The paper examines the factors influencing dividend payout decisions. Our analysis is based on unbalanced panel data with 799 observations of companies from 15 countries over a period of 14 years. The study develops eight research hypotheses and uses a modelling approach based on the random effects panel probit model. An important conclusion reached in our study is that a company's financial situation in preceding year influences the dividend payout decision. In addition, the key significant determinants of dividend payout decision in the period covered by our study include free cash flow, growth, liquidity, profitability and size. These important research results are confirmed by other studies in the field. They are therefore essential for determining dividend policies. Individual effects across investigated enterprises also played an important role in the dividend policy.

Social technologies have rapidly become part of the workplace culture with companies using social platforms to communicate, for customer service, to gain exposure and create awareness, to gain new customers, to increase revenue and profits, for marketing purposes, to network and build relationships, and for recruiting purposes. This paper reports the results of a study of the usage of social technologies by working women in Spain to determine the purposes for using these platforms in a business environment. Furthermore, statistical analyses of the data reveal whether the age of the respondents make a difference in social media preferences. Based on these results, organizations will have a better grasp of how to optimize the use of social technologies in business and which age groups are better suited for managing specific platforms based on the purposes studied, thus adding to the literature in the field.

This paper aims to identify the costs of capital in a group of companies from the energy sector by including an investor and market risk approach. The study also concerns the company’s Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) cost intra-industry analysis related to sector characteristics such as total assets, revenues, market capitalization, and companies’ age. In order to assess the intergroup relationships, basic correlation relationships were compared and a nonparametric test of variance was performed. The period under study covered the years 2015–2019. The conducted research evaluates groups of companies that dedicated their activity to a particular energy intra-industry division under numerous regulations in Europe. The study contributes to assessing the level of risk among energy listed companies in European capital markets based on capital structure valuation. The study results underline the role of the cost of equity financing, which was twice as high as the cost of debt. The highest WACC was related to the Beta indicator that also expressed the political and regulatory risk over the investigated period. Across debt cost analysis, the role of effective tax rate decreased the level of WACC. The highest level of WACC was noticed among uranium and integrated oil and gas companies. The study contributes to information asymmetry theory related to the cost of capital assumptions.

This paper aims to identify financial measures that are related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) involvement activities. The study concerns the food industry, in which clients, as well as stakeholders, increasingly appreciate socially responsible companies, which could be a crucial factor for future growth strategy. An analysis was made on a sample of 448 food companies from 50 countries in 2009–2020. As a financial measure for CSR assessment, we used profitability ratios, dividend payout ratio, price-to-earnings ratio and market capitalization. The results confirmed that CSR reporting was a crucial division that differentiated companies from the perspective of profitability, OE, market capitalization, and share price. The CSR practices that are realized and published in reports become an important signal for investors that the company has a good financial situation and is able to invest in CSR without reducing its performance.

This study investigated the use of digital media, specifically social media technologies, in the workplace in Taiwan. The data for this study were collected through an online survey. Participants responded to questions asking whether social technologies could be a source of empowerment, leading to equality. Respondents included female and male employees. The findings reveal that both genders use social technology platforms for business support, experience benefits, and believe that these technologies could provide empowerment for success. Detailed results are reported in this paper, including a comparative analysis. The differences between women and men using Facebook and YouTube were significant. Women in Taiwan have a higher awareness of the benefits of social technologies, specifically Facebook, when used for business support and empowerment. This paper reveals a comparison between the attitudes of women and men when using social technologies and investigates the realization of the economic empowerment component.

This paper proposes a methodology for calculating the cost of equity for unlisted agricultural companies in Poland. An analysis of a fixed effects panel model was conducted on a sample of 79 agricultural enterprises from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) field of observation in 2012-2015. The empirical model includes a value of land, agricultural area, depreciation, sale earnings, and payables. The study confirmed that in the valuation of the cost of equity capital in agricultural enterprises, factors that are specific to this sector must be taken into account. As the basic source of production is agricultural land, it must be taken into consideration while estimating the cost of equity capital. This factor was included in the theoretical model.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the main areas and features of student engagement at a university. The research also focuses on evaluating the main features of student engagement that can be used for profiling student motivation. Methodology:The data for this study was gathered at the end of the spring semester of 2018 at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS), one of the largest life sciences universities in Poland, using an Internet-based instrument called Evolute. The data in this research consisted of self-evaluation responses from 242 undergraduate students on Master's and Bachelor's programs. The respondents filled out an online questionnaire. Findings: The results were presented in a three-stage analysis (descriptive statistics, a fuzzy logic-based method, and a clustering method for profiling student engagement). The results identified some key attributes of student engagement. The highest creative tension was noticed in student satisfaction, which reflects a gap in that area that could be improved by the university. The findings showed that highly motivated students presented high values in routinization and goal progress. Practical implication:The proposed solution could be used for further profiling according to applied additional criteria, such as type, of course, year of education, lecturers, work experience, etc. Originality/value: The study findings hold essential theoretical and practical implications for educators and researchers seeking to understand how students evaluate their engagement and reveal the gaps in university committees.

No abstract