In 2015, the United Nations launched the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in collaboration with civil society and firms, recognizing that leading firms have the potential to innovate bold solutions at scale to achieve global sustainability. Exploring the impact of the SDGs’ launch on firms, through the lens of normative pressure, we apply computer-aided text analysis to the language used in sustainability reports of 164 large corporations to investigate whether and how the SDGs impacted sustainability reporting. Results show that, when comparing firms’ sustainability reports before and after 2015, increasing alignment was observed with the language of certain SDGs, while alignment did not significantly change for other SDGs. We further analyze these changes across industries, natural resource intensity levels, and geo-institutional contexts, revealing variation among firms based on institutional characteristics that may point to selection priorities and critical gaps as global firms engage with the grand challenges embodied in the SDGs. JEL CLASSIFICATION: M14
The traditional core Masters in Business Administration (MBA) curriculum consists of a broad range of courses that can be considered as a whole, or divided into qualitative and quantitative courses. Regression models were developed with "QualGPA" and "QuantGPA" as response variables, and gender, pre-MBA academic indicators, and personality factors (measured by the RightPath6 profile) as the explanatory variables. Results may provide pedagogical insight for faculty teaching increasingly diverse MBA classes. Additionally, there are recruitment implications for those hiring MBA graduates, as well as implications for MBA students in decisions regarding MBA concentrations and subsequent career choices. While gender alone was not a significant variable in any model, gender-personality interactions were significant. Across both course categories, performance tended to be higher for students who were more "Detached" than "Compassionate," with the exception of females in quantitative courses. Additionally, "Extraversion" and "Reactiveness" significantly enhanced performance among males in qualitative courses, and "Conscientiousness" had a strong positive performance effect among females in quantitative courses.
Short-period Ga0.51In0.49P/GaAsyP1−y strained superlattices were grown, by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy, with periods around 70 Å and phosphorus compositions from 0.04 to 0.31. Ground state emission as high as 1.73 eV was observed. Model solid theory predictions fit this data well, particularly at lower P compositions. Type II structures were obtained for phosphorus compositions above 0.04. The introduction of phosphorus in the low bandgap regions of these superlattices was found to significantly improve their structural and optical quality. These superlattices provide, in many applications, a viable alternative to the quaternary alloy GaInAsP, which is required for obtaining these bandgaps in Al-free systems lattice-matched to GaAs. To our knowledge this is the first report on the growth and modeling of short-period superlattices using this material system.
PurposeIn recent decades, companies have increasingly engaged in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), with the goal of providing benefit to both society and the company. While these efforts can have measurable social impact at the local level, the cumulative impact may be much harder to observe and measure, due to the wide variety in both the CSR initiatives and the social challenges they seek to address. This study is an initial investigation of the relationship between national levels of commitment to CSR and national measures of social progress, in a sample of developing countries.Design/methodology/approachUsing country-level participation in the UN Global Compact (UNGC) as a proxy for the level of CSR commitment, and 2018 Social Progress Index (SPI) scores, we investigate the relationship between these variables. SPI component and sub-component scores serve as dependent variables in several OLS regression models. Independent variables included the total number of companies participating in the UNGC, along with economic and socio-political control variables.FindingsRegression models indicate that higher CSR commitment levels are related with higher scores in the primary components of social progress, but only in some sub-components and not others. Practitioners and policymakers can leverage this understanding when developing and supporting corporate social initiatives.Originality/valueTo our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to demonstrate the country-level impact of firm-level CSR commitment and is among the first to employ the Social Progress Index.
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