This study aims to explore the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm performance in the presence of the moderating role of CEO chair duality. It is widely believed that CSR ...initiatives and firm performance are largely influenced by psychological factors and the behavior of the decision maker (manager/CEO). Hence, CEO chair duality may play an instrumental role in shaping CSR initiatives to enhance firm performance. For empirical investigation, the study used the dynamic panel data method with generalized method of moment (GMM) parameters. The study considered 131 firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), yielding 1508 firm-year observations, over the period 2006 to 2020. Our results reveal that the impact of CSR on book-based and market-based measures differs due to the asymmetry of information in the market. The market discounts CEO chair duality due to the concentration of power and translates it into negative impact of CSR on firm performance. Thus, firms should not only improve CSR activities but also take steps to reduce asymmetry in markets because the impact on book-based measures and market-based measures of performance are not consistent. Society should also play a role to convince firms in a better way to take CSR initiatives. The perception of transparency should also be improved as CEO chair duality is being negatively seen by the market.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Equity crowdfunding provides entrepreneurs and founders the opportunity to raise funds from a large number of potential investors, using quality signals to influence their investment decisions. ...Drawing from the lens of signaling theory and the elaboration likelihood model, this study explores the role of successive equity crowdfunding rounds as a quality signal in shaping investors' preferences in crowdfunded firms and its influence on their investment decisions. Our findings reveal that successive equity crowdfunding rounds serve as quality signals, modeling investors' preferences and thereby resulting in a high magnitude of success factors. The successive round is a strong quality signal that has a positive and significant impact on investors' investment decisions in subsequent equity crowdfunding rounds. The increasing preferences of investors due to the successive round augments the magnitude of success factors and helps entrepreneurs in successfully achieving large funding targets, high overfunding, and attracting a large number of investors in subsequent equity crowdfunding campaigns, even with a low level of equity offering.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
This study examines how crude oil price volatility affected the stock returns of major global oil and gas corporations during three major oil‐price wars that took place between October 1991 and June ...2020. Episodes considered include the 1998 Saudi Arabia – Venezuela war, the 2014–2016 conflict and the 2020 Saudi Arabia – Russia war in a time of unprecedented crisis caused by the COVID‐19 pandemic. The persistence of volatility in oil prices during times of specific oil‐price wars is captured through generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model while the leverage effect is tested using the threshold generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (T‐GARCH) model. Moreover, a vector autoregressive (VAR) model is employed to consider the relationship between oil price shocks and stock returns of oil and gas corporations. Our findings reveal a significant evidence for volatility persistence and leverage effects in oil price during the three oil‐price wars. These findings are consistent for WTI as well as Brent crude oil specifications. Though the persistence of volatility is similar to that of the previous two oil‐price wars, the 2020 Saudi Arabia – Russia oil‐price war has higher volatility spikes than the previous two wars. Besides, oil price shocks have a significant and positive effect on the returns of oil and gas companies. These findings provide investors information on how volatility in global oil prices is also sensitive to irregular events such as price wars between oil producers. This information can be important for economic agents contemplating shorter hedges by managing risks during times of high volatility.
In fuel cell applications, the proton exchange membrane (PEM) is the major component where the balance among dimensional stability, proton conductivity, and durability is a long-term trail. In this ...research, a series of blended SPEEK/SPPO membranes were designed by varying the amounts of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) into sulfonated poly(phenylene) oxide (SPPO) for fuel cell application. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to confirm the successful synthesis of the blended membranes. Morphological features of the fabricated membranes were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results showed that these membranes exhibited homogeneous structures. The fabricated blended membranes SPEEK/SPPO showed ion exchange capacity (IEC) of 1.23 to 2.0 mmol/g, water uptake (W
) of 22.92 to 64.57% and membrane swelling (MS) of 7.53 to 25.49%. The proton conductivity of these blended membranes was measured at different temperature. The proton conductivity and chemical stability of the prepared membranes were compared with commercial membrane Nafion 117 (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Missouri, United States) under same experimental conditions. The proton conductivity of the fabricated membranes increased by enhancing the amount of SPPO into the membrane matrix. Moreover, the proton conductivity of the fabricated membranes was investigated as a function of temperature. Results demonstrated that these membranes are good for applications in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC).
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate whether the effect of competitive strategies on the performance is significantly different for fully fledged Islamic banks vis-a-vis conventional banks with ...Islamic window. Specifically, two competitive strategies namely the low-cost strategy and the differentiation strategy were considered. In addition, we examined further the competitive strategies–performance nexus by introducing enterprise risk management as a mediating factor.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used structured questionnaires to collect data from 506 respondents (251 from fully fledged Islamic banks and 255 from conventional banks with Islamic window). A disjoint two-stage approach was employed to analyze a hierarchical component model. Construct Level Correction and Measured Latent Marker Variable approaches were employed to assess the common method variance. As a robustness check, two-stage approach was used to explore the curvilinear relationship, and the Gaussian copula approach was adopted to address the endogeneity issue.
Findings
The findings show the evidence of complementary partial mediation in the relationships between low-cost strategy, differentiation strategy, and performance through enterprise risk management practices in both types of banks.
Practical implications
Competitive strategies are essential as they send signals to owners, managers, policymakers, and regulatory authorities. On the one hand, fully fledged Islamic banks face dual competition from pure conventional counterparts as well as conventional banks with Islamic window. On the other hand, Islamic window banks also face strong competition from the fully fledged Islamic banks due to their strong Shariah roots. Hence, this competitive pressure on both types of banks calls for more attention to focus on competitive strategies and enterprise risk management practices to accelerate their performance and overcome the bank risk. Moreover, these competitive strategies can be used as a tool to enter into a new market by reducing costs and risks. Besides, banks cannot achieve a competitive advantage without implementing enterprise risk management practices because competitive strategies are significant antecedents of enterprise risk management practices. Therefore, this study recommends both types of banks to focus on enterprise risk management practices to make these strategies successful.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the competitive strategies–performance nexus and the mediating role of enterprise risk management practices in an unexplored area of Islamic banking.
The present study was conducted on Head Punjnad (HP) and Head Taunsa (HT) to evaluate the contamination of Pb, Cr, As, Hg, and Cd in water, soil, sediment, fish as a whole and fish organs. Fish, ...water, soil and sediment samples were collected from different sites of HT and HP on a monthly basis for 8 months. Heavy metals in water, soil, and sediment were determined by a polarized Zeeman atomic absorption spectrophotometer and in fish and fish organs by an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Contamination of Cd, Hg, and As was significantly (P<0.05) higher in water of HP as compared to HT, while Cr showed a non-significant (P>0.05) difference at HP and HT. Pb was significantly (P<0.05) higher in water of HT as compared to HP. In the case of soil, Cd, Hg, and Pb were higher at HT as compared to HP, while As and Cr were significantly (P<0.05) higher at HP as compared to HT. In sediment, contamination of Cd, Hg, and As were significantly (P<0.05) higher at HP as compared to HT, while the Cr difference was non-significant (P>0.05) but Pb showed a significantly (P<0.05) higher value at HT than HP. Cd accumulation in different fish species was recorded as
R
.
rita ˃O
.
niloticus ˃C
.
marulius ˃S
.
sarwari ˃C
.
idella ˃C
.
catla ˃N
.
notopterus ˃E
.
vacha ˃L
.
rohita ˃C
.
carpio
, respectively. Hg as
O
.
niloticus
˃
S
.
sarwari
˃
R
.
rita
˃
C
.
marulius
˃
C
.
catla
˃
N
.
notopterus
˃
E
.
vacha
˃
L
.
rohita
˃
C
.
carpio
˃
C
.
idella
, respectively. As as
O
.
niloticus
˃
R
.
rita
˃
S
.
sarwari
˃
C
.
marulius
˃
C
.
catla
˃
C
.
carpio
˃
N
.
notopterus
˃
C
.
idella
˃
E
.
vacha
˃
L
.
rohita
, respectively. Cr accumulation recorded as
L
.
rohita
˃
C
.
idella
˃
O
.
niloticus
˃
C
.
marulius
˃
E
.
vacha
˃
R
.
rita
˃
C
.
catla
˃
C
.
carpio
˃
S
.
sarwari
˃
N
.
notopterus
, respectively. Pb accumulation in different fish species was recorded as
C
.
idella
˃
C
.
carpio
˃
N
.
notopterus
˃
L
.
rohita
˃
O
.
niloticus
˃
C
.
marulius
˃
R
.
rita
˃
S
.
sarwari
˃
E
.
vacha
˃
C
.
catla
, respectively. Cd accumulation in different organs was recorded as kidney ˃liver ˃gills ˃muscle ˃skin ˃scale. Hg accumulation in different organs was recorded as kidney ˃gills ˃liver ˃skin ˃muscle ˃scale. As accumulation in different organs was recorded as kidney ˃liver ˃gills ˃muscle ˃skin ˃scale. Cr accumulation in different organs was recorded as gills ˃ liver ˃skin ˃muscle ˃kidney ˃scale. Pb accumulation in different organs was recorded as gills˃ kidney˃ skin˃ liver˃ muscle˃ scale.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
This manuscript describes the synthesis of dimethylethanolamine (DMEA)-grafted anion exchange membrane (AEM) by incorporating dimethylethanolamine as ion-exchange content into the polymer matrix via ...the solution casting method. The synthesis of the DMEA-grafted AEM was demonstrated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The prepared DMEA-grafted AEM exhibited higher thermal stability, homogeneous morphology, water uptake (W
) of 115%, and an ion exchange capacity (IEC) of 2.70 meq/g. It was used for the adsorptive removal of methyl orange (MO) from an aqueous solution via batch processing. The effect of several operating factors, including contact time, membrane dosage, initial concentration of aqueous dye solution, and temperature on the percentage discharge of MO and adsorption capacity, was evaluated. Experimental data for adsorption of MO onto the DMEA-grafted AEM was analyzed with two parameter and three parameter nonlinear adsorption isotherm models but fitted best using a nonlinear Freundlich isotherm. Adsorption kinetics were studied by using several models, and attained results showed that experimental data fitted well to pseudo-second-order kinetics. A thermodynamic study showed that adsorption of MO onto the prepared DMEA-grafted AEM was an endothermic process. Moreover, it was a feasible and spontaneous process.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In this work, the synthesis of a series of the functionalized inorganic/organic composite anion exchange membranes (AEMs) was carried out by employing the varying amount of inorganic filler consist ...of
-(trimethoxysilylpropyl)-
,
,
-trimethylammonium chloride (TMSP-TMA
Cl
) into the quaternized poly (2, 6-dimethyl-1, 4-phenylene oxide) (QPPO) matrix for acid recovery via diffusion dialysis (DD) process. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy clearly demonstrated the fabrication of the functionalized inorganic/organic composite AEMs and the subsequent membrane characteristic measurements such as ion exchange capacity (IEC), linear swelling ratio (LSR), and water uptake (W
) gave us the optimum loading condition of the filler without undesirable filler particle aggregation. These composite AEMs exhibited IEC of 2.18 to 2.29 meq/g, LSR of 13.33 to 18.52%, and W
of 46.11 to 81.66% with sufficient thermal, chemical, and mechanical stability. The diffusion dialysis (DD) test for acid recovery from artificial acid wastewater of HCl/FeCl
showed high acid DD coefficient (U
) (0.022 to 0.025 m/h) and high separation factor (S) (139-260) compared with the commercial membrane. Furthermore, the developed AEMs was acceptably stable (weight loss < 20%) in the acid wastewater at 60 °C as an accelerated severe condition for 2 weeks. These results clearly indicated that the developed AEMs have sufficient potential for acid recovery application by DD process.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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•Preparation of Nitrogen doped leather waste-derived material (NCM)•Highly active eletrocatalyst in the oxygen evolution reaction.•At 10 mA cm−2 current density, NCM showed 330 mV ...over potential.•NCM provided 73 mV dec-1 of slope value according to Tafel analysis.•Performance much improved as compared to reported carbon electrocatalysts.
Nitrogen doped leather waste-derived carbon materials have been employed as eletrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction. Low current densities and complex synthesis routes of other carbon-based materials limit their practical applicability. We present herein a simple and cost-competitive design of a metal free nitrogen-doped carbon matrix (NCM). At 10 mA cm−2 of current density, the assembled NCM showed a low over potential of 330 mV. NCM provided 73 mV dec-1 of slope value according to Tafel analysis, with NCM slope value improved as compared to previously described electrocatalysts inclusive of graphene (113 mV dec−1) and carbon nanosheets (101 mV dec−1), under similar reaction conditions. Linear sweep voltamogram, stability test and electrochemical impedance spectra confirmed the potential of NCM in OER as a heterogeneous electrocatalyst.
The present study is the first of its kind being reported for an indigenous sheep breed of Pakistan with objectives to (a) assess the diagnostic efficacy of a human‐based “serum hemolysis reference ...palette” for sheep serum, (b) deduce normal reference intervals (RIs) for hemoglobin (Hb) and bilirubin, and (c) devise a novel serum color chart for on‐field estimation of Hb and bilirubin through color matching of sheep serum. Apparently, healthy Sipli sheep (n = 130) were bled twice attaining whole blood and serum samples (n = 260). The study animals were grouped on the basis of gender, that is, males (n = 51) and females (n = 79) and age, that is, G1 (up till 1 year) (n = 41), G2 (from 1 to 2 years) (n = 46), and G3 (from 2 to 3 years) (n = 43). None of the 260 serum samples of the sheep matched the color given on the human‐based “hemolysis reference palette.” The G1 animals revealed marked variation in their serum color. Hence, on the basis of RIs, the serum samples (n = 178) of adult sheep (G2 and G3) showing three main color bands were used in devising a novel serum Hb and bilirubin estimation chart for adult sheep serum. In conclusion, the human‐based serum hemolysis palette is not valid for sheep serum. The RIs attained in the study could provide a yardstick for assessment of health in indigenous sheep breeds whereas the serum color chart may be of value in estimating Hb and bilirubin in a quick, reliable, and cheaper way for the resource‐poor settings of the world.
Human‐based serum color reference chart cannot be used for sheep serum. A sheep serum color chart for on‐field estimation of hemoglobin and bilirubin has been devised.
Research highlights
Human‐based serum color reference chart cannot be used for sheep serum.
A sheep serum color chart for on‐field estimation of hemoglobin and bilirubin has been devised.
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