Strategic use of CSR as a signal for good management

More than thirty years of research exploring the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance (CFP) could not provide a satisfying resolution to the tension exists between economic and social objectives. In this paper, we have contributed to the existing CSR literature both theoretically and empirically. On the theoretical side, we challenged the assumption that managers consider all stakeholders equally important and we contend that managers prioritize stakeholders instead. We also extend agency theory by suggesting that CSR may actually reduce monitoring costs since it has informative value about the quality of management.

Gainsharing: A Critical Review and a Future Research Agenda

This paper provides a critical review of the extensive literature on gainsharing. It examines the reasons for the fast growth in these programs in recent years and the major prototypes used in the past. Different theoretical formulations making predictions about the behavioral consequences and conditions mediating the success of these programs are discussed and the supporting empirical evidence is examined. The large number of a theoretical case studies and practitioner reports or gainsharing are also summarized and integrated. The article concludes with a suggested research agenda for the future

Initial conditions for inflation and the energy scale of SUSY-breaking from the (nearly) gaussian sky

We show how general initial conditions for small field inflation can be obtained in multi-field models. This is provided by non-linear angular friction terms in the inflaton that provide a phase of non-slow-roll inflation before the slow-roll inflation phase. This in turn provides a natural mechanism to star small-field slow-roll at nearly zero velocity for arbitrary initial conditions. We also show that there is a relation between the scale of SUSY breaking sqrt (f) and the amount of non-gaussian fluctuations generated by the inflaton. In particular, we show that in the local non-gaussian shape there exists the relation sqrt (f) = 10^{13} GeV sqrt (f_NL). With current observational limits from Planck, and adopting the minimum amount of non-gaussian fluctuations allowed by single-field inflation, this provides a very tight constraint for the SUSY breaking energy scale sqrt (f) = 3-7 x 10^{13} GeV at 95% confidence. Further limits, or detection, from next year's Planck polarisation data will further tighten this constraint by a factor of two. We highlight that the key to our approach is to identify the inflaton with the scalar component of the goldstino superfield. This superfield is universal and implements the dynamics of SUSY breaking as well as superconformal breaking.Comment: Invited talk at the BW2013 meetin

The Buddhist Translators Workbench (BTW), a project of Mangalam Research Center for Buddhist Languages

The Buddhist Translators Workbench (BTW) offers an interactive digital environment for scholars and translators of classical Buddhist texts. Focused on lexicographic research, it gives ready access to the resources needed to research key terms in context and suggests new lines of inquiry. Scholars can record their findings for broad dissemination, and the ability to log user threads and dialogs will support collaboration and encourage user contributions. Extensive interactive annotations of key terms will preserve the work of earlier generations and create new possibilities for interdisciplinary work. By establishing a shared body of knowledge easily accessible across specialized disciplines, BTW will serve as a model for other scholars working in clearly delimited fields. Level I focused on planning, developing alpha-level prototypes for inputting data, and choosing sample terms and texts. Level II will initiate work on a proof-of-concept database to go online in May 2014