Prior evidence suggests that board independence may enhance financial performance, but this relationship has been tested almost exclusively for Anglo-American countries. To explore the boundary conditions of this prominent governance mechanism, we examine the impact of the formal and information institutions of 18 national business systems on the board independence-financial performance relationship. Our results show that while the direct effect of independence is weak, national-level institutions significantly moderate the independence-performance relationship. Our findings suggest that the efficacy of board structures is likely to be contingent on the specific national context, but the type of legal system is insignificant

Prior studies of IPO underpricing, mostly using agency theory and single-country samples, have generally fallen short. In this study, we employ the knowledge-based view (KBV) to explore underpricing across 17 countries. We find that agency indicators are insignificant predictors, that board of director knowledge limits underpricing, and external knowledge both substitutes for and complements internal board knowledge. This third finding suggests that future KBV studies should consider how internal and external knowledge states interact with each other. Our study offers new insights into the antecedents of underpricing and extends our understanding of comparative governance and the KBV of the firm

Purpose The authors’ focus is on the way in which sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) discourses and practices emerge in the collaboration of multinational companies (MNCs) with the local hotels in developing country contexts. This paper aims to identify the prevailing institutional orders and logics that bring about CSR and sustainability discourse in tourism industry in Turkey. It also investigates how and to what extent the CSR and sustainability practices align with the local institutional logics and necessities. Design/methodology/approach Empirical evidence is generated through case studies covering Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (Hilton), its Turkish subsidiary and a local hotel chain to ensure data triangulation. Primary data were collected through interviews with the executives of the selected case hotels, which was supported by extensive secondary data. Findings Some components of CSR and sustainability logics developed in the headquarters diffuse into local affiliate hotel, not all. Local affiliate hotels seek to acquire local legitimacy in their host environment, despite a standard format imposed by their headquarters. Local necessities and priorities translate themselves into such initiatives in a very limited way in the affiliates of the Hilton where there is mostly a top-down approach. Similar approach has also been observed in the case of the local hotel which is part of a family business group. Family’s values and family business headquarter shape the CSR and sustainability strategy and the logics reflecting the local component. Research limitations/implications This paper addresses a theoretical and empirical gap by demonstrating the role of MNCs in the diffusion of sustainability and CSR practices, as acknowledged by Forcadell and Aracil (2017). The authors contribute to the critical writings about the positive impact of CSR and sustainability in the context of the MNCs and their subsidiaries, which is not substantiated due to limited empirical evidence. In addition to these contributions to the CSR and sustainability literatures in tourism and hospitality domains, the authors add to the institutional theory by demonstrating the link between institutional orders and institutional logics. They also show the multiplicity of logics that emanate from the differences of logics developed in the headquarters (centrally imposed) and local affiliate organizations (context-specific) and contribute to theory by highlighting tensions. Practical implications This study appeals to management teams and executives of hotels dealing with these issues of tailoring of CSR practices to local necessities. The authors do not only raise awareness of this consciousness but also demonstrate practical application of some of these strategies and prioritization by detecting market specificities and distinctive societal needs. Hotel managers should resist against the headquarter- or family business-driven uniform approach to CSR and sustainability and reflect on corporate policies through checking isomorphic tendencies. This entails being cognizant of local conditions and necessities and respond to them in a flexible and accommodating way. It involves engaging with a full spectrum of stakeholders, including the leadership in headquarters as well as local organizations (e.g. NGOs, suppliers, etc.) and other institutional forces (e.g. state) to align their sustainability and CSR practices with the locally dominant logics. Managers should be aware of certain logics governing CSR and sustainability practices; some of these logics might be constraining critical thinking and innovative practices. Social implications Managers should be proactive in interpreting different institutional logics and process them through critical reflection and boundary spanning and mapping of new opportunities. Moreover, MNC hotel executives should be aware of the limitations of a blanket approach toward CSR and sustainability and increase their sensitivity toward local conditions. Originality/value Through this study, the authors are able to add further value to the critical writings about the positive contribution of CSR and sustainability in the context of the MNCs and their subsidiaries, which is not substantiated due to limited empirical evidence.

Based on a Bourdieusian approach, drawing on qualitative analyses of 63 life interviews, our study demonstrates that gender is performed as both symbolic capital and violence by corporate elites within the dominant ideologies of patriarchy and family in Turkey. Our analysis reveals that, in the male-dominated context of Turkey, female elites appear to favour male alliances as a tactical move in order to acquire and maintain status in their organizations, whereas male elites appear to remain blind to the privileges and constraints of their own gendered experience of symbolic capital and violence. Our study also illustrates that gender order is still preserved, despite beliefs to the contrary that equality in education, skills, experience and job performance may liberate women and men from gender-based outcomes at work

In this paper, we want to focus on the interactions of shareholder theory, stakeholder theory, institutional theory and agency theory in terms of corporate social responsibility. We will specifically study this issue in the context of commercial banks in the financial sector. Financial firms appear to be subject to strong technical and institutional pressures. They are also more opaque and subject to heavier regulation than their non‐financial counterparts. It appears that the application of agency‐based assumptions to the financial sector is inadequate in explaining corporate governance and related social responsibility practices. In this context, the structure of asymmetric information seems to be more complex and multi‐dimensional. It takes place first between the depositors, the bank and the regulatory authorities; second, between the shareholders, the bank and the regulatory authorities; last, between the borrowers, the managers and the regulatory authorities. These parties also constitute the firms’ stakeholders. In this respect, the state appears to be a major stakeholder and it is in a position to affect all other bank/stakeholder relations through its regulations and participation in the financial sector. These are the factors that intensify institutional pressures in this sector. The institutional embeddedness inherent in a special context is likely to affect stakeholder position and attitudes. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the conflicting nature of being a stakeholder under institutional pressures and it articulates the factors that determine the behavior of the state as a stakeholder in shaping corporate social responsibility practices of firms.