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This paper empirically examined the role of the balanced scorecard (BSC) measures usage as a potential moderator of the business strategy and performance relationship. Samples were taken from 120 manufacturing firms. Results of this study provide evidence that partially support the moderating effects of the BSC measures usage on the strength of the relationship between business strategy and firm performance.

Concern has been raised over the dubious utility of internal control (IC) reports that contain vague disclosures of unclear meaning or that contain sweeping, albeit, and confusing statements. The purpose of this paper is to examine, from a Malaysian perspective, the internal audit control variables, which are directly responsible for the company to disclose their audit statements voluntarily or mandatorily and make it transparent to the shareholders and public.

A total of 121 publicly traded companies were selected using the systematic sampling method from the target population of 599 companies listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia. The names of the heads of internal audit function of the sample were obtained from the Institute of Internal Auditors Malaysia. Structured interviews were conducted with 40 heads of internal audit function out of 121 companies in order to protect anonymity of the companies that did not feel comfortable responding in writing.

The significant findings of this paper are that those companies which are performing well disclose their IC reports voluntarily and demonstrate a perfect relationship between their IC opinions with high internal audit quality assurance. On the other hand, there is a high level of risk management among those companies who have mandatory IC disclosures. In addition, these companies conduct frequent audit committee meetings due to the pressure from the external auditors.

The studies on voluntary and mandatory disclosures by combining the characteristics of IC with audit committee effectiveness are seldom researched in the existing literature. The key contribution of this paper is the usage of IC disclosures coupled with an empirical and theoretical approach for examining the appropriate determinants influencing them.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between audit service quality, client satisfaction and loyalty to the audit firms. SERVQUAL model was used to measure the perceptions and expectations of public listed companies on the services received from audit firms.

The five dimensions of SERVQUAL, i.e. reliability, assurance, tangibility, empathy and responsiveness was used to measure the service quality of audit firms. The research was conducted using primary data. Questionnaires were sent to 500 public listed companies listed in Bursa Saham Malaysia for year 2005.

The public listed companies were satisfied with the tangible dimension but were dissatisfied with the other four dimensions. The most dissatisfied dimension was empathy. Customer satisfaction was found to partially mediate the relationship of reliability and customer loyalty.

The small sample size is a limitation of the study. Also, the study examined all services offered by audit firms. A larger sample size and focusing on a particular service would be better as the respondents would then be able to give a more focused answer. Also, the public listed companies were not analysed further into various industry types, size of firm and other corporate attributes to understand their different needs.

The study defines the attributes of quality services from the clients' perspective. Once the needs are more clearly known and understood, the audit firms will be in a better position to anticipate clients' requirement rather than to react to clients' dissatisfactions.

The paper uses a marketing model, SERVQUAL, to measure the service quality of audit firms.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the body of knowledge in the area of performance measurement systems, particularly the BSC framework, by investigating empirically the extent of multiple performance measures usage and their effects on the performance of Malaysian manufacturers.

The paper used a mail‐survey of companies listed in the Directory of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM), year 2003. The FMM Directory provides a database of over 2,000 manufacturing firms of various sizes producing a broad range of products. The FMM Directory was utilized because it specifically covers manufacturers and manufacturing‐related services. A simple random sample of 975 companies located in West Malaysia was drawn. Companies with at least 25 employees and annual sales turnover of at least RM10 million were selected. A total of 120 usable responses were gathered and used in the data analysis.

The findings suggest that the use of non‐financial measures, particularly, internal business process and innovation and learning measures, appears to be important as it enhances firm performance. More interesting, the findings reveal that the use of multiple performance measures via overall BSC measures contributes to a more positive outcome.

The paper shows that the FMM Directory is not an exhaustive list, and may not represent the whole population of Malaysian manufacturers. The sample size is not overwhelming and confined to the manufacturing sector only. Furthermore, the use of cross‐sectional data could not find consistent association between non‐financial measures and future performance.

The paper shows that one important practical implication is for the designers of control and performance measurement systems to emphasize the use of multiple performance measures that are fundamental to the success of organizations.

Considers how non‐Thais can negotiate successfully withe business and government executives in Thailand. Gives an overview of Thailand’s geography, climate, population, religion and business practice. Discusses important aspects of the social‐cultural environment that have a significant effect on the way Thai’s negotiate. Includes further tips regarding body language, entertainment protocol, how to dress, and favourite negotiating tactics by buyers and sellers. Provides conclusions and directions for further research.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the synergies between post-end-of-life of building (PEoLB) concepts and operations to achieve sustainability.

A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted using 65 articles published between 2006 and 2017, and it has been subjected to descriptive and thematic analysis.

The descriptive analysis revealed that the majority of the articles were about (60 per cent) PEoLB operations, followed by (23 per cent) PEoLB concepts. Only 17 per cent of the articles have dealt with PEoLB-related strategic approaches. The thematic analysis elaborated on the literature development; interrelationships between PEoLB concepts and operations; impediments of introducing sustainability on these operations, remedial measures and information-based strategic approaches to achieve sustainability. Based on the findings, a conceptual framework for sustainable PEoLB operations is proposed. Furthermore, four areas of potential future research are discussed.

This study presents a future research agenda including best practices to plan PEoLB operations and the development of optimisation models, risk management and information-based strategic approaches.

The proposed conceptual research framework triggers and nurtures potential pathways to introduce sustainable PEoLB operations under sound information flow. This could create a basis for future empirical studies in filling the identified gaps in literature. The framework could also assist practitioners in mitigating risks associated with transportation, storing and contamination of salvaged materials through enhanced information flow. In addition, the framework provides some managerial guidance to organisations seeking ways of establishing sustainability during reverse logistics (RL) operations.

This paper presents an SLR of an emerging area of research that encapsulates closed-loop supply chain through sustainable RL operations. The study highlights the interrelationships between PEoLB concepts and operations. It develops a robust approach to effectively manage the PEoLB operations underpinned by a sound information flow to facilitate sustainability.

This paper aims to examine the effects of intellectual capital (IC) disclosure in the annual reports of listed companies in Bursa Malaysia (BM) on their market capitalization (MCAP).

The paper uses secondary data for listed companies on BM for the years 2002 and 2006. A disclosure index was used to measure the extent of IC information disclosed in the annual reports. The MCAP data were obtained from the Bloomberg database. The data were analyzed using correlation and regression analyses.

The paper finds that the extent of IC disclosure by Malaysian‐listed companies has a positive significant effect on their MCAP. In addition, the paper found that there is significant positive impact of the control variables (i.e. book value, net profit, firm size and leverage) on the MCAP.

Although the paper was focused on the IC information and MCAP data for two years (i.e. 2002 and 2006), it provides empirical evidence that IC disclosure does affect the MCAP of companies. Hence, it means that the IC information is picked up by the market. Future research may incorporate more control variables and years.

The findings provide empirical evidence that IC information disclosed by the Malaysian‐listed companies positively affects their MCAP. These findings can be considered to be useful for these companies and work as a signal towards the need for more IC disclosure. In addition, the findings could be useful for the regulatory bodies, e.g. the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board and BM, perhaps to develop guidelines on IC disclosure to enhance transparency and increase confidence in the capital market.

The paper is considered the first empirical study to examine the effects of IC disclosure in the annual reports of Malaysian‐listed companies on their MCAP.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the audit committee (AC) independence, financial expertise, internal audit function, audit quality and ownership concentration on earnings quality (EQ) and, consequently, ascertain whether the AC’s independence and financial expertise has a moderating effect on the relationship between internal audit function and EQ.

The study sample is 508 firms listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia (formerly known as Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange) for the years 2009 to 2012. EQ was measured using two modified Jones models of discretionary accruals.

The findings reveal that the independence of AC and investment in internal audit function, as well as the Big4 audit firm, are related to greater EQ. Ownership concentration is found to be associated with lower EQ. The study provides evidence that AC’s independence moderates the relationship between internal audit function (investment in and sourcing arrangements of internal audit function) and EQ. It also shows that AC’s financial expertise moderates the relationship between sourcing arrangements of internal audit function and EQ.

This study extends the prior related literature by examining the AC’s independence and financial expertise as moderating variables on the relationship between internal audit function and EQ.

Policymakers might use the findings regarding EQ in relation to governance practices, to recognize the important roles played by the AC’s independence and financial expertise on the effectiveness of internal audit function with EQ.

This study uses the agency theory and resource dependence theory to provide empirical evidence on the impact of internal audit function and AC on EQ in the ownership concentration environment.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the question: “Is Boko Haram (BH) a ‘child’ of economic circumstances”? In other words, do economic problems of poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and population growth lie at the root of BH insurgency in Nigeria? Finding (an) objective answer(s) to this question informs the purpose for this paper.

The author uses both ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions and descriptive statistics to provide answer(s) to the question(s) asked.

The OLS regressions result show that terrorism incidence and intensity (TII) and unemployment levels are positively related and statistically significant over the range of the sample. Gross domestic product and population growth of the country on the other hand have been found to be statistically insignificant with TII. The results from the descriptive statistics show a high and above average Northern Nigeria’s economic indexes of poverty, unemployment, population growth and illiteracy rates. Thus, the author deduces that economic factors of poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and unchecked population growth could not be ruled out as possible causes of BH terrorism.

The findings of this research may be peculiar, limited and applicable only to the region of research – Northern Nigeria. The author is, therefore, constrained to generalise the findings across countries or other terrorist organisations. Also, while terrorists often quote religious texts to justify their actions, researchers often find it difficult to establish the veracity of such claims because: religious texts are, more often than not, subjects of different, contextual, sectarian and scholarly interpretations and If we take the terrorists’ claim for religious inspiration at their face value, the contradiction of why terrorists represent a minority fringe in particular religions or, why the vast majority of those who share same religion with terrorists do not partake in terrorism, crops up. For these reasons, this research is constrained from exploring terrorists’ religious motivations.

An implication of the findings of this research is that it avails the Nigerian Government with fact that, to fight BH successfully, it needs to also address the issues of poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and uncontrolled population growth. Thus, in essence, the anti-BH campaign should not only be limited to the “sticks” but the “carrots” of poverty alleviation, unemployment reduction, raising literacy rates and awareness about controlling birthrate.

Social welfare programs are likely to be devised to tackle the issues raised.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, no research explored the possibility of whether or not economic factors of poverty, unemployment and illiteracy could have been the causes or contributory factors for the emergence of BH terrorist organisation in Nigeria. Research on BH mostly focusses on social and political dimensions leaving the economic aspect either superficially explained or completely unexplored. The originality of this paper derives from this.