Two-tier Structures Research Articles

Standardized corporate social responsibility disclosure, assurance, and real earnings management: evidence from developing countries

Research aims: This study aims to present empirical evidence on the effect of social responsibility disclosure on real earnings management and the role of assurance in this relationship. This is based on a paradox, i.e., companies that publish standardized corporate social responsibility disclosures to project ethical business practices are also associated with accounting and financial scandals.Design/Methodology/Approach: This study was conducted on non-financial sector companies in developing countries that are members of ASEAN-4, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, which issued GRI-based social responsibility disclosures in the period 2013-2019, amounting to 285 companies with a total of 859 observations.Research findings: The results demonstrated that companies with standardized social responsibility disclosures tend to reduce their real earnings management practices. However, the assurance variable mitigates the negative effect of corporate social responsibility on real earnings management, implying that assurance provides false credibility. In an additional analysis, the samples were grouped based on board structure. The findings of this study are consistent with two-tier board structures, suggesting that a one-tier system provides better information quality.Theoretical contribution/Originality: The originality of this study lies in a comprehensive measurement of social responsibility disclosure variables using an index that gauges a combination of accountability and performance aspects. Furthermore, this study takes into account assurance as a variable representing the credibility of information, which surprisingly moderates the negative effect of social responsibility disclosure on real earnings management.Practitioner/Policy implication: The findings of this study underscore the importance of standardized social responsibility disclosure in mitigating managerial opportunistic behavior. The findings also highlight the need to enhance the assurance function to prevent its use as an opportunistic management tactic.

Boiling heat transfer on two-tier hierarchical structured surface

In this paper, pool boiling on two-tier hierarchical structured surface is investigated with three-dimensional LB method. Two-tier pillar structures with different scales are designed, termed as primary and secondary pillar, respectively. On the hierarchical surface with upward-orientation secondary pillars, the bubble departure is promoted. And, the heat transfer can be improved by increasing the primary pillar spacing and enhancing surface wettability. Increasing the height of secondary pillar is favorable for enhancing capillary wicking, but can also bring greater flow resistance. On the hierarchical surface with lateral-orientation secondary pillars, the heat transfer is limited by the large flow resistance. With the enlargement of primary pillar spacing, the impact brought by flow resistance is moderated, and the heat flux can be enhanced. Finally, the boiling performance regarding the effect of wall temperature is concerned, where the structured surface with upward-orientation secondary pillars show the better boiling performance than other structured surfaces.

Bidirectional Underwater Drag Reduction on Bionic Flounder Two-Tier Structural Surfaces.

Engineering marvels found throughout the exclusive structural features of biological surfaces have given rise to the progressive development of skin friction drag reduction. However, despite many previous works reporting forward drag reduction where the bio-inspired surface features are aligned with the flow direction, it is still challenging to achieve bidirectional drag reduction for non-morphable surface structures. Inspired by the flounder ctenoid scales characterized by tilted, millimeter-sized oval fins embedded with sub-millimeter spikes, we fabricate a bionic flounder two-tier structural surface (BFTSS) that can remarkably reduce the forward skin friction drag by ηdr = 19%. Even in the backwards direction, where the flow is completely against the tilting direction of surface structures, BFTSS still exhibits a considerable drag reduction of ηdr = 4.2%. Experiments and numerical simulations reveal that this unique bidirectional drag reduction is attributed to synergistic effects of the two-tier structures of BFTSS. The array of oval fins can distort the boundary layer flow and mitigate the viscous shear, whilst the microscale spikes act to promote the flow separation to relieve the pressure gradient in the viscous sublayer. Notably, the pressure gradient relief effect of microscale spikes remains invariant to the flow direction and is responsible for the backward drag reduction as well. The bidirectional drag reduction of BFTSS can be extensively applied in minimizing the energy consumption of ships and underwater vessels, as well as in pipeline transport.

Superhydrophobic graphene nanowalls for electromagnetic interference shielding and infrared photodetection via a two-step transfer method

The growing need for flexible electronic devices has triggered substantial research efforts toward multifunctional surfaces. Herein, flexible and superhydrophobic surfaces based on micro-nanoscale two-tier structures were prepared by combining graphene nanowalls (GNWs) with UV-curable adhesive polymer using a two-step transfer method. These GNWs/UVA surfaces show excellent superhydrophobic properties with a water contact angle (CA) above 170° and a rolling angle (RA) below 5°. The superhydrophobic properties are retained with extreme liquid repellency even after thousand times of bending. The surfaces are highly conductive (conductivity > 3000 S/m) and provide excellent electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effect over the range of 8.2–12.4 GHz (X-band). Moreover, the surfaces exhibit high average infrared (IR) absorption up to 85 % in the range of 2–20 μm, indicating good performance in IR shielding. Furthermore, a long-wave IR photodetector with flexible hydrophobic GNWs/UVA was prepared, which has a responsivity of 28 μA/W at room temperature. The IR photodetector also has good water resistance stability. The methodology reported here provides a new route to fabricate micro-nano structures for multifunctional superhydrophobic surfaces. It has great potential for myriad applications in commercially viable flexible electronics, EMI protection, and IR photodetection.

Laser-Enabled Surface Treatment of Disposable Endoscope Lens with Superior Antifouling and Optical Properties.

Endoscopes are ubiquitous in minimally invasive or keyhole surgeries globally. However, frequent removal of endoscopes from the patient’s body due to the lens contaminations results in undesirable consequences. Therefore, a cost-effective process chain to fabricate thermoplastic-based endoscope lenses with superior antifouling and optical properties is proposed in this research. Such multifunctional surface response was achieved by lubricant impregnation of nanostructures. Two types of topographies were produced by femtosecond laser processing of metallic molds, especially to produce single-tier laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) and two-tier multiscale structures (MS). Then, these two LIPSS and MS masters were used to replicate them onto two thermoplastic substrates, namely polycarbonate and cyclic olefin copolymer, by using hot embossing. Finally, the LIPSS and MS surfaces of the replicas were infiltrated by silicone oils to prepare lubricant-impregnated surfaces (LIS). Droplet sliding tests revealed that the durability of the as-prepared LIS improved with the increase of the lubricant viscosity. Moreover, the single-tier LIPSS replicas exhibited longer-lasting lubricant conservation properties than the MS ones. Also, LIPSS-LIS replicas demonstrated an excellent optical transparency, better than the MS-LIS ones, and almost match the performance of the reference polished ones. Furthermore, the LIPSS-LIS treatment led to superior antifouling characteristics, i.e., regarding fogging, blood adhesion, protein adsorption, and microalgae attachment, and thus demonstrated its high suitability for treating endoscopic lenses. Finally, a proof-of-concept LIPSS-LIS treatment of endoscope lenses was conducted that confirmed their superior multifunctional response.

Network Analysis of CSR Spending Practices of Indian Extractive Sector

We examine Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) discourse to compare the change in themes across two time periods separated by policy intervention. The paper further explores internal governance and external implementation mechanism of affirmative CSR policy. We use Text Network Analysis of CSR related expenditure to evaluate the CSR discourse of a sample of metal and mining companies from Indian extractive sector. Results are presented in the form of network graphs. We conclude that CSR initiatives in the extractive sector are primarily devoted to local social development, with little emphasis on environmental sustainability. Further, companies have adopted two-tier governance structures for managing CSR. The top tier comprises board members who formulate CSR programs, and the second tier has executives responsible for the implementation. Another tier of governance involving local domain experts is emerging. The three-tier implementation mechanisms will give firms a tighter control on spending and enhance the effectiveness of initiatives.

CSR Initiatives and Practices: Empirical Evidence From Indian Metal and Mining Companies

This study investigates the corporate social responsibility (CSR) discourse on community and environment by Indian metal and mining (extractive) sector. Specifically, we examine the change in internal governance and external implementation mechanisms in response to affirmative CSR policy actions. Applying text network analysis technique on CSR related expenditures provided in the annual reports and CSR annexures (2014–2018), our study reveals that CSR discourse of extractive firms improved significantly and became more focused after the introduction of post-affirmative policy. CSR initiatives in the extractive sector are primarily focused toward local social development, with little emphasis on the environmental sustainability. Furthermore, companies have adopted two-tier governance structures for managing CSR. The top tier comprises board members who formulate the CSR programs, while the second tier has executives responsible for the implementation. Another tier of governance involving local domain experts is emerging. The three-tier implementation mechanisms give firms a tighter control on spending and enhance the effectiveness of initiatives. We present the results visually in the form of network graphs.

Is the effect of board diversity on CSR diverse? New insights from one-tier vs two-tier corporate board models

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of board diversity on corporate social responsibility (CSR). The aim is twofold; does board diversity has any effect on CSR, do structural and demographic differences between one-tier and two-tier board models may impact this effect?Design/methodology/approachThis paper applies a panel generalized method of moments estimator to a sample of 2,544 non-financial listed firms from 42 countries over the period of 2013–2017.FindingsThe findings reveal that board diversity leads to effective CSR. By distinguishing between diversity among boards from diversity within boards, the results display the effects of the specific variables that make up the manner and latter’s constructs within unitary and two-tier board structures. Specifically, this paper reveals that tenure, ideology and educational level (gender and nationality) predominantly appear to drive a firm’s CSR within one (two)-tier boards settings. These results remain consistent when robustness tests are ruled.Practical implicationsThe study provides managers, investors and policymakers with knowledge about how among and within board diversity attributes favor the decision-making process around CSR. The evidence is useful for companies in setting the criteria to identify directors who can support their strategic decisions. It benefits, moreover, academics in better understanding firms’ CSR determinants and practices under different corporate board models.Social implicationsExamining how different sets of board diversity affect firms’ CSR given divergences between one-tier and two-tier board structure is a useful and informative endeavor for all community actors.Originality/valueUnlike prior studies that identify the limited scope of diversity, the study is the first to examine the effect of broader dimensions of board diversity on CSR under both one-tier and two-tier board settings. This paper provides a contribution to a greater understanding of the impacts underlying board models and different attributes of board diversity on CSR. This new understanding will help to improve predictions of different features of board diversity impacts on decision-making processes around organizational outcomes.

Corporate governance mechanism and comparative analysis of one-tier and two-tier board structures: evidence from ASEAN countries

The study investigates and compares the determinants of disclosure quality of one-tier and two-tier board structures in selected ASEAN countries. We measure the significance of different corporate governance mechanism of top 50 companies from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore from 2011 to 2015. The results of independent sample t test prove that the variances of the disclosure quality scores of one-tier and two-tier board structures are different. In order to avoid problems of omitted variable bias, unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity, we use the Tobit regression model with random effects. The results confirm that the disclosure quality has a dependence on board size, board expertise, board meetings, board diversity, the timeline for both one-tier and two-tier board structures. The female board members and free cash flows have sole dependence on the one-tier board, whereas board power and block holders have sole dependence on two-tier boards. The study also establishes the relationship between board independence with disclosure quality of board structures.

ASEAN countries CG disclosure practices: a comparative analysis of one-tier and two-tier board structures

Study focal point is to access the influence of CEO characteristics and audit quality on disclosure quality in the comparison between one-tier and two-tier board structures. Tobit regression model with the random effect is used to access influence on disclosure quality by using the sample of 200 non-financial firms of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore for the period from FY 2011 to FY 2015. The study empirically analyses the various characteristics of one and two-tier board structures. Findings of the study observe CEO dual role inversely and audit committee expertise directly impact disclosure quality for both structures. Further, observed audit committee size and firm size directly impact disclosure quality for one-tier structure and CEO age and leverage inversely impact two-tier structure. Finally, CEO tenure, audit quality and audit committee independence having no impact on disclosure quality for both board structure.

ASEAN Countries CG Disclosure Practices: A Comparative Analysis of One-Tier and Two-Tier Board Structures

Study focal point is to access the influence of CEO characteristics and audit quality on disclosure quality in the comparison between one-tier and two-tier board structures. Tobit regression model with the random effect is used to access influence on disclosure quality by using the sample of 200 non-financial firms of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore for the period from FY 2011 to FY 2015. The study empirically analyses the various characteristics of one and two-tier board structures. Findings of the study observe CEO dual role inversely and audit committee expertise directly impact disclosure quality for both structures. Further, observed audit committee size and firm size directly impact disclosure quality for one-tier structure and CEO age and leverage inversely impact two-tier structure. Finally, CEO tenure, audit quality and audit committee independence having no impact on disclosure quality for both board structure.

ДОСВІД ТА СУЧАСНИЙ СТАН ВИКОРИСТАННЯ БАГАТОЯРУСНИХ КОНСТРУКЦІЙ ФУРМ У КИСНЕВО-КОНВЕРТЕРНИХ ЦЕХАХ УКРАЇНИ

To date, the most common in the oxygen-converter shops of metallurgical enterprises of Ukraine is the top purge using single-tier lances. Therefore, it is important to conduct research to improve the design of lances. The article is devoted to the results of the study of the use of multilevel lances. For the first time the main stages of development and use of multilevel lances in oxygen-converter shops of metallurgical enterprises of Ukraine from the moment of their origin to the present time are fully described. The first constructions of two-tier and three-tier structures of lances, which passed industrial or experimental tests in Ukraine, were developed at the Institute of Ferrous Metallurgy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. It is shown that multilevel lances in oxygen-converter shops of metallurgical enterprises of Ukraine have repeatedly demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of their use, compared with the classic designs of single-storey lances. But due to the difficult economic situation in the metallurgical industry, the use of such lances was stopped. It is established in the work that the use of multi-level lances allows: to increase the number of control actions on the purge and thus stabilize the development of physicochemical processes, the calm purge; to improve the heat balance of converter smelting; to increase the rate of afterburning of CO to CO2; provide, if necessary, simultaneous purging with two types of gases; increase the amount of scrap metal in the filling, lime, fluorspar, sinter and chromium ore, without the use of additional energy; reduce the intensity of sweeping of lance and oxygen-converter equipment. Studies have shown that the shortcomings in the process of industrial operation of multi-layered lances are primarily due to the imperfection of empirically designed structures. The ways of elimination of shortcomings of multilevel lances due to development of a rational design and the corresponding technique of calculation of its basic constructive parameters are shown.

Combined effects of liquid wicking and hydrodynamic instability on pool boiling critical heat flux by two-tier copper structures of nanowires and microgrooves

Two-tier structures of Copper Nanowires (CuNWs) and microgrooves have been fabricated on copper substrates. Pool boiling heat transfer experiments have been conducted to study the combined effects of wicking by CuNWs and modulated wavelength by microgroove pitches on pool boiling Critical Heat Flux (CHF). First, 70 nm diameter CuNWs with three different heights of 5 µm, 15 µm, and 25 µm have been synthesized on plain copper surfaces via in-house made Anodic Aluminum Oxide (AAO) templates. The wicking effect of CuNWs at different heights on pool boiling CHF has been measured. Second, microgrooves of 262 µm wide and 518 µm deep at three different mesh pitches of 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm, and 4.0 mm have been fabricated to study the modulated wavelength effect on pool boiling CHF. Last, 25 µm height CuNWs have been integrated with various microgroove meshes to create two-tier structures. The highest pool boiling CHFs of each type of structures are achieved on CuNWs at 25 µm height, microgrooves at 0.5 mm mesh pitch, and two-tier structures of CuNWs at 25 µm height and microgrooves at 0.5 mm mesh pitch are 189.3 W/cm2, 236.4 W/cm2, and 246.3 W/cm2, respectively. The CHF enhancements of these structures over that on a plain surface are 68.6%, 110.5%, and 119.3%, respectively. The experimental results have demonstrated that both wicking effect and modulated wavelength effect contribute to pool boiling CHF enhancement on the two-tier structures, and the collective effect depends on the combination between CuNWs height and microgroove mesh pitch. An existing theoretical model of pool boiling CHF has been extended to include liquid wicking effect and contact angle effect on CuNWs surfaces, and a new correlation for pool boiling CHF on the two-tier structures has been developed to include contributions from both liquid wicking by CuNWs and modulated wavelength by microgrooves.

Self-assembly and epitaxial growth of multifunctional micro-nano-spheres for effective separation of water-in-oil emulsions with ultra-high flux

Despite significant progress in synthesis and application of oil/water separation materials, the separation of water-in-oil emulsions is still a challenge until now, the separation materials are usually lowly resistant to intrusion pressure and susceptible to oil fouling. In this work, it is the first time that we report a novel metal-polybenzoxazine micro-nano-spheres (M-PBZs) for highly effective separation of water-in-oil emulsions with ultra-high flux. The superhydrophobic/superoleophilic surface with robust micro- and nano-scale two-tier structures was formed spontaneously on the M-PBZs through metal ion-induced molecule’s self-assembly and epitaxial growth method. The resultant surface materials possess rapid oil absorption capacity, low density (38 mg/cm3) and high stability. And more interestingly, these M-PBZs can be used to separate multiple surfactant-stabilized water-in-oil emulsions effectively under gravity or intrusion pressure, achieving a high separation efficiency with >99.95% oil purity after filtration and an ultra-high oil flux far water-in-oil emulsions separation. Meanwhile, the M-PBZs’ advantages of easy to disassemble and clean lead to excellent antifouling and good reusability.

A general Bayesian multilevel multidimensional IRT model for locally dependent data.

Many item response theory (IRT) models take a multidimensional perspective to deal with sources that induce local item dependence (LID), with these models often making an orthogonal assumption about the dimensional structure of the data. One reason for this assumption is because of the indeterminacy issue in estimating the correlations among the dimensions in structures often specified to deal with sources of LID (e.g., bifactor and two-tier structures), and the assumption usually goes untested. Unfortunately, the mere fact that assessing these correlations is a challenge for some estimation methods does not mean that data seen in practice support such orthogonal structure. In this paper, a Bayesian multilevel multidimensional IRT model for locally dependent data is presented. This model can test whether item response data violate the orthogonal assumption that many IRT models make about the dimensional structure of the data when addressing sources of LID, and this test is carried out at the dimensional level while accounting for sampling clusters. Simulations show that the model presented is effective at carrying out this task. The utility of the model is also illustrated on an empirical data set.

Analyst Coverage and Corporate Governance of French IPOs

Analyst coverage has been associated with good corporate governance characteristics, especially in countries with weak investor protection. This hypothesis is tested for a sample of French IPOs covering the period 2004-2015. In theory, analysts can provide useful forecasts and recommendations for newly listed companies with a potential for asymmetric information. However, weak corporate governance practices may lead to their reluctance to provide coverage. Logistic regression results clearly indicate that financial analysts are more likely to follow IPOs with large institutional owners. However, this positive association disappears when French institutional shareholdings are combined with two-tier board structures and high debt levels, suggesting that analysts acknowledge the increased potential for inside monitoring and private information channels in these firms. In contrast, the impact of debt becomes positive when combined with foreign institutional ownership, indicating that analysts welcome foreign investors as promoters of good corporate governance practices.

Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Surfaces with Controllable Electrical Conductivity and Water Adhesion

A facile and versatile strategy for fabricating superhydrophobic surfaces with controllable electrical conductivity and water adhesion is reported. "Vine-on-fence"-structured and cerebral cortex-like superhydrophobic surfaces are constructed by filtering a suspension of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), using polyoxymethylene nonwovens as the filter paper. The nonwovens with micro- and nanoporous two-tier structures act as the skeleton, introducing a microscale structure. The MWCNTs act as nanoscale structures, creating hierarchical surface roughness. The surface topography and the electrical conductivity of the superhydrophobic surfaces are controlled by varying the MWCNT loading. The vine-on-fence-structured surfaces exhibit "sticky" superhydrophobicity with high water adhesion. The cerebral cortex-like surfaces exhibit self-cleaning properties with low water adhesion. The as-prepared superhydrophobic surfaces are chemically resistant to acidic and alkaline environments of pH 2-12. They therefore have potential in applications such as droplet-based microreactors and thin-film microextraction. These findings aid our understanding of the role that surface topography plays in the design and fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces with different water-adhesion properties.

Establishing a Multi-Stakeholder Board for Multinational Corporations

Several corporate scandals are related to lack of concerning stakeholders’ interest. The voice of enhancing stakeholders’ engagement in corporate governance framework is increasing. The paper is aimed to determine the pragmatic and applicable one-tier and two-tier board models for integrating stakeholders as board directors in multinational corporations. It begins with discussing why multinational corporations need to concern on stakeholders’ interest and analysing different theoretical approaches for linking board composition with financial performance and corporate social performance. It will then review corporate governance frameworks integrating stakeholders’ engagement in various jurisdictions and economic status (i.e. emerging markets and developed markets). Finally, pragmatic multi-stakeholder board models for one-tier and two-tier board structures will be proposed through defining board composition, CEO duality and mechanism to resolve disputes arise from board members.

Directional bouncing of droplets on oblique two-tier conical structures

The directional bouncing of droplets occurs on oblique two-tier conical structures, and the horizontal displacement is related to the oblique angle.

The Nordic Corporate Governance Model

ABSTRACT The Nordic countries – Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland—have attracted attention in recent years. Some elements of the Nordic model—particularly the welfare state—are well understood, but its governance characteristics remain elusive to the international audience. This article reviews Nordic governance and discusses its relevance as a development paradigm. The article quantitatively documents the existence of a Nordic governance model using data from the World Bank, Transparency International and other sources. Secondly, it is shown how Nordic corporate governance – Nordic civil law, concentrated ownership, semi two-tier board structures, employee representation and low-powered managerial incentives – has been shaped by the welfare state in ways consistent with systemic corporate governance theories. The article concludes with a skeptical discussion of the Nordic model as a development paradigm.