This research conducts a meticulous examination of the determinants influencing dividend payout dynamics among firms listed on the Korean Stock Exchange (KSE) from 1995 to 2021, a period characterized by profound economic fluctuations. By leveraging a dynamic panel data model and the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) for estimation, the study addresses endogeneity concerns while exploring the effects of firm-specific and macroeconomic variables on dividend yields. The investigation delineates three distinct economic phases: normal conditions, financial crises, and the aggregate study period, facilitating a granular understanding of firms’ dividend payout adaptability under varying economic landscapes. Empirical findings underscore the persistence of dividend payments, revealing a variable adjustment speed toward target dividend yields contingent upon the economic context, with an expedited adjustment observed during crises. Crucially, firm profitability emerges as a consistent determinant of dividend yields across all examined periods, whereas the influence of macroeconomic variables is notably more pronounced during periods of economic normalcy. This research elucidates the complex interplay between internal corporate strategies and external economic pressures in shaping dividend policies, thereby enriching the discourse on dividend payout behavior in the context of Korea’s economic evolution from an emerging to a developed market.
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This paper describes a study into consumers' reasons for buying socially responsible (SR) products, such as Fair Trade products and organic meat. As opposed to other studies, we use a qualitative approach based on 25 in-depth interviews and include several different products in the research. This leads to several new results, such as: (1) buying SR products is perceived as an imperfect moral duty; (2) low quality of SR products is a dissatisfier, but high quality not a satisfier; (3) the attitude towards SR products is related to the reputation of charitable funds; (4) the demand for SR products is negatively related to the frequency of purchasing SR products; (5) reflection on SR products raises the demand for SR products; (6) consumers that have witnessed the social problems that SR products aim to alleviate purchase more SR products. Finally, we find that the demand for different SR products is correlated: if a consumer buys one SR product, it is more likely that (s)he purchases other SR products as well.
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There is mounting evidence that efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of human activity on climate and biodiversity have so far been unsuccessful. Explanations for this failure point to a number of factors discussed in this article. While acknowledging cognitive dissonance as a significant contributing factor to continuing unsustainable practices, this article seeks to explore hegemonic rationality of industrial expansion and economic growth and resulting politics of denial. These politics promote the economic rationale for exploitation of the environment, with pursuit of material wealth seen as the most rational goal. Framed this way, this rationality is presented by political and corporate decision-makers as common sense and continuous environmentally destructive behavior is justified under the guise of consumer choices, hampering meaningful action for sustainable change. This article underlines forms of alternative rationality, namely, non-utilitarian and non-hierarchical worldview of environmental and human flourishing, that can advance sustainability. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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