Rethinking board structures in the age of multinational corporations: A global investigation

Despite extensive research on international corporations, there is still a lack of understanding about the factors that influence the composition of their board and its impact on their market value. This study aims to investigate how internationalisation influences the diversity of a firm's board, particularly regarding gender and culture. Additionally, the study also explores whether the board's diversity can enhance the impact of internationalisation on a firm's value. We analysed data from 25,436 international companies and found that as companies become more international, they tend to have fewer women on their boards but more board members from other countries. Interestingly, having a more diverse gender composition on the board helps to increase a company's value when it becomes more international, but having a more diverse cultural composition on the board seems to have the opposite effect. This information is helpful for international companies who want to make sure they have the best composition on their boards to achieve their global goals. These findings suggest that there may be a difference between what international corporations want in their board members and what their shareholders expect. Ultimately, this study can help international companies choose the right board members to maximize their success

Audit and CSR committees: are they complements or substitutes in CSR reporting, assurance and GRI framework adoption?

Purpose - This study aims mainly to test the effect of audit committee independence and expertise attributes on corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, assurance, and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework adoption and to investigate how CSR committee existence moderates this main relationship. Design/methodology/approach - The study uses a large global sample that includes all (59,172) firm-year observations having CSR-related data in the Thomson Reuters Eikon database for a period between 2002 and 2019. The empirical analyses are based on random-effects logistic panel regression and Hayes methodology for the moderation analysis. Findings - The study finds that audit committee independence and expertise are significantly associated with CSR reporting, CSR report assurance, and GRI framework adoption. Moderation analysis largely supports the existence of a substitution role between audit and CSR committees and implies that audit committees are significant predictors of CSR reporting, assurance, and GRI framework adoption mostly in the absence of the CSR committee. Originality - This is the first study to investigate the direct and indirect effect of audit committees' attributes not only on CSR disclosure but also on GRI implementation and CSR reporting external assurance, considering the CSR committee's possible substitutability or complementarity moderating role. This research develops a deeper understanding of audit committees' non-financial role. Practical implications - The findings propose audit committee members be extra-vigilant in CSR reporting and assurance practices arising from undertaking substitution roles with the CSR committee. Hence, firms may configure their corporate structure in line with the results such as augmenting the audit committee with independent and expert members if they do not constitute a CSR committee. If firms establish a CSR committee, audit committee members may allocate less time to CSR reporting and assurance and more time to financial reporting quality

CSR reporting, assurance, and firm value and risk: The moderating effects of CSR committees and executive compensation

This study focuses on the value-generating and risk-reducing function of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, assurance, and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) adoption by considering the moderating effects of CSR committees and executive CSR compensation. We retrieved an international dataset of 58,105 firm-year observations from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database over a long period of 16 years between 2004 and 2019. We find that while CSR reporting and external assurance are positively associated with firm value and industry-adjusted firm value, they are negatively associated with firm value volatility (i.e., risk). However, even though following GRI guidelines is not associated with firm value or industry-adjusted firm value, it is negatively associated with firm risk. Moderation analysis reveals that while CSR committees help strengthen the relationship between CSR reporting and external assurance and firm value, they fail to moderate the relation between GRI framework adoption and firm value. Furthermore, there are no significant results on the moderating effect of executive CSR compensation on firm value in any of the model configurations. However, further tests show that executive CSR compensation has a positive moderating effect between CSR reporting and assurance and accounting performance. Robustness tests confirm that the findings are largely robust to alternative sampling, methodology, and additional control variables

Does investment stimulate or inhibit CSR transparency? The moderating role of CSR committee, board monitoring and CEO duality

This study examined the potential relationship between different facets of firm investment (i.e., sales growth, R&D intensity, and total tangible and intangible assets) and CSR reporting, assurance and GRI adoption. Also, it further explored the conditions under which investing firms can encourage or discourage their CSR transparency. Our sample included 44,996 firm-year observations from 2004 to 2019 across 61 countries. Using a random-effects logistic model, our results indicate that corporate investments reduce firms’ CSR reporting and assurance tendency, which implies that a tradeoff exists between these two aspects of firm investment worldwide. Our moderation analysis outlined the contingent role of board-specific characteristics in the link between firm investment and CSR transparency. It appears that the CSR committee generates greater moderating effects on the firm investment–CSR transparency nexus than board monitoring and CEO duality. This empirical evidence also suggests several practical implications and future research agendas

Fine-needle aspiration cytology of solitary thyroid nodules

WOS: 000224542600005PubMed ID: 15376197Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a diagnostic tool used in the clinical workup of solitary thyroid nodules; however, differential cytologic diagnosis of these nodules often is challenging. With the goal of identifying cytologic findings that could improve predictions regarding the presence of neoplastic lesions, the authors performed a retrospective review of cases in which FNAC led to diagnoses of solitary cellular nodules or cellular microfollicular lesions at two university hospitals. FNAC smears associated with cases for which surgical specimens subsequently were obtained were reviewed. FNAC accurately detected follicular neoplasms in 76% of cases at one hospital and in 67% of cases at the other. In the current report, the cytologic findings made in these cases are reevaluated, and the potential diagnostic contribution of available clinical data is discussed. (C) 2004 American Cancer Society

Do CSR performance and reporting facilitate access to debt financing in emerging markets? The role of asset structure and firm performance

Purpose This study aims to guide firms in emerging markets on whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement facilitates their access to debt with the moderation of asset structure and firm performance. Considering the moderating effect analysis, this study explores the substitutive or complementary effect of these two contingencies on CSR-oriented firms in accessing debt financing. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on data collected for 16 emerging markets between 2008 and 2019, this study runs country–industry–year fixed-effects regression. Findings This study finds that CSR performance and reporting facilitate access to debt in emerging markets. However, CSR performance does not have an inverted U-shaped influence on firms’ access to debt financing. The moderation analysis of this study shows that asset tangibility has a negative moderating effect on the link between CSR engagements (i.e. both CSR performance and reporting) and access to debt, confirming a substitutive relationship between asset tangibility and CSR engagements in accessing debt. In contrast, firm performance is positively moderating the nexus between CSR engagement proxies and access to debt, which confirms a complementary type of relationship between firm performance and CSR engagements in accessing debt. Practical implications The empirical evidence of this study implies that creditors critically consider CSR engagements of firms in the loan-granting decision process. Similarly, the inverted U-shaped relationship between CSR and access to debt implies that there is an optimal level of CSR engagement creditors might consider in their decision. Likewise, the moderating effects analysis highlights that asset tangibility and firm performance are two conditions under which CSR performance and reporting are linked to access to debt. Originality/value Emerging countries are a different set of countries than developed ones; they have high growth rates and hence need financing, have a weaker institutional environment and have weaker stakeholder power. These particularities motivated the authors to conduct a separate study focusing on CSR and debt financing links drawing on a wide range of emerging countries. Thus, this study adds to the ongoing debate by examining the conditions under which CSR-oriented firms can access debt financing in emerging economies

Corporate innovation capacity, national innovation setting, and renewable energy use

This study combines both the resource-based view and institutional theory to investigate the relationship between a company's innovation capabilities and its consumption of renewable energy sources within well-established innovation ecosystems. Drawing on a comprehensive dataset of 14,506 observations covering 2007 to 2018, we executed the country-industry-year fixed-effects regression. The analysis reveals that a nation's innovation framework significantly influences the connection between a firm's innovation capabilities and its use of renewable energy. This relationship is moderated by key indicators of the nation's innovation climate, including the quality of scientific research institutions, university–industry collaboration, and government involvement in technology procurement. These findings emphasise the importance of institutional factors in fostering synergy between a company's innovation capacity and its consumption of renewable energy sources. They highlight the potential benefits of collaboration between firms and governments in promoting renewable energy consumption, especially in an era where innovative energy solutions are critical. This evidence underscores the need for a supportive macro-level policy environment alongside corporate initiatives to facilitate the transition to cleaner energy sources

Renewable energy use, slack financial resources, and board attributes: does energy efficiency policy matter?

This study examined the impact of slack financial resources, board characteristics (such as gender diversity, tenure, and skill/expertise), and energy efficiency policies on firms' consumption of renewable energy. Using a dataset of 17,753 observations from 2002 to 2019, we primarily utilized fixed-effects regression, among other methods, for robustness analysis. We find that while slack financial resources, board gender diversity, and energy efficiency policies are positively associated with more renewable energy consumption, board skill is negatively associated with it. Interaction effects showed that firms with more female and tenured directors effectively utilize slack financial resources for increased renewable energy consumption, unlike firms with more expert directors. Energy efficiency policies enhanced the positive impact of female directors on renewable energy consumption but mitigated the influence of expert directors, weakening their association

Fine-needle aspiration cytology of solitary thyroid nodules: How far can we go in rendering diffefential cytologic diagnoses?

PubMedID: 15376197Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a diagnostic tool used in the clinical workup of solitary thyroid nodules; however, differential cytologic diagnosis of these nodules often is challenging. With the goal of identifying cytologic findings that could improve predictions regarding the presence of neoplastic lesions, the authors performed a retrospective review of cases in which FNAC led to diagnoses of solitary cellular nodules or cellular microfollicular lesions at two university hospitals. FNAC smears associated with cases for which surgical specimens subsequently were obtained were reviewed. FNAC accurately detected follicular neoplasms in 76% of cases at one hospital and in 67% of cases at the other. In the current report, the cytologic findings made in these cases are reevaluated, and the potential diagnostic contribution of available clinical data is discussed. © 2004 American Cancer Society

Research and development intensity, environmental performance, and firm value: unraveling the nexus in the energy sector worldwide

The lack of a focused study on the nexus of research and development (R&D) intensity, eco-friendly practices, firm value in the energy sector, and the stakeholders' concerns for ecology motivated us to realize this study. The study sample covers the period from 2002 to 2019, resulting in 4016 firm-year observations affiliated with 43 countries. The data were retrieved from the Thomson Reuters Eikon, and a country-year fixed-effects regression analysis was executed. Our empirical findings are threefold. First, the results show that energy firms' R&D intensity spurs eco-friendly practices in three dimensions, namely, resource consumption reduction, emissions reduction, and eco-innovation. Second, our study revealed that corporate environmental performance could induce greater firm value, implying a positive shareholders' reaction to the environmental engagement. Third, moderation analysis revealed that while R&D intensity's interaction with eco-innovation is value-enhancing, its interaction with resource consumption reduction and emissions reduction is not. The results are largely robust to alternative sampling, endogeneity concerns, and alternative variables measurements. The findings suggest implications for energy firms, R&D activities, and capital markets