Previous research investigating the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance (CFP) reveals the importance of industry specificity. Drawing on strategic stakeholder theory, we argue that the strategic fit between CSR activities and value chain activities contributes to industry‐specific effects in the CSR–CFP relationship. Given the multidimensional nature of CSR, some CSR activities will be more impactful for certain industries than others, because industries differ in value chain activities and salient stakeholders. Specifically, we propose and test a set of hypotheses for two industries positioned on the different ends of the industry spectrum based on their ecological footprint – healthcare and resource extraction. We further examine the industry specificity of the CSR–CFP relationship by exploring external economic conditions (the 2008–2009 recession) as a boundary condition. Our study contributes to the extant literature by demonstrating the role of strategic fit between CSR and value chain activities in explaining the influence of CSR on CFP. Additional testing of this mechanism in times of economic hardship adds a unique aspect to our theoretical and empirical contributions.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify cross-country differences in socio-economic sustainability, which are operationalized as relative efficiency of economic and social impacts of hyperconnectivity (usage intensity of information and communication technologies (ICT) devices). The authors have a particular interest in the emerging economies because they enjoy outstanding growth rates and prospects for market expansion, and have undertaken significant economic reforms and, thus, should be expected to lead other two groups in the efficiency of transforming hyperconnectivity into sustainable growth. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use canonical correlation analysis (CCA) to confirm the existence of a strong and significant relationship between hyperconnectivity drivers and socio-economic outcomes on a country level. The authors test the difference in efficiency of transforming hyperconnectivity into socio-economic sustainability among three groups of countries: advanced, emerging and developing nations using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Findings: The findings indicate that indeed emerging economies were the most effective ones to use infrastructure and digital content followed by developing and advanced countries, respectively. However, relatively better affordability of technologies in the emerging countries did not produce as much socio-economic impact as compared with developing nations. Favorable legislative conditions and high individual ICT usage in advanced economies did not contribute much to socio-economic sustainability either. Research limitations/implications: One of the limitations of this study stems from the classification of the countries. World Economy Forum and International Monetary Fund resources are utilized for the economy categories, but their basis for classification of counties is rather subjective. Lack of existing comparative efficiency studies on a country level prevents effective benchmarking of the results. Practical implications: Since the key vehicles of transforming technology into socio-economic impact are organizations, they should design and implement an appropriate organizational architecture which would facilitate this transformation in the emerging markets more effectively. Social implications: In a climate of increasing public accountability, governments have been increasingly urged to introduce good administrative practices and performance standards to enable efficient utilization of their resources and enhance social implications within and across countries. Originality/value: Although the impact of ICT on macro-economic development has been previously studied, the efficiency of this impact was not. Using CCA as a complementary tool for DEA approach in this study constitutes a methodological contribution to existing DEA research, mostly done in the area of operations management. Using DEA on a country level is a novel approach which contributes to the realm of application of this methodology.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present hands-on techniques that could help achieve higher forms of cognitive work of Bloom’s learning taxonomy and progress toward self-actualization, the top of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. These results can be achieved by the combination of Apaydin’s 3A approach and integrative learning. Design/methodology/approach: The results of the exploratory study of student self-inquiry are analyzed using content analysis method. Findings: The results indicate that students who underwent through metacognitive instruction exhibit higher cognitive skills than the control group. These skills were manifested in more detailed and extensive responses, more long-term orientation, and higher thrive toward self-development. The study also identified significant gender differences. Research limitations/implications: Only two raters reviewed the categories. Increasing the number of raters would potentially increase the reliability and validity of this study. The data were collected in one university in one country. Similar studies conducted in different settings could produce different results. Since the control group was self-selected, it might lead to a performance bias in this group. Practical implications: This research has practical implications for improving self-awareness and metacognition of the students. The addition of an unexpected self-applied perspective and application of Problem Solving Algorithm (PSA) to themselves enables the students to see the value of otherwise abstract concepts presented in the textbooks and forgotten immediately after the semester is over. Social implications: The students can be socially more prepared to become self-aware professionals and thus improve their career options. Originality/value: To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study in the educational research which investigates the impact of implementation of metacognitive instructional techniques on student self-awareness and performance, which has immediate practical implication for student learning and success.

Purpose: This paper examines the interrelatedness between countries’ stock market development and competitiveness and the equity risk premium (hereinafter, ERP). In addition, this paper examines the length of time that stock market development takes to have an impact of ERP. The results offer an empirical guide to stock market authorities about the robust factors that help reduce ERP, which, in turn, encourages raising equity financing. Design/methodology: The dataset includes 59 countries that are listed in the market potential index (hereinafter, MPI) covering the years 1996 to 2020. The MPI provides comprehensive macroeconomic factors that can be used for examining stock market competitiveness and, thus, its potential effects on ERP. Findings: The results of the robustness test show that (a) a negative and significant association exists between the turnover ratio of domestic shares to stocks traded and ERP, (b) the increases in stock market competitiveness are associated with increases in the number of listed companies, (c) lowly ranked countries in the MPI are associated with increasing ERP, and (d) in terms of the interaction between duration of stock market development and competitiveness, the relatively competitive stock markets take 2–6 years for stock market development indicators to have a significant effect on ERP. Originality: This paper offers two main contributions to the related literature. The first contribution is to offer a measure of stock market competitiveness using indicators of stock market development. Therefore, robust indicators of stock market development can be reached. The second contribution is to offer empirical results about the length of time (referred to in this paper as duration) required for the indicators of stock market development to have a favorable effect on ERP.

This study distinguishes between observed, uncertain, and stochastic uncertain firm growth. Observed firm growth is measured via historical growth of fixed assets scaled by growth of sales revenue. Uncertain firm growth is the volatility of unobserved (estimated error terms) firm growth. The latter is simulated using nonuniform Monte Carlo to generate stochastic uncertain firm growth. The objective of this study is to examine the relationships among the firm specific, economic, and institutional factors that affect the uncertain and stochastic uncertain growth of a firm. The sample includes the nonfinancial firms listed in the DJIA30 and NASDAQ100, covering quarterly data from 1996Q1 to 2022Q4 for 121 companies. The results reveal that (a) sales growth, profitability, cash flow, and long-term financing help reduce a firm’s uncertain growth, (b) high involvement in exporting exposes firms to higher geopolitical uncertainty, (c) institutional quality (especially political stability and regulatory quality) paradoxically contribute to uncertain firm growth. This study contributes to related studies via offering perspectives to firm managers and policy makers about the factors that help manage the uncertainties of firm growth.