power in the extractive industry, strategically important for the Russian economy.

IFRS 16 «Аренда»: основные причины возникновения

Renting has become increasingly important in recent years. Often, international business representatives, and sometimes entire industries, opt for leasing, refusing to purchase large and expensive assets. Such industries include retail companies, airlines, healthcare, telecommunications, transport, logistics, etc. These business representatives, due to the specifics of their activities, prefer leasing the largest assets to acquiring them. IFRS 16 Leases, published on January 13, 2016, became mandatory for the first time when reporting for 2019 by entities. This standard is a recommendation for the reflection in the financial statements of organizations of information about objects that have been transferred or received on lease. The methodology for reflecting leases in financial statements has often become the subject of discussion in professional circles. Dissatisfaction with the provisions of the earlier IAS 17 “Leases” on the part of business representatives, analysts, scientists and other users provoked the development and subsequent adoption of IFRS 16 “Leases”. The article explores the main prerequisites and reasons for the development of new provisions, which later became the basis for the current international standard for accounting for leases. The purpose of the work is to identify the main negative consequences of the application of IAS 17 “Lease”, the main reasons for the development of the provisions of IFRS 16 “Lease”, which is in force today. An analysis of the reasons for the emergence of this standard and foreign experience in its use will help to assess the consequences of applying its Russian counterpart FSBU 25/2018 “Lease Accounting”: to analyze the possibility of solving the main issues that arise for external and internal users of financial information, and to determine the impact of the new domestic standard lease accounting has an impact on the reliability and comparability of financial statements, the financial condition and performance of Russian companies, which is of scientific value. In the course of the study, such general scientific methods of cognition as comparative analysis, generalization of theoretical and factual material were used. It was found that the application of IAS 17 “Lease” by companies had a negative impact on the accuracy and transparency of reporting compiled by companies, which provoked dissatisfaction on the part of investors, analysts and other users. The author gives the main reasons for changing the previously existing lease accounting model and further development of IFRS 16 “Leases”.

The board work experience diversity and the performance of Russian companies

The goal of this study is to empirically assess the influence of the board of directors’ work experience diversity on the performance of Russian non-public companies. The board work experience diversity is measured by the diversity index proposed by the authors, as well as by the number of work experience types and categories. Russian boards are characterized by a low level of diversity, directors with work experience in the same company prevail, on the second and third places is the experience in other enterprises in the industry and the experience in the group of related companies. It has been established that there are no prevailing combinations of experience in industrial companies. A positive influence of the directors’ work experience diversity on the increase of companies’ return on capital from 2017 to 2019 was found. The analysis is based on the data from a 2018 survey of industrial managers conducted by the Higher School of Economics.

Measuring dynamic capabilities in Russian companies

ABSTRACT This study analyses the mechanism through which dynamic capabilities affect performance in a group of Russian companies. It suggests a new method to measure indicators of dynamic capabilities with economic and financial data, using activity cost elasticity with respect to total cost in order to analyse the increase in investment in this activity versus the total activity of the company. The research uses quantile regression with annual data of 1,096 Russian companies for the period 2004–2014, provided by Bureau Van Dijk. Managerial capability is the only capability that has direct effects on productivity growth rates. Innovation capability and marketing capability require mediation of the managerial capability to have an effect on the performance of Russian companies.

ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ ФАКТОРОВ И УСЛОВИЙ, ОКАЗЫВАЮЩИХ ВЛИЯНИЕ НА ФУНКЦИОНИРОВАНИЕ СИСТЕМЫ ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКОГО МЕНЕДЖМЕНТА В РОССИЙСКИХ КОМПАНИЯХ

The article gives analysis of the environmental activities of the largest oil and gas processing companies of the Russian Federation (Gazprom PJSC, Gazprom Neft PJSC). There have been identified the current trends in socio-economic development and general objectives of oil and gas processing companies to achieve the sustainable progress, which imply a balance between the socio-economic and environmental factors. There have been presented the factors affecting the environment (natural, deep, technological, recreational, innovative) and given their detailed characteristics. Factors influencing the environmental acceptability of the activities of oil and gas processing companies that are a part of the oil and gas processing complex of the Russian Federation have been revealed, as well as difficulties related to ecologization of production. They became the basis for determining the factors and conditions making an impact on forming the environmental management system (financial, economic, organizational, legal, institutional, industrial, scientific, technological and social). Currently, the integrated management system of Gazprom Neft PJSC includes four management systems that meet the requirements of International Organization of Standardization (ISO) (ISO 14001 - environmental management system; ISO 9001 - quality management system; ISO 5001 - energy management system; OHSAS 18001 - occupational health and safety assessment system). In the course of research there were used the reports on the companies’ activities in terms of sustainable development, as well as environmental reports for 2012-2016. It has been inferred that organizational changes aimed at improving the environmental performance of Russian companies will require significant financial investments, but in the long run they will increase natural capital, ensuring long-term financial stability of the company, which is confirmed by the experience of foreign enterprises.

The impact of debt burden on performance of Russian companies

The impact of debt burden on performance of Russian companies

Environmental Performance of Retail Trade Companies in Russia

An important condition for a sustainable and balanced development of the Russian economy is to increase the environmental performance of commercial companies, including trade ones. The purpose of the study is to assess the environmental performance of retail trade companies operating in the Russian Federation. The index, calculated based on the data included in their annual reports, taking into account thirteen parameters characterizing various environmental aspects of trading activity, is used to assess the environmental performance of retail trade companies. The results obtained have made it possible to draw the following conclusions: first, in recent years, the environmental performance of Russian retail trade companies has shown the upward trend; secondly, the environmental performance of foreign retail trade companies operating in the Russian Federation is higher than the environmental performance of Russian companies. Despite the positive dynamics, the problem of increasing the environmental performance of retail trade companies remains of significant importance both for individual economic entities and for the entire state. A further increase in the environmental performance of retail trade companies will improve their competitiveness and the resulting social and economic performance, and will also contribute to the formation of a balanced, environmentally oriented model for the development of the Russian economy.

Facilitating organizational learning in the Russian business context

Purpose – The paper aims to identify particular traits of the Russian context which condition two key enablers of organizational learning: organizational culture and transformational leadership. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on a literature review, the study determines management challenges by implementation of organizational learning in the Russian business context. Taking this into account, the authors suggest specific model of organizational learning which contains organizational learning processes, organizational culture oriented towards learning and transformational leadership. Empirical justification of this model is provided using a sample of more than 100 respondents. Partial least squares-analysis is applied to define structural relationships between the elements of proposed model. Findings – The study reveals the positive and significant influence of transformational leadership and an organizational culture on organizational learning processes. Moreover, transformational leadership is shown to have a positive impact on an organizational culture, confirming the hypothesis regarding the pivotal role of leaders in the Russian business context. Research limitations/implications – The findings of this study can assist managers doing business in Russia to improve organizational learning processes. The size of the sample appears to be the main limitation of this study. Questions that might also be addressed in additional research concern the influence of organizational learning on the performance of Russian companies. Originality/value – The paper contributes to a better understanding of the barriers and stimuli exacted on organizational learning and provides empirical evidence of organizational learning practices of Russian companies.

Use of the Concept of “Economic Value Added” to Evaluate the Performance of an Organization

This article discusses various aspects of managing profit at companies by using a new method based on economic value added, which is a concept that is widely used by Western firms. The feasibility of using this method to evaluate the performance of Russian companies is explored. The method makes it possible to determine how efficiently capital is being used in a company compared to alternative types of investment. The performance of one organization in particular is assessed on the basis of the economic-value-added index and a predictive analysis is made. Studies have shown that the use of this index in accounting operations makes it possible to more accurately evaluate the performance of Russian companies.

Federal State Shareholdings in Russian Companies: Origin, Forms and Consequences for Enterprise Perfomance

This paper studies the impact of federal state shareholdings on the performance of Russian companies. It differs from most similar studies in two respects. Firstly, it focuses on mixed ownership companies rather than conventional state enterprises. Secondly, it distinguishes between several types of federal state shareholdings, namely elected blocks, residual blocks (which may be held by two bodies with different functions - the Ministry for State Property and the Russian Fund for Federal Property) and golden shares. The paper describes the origin of federal state shareholdings and discusses their possible implications for company performance. Econometric analysis shows that companies with state ownership generally perform worse than the average firm in terms of labour productivity and profitability. However, there are remarkable differences in the performance of companies with different types of state shareholdings. Companies with residual blocks held by the Property Fund are the worst performers, followed by companies with residual blocks held by the Ministry for State Property. Companies with elected shareholdings as well as with golden shares do not differ from the average enterprises in the respective industries. These differences in performance are explained by the different degrees of control the federal state has over enterprises with various types of shareholdings - greater control is associated with better performance. The paper concludes that the government should avoid keeping equity stakes in companies unless there is a good reason to retain them. If the state wants to keep an ownership stake in a company, reliable control structures must be created. Finally, the issue of golden shares in strategically important companies seems to be a reasonable alternative to retaining some control over them through equity ownership.

Federal State Shareholdings in Russian Companies

This paper studies the impact of federal state shareholdings on the performance of Russian companies. It focuses on mixed ownership companies rather than conventional state enterprises and distinguishes between several types of federal state shareholdings and golden shares. Econometric analysis shows that companies with state ownership generally perform worse than the average firm in terms of labour productivity and profitability. However, there are remarkable differences in the performance of companies with different types of state shareholdings. These differences are explained by different degrees of the federal state control over such enterprises. The paper concludes that the government should avoid keeping equity stakes in companies unless there is a necessity to retain them. Finally, the issue of golden shares in strategically important companies seems to be a reasonable alternative to retaining some control over them through equity ownership.

Turnaround in Russian Oil Production in 1997

A specialist on the oil industries of the former Soviet Union examines the factors contributing to increased oil output in the Russian Federation over the first three quarters of 1997, the first such increase to occur in nine years. Particular attention is focused on the growing role played by joint-venture operations with Western partners, regional patterns of output, and the performance of Russian companies in 1997 vis-a-vis 1996. A concluding section examines the outlook for production in light of recent reform initiatives undertaken by the Russian Federation government. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: L71, Q40, Q48. 1 figure, 2 tables, 4 references.