Stakeholders, Green Manufacturing, and Practice Performance: Empirical Evidence from Chinese Fashion Businesses

This study explores the relationship among stakeholders, green manufacturing, and practice performance in the fashion business in China and focuses on assisting companies to enhance environmental awareness and green manufacturing practices. We collect research data by developing questionnaires for various Chinese enterprises. A five-point Likert scale is adopted to enable respondents to indicate the extent to which they agree with the items. Through tests and analyses, the questionnaire is validated as reliable, the structural equation model has a good fitting degree, and hypotheses are proved true. Specifically, corporate stakeholders have a significant positive impact on green manufacturing and practice performance, and green manufacturing has a significant positive impact on practice performance in the context of Chinese fashion businesses. Moreover, corporate stakeholders can have a positive impact on practice performance through green manufacturing. We also propose some policy implications, including implementing compulsive policies and regulations and encouraging and establishing preferential policies, such as tax concessions. Moreover, enterprises should actively strive to improve green manufacturing technology and management level to ensure the smooth implementation of green manufacturing practices. To retain sustained earnings and development, green manufacturing should be the bottom line of involved firms. We also emphasize that the importance of corporate stakeholders should be promoted in consideration of enterprises’ practice performance and future development

Say on Pay: A wolf in sheep’s clothing?

This paper debates whether Say on Pay can fix executive pay. We argue that Say on Pay benefits executive pay when shareholders’ voice offsets CEO power and mitigates directors’ information deficiencies. We admonish however that Say on Pay may raise novel problems. The pay resulting from Say on Pay can harm stakeholders whose interests differ from those of shareholders influential in pay- setting. Moreover, boards may resist shareholders’ intervention in pay-setting and, accordingly, manage compensation disclosures to ensure a passing shareholder vote. Consequently, Say on Pay may not only fail to remedy suboptimal pay but also legitimize it

Public, private and personal: Qualitative research on policymakers' opinions on smokefree interventions to protect children in 'private' spaces

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Governments use law to constrain aspects of private activities for purposes of protecting health and social wellbeing. Policymakers have a range of perceptions and beliefs about what is public or private. An understanding of the possible drivers of policymaker decisions about where government can or should intervene for health is important, as one way to better guide appropriate policy formation. Our aim was to identify obstacles to, and opportunities for, government smokefree regulation of private and public spaces to protect children. In particular, to seek policymaker opinions on the regulation of smoking in homes, cars and public parks and playgrounds in a country with incomplete smokefree laws (New Zealand).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Case study, using structured interviews to ask policymakers (62 politicians and senior officials) about their opinions on new smokefree legislation for public and private places. Supplementary data was obtained from the Factiva media database, on the views of New Zealand local authority councillors about policies for smokefree outdoor public places.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, interviewees thought that government regulation of smoking in private places was impractical and unwise. However, there were some differences on what <it>was </it>defined as 'private', particularly for cars. Even in public parks, smoking was seen by some as a 'personal' decision, and unlikely to be amenable to regulation. Most participants believed that educative, supportive and community-based measures were better and more practical means of reducing smoking in private places, compared to regulation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The constrained view of the role of regulation of smoking in public and private domains may be in keeping with current political discourse in New Zealand and similar Anglo-American countries. Policy and advocacy options to promote additional smokefree measures include providing a better voice for childrens' views, increasing information to policymakers about the harms to children from secondhand smoke and the example of adult smoking, and changing the culture for smoking around children.</p

Managerial Views of Corporate Impacts and Dependencies on Ecosystem Services : A Case of International and Domestic Forestry Companies in China

A line of research is emerging investigating the private sector impacts and dependencies on critical biodiversity and ecosystem services, and related business risks and opportunities. While the ecosystem services narrative is being forwarded globally as a key paradigm for promoting business sustainability, there is scarce knowledge of how these issues are considered at managerial level. This study thus investigates managerial views of corporate sustainability after the ecosystem services concept. We analyse interviews conducted with 20 managers from domestic and international forestry companies operating with a plantation-based business model in China. Content analysis was employed to analyse the data, with a focus on four key areas: (1) interviewee familiarity with the ecosystem services concept; (2) their views of corporate dependencies and impacts on ecosystem services; (3) related business risks and opportunities; and (4) viability of existing instruments and practices that can be employed in detecting and addressing business impacts and dependencies on ecosystem services. Through an inductive approach to the empirical findings, we refined a framework that holds operational value for developing company response strategies to ecosystem services impact/dependence assessment, ensuring that all issues are addressed comprehensively, and that related risks and opportunities are properly acknowledged.Peer reviewe

Transcription factor induction of vascular blood stem cell niches in vivo

The hematopoietic niche is a supportive microenvironment composed of distinct cell types, including specialized vascular endothelial cells that directly interact with hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). The molecular factors that specify niche endothelial cells and orchestrate HSPC homeostasis remain largely unknown. Using multi-dimensional gene expression and chromatin accessibility analyses in zebrafish, we define a conserved gene expression signature and cis-regulatory landscape that are unique to sinusoidal endothelial cells in the HSPC niche. Using enhancer mutagenesis and transcription factor overexpression, we elucidate a transcriptional code that involves members of the Ets, Sox, and nuclear hormone receptor families and is sufficient to induce ectopic niche endothelial cells that associate with mesenchymal stromal cells and support the recruitment, maintenance, and division of HSPCs in vivo. These studies set forth an approach for generating synthetic HSPC niches, in vitro or in vivo, and for effective therapies to modulate the endogenous niche

Transcription factor induction of vascular blood stem cell niches in vivo

The hematopoietic niche is a supportive microenvironment composed of distinct cell types, including specialized vascular endothelial cells that directly interact with hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). The molecular factors that specify niche endothelial cells and orchestrate HSPC homeostasis remain largely unknown. Using multi-dimensional gene expression and chromatin accessibility analyses in zebrafish, we define a conserved gene expression signature and cis-regulatory landscape that are unique to sinusoidal endothelial cells in the HSPC niche. Using enhancer mutagenesis and transcription factor overexpression, we elucidate a transcriptional code that involves members of the Ets, Sox, and nuclear hormone receptor families and is sufficient to induce ectopic niche endothelial cells that associate with mesenchymal stromal cells and support the recruitment, maintenance, and division of HSPCs in vivo. These studies set forth an approach for generating synthetic HSPC niches, in vitro or in vivo, and for effective therapies to modulate the endogenous niche