COVID-19 impact on Facebook-based social commerce in Bangladesh

Popular social media Facebook-oriented social commerce (S-commerce), commonly known as Facebook commerce (F-commerce) has progressed towards a bevy business in Bangladesh. Many young people, especially at the age of 20-28, are now in this industry. The pandemic situation due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) forces people to buy more from the online market because of the safety issue. People are getting more interested in the new trend of buying from an online store. The current study aims to explore the impact of COVID-19 on F-commerce, particularly in Bangladesh. It uses the non-probability purposive sampling method and collects 181 usable responses through an online questionnaire. A research model is developed following the social commerce acceptance model (SCAM), and structural equation model partial least square (SEM-PLS) using SmartPLS 3.0 is applied to find out and justify the result. Likert five-point scale for determining the independent variables, including COVID-19 awareness (CA), consumer behavior (CB), and purchase intention (PI), is used. The study result confirms that these three variables have a positive impact on F-commerce. The survey covers other measurable items that indicate some assumptions, which reflect F-commerce consumers’ behavior. The researchers recommend that F-commerce businesspeople must emphasize on mitigating trust issues and provide enhanced home delivery service

The impact of board gender composition on loan covenant violations

Research Question/Issue We examine the role of board gender diversity in attenuating loan covenant violations. We also investigate whether the relationship is influenced by female independent directors. Finally, we examine the channels of this relationship. Research Findings/Insights Drawing on gender socialization and diversity theories, our findings show that firms with gender-diverse boards are less likely to violate loan covenants. We also find that boards with more female directors have a stronger impact on loan covenant violations than those with fewer female directors, consistent with critical mass theory. Our results also suggest that the negative relationship stems from female independent directors rather than from female executive directors. Our channel analyses indicate that the relationship is routed through covenant strictness, the financial performance of firms, and better corporate governance. Our further analysis demonstrates that the relationship is pronounced in female-dominated industries and financially distressed firms, as well as in firms whose directors have greater experience. Our results are robust across a series of sensitivity and endogeneity tests. Theoretical/Academic Implications We contribute to an emerging strand of literature that examines the link between board gender diversity and loan covenants. We fill a gap in this stream of literature by providing the first empirical evidence that female directors in the boardroom reduce loan covenant violations through their greater integrative bargaining skills during loan deals, improving firm financial performance, and ensuring good corporate governance. Our study also contributes to the growing literature on the differential effects on corporate policies of female directors (independent and executive) and critical mass. Practitioner/Policy Implications This finding offers significant policy implications for managers, investors, and policymakers. Given the growing frequency of loan covenant violations, the presence of a gender-diverse board should serve as a potent indicator to creditors who have a concern regarding loans. In addition, our study adds to the ongoing debate regarding the business case of board gender diversity

GENETSKA STRUKTURA POPULACIJA UGROŽENOG CIPRINIDA Labeo calbasu (HAMILTON, 1822) ISTRAŽENA POMOĆU MIKROSATELITSKIH MARKERA

The population genetic structure of kalibaus Labeo calbasu collected from four wild and a hatchery population was studied using microsatellite DNA marker analysis. Five heterologous microsatellite markers (Lr10, Lr21, Lr24, Lr26 and CcatG1) developed from rohu (Labeo rohita) and catla (Gibelion catla) were analyzed to test the genetic variability of kalibaus stocks. The number of alleles observed in the loci ranged from 2-10. The loci were found to be polymorphic (<P95) in all the populations. The average numbers of possessed alleles were higher by the four wild stocks than the hatchery stock. The average number of allele was the highest in the Jamuna population (5.8) and the least in the Hatchery population (4.8). The observed average heterozygosity (Ho) in the Jamuna population (0.776) was the highest followed by the Halda (0.667), the Haor (0.661) and the Padma (0.642) populations. Except loci Lr10 and Lr24 in the Halda and locus Lr10 in the Padma and Hatchery populations, significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) were detected in all cases. The FST values and the Nm values indicated high level of differentiation and a low level of gene flow between the populations. The largest genetic distance value (D = 0.543) was measured between the Jamuna and the Hatchery populations while the least value (D =0.124) was observed between the Padma and the Halda populations. The estimated genetic population structure and potential applications of microsatellite markers may assist the proper management of kalibaus populations in the wild.Genetska struktura populacija ciprinida Labeo calbasu, prikupljena od četiri divlje i jedne uzgajane populacije, proučavana je koristeći mikrosatelitske markere. Pet heterogenih mikrosatelitskih markera (Lr10, Lr21, Lr24, Lr26 i CcatG1) sastavljenih za indijske ciprinide su proučavani da bi se istražila genetska varijabilnost L. calbasu populacija. Broj uočenih alela u lokusu se kretao od 2 do 10. U proučavanim populacijama lokusi su bili polimorfni (<P95). Prosječan broj alela je bio veći kod divljih nego kod uzgajanih populacija. Prosječan broj alela je bio najveći u Jamuna populaciji (5.8), te najmanji u uzgajanoj populaciji (4.8). Uočena prosječna heterozigotnost (Ho) u Jamuna populaciji (0.776) bila je najveća, slijedile su je populacije Halda (0.667), Haor (0.661) i Padma (0.642). Izuzev lokusa Lr10 i Lr24 u populaciji Halda i lokusa Lr10 u Padma populaciji i uzgajanoj populaciji, zabilježeno je značajno odstupanje od Hardy-Weinbergovog zakona ravnoteže (HWE) u svim slučajevima. Vrijednosti FST i Nm ukazuju na visok stupanj diferencijacije i nizak stupanj protoka gena između populacija. Najveća genetska udaljenost (D = 0.543) je izmjerena između populacije Jamuna i uzgajane populacije, dok je najmanja vrijednost (D = 0.124) uočena između populacija Padma i Halda. Procijenjena genetska struktura populacije i moguća upotreba mikrosatelitskih markera mogu pomoći pri upravljanju populacija L. calbasu u otvorenim vodama

Do all institutional investors care about corporate carbon emissions?

This paper investigates whether institutional investors promote the abatement of corporate carbon emissions. Using firm-level data on the U. S from 2007 to 2017, we find that institutional investors help reduce carbon emissions. The result is more pronounced in firms with more independent (investment companies, investment advisors, and pension funds), long-term, and monitoring institutional ownership. Our result holds when we employ a quasi-natural experiment and the difference-in-differences approach to address endogeneity. The channel analysis documents that institutional investors help reduce carbon emissions by reducing energy consumption. We also find that shareholder activism is a proximal monitoring mechanism through which institutional investors influence firms to achieve better carbon performance. Finally, our results show that the advantage for institutional investors from reducing carbon emissions is higher firm value

Cash-rich firms and carbon emissions

We investigate whether corporate cash holdings affect carbon dioxide emissions. Using a sample of 5402 firm-years observations from 943 U.S. firms during 2007–2017, we find that carbon emissions are lower in firms with higher corporate cash holdings. The effect of cash holdings on carbon emissions is more pronounced in firms with low leverage and less financial constraints. Our channel analysis further unveils that renewable energy consumption and carbon abatement investment are higher in cash-rich firms, which transmit lower carbon emissions. Our findings are robust to different identification strategies and alternative measures of cash holdings and carbon emissions. Overall, our paper provides novel evidence on the role of corporate cash holdings in mitigating carbon emissions

The effect of tourism investment on tourism development and CO2 emissions:Empirical evidence from the EU nations

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of tourism investment on tourism development and CO2 emissions in a panel of 28 EU countries using annual data from 1990-2013. The empirical results from a panel cointegration test confirm the presence of long-run equilibrium relationship among the variables. The long-run elasticities indicate that tourism investment has a significant positive and negative impact on tourism development and CO2 emissions, respectively. Finally, the short-run heterogeneous panel non-causality test results show the evidence of bidirectional causality between tourism investment and tourism revenue. These results therefore suggest that tourism investments not only increase tourism revenue but also reduce CO2 emissions. Given these findings, we suggest the policy makers of the EU nations to initiate more effective policies to increase the tourism investments. The increasing tourism investments will allow the industry to grow further by ensuring sustainable tourism development across the EU member countries

Firm‐level energy and carbon performance: Does sustainable investment matter?

Pollution reduction is one of the important challenges confronting contemporary business and society. Firms are largely responsible for undertaking sustainable business practices and initiatives as they are major contributors to global pollution. This study empirically examines how sustainable investment influences firm energy and carbon performance. Using a sample of 23,501 firm-year observations from 2440 unique firms over the period of 2002 to 2018 in G-6 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States), we demonstrate that sustainable investment leads to better energy and carbon performance without compromising financial return. Our findings are robust to alternative variables, sub-samples, and different estimation techniques. This study contributes to the global discussion on sustainability and a low-carbon economy

The role of stock markets on environmental degradation:A comparative study of developed and emerging market economies across the globe

It is well established in the literature that stock markets increase both economic activities and energy consumption across countries. Therefore, it is commonly believed that stock markets are expected to have a significant effect on CO2 emissions. However, it is not known whether these stock markets can contribute to more or less CO2 emissions. Hence, the goal of this study is to examine the impact of stock market indicators on CO2 emissions across a global panel of both developed and emerging market economies. The results establish that stock market indicators have a significant negative and positive impact on carbon emissions in developed and emerging market economies, respectively. Furthermore, the findings illustrate the presence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, implying that stronger stock markets lead to a further decline in carbon emissions. Given these findings, the study argues that the role of stock markets in the abatement of CO2 emissions significantly varies across both developed and emerging market economies. Significant implications have to do with the fact that developed markets might have initiated effective policies on listed firms to minimize carbon emissions, while emerging markets are yet to achieve this.N/

High levels of genetic variability and differentiation in hilsa shad, Tenualosa ilisha (Clupeidae, Clupeiformes) populations revealed by PCR-RFLP analysis of the mitochondrial DNA D-loop region

The hilsa shad, Tenualosa ilisha (Clupeidae, Clupeiformes) is an important anadromous clupeid species from the Western division of the Indo-Pacific region. It constitutes the largest single fishable species in Bangladesh. Information on genetic variability and population structure is very important for both management and conservation purposes. Past reports on the population structure of T. ilisha involving morphometric, allozyme and RAPD analyses are contradictory. We examined genetic variability and divergence in two riverine (the Jamuna and the Meghna), two estuarine (Kuakata and Sundarbans) and one marine (Cox's Bazar) populations of T. ilisha by applying PCR-RFLP analysis of the mtDNA D-loop region. The amplified PCR products were restricted with four restriction enzymes namely, XbaI, EcoRI, EcoRV, and HaeIII. High levels of haplotype and gene diversity within and significant differentiations among, populations of T. ilisha were observed in this study. Significant FST values indicated differentiation among the river, estuary and marine populations. The UPGMA dendrogram based on genetic distance resulted in two major clusters, although, these were subsequently divided into three, corresponding to the riverine, estuarine and marine populations. The study underlines the usefulness of RFLP of mtDNA D-loop region as molecular markers, and detected at least two differentiated populations of T. ilisha in Bangladesh waters

Understanding Communication of Sustainability Reporting: Application of Symbolic Convergence Theory (SCT)

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of rhetoric and rhetorical strategies that are implicit in the standalone sustainability reporting of the top 24 companies of the Fortune 500 Global. We adopt Bormann’s (Q J Speech 58(4):396–407, 1972) SCT framework to study the rhetorical situation and how corporate sustainability reporting (CSR) messages can be communicated to the audience (public). The SCT concepts in the sustainability reporting’s communication are subject to different types of legitimacy strategies that are used by corporations as a validity and legitimacy claim in the reports. A content analysis has been conducted and structural coding schemes have been developed based on the literature. The schemes are applied to the SCT model which recognizes the symbolic convergent processes of fantasy among communicators in a Society. The study reveals that most of the sample companies communicate fantasy type and rhetorical vision in their corporate sustainability reporting. However, the disclosure or messages are different across locations and other taxonomies of the SCT framework. This study contributes to the current CSR literature about how symbolic or fantasy understandings can be interpreted by the users. It also discusses the persuasion styles that are adopted by the companies for communication purposes. This study is the theoretical extension of the SCT. Researchers may be interested in further investigating other online communication paths, such as human rights reports and director’s reports