Board attributes and sustainability reporting of selected listed nonfinancial firms in anglophone Sub-Saharan African countries: A multinomial logistic regression.

Resource depletion, social inequality, and climate change are key among the global issues affecting the modern corporate world. Corporate sustainability is a major agenda at corporate boards. Stakeholders are increasingly demanding corporate responsibility in the wake of global resource depletion. Sustainability reporting has been experienced differently in different regions, with emerging economies being adversely stuck. Combating the bearing effects has been difficult due to a lack of synergy among the nations as well as a lack of harmonized corporate disclosure. Understanding the global socioeconomic and environmental concerns requires a close examination of the major determinants of sustainability reporting. Grounded on the agency, stakeholders, and legitimacy theory, this study aims to evaluate the influence of board attributes on sustainability reporting. Using a multinomial logistic regression model, the study assessed 110 nonfinancial firms listed in 10 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries from 2016 to 2021. The study analyzed the influence of board attributes on sustainability reporting. The result indicates that board size, board meetings, board independence, and board gender diversity have a positive influence on sustainability reporting. The finding provides policy implications and insight into the need for more representative boards with increased gender diversity and independence. Additionally, an optimal frequency of board meetings is needed to strengthen oversight, efficacy, and transparency of sustainability reporting initiatives in SSA. Larger representative board sizes could be rewarded with tax concessions.

Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians' Perceptions of Scopes of Practice Employing Agency Theory in the Management of Minor Ailments in Central Indonesian Community Pharmacies: A Qualitative Study.

Community pharmacy staff assist in the management of minor ailments. Agency Theory underpins relationships between health professionals and patients. This study explores pharmacists' and pharmacy technicians' perceived scopes of practice of minor ailment services in community pharmacies. Twelve one-on-one semi-structured interviews used an open-ended interview guide for each cohort of community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, between June and July 2021. Purposive sampling selected a diversity of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, thematically analysed assisted by NVivo version 20. Agency Theory aided the interpretation. Three main themes emerged: (1) inconsistencies in practice, (2) the lack of understanding of the scopes of practice of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, and (3) provision of prescription-only medicines for some minor ailments or to fulfil patient requests. Several sub-themes included pharmacy staff involvement, education and training, provision of prescription-only medicines, and weak regulatory enforcement. Agency Theory indicated pharmacy patients (principals) delegated authority to pharmacists and pharmacy technicians (agents), which was confused by partial pharmacist absence. The lack of defined scopes of practice for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians disrupted established professional relationships. The scopes of practice and roles of the pharmacist and pharmacy technicians should be clearly defined, assisted by practice guidelines.

Executive Board Chairs: Examining the Performance Consequences of a Corporate Governance Hybrid.

Traditional agency theory views the proper role of the board chair exclusively as providing independent oversight to monitor and control the CEO. Recently, firms have introduced innovations in board leadership that have confounded these theoretical expectations. One notable innovation is the executive board chair, a corporate governance hybrid responsible for both oversight and strategic decision-making, challenging agency theory's prescription that the two activities remain separate. In this study, we argue that an executive board chair position can resolve the trade-off between independent oversight and involvement in strategy and therefore generate a performance advantage. We also predict that, owing to the blurring of lines between the CEO and board chair roles that the executive board chair position creates, the relationship will be stronger the greater the need to monitor and control the CEO but weaker when organizational complexity and board leadership demands are greater. Analysis of S&P 1500 firms from 2003 to 2017 provides general support for our arguments.

Franchising structure changes and shareholder value: Evidence from store buybacks and refranchising.

Drawing on agency theory and transaction cost analysis, this study investigates the impact of refranchising and buybacks of downstream retail units by franchising firms on shareholder value (i.e., stock returns). It further evaluates the contingency role of firm and industry factors in shaping this impact. An event study analysis over the years 2001-2020 confirms that both refranchising and buybacks positively affect stock returns. However, notable impact differences emerge between the two types of strategic decisions. For refranchising, firms with lower royalty rates, smaller returns-on-assets (ROA), and higher trade credit provided generate higher stock returns. Whereas, for buybacks, firms with higher royalty rates derive more value in stock markets. Analysis further shows that investors judge refranchising (buybacks) less (more) favorably in munificent industries, but industry dynamism has no effect on the stock returns generated from these moves. Together, the study offers important implications for franchising theory and retail practice in marketing. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11747-022-00921-3.

Board demographic characteristics, ownership structure, and multiple capitals disclosure: Evidence from heavily polluting firms.

Integrated Reporting (IR) is a sustainability-oriented reporting format, underpinned by six forms of capital. This study explores the association between Multiple Capitals Disclosure (MCD) and board demographic characteristics and ownership structure in heavily polluting Chinese firms from 2012 to 2016. We adopt upper echelons theory and agency theory as the theoretical foundation for this paper. Our results suggest that board gender diversity and institutional ownership are positively associated with MCD quality. However, board financial expertise appears to negatively affect MCD quality. These findings remain consistent across a series of sensitivity tests. The insights gleaned from this study will prove beneficial to scholars, the senior management, regulators, and policy-makers.

Signalling waiting times to citizens on public oral healthcare providers' websites.

Objective: The study aimed to analyse the usefulness of signalling waiting times to citizens on the websites of public primary oral healthcare providers in Finland. Finnish laws require this signalling.Material and methods: We gathered data with two cross-sectional surveys in 2021. One electronic questionnaire was for Finnish-speaking citizens in Southwest Finland. The other was for public primary oral healthcare managers (n = 159). We also gathered data on 15 public primary oral healthcare providers' websites. For the theoretical framework, we combined the agency and signalling theories.Results: Of the citizen respondents (n = 411), 57% knew about the waiting time signalling on the websites. The respondents considered waiting time a high-priority criterion in choosing a dentist, but they rarely searched for information anywhere on the choice of a dentist, wanting to visit the dentist they had earlier visited. The quality of signalled waiting times was low. One out of five managers (response rate 62%) answered that signalled waiting times were based on speculation.Conclusions: Waiting times were signalled to comply with the legislation rather than to inform citizens and to reduce information asymmetry. Further research is needed to acquire information on rethinking waiting time signalling and its desired goals.

Adaptive R&D contract for urgently needed drugs: Lessons from COVID-19 vaccine development.

This paper analyzes an incentive contract for new vaccine research and development (R&D) under pandemic situations such as COVID-19, considering the R&D contract's adaptability to the pandemic. We study how the public sector (government) designs the adaptive R&D contract and offers it to pharmaceutical enterprises. An agency-theoretic model is employed to explore the contract whose terms are an upfront grant as a fixed fee and a sales tax credit as an incentive tool, examining how the values of related parameters affect contract term determinations. We found that the adaptability factor derived from urgent policies such as emergency use authorization (EUA) as well as tax credits, can be utilized as practical incentive tools that lead vaccine developers to increase their effort levels for R&D success. We also found that public-private state-emergency contracts may not follow the conventional wisdom. Counterintuitively, dependency on tax credits (incentive part) decrease as the client's degree of risk averseness increases in the emergency contract.

Do financial performance and firm's value affect the quality of corporate social responsibility disclosure: Moderating role of chief executive officer's power in China.

This paper investigates the correlation between the quality of corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) and financial performance (FP). It also investigates the moderating role of chief executive officer power (CEOP) in the relationship between the quality of CSR disclosure and firm value (FV) in Chinese listed companies. The evidential research used the up-to-date sample (3, 248) of unbalanced findings for the period of 2014-2020, from the registered Chinese firms in the Shenzhen and Shanghai Stock Exchanges as samples for the study. As a starting point technique, the STATA 15 has been used to test pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) regression on a sample of Chinese listed companies. We use 1-year lagged regression and two SLS regressions to monitor the potential endogeneity problem. The imbalanced data set was received from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR) web page, which is the most significant source of information for Chinese publicly listed firms. Data on CSR information items and media reporting are compiled manually. The findings of the study revealed that there are positive FP consequences for the companies engaged in the quality of CSR disclosure. We also report that higher CEO power negatively enhances the quality of CSR disclosure effect on the FP of FV. The research investigates the impact of CSR disclosure and FP by presenting evidence of the moderating role of CEO power. Therefore, it is suggested that a higher law for CSR engagement and disclosure be implemented in China, and robust measures for the implementation of CEO power, although there are financial advantages to be gained. A key relevance to the empirical quality of CSR disclosure research can be recognized as the moderating role of CEO power in the quality of CSR disclosure, FP, and FV in the context of Chinese study. The findings are robust with the use of an instrumental variable method.

Stakeholder governance and the CSR of banks: An analysis of an internal governance mechanism based on game theory.

Banks have an important social responsibility to serve the real economy and to maintain financial stability, and they also need to be responsible to borrowers and others. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the global economy and increasing financial risks, it is particularly important for banks to assume social responsibilities. This study theoretically analyzed the outstanding applicability of stakeholder governance theory. Using a two-stage game method, the optimal pressure intensity of the social responsibility stakeholders was calculated, and the dynamic performance of shareholders was deduced. We found that the establishment of the social responsibility stakeholder governance mechanism will prompt the bank to fulfill its social responsibilities; rational social responsibility stakeholders will not lead to poor bank management due to excessive behavior; and shareholders with social responsibility can self-consciously choose the investment projects with lower negative externalities. The conclusions can be summarized as follows: The participation of stakeholder and the establishment of the social responsibility function of the board of directors can help promote a bank's social responsibility performance. This work studied the social responsibility of banks from the new perspective of stakeholder governance, expands the theoretical boundaries, and puts forward relevant suggestions to enhance the application value of this research.

Modelling multi-player strategic decisions in animal healthcare: A scoping review.

Strategic decision making in animal healthcare involves an array of complex factors interacting for the allocation of scarce resources. Consequently, modelling techniques which consider the actions and interactions of multiple decision makers, such as game theory and agency theory, have potential to provide insight of past and future interventions and policy which seek to improve economic efficiency. This scoping review aimed to identify, describe, and synthesise literature relating to multi-actor strategic decision making in animal healthcare. Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, CAB direct, EconLit, and AnthroSource were searched for literature published until November 2020. Studies were included if they were written in English, modelled strategic decisions between multiple actors, and contained information that related to animal healthcare practices. Data were analysed within the context of a conceptual framework based on strategic decision-making literature and modelling techniques. The identified literature (n = 31) had a strong focus on livestock healthcare and particularly on cattle (n = 13). Most studies (27/31) examined decisions concerning infectious disease and seven studies used compartmental models to include disease prevalence data. Almost all the articles (n = 30) used the monetary outcome of strategic decisions as a basis for expected utility, either through direct profit maximisation or via the aversion of losses. Nine studies used discursive and conceptual models to describe the strategic decision-making process, providing a wide lens by which to view decisions and opportunity to discuss the role of behavioural contributors to utility. Twenty-two studies used formal mathematical models to describe strategic decisions and used model solutions to provide recommendations to a specific problem, ten of which were parameterised with empirical data. Consequently, 20 articles provided specific policy recommendations to improve the welfare output of a system, the majority of which suggested the need for an increased level of state intervention in the animal health sector. This review describes the range of studies which have approached strategic decision making in animal healthcare through multi-player modelling techniques. These modelling techniques provide opportunity to consider the perspectives of multiple stakeholders and to combine economic and epidemiological data which may be beneficial to the development of animal health interventions.

Policy responsiveness and institutions in a federal system: Analyzing variations in state-level data transparency and equity issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the absence of a coherent federal response to COVID-19 in the United States, state governments played a significant role with varying policy responses, including in data collection and reporting. However, while accurate data collection and disaggregation is critically important since it is the basis for mitigation policy measures and to combat health disparities, it has received little scholarly attention. To address this gap, this study employs agency theory to focus on state-level determinants of data transparency practices by examining factors affecting variations in state data collection, reporting, and disaggregation of both overall metrics and race/ethnicity data. Using ordered logistic regression analyses, we find that legislatures, rather than governors, are important institutional actors and that a conservative ideology signal and socio-economic factors help predict data reporting and transparency practices. These results suggest that there is a critical need for standardized data collection protocols, the collection of comprehensive race and ethnicity data, and analyses examining data transparency and reductions in information asymmetries as a pandemic response tool-both in the United States and globally.

Does Margin Call Pressure Affect the M&A Decision of Controlling Shareholders With Equity Pledges: Evidence From Chinese Listed Company.

The equity pledge has become a universal practice in the world. Taking Chinese listed companies from 2007 to 2020 as a sample, this paper investigates the influence of controlling shareholders' equity pledges on M&A behavior. It is found that the probability of M&A of listed companies is greater when the controlling shareholder has an equity pledge (or the proportion of equity pledge of controlling shareholder is higher). M&A activities can raise the stock price and play the role of market value management. Controlling shareholders with margin call pressure have stronger motivation to use M&A to increase their share price. Investors seem to be aware of this behavior and underestimate the potential benefits of M&A under this pressure. Propensity score matching (PSM) and difference in difference (DID) were used to test endogeneity and the results were still robust. Overall, our results reveal the impact of equity pledges by controlling shareholders on M&A. Furthermore, margin call pressure, this organizational psychology promotes this possibility.

The Impact of Consumers' Dynamic Browsing Modes on the Effect of In-Feed Native Advertising.

As an emerging form of online display advertising, in-feed native advertising is increasingly employed in online news feed platforms. While many advertisers have largely embraced this new advertising format, the current research is full of controversy on whether the more native, the better the effect of in-feed native advertising. Based on recent studies on this emerging topic, the authors explore the effective in-feed native advertising persuasion strategies based on consumers' dynamic online browsing modes. In study 1, the authors conducted an archived-data analysis (in co-operation with Baidu company). Results show that the match between in-feed native advertising persuasion style (implicit vs. explicit) and consumers' real-time news feed browsing modes (convergent vs. divergent) can improve ad performance. In study 2, the authors further explained why consumers under different browsing modes respond differently (the mediation effect of self-agency vs. external agency) to specific in-feed native advertising persuasion. Our work explores the boundaries of agency theory from a dynamic perspective and helps advertisers conduct real-time and effective targeting strategies.

Corporate dividend policy in the time of COVID-19: Evidence from the G-12 countries.

This paper examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affects corporate dividend policy. Utilizing a sample of 8889 firms listed in the G-12 countries, the findings show that although the proportion of dividend cuts and omissions is significantly higher during the pandemic, yet the majority of firms could either maintain or increase dividends. By doing so, firms might aim to purse more stable dividend policies and signal their financial prospects during the crisis, as posited by dividend signaling theory. Logit regression findings reveal that firm profitability, earnings prospects, size and leverage appear to be important determinants of dividend policy decisions during the pandemic.

Re-Imagining Business Agency through Multi-Agent Cross-Sector Coalitions: Integrating CSR Frameworks.

This theoretical paper takes an agency-theoretic approach to questions of corporate social responsibility (CSR). A comparison of various extant frameworks focusses on how CSR agency emerges in complex multi-agent and multi-sector stakeholder networks. The discussion considers the respective capabilities and relevance of these frameworks - culminating in an integrative CSR practice model. A short literature review of the evolution of CSR since the 1950's provides the backdrop for understanding multi-agent cross-sectoral stakeholder coalitions as a strategic determinant of today's organizational behavior. The paper turns to Werhane's coupling of moral imagination and systems thinking and forging stakeholder coalitions in problem contexts that were traditionally deemed intractable by for-profit organizations. However, it identifies the problem that the systems approach treats macro-agents (organizations, stakeholders) as given ("black-boxed") and shies away from more radically re-imagining the possibilities of reassembling agency from the bottom up. Actor Network Theory (ANT) provides such a method, which strictly commits to treating organizational behavior as a product of technological, human and environmental micro-processes. ANT, however, is lacking a genuine moral deliberative stance in designing complex CSR coalitions. In an attempt to capitalize on the respective strengths of these frameworks (Systems thinking and ANT) the paper tends to a recent iterative series of "situational transactive" models that are rooted in the US pragmatist tradition and seek to capture intelligent planning processes in complex problematic contexts. The contribution proposes a new CSR practice model, which assigns specific roles to the theoretical contributions of ANT, system thinking and pragmatism in complex deliberation processes. This model can be industry-tested in a future study.

Corporate governance and shareholders' confidence in cooperatives: a systematic literature review.

Background: The confidence of Bottom 40 (B40) shareholders is crucial for cooperative's sustenance within wider corporate governance. An in-depth study on cooperatives is needed, as they play a crucial role in the Malaysian economic system and contribute greatly to the country's social development. However, in the current landscape, confidence among shareholders is at stake. This study aims to identify the research gap into corporate governance for cooperativess in relation to B40 shareholder confidence, as well as identify current study challenges and develop a conceptual framework for future research. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review, with the use of agency theory to assess shareholders' confidence. Emerald, ProQuest, InderScience, Scopus and Science Direct were the online databases used in this study to search five keyword phrases: corporate governance, confidence, cooperative, agency theory and Bottom 40% (B40) household. Tranfield's five stages were used to conduct the systematic review. Results: Only 5 of the 324 studies assess shareholders' confidence in cooperatives, as well as one paper on B40 and two papers on agency theory. Our review presents three major findings. First, research in the context of B40 shareholder's confidence in cooperatives is scarce. Second, the challenges related to shareholders' confidence in B40 are major issues in the context. Third, research on agency theory in the context of shareholders' confidence within cooperatives and corporate governance is still scant. Conclusions: This review urges the research community to conduct more studies based on the highlighted research gaps.

Investigating the Relationships Between Public Health Literacy and Public Trust in Physicians in China's Control of COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: Public trust in physicians and public health literacy (HL) are important factors that ensure the effectiveness of health-care delivery, particularly that provided during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. This study investigates HL as a predictor of public trust in physicians in China's ongoing efforts to control COVID-19. Methods: Data were gathered in February 2020 during the peak of the disease in China. Based on Nutbeam's conceptualization of HL, we measure HL vis-à-vis COVID-19 by using a six-item scale that includes two items each for functional, interactive, and critical HL. Trust in physicians was measured by assessing physicians' capability to diagnose COVID-19. A rank-sum test and ordinal logit regression modeling were used to analyze the data. Results: Two key findings: (a) trust in physician handling of treatment for COVID-19 is reported by about 74% of respondents; and (b) five of the six HL measures are positive predictors of public trust in physician treatment of the disease, with functional HL1 having the highest level of such association (coefficient 0.285, odds ratio 1.33%, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Improving public HL is important for better public-physician relationships, as well as for nations' efforts to contain the pandemic, serving as a possible behavioral, non-clinical antidote to COVID-19. Being confronted with the unprecedented virus, humans need trust. Health education and risk communication can improve public compliance with physicians' requirements and build a solid foundation for collective responses.

Good corporate governance and corporate sustainability performance in Indonesia: A triple bottom line approach.

This study aims to investigate the effect of good corporate governance (GCG) on corporate sustainability performance (CSP) using the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) approach in a two-tier GCG system. GCG is measured by the size and education background of board of commissioners (BoC) and top management team (TMT). CSP consists of economic, social, and environment sustainability performance. As many as 117 sample data were collected from the financial statements, annual reports and sustainability reports of non-financial companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) for the period of 2013-2017. Multiple regression analysis was employed to test the hypotheses studied with the following results. First, BoC education has a negative effect on economic and environmental sustainability performance and no effect on social sustainability performance. Second, BoC size has a positive effect on economic sustainability performance, a negative effect on social sustainability performance and no effect on environmental sustainability performance. Third, CEO's education has a negative effect on economic sustainability performance, and no effect on environmental and social sustainability performance. Fourth, TMT size has a negative effect on economic and environmental sustainability performance and no effect on social sustainability performance. Contributions, limitations and implications of the study are also discussed.

CEO Duality and Firm Value: Evidence from Mexico / Dualidad del CEO y valor de la empresa: evidencia de México / Dualidade do CEO e valor da empresa: evidências do México

ABSTRACT Regulators and corporate governance activists are lobbying companies to eliminate the CEO duality; however the effectiveness of this recommendation is questioned given that empirical evidence has found conflicting results. This document studied the effects of the CEO's duality on the value of the company in a sample of 104 Mexican companies that were publicly traded between 2000 and 2013. For this, different regression models were estimated using the ordinary least squares technique. The firm value was measured through Tobin's Q and ROA. Empirical results showed that there is no relationship between CEO duality and value after controlling for board characteristics such as size and independence. JEL CLASSIFICATION M10, G32, G34

RESUMEN Los reguladores y los activistas del gobierno corporativo están presionando a las empresas para que eliminen la dualidad del CEO, sin embargo, la efectividad de esta recomendación es cuestionada dado que la evidencia empírica ha encontrado resultados contradictorios. Este documento estudió los efectos de la dualidad del CEO en el valor de la empresa en una muestra de 104 empresas mexicanas que cotizaron públicamente entre 2000 y 2013. Para esto, se estimaron diferentes modelos de regresión utilizando la técnica de mínimos cuadrados ordinarios. El valor de la empresa se midió a través de la Q de Tobin y el ROA. Los resultados empíricos mostraron que no existe una relación entre la dualidad del CEO y el valor de la empresa después de controlar las características de la junta, como el tamaño y la independencia. CLASIFICACIÓN JEL M10, G32, G34

RESUMO Os reguladores e os activistas do governo das sociedades estão a pressionar as empresas para eliminar a dualidade do Presidente da Comissão Executiva, no entanto, a eficácia desta recomendação é posta em causa, uma vez que provas empíricas têm encontrado resultados contraditórios. Este documento estudou os efeitos da dualidade dos CEO no valor da empresa numa amostra de 104 empresas mexicanas negociadas publicamente entre 2000 e 2013. Para tal, foram estimados diferentes modelos de regressão utilizando a técnica dos mínimos quadrados comuns. O valor da empresa foi medido pelo Q de Tobin e o ROA. Os resultados empíricos mostraram que não existe relação entre a dualidade do CEO e o valor da empresa depois de controlar para características do conselho como a dimensão e a independência. CLASSIFICAÇÃO JEL M10, G32, G34

Reorienting Locus of Control in Individuals Who Have Offended Through Strengths-Based Interventions: Personal Agency and the Good Lives Model.

Having an external locus of control has been associated with a range of well-supported risk correlates of offending behavior. Further, individuals with an internal locus of control orientation are suggested to be more open to engaging in treatment and are also considered more likely to have successful treatment outcomes. In forensic settings, where individuals are subject to external controls and have little personal autonomy, it is important to consider what treatment approaches might be most successful in reorienting individuals' locus of control. The Good Lives Model (GLM) proposes a strengths-based approach to the rehabilitation of individuals who have offended. Within the GLM, an external locus of control is suggested to be associated with a deficit in the primary good of agency. In this article, we will provide a brief overview of the literature on locus of control and its hypothesized role in offending behavior. We will discuss how an external locus of control orientation is related to personal agency and how strengths-based models, such as the GLM, may assist with reorienting locus of control in individuals who have offended through promoting personal agency.