Impact of corporate social responsibility in the European pharmaceutical market

The objective of this master thesis is to evaluate the impact of CSR measures in the financial performance of the European pharmaceutical industry. By definition, CSR measures is quantified as corporate social disclosure considering the published CSR keywords on the annual reports of the selected companies, over four fiscal years (2010-2013). The financial performance of the companies were measured as return on assets (ROA) and Tobin’s Q. In order to defend the hypothesis developed, a multivariate regression is performed. The results obtained show no significant impact on the financial performance of a company nor in the short-time, nor in the long-time. Moreover, by comparison with other studies, it was possible to conclude that the financial performance is differently affected when considering different industries.

The effectiveness of the “Processo Especial de Revitalização” as an instrument of corporate restructuring in the context of the current economic crisis

This work project intends to evaluate the effectiveness of the Portuguese Government’s strategy to promote the orderly deleveraging of the corporate sector in the context of the current economic crisis. The recommendations of the Troika and the commitments assumed under the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Government in 2011 required the creation of formal processes to avoid disorderly deleveraging. Conclusions and recommendations were drawn based on past experiences of large-scale corporate restructuring strategies in other countries and on the analysis of financial and statistical data on companies applying for “Programa Especial de Revitalização”.

How can Impresa increase the traffic of expresso website?

This report aims at describing the project developed in the Customer Relationship Management Field Lab, under a partnership established between Nova SBE and the group IMPRESA. The major goal was to elaborate on possible initiatives to increase the traffic on the website of Expresso, which were supported by evidences found through structured interviews and the company’s internal data. As the main findings are the increasing role of mobile devices and social media on the news’ consumption habits. These encourage an integrated improvement of the overall digital offer of Expresso, in a perspective of brand and audience development that should be a goal for the whole company.

Corporate social responsibility

There is general consensus nowadays that CSR is not just altruistic do-gooding but rather a way for both companies and society to prosper. Companies themselves increasingly recognize that their sustainability depends on their willingness to assume responsibility for social and environmental issues. Academic research has, in the past, tried to theorize exactly how CSR improves business, employee satisfaction and productivity. However, few studies have a) separated the different effects of internal CSR and external CSR and b) studied these effects in times of internal organizational distrust. Hence, this paper examines the relationship between each type of CSR with two outcome variables related to employee attitudes: affective organizational commitment (AOC) and turnover intentions (TI). Furthermore, it investigates whether organizational distrust works as a moderator in each of these relationships by testing the hypothesis using a sample of 212 employees from a company that is currently going through a moment of internal crisis. Findings suggest that although all variables are strongly correlated, distrust works as a moderator for external CSR but not for internal CSR. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings conclude the paper.

Corporate performance and the pay gap

Increasing disparity between executive compensation and that of the average worker (the pay gap) has generated a fierce debate about its causes and effects. This paper studies the determinants and performance effects of the pay gap through the prism of Tournament Incentives and the Equity Fairness Theory. Results show that the size of the pay gap is caused primarily by the size of the firm and by the standards of its industry and also by the unionization rate and whether the Chairman is also the CEO. The paper Concludes by showins that the pay gap has a positive effect on firm performance in the United States Keywords:

Cross sectional default probabilities in european corporate bonds

This study attempts to identify basis-trading opportunities in the European banking sector by comparing two different measures for the market’s assessment of risk: market-observed CDS spreads and model-implied Z-spreads. Using a sample of 10 banks, over a period of 3 years following the European banking crisis, it can be concluded that there were arbitrage opportunities in the sector, as evidenced by the derived negative bases.

Corporate impact investing:

This paper sets out the case for the use of impact investing as part of companies’ CSR strategy, demonstrated by the term “corporate impact investing” or “corporate impact venturing”. After an indirect analysis of global practices in corporate impact investment, it considers whether companies are interested in employing this innovative practice in their CSR strategy and how they could be incentivized to do so through direct research methods, with a focus on Europe. A survey answered by 116 company representatives reveals that companies are interested in impact investing yet the majority was not initially aware of its existence; therefore if the right incentives are put into place a new paradigm for CSR may arise

Corporate social reponsability strategic corporate social responsability: External and internal outcomes

This study investigates the importance and benefits of having a strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program by testing the interrelationships between strategic CSR with three external (reputation, corporate image, and customer loyalty) and four internal (organizational commitment, job satisfaction, performance, and organizational deviance) variables. 269 clients and non-clients along with 190 employees and their direct supervisors completed the survey. Strategic CSR has shown to have a positive impact on all the variables studied with the exception of organizational deviance. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Corporate social responsability reporting: The case of Portuguese Hospitals

vThis research investigated Portuguese Hospitals’ Corporate Social Responsibility reporting practices, by analyzing Hospitals’ Annual Reports and websites. The main hospital stakeholders were presented and activities pertaining to each group included. Overall, it appears that there is a lack of strategic CSR reporting on both private and public hospitals. Hospital managers should include stakeholders in their CSR strategy and aim it at shared value creation. Hospitals need to build a stronger relationship with the community and reformulate CSR reporting practices to ensure that the reporting is timely, complete and relevant and is easily accessible by interested parties.

Effects of corporate social responsibility on brand reputation and brand identification with children

This study aims to understand children‟s perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives and its effect on the brand, namely Reputation and Identification. Moreover, it analyzes if the use of Cartoons helps to increase these effects. Differences among gender, age and social class, will also be considered. 292 children from the 3rd and 6th grades from 5 schools with different social backgrounds participated in this study. The research made use of a real brand targeting children. Drawings and questionnaires were used as the main research tools. Results suggest that CSR actions have a positive effect on Reputation and Identification and that Cartoons do not lead to greater positive effects.

Assessing Cybersecurity service quality in corporate environments

This study assess the quality of Cybersecurity as a service provided by IT department in corporate network and provides analysis about the service quality impact on the user, seen as a consumer of the service, and on the organization as well. In order to evaluate the quality of this service, multi-item instrument “SERVQUAL” was used for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. To provide insights about Cybersecurity service quality impact, DeLone and McLean information systems success model was used. To test this approach, data was collected from over one hundred users from different industries and partial least square (PLS) was used to estimate the research model. This study found that SERVQUAL is adequate to assess Cybersecurity service quality and also found that Cybersecurity service quality positively influences the Cybersecurity use and individual impact in Cybersecurity.

Universal banks and corporate control: Evidence from the global syndicated loan market

We investigate the effects of bank control over borrower firms whether by representation on boards of directors or by the holding of shares through bank asset management divisions. Using a large sample of syndicated loans, we find that banks are more likely to act as lead arrangers in loans when they exert some control over the borrower firm. Bank-firm governance links are associated with higher loan spreads during the 2003-2006 credit boom, but lower spreads during the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Additionally, these links mitigate credit rationing effects during the crisis. The results are robust to several methods to correct for the endogeneity of the bank- firm governance link. Our evidence, consistent with intertemporal smoothing of loan rates, suggests there are costs and benefits from banks’ involvement in firm governance.

Rating corporate groups a modelling experience

This paper aims to provide a model that allows BPI to measure the credit risk, through its rating scale, of the subsidiaries included in the corporate groups who are their clients. This model should be simple enough to be applied in practice, accurate, and must give consistent results in comparison to what have been the ratings given by the bank. The model proposed includes operational, strategic, and financial factors and ends up giving one of three results: no support, partial support, or full support from the holding to the subsidiary, and each of them translates in adjustments in each subsidiary’s credit rating. As it would be expectable, most of the subsidiaries should have the same credit rating of its parent company.

The price of honour: The corporate governance of Banco Espirito Santo

The Price of Honour is a case study, supported with teaching notes, which describes the events and circumstances surrounding the implosion of one of Portugal’s most systemically important banks - Banco Espírito Santo (BES). The case focuses on BES’s corporate governance and how the Espírito Santo family’s tight control of the bank led to its exploitation. Although the situation caught the attention of the bank’s supervisors, their untimely actions could not prevent BES’s financial health from crumbling only two months after a rights issue. With little leeway, the supervisors put forward a resolution which dramatically ended the bank’s centennial legacy.

Corporate governance failure at PT

The following case study depicts the bitter transfiguration of Portugal Telecom, SGPS (PT), a multinational telecommunications company that was once an honourable flag of innovation, corporate governance standards in Portugal and overseas. It scrutinises the controversial episodes that paved the way for the pitiful condition in which PT is nowadays: a company that carries the weight of a ruinous €897 million investment in a defaulted company and no more than a 25.6% stake in a heavily indebted Brazilian carrier. The free-fall is made, ironically, of a complete disregard for best corporate governance practices, allowing for PT’s major shareholders to take over the helm of the company, using it selfishly as a cash cow.