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In this study, we explore the role of Chief Executive Officers' (CEOs') incentives, split between monetary (based on both bonus compensation and changes in the value of the CEO's portfolio of stocks and options) and non-monetary (career concerns, incoming/departing CEOs, and power and entrenchment), in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR). We base our analysis on a sample of 597 US firms over the period 2005–2009. We find that both monetary and non-monetary incentives have an effect on CSR decisions. Specifically, monetary incentives designed to align the CEO's and shareholders' interests have a negative effect on CSR and non-monetary incentives have a positive effect on CSR. The study has important implications for the design of executive remuneration (compensation) plans, as we show that there are many levers that can affect the CEO's decisions with regard to CSR. Our evidence also confirms the prominent role of the CEO in relation to CSR decisions, while also recognizing the complexity of factors affecting CSR. Finally, we propose a research design that takes into account endogeneity issues arising when examining compensation variables.

The aim of the paper is to investigate the effects of the corporate governance model on social and environmental disclosure (SED). We analyze the disclosures of the 100 U.S. Best Corporate Citizens in the period 2005—2007, and we posit a series of simultaneous relationships between different attributes of the governance system and a multidimensional construct of corporate social performance (CSP). We consider both the extent and the quality of SED, with the purpose of identifying increasing levels of corporate commitment to stakeholders and shedding some light on whether SED is used as a signal or rather as a legitimacy tool. Our empirical evidence shows that the stakeholders' orientation of corporate governance is positively associated with CSP and SED. On the other hand, we do not find support for the monitoring intensity of corporate governance being negatively associated with social performance. We also find that CSP in the \"product\" dimension is positively associated with the extent and quality of SED whilst CSP in the \"people\" dimension is negatively associated with the extent and quality of SED. At a time when shareholders and stakeholders share more common aspects in their relationships with firms, this is a significant area to explore and this research fills an important lacuna in this respect.

Issue Title: Special issue on 'Entrepreneurship, Governance and Ethics'

In this thesis the various arguments that have been put forward for the determinants of a company's capital structure are examined critically. However, none of these succeeds convincingly in reflecting actual practice. Furthermore, it is argued that the common practice of concentrating on Earnings Per Share (EPS) as a key indicator of a company's performance also impacts on the capital issue choice, and that there is functional fixation on EPS, particularly short-term EPS. Therefore the effect on a company's EPS of a particular method of finance turns out to be an important influence on a company's financing decisions. A questionnaire sent to finance directors of companies elicits their views on their perceptions of the important influences on the choice of financing, and the responses are analysed using multivariate techniques. The results are encouraging as far as the present research question is concerned. An innovative approach of reconstructing company's financial statements to investigate the impact on various financial data if an alternative financing method had been chosen provides further evidence of a fixation on EPS. Limited dependent variable analysis is carried out to determine the variables which appear to influence the debtequity choice. A by-product of the research question is an analysis of 'elasticity' measures of gearing, i. e. degrees of financial and operating leverage; and the usefulness and consistency of the bases of measurement used for these. This thesis seeks to determine the extent to which financial choice is explained by, or at least consistent with, the maximisation of Earnings Per Share. In so doing, it seeks to provide a vital link between finance research and related financial accounting issues.

Changes to the global nitrogen cycle affect human health well beyond the associated benefits of increased food production. Many intensively fertilized crops become animal feed, helping to create disparities in world food distribution and leading to unbalanced diets, even in wealthy nations. Excessive air- and water-borne nitrogen are linked to respiratory ailments, cardiac disease, and several cancers. Ecological feedbacks to excess nitrogen can inhibit crop growth, increase allergenic pollen production, and potentially affect the dynamics of several vector-borne diseases, including West Nile virus, malaria, and cholera. These and other examples suggest that our increasing production and use of fixed nitrogen poses a growing public health risk.