GHG Emissions of Italian Unlisted Firms and Bank Debt

In this paper I investigate the effect of the greenhouse gas emissions of a sample of 478 Italian unlisted firms on their bank debt,in the context of the growing attention and awareness for climate change issue.My findings show that unlisted firms generating low levels of greenhouse gas emissions borrow less long-term,short term,and total bank debt than unlisted firms generating high levels of greenhouse gas emissions,to finance their growth opportunities.Being the first work analyzing this topic,to the best of my knowledge,further empirical research could also investigate the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the bank financing of unlisted firms of different countries,representing specific cultural and political approaches towards climate change problems.

The “productivity paradox” of Chinese export firms: Review and assessment

This paper represents an attempt to test the relationship between the exports and productivity of Chinese firms using the data set of nearly 3 million industrial firms in 20 industrial sectors over the period 1998-2007. Our test finds that non-export firms were more productive than export firms, and exports were negatively related to productivity-namely that the lower the productivity of a firm, the higher its exports. This finding is in contradiction with the hypothesis of new-new trade theory. The contradiction is referred to as the "productivity paradox" in this paper. Further tests find that firm size is a key factor affecting firm exports, but the impact of exports on firm productivity is insignif icant. This paper reckons that the "productivity paradox" of Chinese export firms may be attributed to the disproportionate share of processing trade in export trade.

Innovation Capability and Export Performance of Turkish Export Firms

In today＇s competitive environment the key element is the differentiation of business which will lead to success. Especially in international markets where there＇s much more intense competition, it is more important for businesses to enter with innovations that make a difference to their consumers. Innovation is also important for competitive export-oriented production in globalization. In global competition, innovation is the key factor for sustainable success. Increases in the efficiency, profitability of firms make it possible to enter new markets and extend present markets by obtaining advantage of competition. In order to determine accurate strategies, the connection between innovation and exports must be understood better. The aim of this study is to determine the innovation capability and export performance of Turkish export firms. Another aim is to examine the relationship between firm characteristics and innovation capability. Innovation capability of export firms is measured by INNOVSCALE which was developed by Vicente, Abrantes, and Teixeira （2015）. Export performance is measured by APEV scale which was developed by Lages, Lages, and Lages （2005）. The study uses data collected from 83 firms located in Kayseri. Results obtained by using SPSS indicate that there is a positive relationship between innovation capability and export performance. The results of the ANOVA analysis, innovation capability differ in terms of firm size and export earnings. Innovation capability does not differ in terms of sector, operating years, share of export earnings in the whole revenues, exporting periods, or internationalization levels.

The Think Following High Rise——Problem faced and Countermeasures for Export Firms Producing New and High-tech Products

China’sexportofnewandhigh-techproductsincreasedbymorethan30percentforthepastsuccessive4years.Indeed,itisnoteasytokeepsuchextraordinarymomentumofhigh-speedriseundercircumstancesofglobalslowpick-upinnewandhigh-techindustry.However,thehighriseinexportwithdifferenttradeformsadoptedbyvariedcompanieshidanumberofissuestobeconcerned:

Expanding the Role of African Firms In China’s Export Development

While there are a plethora of techniques that contribute to the success of a business and its operations in China,the often overlooked opportunity represented by public-private partnerships is one that private enterprises should not forgo when they begin the complex journey of navigating the Chinese market.

Absorptive capacity and R&D strategy of labor-managed firms

Taking absorptive capacity effects on research spillovers into consideration, this paper focuses on the R＆D investment decisions and the output decisions of labor-managed firms. Based on the general model of the cost-reducing R＆D, the strategic interactions of output and R＆D investment between labor-managed firms in a duopoly are analyzed. Moreover, the impact of absorptive capacity effects on optimal output in the production stage is discussed. In the R＆D stage, the impacts of absorptive capacity effects on the equilibrium R＆D investment in cooperative and non-cooperative R＆D are analyzed. Finally, the R＆D strategy of labor-managed firms is compared with the behavior of profit-maximizing firms. The results show that equilibrium R＆D investment is always higher than that in the exogenous spillover rate, which is similar to the behavior of the profit-maximizing firms. However, unlike the profit-maximizing firms, the impact of the absorptive capacity that affects the relationship between the optimal output and its own（rival＇ s）R＆D is shown to be dependent upon a return-to-scale of the production.

Security investment and information sharing for complementary firms with heterogeneous monetary loss

Two complementary firms＇ information sharing and security investment are investigated. When two complementary firms with heterogeneous assets are both breached, it is assumed that they suffer different losses which are associated with their information assets. Some insights about optimal strategies for the firms and the attacker are obtained by the game theory, which forms a comparison with those derived from substitutable firms, and those derived from complementary firms with homogenous loss. In addition, both the unit transform cost of investment and the extent of firms＇loss affect the optimal strategies.Assuming that firms can control information sharing, security investments and both of them, respectively, the effect of the social planner is further analyzed on the information sharing, firms＇ aggregate defence, the aggregate attack and social total cost. Finally, some policy advice is provided through numerical simulation. Results show that firms are willing to choose security investment centrally rather than individually, but an intervention in information sharing by the social planner may not necessarily be preferable.

How Chinese Financial Centers Integrate into Global Financial Center Networks:An Empirical Study Based on Overseas Expansion of Chinese Financial Service Firms

The increasing globalization of the Chinese economy has been enabled by both Chinese financial institutions operating globally as well as international firms operating within China. In geographical terms, this has been organized through a number of strategic cities serving as gateways for the exchange of financial functions, products and practices between China and the global economy. Drawing on location data of financial service firms in China listed on stock exchanges in Shenzhen, Shanghai and Hong Kong, this paper shows that Chinese financial firms are expanding globally and how Chinese financial centers are positioned and connected in the urban networks shaped by these financial service firms. It is found that Hong Kong, China, holds strategic positions in the integration of Chinese cities into global financial center networks, and that establishing a foothold in global financial centers such as New York and London has been a priority for Chinese financial institutions. The increasing capital flows directed by Chinese financial institutionssuggests a shifting global financial geography, with numerous Chinese cities playing increasingly important roles within global financial center networks.

Identification of Behavior of Voluntary Traceability and Analysis of Its Determinants: A Case Study of Hog Slaughtering and Processing Firms in Zhejiang Province,China

In recent years, the Chinese government has highlighted the importance of adopting hog safety/quality traceability, and a growing amount of research continues to entice firms to adopt traceability systems. In this study, a survey was conducted on a sample of pig slaughtering and processing firms in Zhejiang, China through personal interviews and emails. The aim of this study was to examine the determinants of firm behavior on the implementation of voluntary traceability systems with more stringent standards and controls than those of the mandatory system in China. The results revealed that motivation based on product quality improvement, capital ability and role perception （business type） had significantly positive relationships with a firm＇s voluntary traceability. Other incentives, such as operation improvement, recall risk reduction, reduced occurrence of safety issues, and technical strength were not found to be supportive in our study. This study provides an opportunity to better understand the determinants of firm behavior on voluntary traceability, particularly in light of the fact that some Chinese firms are facing the threat of criminal action for the use of illegal additives and the abuse of Clenbuterol. Policy recommendations on encouraging the implementation of pork safety voluntary traceability by hog slaughtering and processing firms are also discussed.

Effect of family control on corporate dividend policy of firms in Pakistan

This study examines the impact of family control on the dividend policy of firms in Pakistan,covering the period from 2009 to 2016.It also investigates whether family control moderates the impact of firm-specific factors on the dividend policy.The GMM model for panel data estimation is used.The mean difference univariate analysis shows that family firms differ from nonfamily firms based on financial characteristics.The multivariate analysis shows that family firms pay lower dividends than nonfamily firms.Besides,firm size inversely affects the dividend policy,whereas tangibility positively affects it.Moreover,family control does not moderate the impact of all firm-specific factors on the dividend policy.Overall,family control,size,and tangibility are found to be the main determinants of the dividend policy in Pakistan.

Strategic HR Director Position: Implementation of SHRM in Firms

This study argues theoretical framework for strategic human resource management(SHRM),and implementation of SHRM in firms.HRM field is related to skill development and performance improvement.So,theoretical framework of SHRM is established by performance and skills.HR systems improve knowledge,skills,and abilities(KSAs)of employees,which affect individual-level performance.Individual-level performance makes employee go up to executive positions,and talents at the up affect firm-level performance via their managerial decisions.Secondly,a firm may apply SHRM through three factors:strategic HR director,HR systems,and star employees.

After-market liquidity and IPOs underpricing： Evidence from Shari＇ah and non Shari＇ah-based firms

The underpricing of initial public offerings （IPOs） is generally explained with asymmetric information and risk. We complement these traditional explanations with a new theory proposed by Ellul and Pagano （2006） where investors worry also about the after-market illiquidity that may result from asymmetric information after the IPO. The less liquid the after-market is expected to be, the larger will be the IPO underpricing. The samples are the 41 IPOs carried out between 2001-2005. The samples are 7 Shari＇ah-based firms and 34 non Shariah-based firms. Shariah-based firms are those included in Jakarta Islamic Index （JII）, at least one period （one semester）. Regression results show that the relationship between after-market liquidity and underpricing is insignificant unless we use trading frequency as proxy for liquidity for non Shariah-based firms.

Determinants of Capital Structure in the Nigerian Listed Insurance Firms

The paper investigates the determinants of capital structure in Nigerian listed insurance firms using data obtained from annual report of the sampled firms for the period of 2001-2010. It used five explanatory variables to measure their effects on debt ratio. Multiple regression is employed as a tool of analysis. The result reveals that all the explanatory variables have statistically and significantly influenced the explained variable. The results approve the prediction of pecking order theory in the case of profitability and trade-off theory in case of tangibility variables. The growth variable supports the agency theory hypothesis whereas size variable confirms to the asymmetry of information theory. It is therefore recommended that the management of listed insurance firms in Nigeria should always consider their positions using these capital structure determinants as important inputs before embarking on debt financing decision.

Factors Affecting Financial Performance of Tourism Destination Firms Listed on Stock Exchanges in China

Purpose:the aim of this research is to test the effect of financial ratio on the financial performance of tourism destination firms listed on stock exchange in China.The research selected ratios:current ratio(CR)as a dimension of liquidity,total asset turnover ratio(TATR)as a dimension of asset utilization,debt ratio(DE)as a dimension of leverage,natural logarithm of total asset(LNTA)as a dimension of firm size,GDP growth rate as a dimension of economic prosperity,and effective tax rate as a dimension of effective tax.This research will use return on asset(ROA),return on sales(ROS),return on equity(ROE)and sales growth(SG)to determine the financial performance.Since stock exchange founded in China,tourism destination firm developed very fast.However tourism destination listed firms have weakness financial performance.Design/methodology/approach:the research data collected from quarterly financial report,from 2012 Q1 to 2018 Q4.The secondary data has been analyzed by multiple regression.Finding:the result indicate that CR,TATR,GDP growth rate have positive impact on financial performance.While DE has negative impact on financial performance.And LNTA has a mix result with financial performance.Originality/value:This study led to the effect of financial ratios on tourism's financial performance since past researches with this aim were difficult to identify and certain references were not specifically linked to the topic.

Effects of E-Commerce Platforms on Firm Export——Evidence from China’s Industrial Enterprises

With deepening digital technology applications in international trade, e-commerce platforms have become a major avenue for firm export. Based on a multicountry, multi-product heterogeneous firms trade theory model, this paper investigates the firm export effects of e-commerce platforms, and empirically tests the inferences from the model using data from Alibaba China Station, China industrial enterprises data, and China customs data from 2000 to 2009. Our estimation result shows that overall, e-commerce platforms significantly increase firm export probability and volume;e-commerce platforms enable firms to export products of different types to more countries by reducing the cost of information and export markets threshold while raising trade efficiency. Further analysis of enterprise heterogeneity reveals that SMEs, firms in China's eastern region, and general exporters benefit more from e-commerce platforms than other types of firms do.

Effects of China’s Manufacturing Exports on Firm Innovation in the US

Based on the market segmentation theory,this paper employed data on China-US trade and firm R&D,innovation and TFP to investigate the long-term effects of China’s manufacturing exports on firm innovation in the US from an heterogeneity perspective,and tested the underlying mechanism.The authors found that in the long run,China’s manufacturing exports had to some extent increased manufacturing firm innovation in the US.The effect is highly heterogeneous across various manufacturing sectors.While Chinese exports affect the innovation output of non-core manufacturing firms in the US,they did little on the innovation of core manufacturing firms in the US.In the long run,the cumulative R&D input of core manufacturing firms in the US has not decreased significantly,and factors of production had migrated from non-core to core manufacturing sectors.Such a reallocation of production factors has increased specialization and overall innovation output from US manufacturing firms.By demonstrating that the rise of developing countries is consistent with the theory of comparative advantages,this paper refutes the“China threat”narrative touted by some developed countries,and provides scientific basis for rational resource allocation and international division of labor.

Executive Stock Option, Mediation of Agency Costs and Allocation of Power in Levered Firms

The relationship between options and agency costs in levered firms is studied by modeling the effect of executive stock options on the manager's investment strategy in levered firms. Stock options do not necessarily aggravate agency costs in levered firms. The corporate governance affects agency costs greatly. If debt-holders were entitled to design executive stock options together with stockholders, by allocating power properly between stockholders and debt-holders, firm value could be enhanced greatly. The following way of allocating power between the two parties is proposed: the exercise price should be the weighted average of the stockholders' and debt-holders' suggested exercise prices. The weight allocated to debt-holders is positively related to the amount of debts that debt-holders lend to stockholders.

Identification of an Aux/IAA regulator for flesh firmness using combined GWAS and bulked segregant RNA-Seq analysis in watermelon

Watermelon is a highly cultivated fruit crop renowned for its quality properties of fruit flesh.Among various quality factors,fruit flesh firmness is a crucial quality parameter influencing the fruit texture,shelf life and its commercial value.The auxin/indole-3-acetic acid(Aux/IAA)plays a significant role in fruit development and ripening of non-climacteric fruits.However,the regulatory mechanism of Aux/IAA in controlling fruit flesh firmness and ripening in watermelon remains unknown.In this study,we employed an integrative approach combining genome-wide association study(GWAS)and bulked segregant RNA-Seq analysis(BSR-Seq)to identify an overlapping candidate region between 12776310 and 12968331 bp on chromosome 6,underlying an auxin-responsive gene(Aux/IAA)associated with flesh firmness in watermelon.Transcriptome analysis,followed by real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR(qRT-PCR),confirmed that the expression of Aux/IAA was consistently higher in fruits with high flesh firmness.The sequence alignment revealed a single base mutation in the coding region of Aux/IAA.Furthermore,the concomitant Kompetitive/Competitive allele-specific PCR(KASP)genotyping data sets for F2 population and germplasm accessions identified Aux/IAA as a strong candidate gene associated with flesh firmness.Aux/IAA was enriched in the plant hormone signal transduction pathway,involving cell enlargement and leading to low flesh firmness.We determined the higher accumulation of abscisic acid(ABA)in fruits with low flesh firmness than hard flesh.Moreover,overexpression of Aux/IAA induced higher flesh firmness with an increased number of fruit flesh cells while reducing ABA content and flesh cell sizes.Additionally,the allelic variation in Aux/IAA for soft flesh firmness was found to exist in Citrullus mucosospermus and gradually fixed into Citrullus lanatus during domestication,indicating that soft flesh firmness was a domesticated trait.These findings significantly enhanced our understanding of watermelon fruit flesh firmness and consequently the watermelon fruit quality.

Modeling the dynamics of firms' technological impact

Recent studies in complexity science have uncovered temporal regularities in the dynamics of impact along scientific and other creative careers, but they did not extend the obtained insights to firms. In this paper, we show that firms' technological impact patterns cannot be captured by the state-of-the-art dynamical models for the evolution of scientists' research impact, such as the Q model. Therefore, we propose a time-varying returns model which integrates the empiricallyobserved relation between patent order and technological impact into the Q model. The proposed model can reproduce the timing pattern of firms' highest-impact patents accurately. Our results shed light on modeling the differences behind the impact dynamics of researchers and firms.

Another Case on Discounted FCF vs.P2S Valuation:Privately Held Food&Drinks Firms in Greece

This paper is a step-by-step attempt in applying two different valuation methodologies on privately held firms in Greece.Initially the two methodologies—free cash flows to equity and the price-to-sales multiple(P2S)—are being explained.These two models are further developed under the Greek accounting standards(especially the first model,being a more fundamental approach),in order to be applied afterwards more correctly to Greek firms’data,leading to adjusted forms.The application of these two models comes right next upon privately held food&drinks firms’financial statements,collected for each year(2013 up to 2015).The final step consists of the analysis and discussion of the results with the help of descriptive statistics(frequencies),as well as the pearson statistic,as a simple correlation tool.