Search Results (1,585)

Substance use self-stigma is a barrier to treatment and can negatively impact individuals’ well-being and treatment engagement. Given the mixed findings in previous research and the limited specific investigation into the concept of self-stigma within the context of opioid misuse, examining factors associated with self-stigma in the context of opioid use disorder (OUD) is warranted. The current study examines the influence of individual-level factors (race, sex, urban/rural status, support group attendance) on self-stigma and willingness to disclose opioid use. Data for this study were from a larger study of OUD-related stigma among adults in Pennsylvania, U.S. The current study included participants who indicated a personal past or current history with OUD were included (n = 84). Exploratory factor analysis and multiple indicators, multiple causes (MIMIC) model were used to explore the associations between demographic factors (i.e., sex, age, race/ethnicity, urban/rural status), attendance at mutual support groups, and self-stigma factors. Results indicated that sex and attendance at mutual support groups significantly predicted levels of self-stigma. Women and individuals with no previous experience attending mutual support groups endorsed lower levels of self-stigma. Additionally, attendance at mutual support groups predicted willingness to self-disclose past and present opioid use. Individuals who reported no history of attending mutual support groups demonstrated less willingness to disclose past and present OUD use compared to participants who were support group attendees. The current research findings enhance the understanding of OUD-related self-stigma by examining its relationship with individual-level factors, disclosure, and attendance to mutual support groups. The results offer insights into the influence of sex and support group attendance on self-stigma and disclosure. These findings have significant clinical implications for developing future interventions and promoting health policy changes. Full article

In the midst of rigorous market rivalry, enhancing a company’s competitiveness and operational efficiency in an era of rapid IT advancement is a pressing concern for business leaders. The National Big Data Comprehensive Zone (BDCZ) pilot scheme, instituted by the Chinese government, systematically addresses seven core objectives, encompassing data resource management, sharing and disclosure, data center consolidation, application of data resources, and the circulation of data elements. This policy initiative aims to bolster the establishment of information infrastructure through big data applications, facilitate the influx and movement of talent, and propel corporate sustainable growth. Utilizing a quasi-natural experiment approach, we assess the pilot policy’s influence on the digital-intelligent transformation (DIT) of manufacturing companies from a green innovation ecosystem perspective, employing datasets from 2010 to 2022, and methodologies such as Difference-in-Differences (DID), Synthetic Differences-in-Differences (SDID), and Propensity Score Matching-DID (PSM-DID). The findings indicate that the BDCZ initiative significantly fosters DIT in manufacturing companies. The policy’s establishment confers benefits, including access to increased government support and innovation capital, thereby enhancing the sustainability of green innovation efforts. It also strengthens corporate collaboration, engendering synergistic benefits that improve regional economic progression and establish a conducive environment for digital development, ultimately enhancing the regional innovation ecosystem. The pilot policy’s impact varies across entities, with more profound effects observed in developed financial markets compared to underdeveloped ones. Additionally, non-state-owned companies exhibit a greater response to BDCZ policy interventions than their state-owned counterparts. Moreover, manufacturing bussiness with a higher proportion of executive shareholding are more substantially influenced by the BDCZ. This article fills the research gap by using the quasi-natural experiment of BDCZ to test the impact on DIT of companies and provides inspiration for local governments to mobilize the enthusiasm of manufacturing companies for DIT. Full article

In many financial markets across the globe, full historical position disclosure is not required of mutual funds, or it is subject to prolonged delays, often due to regulatory restrictions. This makes measuring fund manager performance based upon the stock-picking and market-timing skills from past literatures impossible. This study introduces a new methodology utilizing sector weight analysis to estimate the stock-picking and market timing skills of 198 Chinese equity mutual fund managers. Within-sample predictions confirm that the new measures are robust and reliably identify fund managers who outperform their peers, suggesting that this method may be useful in other institutional settings where the full historical position of funds is unavailable. Fund managers with lower stock picking or market timing skills are more likely to improve their skills in the following period, which suggests that manager skills develop and change over time. Finally, our analysis reveals that fund managers with higher stock picking skills are significantly less likely to be replaced, thereby enjoying greater job security. Full article

A capital market with greater transparency provides more accurate metrics for measuring corporate performance, which can be utilized to inform market participants’ decisions. Informed risk is crucial to corporate reporting transparency. This empirical study explores the extent to which firms in the Saudi capital market disclose risk information, whether financial or non-financial. A risk disclosure index (RDI) is constructed based on a rigorous literature review of previous studies, considering suggested items related to corporate risk that must be disclosed. The sample comprises 50 corporations, with five companies representing the energy sector, three representing the utility sector, and forty-two representing the materials sector. The findings reveal moderate financial risk disclosure (sample mean 56%) and low non-financial risk disclosure (sample mean 33%) in the Saudi capital market. In the energy sector, the disclosed financial and non-financial risks comprise 57% and 37%, respectively; in the utility sector, these proportions are 56% and 31%, while in the materials sector, they are 54% and 33%, respectively. Regulators should prioritize high-quality, transparent, and comparable risk information disclosure to attract direct foreign investment. To improve their risk disclosure, managers of firms can also employ the RDI to examine the extent of risk their companies face. This study is limited to the annual and board reports of companies in the three sectors. Full article

This paper aims to investigate how much information is disclosed by leading Saudi companies regarding their practices related to biodiversity and conservation of species, as well as identify the individual reporting items that demonstrate the highest and lowest levels of disclosure across Saudi companies. The study’s sample comprised the 14 leading companies, which together represented 88% of the Saudi stock market’s overall value. The annual reports and sustainability reports for 2021, 2022, and 2023, as well as the company websites, were the content analyzed to identify any mentions or discussions related to biodiversity and the conservation of endangered species. The study found that while a small percentage (7.1%) of Saudi companies exhibited high levels of biodiversity disclosure, over half (57.2%) fell into the low disclosure category. Though a sizable portion (21.4%) showed moderate disclosure efforts, a concerning 14.3% exhibited no disclosure at all. Regarding the individual items, the items of biodiversity that were not disclosed were 52.8%, demonstrating the absence of accounting disclosure for most areas of biodiversity. While 23.5% is a poor disclosure, 19.6% is a medium disclosure, and 4.1% is a strong disclosure. Full article

This study investigates the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR), ownership structure, and investment efficiency in the Saudi stock market. Analyzing data from non-financial companies listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) from 2016 to 2021, the findings revealed that higher CSR disclosures were positively associated with investment efficiency. Additionally, the study found that firms with higher levels of institutional, family, or foreign ownership demonstrated more efficient investment practices. However, the study did not support the moderation effect of ownership structure on the CSR–investment efficiency nexus. These results remain robust across different alternative measures and methods. This research fills a gap in the literature by examining these relationships in an emerging market with unique governance and ownership structures. Specifically, it extends the understanding of the CSR–investment efficiency nexus beyond developed economies to include the developing context of Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the study highlights the varying effects of different ownership structures on investment efficiency and provides a detailed analysis of how investor types respond to CSR disclosures, revealing differences from established CSR frameworks in developed markets. The study’s results offer new insights for investors, policymakers, and regulators, and open avenues for further research for academics and business professionals. Full article

This paper is devoted to establishing the consequences of integrating CSR into the marketing mix for financial risks in modern companies. Based on the international statistics for 2023, we compiled a regression model of the dependence of financial risks on the integration of CSR into their marketing mix. Based on that, we developed a new system approach to managing companies’ sustainable development. Its features are marketing management of the sustainable development of companies, systemic management of social and financial risks to companies, and implementation of risk management through integrating CSR into the marketing mix. The main conclusion is that the sustainable development of companies in the Decade of Action requires a systemic integration of CSR into the marketing mix, for this will allow for the simultaneous reduction of social and financial risks. The theoretical significance of this conclusion consists in the disclosure of previously unknown cause-and-effect relationships between CSR and financial risks to companies, which are explained in this paper through the lens of the elements of the marketing mix in the 7P model. The originality of this research consists in developing novel marketing tools for the systemic management of social and financial risks for companies with the help of CSR. The practical significance relates to the fact that the offered recommendations on the more complete integration of CSR into their marketing mix will allow reducing financial risks and ensuring sustainable development of Russian companies in the Decade of Action (until 2030). The managerial significance is as follows: the developed system approach to managing companies’ sustainable development will improve the practice of risk management in companies due to previously unavailable joint management and the general reduction of social and financial risks. Full article

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices are increasingly recognized as critical for corporate sustainability and market competitiveness, driven by heightened expectations from investors, governments, and consumers. This study examines the evolution of ESG practices among companies listed on the Brazilian Stock Exchange’s Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE B3) from 2005 to 2022. We analyzed the index portfolio’s composition, focusing on changes in ESG dimensions over time. The only six long-lived companies in this index, from retail, banking, and energy sectors, were selected for in-depth analysis. We further evaluated the quality and consistency of ESG disclosures in company reports. Findings indicate relevant fluctuations in the number of companies included in the ISE B3 and variations in ESG scores for the companies. These variations may be attributed to the voluntary nature of ESG practices and the absence of standard disclosure. This study reveals a lack of homogeneity in ESG reporting, which could be addressed by establishing more straightforward guidelines and global standards. This research underscores Brazilian companies’ challenges navigating diverse ESG frameworks to align with evolving societal and environmental expectations. Full article

Violent social and political conflicts have caused several challenges to internally displaced persons (IDPs), especially girls and young women, among which is sexual violence (SV). Despite extensive records on SV in humanitarian contexts, studies to assess the level, examine the disclosure pattern (DP) and evaluate the availability of abortion care in these settings have received inadequate attention. This scoping review sought to synthesise the current African-based research on SV, DP, and abortion and post-abortion care (APAC) in humanitarian contexts. We conducted a systematic search of five databases: MEDLINE, PubMed, Scopus, Embase and Google Scholar, where the articles retrieved met the criteria for inclusion. The review adhered to PRISMA guidelines and the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP), containing ten questions to help confirm the validity of the research design and the originality of the results in comparison with similar studies. A series of inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied after the search, and 35 eligible articles from ten African countries with evidence of sexual violence, disclosure patterns, and APAC in camp settings were included in the study. Results described situations of SV in humanitarian settings in Africa as “terrible”, “bad”, “an epidemic”, and “severe” as girls were used as sex objects, for profile enhancement and as a weapon of war. We also found that the illegality of APAC in Africa is causing a high occurrence of clandestine abortions in conflict contexts. Disclosing SV among IDPs in Africa did not follow a clear-cut pattern but was generally determined by socio-demographic characteristics. Sexual health is a fundamental right of all, as enshrined in SDG 3, which makes this topic a major public health issue. We therefore conclude that although disclosure may aggravate stigmatisation in some instances due to adverse reactions, it is still crucial to the healing processes. Full article

Sexual self-disclosure (SSD) is when a person shares information about their sexuality with another person. Technology-mediated communication is pervasive in modern society, yet researchers have not distinguished between SSDs that occur in-person versus in technology-mediated contexts. Using the Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction, researchers previously found that SSD predicts sexual rewards, costs, and satisfaction. In this study, we (1) compared cisgender/transgender men’s and women’s frequency (how much) and breadth (how many topics) of SSD via typed technology and in-person (H1, H2), and (2) examined the extent to which the frequency and breadth of SSD in each context predicted perceived sexual rewards, comparison of sexual rewards, and in turn sexual satisfaction while controlling for relationship satisfaction (H3, H4, H5, H6). Undergraduate students (N = 450) completed an online survey that assessed SSD in each context, perceived sexual rewards and costs, comparison of own and partner’s sexual rewards and costs, and sexual and relationship satisfaction. Participants reported more frequent and greater breadth of SSD in-person than via technology. We also found that women disclosed more sexual topics than men in-person but not through typed technology. Using path analyses, a greater frequency of SSD in-person predicted greater perceived sexual rewards and comparison sexual rewards, and in turn, greater sexual satisfaction. The frequency of SSD via typed technology and the SSD breadth in either context did not predict exchanges or sexual satisfaction. Full article

The implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in conjunction with proficient investor relations management (IRM) can enhance the reputation and appeal of enterprises, thereby fostering the sustainable development of enterprises. This paper examines the correlation between CSR and IRM by exploring the potential misinterpretation of socially responsible actions by listed companies as “hypocrisy”. We use the fixed effect model, moderating effect model and instrumental variable method to examine the correlation between CSR and IRM. The findings indicate that actively fulfilling corporate social responsibility can enhance interaction and communication between listed companies and investors in the capital market, thereby mitigating the risk of being perceived as “hypocrisy”. This positive effect is particularly pronounced when companies are experiencing poor operational performance. These conclusions remain robust even after conducting various tests to address endogeneity concerns. In terms of the underlying mechanisms, corporate social responsibility primarily enhances investor relations management through strengthening network communication and on-site interactions. Moreover, enterprises are more inclined to proactively interact with investors in the capital market when companies face severe financial difficulties, stringent financing constraints, or poor quality of information disclosure. Additionally, our study extends its analysis to elucidate how corporate social responsibility can mitigate the risk of stock price crashes from the perspective of investor relations management. Full article

Focusing on sustainable fashion brands’ effective price promotion, this experimental study developed two sets of stimuli, ‘discount’ and ‘disclosure’ strategies, and tested consumers’ evaluations of price fairness, product attractiveness, quality, and brand trust based on each strategy. Subsequently, this study compared consumers’ evaluations of the discount and disclosure strategies. An analysis of 961 Korean samples revealed that a high discount rate increased price fairness and product attractiveness, and the highly promotion-focused consumers were more likely to perceive product attractiveness and quality when positive framing was presented. In the disclosure strategy, the reference point effect was prominent; when the conventional markup rate was provided, consumers showed greater price fairness, product attractiveness, and brand trust. Furthermore, it was noteworthy that disclosing conventional markup along with the firm’s markup showed the same price fairness perceptions as that of a high markup rate. Built on reference point and regulatory focus fit, this study empirically proved the effectiveness of the price promotions of sustainable fashion brands to whom quality and trustworthiness are greatly important, extending the academic originality of this study. Practically, effective use of price promotion strategies can help fashion management handle inventory problems in a sustainable way without massive investment in technologies. Full article

This paper aims to assess whether the financial performance of companies that publish sustainability reports (SRs) differs from the financial performance of companies that do not publish SRs, considering a sample of 297 large Portuguese companies identified by Exame magazine. We used two methodological procedures. First, we conducted a univariate analysis to test the differences in financial performance according to the disclosure of SRs. Second, we conducted a multivariate analysis using multiple linear regression to explain financial performance in relation to the disclosure of SRs. Our findings indicate that the financial performance of companies that disclose SRs does not significantly differ from the financial performance of companies that do not disclose SRs. The results are robust to both methodological procedures, as well as to the sample split by sectors. The results highlight that few companies disclose SRs, despite existing regulations (e.g., the UN 2030 Agenda, the European Non-Financial Reporting Directive, and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive). This finding has significant practical implications for regulatory bodies, companies, and investors, indicating the need for more effective approaches to sustainability reporting. Policymakers should encourage companies to adopt SRs as part of a long-term strategy, acknowledging that financial benefits may accrue over time. Full article

This research examines the effect of ESG disclosure on the cost of capital for non-financial firms in the UK, indexed by the FTSE All-Share Index, during the period from 2014 to 2018. Using multivariate analysis with ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed effects, robust regression, and Tobit models, this research assesses the effect of ESG reporting, governance, and the cost of capital, including robustness checks using an alternative ESG indicator, the environmental pillar score. Contrary to expectations, ESG reporting is positively associated with the cost of capital. However, corporate governance moderates this relationship, weakening the positive correlation and reversing it to a negative association for firms with strong governance practices, consistent with the hypotheses. This research also finds that firm size, liquidity, profitability, and leverage, positively affect the cost of capital, while board size, independent board composition, audit committee independence, and auditor type do not significantly influence it. Notably, non-executive directors on the audit committee have a significant negative effect on the cost of capital. These findings are valuable for investors, companies, regulators, auditors, policymakers, and the academic and research community. Specifically, for investors, this study provides insights into how ESG disclosures can influence investment risks and returns, highlighting the importance of robust corporate governance. Companies can leverage these insights to enhance their governance practices and optimize their capital costs. Regulators and policymakers can use the findings to develop guidelines that encourage transparent ESG reporting and strong governance frameworks, thereby improving market stability and investor confidence. Auditors can utilize the results to better understand the effect of non-financial reporting on financial metrics, helping to provide more accurate audits and assessments. These findings inform investors, companies, regulators, auditors, and academia, in fostering a more sustainable and transparent financial environment. Full article

With the world’s data volume growing exponentially, it becomes critical to link it and make decisions. Privacy-preserving record linkage (PPRL) aims to identify all the record information corresponding to the same entity from multiple data sources, without disclosing sensitive information. Previous works on multi-party PPRL methods typically adopt homomorphic encryption technology due to its ability to perform computations on encrypted data without needing to decrypt it first, thus maintaining data confidentiality. However, these methods have notable shortcomings, such as the risk of collusion among participants leading to the potential disclosure of private keys, high computational costs, and decreased efficiency. The advent of trusted execution environments (TEEs) offers a solution by protecting computations involving private data through hardware isolation, thereby eliminating reliance on trusted third parties, preventing malicious collusion, and improving efficiency. Nevertheless, TEEs are vulnerable to side-channel attacks. In this work, we propose an enhanced PPRL method based on TEE technology. Our methodology involves processing plaintext data within a TEE using the inner product mask technique, which effectively obfuscates the data, making it impervious to side-channel attacks. The experimental results demonstrate that our approach not only significantly improves resistance to side-channel attacks but also enhances efficiency, showing better performance and privacy preservation compared to existing methods. This work provides a robust solution to the challenges faced by current PPRL methods and sets the stage for future research aimed at further enhancing scalability and security. Full article