Uncertainty Of External Environment Research Articles

Performance pressure and annual report text manipulation: Evidence from China

AbstractBuilding on attribution theory, this study investigates the antecedents of corporate annual report text manipulation from the perspective of managerial performance pressure. Using a data set comprising 15,076 samples from companies listed on China's Shanghai and Shenzhen A‐share markets between 2009 and 2021, we reveal that as management faces performance pressure, they tend to increase content about external environmental risk and policy uncertainty in annual reports due to actor–observer bias. When incorporating Confucian cultural factors into the research framework, the study found that the strength of Confucian culture mitigates the correlation between the pressure of management performance and annual report manipulation. However, the level of marketization where a corporation is located can undermine the ethical norms upheld by Confucian culture. In additional analysis, we also discovered that the longer the duration of performance pressure, the greater the extent of manipulation within the annual reports initiated by the management. Interestingly, the social performance pressure generated from ESG performance also positively influences annual report textual manipulation, compared to operational performance pressure. This study explores the impact of management performance pressure on information disclosure decisions from the perspective of performance attribution, not only extending the boundaries of attribution theory but also providing guidance for policymakers to enhance the supervision of annual report disclosures and for capital market investors to optimize investment decisions.

Does the limelight foster the green transition of listed industrial companies? An empirical analysis from Chinese A-share market

This paper contributes current research by investigating the extent to which equity linkage networks impact enterprise green transition in sustainable development. By adopting a complex network approach, we constructed a common shareholding network based on the top ten shareholders of listed industrial enterprises in Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares from 2013 to 2022. The empirical results indicate that enterprises closer to the centre of the equity linkage network tend to have higher degrees of green transition. This impact is facilitated through three mechanism channels of capital flow, information exchange, and knowledge transfer within the network. We find enterprises at the core of the network can effectively reduce their financing constraints on enterprises, mitigate risks associated with external environmental uncertainties and managerial myopia, and promote knowledge exchange and innovation cooperation between enterprises. We have also discovered that the centrality of equity network has a greater impact on promoting transition in state-owned, large-scale enterprises, and enterprises with less heavy pollution and the network effect can be enhanced by strong regional environmental regulations. The above findings not only provide policy makers with policy recommendations to guide the enterprises green transition, but also provide industry practitioners with practical paths and directions, which can help promote the green development process of the whole society.

Does ESG advantage promote total factor productivity (TFP)? Empirical evidence from China’s listed enterprises

ABSTRACT The question of whether enterprises are incentivized to improve their environment, society, and governance(ESG)performance is uncertain since scholars have long debated whether or not ESG directly benefits the enterprise. In this study, this research question is addressed by investigating the potential effect on productivity of the net advantage yielded by corporations taking specific ESG behaviours. Using panel data of A-share listed companies spanning from 2010 to 2022, this paper draws multiple research findings. Firstly, the fundamental result of this study shows that the corporate ESG advantages significantly enhance the relevant total factor productivity(TFP). This means that firms have a willingness to adopt behaviours to achieve net ESG advantages due to the productivity gains. Secondly, the heterogeneous analysis indicates that ESG advantages improve TFP for large, state-owned enterprises(SOEs),labour-intensive corporations, and non-mature corporations. Thirdly, in terms of the influential mechanism, ESG advantages improve TFP by enhancing labour expenses and reducing agency costs within the enterprise while assisting enterprises in overcoming external environment uncertainty. The findings illuminate that China’s enterprises are interested in achieving ESG advantages since this enables firms to improve productivity and achieve high-quality development. Simultaneously, this offers novel perspectives for investors to assess ESG performance.

Model Predictive Control of Magnetic Helical Swimmers in Two-Dimensional Plane

Magnetic micro/mini-swimmers have a great potential application in biomedical research and have gained broad attention. Recent research studies focus on the automatic control methods of magnetic micro/mini-swimmers, such as artificial intelligence methods. However, their autonomous manipulation remains a challenge since they are subject to various disturbances from the external environment and model uncertainties. The current methods employ a status observer to estimate these disturbances and uncertainties. In this paper, we apply a data-driven technique that utilizes the nonlinear approximation ability of neural networks (NNs). To be specific, a flexible structure of NNs, Broad Learning System (BLS), is employed to model the input-output mapping relationship between the direction of the rotating magnetic field and the swimming direction of the helical miniature swimmer. Then, according to the dual-variable decoupling control, a levitation controller is formulated and a path following controller is proposed based on a planar three-degree-of-freedom model of magnetic helical swimmers, which is inspired by the model of wheeled mobile robots. Simulations and experiments are conducted to quantitatively validate the proposed control method using different planar paths. The experiment results show that the mean absolute error of the path following control is about 3 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\%$</tex-math> </inline-formula> of the body length which is less than 0.5 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$mm$</tex-math> </inline-formula> . Our proposed control method provides a preliminary study to alleviate the impact of disturbances and uncertainties on the control performance of magnetic micro/mini-swimmers. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Note to Practitioners</i> —This paper is mainly motivated by the potential application of artificial intelligence methods in magnetic micro/mini-robot community, especially for the applications that reject disturbances and uncertainties. In practice, a path planner is employed to compute a pre-defined reference path that connects the start and the targeted locations. Then our control method is applied to the magnetic helical swimmer and it is guided to follow the reference path. Tackling external disturbances and model uncertainties is still challenging during the control progress. Neural network-based technique is an intuitive approach since their nonlinear modeling ability and generalization are suitable for estimating these disturbances and uncertainties. As for training the neural-network model, the training data about the angle parameters should be recorded by manual control of the helical swimmer. These angle parameters define the rotating axis of the uniform rotating magnetic field and the self-rotating axis of the magnetic helical swimmer. According to the planar motion model, the optimal controller is formulated using the feedback distance error and angle error, and the sum of the control signal and the prediction of the compensating model is used as the final control input. Our electromagnetic coil system features easy operation and configuration of cameras or other sensors. Simulations and experiments validate the performance of the neural network-based compensating method and the proposed optimal control method using magnetic micro/mini-swimmers.

Stochastic model for product supplier selection

The aim of the article is to develop a model of rational choice of technology and equipment supplier under conditions of external environment uncertainty. The technical and economic requirements of the customer are considered as operational, i.e. each requirement can be evaluated by expert judgement or measured using one or another means of measurement. This problem belongs to the multi-criteria ones with diverse indicators, for which traditional methods of linear convolution of criteria do not function correctly. We present a stochastic model of product supplier selection based on the concept of suitability and stochastic dominance, as well as the principle of guaranteed result in the conditions of incomplete data represented by finite limited samples of supplier characteristics. Both univariate and multivariate cases of supplier selection are addressed within the model. Ultimately, the formulated models are converted into linear Boolean programming models, which can be effectively solved using conventional linear optimization software packages.

The Strategic Performance Measurement System and Organisational Performance Through the Lenses of Contextual Factors: Empirical Evidence from the Hotel Industry

Abstract The unprecedented effects of COVID-19 have been problematic for hotels. Therefore, implementing a performance measurement system (PMS) has become critical for hotel organisations. This study thus examined how the balanced scorecard (BSC) as a strategic PMS has a function in revealing hotel performance. Two contextual factors of hotels—external environmental uncertainty (EEU) and decentralised decision-making—were also investigated to understand their effects on the use of the BSC, which, in turn, determines hotel performance. A survey was conducted involving 145 four- and five-star hotels in Turkey. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses. It was found that EEU is significantly related to decentralised decision-making but not to the BSC. Meanwhile, the BSC does not have an indirect effect on the relationship between EEU and hotel performance; however, it was found to act as a mediator between the decentralisation of decision-making and hotel performance. Finally, decentralised decision-making was found to act as a mediator between EEU and the BSC.

Развитие регионов России в условиях неопределенности внешней среды

The economic, technological, social, and political development of Russia is affected by unfavorable external circumstances. The purpose of the article is to reveal the features of the external environment uncertainty, assess its impact on the economic systems of the Russian regions, and to propose a mechanism of adaptation to future recessionary phenomena. The article uses methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, comparison, economic analysis; a systematic approach. The authors present the results of comparative analysis of Russian regions’ development indicators in 2019–2021 and 2022. It is determined that the speed and effectiveness of overcoming uncertainty factors depends on the adaptive abilities of Russian regions and the speed of decision-making. The key directions of state policy measures to maintain the stability of the economic systems of the regions are substantiated.

External environment uncertainty, key resources acquisition, and corporate technological innovation

AbstractThis study investigates the impact of external environmental uncertainty on technological innovation from the perspective of key resource acquisition. Using data from A‐share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2008 to 2019, we empirically test the relationship between external environmental uncertainty faced by firms and technological innovation input and output. Our findings reveal that external environmental uncertainty has a negative impact on the input and output of corporate technological innovation. In addition, key resource acquisition, namely, capital resource acquisition and information resource acquisition, plays a mediating role in this relationship. As an asset for obtaining resources, corporate social capital is a crucial means for firms to obtain external resources. This study further incorporates corporate social capital into the analysis, which shows that corporate social capital plays a positive moderating role in the impact of external environmental uncertainty on corporate technological innovation. Furthermore, research shows that compared with nonhigh‐tech industry firms, the technological innovation of high‐tech industry firms is more sensitive to external environmental uncertainty.

Is carbon emission trading a green blessing or a curse for firm performance in China? A quasi-experiment design and exploring the spatial spillover effect.

This paper conducts quasi-experiment design with Chinese listed companies microdata to investigate the effect and mechanism of corporate participation in carbon emission trading market on firm financial performance by using the staggered difference-in-differences method. We show that: a) corporate participation in carbon emission trading market can enhance firm financial performance; b) an increase in green innovation ability and a decrease in strategic choice variance both partially mediate the relationship between carbon emission trading and firm performance; c) executive background heterogeneity and external environmental uncertainty moderate the relationship between carbon emission trading and firm performance in different directions; d) our further study indicates that carbon emission trading pilot policy has a spatial spillover effect on firm financial performance in the neighboring provinces. Therefore, we recommend that the government and enterprises make an effort to further stimulate the vitality of corporate participation in carbon emission trading market.

Digital business transformation as an element of crisis management

The relevance of the problem of developing effective anti-crisis strategies in conditions of increasing uncertainty and unpredictability of internal and external environment of enterprises is substantiated. The necessity of formation of active anti-crisis strategy in connection with frequent crises in activity of entrepreneurial structures is studied. It has been established that the crisis on the one hand is a destructive process that threatens the stable existence of entrepreneurial structures, and on the other it is constructive - since it forms the prerequisites for their transition to a qualitatively different level of development. It is proposed to use the tools of digital business transformation as an element of crisis management. The possibilities of applying digital business transformation in different business areas have been investigated. The following areas of digital business transformation are defined: business functions, business processes, business models, business assets, business culture, business ecosystem. It has been determined that digital technologies allow to obtain significant advantages for small and medium-sized businesses, among which it should be noted: improving business operations, stimulating innovation and ensuring the growth of enterprises, changing existing and developing new business models, expanding marketing opportunities. It is substantiated that digital transformation is simultaneously aimed at improving existing business processes and creating competitive advantages by changing and creating new business processes within the enterprise.

Prediction of Ship Traffic Flow and Congestion Based on Extreme Learning Machine with Whale Optimization Algorithm and Fuzzy c-Means Clustering

Accurately predicting short-term congestions in ship traffic flow is important for water traffic safety and intelligent shipping. We propose a method for predicting the traffic flow of ships by applying the whale optimization algorithm to an extreme learning machine. The method considers external environmental uncertainty and complexity of ships navigating in traffic-intensive waters. First, the parameters of ship traffic flow are divided into multiple modal components using variational mode decomposition and extreme learning machine. The machine and the whale optimization algorithm constitute a hybrid modelling approach for predicting individual modal components and integrating the results of individual components. Considering a map between ship traffic flow parameters and congestion, fuzzy c-means clustering is used to predict the level of ship traffic congestion. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, ship traffic flow data of the Yangtze River estuary were selected for evaluation. Results from the proposed method for predicting ship traffic flow parameters are consistent with measurements. Specifically, the prediction accuracy of the ship traffic congestion reaches 76.04%, which is reasonable and practical for predicting ship traffic congestion.

A Study on the Impact of Big Data Management on Business Agility—The Moderating Role of Corporate Strategy and Environmental Uncertainty

With the increasing uncertainty in the market environment and the integration of new IT technologies in business operations management, the use of big data management practices to increase operational agility has become a major concern for enterprises. Based on theories of dynamic capabilities and resource base, this paper analyses how big data management can contribute to the growth of enterprise agility and value, while incorporating the impact of environmental uncertainty and corporate strategy. The study found that:1.Big data infrastructure development, application management and human resource development better characterize enterprise big data management practices and effectively contribute to enterprise agility;2.Corporate strategy significantly moderates the relationship between big data management and agility, with big data application management and human resource development having a greater impact on the agility of forward-looking companies than defender strategies;3.External environmental uncertainty can effectively moderate the relationship between Big Data management and enterprise agility, as the environment becomes more dynamic, Big Data management can enhance enterprise agility, while the increase of environmental hostility will lead to Big Data management reducing enterprise agility. From the three aspects of big data infrastructure construction, big data application management and big data human resources training, it explores the impact of enterprise big data management on enterprise agility, but does not conduct an in-depth analysis of the interaction between the above three aspects; Although the sample size of this study meets the requirements of the structural equation model test, the sample size of the analytical strategy type of enterprises is relatively small, so the analytical strategy is not included in the moderating effect test. Further research can be carried out in depth from the above two aspects.

Демократизация управления персоналом как фактор развития творческой активности работников

The basic approaches of analysis are identified, generalized definitions are developed, and the essence of the personnel management democratization process is clarified. Based on the authors' interviews of 12 expert managers (2022) the relationship between the democratization process of personnel management and the development of creative activity of employees is revealed. It is proved that democratization of management of the personnel is a process of introduction of democratic principles and norms in a control system of the personnel, formation of innovative culture, transfer of a part of traditional functions of management to direct structural divisions, social and labor groups, separate workers of organization. The authors propose to differentiate the objectives of democratization of management processes at the level of individual structural subdivisions, social professional groups of the organization: 1) implementation of the process of transferring management functions in relation to the set tactical work tasks; 2) ensuring relative social justice, optimization of professional adaptability; 3) motivation of rationalization proposals and innovative implementations; 4) formation of the mechanism of partnership interaction on the problems of creative innovations and rationalization proposals; 5) target design of educational, scientific, innovative self-management activities of professional teams. It was proved that management design of innovative organizational culture reflects not only the process of planned, purposeful formation of innovative values, norms, traditions and principles of both the organization as a whole and individual social professional groups, but also the achievement of democratic management transformation, regulation and resolution of labor conflicts, labor adaptation of organization members. In conditions of growing uncertainty of external and internal environment, managerial democracy should have specific manifestations in individual units and professional groups of the organisation.

The enterprise's external knowledge acquisition capability and technological diversification: From the perspective of intellectual property strategy.

Enterprises need intellectual property rights to protect their core knowledge, and technological diversification is an important strategic measure for enterprises to improve innovation performance. From the perspective of external resource acquisition, this study explores the mechanism of external knowledge acquisition capability (internal absorptive capability and external relational learning) on firm's technological diversification. It considers the impact of firm's innovation capability and external environmental uncertainty. The survey data of 258 Chinese pharmaceutical companies were obtained through questionnaire surveys, and various theoretical hypotheses were validated using regression analysis methods. The results show that internal absorptive capacity, external relational learning, and their interaction have a significant positive impact on technological diversification; the innovation capacity and the uncertainty of the external environment also affect enterprises' technological diversification.

Enhancing small and medium enterprises' performance through social media integration: Embedding the diffusion of innovation theory in the technology-organization-environment framework

Social media integration within small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has gained significant attention recently. This uptake is due to the growing recognition of the potential benefits of convergent digital technologies in enhancing customer information searching and improving customer experience. The research analyses how SMEs in developing countries use social media and identifies factors that affect its integration. Given the diversity in organisational performance, the research gap is attempting to understand how to integrate digital platforms in these contexts effectively. The study base theories are the technology-organisation-environment and diffusion of innovation. The technological aspects focus on the relative benefits, presence qualities, visibility, linkages, and interactivity. The organisational factors involve interdependent decision-making roles for support of operations and innovation. Competitive pressure and uncertainty increase are the study's environmental aspects. The study used a cross-sectional online survey to collect data from 938 business owners/managers in Harare, Zimbabwe. Thus, SmartPLS 4.0 software allows for data analysis and structural equation modelling. The results show no significant impact of social media integration and factors related to technology and organisation on small and medium-sized enterprises' performance. The empirical findings reveal that external pressure and environmental uncertainty affect social media integration in SMEs. There is still no clear evidence that social media integration significantly affects performance. The argument is that external environmental features are essential in predicting outcomes. We discuss the implications of this finding for theory, practice, and policy.

Improving the Efficiency of Cost Management in the Conditions of Uncertainty of External Environment

Improving the Efficiency of Cost Management in the Conditions of Uncertainty of External Environment

ВЛИЯНИЕ НЕОПРЕДЕЛЕННОСТИ ВНЕШНЕЙ СРЕДЫ НА БИЗНЕС-ПРОЦЕСС НАУКОЕМКИХ ПРОМЫШЛЕННЫХ ПРЕДПРИЯТИЙ

The article is devoted to the study of the impact of external environment uncertainty on individual links of the business process of knowledge-intensive industrial enterprises in modern Russia. The foreign economic activities of such enterprises face external market constraints and they have to change their business processes to minimize losses and maintain competitiveness.The problem is to identify the most sensitive to the imposed restrictions and the associated uncertainty of the links of the busi-ness process. The article analyzes the context of the market situation and reveals that in relation to Russia, a number of countries actively introduced export and import restrictions on high-tech products. The statistics of trade turnover of high-tech products according to the list of the Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activities with major Western partners was collected,the analysis of which illustrated the stagnation of foreign trade in high-tech products during the 2018-2021 period. Partly because of this, Russian economy is reorienting high-tech exports and imports to Asian countries, as well as carrying out measures to en-sure import substitution of high-tech products. The article outlines the studied area of management of knowledge-intensive in-dustrial enterprises to model a typical business process – decision-making in production, innovation and personnel policy. The model of business process consisting of production and organizational cycle is built, management flows and interrelations are mapped. The links of the business process sensitive to uncertainty are highlighted: drawing up a contract, procurement, R&amp;D and maintenance. Risks which cause sensitivity of these links of business process are described. It is concluded that in the manage-ment of business process of knowledge-intensive industrial enterprises the process link must be replaceable and sustainable, which will allow to avoid serious risks.

“It’s making me think outside the box at times”: a qualitative study of dynamic capabilities in surgical training

Craft specialties such as surgery endured widespread disruption to postgraduate education and training during the pandemic. Despite the expansive literature on rapid adaptations and innovations, generalisability of these descriptions is limited by scarce use of theory-driven methods. In this research, we explored UK surgical trainees’ (n = 46) and consultant surgeons’ (trainers, n = 25) perceptions of how learning in clinical environments changed during a time of extreme uncertainty (2020/2021). Our ultimate goal was to identify new ideas that could shape post-pandemic surgical training. We conducted semi-structured virtual interviews with participants from a range of working/training environments across thirteen Health Boards in Scotland. Initial analysis of interview transcripts was inductive. Dynamic capabilities theory (how effectively an organisation uses its resources to respond to environmental changes) and its micro-foundations (sensing, seizing, reconfiguring) were used for subsequent theory-driven analysis. Findings demonstrate that surgical training responded dynamically and adapted to external and internal environmental uncertainty. Sensing threats and opportunities in the clinical environment prompted trainers’ institutions to seize new ways of working. Learners gained from reconfigured training opportunities (e.g., splitting operative cases between trainees), pan-surgical working (e.g., broader surgical exposure), redeployment (e.g., to medical specialties), collaborative working (working with new colleagues and in new ways) and supervision (shifting to online supervision). Our data foreground the human resource and structural reconfigurations, and technological innovations that effectively maintained surgical training during the pandemic, albeit in different ways. These adaptations and innovations could provide the foundations for enhancing surgical education and training in the post-pandemic era.

Environmental, social, governance disclosure and corporate sustainable growth: Evidence from China

The ultimate goal of business development is to achieve sustainable corporate growth and maximize shareholder wealth. Whether and how ESG disclosure affects sustainable growth needs to be further explored. Combining stakeholder theory and signaling theory, a panel data test based on 300 listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen in China finds that ESG disclosure can positively promote sustainable growth compared with companies that do not disclose ESG disclosure, and the higher the level of ESG disclosure, the greater the promotion effect on sustainable growth; and ESG disclosure further enhances sustainable growth by reducing financing constraints and enhancing human capital. In addition, the positive relationship between ESG disclosure and corporate sustainable growth is particularly pronounced for non- environmentally sensitive industries and when external environmental uncertainty intensifies. Our findings enrich the research related to ESG disclosure, provide motivation to motivate firms to consciously practice ESG disclosure from a sustainable growth perspective, and contribute to a more detailed understanding of the mechanisms of ESG disclosure and sustainable corporate growth.

Drivers of environmental and social sustainability accounting practices in Nigeria: a corporate governance perspective

PurposeThis study aims to investigate corporate governance mechanisms affecting environmental and social sustainability accounting practice (SAP). Four internal (quality of information technology [QIT], market orientation, business strategy and structure of accounting department) and two external (environmental uncertainty and market competition) governance mechanisms were examined.Design/methodology/approachThe population of the study is comprised of 56 publicly listed manufacturing companies on the Mainboard of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Data were collected using a questionnaire which was completed by senior finance personnel in each company in the sample. Structural equation modelling, logistic regression and quantile regression analysis were used to analyse data.FindingsThe results show that the extent to which Nigerian companies have implemented SAP is moderate. The authors find that the level of SAP implementation is significantly associated with market orientation and business strategy, but not with the QIT and structure of accounting department. The results also show that both external corporate governance mechanisms (i.e. environmental uncertainty and intensity of competition) have no significant effect on SAP.Practical implicationsThe insignificant influence of external corporate governance mechanisms on SAP corroborates the contention that external pressure on companies to implement sustainability initiatives in developing countries is weak.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on sustainability in developing countries and incrementally adds to knowledge on the corporate governance mechanisms driving SAP in jurisdictions characterised by lax regulatory framework and weak institutional apparatus on sustainability.