Purpose This investigation aims to determine the effect of trade uncertainty on domestic investment (DI) and foreign direct investment (FDI) for the Turkish economy from the first quarter of 2005 to the first quarter of 2020. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopt the vector autoregression (VAR) model augmented with Fourier terms. Using this methodology, the authors obtain the empirical results of the impulse-response functions and the variance decomposition analysis. Findings The empirical results demonstrate that a shock to trade uncertainty has a slight negative impact on DI for up to approximately 1.5 years, whereas its impact on FDI is negative but long-lasting. Moreover, the contribution of trade uncertainty to FDI is relatively higher than to DI in the error variance decomposition for the investigated period. These empirical results can be beneficial for shaping the Turkish authorities' trade policies in the following periods. Research limitations/implications These findings have implications within the macroeconomic setting. Government authorities can provide tax exemptions for specified sectors and debureaucratize investment processes for both domestic and foreign entrepreneurs. Additionally, institutional quality and property rights should be protected strictly and developed gradually. Originality/value This study is the first to examine the impact of world trade uncertainty on Turkiye’s DI and FDI. Because trade uncertainty might act as fixed costs, this creates the option value of waiting and seeing the market, and firms hesitate to incur investment.

Purpose This study investigates the impact of financial development, measured by the ratio of broad money to gross domestic products, on de jure central bank (CB) independence (CBI) in 17 countries in the Asia–Pacific region from 1995 to 2014. Design/methodology/approach This study uses the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) approach, which is suitable since the CBI equation suffers from contemporaneous correlation, serial correlation and heteroscedasticity. Findings The FGLS results suggest a positive association between CBI and financial market development (FMD). This relationship is confirmed when estimating different indicators of de jure CBI and adopting the panel-corrected standard error estimate. However, the statistical significance of FMD is not supported when the ratio of domestic credit to the private sector to GDP is measured. Research limitations/implications It is significant to have a developed financial system to foster a better CBI. Moreover, it is important to measure the influence of financial market players on the operations of a CB. Originality/value The financial market in the Asia–Pacific has improved over the years. Hence, the results show the determinants of CBI in the Asia–Pacific, especially the role of FMD.

Purpose This paper analyzes the effects of the monetary stance on the media's favorable (or otherwise) attitude to the State Bank of Vietnam's (SBV) monetary policy using monthly data from 2011 to 2021. Monetary stance is a multivariate index based on the growth rates of money supply and domestic credit. A large set of articles published in five Vietnam daily newspapers are utilized to construct a view of the media's favorableness to the monetary policy. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses hand-collected data from 211 articles published in five newspapers from December 2011 to September 2021 in order to examine the relationship between the monetary stance and the media's favorableness to monetary policy. Following the studies of He and Pauwels (2008) and Xiong (2012), the authors constructed a multivariate stance index to capture most of the important changes in the SBV's monetary policy stance. Findings The study's main findings are that a change in monetary stance from easing to neutral/tightening, or from neutral to tightening, is greatly appreciated by the media. The study's findings are robust, especially in terms of alternative measures of the media's favorableness and monetary policy variables. Research limitations/implications These findings have important policy implications for implementing SBV's monetary policy. Originality/value The main contribution of this paper is that the authors are the first to study the nexus of multivariate monetary stance and the media's favorableness to a central bank's non-inflation-targeting mandate. In particular, the study’s findings confirm that the SBV's multivariate monetary stance affects the media's favorableness, whereas the effect of inflation is statistically insignificant.

Purpose This study examines whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives positively impact customers’ selection of retail banks in Hong Kong (HK) and identifies which CSR domains affect customers’ selection of banks. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a quantitative approach. Primary data were collected from 416 customers of 22 retail banks in HK. The theoretical framework of this study was developed from a literature review, prior studies by Oberseder et al. (2013 and 2014), and CSR initiatives implemented by leading retail banks in HK. Descriptive statistics and statistical tests were used to analyze the data. Findings The study found that CSR initiatives positively affect customers’ bank selection. CSR initiatives related to the customer and environment domains are likely to have a greater impact on customers than those related to the society domain and are not likely to significantly impact customers’ bank selection. Originality/value This study contributes to the CSR literature by offering enhanced insight into the dynamics of CSR and its effects on customer bank selection. Furthermore, this study tests consumers’ perceptions of CSR initiatives in each CSR domain in the banking sector in Hong Kong – a novel approach that has not been previously explored in existing studies. These findings can help banks review the effectiveness of their CSR initiatives and make informed decisions on which initiatives should pursue improved CSR performance and efficient resource allocation.

Purpose This study explores the variance in investor responses to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance of firms, as influenced by information sources and investor types. Design/methodology/approach This study applies a short-term event study and cross-sectional analysis with unique CSR datasets obtained from newspaper articles and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Findings Investor reactions are significantly shaped by their sources of information. Individual investors are found to predominantly respond to accessible news announcements, whereas institutional investors show heightened sensitivity to adverse news from both scrutinized sources. Foreign investors, mirroring institutional investors' patterns, uniquely react positively to index additions. Research limitations/implications Investors’ assessment of CSR activities varies due to the differing sources of information obtained; further, it is affected by the type of investor. Practical implications The findings guide public relation managers in strategizing CSR communication toward diverse investor types. This includes recommending targeted approaches for Japanese individual investors through newspapers and TV, exercising caution in disseminating adverse news to Japanese institutions, and promoting and justifying CSR actions to foreign investors. It underscores the need for a strategic investor relations frameworks that considers accessibility, literacy, and investors' interests. Originality/value This study examines the relationship between sources of information for CSR activities and investors’ responses, an area under-represented in the literature. The author uses CSR announcement data, collected from newspapers to make the results more accurate and relevant.

Purpose This study considers the “technology creation” characteristic of technical knowledge-intensive business services (T-KIBS) and examines how human capital and intellectual property rights (IPR) protection affect the location choice of foreign direct investment (FDI) in China for two types of T-KIBS: (1) information transmission, software and information technology (ICT) services and (2) scientific research and technology (SCI) services. Design/methodology/approach Our empirical analysis is based on panel data on 22 Chinese provinces from 2009 to 2017. We use the generalized method of moments estimation for the regression analysis. Findings FDI in ICT services prefers regions with high human capital, while FDI in SCI services favors regions with good IPR protection. Research limitations/implications Future research could use more comprehensive data and qualitative interviews to enhance the findings. Practical implications These findings provide a foundation for China’s future policy on attracting FDI into T-KIBS, especially in areas related to human capital and IPR protection. Originality/value This study bridges the research gap on the FDI location choice of T-KIBS in China by clarifying the influences of human capital and IPR protection and providing theoretical support for the location choice of T-KIBS FDI.