Na+-H+ exchange activity in brush-border membrane vesicles isolated from chick small intestine

This study was undertaken to investigate the presence of a Na+{single bond}H+ antiporter in brush-border membrane vesicles (BBMV) isolated from chick small intestine. An outwardly directed proton gradient (pH 5.5 inside, 7.5 outside) stimulated Na+ uptake into BBMV and resulted in a transient accumulation. No accumulation was observed in the absence of a proton gradient. Voltage clamping the membrane with K+ and valinomycin decreased the Na+ overshoot. Amiloride inhibited pH gradient-driven Na+ uptake in a dose-dependent manner with an IC50 of 44 μM. The relationship between pH gradient-driven Na+ uptake and external Na+ concentration followed simple, saturating Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Eadie-Hofstee analysis of the pH gradient-driven Na+ uptake indicated a single transport system with a Vmax of 33 nmol/mg protein per 15 s and a Km for Na+ of 12 mM. The initial rate of pH-driven Na+ uptake increased as the intravesicular pH decreased, with a Hill coefficient close to 1. These findings indicate that BBMV isolated from chicken small intestine posses a Na+{single bond}H+ exchanger. This exchanger does not appear to be the one involved in cell pH regulation.Dirección General de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas PB89-061

Corporate social responsibility as a strategic shield against costs of earnings management practices

We highlight how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be strategically used against the negative perception from earnings management (EM). Using international data, we analyse the effect of CSR and EM on the cost of capital and corporate reputation. Results confirm that CSR strategy is positively valued by investors and other stakeholders. Contrary to EM, CSR has a positive effect on corporate reputation and lowers the cost of capital. In addition, we also find that the favorable effect of CSR on cost of capital is consistently more intense in firms that show signs of EM indicating that the market does not identify when CSR practices are used as a strategy to mask EM. We also demonstrate how institutional factors influence the above relationship

Women on boards and efficiency in a business‐orientated environment

This study proposes a new research approach to examining the relationship between board diversity in terms of gender differences and corporate performance, measured by technical efficiency. Moreover, this paper also examines the moderating role that institutional factors exert on this relationship through the cultural dimensions of the country of origin. The research questions are examined using an international sample of 2185 listed firms from 2006 to 2015, applying several truncated regression models for panel data and employing data envelopment analysis to examine efficiency as a measure of performance. This paper provides support for the assertion that female directors decrease the firm's technical efficiency; however, in more economically orientated cultures, institutional context exerts a moderating effect on the latter. The female directors of companies located in countries with higher economically orientated values adopt male stereotypes and have a significant and positive interest in improving efficiency

Women on boards and efficiency in a business‐orientated environment

This study proposes a new research approach to examining the relationship between board diversity in terms of gender differences and corporate performance, measured by technical efficiency. Moreover, this paper also examines the moderating role that institutional factors exert on this relationship through the cultural dimensions of the country of origin. The research questions are examined using an international sample of 2185 listed firms from 2006 to 2015, applying several truncated regression models for panel data and employing data envelopment analysis to examine efficiency as a measure of performance. This paper provides support for the assertion that female directors decrease the firm's technical efficiency; however, in more economically orientated cultures, institutional context exerts a moderating effect on the latter. The female directors of companies located in countries with higher economically orientated values adopt male stereotypes and have a significant and positive interest in improving efficiency

Do Markets Punish or Reward Corporate Social Responsibility Decoupling?

This article analyzes the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) decoupling and financial market outcomes. CSR decoupling refers to the gap between CSR disclosure and CSR performance. More specifically, we analyze the effect of CSR decoupling on analysts’ forecast errors, cost of capital, and access to finance. We also examine the moderating effect of forecast errors on relationships between CSR decoupling and cost of capital and access to finance. For a sample of U.S. firms consisting of 7,681 firm-year observations for the period 2006–2015, our empirical evidence supports the idea that a wider gap results in higher analysts’ forecast errors, a greater cost of capital, and reduced access to finance. In addition, our results show that forecast errors enhance the effect of the CSR decoupling on cost of capital and access to financial resources. We also note that external monitoring, in the form of greater analysts’ coverage, reduces CSR decoupling

Do Markets Punish or Reward Corporate Social Responsibility Decoupling?

[EN] This article analyzes the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) decoupling and financial market outcomes. CSR decoupling refers to the gap between CSR disclosure and CSR performance. More specifically, we analyze the effect of CSR decoupling on analysts’ forecast errors, cost of capital, and access to finance. We also examine the moderating effect of forecast errors on relationships between CSR decoupling and cost of capital and access to finance. For a sample of U.S. firms consisting of 7,681 firm-year observations for the period 2006–2015, our empirical evidence supports the idea that a wider gap results in higher analysts’ forecast errors, a greater cost of capital, and reduced access to finance. In addition, our results show that forecast errors enhance the effect of the CSR decoupling on cost of capital and access to financial resources. We also note that external monitoring, in the form of greater analysts’ coverage, reduces CSR decouplin

Assurance of corporate social responsibility reports:Examining the role of internal and external corporate governance mechanisms

This article examines the effects of various internal (board independence, gender diversity, and specialized sustainability committee) and external (analysts' coverage and institutional ownership) corporate governance mechanisms on firms' decision to purchase external assurance for their corporate social responsibility (CSR) report. Using an international sample, we show that board diversity, the existence of a CSR committee, analysts' coverage, and institutional investors increase the probability of assuring a CSR report, while board independence decreases it. The findings further suggest that several configurations of these mechanisms complement each other in improving the credibility of nonfinancial disclosure through assurance. However, other configurations do not work in tandem, supporting the existence of substitution effects. Overall, bundling various governance mechanisms effectively could be more useful in formulating and implementing a corporate strategy than individual mechanisms

Connecting the Dots : Do Financial Analysts Help Corporate Boards Improve Corporate Social Responsibility?

This paper presents an examination of the joint impact of board structural elements at firm level and financial analysts as market-level corporate governance (CG) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance. Our study contributes to the CG–CSR literature by adopting the bundling approach, a perspective that has recently attracted researchers’ attention as an answer to any heterogeneity and fragmentation in existing findings. It is based on an extensive sample consisting of 7,739 firm-year observations of US firms for the 2006–2015 period. The findings suggest that financial analysts complement the corporate board with more independence, gender diversity and a specialized CSR committee to realize a certain level of CSR performance of a firm. The findings also indicate that analysts substitute for those internal governance factors that are associated with weaker boards – larger sizes and dual-role CEOs. We also draw implications for research and practice from our findings.© 2021 The Authors. British Journal of Management published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Academy of Management. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA, 02148, USA. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Connecting the Dots: Do Financial Analysts Help Corporate Boards Improve Corporate Social Responsibility?

[EN] This paper presents an examination of the joint impact of board structural elements atfirm level and financial analysts as market-level corporate governance (CG) on corpo-rate social responsibility (CSR) performance. Our study contributes to the CG–CSRliterature by adopting the bundling approach, a perspective that has recently attractedresearchers’ attention as an answer to any heterogeneity and fragmentation in existingfindings. It is based on an extensive sample consisting of 7,739 firm-year observationsof US firms for the 2006–2015 period. The findings suggest that financial analysts com-plement the corporate board with more independence, gender diversity and a specializedCSR committee to realize a certain level of CSR performance of a firm. The findings alsoindicate that analysts substitute for those internal governance factors that are associatedwith weaker boards – larger sizes and dual-role CEOs. We also draw implications forresearch and practice from our finding

Connecting the dots : Do financial analysis help corporate boards improve corporate social responsibility?

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