Consequences of Social and Environmental Corporate Responsibility Practices: Managers’ Perception in Mozambique

The objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship between the social and environmental practices of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and the economic–financial, social, and environmental performance in Mozambican companies, from the managers’ perspectives. The data were collected from a sample of 227 companies through a survey questionnaire. We used structural equation modelling to analyze how the managers correlate the different social and environmental practices with performance at the financial, social, and environmental levels. The results showed that the relationship between all major components of the social and environmental practices, and the economic–financial, social, and environmental performance is positive but insignificant with the exception of the social practices of community support, which has a weak relationship with the economic–financial performance, environmental performance, and social performance, as well as the environmental practices. The data indicate that there is a need for strengthening the appropriate economic–financial incentive policies and strategies for the agents who promote good CSR practices in the country, in order to obtain satisfactory, measurable, and comparable economic–financial, social, and environmental performance.

Optimization of the mechanism of financial incentives for the development of logistics activities in the polish construction industry

The article explores the role of various financial incentive instruments in optimizing the financial mechanism of logistics development in the construction sector of the economy. The author focuses on the necessary to use a synergistic approach in the study of efficiency issues of two related industries - logistic and construction sectors of the national economy. Positive factors such as convenient location, available transport potential, established logistics system, material and resource base and the potential of domestic producers determine the rapid development of the construction industry, which brings its significant contribution to the development of the national economy of Poland. At the same time, the main factor contributing to the development of construction business is domestic production of construction materials. In this context, it should be noted that the country has developed the potential of its own production of building materials, there is a sufficient fleet of construction machinery and construction equipment, innovative technologies are being introduced, highly qualified personnel, etc. Comprehensive assessment of financial-investment and transport-logistic potentials in the context of the regions, as well as differentiated approach allowed to offer a matrix of financial stimulation tools for the development of logistics in construction in a horizontal and vertical strategy. At a time of intensifying crisis phenomena, simultaneous stagnation of regional development and increasing competition in the globalized world, the issues of selecting effective instruments of financial support for the development of national transport and logistics system and construction sector of economy gain priority importance, as they can generate a significant increase in the gross domestic income of the state budget and become one of the main sources of ensuring Polish competitiveness.

A Pragmatic Intervention Using Financial Incentives for Pregnancy Weight Management: Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) is common and can result in maternal and child health complications. Pragmatic behavioral interventions that can be incorporated into standard obstetric care are needed, and financial incentives are a promising approach. Objective The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of recruitment, randomization, and retention, as well as treatment engagement and intervention satisfaction, in a behavioral program. The program provided small incentives for meeting behavioral goals of self-weighing and physical activity as well as larger outcome incentives for meeting GWG goals. Methods We recruited 40 adult women in their first trimester of pregnancy from February 2019 to September 2019 at an obstetric clinic. Participants were randomized to 3 intervention components using a 2×2×2 factorial design: daily incentives for self-weighing (lottery vs certain loss), incentives for adhering to the Institute of Medicine’s GWG guidelines based on BMI category (monthly vs overall), and incentives for reaching physical activity goals (yes vs no). Participants were asked to complete daily weigh-ins using the Withings Body wireless scale provided by the study, as well as wear a physical activity tracker (Fitbit Flex 2). Feasibility outcomes of recruitment, randomization, and retention, as well as treatment engagement and intervention satisfaction, were assessed. Weight assessments were conducted at baseline, 32-week gestation, and 36-week gestation. Results Participants were enrolled at, on average, 9.6 (SD 1.8) weeks’ gestation. Of the 39 participants who were oriented to their condition and received the intervention, 24 (62%) were Black or African American, 30 (77%) were not married, and 29 (74%) had an annual household income of less than US $50,000. Of the 39 participants, 35 (90%) completed the follow-up data collection visit. Participants were generally quite positive about the intervention components, with a particular emphasis on the helpfulness of, and the enjoyment of using, the e-scale in both the quantitative and qualitative feedback. Participants who received the loss incentive, on average, had 2.86 times as many days of self-weighing as those who received the lottery incentive. Participants had a relatively low level of activity, with no difference between those who received a physical activity incentive and those who did not. Conclusions A financial incentive–based pragmatic intervention was feasible and acceptable for pregnant women for promoting self-weighing, physical activity, and healthy GWG. Participants were successfully recruited early in their first trimester of pregnancy and retained for follow-up data collection in the third trimester. Participants demonstrated promising engagement in self-weighing, particularly with loss-based incentives, and reported finding the self-weighing especially helpful. This study supports further investigation of pragmatic, clinic-based financial incentive–based interventions for healthy GWG behaviors. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03834194; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03834194

Do village leaders’ engagement, social interaction and financial incentive affect residents’ solar PV adoption? – an empirical study in rural China?

Purpose This study aims to analyze those factors affecting the rural resident’s willingness to adopt solar photovoltaic (PV) which is important for accelerating the popularization of clean energy in China. Design/methodology/approach This study contained a sample of 653 households in 8 provinces/regions by stratified, and random sampling in rural China. Descriptive analysis, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis techniques have been used for analytical purposes. Findings The empirical results indicate that financial incentive and social interaction have positive effects on rural residents’ adoption willingness, while village leaders’ engagement can indirectly influence their adoption willingness through social interaction and residents’ cognition. Research limitations/implications This study mainly considers external and internal factors but ignores the effect of technical factors. In addition, the samples are just selected from the residents who have adopted solar PV. Practical implications This study is expected to be useful for the government, regulators, village leaders, village leaders and other institutions. Originality/value This study conducts a systematic analysis and clarifies the relationship between factors (external and internal) and rural residents’ adoption willingness. The village leaders’ engagement is first added to the conceptual model as an external factor, which is very essential in rural residents’ adoption in China.

Estimating the Financial Incentive for Caribbean Teachers to Migrate: An Analysis of Salary Differentials using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)

The teaching stock within the Caribbean region has been eroded by migration to developed countries. Higher potential earnings are one of the motivating factors to move abroad, but little is known about the extent of the income disparity between countries in the Caribbean and popular destination countries. Teacher salary comparisons are undertaken between selected countries in the Caribbean; Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, and Jamaica and popular destination countries, namely; United Kingdom, United States, and Canada using a purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rate. Results show that newly qualified teachers can earn substantially more abroad, with Canada paying over twice the PPP adjusted salary compared to that offered in Jamaica (133.1%) and Suriname (110.6%). The United States offers the highest earning increases for mid- and late career teachers at over three times that offered in Jamaica (214.5%) and Suriname (223.4%). Canada is a close second across all Caribbean countries, whilst the United Kingdom offers the smallest salary differentials at 153.6% for Jamaica and 64.8% for St. Lucia. The study further reveals that there are salary disparities within the Caribbean, which may be a motivating factor for intra-regional migration.

Financial incentives for smoking cessation in pregnancy: multicentre randomised controlled trial

ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of financial incentives dependent on continuous smoking abstinence on smoking cessation and birth outcomes among pregnant smokers.DesignSingle blind, randomised controlled trial.SettingFinancial Incentive for Smoking Cessation in Pregnancy (FISCP) trial in 18 maternity wards in France.Participants460 pregnant smokers aged at least 18 years who smoked ≤5 cigarettes/day or ≤3 roll-your-own cigarettes/day and had a pregnancy gestation of <18 weeks were randomised to a financial incentives group (n=231) or a control group (n=229).InterventionsParticipants in the financial incentives group received a voucher equivalent to €20 (£17; $23), and further progressively increasing vouchers at each study visit if they remained abstinent. Participants in the control group received no financial incentive for abstinence. All participants received a €20 show-up fee at each of six visits.Main outcome measuresThe main outcome measure was continuous smoking abstinence from the first post-quit date visit to visit 6, before delivery. Secondary outcomes in the mothers were point prevalence abstinence, time to smoking relapse, withdrawal symptoms, blood pressure, and alcohol and cannabis use in past 30 days. Secondary outcomes in the babies were gestational age at birth, birth characteristics (birth weight, length, head circumference, Apgar score), and a poor neonatal outcome—a composite measure of transfer to the neonatal unit, congenital malformation, convulsions, or perinatal death.ResultsMean age was 29 years. In the financial incentives and control groups, respectively, 137 (59%) and 148 (65%) were employed, 163 (71%) and 171 (75%) were in a relationship, and 41 (18%) and 31 (13%) were married. The participants had smoked a median of 60 cigarettes in the past seven days. The continuous abstinence rate was significantly higher in the financial incentives group (16%, 38/231) than control group (7%, 17/229): odds ratio 2.45 (95% confidence interval 1.34 to 4.49), P=0.004). The point prevalence abstinence rate was higher (4.61, 1.41 to 15.01, P=0.011), the median time to relapse was longer (visit 5 (interquartile range 3-6) and visit 4 (3-6), P<0.001)), and craving for tobacco was lower (β=−1.81, 95% confidence interval −3.55 to −0.08, P=0.04) in the financial incentives group than control group. Financial incentives were associated with a 7% reduction in the risk of a poor neonatal outcome: 4 babies (2%) in the financial incentives group and 18 babies (9%) in the control group: mean difference 14 (95% confidence interval 5 to 23), P=0.003. Post hoc analyses suggested that more babies in the financial incentives group had birth weights ≥2500 g than in the control group: unadjusted odds ratio 1.95 (95% confidence interval 0.99 to 3.85), P=0.055; sex adjusted odds ratio 2.05 (1.03 to 4.10), P=0.041; and sex and prematurity adjusted odds ratio 2.06 (0.90 to 4.71), P=0.086. As these are post hoc analyses, the results should be interpreted with caution.ConclusionsFinancial incentives to reward smoking abstinence compared with no financial incentives were associated with an increased abstinence rate in pregnant smokers. Financial incentives dependent on smoking abstinence could be implemented as a safe and effective intervention to help pregnant smokers quit smoking.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02606227.

Accelerating Evaluation of Financial Incentives for Fruits and Vegetables: A Case for Shared Measures

Food insecurity, or lack of consistent access to enough food, is associated with low intakes of fruits and vegetables (FVs) and higher risk of chronic diseases and disproportionately affects populations with low income. Financial incentives for FVs are supported by the 2018 Farm Bill and United States (U.S.) Department of Agriculture’s Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) and aim to increase dietary quality and food security among households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and with low income. Currently, there is no shared evaluation model for the hundreds of financial incentive projects across the U.S. Despite the fact that a majority of these projects are federally funded and united as a cohort of grantees through GusNIP, it is unclear which models and attributes have the greatest public health impact. We explore the evaluation of financial incentives in the U.S. to demonstrate the need for shared measurement in the future. We describe the process of the GusNIP NTAE, a federally supported initiative, to identify and develop shared measurement to be able to determine the potential impact of financial incentives in the U.S. This commentary discusses the rationale, considerations, and next steps for establishing shared evaluation measures for financial incentives for FVs, to accelerate our understanding of impact, and support evidence-based policymaking.

Exploring the importance of employee incentives and their effectiveness in improving quality performance in a Cambodian public organization

<p>The main purpose of this study is to identify the importance of incentives and their effectiveness in employee performance. The detail of this research will be conducted in an attempt to demonstrate whether incentives have a great potential to increase public employees’ motivation and work performance. The purpose of the research is also to illustrate to what extent incentives are used in the Cambodian public service sector. To fulfill the objective of the research as well as to obtain real and reliable data, a research study was conducted at the Cambodian Investment Board – CIB under the Council for the Development of Cambodia – CDC. The method of this research study was implemented with a qualitative analysis to investigate the work characteristic of Cambodian public employees, and to identify the correlation between the rewarding, recognition and employee work performance. In addition to the research method, the analysis of the qualitative interview data was to be done through the use of thematic analysis. After the qualitative research method was completely finished, the findings of the research study were much the same as those mentioned in the literature review. The data analysis proved a significant correlation between incentives in the form of rewards and recognition, and better work performance. Based on the findings of this research study, most of the public employees in the above mentioned organization commented that both financial and non-financial incentives are significantly important to encourage and motivate them for greater work performance. It also indicated that there was an absence of employee incentive particularly financial incentive. Meanwhile, the level of utilization of non-financial incentives is extremely poor. Therefore, within the limitations of the research study, it could be concluded that both financial and non-financial incentives have a potential effect on employee motivation and work performance in the public service organization of Cambodia.</p>

Exploring the importance of employee incentives and their effectiveness in improving quality performance in a Cambodian public organization

<p>The main purpose of this study is to identify the importance of incentives and their effectiveness in employee performance. The detail of this research will be conducted in an attempt to demonstrate whether incentives have a great potential to increase public employees’ motivation and work performance. The purpose of the research is also to illustrate to what extent incentives are used in the Cambodian public service sector. To fulfill the objective of the research as well as to obtain real and reliable data, a research study was conducted at the Cambodian Investment Board – CIB under the Council for the Development of Cambodia – CDC. The method of this research study was implemented with a qualitative analysis to investigate the work characteristic of Cambodian public employees, and to identify the correlation between the rewarding, recognition and employee work performance. In addition to the research method, the analysis of the qualitative interview data was to be done through the use of thematic analysis. After the qualitative research method was completely finished, the findings of the research study were much the same as those mentioned in the literature review. The data analysis proved a significant correlation between incentives in the form of rewards and recognition, and better work performance. Based on the findings of this research study, most of the public employees in the above mentioned organization commented that both financial and non-financial incentives are significantly important to encourage and motivate them for greater work performance. It also indicated that there was an absence of employee incentive particularly financial incentive. Meanwhile, the level of utilization of non-financial incentives is extremely poor. Therefore, within the limitations of the research study, it could be concluded that both financial and non-financial incentives have a potential effect on employee motivation and work performance in the public service organization of Cambodia.</p>

Private Sector Engagement in the Self-Governance of Urban Sustainable Infrastructure: A Study on Alternative Fueling Infrastructure in the United States

Greenhouse gas emission reduction and decarbonization goals drive citizens’ interests in alternative fuel vehicles and have created fast-growing demands on alternative fuels. While governments are promoting the transition to alternative fuel vehicles, the lack of refueling and recharging infrastructure for the vehicles is a key barrier to the adoption. At the same time, the public sector cannot solely provide needed alternative fueling infrastructure due to limited financial resources. Consequently, governments in the U.S. have been working on facilitating the private sector’s investment in alternative fueling infrastructure. The most common approach was financial incentive programs and policies, but the U.S. also promotes self-organized collaborative governance of alternative fuels across sectors at the local level. This paper asks whether these two approaches stimulate the private sector’s engagement in providing alternative fueling infrastructure. This study uses the case of the Clean Cities program that targets the reduction in petroleum usage, adoption of alternative fuels and creation of self-governance at the local level. Local private businesses, local government agencies and non-profit organizations voluntarily participate in the local transition to alternative fuels. Therefore, this governance aims at facilitating more sustainable actions and business choices in the private sector. This paper tests the hypotheses of whether the local self-governance of Clean Cities increases privately-owned alternative fueling infrastructure using panel fixed-effects Poisson regression models. Based on the data of counties in 12 states from 2004 to 2015, the results of empirical analysis suggest that both self-governance and financial incentive programs are effective in increasing the engagement of private actors in providing alternative fueling infrastructure.