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This paper empirically investigates the relation between uncertainty and investment among China's listed companies, and analyzes the influence of government control on the investment-uncertainty relation. We find that there is a negative relation between total firm uncertainty and investment in China's listed companies. However, this holds only for privately controlled firms. Among privately controlled listed firms, investment is negatively related to firm-specific uncertainty, whereas among government-controlled ones, investment is positively related to market uncertainty. We also find that the risk-taking preference of government-controlled listed companies is greater among those firms with fewer investment opportunities. Finally, among financially distressed firms, the negative relation between investment and uncertainty becomes nonsignificant because of risk shifting, which is more serious among government-controlled listed companies. We conclude that government control leads to state interference and weak corporate governance, which, in turn, distorts investment decision making among listed companies.

This article is the first empirical study investigating the corporate reorganisation of Chinese domestically-listed companies. Through examining these cases, it challenges the assertion made by most of these corporate reorganisation plans and by Chinese state-run media reports that creditors and general public shareholders were the major beneficiaries. Through an analysis of the data generated from all forth-three such cases, this articles reveals that: First, unsecured creditors could have, on average, received 61.37% more of their claims if the fundamental value distribution principle, the absolute priority norm, could have been complied with in these reorganisations; Second, if the general-public-shareholder-protection scheme issued by the China Supreme People's Court could be rigorously implemented, 85.37% of the shares relinquished by general public shareholders could have been avoided. These two groups were not the winners. Instead, this article argues that it was local governments and controlling shareholders who were the real winners.

This article is the first empirical study investigating the corporate reorganisation of Chinese domestically-listed companies. Through examining these cases, it challenges the assertion made by most of these corporate reorganisation plans and by Chinese state-run media reports that creditors and general public shareholders were the major beneficiaries. Through an analysis of the data generated from all forth-three such cases, this articles reveals that: First, unsecured creditors could have, on average, received 61.37% more of their claims if the fundamental value distribution principle, the absolute priority norm, could have been complied with in these reorganisations; Second, if the general-public-shareholder-protection scheme issued by the China Supreme People's Court could be rigorously implemented, 85.37% of the shares relinquished by general public shareholders could have been avoided. These two groups were not the winners. Instead, this article argues that it was local governments and controlling shareholders who were the real winners.

We analyze 228 executive compensation contracts voluntarily disclosed by Chinese listed firms and find that central-government-controlled companies disclose more information in executive compensation contracts than local-government-controlled and non-government-controlled companies. Cash-based payments are the main form of executive compensation, whereas equity-based payments are seldom used by Chinese listed companies. On average, there are no significant differences in the value of basic salaries and performance-based compensation in executive compensation contracts. But, compared with their counterparts in non-government-controlled companies, executives in government-controlled companies are given more incentive compensation. Accounting earnings are typically used in executive compensation contracts, with few firms using stock returns to evaluate their executives. However, the use of non-financial measures has increased significantly since 2007.

We analyze 228 executive compensation contracts voluntarily disclosed by Chinese listed firms and find that central-government-controlled companies disclose more information in executive compensation contracts than local-government-controlled and non-government-controlled companies. Cash-based payments are the main form of executive compensation, whereas equity-based payments are seldom used by Chinese listed companies. On average, there are no significant differences in the value of basic salaries and performance-based compensation in executive compensation contracts. But, compared with their counterparts in non-government-controlled companies, executives in government-controlled companies are given more incentive compensation. Accounting earnings are typically used in executive compensation contracts, with few firms using stock returns to evaluate their executives. However, the use of non-financial measures has increased significantly since 2007.

The rapid rise of the business use of social media platform Twitter by organisations around the world, highlights the need for understanding the degree to which the new communication tool has been adopted, and how it is being used for business purposes. US researchers Case and King (2011) and Heaps (2009) provided important early insight into the business use of Twitter, however, their research was limited to a small sample of listed companies from limited industry sectors in the US. Our study builds on these prior research by extending the research to an Australian context and explores the business use of Twitter by the top 100 Australian ASX (Australian Securities Exchange) listed corporations in 2013. The study used general online search methods to identify that 60 Australian companies (60%) from a variety of industry sectors had adopted the business use of Twitter. A thematic template approach was developed based on the combination of prior research and results from a test pilot analysis. The final template consisted of 11 different business communication purposes. This framework was used to examine the content of the business 'tweets' from the 60 companies in order to identify the degree to which Twitter was being used for different business communication purposes, and if industry sectors differed in their business use. The study found that companies had adopted the use of Twitter for a variety of business purposes which differed at the industry level. 'Corporate Promotion', 'Market News' and 'Customer Service Enquiries' were the most popular business purposes for using Twitter. While Consumer Discretionary companies emphasised the use of Twitter for 'Customer Service Enquiries', companies from Industrials, Energy and Materials industries were more likely to disclose 'Financial Reporting' and 'Potential Financial Information'. The findings in this paper endorse the validity of the use of Twitter for business communication purposes for all types of organisations, by providing evidence of the number of ASX firms who had adopted the platform, the different industries they represent, and the broad range of business communication purposes being explored. The findings provide normative guidelines for corporations yet to adopt Twitter, or for those seeking to understand how early adopter firms have leveraged a social media technology, in order to reach and communicate with 21st Century audiences.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: Rebranding is a crucial driver of modern marketing strategies that can only be successful if appropriately communicated to society. This research aims to explain which rebranding-related information companies disclose in their communication on this process using various information dissemination channels.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: To examine the content of 200 disclosures about rebranding, we used topic modelling, which identifies latent patterns of word co-occurrence using computer algorithms and the distribution of words in the analyzed corpus (set of documents). We applied an unsupervised Bayesian machine-learning approach for topic modelling called latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), a cutting-edge method that is still not widely used by scholars.
THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: Rebranding pays out over the lifetime of a company, but society has to be appropriately informed of this decision. The information should be comprehensive, disclosed through multiple channels, and addressed to all stakeholders. However, the question is whether this theoretical knowledge finds its application in companies' practice. We researched each rebranding case of all Polish companies listed on the WSE since 1991 and analyzed how they communicated their rebranding through diverse types information disclosure.
RESEARCH RESULTS: Polish companies are very selective, both in the content of information disclosed and the communication channels they use. They tend to avoid explaining the reasons for rebranding that are vital for society. Information is mainly disclosed through company websites or press releases and primarily has an informal character. They ignore official stock exchange communication channels, even though rebranding information could greatly influence financial performance and value creation.
CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Our findings implicate a need to increase listed companies' awareness concerning the importance of communicating marketing strategy and its potential benefits in the creation of investor relations.

In recent years, many countries have adopted different legislative and self-regulatory initiatives to be able to tackle the problem of the underrepresentation of women on boards. Also, Italy with Law No. 120/2011 introduced the gender issue adopting the normative that 1/3 of the elected members would be women. In this job, a primary aim was to study over the period 2016/2018 the impact of female presence on boards of 50 companies listed on the Italian Stock Exchange. In depth, our results confirm that Italian Law has produced significant effects on the composition of the corporate board. The result of our study shows that women positively influence corporate performance, this is perfectly in line with the literature on gender diversity. The contribution of the work is that the empirical study conducted on the 50 companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange allows confirming what has been claimed in the literature and that is the importance of the female presence on the boards. An immediate reading of the data allows us to confirm that the female presence in corporate governance has a positive impact on corporate performance and productivity.

The level of globalization presented in the 21st century generates in the companies an extremely complex and competitive business environment, requiring efforts to improve the information disclosed, to ensure a higher level of transparency and comparability between different countries. In this context, the Non-Financial Reporting Directive 2014/95 / EU as implemented, since 2017, the obligation for public interest companies with more than 500 employees to disclose information with a description of the business model, policies, risks, environmental and social performance, as well as measures for workers, respect for human rights, gender equality and the fight against corruption and bribery. This study assessed the degree of compliance with Decree-Law (DL) No. 89/2017, which transposed that directive to Portugal, by companies listed on Euronext Lisbon, through an analysis of the content of their management reports, accounts and sustainability reports, based on a disclosure index, built on eight mandatory disclosure items. Through a linear regression model, we have also identified the explanatory factors for the disclosure index of each entity. The results allow us to conclude that the degree of compliance with DL 89/2017 is quite high, since the average disclosure index is around 0.875. The least disclosed items were the fight against corruption and bribery attempts, bodies diversity policies and human rights. From the linear regression model we have concluded that only the size of the company and the type of report are statistically significant factors, explaining 30.40% of the value obtained in the disclosure index.

This article will examine the legal relationship between the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and listed companies. It will be argued that the legal framework of this relationship is so indeterminate as to raise the question of whether it creates a binding obligation upon either the ASX or listed companies. The indeterminacy of the framework is caused in part by an assumption that contract forms te basis of the relationship. That assumption will be disputed. The assumption has given rise to two distinct approaches by the judiciary in interpreting the listing relationship. One approach - the narrow school - tends to deny the efficacy of both the contract and the legal framework built upon it. By contrast, the wide school embraces the assumption as to the efficacy of the contract. In the result, the legal obligations arising from the relationship are very unclear. There have been various attempts by the legislature to bolster the operation of the contract, such as the enactment of s 777 of the Corporations Law and its predecessors. The most recent example is the passage of the Corporate Law Reform Act 1994. This Act uses the listing rules as the basis of the obligation upon listed companies to make disclosures under the continuous disclosure regime. It will be argued that these provisions only build upon the quandry and create further but dependent obligations which are confounded by the indeterminacy of the core.

This article will examine the legal relationship between the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and listed companies. It will be argued that the legal framework of this relationship is so indeterminate as to raise the question of whether it creates a binding obligation upon either the ASX or listed companies. The indeterminacy of the framework is caused in part by an assumption that contract forms te basis of the relationship. That assumption will be disputed. The assumption has given rise to two distinct approaches by the judiciary in interpreting the listing relationship. One approach - the narrow school - tends to deny the efficacy of both the contract and the legal framework built upon it. By contrast, the wide school embraces the assumption as to the efficacy of the contract. In the result, the legal obligations arising from the relationship are very unclear. There have been various attempts by the legislature to bolster the operation of the contract, such as the enactment of s 777 of the Corporations Law and its predecessors. The most recent example is the passage of the Corporate Law Reform Act 1994. This Act uses the listing rules as the basis of the obligation upon listed companies to make disclosures under the continuous disclosure regime. It will be argued that these provisions only build upon the quandry and create further but dependent obligations which are confounded by the indeterminacy of the core.