Based on the upper echelon theory and theory of feminist care ethics, this paper uses the data of 359 Chinese listed companies between 2008–2016 to investigate the influence of female executives on corporate environmental investment. The results of the pooled OLS (Ordinary Least Square) regression reveals that both having a female as CEO or Chair as well as increased representation of female directors on the board committees significantly increases corporate environmental investment. Moreover, this phenomenon is not only evident in polluting enterprises but also exists in non-polluting enterprises. Further, we examine whether female executives’ environmental investment is driven by the motive of availing government subsidies or to comply with the environmental regulations. The empirical testing reveals that the environmental investment by female executives is not associated with the acquisition of government subsidies. Moreover, female executives’ environmental investment remains significant in China’s eastern regions despite having less stringent government regulations. The study also found that contrary to the result in the male sample, environmental investment by the female executives significantly reduces pollutant emissions. The present study adds a new perspective to the CSR literature and suggests that an increase in environmental investment by the women executives lies primarily in their innate commitment towards social responsibility. Against the backdrop of a greater emphasis on environmental protection in China, it is concluded that increased representation of female executives in enterprises can contribute to a significant improvement in environmental quality.
An important issue in epigenetic research is to understand how the numerous methylation marks associated with histone and certain nonhistone proteins are recognized and interpreted by the hundreds of chromatin-binding modules (CBMs) in a cell to control chromatin state, gene expression, and other cellular functions. We have assembled a peptide chip that represents known and putative lysine methylation marks on histones and p53 and probed the chip for binding to a group of CBMs to obtain a comprehensive interaction network mediated by lysine methylation. Interactions revealed by the peptide array screening were validated by in-solution binding assays. This study not only recapitulated known interactions but also uncovered new ones. A novel heterochromatin protein 1 beta (HP1β) chromodomain-binding site on histone H3, H3K23me, was discovered from the peptide array screen and subsequently verified by mass spectrometry. Data from peptide pull-down and colocalization in cells suggest that, besides the H3K9me mark, H3K23me may play a role in facilitating the recruitment of HP1β to the heterochromatin. Extending the peptide array and mass spectrometric approach presented here to more histone marks and CBMs would eventually afford a comprehensive specificity and interaction map to aid epigenetic studies.
Background Camellia sinensis ‘Huangjinju’ is an albino tea variety developed recently in China. Young leaves of ‘Huangjinju’ demonstrate bright yellow when cultivated under natural sunlight, but regreens under reduced light intensity. To elucidate the physiological and molecular mechanisms of this light-sensitive albinism, we compared leaf pigmentation, metabolites, cellular ultrastructure and transcriptome between plants cultured under natural sunlight and shade. Results Shading treatment doubled the chlorophyll concentration and regreened albino leaves; carotenoid also increased by 30%. Electron microscopy analyses showed that chloroplast not only increased in number but also in size with a complete set of components. In addition, regreened leaves also had a significantly higher concentration of polyphenols and catechins than albino leaves. At transcriptomic level, a total of 507 genes were differentially expressed in response to light condition changes. The most enriched pathways include light harvest protein complex, response to stimuli, oxidation-reduction process, generation of precursor metabolites and energy response. Conclusion The integrated strategy in this study allows a mechanistic understanding of leaf albinism in light-sensitive tea plants and suggested the regulation of gene networks involved in pigmentation and protein processing. Results from this study provide valuable information to this area and can benefit the domestication and artificial breeding to develop new albino tea varieties.
Purpose Against the background of the enormous economic transition China is undertaking, government intervention over corporate behavior is a frequent and, arguably, necessary measure. Among the most serious problems facing China, economically and reputationally, are environmental issues. So, how is the government intervening in the environmental performance of Chinese enterprises? And how are Chinese enterprises responding? These are the questions to be answered in this study. Design/methodology/approach This paper sampled listed companies on China’s Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. The data were collected from the HeXun corporate social responsibility report, CSMAR and WIND databases. A Tobit model was used to conduct the main 2SLS regression analysis, and the robustness tests followed the propensity score matching method. Findings The analysis shows that environmental performance is positively related to the government subsidies a company receives. The “Eight-point Regulation of the Centre” crack-down on social corruption introduced in 2012 has weakened rent-seeking overall, but rent-seeking behavior through the cloak of corporate environmental performance has become more serious. As a result, non-polluting and state-owned enterprises are significantly less concerned about their environmental performance, while polluting and private enterprises are more motivated to become good environmental citizens. Practical implications This research provides a greater understanding of the drivers behind environmentally-responsible behavior in Chinese companies. These insights can be used by policymakers and environmental regulators to incentivize a more widespread ground-swell of change across the gamut of Chinese business. Social implications Environmental policy and practice informed by research-driven recommendations can not only make valuable contributions to the health and well-being of Chinese society but also, as a significant contributor to climate change, environmental reforms have global benefits. Originality/value This study explores the motivations behind rent-seeking associated with environmental investment. The findings expand the research horizon of relevant literature on corporate political rent-seeking and deepen the understandings of the economic consequences of corporate investment into environmental practice. The results provide empirical evidence for the Chinese government to implement environmental regulations based on incentives beyond simple profit-making.
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