Contemporary research methods in business

In this book, a few contemporary research methods in business are introduced to researchers who are doing research in business. The concept and underlying philosophy of these methods are illustrated. The steps and application examples are also provided. We believe these contemporary research methods would enrich the research community. This book is suitable for university professors, lecturers and research students who want to pick up some new methods for their research work

Crazy rich Asian countries? The impact of FDI inflows on the economic growth of the economies of Asian countries: evidence from an NARDL approach

FDI inflows are often regarded as the engine of economic growth, where an increase in FDI leads to higher productivity and higher international trade. Recognising that financial crises, political instability and trade wars may shape the asymmetric behaviour of FDI inflows, this paper utilises the NARDL model by Shin et al. (2014) over the period 1970-2017 to examine the asymmetric cointegration between the FDI inflows and economic growth of three economic nation groups in the Asian region. The empirical results indicate that 1) there is significant evidence of the asymmetric effects of FDI inflows on the economic growth of Asian developing countries. More specifically, an increase in FDI inflows tends to lead to an increase in economic growth, while a reduction in FDI inflows is detrimental to economic growth. 2) a higher human capital index and capital stock in the host country promotes economic growth

Corporate Debt Policy of Malaysian SMEs: Empirical Evidence from Firm Dynamic Panel Data

Financing has been identified as a dominant constraint to Malaysian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Yet, limited attention has been given to the challenges faced by the SMEs in financing their operations. This paper investigates the determinants of capital structure and use of financing for Malaysian SMEs in manufacturing sector and examines hypotheses by utilising a static trade-off choice or pecking order framework by employing a series of firm characteristics including: size, age, asset structure, profitability, growth, taxation and risk. The system Generalised Method of Moment (GMM) approach has been used for the estimation. The findings suggest that most of the determinants of capital structure presented by the theory of finance appear to be relevant for the Malaysian SMEs. Firm size and asset structure have a significantly positive effect on the leverage ratio in SMEs, while age and taxation have a negative effect. Though, growth has an impact on the total debt of the firms, profitability and risk does not have any significant effect on the decision of debt decision making in Malaysian SMEs. Furthermore, the findings of the study show that Malaysian SMEs in the manufacturing sector generally operate based on a combination of the pecking order and the trade-off theory while borrowing in the long-term and short-term

The dynamic causality between corporate social responsibility and corporate political activity: a panel vector autoregression approach

The objective of this study is to assess the dynamic causality between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate political activity (CPA). This research uses panel vector autoregression (VAR) model within the framework of generalized method of moments (GMM) with consideration to the time invariant characteristics of each organisation. Based on a sample of 100 World’s Most Admired Companies (WMAC) listed in Fortune between 2007 and 2016, this study provides empirical evidences that the CPA negatively affects the CSR, while enhanced CSR does not warrant an enhanced CPA. The findings of this study contradict the notion propounded by the hypothesis of virtuous circle which states that there is a positive relationship and mutual reinforcement between CSR and CPA

Effect of green innovation strategy on firm-idiosyncratic risk: A competitive action perspective

Despite increasing concern for corporate environmental responsibility in numerous industries, the relationship between green innovation strategy (GIS) and idiosyncratic risk is a rarely scrutinised topic, particularly in the automotive domain. In this study, we empirically explore the association between GIS and idiosyncratic risk and analyse the moderating role played by the firm's competitive action. We rely on the secondary information sourced for 132 top automotive firms, in the period ranging from 2011 to 2017 by applying the system generalised methods of moments estimator to the dynamic panel data model. Our findings indicate that GIS significantly reduces the idiosyncratic risk of all firms, and this relationship strengthens with the increase in the competitive action of the firms. Our evidence supports “it pays to be green” firm heterogeneity argument. This study highlights the academic and managerial implications and focuses on the environmental issues published in environmental management literature

Corporate debt policy of Malaysian SMEs: empirical evidence from firm dynamic panel data

Financing has been identified as a dominant constraint to Malaysian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Yet, limited attention has been given to the challenges faced by the SMEs in financing their operations. This paper investigates the determinants of capital structure and use of financing for Malaysian SMEs in manufacturing sector and examines hypotheses by utilising a static trade-off choice or pecking order framework by employing a series of firm characteristics including: size, age, asset structure, profitability, growth, taxation and risk. The system Generalised Method of Moment (GMM) approach has been used for the estimation. The findings suggest that most of the determinants of capital structure presented by the theory of finance appear to be relevant for the Malaysian SMEs. Firm size and asset structure have a significantly positive effect on the leverage ratio in SMEs, while age and taxation have a negative effect. Though, growth has an impact on the total debt of the firms, profitability and risk does not have any significant effect on the decision of debt decision making in Malaysian SMEs. Furthermore, the findings of the study show that Malaysian SMEs in the manufacturing sector generally operate based on a combination of the pecking order and the trade-off theory while borrowing in the long-term and short-term

The causality direction of the corporate social responsibility –corporate financial performance nexus: application of Panel Vector Autoregression approach

This study is an attempt to model the bidirectional linkages between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance (CFP) by using the prospective and retrospective approaches. A panel data set for 100 of the Fortune Most Admired Companies was used to study the relationships. Moreover, 1000 firm-year observations were examined between the sample periods of 2007 and 2016. A new methodology known as Panel Vector Autoregression (Panel VAR) approach using the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) was used in this study. The salient findings are: (1) better financial performance of firms lead to a better CSR engagement and (2) better CSR need not necessarily lead to superior CFP. A strong and substantial negative impact has been observed on CSR and the three CFP measures, namely, return on equity, return on assets, and return on invested capital. This finding has consistency with the trade-off hypothesis. This hypothesis posits that when firms are ‘‘being socially responsible’’, they will have a tendency to experience minimised shareholder wealth and lower profits, which restricts the socially responsible investments

Impact of positive and negative corporate social responsibility on automotive firms' financial performance: A market-based asset perspective

Prevailing studies on the economic implication of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for businesses has mainly stressed on the positive facet of corporate social responsibility (PCSR), failing to comprehend that firms also espouse behaviors and initiatives which can be characterized as negative corporate social responsibility (NCSR). Additionally, limited researches have considered how both PCSR and NCSR influence corporate financial performance (CFP). In consideration of this view, we present a framework that connects both PCSR as well as NCSR to CFP. We also analyzed the moderating role of the firm's market-based asset. Using 924 observations from 2011 to 2017 and a combined secondary data of 132 global automotive firms from CSRHub and Thomson Reuters Datastream, we examined how increases in either PCSR or NCSR relate to CFP via dynamic panel data system Generalise Moment of Method estimates. Our results demonstrate that PCSR improves CFP while and NCSR is detrimental to a firm's financial performance. Correspondingly, the results indicate that market-based asset moderates the relationship between PCSR and NCSR. Firms that possess higher market-based assets tend to enjoy higher profitability with PCSR as they are in a better position. However, it has been observed that market-based assets tend to weaken the relationship between CFP and NCSR

Association of Caucasian-identified variants with colorectal cancer risk in Singapore Chinese

Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in Caucasians have identified fourteen index single nucleotide polymorphisms (iSNPs) that influence colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. Methods: We investigated the role of eleven iSNPs or surrogate SNPs (sSNPs), in high linkage disequilibrium (LD, r2≥0.8) and within 100 kb vicinity of iSNPs, in 2,000 age- and gender-matched Singapore Chinese (SCH) cases and controls. Results: Only iSNP rs6983267 at 8q24.21 and sSNPs rs6695584, rs11986063, rs3087967, rs2059254, and rs7226855 at 1q41, 8q23.3, 11q23.1, 16q22.1 and 18q21.1 respectively showed evidence of association with CRC risk, with odds ratios (OR) ranging from 1.13 to 1.40. sSNP rs827401 at 10p14 was associated with rectal cancer risk (OR = 0.74, 95% CI 0.63-0.88) but not disease prognosis (OR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.69-1.20). Interestingly, sSNP rs3087967 at 11q23.1 was associated with CRC risk in men (OR = 1.34, 95% CI 1.14-1.58) but not women (OR = 1.07, 95% CI: 0.88-1.29), suggesting a gender-specific role. Half of the Caucasian-identified variants, including the recently fine-mapped BMP pathway loci, BMP4, GREM1, BMP2 and LAMA 5, did not show any evidence for association with CRC in SCH (OR ~1; p-value >0.1). Comparing the results of this study with that of the Northern and Hong Kong Chinese, only variants at chromosomes 8q24.21, 10p14, 11q23.1 and 18q21.1 were replicated in at least two out of the three Chinese studies. Conclusions: The contrasting results between Caucasians and Chinese could be due to different LD patterns and allelic frequencies or genetic heterogeneity. The results suggest that additional common variants contributing to CRC predisposition remained to be identified. © 2012 Thean et al

Does firm size matter? evidence on the impact of the green innovation strategy on corporate financial performance in the automotive sector

In the past few years, there has been increasing awareness regarding the significance of the Green Innovation Strategy (GIS) in the academic and practical fields. Hence, it becomes important to determine the correlation between the GIS and the Corporate Financial Performance (CFP). This study attempted to determine the dynamic correlation between the GIS and the CFP, with regards to the firm size. For this purpose, this study has collected data for 163 international automotive firms, from the CSRHub database, for the period ranging between 2011 and 2017. Furthermore, we also used the dynamic panel data system, i.e., the Generalised Method of Moment (GMM) method, for estimating this relationship. The empirical results indicated that the GIS positively affected the CFP. Interestingly, we also uncovered that the firm size moderated the negative correlation between the GIS and the CFP. The small-sized firms showed higher green innovation investments return than the larger-sized firms, which indicated that these smaller firms were more prone to seek variation and visibility, for accessing better resources. Furthermore, due to the extensive scrutiny of the stakeholders, these small firms could generate higher profits. The implications for managers and the theories in this regard are then discussed