Concordia University

About: Concordia University is a education organization based out in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Control theory & Population. The organization has 13565 authors who have published 31084 publications receiving 783525 citations. The organization is also known as: Sir George Williams University & Loyola College, Montreal.

The language of US corporate environmental disclosure

Abstract: We rely on prior work in environmental disclosure and corporate impression management to investigate whether there are self-serving biases present in the language and verbal tone used in corporations’ environmental disclosures. Specifically, we argue that the degree of bias in these narratives varies systematically based on firm environmental performance, hypothesizing that disclosures of worse environmental performers exhibit significantly more “optimism” and less “certainty” than their better-performing counterparts. We test our two hypotheses using a cross-sectional sample of corporate environmental disclosures contained in US 10-K annual reports. Utilizing the content analysis software DICTION to determine “optimism” and “certainty” scores for the disclosures, we find empirical support for both hypotheses. Our study contributes significantly to research in environmental disclosure by investigating bias in the use of language and verbal tone as a tool for managing stakeholder impressions and by finding empirical support for this role. Thus, the language and verbal tone used in corporate environmental disclosures, in addition to their amount and thematic content, should be considered when investigating the relation between corporate disclosure and performance.

The other side of acceptance: studying the direct and indirect effects of emotions on information technology use

Abstract: Much ado has been made regarding user acceptance of new information technologies. However, research has been primarily based on cognitive models and little attention has been given to emotions. This paper argues that emotions are important drivers of behaviors and examines how emotions experienced early in the implementation of new IT applications relate to IT use. We develop a framework that classifies emotions into four distinct types: challenge, achievement, loss, and deterrence emotions. The direct and indirect rela tionships between four emotions (excitement, happiness, anger, and anxiety) and IT use were studied through a survey of 249 bank account managers. Our results indicate that excitement was positively related to IT use through task adaptation. Happiness was directly positively related to IT use and, surprisingly, was negatively associated with task adaptation, which is a facilitator of IT use. Anger was not related to IT use directly, but it was positively related to seeking social support, which in turn was positively related to IT use. Finally, anxiety was negatively related to IT use, both directly and indirectly through psychological distancing. Anxiety was also indirectly positively related to IT use through seeking social support, which countered the original negative effect of anxiety. Post hoc ANOVAs were conducted to compare IT usage of different groups of users experiencing similar emotions but relying on different adaptation behaviors. The paper shows that emotions felt by users early in the implementation of a new IT have important effects on IT use. As such, the paper provides a complementary perspective to understanding acceptance and antecedents of IT use. By showing the importance and complexity of the relationships between emotions and IT use, the paper calls for more research on the topic

Resampling-Based Multiple Testing: Examples and Methods for p-Value Adjustment

Abstract: Resampling-Based Adjustments: Basic Concepts. Continuous Data Applications: Univariate Analysis. Continuous Data Applications: Multivariate Analysis. Binary Data Applications. Further Topics. Practical Applications. Appendices. References. List of Algorithms. List of Examples. Indexes.