Search results

AbstractEnvironmental, social, and governance (ESG) management is an essential element for corporate sustainability. However, the effect of ESG management on corporate financial performance (CFP) is inconsistent, and not many studies have been conducted for Asia and developing countries, which are in the early stage of ESG management. In addition, although R&D investment influences ESG management, few studies have focused on the relationship between R&D investment, ESG, and CFP. We analyse the effect of ESG management on CFP using panel data combining ESG rating and financial data of Korean companies and examine moderating effect of R&D investment between ESG and CFP. We find the following results. First, ESG performance has a negative effect on CFP while there is no statistically significant effect in heavily polluting industries (HPI). Second, R&D investment has no significance on CFP, but a positive moderating effect exists between environmental (E) and social (S) performance and CFP. With environmental issues and climate change being a global concern, this study provides theoretical and managerial implications for companies to create synergies in R&D investment and ESG management.

AbstractCountries with low technology levels have narrowed the technological gap with developed countries through continuous and strategic R&D (Research and Development) investment. However, inefficient R&D with a low performance is among the chronic problems of these countries. While factors such as budget, manpower, and operational process influence R&D innovation output (IO), the autonomous R&D climate and commitment in projects are also essential. This study analyzes the effects of professional autonomy (PA) and project commitment (PC) on the performance of 1,087 government-funded R&D projects in Korea. Our results indicate that PA improves R&D IO in the research planning stage. Additionally, PC has a negative effect on R&D IO, but there are positive moderating effects between both large firm involvement and project duration and R&D performance. Our study on research autonomy and commitment presents policy implications for improving the efficiency of R&D projects in countries that are transitioning from catching up to leading in R&D.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has become a necessity in social and economic development and is a leading sector to enable and drive growth in other sectors in Cambodia such as education, agriculture, and health. Recently, the mobile telecom service market in Cambodia has demonstrated rapid growth, which is jumping off the fixed-line, with a penetration rate of 75.27% of the total population by the end of 2010. Despite this rapid growth rate, the mobile telecom service market in Cambodia faces a number of key challenges. There seems to be excessive competition in the mobile telecom service market due to the number of operators (eight active operators). In the short term, this market favors demand side rather than supply side by lowering prices. Consumers' welfare increases with the lower prices resulting from heavy competition. Also the dominant market players gain relatively higher profits while those of the less-dominant players have been squeezed by increasing market polarization. Furthermore, there is a lack of sector policy framework, Telecommunication Law, which means government Ad hoc regulations are implemented in the market to resolve the issues. These factors will contribute to market failure and lower market efficiency in the long run. This study examines the competitive environment of the mobile phone market in Cambodia to identify what the challenges are and how to overcome them through the involvement stakeholders in the mobile phone market in Cambodia. In addition, we criticize the current static efficiency-based market performance. We analyze various data including relevant government documents, operators' data, and materials from relevant websites. Furthermore, a survey was conducted with 150 people to examine the consumers' assessment on the experiences of mobile telecom services usage. The expected results will verify that the current static efficiency-based policy framework results in a stagnant market and is lacking sustainable driving force, which needs to be resolved in the dynamic perspective. Finally, we propose future policy framework for the dynamic efficiency enhancement in the market.

AbstractThis study explores whether the 'strength of weak ties' theory, derived from social network theory, can equally apply to business activities. To address this question, we conduct an empirical analysis, utilising 3‐year panel data encompassing 3881 samples of Korean small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the high‐tech manufacturing sector. The primary objective is to examine the effects of inter‐corporate tie strength on innovative performance. The results reveal an interesting pattern in high‐tech manufacturing corporations, where the strength of a tie demonstrates an inverted U‐shaped relationship with an SME's patent achievement. Moreover, we observe that the effect of tie strength on an SME's patent achievement is positively moderated by its research and development (R&D) intensity. Furthermore, when an SME maintains weak ties within its relationship with a large corporation, its innovative performance experiences a more positive impact than in cases where no relationship with a large corporation exists, or strong ties are maintained. These findings suggest that for SMEs, maintaining an appropriate level of embeddedness with large corporations is an effective strategy for generating sustained innovative performance within an environment characterised by active technological innovation and intense competition. The principal contribution of this paper lies in the empirical validation of the theory of weak ties concerning a firm's innovative performance.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is a major threat to public health in the United States and worldwide. Understanding the role of environmental chemicals in the development or progression of diabetes is an emerging issue in environmental health. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the epidemiologic literature for evidence of associations between persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Using a PubMed search and reference lists from relevant studies or review articles, we identified 72 epidemiological studies that investigated associations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) with diabetes. We evaluated these studies for consistency, strengths and weaknesses of study design (including power and statistical methods), clinical diagnosis, exposure assessment, study population characteristics, and identification of data gaps and areas for future research. CONCLUSIONS: Heterogeneity of the studies precluded conducting a meta-analysis, but the overall evidence is sufficient for a positive association of some organochlorine POPs with type 2 diabetes. Collectively, these data are not sufficient to establish causality. Initial data mining revealed that the strongest positive correlation of diabetes with POPs occurred with organochlorine compounds, such as trans-nonachlor, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and dioxins and dioxin-like chemicals. There is less indication of an association between other nonorganochlorine POPs, such as perfluoroalkyl acids and brominated compounds, and type 2 diabetes. Experimental data are needed to confirm the causality of these POPs, which will shed new light on the pathogenesis of diabetes. This new information should be considered by governmental bodies involved in the regulation of environmental contaminants.