A longitudinal comparison of capital structure between young for-profit social and commercial enterprises

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordWe develop a new perspective on capital structure differences between for-profit social and commercial enterprises by combining imprinting and social entrepreneurship theory. Using a longitudinal matched sample, we find that for-profit social enterprises have 40% to 13% lower leverage and up to four times greater leverage stability over time than commercial enterprises. Our results suggest that these differences in capital structure derive from the process of prosocial organizing, which goes beyond the primary focus on financial preferences. Thus, for-profit social enterprises—and similar hybrid organizations, such as B corporations—may require theories adjusted to their context

The consequences of financial leverage: Certified B Corporations’ advantages compared to common commercial firms

This is the final version. Available on open access from Springer via the DOI in this recordFirms usually need to attract debt to form and grow, but increasing financial leverage also entails increased risks and costs for stakeholders, such as customers and employees. Accordingly, past research suggests that for common commercial firms (CCFs), which prioritize profits, higher leverage leads to lower sales growth and higher employment costs. However, Certified B Corporations (CBCs) distinguish themselves by having a credible prosocial mission and, therefore, might be better insulated against the adverse effects of higher leverage. Using a European multi-country matched sample of 136 CBCs and 136 CCFs, we find that the negative relationship between leverage and sales growth and the positive relationship between leverage and employment costs are weaker for CBCs than CCFs. Taken together, due to their certified pro-social mission, CBCs enjoy an advantage in debt financing compared to CCFs.Antwerp University Research Fund (BOF)Research Foundation Flanders (FWO

Business model innovation for eco-efficiency: an empirical study

Business model has the potential to create value and capture value for companies, which is critical for their sustainable development [1]. The concept of eco-efficiency can be a useful concept to link an enterprise’s business with sustainable development as well as achieving long-term profits [2,3]. Extant lit- erature reveals that there is a need to study business model innovation and eco- efficiency under one text to achieve a win-win rationale to increase profits while reducing environmental impact [4,5]. This empirical study conducted 8-in-depth case studies with manufacturing companies across UK and China. The author synthesized the cases and concluded the measures of business model innovation for eco-efficiency in five categories, namely (1) Selling of service model, (2) Direct selling model, (3) Collaboration strategy, (4) Whole system design strat- egy, and (5) Technology renovation strategy. The empirical finding suggests the adaptation of strategy and exploitation of the technologies are essential to busi- ness model innovation when manufacturing companies seeking to implement eco-efficiency

The economic value of corporate eco-efficiency

This study adds new insights to the long-running corporate environmental-financial performance debate by focusing on the concept of eco-efficiency. Using a new database of eco-efficiency scores, we analyse the relation between eco-efficiency and financial performance from 1997 to 2004. We report that eco-efficiency relates positively to operating performance and market value. Moreover, our results suggest that the market's valuation of environmental performance has been time variant, which may indicate that the market incorporates environmental information with a drift. Although environmental leaders initially did not sell at a premium relative to laggards, the valuation differential increased significantly over time. Our results have implications for company managers, who evidently do not have to overcome a tradeoff between eco-efficiency and financial performance, and for investors, who can exploit environmental information for investment decisions

Radiation resistance of single and multilayer coatings against synchrotron radiation

Optical coatings for the use in free electron laser systems have to withstand high power laser radiation and the intense energetic background radiation of the synchrotron radiation source. In general, the bombardment with high energetic photons leads to irreversible changes and a discoloration of the specimen. For the development of appropriate optical coatings, the degradation mechanisms of available optical materials have to be characterized. In this contribution the degradation mechanisms of single layer coatings (fluoride and oxide materials) and multilayer systems will be presented. Fluoride and oxide single layers were produced by thermal evaporation and high energetic ion beam sputter deposition. The same methods were employed for the deposition of multilayer systems. High reflecting coatings for the wavelength region around 180nm were chosen for the irradiation tests. All samples were characterized after production by spectrophotometry covering the VUV, VIS, and MIR spectral range. Mechanical coating stress was evaluated with interferometric methods. Synchrotron irradiation tests were performed at ELETTRA, using a standardized irradiation cycle for all tests. Ambient pressure and possible contamination in the vacuum environment were monitored by mass spectrometry. For comparison, the optical coatings were investigated again in the VUV, VIS, and MIR spectral range after irradiation. On selected samples XRD measurements were performed. The observed degradation mechanisms comprise severe damages like coating and substrate surface ablation. Color centre formation in the VIS spectral range and an increase of VUV absorption were found as a major origin for a severe degradation of VUV transmittance On the basis of the performed investigations, a selection of coating materials and coating systems is possible in respect to the damage effects caused by synchrotron radiation

(Wie) Sollen Unternehmen über Nachhaltigkeit berichterstatten? Ein rechnungslegungsorientierter Ansatz

Nachhaltigkeits- bzw. CSR-Reporting wird zunehmend zu einem Standard für Großunternehmen