Since 2007, a novel debt type, green bonds, has emerged as a popular instrument to raise and direct capital toward projects that curb climate change risk. Corporations, government agencies, supranational entities, and municipalities issue these bonds mainly in the US, China, and Europe. Annual green bond issuance has experienced exponential growth from $37.1 in 2014… Read More »
Over the last decade, there has been a significant increase in the popularity of socially responsible investment (SRI) funds. These funds claim to incorporate environmental and social (E&S) risks into the selection of their portfolio firms and the majority of these funds also claim that they engage with their portfolio firms to improve the real-world… Read More »
Few major deals happen without the engagement and advice of investment bankers. Whether a company is undertaking an initial public offering (IPO) or engaging in a large merger or acquisition deal, investment bankers play a critical role in advising corporate executives. Bankers routinely cultivate and build close advisory relationships with executives in the hopes that… Read More »
With growing attention on corporate social responsibility (CSR) or the more recent expression of environmental, social, and governance (ESG), many countries and regions have imposed strict mandatory rules on CSR disclosures to better serve investors and other stakeholders. At the same time, government incentive programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) were also effective… Read More »
Reputational damage resulting from media, consumer, or investor outcry often follows corporate scandals. For instance, notable oil spills, from Exxon’s 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster to BP’s 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, have resulted in both hundreds of millions of dollars in direct regulatory penalties as well as short-term stock market losses (Länsilahti 2012), substantial longer-term losses… Read More »
In a new paper, I examine changes in CEO labor market outcomes following corporate environmental misconduct, which creates negative externalities that firms are required by law to prevent. Corporate activities create significant negative environmental externalities. These economic costs can exceed $4.7 trillion a year, are multi-sectoral, and appear through the entire lifecycle of products. Externalities… Read More »
Over decades, scholars across disciplines have proposed and discussed myriad “objectives” of the firm—shareholder value maximization, stakeholder theory, long-term firm value maximization, shareholder welfare maximization, and shareholder wealth maximization with stakeholder interests. One extreme is shareholder primacy, and the other is stakeholder capitalism (or conscious capitalism). The latter advocates corporate social responsibility (CSR) and has… Read More »
Finding the right talent for a position is not easy. These days, enticing a good candidate goes far beyond the typical promise of career advancement and a competitive salary. Now, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and major movements like Black Lives Matter and the Great Resignation, job seekers are increasingly looking at… Read More »
Many of today’s most popular firms are selling products that exhibit network effects; that is, the value created by the product increases with the number of users adopting it. Examples include social media platforms (e.g., Twitter and LinkedIn), information technology providers (e.g., Apple and Huawei), and video game companies. Firms selling these network products can… Read More »
China has become a major global investor and witnessed massive amounts of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in recent years. Prior studies have shown that OFDI can be an important channel through which Chinese firms explore market opportunities, acquire strategic assets, and exploit global network linkages. However, internationalizing Chinese firms usually face the so-called liability… Read More »