Research in International Business and Finance最新文献

Utilizing consolidated and parent company financial statement data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2022, this study empirically examines the impact of group debt distribution on ESG performance. The study reveals that as the proportion of debt financing assumed by the parent company increases, the ESG performance of the corporate group improves. After conducting endogeneity tests and other robustness checks, the research findings remain consistent. Further analysis shows that concentrated liabilities can improve the environmental, social, and governance performance of the group. Cross-sectional analysis demonstrates that the influence of concentrated liabilities on ESG performance is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises, during periods of high economic policy uncertainty, non-heavy pollution industry companies, when subsidiaries are geographically dispersed, and when there are more subsidiaries in various industries. This study provides empirical support for the positive externality of internal capital markets and offers valuable insights for ESG practices among listed companies.

This study empirically examines the effectiveness of impact investing of private firms in Slovenia. We use a sample of 7671 distinct private firms during the 2005–2020 period applying for and eventually receiving various government grants. This allows us to identify firms with the intent to impact-invest. We employ the staggered difference-in-difference (SDiD) approach recently proposed by Baker et al. (2022) and Athey and Imbens (2022) to assess the outcomes of these investments over time and across firms. SDiD allows for firms switching back and forth between receiving and not receiving grants and thus being a treated observation or a potential control observation respectively. Our results show that firms receiving an impact investing grant, on average, increase the number of employees in the subsequent period, generate higher cash flows from operations, increase value added per employee, make higher capital investments, have higher levels of exports, but grants hinder firm productivity in the short-run. PSM, the time-varying average treatment effects, and Heckman’s two-stage approach robustness analyses further support the conclusions that the impact investing grants successfully foster firm performance.

This study explores how the firms’ perception of global uncertainty (FGU) affects R&D investment of listed firms in China. Our analysis is rooted in the understanding and measurement of FGU. Consistent with the theory of strategic growth, we find a significantly positive correlation between FGU and R&D investment. We further elucidate the mechanism underlining this correlation. When FGU increases, financing and labour resources are shifted towards R&D activities, promoting R&D investment. We also examine and explain how this correlation is magnified for firms in less competitive industries, those with higher tangible asset ratios, those related to states, and those with lower deleveraging levels. Finally, we divide FGU into five categories and investigate which subcomponent of FGU has the relatively greatest impact on R&D investment. FGU related to criminal and political events has a greater influence on R&D investment than other types of FGU.

This paper explores the impact of Confucian culture on the environmental management practices of firms, utilizing data from A-share listed companies in China from 2009 to 2022. The study reveals several significant findings: (1) Firms in regions with a stronger presence of Confucian culture are more likely to adopt environmentally responsible management practices; (2) Confucian culture enhances firms' environmental management through three channels: promoting innovation, easing financing constraints, and reducing managerial myopia, with a particular emphasis on alleviating financing constraints; (3) Regional environmental regulations mitigate the positive influence of Confucian culture on firms' environmental management practices. This study contributes to the literature by elucidating the determinants of corporate environmental management and emphasizing the critical role of cultural factors, particularly in overcoming financial barriers, in corporate decision-making.