英文【世界银行】技术与企业道德标准

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PolicyResearchWorkingPaper11068

TechnologyandCorporateEthicalStandards

MarikaCarboni

MartaDegl’Innocenti

FrancoFiordelisi

DavideSalvatoreMare

WORLDBANKGROUP

DevelopmentEconomicsGlobalIndicatorsGroupFebruary2025

PolicyResearchWorkingPaper11068

Abstract

UsingdatafromtheWorldBankEnterpriseSurveysfrom2006to2023,thispaperstudiesthecorporateethicalstandardsoftechnologicaldigitalorientedfirms.Thefind–ingsindicatethattechnologyanddigitalizationpositivelyimpacttheadoptionofenvironmentalandsocialstan–dards.However,digitalorientedtechnologicalfirmsshow

lowergovernancestandards.Theseresultsareinfluencedbycountryculture,theburdenofbusinessregulation,andtheperceptionofthecourtsasanobstacletobusinessactivity.Thisunderscorestheimportanceofthebroadersocietyandthequalityofthebusinessenvironmentinshapinghowdigitalorientedtechnologicalfirmsadoptethicalstandards.

ThispaperisaproductoftheGlobalIndicatorsGroup,DevelopmentEconomics.ItispartofalargereffortbytheWorldBanktoprovideopenaccesstoitsresearchandmakeacontributiontodevelopmentpolicydiscussionsaroundtheworld.PolicyResearchWorkingPapersarealsopostedontheWebat

/prwp.Theauthorsmaybe

contactedatdmare@.

ThePolicyResearchWorkingPaperSeriesdisseminatesthefindingsofworkinprogresstoencouragetheexchangeofideasaboutdevelopmentissues.Anobjectiveoftheseriesistogetthefindingsoutquickly,evenifthepresentationsarelessthanfullypolished.Thepaperscarrythenamesoftheauthorsandshouldbecitedaccordingly.Thefindings,interpretations,andconclusionsexpressedinthispaperareentirelythoseoftheauthors.TheydonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheInternationalBankforReconstructionandDevelopment/WorldBankanditsaffiliatedorganizations,orthoseoftheExecutiveDirectorsoftheWorldBankorthegovernmentstheyrepresent.

ProducedbytheResearchSupportTeam

TechnologyandCorporateEthicalStandards

MarikaCarboni

RomaTreUniversity,Italy

MartaDegl’Innocenti

UniversitàdegliStudidiMilano,Italy

FrancoFiordelisi

UniversityofEssex,UnitedKingdom

DavideSalvatoreMare*

WorldBank,UnitedStates;UniversityofEdinburgh,UnitedKingdom

JELClassification:Q56,G30,O14

Keywords:Technology,Ethics,ESG,Sustainability,Culture,CorporateGovernance

*CorrespondingauthorattheWorldBank,2121PennsylvaniaAvenue,N.W.Washington,D.C.20433U.S.A.email:dmare@.Thispaper’sfindings,interpretationsandconclusionsareentirelythoseoftheauthorsanddonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheWorldBankGroup,theirExecutiveDirectors,orthecountriestheyrepresent.Allerrorsandomissionsrestwiththeauthors.

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1Introduction

Interestinethicsandsustainabilityinfirmmanagementhasgrowngloballyinrecentdecades,withtheconceptsofethicsandsustainabilitybeingintrinsicallylinked(Craneetal.,2019;Torelli,2021).AprimeexampleistheUnitedNations’17SustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs),whichunderscoretheimportanceofaddressingabroadsetofissuessuchasenvironmental,social,andgovernanceconcernstoeradicatepovertyandpreservetheenvironment.Thesegoalshavebecomecentraltopoliticalagendasworldwide.

Therelationshipbetweentechnologyandsustainabilityhasbeenincreasinglyexaminedinrecentyears,withtechnologicalprogressplayingakeyroleinsustainabledevelopment(UnitedNations,2019).TechnologicalchangecanaccelerateachievementoftheSDGsbyreplacingenvironmentallydamagingmodesofproductionwithmoresustainableones,improvingincomesthroughhigherproductivityandlowercostsofgoodsandservices,andsupportingmoreinclusiveformsofparticipationinsocialandeconomiclife.However,whiletechnologycancreateopportunitiesthatenableinnovativesolutions,italsoposeshealthandenvironmentalrisks,suchaspollutionfromelectronicwastecontainingnon-biodegradablematerialsandtoxicsubstances.Technologymayalsohavenegativesocialimpactsbyincreasingunemploymentandexacerbatingeconomicinequality.Therefore,therelationshipbetweentechnologyandethicalpracticesiscomplex,astechnologicaldevelopmentacceleratessustainabledevelopmentbutcanalsocreateenvironmentalandsocialproblems.

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Inthispaper,westudythepropensityofdigital-orientedtechnologicalfirmstoadoptethicalpractices.Ouranalysisisparticularlyrelevantintoday’sdigitalage,wherehavinganonlinepresenceiscrucialforfirmstoincreasetheircompetitiveadvantage.Forexample,awebsiteenhancesacompany’sreputationbyeffectivelysharingandcommunicatingitsmissionandvaluestothepublic.Websitesalsosignificantlyincreasesalesopportunitiesbyreachingabroaderaudienceandimprovingcustomerengagementandexperience(Dolanetal.,2015;Chaffey,2015).Similarly,theuseofsocialmedia,adigitaltechnologythatenablesthesharingofideasandinformation,allowscompaniestocommunicatetheirCorporateSocialResponsibility(CSR)tothepublicwithouthavingtogothroughthegatekeepingfunctionofthenewsmedia(Vogleretal.,2021).Wecombinetheconceptsoftechnologyandonlinepresencetodefinethesefirmsasdigital-tech-orientedfirms.

WethenassesstheethicalbehaviorofsuchfirmsbyexaminingtheirmonitoringofCO2emissions,provisionofemployeetraining,andemploymentoffemaletopmanagers.Ourresearchfocusesontheadoptionofethicalpracticesasitsignalsthatcompaniesareconcernedabouttheenvironmentandthesocialconsequencesoftheiractivities.

Forouranalyses,wegatherfirm-leveldatafromtheWorldBankEnterpriseSurveys(ES).Oursampleencompassesupto192,132observationsacross158countriesfrom2006to2023.Weconsiderthreemaindimensionsoffirms’ethicalbehaviorcapturingenvironmental,social,andgovernance(ESG)standards:

monitoringofCO2emissions(environmentaldimension,orE),formaltrainingprogramsforemployees(socialdimension,orS),andthepresenceoffemaletop

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managers(governancedimension,orG).TheselectionoftheseESGdimensionsismotivatedbypastpapersthatemphasizetheimportanceoftechnologyinreducingCO2emissions(Jaffe,Newell,andStavins,2003)andhighlighthowtechnologicaladvancementsenhancetheeffectivenessoftrainingprogramsandemployeeperformance(BhattacherjeeandPremkumar,2004).Moreover,theappointmentofwomendirectorstocorporateboardshasbeenalongstandingandwidelydebatedtopicincorporategovernanceresearch.Theextantliteratureprovidesevidenceofapotentialassociationbetweendiverseboardsandinnovation(see,forexample,theliteraturereviewinKirsch,2018).Weextendthisliteraturebyinvestigatingwhetherdigital-tech-orientedfirmshirewomeninmanagerialroles.

Ourfindingsshowthatdigital-tech-orientedfirmsaremorelikelytoengageinmonitoringCO2emissionsandprovidingformaltrainingprogramsforemployees.

Thissuggeststhattechnologycanhelptoachievesustainabilitygoals.However,wefindthatthesefirmsarelesslikelytoemployfemaletopmanagers.Womenareunderrepresentedinmanagerialroles,asisthecaseinmanyothersectors,potentiallyduetostereotypesagainstwomenorotherbarrierstoenteringthelabormarket.ThismaybemorepronouncedintechnologicalfirmsduetothehistoricalgendergapinSTEM(Science,Technology,Engineering,andMathematics)educationandcareerpathsthathaverestrictedthenumberofqualifiedfemalecandidatesformanagerialpositionswithindigital-tech-orientedfirms.

Country-specifictraitscansignificantlyinfluencecorporatepractices,includingethicalpractices(KostovaandRoth,2002).Toaccountforthisheterogeneity,weconsiderbothculturalfactorsandthequalityofthebusiness

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environment.Wecaptureculturalinfluencesusingfivedimensionsofnationalculture,proposedbyHofstedeetal.(2010).Ourfindingshighlightthatnationalculturemaybeacriticalfactor,particularlyinthecontextofhiringfemaletopmanagers.Specifically,weobservethatdigital-tech-orientedfirmsexhibitastrongernegativerelationshipwithemployingfemaletopmanagersincountriescharacterizedbystrongmasculinepreferencesandshort-termorientation.

Toinvestigatetheroleofthequalityofcriticalpublicservices,weintroduceregulatoryburdenandbusinesses’perceptionofthecourts.Bothfactorscanbeseenasrelatedtotheliteraturethatfocusesontheneedforandimpactofregulationonsustainability(BeheraandSethi,2022;Lietal.,2021).Itmaybethatregulatoryandbureaucraticburdenschallengetheflexibilityandadaptabilityneededforproactiveethicalstrategies.Insupportofthisview,wefindthatdigital-tech-orientedfirmsarepositivelyassociatedwithmonitoringCO2emissionsandwithofferingtrainingprogramswhentheregulatoryburdenislow.However,wealsoobservethatreducingtheregulatoryburdenwidensthegendergap.Thisphenomenonmaybeduetothefactthatwomentendtospendmoretimenavigatingregulatoryrequirements.Hence,areductioninregulatoryburdenhasanegativeimpactonthepresenceoffemaletopmanagers.Thegendergapinsteadnarrowsasbureaucracyintensifies(Baronetal.,2007).

Finally,weconsiderhowthejusticecourtsareperceivedasarelevantobstacletobusinessactivity.Inthisregard,wefindthatdigital-tech-orientedfirmshirefewerfemaletopmanagerswhencourtsarenotperceivedasasignificantobstacletodoingbusiness.Thisfindingcallsforadeeperscrutinyofthemechanismsthroughwhich

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thequalityofthebusinessenvironmentinfluencesthegendergapindigital-tech-orientedfirms.

Ourpaperrelatestovariousliteraturestrands.First,itcontributestotheextantknowledgeoftherelationshipbetweentechnologyandsustainability(e.g.,BekhetandLatif,2018;Omri,2020;Sharifetal.,2022;Zhangetal.,2022;Higónetal.,2017;Zakarietal.,2022;Sunetal.,2019;deVriesetal.,2020;Tyrowiczetal.,2020;Yangetal.,2022),confirmingthatsucharelationshipisambiguous.Ontheonehand,weshowapositiverelationshipbetweendigital-tech-orientedfirmsandthemonitoringofCO2emissions,aswellastheprovisionofemployeetrainingprograms,suggestingvirtuousbehaviorbydigital-tech-orientedfirms.Ontheotherhand,wefindanegativerelationshipbetweendigital-tech-orientedfirmsandtheemploymentoffemaletopmanagers,suggestingthattechnologymaypromotethewideningofthegendergapintopmanagementpositions.

Ourstudyprovidesnuancedevidencetopapersexaminingtheimpactoftechnologyfirms’ethicalbehavior(Okaforetal.,2021;BouloutaandPitelis,2014;Bernal-Conesaetal.,2017;Linetal.,2020).Unlikethesepapers,wefocusontheimpactoftechnologyonfirms’ESGpracticeswhileaccountingforcountryandheterogeneityinthebusinessenvironment.Assuch,ourfindingsmayhaveimportantimplicationsforpoliciesaimingatsimultaneouslyadvancingtechnologicalprogressandsustainabilitygoals.

Inaddition,wecontributetothecorporatesocialresponsibility(CSR)literature(e.g.,AngelidisandIbrahim,2004;ArnoldandValentin,2013;Mahoneyetal.,2013;Ferrelletal.,2019;Chantziarasetal.,2020),bydifferentiatingthefindings

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ontherelationshipbetweendigital-tech-orientedfirmsandethicalpracticesacrossculturaldimensions.Therefore,wealsoaddtothestrandofliteratureexaminingthelinkbetweenculturaldimensionsandsustainability(Seditaetal.,2022;KucharskaandKowalczyk,2019;Lahuerta-OteroandGonzález-Bravo,2018;Parboteeahetal.,2012;OnelandMukherjee,2014;Husted,2005;Vachon,2010;Gallego-ÁlvarezandOrtas,2017),aswellastostudiesfocusingontheissueofregulationinsustainability(BeheraandSethi,2022;Lietal.,2021),sinceweexaminehowregulatoryburdensandperceptionsofcourtsasanobstacletobusinessactivityarerelatedtofirms’ethicalbehavior.

Theremainderofthepaperisorganizedasfollows.Insection2,wedescribethedataandvariables;insection3wepresentourempiricalapproach;insection4wediscussourresults.Finally,section5concludesthepaper.

2DataandVariables

Wecollecteddatafromvarioussourcestoanalyzethecorrelationbetweenfirms’technologyandethicalpractices.First,wegatheredfirm-leveldatafromtheWorldBankEnterpriseSurveys(ES),covering158countriesfrom2006to2023,foratotalof192,132observations.

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Weconsiderfirmsinthemanufacturingandnon-manufacturingindustriesaspertheISICCodeRevision4classification.

2

Inaddition,

1TheEnterpriseSurveysarefirm-levelsurveysofrepresentativesamplesoftheprivatesectoraroundtheworld.Dataispubliclyavailableandcanberetrievedatthefollowingweb-link:

(lastaccessed:November2024).

2TheUnitedNationsStatisticalCommissionproducesastandardclassificationofeconomicactivities:theInternationalStandardIndustrialClassificationofalleconomicactivities(ISIC).

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weobtainedGDPpercapitafromtheWorldBank’sWorldDevelopmentIndicators,

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andculturaldimensionsdatafromGeertHofstede’swebsite.

4

Wecapturetheenvironmental,social,andgovernancedimensionsthatrepresentethicalpracticesbyconstructingthreebinaryvariablesfromtheES.Specifically,theenvironmentaldimensioniscapturedbyabinaryvariablethattakesthevalueofoneifthefirmhasmonitoreditsCO2emissionsoverthepastthreeyears(“mon_emi”),andzerootherwise.

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Thesocialdimensioniscapturedbyabinaryvariablethattakesthevalueofoneifthefirmofferedformaltrainingprogramsforpermanent,full-timeemployees(“training”)inthelastfiscalyear,andzerootherwise.Thegovernancedimension,relatedtotheemploymentoffemaletopmanagers(agenderissue)iscapturedbyabinaryvariablethattakesthevalueofoneifacompanyemploysfemaletopmanagers(“top_man_fem”),andzerootherwise.

Toidentifydigital-tech-orientedfirms,webuildtwobinaryvariables.First,weexploittheR&Dintensityclassificationatthetwo-digitlevelbyGalindo-RuedaandVerger(2016).WeconstructafirstbinaryvariablethattakesthevalueofoneforfirmsinsectorswithatleastmediumtechnologyorientationasimpliedbytheirR&Dintensityclassification,andzerootherwise(“techorientation”).

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Second,wecomputeabinaryvariablethattakesthevalueofoneiftheestablishmenthasitsownwebsiteorasocialmediapage,andzerootherwise(“digitalorientation”).Theproductoftech

3Datacanberetrievedfromthefollowingweb-link:

/source/world-development-indicators

(lastaccessed:November2024).

4See:Dimensiondatamatrix,version201512080-100,availableatthefollowinglink:

/research-and

-vsm/dimension-data-matrix/(lastaccessed:June2024).Inourdatabase,culturaldatabeginin2015.

5CO2emissionsmonitoringdataisavailablefortheyears2020-2023for49countries.

6See:Galindo-RuedaandVerger(2016).

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orientationanddigitalorientationdefinesdigital-techcompanies(“digital-tech

orientation”).

Wealsoconsidervariousfactorsthatcouldimpacttherelationshipbetweentheadoptionofethicalpracticesanddigital-tech-orientedfirms,suchasthefirmsize(“large”),thepresenceofalineofcreditorloanfromafinancialinstitution(“fin_ins”),therealannualsalesgrowthinpercent(“sal_gro”),thelogarithmofGDPpercapita(“log(GDPpercapita)”)

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andthe“age”ofthefirm,givenbythedifferencebetweentheyearofthesurveyandtheyearinwhichafirmbeganoperations(“age”).

WeobtaineddataforculturaldimensionsfromGeertHofstede’swebsite,whichincludessixdimensions:long-termorientation,individualism,powerdistance,uncertaintyavoidance,masculinity,andindulgence.Wefocusonfivedimensionstoexploretheirinfluenceontherelationshipbetweentechnologyandethicalpractices.Specifically,weexaminewhether:(i)long-termorientationandindividualismaffecttherelationshipbetweendigital-tech-orientedfirmsandemissionsmonitoring;(ii)powerdistanceanduncertaintyavoidancemodifytherelationshipbetweendigital-tech-orientedfirmsandtraining;and(iii)masculinityandlong-termorientationinfluencetherelationshipbetweendigital-tech-orientedfirmsandthepresenceoffemaletopmanagers.

Whileindulgencemayberelatedtoenvironmentalissues(Gallego-ÁlvarezandOrtas,2017),webelievethatlong-termorientation(“ltowvs”)andindividualism(“idv”)aremoreappropriatetoinfluencetherelationshipbetweendigitallyoriented

7ForGDPpercapita,weusedthefollowingdataadjustments:forBhutan,weinputthedatafor2022asaproxyfor2023;forDjibouti,wecomplementedthedatafor2012withdatafor2023;andforKosovo,wereplacedtheunavailabledatafor2007withthevaluefrom2008.Theseadjustmentsconcernedatotalof667observations.

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firmsandemissionsmonitoring.AccordingtoGeertHofstede’swebsite,long-termorientation(“ltowvs”),expressedonascalefrom0(leastlong-termoriented)to100(mostlong-termoriented),pertainstochange.Inalong-termorientedculture,thereisafundamentalbeliefthattheworldischanging,necessitatingpreparationforthefuture.Conversely,inashort-termorientedculture,theworldisperceivedasstatic,withthepastprovidingamoralcompassthatshouldbefollowed.

Theseconddimensionweconsiderisindividualism(“idv”),where100representsthemostindividualisticcountryand0theleast.Individualismmeasuresthedegreetowhichpeoplefeelindependent,asopposedtointerdependentasmembersofalargerwhole.

Forthesocialdimension,weusepowerdistance(“pdi”),whichrangesfrom0(lowest)to100(highest).Powerdistancemeasuresthedegreetowhichthelesspowerfulmembersoforganizationsandinstitutionsacceptandexpectpowertobedistributedunequally.Additionally,weuseuncertaintyavoidance(“uai”),whichaddressesasociety’stoleranceforuncertaintyandambiguity,alsorangingfrom0(lowest)to100(highest).

Forthegovernancedimension,weuselong-termorientation(“ltowvs”)andmasculinity(“mas”).Masculinitymeasurestheextenttowhichtheuseofforceissociallyendorsed,withhigherscores(closerto100)indicatingmoremasculinesocieties.

Table1showsthelistofcountriesinoursample,coveringdifferentworldregions:Africa(AFR),EastAsiaandPacific(EAP),EuropeandCentralAsia(ECA),LatinAmericaandtheCaribbean(LAC),MiddleEastandNorthAfrica(MNA)and

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SouthAsia(SAR).Table2showsthesummarystatistics,reportingthenumberof

observations,themean,thestandarddeviation,minimumandmaximumforthevariablesweused.

[InsertTables1-2abouthere]

Themeanvalueof“top_man_fem”islow(0.1548),indicatingalownumberoffemaletopmanagersforthefirmsinthesample.Alsothemeanofthevariable“tim_spe”isrelativelylow(0.0640),indicatingthatthetimespentbyseniormanagementindealingwithregulationsisgenerallylessthan50%.

Table3showsthecorrelationmatrix.Pairwisecorrelationcoefficientsarerelativelylow,reducingconcernsaboutmulticollinearityintheestimates.

[InsertTable3abouthere]

3EmpiricalApproach

Forouranalysis,weemployaconditionalmodelinwhichavariablecapturingfirms’digitalorientationinteractswithavariablemeasuringfirms’technologicalorientation.Thisapproachallowsustoinvestigatethecombinedeffectofthesetwodimensions,providingamorenuancedunderstandingoftheirinfluenceontheoutcomesofinterest.Ourmodeltakesthefollowingform:

(1)

ethical_orientationict

=β0+β1digitalorientationict+β2techorientationict+β3digitalorientationict∗techorientationict+β4Xict+αc+αt+εict

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Thedependentvariable(ethical_orientation)isabinaryvariablethatwedefineindifferentwaystocaptureeachESGethicaldimension(mon_emi,training,andtop_man_fem,respectively).Specifically,wecapturetheenvironmentaldimensionwithabinaryvariablethattakesthevalueofoneifthefirmhasmonitoreditsCO2emissionsoverthepastthreeyears(“mon_emi”),andzerootherwise.

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Thesocialdimensioniscapturedbyabinaryvariablethattakesthevalueofoneifthefirmofferedformaltrainingprogramsforpermanent,full-timeemployees(“training”)inthelastfiscalyear,andzerootherwise.Thegovernancedimensioniscapturedbyabinaryvariablethattakesthevalueofoneifthefirmhasfemaletopmanagers(“top_man_fem”),andzerootherwise.Themainvariableofinterestistheinteractionbetweendigitalorientationandtechnologicalorientation(digitalorientationict*techorientationict).

Xisavectorofcontrolvariablesincludingfirmsize(“large”),thepresenceofalineofcreditorloanfromafinancialinstitution(“fin_ins”),therealannualsalesgrowthinpercent(“sal_gro”),theageofafirm(“age”)andthelogarithmofGDPpercapita(“log(GDPpercapita)”).Weusemediansamplingweightsinallestimatestoallowinferencetotheentirepopulation.

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Themodelissaturatedbyaddingcountry-andyear-fixedeffectstocapturecountry-andtime-invariantunobservablefactors.Industryfixedeffectsalonearenotincludedbecausethevariablecapturingtechnologyintensityiscomputedattheindustrylevel.However,insome

8CO2emissionsmonitoringdataisonlyavailablefortheyears2020-2023for49countries.

9Foranin-depthexplanation,seetheESsamplingnoteavailableatthefollowinglink:

/en/methodology

(lastaccessed:July2024).Inlinewiththenoterecommendation,weusemedianweightsinallestimates,thatisweightsthataccountforeligibilityofinclusioninthesurvey.

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specifications,wedoincludeindustry*countryfixedeffectstocontrolforcountryandindustrytime-invariantspecificfeatures.AllthevariablesaredefinedintheAppendix(TableA1).

Inadditionalanalyses,weexaminewhethercross-countrydifferencesaffecttherelationshipbetweentechnologyandethicalbehaviorbycontrollingforvariousculturaldimensions.Long-termorientationisconcernedwithchangeandmay,therefore,influenceattentiontoclimatechange,whichinturnmayaffectthemonitoringofCO2emissions(environmentaldimension).However,countriesthataremorefocusedontheshorttermalsovaluetheircurrentqualityoflifeandshould,therefore,strivetominimizeenvironmentalharmthroughpollutionandairpollution(Lahuerta-OteroandGonzález-Bravo,2018).

Long-termorientationisgenerallyassociatedwithsustainabledevelopment(BarbierandBurgess,2020)andtheachievementofsustainablegoals,includinggenderequality.Forthisreason,wealsorelatelong-termorientationtotheemploymentoffemaletopmanagersinacompany(governancedimension).

Collectivism—theoppositeofindividualism—shouldbeinherentlypositivelyrelatedtoattentiontoclimatechange.Collectivistsocietiesprioritizethegoalsandwell-beingofthegroup,withindividualsviewingthemselvesintermsof“we”ratherthan“I.”However,previousresearchhasfoundapositiverelationshipbetweenlevelsofindividualism,greencorporatism,andenvironmentalinnovation(Vachon,2010),sowehavenoexpectationsaboutthedirectionoftherelationshipbetweentechnologyfirmsandemissionscontrolincollectivistsocieties.

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Next,werelatepowerdistancetotrainingprogramofferings.Inhighpowerdistancesocieties,individualsaccepthierarchieswithoutquestion.Accordingtothisview,thehigherthepowerdistance,thelowertheleveloftrainingprogramsofferedwithinanorganization.However,becauseemployeeswithahighpowerdistanceorientationaccepthierarchicalrelationshipsandfindthemacceptable,peopleatlowerlevelsmaydefertothoseinmorepowerfulpositionsandreadilyacceptanyofferoftrainingprograms.Thus,thehigherthepowerdistance,thehighertheleveloftrainingprogramsofferedinanorganization.

Inaddition,theincentivetotrainshouldincreaseasuncertaintyavoidanceincreases.Ahighuncertaintyavoidancescoreindicatesalowtoleranceforuncertainty,ambiguity,andrisk-taking,whichislinkedtoincreasedanxiety.Thus,thehighertheuncertaintyavoidance,thegreatertheincentivetotrainemployeesfortheorganization’sbenefit(socialdimension).However,highuncertaintyavoidanceandlowrisktolerancemayalsoleademployeestoavoidriskingtheirreputationandcredibilitybyparticipatingintrainingprograms.Thislowerlevelofparticipationshould,inturn,reducetheleveloftrainingofferedwithinanorganization.

Finally,wepositthatmasculinityscoresmayexplaintheemploymentofafemaletopmanagerinafirm(governancedimension).

Infurtheranalyses,weexaminewhethertheregulatoryburdenandtheperceptionofcourtsasbarrierstobusinessinfluencetherelationshi