Cette thèse précise dans quelles mesures la performance responsable peut contribuer à l’amélioration de la performance financière pour un investisseur. En s’appuyant sur une base de données de 1992 à 2012 et un état de l’art de la notation responsable KLD, nous montrons que la Responsabilité Sociale de l’Entreprise (RSE) ne constitue pas invariablement un facteur de performance pour un portefeuille d’actions. Elle se révèle être un coût à consentir par les investisseurs soucieux de leur niveau d’éthique, du moins dans sa version proactive. Selon le secteur observé, la réduction des actes d’irresponsabilité peut néanmoins améliorer la performance financière. Nos développements mettent en évidence l’importance d’un choix préalable des actifs du portefeuille. En effet, les stratégies RSE améliorent la performance financière en fonction des caractéristiques qui limitent les comportements opportunistes des managers. Notre analyse multicritères révèle que les dépenses de responsabilités sont le fruit des excès de trésorerie. Le coût moyen pondéré de la dette déterminera l’efficacité de ces stratégies sur la rentabilité de l’entreprise. Enfin, nous mettons en exergue des dissemblances de langage dans les discours issues des rapports de responsabilité, selon le niveau d’éthique et de performance financière. Ces champs lexicaux renseignent l’investisseur sur les intentions des managers, afin de mieux sélectionner les actifs. / This thesis explains and clarifies the ways in which responsible performance can increase financial performance for investors. Based on data gathered between 1992 and 2012 and a state-of-the-art KLD scoring system, we demonstrate that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) does not consistently increase the performance of a share portfolio. CSR, when proactively implemented, proves to be a cost granted by investors concerned about their ethical models. Depending on the sector observed, restrictions on irresponsible acts can however improve financial performance. Our research highlights the importance of selecting portfolio assets beforehand. We found that CSR strategies improve financial performance provided that some criteria which restrict managerial opportunism. Our multi-criteria analysis revealed that the expenditure of responsibility is a result of excess cash flow. The weighted average cost of the debt will determine the effectiveness of these strategies on the company's profitability. Finally, we highlight discrepancies in Corporate Social Responsibility reports, according to the ethical level and financial performance of each company. These lexical fields inform the investor of managers’ intentions and hence, allow a better selection of the assets.

Dans un contexte où les entreprises font face à des ressources limitées, à des contradictions entre les demandes des parties prenantes et à des impératifs de performance sociale et financière, cette thèse se penche sur la problématique de la relation entre la responsabilité sociale des entreprises et la performance financière. Particulièrement, cette recherche se focalise sur le conflit d’intérêts reconnu entre les actionnaires et les employés en étudiant la dimension « employés » de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises et sa relation avec la performance financière. Savoir si c’est la performance financière d’une entreprise qui lui donne les ressources nécessaires pour investir en responsabilité sociale envers les employés ou bien si c’est la responsabilité sociale envers les employés qui contribue à la prospérité financière de l’entreprise, ou les deux à la fois est un questionnement fondamental dans ce domaine. Pour l’approfondir, cette thèse développe un cadre d’analyse original qui regroupe différents fondements théoriques et les adapte au cas spécifique de la responsabilité sociale envers les employés. Nous partons du cadre de référence traditionnel qui unit l’hypothèse de disponibilité des ressources et la théorie des parties prenantes que nous complétons avec les apports de la théorie des ressources et de la théorie néo-institutionnelle. Cette thèse innove alors en mobilisant la théorie néo-institutionnelle non seulement pour expliquer les déterminants de la responsabilité sociale envers les employés, mais aussi pour éclairer les mécanismes institutionnels reliant les diverses dimensions de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises à la performance financière. Sur le plan méthodologique, cette thèse par article adopte un devis quantitatif qui mobilise plusieurs bases de données de responsabilité sociale des entreprises et de performance financière permettant d’inclure différentes approches d’opérationnalisation de ces deux concepts. Les méthodes d’analyse utilisées impliquent des régressions linéaires multiples, la méthode des études événementielles et les régressions sur des données de panel incluant la modélisation en vecteurs autorégressifs et le test de causalité de Granger. Les résultats de cette recherche montrent en premier lieu que la performance financière influence positivement la responsabilité sociale envers les employés qui apparait comme un investissement nécessitant des ressources financières. En deuxième lieu, cette recherche montre que l’influence de la responsabilité sociale envers les employés sur la performance financière est positive sur le long terme (lorsque la performance financière est évaluée par des mesures boursières) mais négative sur le court terme (lorsque la performance financière est évaluée par des mesures comptables). En effet, alors que les actionnaires réagissent positivement à l’annonce de pratiques de responsabilité sociale envers les employés sur le marché boursier, la performance financière comptable d’une année donnée est influencée négativement par le niveau de responsabilité sociale envers les employés des trois années précédentes. On peut alors dire que la tension entre les intérêts contradictoires des employés et des actionnaires se confirme sur le court terme, mais que les intérêts finissent par se rejoindre sur le long terme. Ceci suggère que les gestionnaires doivent faire preuve de patience pour observer les retombées positives de la responsabilité sociale envers les employés. En troisième lieu, notre recherche montre une relation bidirectionnelle entre la responsabilité sociale envers les employés et la performance financière qui s’influencent mutuellement. Cette thèse répond à plusieurs critiques adressées aux études sur la responsabilité sociale des entreprises notamment en désagrégeant le concept de responsabilité sociale des entreprises et en mettant de l’avant sa dimension « employés » qui est souvent occultée. Au niveau de la pratique, les résultats de cette recherche ont plusieurs retombées pour les entreprises, les investisseurs socialement responsables, les défenseurs de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises et les gouvernements. Par exemple, au-delà de renseigner les acteurs sur les facteurs qui amènent les entreprises à agir d’une manière socialement responsable envers leurs employés, les résultats montrent qu’il est possible d’être à la fois « un bon citoyen corporatif » et une entreprise capitaliste rentable, du moins sur le marché boursier. / In a context where companies face limited resources, conflicts between stakeholders’ claims and social and financial performance imperatives, this thesis examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance. This research is particularly interested in the recognized conflict of interest between shareholders and employees and focuses on the « employees » dimension of corporate social responsibility and its relationship to financial performance. It aims to better understand this relationship and to investigate whether it is the firm financial performance that provides resources to invest in corporate social responsibility towards employees or whether it is the social responsibility towards employees that creates the resources and contributes to the financial prosperity of the company, or both. This thesis develops an original conceptual framework that brings together different theoretical foundations and adapts them to the specific case of corporate social responsibility towards employees. The main framework combines slack resources hypothesis and stakeholder theory and is complemented with contributions from resource-based view and neo-institutional theory. In this thesis, neo-institutional theory is employed not only to explain determinants of corporate social responsibility towards employees, but also to describe the institutional mechanisms linking various dimensions of corporate social responsibility to financial performance. The research design includes three quantitative studies use several databases of corporate social responsibility and financial performance. The analysis strategy involves multiple linear regressions, event study methodology and regressions on panel data including vector autoregressive models and Granger causality test. Research results show that financial performance positively influence social responsibility towards employees, which appears as an investment requiring financial resources. The results also suggest that corporate social responsibility towards employees positively influence long-term financial performance (when financial performance is evaluated by stock market measures) but influence negatively short-term financial performance (when financial performance is evaluated by accounting measures). In fact, while the stock market reacts positively to the announcement of socially responsible practices towards employees, the bottom line of a given year is negatively influenced by the level of social responsibility towards employees of the previous three years. The conflicting interests of employees and shareholders are confirmed in the short term, but they seem to become reconcilable in the long term. This suggests that managers must be patient to be able to observe the positive effects of corporate social responsibility towards employees. This research also shows a bidirectional relationship between corporate social responsibility towards employees and financial performance. This thesis responds to several corporate social responsibility studies’ limits. It disaggregates the corporate social responsibility concept and highlights its « employees » dimension, which is often overshadowed. This research also has several implications for companies, socially responsible investors, advocates of corporate social responsibility and governments. For example, beyond informing actors about the factors leading companies to act responsibly towards their employees, the results show that being a good corporate citizen and a profitable capitalist company can coexist, at least in the stock market.

Inledning: Huruvida insynsägande påverkar finansiell prestation är ett beforskat område där tidigare studier kommit fram till olika slutsatser. Utifrån agentteorin torde insynsägande ha en positiv påverkan på finansiell prestation, utifrån entrenchment-teorin torde insynsägande påverka finansiell prestation negativt i och med ökad makt. Samtidigt utifrån stewardship-teorin torde det inte finnas en relation mellan insynsägande och finansiell prestation. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera sambandet mellan insynsägande och finansiell prestation i svenska bolag vilka präglas av en hög förekomst av aktier med skilda röstvärden och en hög ägarkoncentration. Vidare är syftet att teoretiskt förklara de resultat som framkommer i denna uppsats för att redogöra för vilka befintliga teorier inom området som kan appliceras i en svensk kontext. Metod: För analysera sambandet mellan insynsägande och finansiell prestation i svenska bolag har uppsatsen tagit en kvantitativ ansats med ett deduktivt synsätt där teori har testats genom en panelregression innehållande 300 observationer. Slutsats: Uppsatsens resultat påvisar att sambandet mellan insynsägande och finansiell prestation, operationaliserat som Tobin's Q, tar sitt uttryck som ett inverterat U. I spannet 0 till 37,75 procent insynsägande finner vi stöd för en alignment-effekt samtidigt som vi finner stöd för entrenchment-effekten vid nivåer av insynsägande över brytpunkten på 37,75 procent. Vidare finner vi inget stöd för stewardship-teorin. Den brytpunkt som noterats i svenska bolag är lägre än den brytpunkt som påvisats i länder så som USA och Storbritannien. Förklaringen till detta kan vara den höga prevalensen av aktier med skilda röstvärden och den höga ägarkoncentration som präglar svenska företag. / Introduction: Whether Managerial Ownership affects financial performance is an area of research where previous studies have come to different conclusions. Based on Agency Theory, Managerial Ownership should have a positive impact on financial performance, and based on Entrenchment Theory, Managerial Ownership should have a negative impact on financial performance due to increased power. At the same time, based on Stewardship Theory, there should not be a relationship between Managerial Ownership and financial performance. Purpose: The purpose of the essay is to analyze the relationship between Managerial Ownership and financial performance in Swedish companies, which are characterized by a high prevalence dual-class shares and a high ownership concentration. Furthermore, the purpose is to theoretically explain the results that appear in the essay to explain what existing theories in the field that can be applied in a Swedish context. Method: To analyze the relationship between Managerial Ownership and financial performance in Swedish companies, the essay has taken a quantitative and deductive approach where theory has been tested through a panel regression containing 300 observations. Conclusion: The essays results show that the relationship between Managerial Ownership and financial performance, operationalized as Tobin's Q, takes its expression as an inverted U. In the range 0 to 37.75 percent Managerial Ownership we find support for an alignment effect while also finding support for an entrenchment effect at levels of Managerial Ownership above the inflection point of 37.75 percent. Furthermore, we find no support for Stewardship Theory. The inflection point noted in Swedish companies is lower than the inflection points detected in countries such as the US and the UK. The explanation for this may be the high prevalence of dual-class shares and the high ownership concentration that characterizes Swedish companies.

Bakgrund: Den globala uppvärmningen är en av vår tids stora utmaningar. Företagen står för en stor del av utsläppen och därav är det av vikt hur företagen styrs framåt, då styrningen påverkar företagens miljöarbete. Olika mekanismer av bolagsstyrning kan påverka företagens miljöarbete och dessa mekanismer kan även tänkas variera i påverkan mellan olika institutionella kontexter. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att göra en jämförande studie mellan Sverige, Tyskland och Frankrike angående om bolagsstyrningsmekanismer har en påverkan på finansiella och miljömässiga prestationer samt om miljömässiga prestationer har en påverkan på finansiella prestationer. Metod: Metoden som använts är longitudinell och komparativ med en deduktiv ansats. Agentteorin, aktieägarperspektivet, intressentteorin, legitimitetsteorin, CSR som praktisk tillämpning samt tidigare forskning har legat till grund för studiens hypoteser. Slutsatser: Resultaten ger indikationer på att det finns både likheter och skillnader i vilken relation bolagsstyrningsmekanismerna har med miljömässiga och finansiella prestationer mellan länderna. Relationer mellan miljömässiga och finansiellaprestationer finns endast i Tyskland och Frankrike, vilket tyder på att det finns skillnader mellan länderna i vilken påverkan miljöarbetet i ett företag kan ha på lönsamheten. / Background: Global warming is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Companies is responsible for a large part of the emissions and how companies are governed moving forward is of importance since governance impacts companies’ environmental work. Different mechanisms in corporate governance may impact their environmental work and the mechanisms may vary in impact between different institutional contexts. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to do a comparative study between Sweden, Germany, and France regarding whether certain mechanisms in corporate governance may have an impact on financial and environmental performance and also if environmental performance has an impact on financial performance. Method: The method used is a combination of longitudinal and comparative method with a deductive approach. Agency theory, shareholder perspective, stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory, CSR as a practical application as well as former research is used to formulate the hypotheses of the study. Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that both similarities and differences in the relationship between corporate governance and financial and environmental performance exists between the countries. Relationships between environmental and financial performance is only existing in Germany and France, which indicates that there are differences between the countries regarding the impact environmental work in a company may have on profitability.

La presente investigación busca identificar el impacto financiero en empresas del sector downstream de Hidrocarburos domiciliadas en Lima en el año 2020 en relación a las variaciones de tasa de cambio de la moneda extranjera. En el año 2020 hubo dos sucesos que afectaron la economía de las empresas del sector downstream de hidrocarburos, el primero es la caída de precios del petróleo, debido a la paralización de China y a un desacuerdo entre Arabia Saudita y Rusia respecto a los niveles de producción de petróleos, lo cual conlleva a una guerra de precios; el segundo sería la desaceleración de la economía global, causada por la Pandemia COVID-19. De esta manera, tenemos como objetivo de nuestra investigación identificar como es el tratamiento contable cuando se generan diferencias de cambio. Estas variaciones de tipo de cambio pueden generar un impacto importante en la rentabilidad o liquidez en las empresas del sector downstream de hidrocarburo. Por ello, este trabajo de investigación se encuentra organizado en 5 secciones. En el Capítulo I, Marco Teórico, se encontrarán las definiciones importantes y relevantes para que con ello el lector tenga un mejor entendimiento sobre el tema del impacto financiero que se genera con las variaciones del tipo de cambio. En el Capítulo II, Plan de investigación, se plantearon el problema principal, los objetivos e hipótesis generales y específicos. En el Capítulo III, Metodología de Investigación se identificó el tipo de investigación para el trabajo y se determinó el tamaño de la muestra para llevar a cabo el análisis de carácter cualitativo y cuantitativo. En el Capítulo IV, Desarrollo de la investigación, se podrá ver la ejecución de las entrevistas en profundidad y encuestas realizadas a los profesionales y funcionarios del sector a investigar. Para finalizar, en el Capítulo V, Análisis de resultados, se analizaron los resultados obtenidos de las encuestas y entrevistas, con ello se presentaron conclusiones y propusieron recomendaciones en base al trabajo de investigación y respuestas de los expertos en el sector. / This research seeks to identify the financial impact on companies in the downstream Hydrocarbons sector domiciled in Lima in 2020 in relation to changes in the foreign currency exchange rate. In 2020 there were two events that affected the economy of companies in the downstream hydrocarbon sector, the first being the fall in oil prices, due to the paralysis of China and a disagreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia regarding production levels oil, which leads to a price war; the second would be the slowdown in the global economy, caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic. In this way, our research objective is to identify how the accounting treatment is when exchange differences are generated. These exchange rate variations can have a significant impact on profitability or liquidity in companies in the downstream hydrocarbon sector. Therefore, this research work is organized in 5 sections. In Chapter I, Theoretical Framework, the important and relevant definitions will be found so that with this the reader has a better understanding of the issue of the financial impact that is generated with exchange rate variations. In Chapter II, Research Plan, the main problem, objectives and general and specific hypotheses were raised. In Chapter III, Research Methodology, the type of research for the work was identified and the sample size was determined to carry out a qualitative and quantitative analysis. In Chapter IV, Development of the investigation, it will be possible to see the execution of the in-depth interviews and surveys carried out with the professionals and officials of the sector to be investigated. Finally, in Chapter V, Analysis of results, the results obtained from the surveys and interviews were analyzed, thereby finding conclusions and proposing recommendations based on research work and responses from experts in the sector. / Tesis

Abstracts in English, Zulu and Xhosa / The banking sector is an important industry that needs to be safeguarded because its failure is bound to have a negative knock-on effect on the economy at large. The 2007-2009 financial crises were occasioned by banks assuming disproportionate levels of risk resulting in a high incidence of non-performing loans on their books. As such, this study examined the impact of credit risk on the financial performance of 18 South African banks for the period 2008 to 2018. Panel data techniques, namely the pooled ordinary least squares (pooled OLS), fixed effects and random effects estimators were employed to test the relationship between credit risk and financial performance proxied by non-performing loans (NPLs) and by return on assets (ROA) or return on equity (ROE) respectively. The results of the study documented that credit risk is negatively related to financial performance. Thus, the higher the incidence of non-performing loans, the lower the profitability of the bank. Secondly, the study documented that growth has a positive effect on financial performance. This indicates that productivity capacity is ameliorated through bank development. Thirdly, it was found that capital adequacy is positively related to financial performance. While a greater capital adequacy ratio may instil confidence of stakeholders in a bank, making it competitive, a high capital base may be perceived as a lack of initiative and tying up resources which could have yielded better returns in alternative investments. Fourthly, the study did not find any conclusive relationship between size and financial performance. Lastly, the study found that bank leverage and financial performance are negatively related. The implications of the findings are that at a micro level, banks should observe prudent and stringent credit policies in order to limit the incidence of non-performing loans. At a macro level, regulators must enforce supervision in order to ensure that banks manage their credit risk according to the regulations to minimise the risk of bank failure. / Umkhakha wezamabhanga kulibubulo eliqakathekileko eliding ukobana litjhejwe ngombana ukwehluleka kwalo kuqaleka kungaba nomthelela omumbi kezomnotho ngokubanzi bawo. Umraro wezomnotho weminyaka ephakathi kuka -2007-2009 yayikhambisana nesikhathi lapho amabhanga athoma ukuzifaka engozini ekulukazi, kanti lokho kwarholela ebujameni besehlakalo esikhulu seenkolodo ezingenzi inzuzo encwadini zamabhanga. Yeke-ke, leli rhubhululo belihlola umthintela wesikolodo mayelana nobujamo beemali bamabhanga weSewula Afrika ali-18 ukusukela ngomnyaka ka 2008 ukufika ku 2018. Amano wephanele yedatha, wona ngilawa pooled ordinary least squares (pooled OLS), fixed effects kanye namatshwayo ameda alinganisa imithintela kusetjenzisiwe ngehloso yokuhlola itjhebiswano eliphakathi kobungozi besikolodo kanye nobujamo beemali obukhambisana neenkolodo ezingananzuzo (non-performing loans )(NPLs) begodu lokhu kukhambisana nenzuzo elethwa msebenzi wepahla eligugu (return on assets) (ROA) nanyana inzuzo elethwa magugu womnotho anjengemali/matjhezi (return on equity) (ROE) ngaleyo ndlela.. Imiphumela yerhubhululo itlolwe bona ubungozi bokulodisa buhlobene ngendlela embi nobujamo beemali. Yeke-ke, kutjho bona lokha izinga lezehlakalo zeenkolodo ezingangenisi inzuzo naliya phezulu, kutjho bona izinga lokwenza inzuzo ezincani nalo liya phasi emabhangeni. Kwesibili, irhubhululo litlolwe bona ukuhluma komnotho kunomthelela omuhle ebujameni beemali. Lokhu kutjengisa bona amandla wokukhiqiza asekelwa kuthuthukiswa kwamabhanga. Kwesithathu, kuye kwatholakala bona iimali ezaneleko zikhambisana kuhle nobujamo beemali. Kanti godu, isilinganiso esikhulu seemali ezaneleko singaletha ukuzethemba kwabadlalindima ebhangeni, lokhu kwenze ibhanga bona ibe sezingeni lokuphalisana, isisekelo esiphezulu sezeemali singathathwa njengokutlhogeka komzamo wokuhlanganisa imithombo ebeyingaletha iinzuzo ezincono kwamanye amahlelo wokutjalwa kweemali. . Kwesine, irhubhululo akhange lithole nginanyana ngiliphi itjhebiswano phakathi kobukhulu kanye nobujamo beemali. Kokugcina, irhubhululo lithole bonyana ukuqiniswa kwebhanga ngeemali kanye nobujamo beemali kuzizinto ezingahlobani kuhle. Ilwazi elitholiweko lihlathulula bona ezingeni lamabhizinisi amancani, amabhanga kufanele aqale imigomo eqinileko yokukolodisa ukobana akwazi ukwehlisa izehlakalo zeenkolodo ezingangenisi inzuzo. Ezingeni lamabhizinisi amakhulu, iimbethamthetho kufanele ziqinise ilihlo ukobana aqinisekise ukuthi amabhanga alawula ubungozi bokukolodisa ngokwemithetho ukuphungula ubungozi bokwehluleka kwamabhanga. / Icandelo lezeebhanki lushishino olubalulekileyo olufuna ukukhuselwa kuba ukusilela kwalo ngokuqinisekileyo kunganesiphumo esigangqalanga esingasihlanga kuqoqosho ngokubanzi. Ixesha lobunzima kwezemali ngowe-2007-2009 labangelwa ziibhanki ngamazinga omngcipheko angalamananga athe agqibelela kwisehlo esiphezulu seemalimboleko ezingazaliyo kwiincwadi zazo. Kananjalo, olu phononongo luvavanye impembelelo yomngcipheko wonikezomatyala kwizinga lokuphuma nokungena kwemali kwiibhaki zaseMzantsi Afrika ezili-18 kwisithuba sowe-2008 ukuya kowe-2018. Uluhlu lweenkcukachalwazi zobugcisa, olubizwa ngokuba yi-pooled ordinary least squares (i-pooled OLS), iziqikeleli zeziphumo ezizinzileyo kunye nezeziphumo zebhaqo zasetyenziswa ukuvavanya unxulumano phakathi komngcipheko wonikezomatyala kunye nezinga lokuphuma nokungena kwemali okumelwe ngokwelungelo ziimalimboleko ezingazaliyo (ii-NPL) kunye nembuyekezo yeeasethi (i-ROA) okanye imbuyekezo yezabelo (i-ROE) ngokulandelelana. Iziphumo zophononongo zingqine ngamaxwebhu ukuba umngcipheko wonikezomatyala unonxulumano olungaluhlanga nezinga lokuphuma nokungena kwemali. Ngoko ke, okona isehlo seemalimboleko ezingazaliyo siphezulu, kokona inzuzo yebhanki iphantsi. Okwesibini, uphononongo lungqine ngamaxwebhu ukuba uhlumo lunesiphumo esihle kwizinga lokuphuma nokungena kwemali. Oku kudandalazisa ukuba isakhono sokuvelisa senziwa ngcono ngophuhliso lwebhanki. Okwesithathu, kufunyaniswe ukuba isilinganiso senkunzi sinxulumene ngokukuko nezinga lokuphuma nokungena kwemali. Ngelixa umlinganiselo wesilinganiso senkunzi omkhulu unganika ukuthembeka koqoqosho kwabachaphazelekayo kwibhanki leyo, kuyenze ukuba ibe kwizinga lokukhuphisana nezinye, isiseko senkunzi ephezulu singathathwa njengokusilela kokusungula kunye nokudibanisa imithombo engeyivelise iimbuyekezo ezingcono kutyalomali olulolunye. Okwesine, uphononongo alukhange lufumanise naluphi na unxibelelwano olubonakalayo phakathi kobungakanani nezinga lokuphuma nokungena kwemali. Okokugqibela, uphononongo lufumanise ukuba inkxasomali yebhanki kunye nezinga lokuphuma nokungena kwemali zinxulumene ngokungakuhlanga. Okubhekiselele kokufunyanisiweyo kukuba kwicandelo loshishino olunganeno, iibhanki kufuneka ziqwalasele imigaqonkqubo yamatyala enobulumko nengqongqo ngenjongo yokunciphisa isehlo seemalimboleko ezingazaliyo. Kwicandelo loshishino olubanzi, abalawuli kufuneka banyanzele ukubekwa kweliso ukuqinisekisa ukuba iibhanki zilawula umngcipheko wonikezomatyala lwazo ngokwayamene nemigaqo ukunciphisa umngcipheko wokusilela kwebhanki. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

Cílem disertace je ověřit existenci vztahu mezi využitím analytických nástrojů strategického řízení a výkonností podniků. Za tímto účelem bylo třeba nejdříve definovat množinu analytických nástrojů strategického řízení, které jsou v soudobé praxi našich firem nejčastěji používané a nalézt způsob, kterým lze hodnotit výkonnost podniků. K tomuto účelu byly připraveny dva výzkumy: výsledkem prvního bylo zjištění nejčastěji používaných analytických nástrojů strategického řízení a faktorů, které jejich využití ovlivňují, t.j. jejich znalost, spokojenost s nimi a velikost podniků. Výsledkem druhého výzkumu bylo navržení nového způsobu multikriteriálního hodnocení podnikového výkonu. Pomocí analýzy hlavních komponent (principal component analysis) byly definovány čtyři skupiny ukazatelů, které umožňují komplexní posouzení podnikového výkonu: ukazatele finanční výkonnosti, konkurenční pozice, orientace na zákazníky a organizační integrity. S použitím regresní analýzy (stepwise regression analysis) byl prokázán pozitivní vliv využití analytických nástrojů strategického řízení na výkonnost podniků.

Syfte: Ett växande intresse för CSR och dess betydelse lyfter fram rollen av bolagsstyrning. Bland annat ifrågasattes styrelsens roll i att utveckla strategier och uppfylla krav från diverse intressentgrupper. Frågan om finansiell prestation, eller tillgängligheten av finansiella resurser, kan påverka förhållandet mellan CSR och styrelseegenskaper har sällan undersökts tidigare. Syftet med denna studie är därmed uppdelat i två frågeställningar; den första delen undersöker hur styrelseegenskaperna påverkar CSR. Vidare behandlar den andra delen potentiella modererande effekter av finansiell prestation på förhållandet. Metod: Studien utgår från en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi och en tvärsnittsforskning som bygger på en kvantitativ strategi. Data inhämtades via Refinitiv Eikon om 433 börsnoterade nordiska bolag för året 2021. Behandling och analys av data genomfördes via SPSS; ett statistiskt mjukvaruprogram. Resultat & slutsats: Resultaten tyder på positiva och statistiskt signifikanta effekter av styrelsens storlek, andelen kvinnor i styrelsen respektive andelen oberoende styrelseledamöter på CSR. Likaså fanns ett positivt samband mellan CSR och finansiell prestation samt att påverkan av styrelsestorleken på CSR positivt stärks av finansiell prestation. Däremot indikeras att påverkan av andelen kvinnor i styrelsen respektive andelen oberoende styrelseledamöter på CSR försvagas av finansiell prestation.  Examensarbetets bidrag: Studiens resultat har praktiska och teoretiska bidrag. Studiens teoretiska bidrag avser resultatens tillägg i den nuvarande forskningen om förhållandet mellan CSR och styrelsen. Studiens empiriska resultat kan därmed användas för att bättre förstå hur styrelsesammansättningen kan uppmuntra ansvarsfullt beteende. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Genom studiens resultat har vi kunnat föreslå tre ytterligare frågor för fortsatt undersökning. Den första frågan föreslår att VD:ns personlighet, engagemang och värderingar kan vara en närmare indikator på hur VD-dualitet kan påverka CSR. För det andra, föreslås vidare behandling av företagsbeteende mot CSR under olika ekonomiska förhållanden. Slutligen, har tidigare studier föreslagit vidare undersökning av interaktionseffekterna av styrelsens beståndsdelar för närmare indikation av en effektiv styrelsesammansättning. Syftet är att undersöka den gemensamma effekten av styrelsesammansättningen på CSR, till skillnad från att se hur enskilda egenskaper påverkar CSR. / Aim: The growing interest in corporate social responsibility and discussions of its importance inquired the role of corporate governance by numerous researchers. Specifically, the board has been highlighted as a pilar to developing strategies and maintaining the goals of diverse stakeholders. The role of financial performance, or the availability of slack financial resources, is a question rarely posed in its effects on the relation between the previously mentioned variables. The objective of this study is thereby divided into two inquiries; the first part investigates the effects of board characteristics on CSR, whereas the second part explores potential moderation effects of financial performance on the relationship.  Method: This study employs a positivistic research philosophy and cross-sectional research design based on a quantitative strategy. Data was collected through Refinitiv Eikon on 433 Nordic public firms for the year 2021. Processing and analysis of data was conducted through a statistical software program, SPSS.   Results & conclusions: Our findings suggest positive and statistically significant effects of board size, proportion of female board members and proportion of independent board members on CSR, respectively. Likewise, we find that financial performance has a positive effect on CSR and positively accentuates the effects of board size on CSR. Meaning that, higher financial performances positively influence firms’ level of CSP and accentuate the effects of board size on CSR. However, the effects of the proportion of female board members and proportion of independent board members are respectively weakened by firms’ financial performance. Contribution of the thesis: The findings of this study have practical and theoretical contributions. Theoretical contributions refer to our additions to the current research bank by providing more evidence on the effects of board characteristics on CSR. Practical contributions regard the empirical results given the limitations of the study, which can aid in understanding how specific board structures can encourage socially responsible behavior.  Suggestions for future research: Findings of the study inquired the role of three additional topics in relation to CSR. First, our insignificant results for CEO-duality is an additional indication to instead investigate the role of CEOs’ personalities and their engagement toward CSR-related questions, especially in institutional settings with coercive standards for socially responsible behaviors. Second, differences between fostering and declining economical/market conditions may result in re-prioritizations of goals and reformulations of CSR-strategies. Thereby inquiring if economic conditions may be a moderating factor in the relationship between CSR and financial performance. Third, researchers have suggested further investigation on the interaction effects between board characteristics due to their influence on one-and-another.

Anecdotal data affirms that companies applying Lean Six Sigma in their operations not only deliver higher quality products and services, but also obtain superior financial results. The goal of this research was to empirically verify anecdotal data. The study proposed to analyze a group of publicly traded manufacturing companies with the intent of verifying if a correlation exists between companies being lean and the attainment of superior returns on investments. The researcher performed a series of statistical tests comparing key Financial Performance Indicators (FPI) extracted from annual reports (10-K) from a large pool of companies. The outcome of this study showed that superior financial rewards result from a systematic application of lean and quality tools. At the conclusion of this thesis we verified that companies having a business model that stimulates a high level of communication between them and their markets - because they are lean - obtained substantially higher financial advantages when compared to companies that still followed a more traditional mode of production. The results also revealed that lean companies obtained on average Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) 10% higher than mass producers. Therefore, companies wanting to strategically invest their capital should consider Lean Six Sigma as a source of competitive advantage. Another strategic insight derived from this study was the recognition of signs of a smart business. Potential investors should look for the presence of lean and quality improvement programs as one sign that capital is being wisely invested to generate value. Another sign is how well historically ROIC have performed against Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC). The research revealed that, on average, lean companies had ROIC of 16%. Assuming that the hurdle rate (WACC) for most companies is near 10%, having ROIC of 16% is an incentive to become lean, thus allowing such companies to create value for their shareholders. Finally, we learned that many factors affect ROIC, namely, brand equity, market positioning, patents, core competency, innovation, leadership, etc. However, the presence of a Lean Six Sigma program in a manufacturing business was a strong positive factor impacting ROIC.

The productivity advances generated from lean manufacturing are self-evident. Plants that adopt lean are more capable of achieving high levels of quality, shorter lead times, and less waste in the system. While it seems logical that higher levels of productivity and quality, as is common in lean companies, should result in positive financial performance, the research community has failed to establish the financial profitability of lean. Those researchers who have studied the financial returns issue report varying results. The goal of this research was to determine if a connection exists between lean and financial success and to discover why so many researchers are finding mixed results. Information Velocity (IV) was theorized to provide the solidifying link between lean and financial performance. Measured by combining the environmental volatility with a company's leanness, IV measures how fast a company can transmit information from the market into a customer-satisfying product in the hands of the consumer. This study analyzed over 530 publicly-traded manufacturing companies to validate the following hypotheses: 1) there is a positive relationship between leanness and financial returns, 2) there is a negative relationship between environmental volatility and financial returns, and 3) there is a positive relationship between IV and financial returns. Regression models were run in various combinations to determine the effect of lean, environmental instability, environmental unpredictability, and IV on financial performance indicators such as return on sales (ROS), return on assets (ROA), and quarter-closing stock price. The outcome of this study showed that financial rewards do result from lean, which positively affected financial performance in almost all scenarios. Environmental instability always negatively correlated with financial returns, and IV mostly shows a positive effect, but with mixed results. Lastly, IV does not explain why researchers find mixed results on the profitability measures of lean. The results of this thesis highlight the significance of implementing lean manufacturing, especially in a dynamic environment. As the instability in the environment increases, profitability decreases. Therefore, an increase in leanness by boosting inventory turns can compensate for the volatility and create enhanced productivity measures and financial results.