M. Tech. (Department of Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / The construction industry is an important contributor to the economy of South Africa. In this industry, buyers and suppliers work in collaboration with each other to achieve superior supply chain performance. To achieve this, they have to find ways and methods to improve it. The purpose of this study was to investigate supply chain coordination and firm performance in the construction industry in the Gauteng Province. This study considers three drivers: supplier coordination, customer coordination and coordination effectiveness to achieve the performance of the construction industry. In most previous research studies, researchers have overlooked the important considerations and variables of supply chain coordination and firm performances as environmentally-friendly exercises in the construction industry. As a result, there was an abundant necessity to examine how the construction industry should implement a supply chain coordination programme and firm performance as environmentally-friendly practices in the organisational activities to ensure the sustainability of the construction industry. The effective application of SCC and firm performance in the construction industry will benefit all stakeholders. A quantitative approach was adopted in which a survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 414 construction supply chain managers and professional employees in the Gauteng Province. The study used a non-probability convenience sampling technique to select respondents. Data were analysed with the aid of two software packages: the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 27.0) and the Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS version 27.0). A confirmatory factor analysis was applied in examining and testing the relationships between observed constructs and their causal latent constructs while structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesised relationships between constructs. The results revealed that supplier coordination, customer coordination and coordination effectiveness positively and significantly influence firm performance in the construction industry. Further, the study determines that to improve firm performance, the construction industry should advance the stages of trust, guarantee and sustainable relationships with their stakeholders. The results provide useful insights into how the construction industry could benefit from cultivating trust, assurance and sustainable relationships between supply chain partners as well as on how to improve firm performance. Therefore, this study is not only important for construction companies but also for manufacturers, suppliers and customers since most of them will collectively achieve the goal of performing purposeful activities to boost construction performance and sustainability.

The intense competition arising from globalisation requires MNCs to manage their HRs globally and strategically to become a source of competitive advantage. Hence, SIHRM acknowledges the need to balance global integration and local responsiveness, together with emphasising the importance of seeking strategic fit between HR policies and business strategy, which in turn leads to superior firm performance. Furthermore, this development also increased awareness and recognition of the role of senior managers and cultural traditions. Therefore, the primary purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between SIHRM effectiveness and firm performance as perceived by senior management coupled with the influence from MNCs' headquarters and Chinese cultural values. Consequently, the researcher selected a case study approach with a triangulation data collection method through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews undertaken in four selected subsidiaries of MNCs. The research findings strengthened the theoretical foundations of several HRM models, together with supporting Analoui's eight-parameter approach (1999) as a functional, coherent and interlinked framework regarding the effectiveness of senior managers. In particular, this research found that quality enhancement of products and service was the preferred and adopted key business strategy amongst the studied MNCs. Whilst they are also seeking to balance globalisation and localisation through reconciling control and adaptation rather than satisfying one at the expense of the other, such that the trend is for Western HR policies to be gradually accepted and internalised by the younger generation of the Chinese managers. Finally, this research made several recommendations to foreign MNCs operating in China.

This study shows the effects of the ‘soft’ board gender quota in Sweden enacted in 2006. Using a sample of 2,181 firm-year observations, Swedish listed firms do increase the percentage of females after the enactment of the quota, but this effect is not coming due to the quota. Neither more firms comply to the quota of 40 per cent caused by the quota enactment. Firms with state involvement are more likely to comply to the quota and increase the percentage of females. Internationalized firms have elusive results on the percentage of female directors and quota compliance. On average, more female directors in board positions have a positive effect on firm performance as measured in Tobin’s Q and ROA. The increase in the percentage of females and the positive effect on firm performance is more pronounced in the later time period (2012-2017) than the period short after the quota (2006-2011).

This paper investigates the relationship between board gender diversity and financial performance. Previous work in this area has focused on providing evidence for a direct link between the two factors, which has resulted in mixed, inconclusive evidence. This study includes corporate social responsibility as a moderating influence on this relationship. The dataset consists of 5,077 firm-year observations with 839 firms present. The study was done with data from six emerging markets as identified by S&P Dow Jones Global Equity Index Series. The results indicate a positive interaction between board gender diversity and a firm’s corporate social responsibility engagement and a strong positive association between corporate social responsibility engagement and financial performance.

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This dissertation investigates the relationships between reinsurance activities and primary insurers' financial performance in U.S. property-liability insurance market from several perspectives. The first essay investigates the relationship between ceding insurer performance and the affiliation, domicile, and authorization of its counterparties. Specifically, we provide empirical evidence that ceding insurer financial performance is positively related to the use of affiliated reinsurance, the use of foreign reinsurance, and the use of affiliated reinsurance that is ceded to the low-tax, lightly-regulated domiciled counterparties; and negatively related to the use of unauthorized reinsurance. These results are consistent with the cost of information asymmetry theory. The second essay investigates reinsurance counterparty relationships in U.S. property-liability insurance. Firm-specific characteristics determinants of counterparty relationships are examined. We also analyze the relationship between firm performance and reinsurance counterparty relationships. We find that concentration in reinsurance counterparties, especially in unaffiliated counterparties, is adversely related to insurer performance due to higher information asymmetry. On the other hand, relationship with foreign counterparties is positive related to performance, suggesting the foreign reinsurers may have a favorable position in terms of tax treatment, specialized service, among other factors. / Business Administration/Risk Management and Insurance

In spite of the prevalence and strategic importance of diversification for US hospitality firms, research on the effects of diversification has been insufficient in the hospitality literature. Especially, examination of the moderating effect of product or brand diversification on the relationship between geographic diversification and performance of US hospitality firms has been lacking in the hospitality field thus far. This study aims to investigate the effect of each diversification strategy on firm performance for US casino, restaurant, and lodging industries. Further, to investigate effects of diversification comprehensively by incorporating interactions between different diversification strategies, this study attempts to examine the moderating effect of product diversification on the relationship between geographic diversification and performance of US casino firms, and the moderating effect of brand diversification on the relationship between geographic diversification and performance of US restaurant and lodging firms. To accomplish study purposes, this study employs fixed effects and fixed effects instrumental variable regressions analyses, which strictly address the endogeneity problem, thereby enhancing causality between diversification and firm performance. The sample of this study consists of 336 observations of 43 casino firms, 176 observations of 36 lodging firms, and 952 observations of 132 restaurant firms over the period 1993-2010. The study's results indicate a positive and significant effect of geographic diversification on firm performance in the US casino and lodging industry, but an insignificant effect of geographic diversification in the US restaurant industry. For the effect of product and brand diversification, the study's analyses show no significant effect of product diversification on firm performance in the US casino industry, a negative and significant effect of brand diversification in the US restaurant industry, and an insignificant effect of brand diversification in the US lodging industry. Regarding moderating effects, while this study finds an insignificant moderating effect of product diversification on the relationship between geographic diversification and firm performance in the US casino industry, the analyses show a negative and significant moderating effect of brand diversification in the US restaurant industry and a positive and significant moderating effect of brand diversification in the US lodging industry. Findings of this study recommend more prudent decision-making for diversification strategies for US casino firms, brand concentration strategies for US restaurant firms, and acceleration of both geographic and brand diversification for US lodging industry. This study fills a research gap in the hospitality literature by exhaustively examining the effect of diversification strategies on firm performance in the hospitality field by providing evidence for the moderating effects of product and brand diversification on the geographic diversification-firm performance relationship in three US hospitality industries. Further, this study enriches the whole body of diversification theory and literature by providing context-specific empirical findings for diversification's effects and investing the moderating role of brand diversification in the diversification strategy context. / Tourism and Sport