Macroeconomic conditions are only an illusion, not the solution, to firm sustainability: unveiling the new dimension of stakeholder well-being

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahid Irshad Younas ◽  
Mahvesh Khan ◽  
Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh Al-Faryan
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Macroeconomic Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Macroeconomic Conditions ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The One

Purpose The purpose of the study is to explore the misconception that in developed countries, macroeconomic performance lead to sustainable firms or improves stakeholder well-being. The results may be the opposite or even worse. Design/methodology/approach This study examined this misconception using balanced panel data from 1,122 firms from different sectors of the US economy and data on macroeconomic performance from the World Bank. Findings The results of the one-step generalised method of moments indicate that most macroeconomic performance indicators had significant and negative impacts on firm sustainability and stakeholder well-being. Practical implications From a societal perspective, the results illustrate that the fruits of macroeconomic performance of the US economy do not reach stakeholders through firms’ sustainability. Thus, linking the economy’s macroeconomic performance with firm sustainability is vital for sustainably uplifting society and for stakeholder well-being. Originality/value From a policy perspective, this study reveals that the greater focus on macroeconomic performance in the USA over the past decades has resulted in lower firm sustainability because of the malfunctioning of social, economic, environmental and governance factors. This has negatively influenced stakeholder well-being in the country.

A retrospect on the US apparel industry: expert predictions and reality data

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris H. Kincade ◽  
Kate E. Annett-Hitchcock
Keyword(s):  
Critical Time ◽  
Apparel Industry ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Steady Increase ◽  
Market Uncertainty ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Southeast Us

Purpose In 1978, the once powerful US apparel industry was on the cusp of change, and the consulting firm KSA conducted a Delphi survey of apparel executives’ predictions into the 2000s. The purpose of this paper is to compare actual changes over the subsequent decades with these 1978 expert predictions and explore the accuracy/inaccuracy of these “educated guesses” (KSA, 1978, p. 1). Design/methodology/approach The chorographic method was used to analyze the report and document historical data. Chorography is “concerned with significance of place, regional characterization, [and] local history […]” (Rohl, 2012, p.1) and includes contextual settings and researcher input. Primary data were examined during each decade and included: industry literature, government documents and labor data. The researchers used content analysis to reduce and organize data. Findings Findings cover three decades of Southeast US apparel industry data including imports, employment, number of plants, size of plants and productivity. Predictions were inaccurate about imports, predicted to be minor in comparison with domestic production, which they actually surpassed. Predicted decrease in employment was similar to actual decrease but reasons were inaccurate. Change in number and size of plants were over-predicted and under-predicted. Reasons given by experts were automation and government intervention; in actuality, limited automation occurred with insignificant impact in contrast to outsourcing, which decimated employment in US plants. Steady increase in productivity was predicted when productivity often decreased. Originality/value Previous studies focus on the textile sector; studies of the apparel sector tend to be regional or topical. This study is more expansive and provides insight into predictions and changes made in the US apparel industry at a critical time in its near demise. With the current climate of global change and increased market uncertainty, insights from this study may provide direction for rethinking of the domestic apparel industry for the USA and other developed countries.

Considering online consumer reviews to predict movie box-office performance between the years 2009 and 2014 in the US

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1010-1026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya-Han Hu ◽  
Wen-Ming Shiau ◽  
Sheng-Pao Shih ◽  
Cho-Ju Chen
Keyword(s):  
Support Vector ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Box Office ◽  
Performance Predictions ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The One ◽  
Box Office Performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to combine basic movie information factors, external factors and review factors, to predict box-office performance and identify the most crucial factor of influence for box-office performance. Design/methodology/approach Five movie genres and first-week movie reviews found on IMDb were collected. The movie reviews were quantified using sentiment analysis tools SentiStrength and Stanford CoreNLP, in which quantified data were combined with basic movie information and external environment factors to predict movie box-office performance. A movie box-office performance prediction model was then developed using data mining (DM) technologies with M5 model trees (M5P), linear regression (LR) and support vector regression (SVR), after which movie box-office performance predictions were made. Findings The results of this paper showed that the inclusion of movie reviews generated more accurate prediction results. Concerning movie review-related factors, the one that exhibited the greatest effect on box-office performance was the number of movie reviews made, whereas movie review content only displayed an effect on box-office performance for specific movie genres. Research limitations/implications Because this paper collected movie data from the IMDb, the data were limited and primarily consisted of movies released in the USA; data pertaining to less popular movies or those released outside of the USA were, thus, insufficient. Practical implications This paper helps to verify whether the consideration of the features extracted from movie reviews can improve the performance of movie box-office. Originality/value Through various DM technologies, this paper shows that movie reviews enhanced the accuracy of box-office performance predictions and the content of movie reviews has an effect on box-office performance.

Were the US workers in “essential” sectors well paid?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Pey Ou ◽  
Yun-Peng Chu
Keyword(s):  
Retail Trade ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Administrative Procedure ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
Linkage Effect ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Forward Linkage

PurposeWhen the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic seriously hit the USA, a lot of cities/states announced their lockdowns, in some cases forbidding employees to go to work. But workers in the so called “essential sectors” were exempt from the order, and on the contrary were required to remain on the job in order to maintain the services and functions considered vital to the community. If they have not been paid well in comparison to those in the other sectors, there would be a stronger case for granting them a special hazard pay during the pandemic. This paper aims to design a way to measure the “importance” or being “essential” of the different sectors in the economy, and then investigates whether the actual pay of the workers in these sectors is consistent with the measured importance.Design/methodology/approachAt least two policy issues emerged from such an arrangement: (1) How can one define the “essential sectors” objectively instead of the authorities preparing a list according to their administrative procedure? (2) How well have been the workers in the essential sectors paid before the pandemic strike? The concept of a revised Leontief forward linkage effect will be used in an input–output model to gauge the relative “importance” of the different sectors in the US economy. Then the measured importance will be compared with the average compensation of the employees in these sectors.FindingsIt is found that for some sectors such as agriculture, retail trade, and repair and installation of machinery and equipment the ratio of workers' compensation relative to the national average is substantially lower than the relative importance of the sectors employing them. That is, many of them have been substantially underpaid in spite of their importance.Research limitations/implicationsThe scope of this study is limited to one country, the USA, but the methodology can be applied to other countries as well.Originality/valueThis study is an original research that contributes to an improved understanding of the importance of the workers engaged in different sectors in the USA during COVID-19.

scholarly journals Sector size, technical change and stability in the USA (1957-2006): a Schumpeterian approach

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (10) ◽  
pp. 956-974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Konstantakis ◽  
Panayotis G. Michaelides ◽  
Theofanis Papageorgiou
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Technological Change ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
Data Framework ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate two famous postulates of the Schumpeterian doctrine and its implications for the US economy. Design/methodology/approach – Analytically, the authors investigate whether sector size matters for sectoral: technological change and stability, as expressed through the relevant quantitative measures and variables. To this end, the authors test a number of relevant models that express the various forms of this relationship. More precisely, the authors use panel data for the 14 main sectors of economic activity in the USA over the period 1957-2006, just before the first signs of the US and global recession made their appearance. Findings – The results seem to be in line with the Schumpeterian postulate that market size matters for technological change and economic stability, for the US economy (1957-2006). Clearly, further research would be of great interest. Originality/value – This work contributes to the literature in the following ways: first, it provides an extensive review of the literature on the subject and adopts two relevant methodological approaches. Second, based on these quantitative approaches, the paper offers a complete investigation of two famous postulates of the Schumpeterian theory for the US economy, and it is the first, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to do so by sector of economic activity, in a panel data framework. Third, the paper uses a wide data set (1957-2006) to examine the US economy up until the first signs of the US and global economic recession made their appearance.

scholarly journals Heterogeneous firm-level responses to the US 2018 tariff announcement

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yafeng Qin ◽  
Zikai Yang ◽  
Min Bai
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Stock Market ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Chinese Stock Market ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis study examines the impact of the $60 billion tariff announcement of the US government on the Chinese exporting firms. In particular, it focuses on the firms whose revenues are highly dependent on the US economy.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses an experimental analysis and the event study methodology. The sample includes firms listed in mainland China and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges that have the highest revenues from exporting to the USA. The data are obtained from China Stock Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR) and DataStream.FindingsThe authors find that the tariff announcement has significantly negative impacts on stock performance both before and after the announcement, and the impacts are heterogeneous across all sample firms. For A shares listed in Mainland China, firms with more revenues from the US experience greater price drops on the announcement day, regardless of being in the targeted industry or not. But such finding is absent from H shares listed in Hong Kong. The authors also find that for all the firms, greater pricing power can alleviate the impacts of the tariff announcement.Research limitations/implicationsThe results provide implications to investors, policymakers and regulators on the further US-China cooperation in the future.Originality/valueThis is the first study documenting the heterogeneity of the impact of the tariff announcement and thus contributes to the prosperous studies on the varied firm-level responses in the Chinese stock market, and to the burgeoning literature by filling the gap of the financial market responses to the protectionist policy announcement.

scholarly journals Lights and shadows of Affordable Care Act and its influence on world civilization

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-140
Author(s):  
Matteo Migheli ◽  
Cinzia Di Novi
Keyword(s):  
Affordable Care Act ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Large Country ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First World

Purpose The Obama’s reform of the US healthcare system has been a major topic of debate in the USA. The USA feels the need to provide 48 million residents with health insurance. The Affordable Care Act has this goal, but the several factors have limited its capacity and implementation. The purpose of this paper is to discuss this reform, paying attention to its potential implications for the human and economic development of both the USA and the rest of the world. The authors show that developed countries also need policies for enhancing human development and also the developing world may benefit from policy changes in the “first world.” Design/methodology/approach The methodology is based on discursive discussion. The argumentation first presents the reform, and highlights its advantages and its flaws for the citizens of both the USA and of developing countries. Findings The authors claim that the reform presents some flaws that render it still insufficient to cover all the health needs of the poor in the USA. However, the reform is likely to attract more immigrant workers to the USA, since it is likely to improve the living conditions of immigrants as well as those of their families. Originality/value The original point of the paper is the link between the reform and the benefits for non-US citizens. The extant literature has widely discussed the impact of the reform on the domestic market and on the US citizens. The authors widen this perspective showing that an important reform in a large country may be beneficial for people living elsewhere as well.

European competitiveness and sustainable development – A policy-oriented response to “Rethinking the role of the EU in enhancing European competitiveness”

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Aiginger
Keyword(s):  
Labour Productivity ◽  
Social Indicators ◽  
World Order ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Eu

Purpose The world order is changing, with the lead of the US waning, along with its reduced commitment to rule-based multilateralism during the past administration. China is on the way to becoming number one again, investing abroad with primarily egoistic motives and steered by an authoritarian domestic regime. Meanwhile, the EU is striving for a new geopolitical role, while becoming more heterogenous. Design/methodology/approach The paper measures performance and competitiveness not only according to conventional criteria but also based on broader welfare indicators. The ultimate aim of competitiveness is to deliver well-being. Decentralized local strategies are presented, but also the need for guidance by societal goals. Findings What we measure matters. The EU is underperforming in per capita GDP and failing to close the gap in labour productivity towards the frontier defined by the USA. But it is leading in environmental and social indicators, has an accessible health system and provides increasing longevity. This performance nevertheless has to be improved, if climate goals should be fulfilled and upcoming new inequalities addressed. Originality/value Localization and place-based strategies have advantages, but also harper the danger that negative spillovers may not be minimized and positive not used. Innovation is a search process but has to be directed by goals in Europe and globally. Otherwise, change incurs high costs and many losers, fostering nationalism and populistic calls to return to a past glory that never existed.

Healthcare fraud under the microscope: improving its prevention

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 1039-1061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole F. Stowell ◽  
Martina Schmidt ◽  
Nathan Wadlinger
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Health Institutions ◽  
The Government ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to make readers aware of the extensiveness of healthcare fraud in the USA and how it involves and affects the government, healthcare providers, insurance companies, patients and the public. In addition, recommendations are made that may help control this pervasive type of fraud. Design/methodology/approach A range of different journal publications, information from government health institutions and law enforcement websites, healthcare fraud cases and healthcare laws are used as a basis to provide information about how fraudsters are committing healthcare fraud and how to prevent this fraud from occurring. Findings Despite increased funding and prosecution efforts by the government, healthcare fraud continues to be a major threat to the US economy and public. While healthcare fraud will never be eradicated, specific efforts can be deployed to help rein in these complex fraud schemes. Practical implications The paper provides a useful resource of information on healthcare fraud for healthcare providers, insurance companies, patients and the public that may help combat healthcare fraud and prevent financial losses. Social implications Every dollar saved from combating fraud could be used to improve access to more or better health services and can, thereby, save lives. Originality/value This paper provides recommendations regarding healthcare fraud that could help prevent this large drain on the US economy.

Transit accessibility for older adults in the Greater Lansing, Michigan region

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeenat Kotval-K
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Geographical Information Systems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Us Census

Purpose With the growing preference of the generation of ageing baby boomers to age in place, mobility has played an increasingly important role in their continued physical and mental well-being. As older adults drive less, their ability to travel freely where and when they desire becomes increasingly limited. Consequences of this include the cessation of various activities and services that are necessary for daily living. Transportation immobility is known to negatively impact the quality of life through physical, mental, and social isolation. For any initiative or policy to be put in place, an assessment of the current state of transportation services, specifically for older adults, needs to be carried out. The purpose of this paper is to assess the access to public transit in the Greater Lansing, Michigan region, which has a population density of about 2,042 people per square kilometre, available to ageing adults, especially when they have to stop driving. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a spatial approach through the use of geographical information systems to assess the transit infrastructure available for use by older adults in the Greater Lansing region. Findings This paper finds a considerable gap in available options and that some of these can be addressed by quite simple actions and initiatives. Research limitations/implications Because the data were drawn from the US Census, the spatial analysis is limited to block-level data. The US Census (2011) defines blocks as “statistical areas bounded by visible features such as roads, streams, and railroad tracks, and by nonvisible boundaries such as property lines, city, township, school district, county limits and short line-of-sight extensions of roads”. More detailed geographical data would have enabled a more comprehensive analysis. Practical implications This study area is typical of many small towns in the USA and underlines the need for more policy- and community-led transit initiatives to address this critical barrier to optimal ageing. Originality/value This paper fulfils an identified need to study the transit infrastructure of a range of urban areas and ascertain whether it currently fulfils mobility needs of older adults who do not drive.

Individual religious involvements in America across time

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Chan ◽  
Shu-Kam Lee
Keyword(s):  
General Social Survey ◽  
Religious Activities ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pooled Data ◽  
Parental Background ◽  
The Us ◽  
Tobit Analysis ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Negative Impacts

Purpose – This paper aims to characterize those who take part in three different type religious activities (prayers, monetary donations and worship attendances) in the USA using 1972-2010 General Social Survey pooled data. Design/methodology/approach – The authors have identified factors that affect each activity using Tobit analysis. Findings – There are only three common factors (marriage, race and parental background) that influence all of these three activities and the directions of impacts are not the same. Black churchgoers are more engaging in all of these three activities, the same is true for those whose parents attend church regularly. However, marriage has positive impacts on both worship attendances and monetary donations, but has negative impacts on prayers. Originality/value – This paper contributes by breaking down giving into three categories and using 38 years of pooled data in the US General Social Survey.

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