Dynamic Capability and Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Adoption: Evidence from China

An increasing number of studies have proposed that corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance depends on how firms apply their resources and capabilities to implement CSR. A firm’s ability to integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and external competencies to respond to environmental changes is its dynamic capability. Implementation of CSR at the strategic level, i.e., strategic CSR (SCSR) that requires alignment between activities and organizational configuration and structure will contribute to a firm’s sustainability. However, the research on how dynamic capabilities contribute to such alignment and SCSR adoption is incipient. This study investigates how dynamic capability influences the performance of SCSR in China. By analyzing 134 Chinese listed firms in the period 2017–2019, in this study, we found that firms with dynamic capabilities at a non-average-industrial level, i.e., higher or lower level than the average industrial level, were less likely to adopt SCSR practices, and had a low SCSR adoption performance. These results can help firms better understand dynamic capabilities and how dynamic capabilities contribute to SCSR adoption and firms’ sustainable development and operations. The policy implications of the study are also discussed

The Effect of Block Ownership on Future Firm Value and Performance

This paper examines the performance of the investment decisions of block owners. The block ownership data is obtained from Dlugosz, Fahlenbrach, Gompers, and Metrick (2006). We find that firm valuation (measured by Tobin's Q), operating performance (measured by changes in return on assets) and stock performance (measured by excess buy and hold returns) are positively and significantly related to the previous years' level of block ownership both in terms of the size of the ownership and the number of blockholders. Our results are robust to endogeneity concerns. Regarding whether a specific blockholder is an “insider” or an “outsider” to the firm, we find that the ownership of “outside” blockholders is a key determinant in explaining future firm performance. Note though that this category makes up about two-thirds of the aggregate amount of blockholding in Dlugosz et al. (2006) database, and also includes all blockholders not classified in other categories. In general, we attribute the superior performance to the presence of more blockholders. We also find an inverse association between the volatility in blockownership and the ex-post firm performance measures

Do financial distress and liquidity crises affect value and size premiums?

This study investigates the impact of liquidity crises on the relationship between stock (value and size) premiums and default risk in the US market. It first examines whether financial distress can explain value and size premiums, and then, subsequently, aims to determine whether liquidity crises increase the risk of value and size premium investment strategies. The study employs a time-varying approach and a sample of US stock returns for the period between January 1982 and March 2011, a period which includes the current liquidity crisis, so as to examine the relationship between default risk, liquidity crises and value and size premiums. The findings indicate that the default premium has explanatory power for value and size and premiums, which affect firms with different characteristics. We also find that liquidity crises may actually increase the risks related to size and value premium strategies

More on scattering of Chern-Simons vortices

I derive a general formalism for finding kinetic terms of the effective Lagrangian for slowly moving Chern-Simons vortices. Deformations of fields linear in velocities are taken into account. From the equations they must satisfy I extract the kinetic term in the limit of coincident vortices. For vortices passing one over the other there is locally the right-angle scattering. The method is based on analysis of field equations instead of action functional so it may be useful also for nonvariational equations in nonrelativistic models of Condensed Matter Physics.Comment: discussion around Eq.(45) is generalised, one more condition for the local right-angle scattering is adde

First Order Vortex Dynamics

A non-dissipative model for vortex motion in thin superconductors is considered. The Lagrangian is a Galilean invariant version of the Ginzburg--Landau model for time-dependent fields, with kinetic terms linear in the first time derivatives of the fields. It is shown how, for certain values of the coupling constants, the field dynamics can be reduced to first order differential equations for the vortex positions. Two vortices circle around one another at constant speed and separation in this model.Comment: 22pages, no figures, tex fil

Examining inequalities in uptake of maternal health care and choice of provider in underserved urban areas of Mumbai, India: A mixed methods study

Background: Discussions of maternity care in developing countries tend to emphasise service uptake and overlook choice of provider. Understanding how families choose among health providers is essential to addressing inequitable access to care. Our objectives were to quantify the determinants and choice of maternity care provider in Mumbai's informal urban settlements, and to explore the reasons underlying their choices. Methods: The study was conducted in informal urban communities in eastern Mumbai. We developed regression models using data from a census of married women aged 15-49 to test for associations between maternal characteristics and uptake of care and choice of provider. We then conducted seven focus group discussions and 16 in-depth interviews with purposively selected participants, and used grounded theory methods to examine the reasons for their choices. Results: Three thousand eight hundred forty-eight women who had given birth in the preceding 2 years were interviewed in the census. The odds of institutional prenatal and delivery care increased with education, economic status, and duration of residence in Mumbai, and decreased with parity. Tertiary public hospitals were the commonest site of care, but there was a preference for private hospitals with increasing socio-economic status. Women were more likely to use tertiary public hospitals for delivery if they had fewer children and were Hindu. The odds of delivery in the private sector increased with maternal education, wealth, age, recent arrival in Mumbai, and Muslim faith. Four processes were identified in choosing a health care provider: exploring the options, defining a sphere of access, negotiating autonomy, and protective reasoning. Women seeking a positive health experience and outcome adopted strategies to select the best or most suitable, accessible provider. Conclusions: In Mumbai's informal settlements, institutional maternity care is the norm, except among recent migrants. Poor perceptions of primary public health facilities often cause residents to bypass them in favour of tertiary hospitals or private sector facilities. Families follow a complex selection process, mediated by their ability to mobilise economic and social resources, and a concern for positive experiences of health care and outcomes. Health managers must ensure quality services, a functioning regulatory mechanism, and monitoring of provider behaviour

Expansion for the solutions of the Bogomolny equations on the torus

We show that the solutions of the Bogomolny equations for the Abelian Higgs model on a two-dimensional torus, can be expanded in powers of a quantity epsilon measuring the departure of the area from the critical area. This allows a precise determination of the shape of the solutions for all magnetic fluxes and arbitrary position of the Higgs field zeroes. The expansion is carried out to 51 orders for a couple of representative cases, including the unit flux case. We analyse the behaviour of the expansion in the limit of large areas, in which case the solutions approach those on the plane. Our results suggest convergence all the way up to infinite area.Comment: 26 pages, 8 figures, slightly revised version as published in JHE

First and Second Order Vortex Dynamics

The low energy dynamics of vortices in selfdual Abelian Higgs theory is of second order in vortex velocity and characterized by the moduli space metric. When Chern-Simons term with small coefficient is added to the theory, we show that a term linear in vortex velocity appears and can be consistently added to the second order expression. We provides an additional check of the first and second order terms by studying the angular momentum in the field theory. We briefly explore other first order term due to small background electric charge density and also the harmonic potential well for vortices given by the moment of inertia.Comment: a rev tex file, 22 pages, no figur

Institutional delivery in public and private sectors in South Asia: A comparative analysis of prospective data from four demographic surveillance sites

__Background:__ Maternity care in South Asia is available in both public and private sectors. Using data from demographic surveillance sites in Bangladesh, Nepal and rural and urban India, we aimed to compare institutional delivery rates and public-private share. __Methods:__ We used records of maternity care collected in socio-economically disadvantaged communities between 2005 and 2011. Institutional delivery was summarized by four potential determinants: household asset index, maternal schooling, maternal age, and parity. We developed logistic regression models for private sector institutional delivery with these as independent covariates. __Results:__ The data described 52 750 deliveries. Institutional delivery proportion varied and there were differences in public-private split. In Bangladesh and urban India, the proportion of deliveries in the private sector increased with wealth, maternal education, and age. The opposite was observed in rural India and Nepal. __Conclusions:__ The proportion of institutional delivery increased with economic status and education. The choice of sector is more complex and provision and perceived quality of public sector services is likely to play a role. Choices for safe maternity are influenced by accessibility, quantity and perceived quality of care. Along with data linkage between privat