Institutional distance and foreign subsidiary performance in emerging markets: moderating effects of ownership strategy and host-country experience

Institutional distance has been known to be an important driver of Multinational Enterprises’ strategies and performance in host countries. Based on a large panel dataset of 10562 firms operating in 17 emerging markets and spanning 80 home countries, we re-examine the relationship described by Gaur and Lu (2007) between regulatory institutional distance and subsidiary performance. We extend this research by (1) examining this relationship in the context of emerging markets, (2) examining the moderating effects of ownership strategy and host-country experience within the context of emerging markets and (3) accounting for a greater variety of institutions by including a large number of home and host countries. We find that institutional distance negatively affects subsidiary performance in emerging markets. Our findings also show that the negative effects of institutional distance on subsidiary performance are lesser for subsidiaries with partial ownership (than for subsidiaries with full ownership) and for subsidiaries with greater host-country experience. We discuss our findings with respect to Gaur and Lu’s model, which explores the relationships between these variables in a general context

Social disclosure and cost of equity in public companies in Brazil

Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo analisar a relação entre o nível de social disclosure e o custo de capital próprio em companhias abertas no Brasil. Assume-se a hipótese de que os programas sociais externos promovidos ou apoiados pelas empresas contribuem para a construção da imagem reputacional das organizações, compensando as externalidades, trazendo benefícios sob o ponto de vista econômico, pela relação negativa com o custo do capital. Para testar essa hipótese, foram coletados e analisados os relatórios de responsabilidade social de 83 empresas listadas na Bolsa de Valores, Mercadorias e Futuros de São Paulo (BM&FBovespa), no período de 2005 a 2009. Para avaliação do nível de social disclosure das empresas analisadas, foi utilizado um índice composto de 13 indicadores. O custo de capital próprio foi ajustado ao risco mediante o Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) e testado por meio de regressão com dados em painel com efeitos fixos seccionais. Os resultados evidenciam que há relação negativa entre custo de capital próprio e nível de social disclosure, indicando, para o mercado acionário brasileiro, uma forma semiforte de eficiência de mercado. _________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThis study aims to analyze the relationship between the level of social disclosure and the cost of equity in public companies in Brazil. The hypothesis is that external social programs promoted or supported by a company increase the organization's reputation, compensate for externalities and bring economic benefits through the negative relationship with the cost of equity. To test this hypothesis, social responsibility reports of 83 companies listed on the São Paulo Stock, Mercantile and Futures Exchanges (Bolsa de Valores, Mercadorias e Futuros de São Paulo - BM&FBovespa) from the period 2005-2009 were collected and analyzed. A composite index of 13 indicators was used to evaluate the social disclosure level of the companies analyzed. The cost of equity was risk-adjusted using the capital asset-pricing model (CAPM) and regression tested using panel data with cross-sectional fixed effects. The results show a negative relationship between the cost of equity and level of social disclosure, indicating that the Brazilian stock market has a semi-strong form of market efficiency

Corporate reputation past and future: a review and integration of existing literature and a framework for future research

The concept of corporate reputation is steadily growing in interest among management researchers and practitioners. In this article, we trace key milestones in the development of reputation literature over the past six decades to suggest important research gaps as well as to provide contextual background for a subsequent integration of approaches and future outlook. In particular we explore the need for better categorised outcomes; a wider range of causes; and a deeper understanding of contingencies and moderators to advance the field beyond its current state while also taking account of developments in the macro business environment. The article concludes by presenting a novel reputation framework that integrates insights from reputation theory and studies, outlines gaps in knowledge and offers directions for future research

Multinationality and performance literature: a critical review and future research agenda

The literature on the relationship between the degree of multinationality (M) and performance (P) in the context of multinational enterprises (MNEs) has attracted a large volume of research in the past 50 years. Yet, the theoretical foundations and the empirical conclusions concerning the nature of M–P relationship vary greatly, thus call for a critical review and assessment. We examine 135 articles in 39 leading scholarly journals and classic books published during the period 1960–2015. We use an inductive approach and a qualitative content analysis methodology for our comprehensive and critical review of the literature. We incorporate international business, finance, and accounting perspectives in our analysis. We review the conceptualization and measurement of M, P, the findings on M–P relationships, methodologies, and geographic focus. We identify six key inconsistencies in the existing research, which cause ambiguity in the relevant findings. We make eight recommendations for future research to address these inconsistencies. Thus, our study contributes to the central debate in this research field