The corporate scandals in the beginning of the 21st century caused distrust in the market and a pressure for more disclosure to increase transparency. To broaden the traditional reporting, companies started to voluntarily disclose information regarding soft measures like Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Due to the fast development and popularity of CSR, more companies started to disclose a separate sustainability report to communicate information about these activities. The aim of the report is to provide stakeholders with accurate and transparent information regarding the companies CSR activities, but also to legitimize the business. The main purpose of this research is to investigate if the quantity of information disclosed in the sustainability report affects the financial performance of companies listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm. We also aim to investigate whether the existence of a report affects the financial performance. With companies spending an increasing amount of resources on disclosing voluntary information it is important to extend the research regarding CSR and the benefits to financial performance. This research ontological and epistemological positions are objectivism and positivism with a deductive approach. A quantitative method was used to gather sufficient data from existing databases and reports. For the first research question our population is all companies listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm on April 12th 2013, and for the second research question our population is the companies with a separate sustainability report in English from the accounting year of 2011. The financial performance data was gathered from the period 2012-04-01-2013-03.31. To answer our research questions and sub- questions, six hypotheses were formulated based on relevant theories and previous studies. Several multiple linear regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between the existence of the reports, and the quantity of information in them, to the company’s financial performance. Other regressions were performed to establish if the quantity disclosed was affected by industry classification or market capitalization size. Our results show that the neither the existence of a separate sustainability report nor the quantity of information disclosed in it has an effect on stock return. However, both having a separate sustainability and the quantity of information disclosed have a positive effect on stock volatility. Conclusively, companies do not benefit financially from disclosing their CSR activities through a separate sustainability report.

<p>Islamic banking and finance in Pakistan started in 1977-78 with the elimination of <em>interest</em> in compliance with the Principles of Islamic Shari’ah in Islamic banking practices. Since then, amendments in financial system to allow the issuance of new interest-free instrument of corporate financing, promulgation of ordinance to permit the establishment of Mudaraba companies and floatation of Mudaraba Certificates, constitution of Commission for Transformation of Financial System (CTFS), and the establishments of Islamic Banking Department by the State Bank of Pakistan are some of the key steps taken place by the governments.</p><p> </p><p>The aim of this study is to examine and to evaluate the performance of the first Islamic bank in Pakistan, i.e. Meezan Bank Limited (MBL) in comparison with that of a group of 5 Pakistani conventional banks. The study evaluates performance of the Islamic bank (MBL) in profitability, liquidity, risk, and efficiency for the period of 2003-2007. Financial ratios (12 in total) such as Return on Asset (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), Loan to Deposit ratio (LDR), Loan to Assets ratio (LAR), Debt to Equity ratio (DER), Asset Utilization (AU), and Income to Expense ratio (IER) are used to assess banking performances. T-test and F-test are used in determining the significance of the differential performance of the two groups of banks. The study found that MBL is less profitable, more solvent (less risky), and also less efficient comparing to the average of the 5 conventional banks. However, there was no significant difference in liquidity between the two sets of banks. The reasons are due to the facts that conventional banks in Pakistan have longer history and experience in doing banking business and hold dominating position in the financial sector with its large share in the overall financial assets of Pakistan, as compared to Islamic banks, which in true sense, started only a few years back with all letter and spirit.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Albeit, the study found that MBL is less profitable, more solvent (less risky), and less efficient during 2003-2007, however, it is improving considerably over time indicating convergence with the performance of the conventional banks.</p>

Τις τελευταίες δεκαετίες, ο παράγοντας περιβάλλον αποτελεί ένα σημαντικό κομμάτι της καθημερινής μας ζωής με αποτέλεσμα τα σημαντικά περιβαλλοντικά προβλήματα, όπως η αλλαγή του κλίματος, η τάση για ολοένα αυστηρότερη περιβαλλοντική νομοθεσία και η αυξανόμενη ζήτηση φιλικών προς το περιβάλλον προϊόντων και υπηρεσιών, φέρνουν αντιμέτωπες τις επιχειρήσεις με μία επιπρόσθετη πρόκληση: την σύνδεση της επιχειρηματικής δραστηριότητας με την προστασία και την αναβάθμιση του περιβάλλοντος. Η μέχρι σήμερα προσέγγιση των περιβαλλοντικών ζητημάτων από τις επιχειρήσεις βασιζόταν στον απλό συσχετισμό των παραμέτρων περιβάλλον, κόστος και νομική κατοχύρωση. Οι προτροπές όμως για την προστασία του περιβάλλοντος και για μια ορθολογικότερη περιβαλλοντική διαχείριση, είναι πλέον πιο πιεστικές παρά ποτέ. Έτσι, σε μια ανταγωνιστική αγορά, η ύπαρξη και η λειτουργία μιας επιχείρησης σήμερα είναι περισσότερο άμεσα συνδεδεμένη με την ικανότητα ανταπόκρισης της στις απαιτήσεις του κοινωνικού συνόλου και των ενδιαφερόμενων μερών της (καταναλωτές, προμηθευτές, εργαζόμενοι, συνεργάτες, πελάτες κ.α.). Η ανάγκη για μακροπρόθεσμη προστασία και διαχείριση του περιβάλλοντος, ώστε η ανάπτυξη του σήμερα να μην γίνεται σε βάρος των μελλοντικών γενεών, έχει αλλάξει το σκηνικό της αρνητικής σύνδεσης ανάμεσα στο κόστος προστασίας του περιβάλλοντος και την οικονομική ανάπτυξη. Το επιχειρηματικό περιβάλλον αλλάζει και το ενδιαφέρον της αγοράς στρέφεται στην ανάπτυξη της συνεχώς ανερχόμενης «πράσινης οικονομίας», προσφέροντας ώθηση στην προαγωγή της «πράσινης» καινοτομίας. Η μετάβαση της απλής περιβαλλοντικής συνείδησης σε αλλαγή συμπεριφοράς για τις επιχειρήσεις αποτελεί μία πρόκληση στην οποία πρέπει να ανταποκριθούν. Όμως, η διαδικασία της μετάβασης δεν είναι μία απλή μέθοδος αλλά εντάσσεται στις οργανωμένες δράσεις διεθνών φορέων όπως η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση, αποσκοπώντας στην εκούσια προσχώρηση των επιχειρήσεων για την βελτίωση των περιβαλλοντικών τους επιδόσεων και την ανάδειξη του περιβάλλοντος μεσο-μακροπρόθεσμα ως μοχλό ανάπτυξης. Ο σκοπός της παρούσας εργασίας είναι η διερεύνηση της σχέσης μεταξύ της περιβαλλοντικής επίδοσης και της χρηματοοικονομικής επίδοσης μιας επιχείρησης. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, γίνεται μία προσπάθεια μελέτης κατά πόσο οι επενδύσεις στην παραγωγική διαδικασία μιας επιχείρησης για την προστασία του περιβάλλοντος αποδίδουν, δηλαδή συμφέρει μια επιχείρηση να έχει «πράσινο» προσανατολισμό;. Έτσι, δημιουργείται το ερώτημα εάν μία επιχείρηση που έχει καλή περιβαλλοντική επίδοση κερδίζει πλεονέκτημα έναντι των ανταγωνιστών της ή η επένδυση στην περιβαλλοντική προστασία λειτουργεί ως ένα επιπλέον κόστος για αυτήν; / --

Due to widespread bank scandals and failures around the world, there has been renewed interest in the effect of corporate governance on bank performance. The majority of research concerning corporate governance and its effect on bank performance has been undertaken in developed countries and markets, particularly the USA and European Union but relatively little evidence is provided in Sub Saharan Africa, specifically, Ghana. This study investigates the effects of corporate governance on financial performance of Ghanaian universal banking companies during the period 2006- 2014. This study primarily employs relevant governance theories to investigate the relationship between corporate governance and bank performance. Multiple regression panel data analysis and other appropriate methods are the main tools of analysis in this study. The empirical investigation revealed a mixed set of results. The findings showed that board size, board composition, bank size and foreign ownership are positively but insignificantly related to profitability in terms of return on asset and return on equity, while board committees have a positive and statistically significant impact on financial performance which is consistent with the monitoring hypothesis of agency theory which argues that board committees are an important mechanism of corporate governance in Ghana which impact on bank performance. This study contributes to the increasing number of research studies on the link between bank performance and corporate governance. The lacked of clarity, mixed and permanent relationships provided, show that the association the association between bank performance and different corporate governance mechanisms is complex and dynamic optimal governance arrangements may differ from bank to bank in relation to governance characteristics.

O objetivo deste trabalho é verificar a existência de uma ligação empírica entre a dimensão ambiental e a dimensão econômica da firma. A revisão da literatura apontou para lacunas nos modelos de relação existentes, com seus resultados não sendo considerados consistentes. Assim, este trabalho busca identificar a relação entre o Desempenho Ambiental – medido pelo Desempenho Ambiental Operacional, pelo Sistema de Gestão Ambiental e pela Regulamentação Ambiental – com a Inovatividade e do Desempenho Financeiro da firma. Uma pesquisa com o setor de terceira geração petroquímica, a industria de transformação de plásticos, foi realizada em Agosto de 2008. Testes estatísticos foram realizados para identificar padrões de resposta, testar as hipóteses do modelo proposto. Ao final, este modelo comprova empiricamente que por meio da dimensão ambientais e da inovatividade se pode explicar aproximadamente 34% da variância do desempenho financeiro das empresas em uma análise de regressão linear. Pontos relevantes foram encontrados na descrição ambiental do setor pesquisado, fornecendo informações aos gerentes para a tomada de decisões ambientais. / The main purpose of this study is to verify a connection between environment dimension and economic dimension in firms. The review of literature show gaps in existing models and their results did not be consistent. Therefore, this study look for a relationship among the Environment Performance – measured by Operational Environment Performance, by Environment Management Systems and by Environmental Regulations – and the Innovativeness and Financial Performance. A research in third generation petrochemical chain sector, the industry of plastics transformation, was done in August 2008. Statistical analysis was performed to identify patters and to verify hypothesis in proposed model. In the final, this model prove empirically 34% of financial performance variation by environment performance and innovativeness in a linear regression. Relevant knowledge was found in sector environment description, being important to managers taking decisions.

Em sua essência, o capital de giro corresponde aos recursos aplicados no ativo circulante das empresas, o qual é formado basicamente pelos estoques, contas a receber e disponibilidades. Em uma abordagem mais ampla, pode-se contemplar também os passivos circulantes, de forma que a administração do capital de giro estará sempre relacionada diretamente com os problemas de gestão dos ativos e passivos circulantes e com as inter-relações entre esses grupos patrimoniais. Um dos grandes desafios da gestão financeira das empresas está exatamente na projeção e correto dimensionamento do capital de giro necessário para viabilizar suas operações, assim como o estabelecimento das fontes equilibradas em termos de prazo e custos para o seu financiamento. Os recursos aplicados nos ativos cíclicos encontram-se em constante movimentação ao longo dos processos operacionais da firma, e a sua administração torna-se ainda mais complexa para as empresas do ramo industrial, em função do ciclo de produção e do ciclo financeiro, que normalmente demandam ainda mais recursos e seus efeitos são mais rápidos, o que exige constante atenção e monitoramento por parte dos gestores financeiros. Dada a relevância do tema, este trabalho busca quantificar de forma objetiva (através da aplicação de um modelo de avaliação de empresas), o quanto a gestão eficiente do capital de giro de uma empresa pode efetivamente trazer mais valor ao negócio e, por conseqüência, ao acionista. A proposta deste estudo, portanto, consiste em avaliar o comportamento do capital de giro de uma empresa industrial fabricante de utilidades domésticas ao longo de um determinado período e aplicar os números das demonstrações financeiras da empresa a um modelo de gestão deste capital, visando demonstrar que uma utilização mais adequada dos ativos e passivos operacionais é capaz de trazer melhor desempenho financeiro para a firma ao longo do tempo, gerando maior valor para a empresa e acionistas. / In essence, the working capital corresponds to the funds invested in assets of companies, which is basically formed by inventories, accounts receivable and cash. In a broader approach, one can also consider the liabilities, so that management of working capital is always directly related to the problems of management of current assets and current liabilities and the interrelationships between these asset groups. One of the great challenges of corporate financial management is exactly the projection and correct sizing of the working capital needed to support its operations, as well as the establishment of balanced sources in terms of time and costs to financing. The funds invested in cyclical assets are in constant movement along the operational processes of the firm and its management becomes even more complex for companies in the industrial sector, in terms of the production cycle and the financial cycle, which normally require further resources and their effects are faster, requiring constant attention and monitoring by financial managers. Given the relevance of the topic, this work seeks to quantify objectively (by applying a valuation model of firms), as the efficient management of working capital of a company can effectively bring more value to the business and, consequently, shareholder. The purpose of this study therefore is to assess the behavior of the working capital of a manufacturer of industrial enterprise house wares over a specified period and submit the numbers of the financial statements of the company to a management model of this capital, seeking to establish that better use of operating assets and liabilities is able to bring better financial performance for the firm over time, generating greater value to the firm and its shareholders.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Young Soo Shim, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Accountancy, presented on 03/10/2017, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: INVESTIGATING THE DETERMINANTS AND ENDOGENOUS INFLUENES OF ENVIRONMENTAL REPUTATION MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Royce D. Burnett This study investigates (1) the determinants of a firm’s environmental reputation and (2) the impact of this reputation on employee productivity and financial performance. I extend existing work in this area by focusing on both the endogenous and exogenous benefits of the reputation. The endogenous benefits refer to positive impacts of the reputation on employee morale and employee productivity, which have generally been ignored by prior research. In developing my research hypotheses, I draw on the following five well-established theories: the costly signaling theory, the resource-based view of firm, the Porter’s eco-efficiency perspective, the social identity theory, and the third-person effect theory. A sample of 271 companies was drawn from the 500 largest U.S. public companies listed in the 2010 Newsweek’s green report. The corporate environmental data for this study were gathered from this report. Meanwhile, the corporate financial data were obtained from the Mergent database. Via multiple regression analyses, I find (1) environmental reputation is significantly and positively predicted by environmental management when firm environmental reputation is high; (2) environmental reputation is significantly and positively related to environmental performance when firm environmental reputation is low; (3) across the board, environmental reputation does not predict employee productivity; (4) environmental reputation is a significant and positive predictor of financial performance only for firms with high environmental reputation; and (5) employee productivity positively and significantly predicts financial performance only for firms with a high environmental reputation.

In the last decades there was an evolving theoretical and practical discussion about the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR), partially provoked due to the occurrence of incidents which were caused by negligently companies. Furthermore, there is a disagreement of financial outcomes of the implementation of CSR strategies in prior research. The thesis contributes to the limited established empirical research on the impact of social incidents on company’s CSR transparency and social performance of companies listed in European Union Member States. Furthermore, the thesis examines the impact of social performance on financial performance based on 308 observations in a time range of 2012 to 2014. The author finds no significant relationship between incidents and an improved CSR transparency or social performance for the overall sample at any conventional level. However, the author finds a positive significant relationship between social performance and financial performance, measured by the logarithm of Tobin’s q, which indicates that social performance has a positive impact on financial performance.

O objetivo deste trabalho é verificar a existência de uma ligação empírica entre a dimensão ambiental e a dimensão econômica da firma. A revisão da literatura apontou para lacunas nos modelos de relação existentes, com seus resultados não sendo considerados consistentes. Assim, este trabalho busca identificar a relação entre o Desempenho Ambiental – medido pelo Desempenho Ambiental Operacional, pelo Sistema de Gestão Ambiental e pela Regulamentação Ambiental – com a Inovatividade e do Desempenho Financeiro da firma. Uma pesquisa com o setor de terceira geração petroquímica, a industria de transformação de plásticos, foi realizada em Agosto de 2008. Testes estatísticos foram realizados para identificar padrões de resposta, testar as hipóteses do modelo proposto. Ao final, este modelo comprova empiricamente que por meio da dimensão ambientais e da inovatividade se pode explicar aproximadamente 34% da variância do desempenho financeiro das empresas em uma análise de regressão linear. Pontos relevantes foram encontrados na descrição ambiental do setor pesquisado, fornecendo informações aos gerentes para a tomada de decisões ambientais. / The main purpose of this study is to verify a connection between environment dimension and economic dimension in firms. The review of literature show gaps in existing models and their results did not be consistent. Therefore, this study look for a relationship among the Environment Performance – measured by Operational Environment Performance, by Environment Management Systems and by Environmental Regulations – and the Innovativeness and Financial Performance. A research in third generation petrochemical chain sector, the industry of plastics transformation, was done in August 2008. Statistical analysis was performed to identify patters and to verify hypothesis in proposed model. In the final, this model prove empirically 34% of financial performance variation by environment performance and innovativeness in a linear regression. Relevant knowledge was found in sector environment description, being important to managers taking decisions.

abstract: Chinese commercial banks have experienced a period of fast and stable development since 2007. The adoption of a comprehensive enterprise risk management (ERM) system based on the Basel Accords was a significant event for the banking supervisory authority and the commercial banks during this period. This study investigates the impact of ERM adoption on the financial performance of the commercial banks as well as the underlying mechanisms using longitudinal data of 96 commercial banks from 2007 to 2016. Results from quantitative analyses suggest the following findings. First, ERM adoption had a positive impact on commercial banks’ financial performance after controlling for the negative impacts of factors such as macro economic conditions and fiscal and monetary policies. Second, although this positive impact was partially attributed to increased risk appetite after the adoption of ERM, results show that ERM adoption also increased risk-adjusted financial performance. Lastly, ERM adoption improved commercial banks’ competence in risk management, as indicated by their sensitivity of financial returns to risk exposures. The above findings also received support from interviews and surveys of senior executives of commercial banks and officials of the banking supervisory authorities. This study contributes to the understanding of how the adoption of ERM influences the financial performance of Chinese commercial banks, and has important practical implications. Based on the empirical findings, I recommend all commercial banks in China to adopt and implement ERM so that they can better cope with the challenges presented by macroeconomic uncertainty, marketization, and internationalization. In the process, it is critical for them to understand the mechanisms through which ERM influences their performance. Meanwhile, they shall be aware of the operational costs associated with the initial adoption of ERM, learn from the experiences of those that have already adopted ERM, and have a long-term orientation about performance effect of ERM adoption. Supervisory authorities can also play a key role in guiding commercial banks to be more effective and efficient in the adoption of ERM. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2018