Acknowledgement to reviewers

No abstract available.

South African Journal of Business Management: Annual editorial overview 2021

No abstract available.

Women in business in Africa: (Re)claiming our agency

No abstract available.

Are initial public offerings significant to firm performance in an emerging stock market? Evidence from China

urpose:This study investigates firm performance after going public and explores whether Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) contribute to it.Design/methodology/approach: This study employs comprehensive regression models to examine IPO significance to both operating performance and market performance.Findings/results: It suggests that IPO firms retain their growth over the first 3 years after going public, but the growth does not sustain after the third year in terms of profit-related indicators, which is distinguishing from prior research. IPOs may contribute to firms’ market performance only, they are insignificant to firms’ operating performance in general, whilst industry-adjusted evidence suggests that IPOs are negatively associated with operating performance in terms of return on assets, return on sales and debt to assets.Practical implications: The practical implication for managers is to spend more IPO capitals on business operations to maximise firm value.Originality/value: Market value is taken into account, whilst operating performance is considered only by prior research, and it presents some different findings from prior studies based on developed stock markets.

Corporate social responsibility, organisational reputation and liability of foreignness

Purpose: This study aimed to test the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its subdivision dimensions on the liability of foreignness (LOF), as well as the mediating effect of organisational reputation.Methodology: A total of 301 observations from 43 branches and subsidiaries of China’s four major banks in 23 host countries from 2012 to 2018 were selected as samples to examine the impact of CSR and its segmented dimensions on the LOF. The mediating role of the parent company’s organisational reputation in the relationship between CSR and LOF was also examined. After controlling for the possible influence of firm age, firm size, economic distance, regulatory distance, and cultural distance on the model, three regression models were built.Findings: Liability of foreignness can be reduced by increasing CSR; and increasing technical CSR is especially effective in this regard. Organisational reputation plays a mediating role in the relationship between CSR and LOF.Practical Implications: Fulfilling CSR can help reduce the LOF.Originality: This research comprehensively explains the different views of current scholars on CSR and enriches the existing research on overcoming the LOF from the perspective of non-market mechanisms. It also provides new insight into the mediating effect of organisational reputation on CSR and its indirect effect on the LOF.

Can strategic corporate social responsibility drive corporate innovation?

Purpose: In practice, an increasing number of economic entities have begun to consider strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an opportunity to create a win-win situation for the organisation and the society. The existing literature has yet to soundly corroborate the role of strategic CSR in corporate innovation. This study examines the relationship between strategic CSR and innovation.Design/methodology/approach: The empirical regression models are estimated to analyse the data collected from 2817 firms yielding 18 845 firm–year observations from 2001 to 2014 in the United States.Findings/results: The findings indicate that firms with strategic CSR generate more and better innovation outputs. The positive effect is more pronounced when institutional ownership is lower, when firm size is larger, and when product market competition is more intense. In terms of economic consequences, firms with strategic CSR actually have higher commercial value and are less likely to suffer loss from failed innovation.Practical implications: To establish a sustainable relationship with stakeholders and realise the long-term development of business and society, enterprises should engage in strategic CSR in a planned manner based on their own resources and professional expertise.Originality/value: The study sheds light on a growing body of literature that investigates the real consequences of firms’ strategic CSR, and explains the growing recognition of the importance of strategic CSR.

Ethics with an economic method: A new perspective on business ethics

Purpose: The purpose of this article was to review the book of Christoph Lütge and Matthias Uhl (2021) entitled Business ethics. An economically informed perspective (Oxford University Press).Design/methodology/approach: The approach followed is to give an overview of the book’s content, appraise the positive contribution followed by some critical questions for further discussions.Findings/results: The key finding is that the book, indeed, contributes to establish ethics with an economic method as a novel approach.Practical implications: Practical implications are found in both the approach to global ethics and especially to risk management design.Originality/value: The value of the book lies in its use as a handbook at a graduate level and as a guide to managers to implement corporate-level ethics.

Corrigendum: Investigating the relationship between corporate social responsibility and market, cost and environmental performance for sustainable business

No abstract available.

Does positive feedback support the stronger and weaken the weaker? The effects of supervisors’ positive feedback on newcomers’ task performance in the first 90 days

Purpose: This study aims to provide empirical evidence of how supervisors’ positive feedback plays a crucial role in newcomers’ task performance in the first 90 days of their employment.Design/methodology/approach: Data for this study were collected from newcomers and their immediate supervisors in a large high-tech manufacturing company in northern China. The study used a structured questionnaire to gather data from 229 newcomer-supervisor dyads, which were analysed through the application of structural equation modelling.Findings/results: The findings revealed that supervisors’ positive feedback positively affects newcomers’ task performance. The supervisors’ positive feedback enhances the task performance of newcomers’ by promoting energy and information seeking at work. In addition, the study also revealed that intrinsic motivation as a moderator strengthens the relationship between supervisors’ positive feedback and newcomers’ energy at work.Practical implications: Organiszations should place emphasis on supervisors’ positive feedback and newcomers’ level of intrinsic motivation in order to attain better performance in the workplace.Originality/value: This study highlights the need for organisations to pay attention to the dual roles of supervisors’ positive feedback and the intrinsic motivation of newcomers’ in improving task performance. Supervisors’ positive feedback boosts newcomers’ energy at work and aids their task performance when intrinsic motivation is high rather than low.