The impact of global risk on the performance of socially responsible and conventional stock indices

Research background: In the last decades social responsible investment has evolved into an important and influential investment class. What supports then the development of SRI? The neoclassical approach suggests that the attractiveness of investment should result from the risk-return relationship that is satisfying for the investor. However, the performance analysis of SRI vs. conventional investment, conducted in numerous research papers, often delivers contradictory conclusions. If financial factors could not explain the phenomenon of SRI, nonfinancial factors may have played a decisive role in the formation of modern SRI market. Purpose of the article: The purpose of this paper is to analyze financial investment perfor-mance of socially responsible vs. respective conventional indices in the periods of high, low and unidentified global risk. Therefore, a following research hypothesis was verified: SR indices perform financially better in high-risk periods than in low-risk periods. This hypoth-esis is justified by the assumption that, when selecting SRI, investors go by a longer invest-ment horizon than they do when selecting other investments, not subject to such verification. Methods: Among SR indices, we chose three to compare them with their conventional counterparts: DJSI US vs. DJITR (USA), DJSI Korea vs. KOSPI (South Korea) and Respect Index vs. WIG20TR (Poland). The VIX index was used as the global measure of risk aver-sion. To measure the relative performance of SR and conventional indices in different risk periods, we applied risk-adjusted performance measures, including RSD, Sharpe and Treynor ratios, traditional and asymmetrical CAPM. Findings & Value added: The research shows that conventional and socially responsible indices do not differ statistically in terms of risk and return irrespective of global risk. Our research confirms that the rising, socially responsible, investment market cannot be analyzed only through the prism of simplified rational choices. Additionally, it should be analyzed in terms of moral philosophy and behavioral economics, including the psycho-social features of investors.

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Assessing the effects of socially responsible strategic partnerships on building brand equity of integrated business structures in Ukraine

Oeconomia Copernicana ◽

10.24136/oc.2018.035 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 715-730 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Lyudmila Ganushchak-Efimenko ◽

Valeriia Shcherbak ◽

Оlena Nifatova

Keyword(s):

Brand Equity ◽

Online Survey ◽

Brand Management ◽

Value Added ◽

Strategic Partnerships ◽

Socially Responsible ◽

Global Trends ◽

Survey Results ◽

Business Structures ◽

The Impact

Research background: At present, it is critical to raise awareness on how global trends of doing business within the framework of sustainable development affect the success of each business unit, integration associations, and apparently contribute to a nation’s prosperity. Thus, a study aimed at measuring the effects of socially responsible strategic partnerships on building brand equity of integrated business structures (IBS) will provide deeper insights into assessing the effectiveness and relevance of disseminating CSR practices. Purpose of the article: The paper attempts to evaluate the degree of effect of socially responsible strategic partnerships on building strong brand equity of integrated business structures. Methods: The participants in the assessment have been selected from the Forbes TOP 200 largest companies in Ukraine (the ranking was based not only on sales, such metrics as companies’ financial performance, total assets and their current assessed value were also considered). The input data on the CSR indices were obtained from the Center for CSR Development Ukraine. The index of loyalty to a certain brand was calculated as an integral ratio of satisfaction and importance to customers (based on online survey results). To analyze the impact of the endogenous variable of CSR on IBS branding effectiveness (customer loyalty index and brand equity) and its cost effectiveness, correlation regression and factor analysis methods were applied. Findings & Value added: This study demonstrates the feasibility and economic justification of the impact of socially responsible strategic partnerships on brand equity development for integrated business structures. The research has significant implications for brand management of integrated business structures by providing empirical evidence that will improve understanding of the need to implement the concept of socially responsible branding that right today resonates with the moral society.

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The Impact of Socially Responsible Investment upon Corporate Social Responsibility

Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility ◽

10.4324/978131547007-17 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 171-195

Keyword(s):

Corporate Social Responsibility ◽

Social Responsibility ◽

Socially Responsible Investment ◽

Socially Responsible ◽

Responsible Investment ◽

Corporate Social ◽

The Impact

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The impact of socially responsible investment index constituent announcements on firm price: evidence from the JSE

South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences ◽

10.4102/sajems.v15i4.236 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 429-439 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Chimwemwe Chipeta ◽

Olga Gladysek

Keyword(s):

Global Financial Crisis ◽

Abnormal Returns ◽

Total Sample ◽

Socially Responsible Investment ◽

Socially Responsible ◽

Event Window ◽

Responsible Investment ◽

Study Methodology ◽

The Global Financial Crisis ◽

The Impact

This paper examines whether Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Index constituent announcements have any impact on the returns of firms listing on the JSE SRI Index. The event study methodology is utilised to estimate abnormal returns for the firms included in the Index. The results indicate insignificant average abnormal returns (AARs) for the years 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, suggesting no significant shareholder gains over the entire event window. However, the year 2005 is associated with positive and significant abnormal returns. Post announcement cumulative average abnormal returns (CAARs) are positive for the years 2005 and 2007. However, the year 2008 exhibited extreme swings in CAARs with a general declining trend in the latter part of the event window. These swings are attributed to the global financial crisis of 2008. Furthermore, the cumulative returns for the total sample show no clear outperformance of the SRI over the JSE All Share Index.

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The impact of labour productivity on wages in Bulgaria, 2000-2017

SEER ◽

10.5771/1435-2869-2019-2-217 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 217-224

Author(s):

Lyuboslav Kostov

Keyword(s):

Econometric Model ◽

Labour Productivity ◽

Value Added ◽

Decisive Role ◽

Technological Advance ◽

Future Research ◽

Gross Value Added ◽

Starting Point ◽

The Impact ◽

Main Factor

In the post-crisis period, the traditional relationship between labour productivity and wages has been called increasingly into question as a result of recent changes in the labour-capital ratio. There is a growing public debate on this issue, but the available literature within Bulgaria has not, up to now, examined the link directly. This article reports the findings of a new study, specifically from the starting point that labour productivity is not a main factor in the dynamics of average wages in Bulgaria in the period 2000-2017. Through an econometric model, the author concludes that the impact of gross value added in terms of the change in average wages in Bulgaria has diminished as a result of the crisis; and that the dynamics of gross value added per employee do not play a decisive role in explaining the dynamics of average wages. The author points to the significance of this finding for future research, adding also that, at a time again of technological advance, innovation is likely to be one factor which further distorts classical understanding of the interdependence of labour productivity and wages.

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The Designer as a Social Agent and Promoter of Local Memories

Advances in Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage - Handbook of Research on Driving Industrial Competitiveness With Innovative Design Principles ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-3628-5.ch016 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 236-248

Author(s):

Cátia Rijo ◽

Helena Grácio

Keyword(s):

Value Added ◽

Socially Responsible ◽

Social Agent ◽

Responsible Agent ◽

The Creation ◽

The Impact ◽

The Village

The aim of this chapter is to evaluate the role of the designer as a socially responsible agent and the impact that artefacts created by designers have. The goal is to understand if the designer can help preserve local memories, as well as assess whether co-working influences how they emerge in the project. The awareness of the designer as a social agent, who works in collaboration with various agents towards the creation of value-added artefacts, is essential nowadays. As a case study, we bring the project developed by the Designlab4u laboratory in the village of Alhos Vedros, were the cultural and artistic itinerary of the village was designated as a place of memory. Ultimately, the intention is to evaluate whether or not the work developed for the exhibition was a driver of local memories.

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Sustainable and socially responsible investing

Humanomics ◽

10.1108/h-07-2013-0043 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 164-186 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Saeed BinMahfouz ◽

M. Kabir Hassan

Keyword(s):

Systematic Risk ◽

Value Systems ◽

Socially Responsible ◽

Screening Process ◽

Content Type ◽

Responsible Investment ◽

Sustainability Criteria ◽

Fama And French ◽

Investment Portfolios ◽

The Impact

PurposeThere is a great deal of research that has been done to investigate the investment characteristics of conventional socially responsible investment portfolios compared to their broader conventional counterparts. However, the impact of incorporating sustainability criteria into the traditional Sharia screening process has not so far been investigated. Therefore, the study aims to give empirical evidence as to whether or not incorporating sustainability socially responsible criteria in the traditional Sharia screening process has a significant impact on the investment characteristics of the Islamic investment portfolio.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examines the investment characteristics of four groups of investment portfolios mainly, Dow Jones Global Index, Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, Dow Jones Islamic Market World Index and Dow Jones Islamic Market Sustainability Index. To improve the robustness of the study, the analysis was carried out at different levels. First, absolute mean return and t‐test were used to examine whether the difference between the different groups of investments is statistically significant or not. Second, risk adjusted equilibrium models, both single‐index and Fama and French multi‐index, were employed. This is to control for different risk exposure and investment style bias associated with different investment portfolios examined.FindingsThe paper finds that neither the Sharia nor the sustainability screening process seems to have an adverse impact on the performance and systematic risk of the investment portfolios compared to their unrestricted conventional counterparts. Therefore, Muslim as well as socially responsible investors can choose investments that are consistent with their value systems and beliefs without being forced to sacrifice performance or expose to higher systematic risk.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the existing literature by giving new evidence on the impact of incorporating sustainability criteria into the traditional Sharia screening process that has not so far been investigated.

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Toward a Sustainable Model of Scientific Publishing

Journal of Science Policy & Governance ◽

10.38126/jspg180111 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (01) ◽

Author(s):

Ravindra Palavalli-Nettimi

Keyword(s):

Value Added ◽

Academic Publishing ◽

Scientific Publishing ◽

Budget Cuts ◽

Research Papers ◽

Journal Publication ◽

The Public ◽

Funding Sources ◽

Open Access Journals ◽

The Impact

The current models of commercial publishing of scientific research costs universities, funding organizations, and governments billions of dollars in the form of annual subscriptions and publishing charges. Yet, many research papers are behind a paywall for the public and those unaffiliated to universities. Much of the research that is freely accessible to everyone requires authors to pay an unreasonable fee leading to inequalities in knowledge dissemination based on affordability. So, we need a sustainable model of scientific publishing that is beneficial to scientists, universities, and the public, especially in light of Covid-19 pandemic related budget cuts. Similar to commercial publishers, many scientific societies publish their own journals. Funding sources and universities should offer publishing grants or annual contributions to fund such societies’ open-access journals and thus support a sustainable publishing model wherein profits generated from academic publishing are invested back into the scientific community. Funding sources should also mandate publishing papers in society journals. To encourage that, hiring committees should place more importance on the article-level metrics than journal quality metrics such as the impact factor. The societies can use the publishing grants to cover journal publication costs and pay commercial publishers only for their value-added services such as manuscript handling and hosting the content online. The proposed publishing model will be sustainable and can strengthen scientific communities by supporting scientific society journals and making science more accessible.

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The Impact of Socially Responsible Investment on Human Resource Management: A Conceptual Framework

Journal of Business Ethics ◽

10.1023/b:busi.0000033110.21900.da ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 52 (1) ◽

pp. 99-108 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Peter Waring ◽

John Lewer

Keyword(s):

Resource Management ◽

Human Resource Management ◽

Conceptual Framework ◽

Human Resource ◽

Socially Responsible Investment ◽

Socially Responsible ◽

Responsible Investment ◽

The Impact

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Exploring the strategic variety of socially responsible investment

Sustainability Accounting Management and Policy Journal ◽

10.1108/sampj-07-2018-0182 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 545-569 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ana Ivanisevic Hernaus

Keyword(s):

Research Effort ◽

Socially Responsible Investment ◽

Social Implications ◽

Investment Strategies ◽

Financial Industry ◽

Socially Responsible ◽

Content Type ◽

Responsible Investment ◽

Financial Investment ◽

Weak Intensity

Purpose The purpose of this study is to segment and profile socially responsible investment (SRI) funds based on investment strategies they use. Specifically, the paper investigates how different SRI strategies are applied and how they are related to fund-level characteristics, with the goal of recognising their potential dominant combinations in SRI practice. Design/methodology/approach Cluster analysis was complemented with one-way ANOVA to classify 147 SRI funds from 11 European countries into different groups based on the diversification (number and type) and application (intensity of usage) of the investment strategies. Discriminant analysis and chi-square tests were conducted to profile the clusters. Financial performance was examined by running multiple hierarchical regression and dominance analyses to determine meaningfulness of particular investment strategies within each of the SRI fund clusters. Findings Three basic SRI fund clusters were recognised: strong-intensity strategic heterogeneity, weak-intensity strategic heterogeneity and weak-intensity strategic homogeneity. The combination of SRI strategies used in the weak-intensity strategic homogeneity cluster significantly explained the variance in mid-term financial returns. Practical implications Fund managers may use these results to make more informed investment decisions on the selection and the application of SRI strategies. Social implications Financial industry has significant and broad and not only economic but also social implications. This research effort results in better understanding of the SRI universe, potentially leading to a broader consideration of the societal impact of financial investment. Originality/value The author provided useful insights into existing bundles of SRI strategies used in the European SRI market, recognised dominant investment strategies within SRI strategy portfolios and reported how strategic variety is related to fund-level characteristics.

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