The impact of intellectual capital and related party transactions on contractual costs
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Authors: Salehi, Mahdi; Ahmadzadeh, Samira; Irvani Qale Sorkh, Fahimeh
Abstract
Purpose The present study aims to assess the potential effects of intellectual capital (IC) and disclosure of firms' affiliate transactions on contractual costs (CC). Design/methodology/approach The statistical population of the study includes 768 firm-year observations listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during 2012-2017. According to Pulic's model, the authors divide IC into three components, such as human capital (HC), relational capital and structural capital (SC). CC is also measured by utilising two variables of board cash compensation and unexpected reward of managers. Findings The results show that there is a negative and significant relationship between HC and CC. In contrast, the authors find that relational capital and SC have a positive impact on CC. The authors' further analyses also demonstrate that disclosure of transactions with affiliates has a negative effect on unexpected rewards of managers. Originality/value Since there is no conducted study, which discusses the relationship between IC and contractual cost, this paper might be considered the primary studies conducted in this line of literature, specifically in emerging markets. Moreover, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study investigating the potential impact of disclosure of selling and purchasing transactions, separately, on the director's unexpected reward.
Environmental risk assessment of polycarboxylate polymers used in cleaning products in the United States
CHEMOSPHERE
Authors: DeLeo, Paul C.; Summers, Heather; Stanton, Kathleen; Lam, Monica W.
Abstract
Polycarboxylate polymers have been common components of consumer and institutional cleaning products for decades. With interest heightened in the potential environmental impact of polymers, the American Cleaning Institute, the industry trade association of the cleaning products industry in the United States, is reassessing the state of the science regarding the environmental safety of polymers in cleaning products. In this case study, acrylic acid homopolymers and acrylic acid-maleic acid copolymers are evaluated using historical ecotoxicity data that have been reported over the past three decades. The evaluation includes an environmental exposure assessment that is based on recent information regarding the occurrence of those ingredients in cleaning products and market sales data for cleaning products sold in the United States. The ecotoxicity of polycarboxylate polymers is generally low. Consequently, the potential environmental risks associated with their use in cleaning products in the United States are low even when applying very conservative assumptions to the environmental exposure assessment. In addition, there are recent supporting conclusions from assessments by the governments of Australia and Canada that polycarboxylate polymers are polymers of low concern, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has included a number of polycarboxylate polymers among the ingredients on its Safer Chemical Ingredients List based on their low hazard profile. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.