Journal Article Review Report 4 Sample
General instructions
1. This is an individual assignment.
2. The assignment will be marked out of 100 and worth 20% of your overall grade.
3. Please submit your assignment in MS Word or pdf format to Canvas no later than Friday, Sept 29, at 12:00 pm. Please ensure your name and ID are included on your assignment's front page.
4. Proper referencing (APA style or other referencing style used by significant Accounting or Finance journals) must be used if you use external
5. Penalties for late submission:
• 5% if the report is submitted late by 24 hours
• 10% if the report is submitted late, between 24 hours and 72 hours
• 20% if the report is submitted late, between 72 hours and 120 hours
• 50% if it is submitted 5 days after the due date.
• 100% if it is submitted 7 days after the due date.
Background
The International Review of Economics & Finance (IREF) is a scholarly journal devoted to Publishing high-quality theoretical and empirical articles in all areas of international economics, macroeconomics, and financial economics. Suppose you have been invited to be a referee and sent an article to review by the editor.
Detailed instructions:
You have been asked to review the article below, which the journal has recently published:
Jiang, W., Wu, J., and Yang, X. 2023. Does digitalization drive corporate social responsibility?
International Review of Economics and Finance, 88, pp. 14-26
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059056023001788
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059056023001788)
The purpose of the review is to evaluate the quality and robustness of the research performed in the study.
You should present your review as a report with a maximum length of approximately 4-5 pages.
Your report may address aspects of the study including (but not limited to):
• research question(s) the study is trying to address
• data and data source(s)
• methodological approach (including econometric techniques)
• overall conclusion(s) of the study and what evidence this is based on
• potential issues identified by the authors that could impact the validity of the results and how they address them (could relate to research design, methodology and/or data, etc.)
• any other potential issues concerning the research design, methodology and/or data that you feel may not have been adequately addressed and how these could be addressed. You mayconsider issues including:
endogeneity
econometric
issues biases
Important:
• You should also provide an overall opinion (based on your review) on whether you consider the study's conclusions valid and substantiated.
• Your report should be straightforwardly structured and formatted to facilitate the Editor’s understanding. A good presentation will contribute to your mark.
For example, think about the following:
structure (layout/sections/headings )
formatting (tidy, consistent, and clear).
Please use 12-font Times New Roman, and pages are to have at least one-inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right).
To obtain high marks, your report needs to evaluate the study described in the article critically.
For example:
• Rather than just describing the methodology the study used, explain why you think the methodology was or was not valid/what could be improved
• Rather than just describing the robustness tests performed in the study, explain why these were performed (what issue did they attempt to address), why you think they were/were not adequate, and what (if anything) could be improved.
A more detailed marking rubric is provided here
(https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/86070/files/11189429?wrap=1)
(https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/86070/files/11189429/download?download_frd=1) .
Solution
Introduction
The purpose of the study is to conduct a critical review of the article, "Does Digitization Drive Corporate Social Responsibility?” University Assignment Help, In this report, an effort is made to systematically assess several aspects of the study involving its research question, data sources, methodology, conclusions, potential issues addressed by authors and its overall validity.
About article
The article discuses about the rapid development of the digital economy which has now become a significant driver of economic growth connected to the traditional economy. It has sparked a growing interest among academics in studying the way companies adapt to digitalisation. However, understanding the way individual firms embrace digitization remains a complex challenge like a mysterious puzzle with several unresolved issues. In practice, firms face several hurdles involving the inability to change because of limited digital capabilities, reluctance because of high transformation costs along hesitation stemming from challenges of the digitalisation process. Nonetheless, with China’s push for digital economic development as well as the prevailing trend of digital transformation, several firms in the nation have begun reaping the benefits of the digital revolution. However, it is crucial to know the kind of impact digitisation has on CSR performance.
Research Question(s) the study is trying to address
The research seeks to address whether digitisation positively influences CSR performance or not. The research questions posed in this article are highly relevant to the existing business landscape. It basically focuses on the impact digitisation has on CSR performance, and the adoption of digital technologies and strategies, which is the extent to which a firm integrates social and ethical considerations into business operations. This relevance is underscored because of the fact that digitisation has become a prominent driver of change as well as innovation in business. Digitisation may involve incorporating Iot sensors into its machinery and production lines. The sensor attached to the Iot collects real-time data on equipment performance permitting the firm to optimise the production process and increase product quality. However, it is equally important to know the effect it has on CSR performance.
Data and data source(s)
The study used simple Chinese A-share listed firms from 2010 to 2020 and employed textual data mining to ascertain the relationship between CRS performance and digitization. The data sources involve the China Stock Market & Accounting Research database for financial data and for CRS data it used Hexun.com.
Methodological approach (including econometric techniques)
The methodological approach of this study is for textual data mining which is also known as text analytics. It includes using computational techniques and NPL to analyse and transform large volumes of text into structure and meaningful information. Further, it adopts econometric techniques to analyse the impact of digitization.
Potential issues identified by the authors
Temporary lags: The article examines the relationship between CSR performance and digitization over a certain period of time which is 2010-2020. However, there may be a time lag to see in the impacts of digitisation on CSR. For example, a firm invested heavily in digitisation in 2010 including the implementation of energy-efficient technologies as well as data analytics in order to optimise resource use (Lamptey & Bonaparte, 2023). It may happen that immediate financial benefits might not translate into improved CSR performance until a few years later when reduction in emission and energy consumption becomes evident in the CSR report along with sustainable ratings. Another example can be seen as digitisation investment in employee training as well as well-being programs may positively influence CSR via improved labour practices but the effects on employee satisfaction or retention may become noticeable after a lag because of the time needed for employees to adapt. These differences impact the validity of the study because it does not reflect the true picture with that intensity. The researcher should acknowledge this limitation and further consider conducting additional analysis with multiple lag structures such as Segmented Analysis, Rolling Window Analysis, Time-Series Analysis, Control Variables and others to reflect the true picture.
Robustness Tests: The article mentions the performance of robustness tests however, it does not explain their purpose adequately. Robustness tests are important for assessing the stability of the study and the generalisability of findings. It appeared that the study could be improved by clearly stating the issues these tests aimed to address as well as reporting the results transparently and effectively.
Generalizability: The article focuses on Chinese A-share listed firms. Though this sample is relevant to the research question, it is also important to discuss the generalizable of the findings to firms in other industries or regions. For this researchers can conduct comparative analysis with data from other sectors or countries.
Casual mechanism: Casual mechanism is the specific process which processes why one variable influences another (Kangwa, Mwale, & Shaikh, 2020). In the context of the chosen article, the primary interest is in understanding why as well as how digitisation positively influences the performance of CSR. Though the study established a positive association between these variables two variables, it does not thoroughly explore the underlying mechanism like why and how behind this relationship. It means digital transformation might have brought cultural shifts in the firms. An example may involve a greater focus on adaptability and innovation which made more receptive to CSR initiatives. Understanding the causal mechanism is extremely important for the validity of the research. Without deeper insight, the findings of the study might lack explanatory power and may leave significant questions unanswered. It is by exploring this mechanism, that authors can render a more comprehensive as well as convincing explanation of why digitisation positively influence CSR performance making the conclusion more actionable and robust for business seeking to increase their CSR efforts.
Any other Potential Issues
Endogeneity: Endogeneity is the situation wherein an independent variable in the statistical model is correlated with the error term of the equation. It can introduce bias into estimated coefficients and negatively impact the results of the study (Liu, Shao, De Sisto, & Li, 2021). The study examines the relationship between digitisation and CSR performance. However, it is possible that this relationship is not-directional and further CSR activities may also influence a company’s level of digitisation. It means there could be a feedback loop where companies with strong CSR commitments are more likely to invest in digitisation and vice-versa also be true. If endogeneity is not addressed, it leads to an overestimation of the positive effect of digitisation on CSR. The way it can be improved by using Instrumental variables analysis, control variables, fixed effect models and others.
Biases: This is another potential issue identified in the article. The sample size of the study involves Chinese A-share listed companies from a specific time frame introducing bias in selection. These firms may not represent the wider population of firms. It may happen that the researcher chose this time frame as it coincided with a period of significant economic growth as well as digitisation in China. Right through the period, firms that were more inclined to adopt digitisation and improvise CSR may have thrived, whereas others lagged behind. It is by focusing on this specific time frame, that the research might inadvertently involve a higher proportion of successful, forward-thinking firms potentially biasing results to suggest a stronger positive relationship between CSR and digitisation than what might exist if it more diverse set of firms or extended time frame were considered. It impacts the validity negatively because Selection bias leads to an overestimation or underestimation of true picture. Further, it leads to limiting the ability to generate findings. To mitigate selection bias and improve the overall validity of the study, strategies like propensity score matching, stratified sampling and sensitivity analysis can be performed.
Conclusion
The article concludes that digitisation is positively correlated with CSR performance with a suggestion of casualty. This also posits that digitisation promotes CRS via improved innovation outputs and inputs. Though the conclusion aligns with the research questions, the study does not provide explicit evidence or results from the analysis in order to substantiate these claims. The article identifies issues related to digital transformation involving a capital-intensive nature, employing reductions and potential energy consumption. However, it does not delve deeply into addressing these issues. It should have offered more comprehensive insights into how companies can navigate these challenges effectively. On the other hand, one potential issue which is not addressed in this study is endogeneity. CSR performance digitisation and innovation may be mutually reinforcing however, the study does not discuss measures taken to address these concerns.
Overall opinion
The article's research questions are pertinent as well as data sources appeared to be reasonable. However, the lack of transparency in association to the economic techniques utilised as well as the absence of detailed results along with evidence make it challenging to fully evaluate the validity of the study. Addressing potential endogeneity and giving more rigorous robustness tests would increase the credibility of the study. In conclusion, though the study offers valuable insights into the relationship between digitisation as well as CSR, it needs further methodological robustness and clarity testing to substantiate its findings convincingly and effectively.
References
Jiang, W., Wu, J., & Yang, X. (2023). Does digitization drive corporate social responsibility?. International Review of Economics & Finance.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059056023001788
Kangwa, D., Mwale, J. T., & Shaikh, J. M. (2020). Co-Evolutionary Dynamics Of Financial Inclusion Of Generation Z In A Sub-Saharan Digital Financial Ecosystem. Copernican Journal of Finance & Accounting, 9(4), 27-50.https://apcz.umk.pl/CJFA/article/view/34391
Lamptey, E. K., Park, J. D., & Bonaparte, I. (2023). Does Corporate Social Responsibility Affect the Timeliness of Audited Financial Information? Evidence from “100 Best Corporate Citizens”. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 16(2), 60.https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/16/2/60
Liu, W., Shao, X., De Sisto, M., & Li, W. H. (2021). A new approach for addressing endogeneity issues in the relationship between corporate social responsibility and corporate financial performance. Finance Research Letters, 39, 101623.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S154461231931205X
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