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Our study was designed to investigate the longitudinal trajectories of student leader development capacities in a sample of students enrolled in multiple leadership-focused courses across several semesters. Our goal was to assess the degree to which course enrollment was associated with growth over the time that students engage as undergraduates in academic leadership programs, and if so, to assess the shape and speed of capacity change.

We utilized a multilevel intra-individual modeling approach assessing students’ motivation to lead, leader self-efficacy, and leadership skills across multiple data collection points for students in a campus major or minor focused on leadership studies. We compared an unconditional model, a fixed effect model, a random intercept model, a random slope model, and a random slope and intercept model to determine the shape of score trajectories. Our approach was not to collect traditional pre-test and post-test data – choosing to collect data only at the beginning of each semester – to reduce time cues typically inherent within pre-test and post-test collections.

Our results strongly suggested that individual students differ greatly in the degree to which they report the capacity to lead when initially enrolling in their first class. Surprisingly, the various models were unable to predict a pattern of longitudinal leader development through repeated course enrollment in our sample.

Our investigation employed statistical methods that are not often utilized in leadership education quantitative research, and also included a data collection effort designed to avoid a linear pre-test/post-test score comparison.

This paper explores the often overlooked and novel academic concept of honest incompetence as a potential “dark” side of social entrepreneurship, where well-intentioned but inadequately skilled agents hinder the effectiveness and sustainability of positive social change initiatives.

We have adopted a multiparadigm approach to theory building, known as metatriangulation. We draw upon agency theory and behavioral decision theory to undergird a framework consisting of antecedents, processes, outcomes and moderators of honest incompetence in social entrepreneurship.

We introduce a detailed framework for understanding honest incompetence in social entrepreneurship. This framework identifies antecedents such as knowledge gaps, examines mechanisms like misguided interventions and explores consequences, including group vilification. Additionally, it investigates moderating factors, emphasizing the disadvantages of outcome-based compensation and the difficulties in evaluating outcomes.

This article investigates factors that engender honest incompetence in social entrepreneurship, revealing how even well-intentioned efforts can inadvertently hinder goals. Despite their sincere motives, social entrepreneurs might make choices that conflict with their objectives. Addressing this issue necessitates a customized approach, which includes engaging actively with the community and fostering robust social connections.

This paper provides insights into the impact of audit quality on restraining earnings management of rural and community banks (RCBs) in an emerging economy.

A two-step generalised method of moments, absolute discretionary accruals using the modified Jones model, and multivariate regression are used to test 215 firm-year observations of 43 RCBs in Ghana.

The findings suggest a positive association between audit quality, proxied by audit firm ranking, in restraining earnings management. Specifically, the association is significant for B1-ranked audit firms and higher than B-ranked audit firms, whose observed discretionary accruals to total assets ratio is 36.6% higher than B1. Also, a negative statistically significant relationship is found between auditor specialization and earnings management, as RCBs that engage specialized auditors are found to have a lower ratio of discretionary accruals to total assets than RCBs that engage unspecialized auditors.

RCB’s annual reports data for the research was from 2014 to 2018. The 2019 and beyond annual reports data could not be added because the study was conducted during 2019 first quarter, by which time the year had not ended, and that constrained the sample size.

Evidence from this study has policy implications for regulators and audit monitors in their efforts to improve AQ and minimise financial misreporting through the ranking of audit firms. As RCBs are encouraged by the findings to engage the services of higher-ranked audit firms, lower ranks will eventually be encouraged to improve quality performance in a bid to improve their ranking, which will consequently help in the minimisation of financial manipulations in RCBs financial reporting. The contemporary approach of ranking audit firms into A1, A, B1, B, C and D increases competition in the audit market space in improving quality audits more than the traditional approach of dividing audit firms into only big-4 and non-big-4. There is also a need for regulators to encourage RCBs to engage auditors who have specialized in the RCB sector so that their experience can be leveraged in minimizing EM.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no academic study that explores the impact of audit quality proxied by audit firm ranking and auditor specialisation, on earnings management using hand-collected data sets from non-listed rural banks in an emerging economy. The paper, therefore, fills a research gap in rural financial institution auditing literature.

Customer perceptions toward hybrid human–robot teams remain largely unexplored. We focus on the impact of frontline robots’ (FLRs) automated social presence (ASP) on customers’ perceived teamwork quality, and ultimately frontline employees’ (FLEs) competence and warmth. We explore the role of interrogation as a relevant contingency. We complement the customer view with insights into the FLEs’ viewpoint.

We manipulate FLR’s ASP cues (speech and identity) in a hybrid team in four business-to-consumer (B2C) video-based experiments and collect data from online participants. We combine these with one business-to-business (B2B) field survey which collected data from FLEs working in hybrid teams.

When FLR’s ASP increases, customers more positively evaluate teamwork quality, ultimately affecting FLEs’ competence and warmth. FLEs who correct (interrogate) robotic mistakes strengthen the positive effect of FLRs’ ASP on teamwork quality. When FLRs correct FLEs, ASP’s effect on teamwork quality is also strengthened, while FLEs are not “punished” for erring. In contrast, FLEs themselves do perceive corrections as detrimental to teamwork quality. We term this the hybrid team evaluation paradox.

We recommend that firms deploy hybrid teams equipped with high-ASP FLRs (name and speech suffice). FLEs should be trained, and FLRs programmed, to appropriately use interrogation. Managers should pay attention to the paradox, given the conflicting perceptions toward interrogative behaviors.

We advance the hybrid teams literature by drawing on ASP, social cognition and collective mindfulness theories and behaviors that ameliorate customer perceptions. Our results support using FLRs to enhance FLEs’ capabilities.

This study aims to examine the factors of the vegan lifestyle on the travel experience. Special emphasis was placed on difficulties during travel and influencing factors for destination choice.

The vegan lifestyle has emerged as a growing market. The dietary reference is well-known, but the impact of the vegan lifestyle on tourism has received less attention. Earlier researchers have cited motivations of ethics, the environment and health as key. An online survey was conducted within the target group of vegans to provide more understanding of vegan tourism.

A few participants stated that they refused to visit countries due to too high meat consumption or due to long flight distances. Nature was named as the most decisive factor for choosing a travel destination among the respondents. Problems that might arise were mainly the general lack of awareness about veganism, as well as the confusion between vegetarianism and veganism in the destinations. Most respondents indicated that these problems were generally prepared for during the pre-planning process.

Research on vegan tourism is a relatively unexplored niche topic, the study used related topics adapted to a vegan tourism context.

Enhanced education about veganism among tourism service providers would be desirable to counteract such problems in the future and make the travel experience more carefree for vegans.

There has been little research in the field of vegan tourism, thus, this study provides valuable information on the needs and challenges of this growing market.

By integrating insights from cognitive style literature and person-environment fit theory, our study aims to explore which type of entrepreneurs are more inclined to initiate humor behaviors, the circumstances under which such behaviors are more likely to be employed within entrepreneurial teams and the specific benefits of humor behaviors for initiators.

This paper analyzes humor behaviors in entrepreneurial teams through a three-wave time-lagged field survey of 227 entrepreneurs in China.

We find that entrepreneurs with higher creating style are more likely to exhibit humor, making them more popular within entrepreneurial teams. Additionally, the positive relationship is amplified in the presence of high levels of conflict.

Previous studies provide substantial evidence of the positive effects of humor behaviors on their recipients in the workplace; however, there has been limited focus on the antecedents of humor behaviors and the benefits for the humor initiators. Our study addresses the gaps by providing empirical evidence that creating style of entrepreneurs may promote humor behaviors, particularly in the context of conflicts within entrepreneurial teams, and such behaviors could elevate entrepreneurs’ social acceptance within teams.

This paper aims to examine the consequences of board diversity (BD) in Kuwait. In particular, it examines the impact of BD (gender, age and nationality) on earnings management (EM).

The research uses data from 103 non-financial Kuwaiti-listed companies from 2010 to 2017. The data is collected from the companies’ data from secondary sources such as their annual reports. The data analysis methods are correlation, multi-regression and robust regression. EM is measured using the modified Jones model (1995) and Kothari et al. (2005).

The findings show a negative association between gender diversity (GD) and EM. It also found a positive relationship between age diversity (AD) and EM and no relationship between national diversity (ND) and EM.

This study’s results have significant implications for investors. The practical empirical findings indicate that GD on the board did not impact on EM. Also, it is more important to have senior directors on the board than AD to reduce EM. There is no need to employ any foreigners because they do not affect EM.

It contributes to the growing body of literature on BD by investigating its effect on EM. Furthermore, building on the broader literature on gender, age and ND by highlighting the critical role that women, young people and foreign directors play in improving boards' monitoring role on EM. More specifically, it contributes to existing knowledge, provides a theoretical contribution and makes a methodological contribution.

Climate change is becoming one of the biggest and most pressing environmental challenges of the last century. As such, the board of directors and its sub-committees need to recognise and address climate change as a potential strategic risk for their companies, using a sustainable approach that prioritises this risk over other business-related risks. In this framework, this paper aims to examine the influence of audit committee characteristics and its effectiveness on the commitment to voluntary climate change disclosure.

Our sample covers 403 non-financial companies from 48 countries. These companies belong to the largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting sectors, namely oil and gas, chemicals and coal. We have used data from company responses to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) survey for the years 2015–2021. The total number of observations for the seven-year periods is 2,821 firm years. Audit committee characteristics examined are size, independence, gender diversity and number of meetings. Regarding the effectiveness of the audit committee, it is measured using a composite index developed from its individual characteristics.

Our findings show that the number of meetings held by the audit committee affects positively the commitment to the CDP initiative. However, the effects of audit committee size, independence and the presence of women are statistically insignificant. Regarding the effectiveness of the audit committee, our results show that it has a positive and significant effect on the commitment to the CDP initiative. In addition, the results demonstrate that the audit committee diversity, measured using the Herfindahl index, had a positive and significant effect on climate change disclosure commitment.

This study offers new insights into the role of the audit committee in improving climate change disclosure. The findings indicate that companies can improve their sustainability and social responsibility by establishing an effective audit committee within their board of directors. Furthermore, investors and regulators must give great importance to the characteristics of the audit committee and its roles and duties in the fight against climate change.

In contrast to previous research, this study examines, simultaneously, the impact of individual characteristics and the effectiveness of the audit committee on the commitment to climate change disclosure.

This paper systematically reviewed research work on drivers of teamwork, which will reinforce construction work teams to enhance workers’ safety performance. This study adds to the existing but limited understanding of teamwork drivers on construction workers’ safety performance. This paper presents scholars and industry-based professionals with critical initiatives that have to be implemented in organisations to get positive results in safety while working in teams with an emphasis on systems drivers of teamwork on safety performance at the organisational level, which will help in providing information on the functioning of the teams and contribute towards improved safety performance of team workers.

This study aims to systematically examine the existing body of knowledge on drivers of teamwork by analysing 53 publications from the years 1997–2021. The Scopus search engine was used to conduct a systematic review and germane publications were collated.

According to the findings of the review, since 1997, there has been a burgeoning concern in the research of drivers of teamwork and its impact on workers’ safety performance. After performing a systematic review, 37 drivers of teamwork were identified. The top five drivers are effective communications, team workers’ relations, leadership, shared knowledge and information, and team training. Moreover, it was noted that the United States and Australia have been the international regions of focus for most of the research in the area of drivers of teamwork from the years 1997–2021. The 37 drivers of teamwork are distributed into six major socio-technical components: people drivers; culture drivers; metrics drivers; organisational and management practices and procedures drivers; infrastructure drivers and technology drivers.

The results reported present research scholars and professional practitioners with an overview of the drivers of teamwork that could be implemented in the construction industry to streamline potential implementations and improve safety performance of construction workers.

A list of teamwork drivers has been developed to ratify potential empirical research in the area of construction safety. The results would contribute to the existing but restricted understanding of drivers of teamwork in the construction industry.

This study aims to explore the challenges in post-implementing the Outcome-Based Budgeting (OBB) model in budgetary practices in Malaysian Government agencies, in the context of government official’s perspective.

A qualitative methodology by collecting data from eight budget experts within federal government agencies through semi-structured interviews was used. Purposive sampling was used to select informants based on their relevant experiences and roles in the OBB model and associated budgetary processes. Data analysis involved thematic analysis using ATLAS.ti software, with member checking to enhance credibility.

Sustainability, innovation characteristics, organisational dynamics, individual capabilities and social context are identified as critical factors influencing the successful post-implementation of the OBB model in Malaysian federal government agencies. Organisational dynamics, encompassing policy control and Budget Review Officers role, as well as social factors, such as the presence of an OBB champion and broader buy-in, significantly impact the model’s effectiveness. These findings underscore the complex interplay of factors shaping the post-implementation phase of OBB in the Malaysian budgetary context.

This study is constrained by its qualitative methodology and focus on the Federal Government of Malaysia, limiting the generalisability of findings. Future research using quantitative or mixed methods, expanded to include other government entities and comparative analysis across government levels is recommended to enhance understanding of OBB implementation challenges.

This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge on Performance-based budgeting (PBB) implementation, particularly in developing countries. By identifying critical success factors and barriers, it offers valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners seeking to improve public financial management. The study’s focus on Malaysia’s OBB experience provides timely and relevant information for addressing challenges in budgetary practices. Additionally, the research offers practical guidance for organisations navigating change management and building capacity for PBB implementation.

The study’s originality lies in its focus on the post-implementation challenges of the OBB within Malaysian Government agencies, which are largely under-studied. By using the Diffusion of Innovation theory, the study systematically investigates the interplay of sustainability, innovation characteristics, organisational dynamics, individual capabilities and social context in shaping OBB outcomes. Identifying sustainability and organisational dynamics as critical success factors contributes to the ongoing discourse on public sector budgeting reforms, particularly in developing country contexts.