Viput Ongsakul

We examine how organizational maturity shapes firms' strategic responses to biodiversity challenges. We find that older firms exhibit significantly lower biodiversity risk, consistent with the view that organizational maturity facilitates capability development rather than constraining adaptation through inertia. We show that mature firms are systematically less exposed to biodiversity-related challenges. This effect is particularly pronounced for profitable firms with substantial capital investments, suggesting that accumulated resources enable mature firms to more effectively develop and deploy capabilities for managing biodiversity-related pressures. Our findings advance corporate life cycle theory by revealing how organizational maturity shapes environmental risk management and highlight how experience, resource accumulation, and stakeholder integration shape firms' strategic adaptation to emerging ecological constraints. Our study also validates the effectiveness of machine learning-based textual analysis in measuring complex corporate risks.

Purpose: This study examines the evolution of corporate innovation culture, focusing on how board independence and gender diversity impact this trend. It seeks to determine whether innovation culture has strengthened over time and to identify the role of board composition in fostering innovation. Design/Approach: Using a text-based metric from Li et al. (2021), this study analyzes over 50,000 firm-year observations. Temporal trend analysis and regression modeling assess shifts in innovation culture, with a focus on the moderating effects of independent and gender-diverse boards. Findings: The findings reveal a positive trend in corporate innovation culture, supporting the “innovation surge hypothesis.” Independent directors are shown to enhance long-term strategic thinking, while gender-diverse boards contribute varied perspectives, strengthening the culture of innovation. Originality: This study employs the machine learning-based approach developed by Li et al. (2021) to measure corporate innovation culture, providing fresh insights into how board diversity and independence sustain innovation. By leveraging this novel method, we contribute to the understanding of corporate governance’s role in fostering long-term innovative growth.

Purpose: This study examines the effect of firm-specific political risk on climate change exposure, focusing on how political risk exacerbates climate vulnerabilities, particularly through regulatory uncertainties. Design/methodology/approach: The research utilizes a text-based analysis, employing metrics derived from advanced textual analysis and machine learning algorithms. A large sample of U.S. firms is analyzed to assess the impact of political risk on climate change exposure. Various robustness checks, including propensity score matching, entropy balancing, and instrumental-variable analysis, are conducted to ensure the reliability of the findings. Findings: The results demonstrate that higher political risk leads to greater climate change exposure, particularly in the context of regulatory risks. Additionally, the study reveals that climate change exposure driven by political risk negatively affects firm value, indicating that political instability undermines market valuations by increasing climate-related vulnerabilities. Practical implications The findings carry several important implications for corporate managers, investors, and policymakers. Managers should integrate political risk assessment into their climate risk management frameworks, strengthening governance and investing in adaptive capabilities such as R&D to mitigate vulnerability. Investors should evaluate firms’ political and environmental risk exposures jointly, as political instability can amplify climate-related risks and depress firm value. For policymakers, the results highlight the importance of regulatory stability and policy coherence to encourage sustained corporate investment in climate resilience. A predictable policy environment can reduce uncertainty, promote long-term planning, and enhance overall market confidence. Originality: This research contributes to the literature by examining the effect of firm-specific political risk on climate change exposure, using innovative text-based metrics. The study provides new insights into how political risks exacerbate climate vulnerabilities and impact firm value, highlighting the need for integrated risk management strategies that address both political and environmental challenges.

Purpose:Exploiting novel measures of climate change exposure and corporate culture generated by a powerful textual analysis of earnings conference calls, we explore the effect of firm-specific climate change exposure on corporate innovation through the lens of corporate culture. Design/Methodology/Approach:We apply the standard regression analysis as well as a variety of sophisticated techniques, namely propensity score matching, entropy balancing, and an instrumental variable analysis with multiple alternate instruments. Findings:We find that more exposure to climate change risk results in more innovation as indicated by a significantly stronger culture of innovation. Our findings are consistent with the notion that firms more exposed to climate change risk are pressed to be more innovative in order to adapt to the various challenges resulting from climate change. Finally, we also find that the effect of firm-level exposure on innovation is considerably less pronounced during uncertain times. Originality:We are among the first studies to take advantage of a novel measure of firm-specific exposure to climate change and investigate how climate change exposure influences an innovative culture. Since climate change is a timely issue, our findings have important implications for multiple stakeholders, such as shareholders, executives, and investors in general.

Purpose: Taking advantage of distinctive text-based measures of climate policy uncertainty and firm-specific exposure to climate change, we examine the impact of firm-specific vulnerability on dividend policy. Design/Methodology/Approach: To mitigate endogeneity, we apply an instrumental-variable analysis based on climate policy uncertainty as well as employ additional analysis using propensity score matching and entropy balancing. Findings: We show that an increase in climate policy uncertainty exacerbates firm-specific exposure considerably. Exploiting climate policy uncertainty to generate exogenous variation in firm-specific exposure, we demonstrate that companies more susceptible to climate change are significantly less likely to pay dividends and those that do pay dividends pay significantly smaller dividends. For instance, a rise in firm-specific exposure by one standard deviation weakens the propensity to pay dividends by 5.11%. Climate policy uncertainty originates at the national level, beyond the control of individual firms, and is thus plausibly exogenous, making endogeneity less likely. Originality: Our study is the first attempt in the literature to investigate the effect of firm-specific exposure on dividend policy using a rigorous empirical framework that is less vulnerable to endogeneity and is more likely to show a causal influence, rather than a mere correlation.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate Generation Z’s perception of and experience with restaurant service robots. Design/methodology/approach: Established on the servicescape theoretical framework and following Zaltman Metaphoric Elicitation Technique, 34 in-depth interviews were conducted with Generation Z consumers. Findings: The results showed that Generation Z consumers had a generally positive attitude toward the usage of service robots in restaurants. Research participants also indicated aspects that can be improved: the service robot’s appearance design and functionality, and the human service facilitating the robotic service process. Research limitations/implications: This paper provides a holistic understanding of the Generation Z’s mind maps about robot service restaurants presenting practical suggestions for restaurants. Practical implications: This research offers an in-depth understanding of how the young consumption power perceives and expects the innovative service robots employed in restaurants. The research findings provide industry practitioners with timely guidelines to improve the usage of robotic services in restaurants to satisfy the emerging consumer group of Generation Z. Originality/value: The current research contributes to the servicescape literature by extending this long-standing theory to the emerging robotic service contexts for updating discoveries. Particularly, the study focuses on the young consumers of Generation Z, shedding lights on the generational cohort research.

Exploiting innovative measures of climate policy uncertainty and firm-specific climate change exposure derived from state-of-the-art textual analysis, we examine the impact of climate policy uncertainty on firm-specific climate change vulnerability and find that a rise in policy uncertainty exacerbates firm-specific exposure significantly. Then, using climate policy uncertainty to generate exogenous variation in firm-specific vulnerability in an instrumental-variable analysis, we show that companies more susceptible to climate change experience significantly lower firm value. In particular, an increase in firm-specific vulnerability by one standard deviation diminishes firm value by 5.4-5.9%. Climate policy uncertainty originates at the national level and is probably exogenous to individual firms’ characteristics. Our results are thus less vulnerable to endogeneity and likely reflect causality, rather than a mere correlation. Finally, the adverse effect of climate risk on firm value is more pronounced for firms with more fixed assets and for those located in the states or cities where the threat of climate change is more acute but is less evident for firms that pay higher dividends.

We explore the role of female directors in mitigating CEO luck. CEOs are ‘lucky’ when they receive stock option grants on days when the stock price is the lowest in the month of the grant, implying opportunistic timing. Our results show that board gender diversity significantly deters the opportunistic timing of option grants. The effect of board gender diversity is 17.19 percent stronger than that of board independence in reducing CEO luck. Board gender diversity plays an effective governance role, even more effective than board independence does. Our results support the benefits of board gender diversity in mitigating the agency cost.