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Although regulations to prevent financial wrongdoing exist in the USA, whistleblowing (WB) remains important in deterring unethical corporate behavior. The purpose of this study is to address the tension in the audit continuance literature by examining auditor resignations following a WB allegation.

WB allegation data is obtained from the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration and through manually collecting media-reported WB allegations. The authors use a difference-in-difference research design to examine auditor resignations around WB allegations. The test sample is compared against a propensity-score-matched (PSM) sample of control firms.

Auditors are significantly less likely to resign from an engagement following a WB allegation. Auditors prefer to increase their fees and continue with the engagement rather than resign, even when faced with the heightened risks posed by WB allegations. These findings suggest that auditors value the ability to earn a consistent stream of increased revenue from their clients, in agreement with the risk-spreading theory of audit continuance literature.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that examines auditor resignations following a WB allegation. These findings contribute to the existing WB and auditing literature and add to the auditor acceptance/continuance literature. The findings are meaningful to shareholders, managers, researchers and especially to standard setters who are tasked with ensuring that auditors provide assurances about the accuracy of financial statements.

This chapter examines the intricate landscape of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles, addressing their relationship with politics and evolving moral standards. It presents a critical discourse on the authenticity of corporate intentions versus their actual conduct. Amid the proliferation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ESG rhetoric, the reader is challenged to consider whether these are substantive efforts or merely strategic communications to foster a responsible image. This chapter reveals the potential for corporate hypocrisy. It uses tobacco, finance, and fashion industry case studies to show how companies must navigate the fine line between responsibility and manipulation.

We examine the critical point of the “road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Presented cases show how noble values can lead to unexpected barriers or serve as an effective tool to boost corporate hypocrisy. The tobacco industry is a case in point. So-called responsibility serves merely as a fig leaf for legitimizing the industry itself. Talking about responsibility for specific issues in fashion covers the silence about others, such as the deadstock inventory. Financial institutions, such as banks, refuse to lend money to the defense and security industry, as not to stain their ESG ratings, thus hindering the EU defense capabilities. This chapter emphasizes that critical thinking, honesty, and transparency are essential in strategic communication.

The level of corruption in Nigeria is very high, and this has grossly reduced the desired confidence and trust in the nation’s political leaders and political institutions. It is even worse to the extent that many of its citizens, especially in the medical profession, lecturers and other specialties, are leaving the country altogether because they have already lost hope in the country called Nigeria. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate how political trust in Nigeria is affected by perceived corruption and to ascertain how social media use functions in this relationship.

Because this study is quantitative in nature, a positivist research philosophy is being used. A cross-sectional research design was used in this study. 14.1 million voters in north-central Nigeria are the study’s population, and a sample size of 385 was determined through an online sample size calculator with a 2% margin of error and a 95% confidence interval. The population was divided into smaller units for the study, and samples were selected from each unit using multistage sampling and simple random sampling techniques. An online self-administered questionnaire was used through the various social media’s platforms because of the nature of the study’s population to collect data. To examine the gathered data, descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. While inferential statistics were used to test the hypotheses through partial least squares structural equation modeling, descriptive statistics were used to analyze the respondents’ demographic data via a frequency table.

This study’s findings showed that social media use mediates the relationship between perceived corruption and political trust in Nigeria and that perceived corruption positively and significantly affects political trust in Nigeria.

This study is not without its limitations. Therefore, the few limitations of the study range from the limited sample sample to the population of Nigeria. Also, using only the quantitative research method for the nature of this research is another major limitation of the study. And lastly, using one out of the six zones in Nigeria will make it difficult to generalize the findings of the study. However, it is then recommended that future researchers consider a larger population than the current study for proper coverage; the future study can also use both the quantitative and qualitative research methods.

The practical implications of understanding how social media shapes political trust among political leaders through the lens of perceived corruption in the Nigerian political system are dimensional and have implications for various stakeholders, including policymakers, political leaders, media professionals and the general public. First, for policymakers and political leaders, the findings offer insights into the importance of proactive and transparent communication on social media. Recognizing the impact of social media on shaping perceptions of corruption, political figures such as the office of the presidency, senators, governors and all other political office holders can leverage these platforms to engage people.

This study is innovative because it examines, through the lens of perceived corruption, how social media use influences political trust among political leaders. This approach provides a new look at the relationship between digital engagement and political attitudes.

This study aims to analyse the drivers of the shift towards the global adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in 23 non-European Union countries over the period from 2001 to 2019.

This study used various panel data models, including fixed effects panel Logit and Probit models for IFRS adoption status, and ordered panel data models for examining the extent and timing of IFRS adoption, accommodating the multifaceted nature of the dependent variable.

The results suggest that countries with a high Anglo-Saxon cultural background, human development and strong legal enforcement, particularly in controlling corruption, are more likely to adopt IFRS fully and early. Notably, the extent of business disclosure in these countries impacts IFRS adoption status but does not significantly affect the extent or timing of adoption. Surprisingly, the findings reveal that countries with higher financial openness are less likely to adopt IFRS.

These results are relevant to standard setters and regulators in countries on the verge of adopting IFRS who are interested in financial, institutional and cultural factors and their impacts on IFRS adoption.

This research stands out for its emphasis on the pivotal role of cultural and institutional nuances in shaping the trajectory of IFRS adoption within non-European Union countries, thereby broadening the accounting discourse.

For more than four decades, scholars from diverse disciplines and countries have been interested in the act of whistleblowing. To battle financial fraud, financial regulators have been developing whistleblowing programs to motivate and protect whistleblowers, i.e. those who sound the alarm after witnessing an illegal act in their organization. The purpose of this article is to review five historical phases of whistleblowing research. The authors analyze the themes covered by whistleblowing studies conducted over the past 50 years and draw a snapshot of the evolution of whistleblowing research.

The authors examine academic papers published between 1970 and 2022 and inventory the disciplines involved in the literature and changes in the definition of whistleblowing.

The findings show the progress made in academic research (especially for the accounting discipline) regarding whistleblowing. The themes covered by academic studies became progressively diverse. However, this broader scope limited the depth of analysis and the level of self-criticism in the academic research. All but a few articles fail to view whistleblowing in light of its actual level of complexity, and the rationale behind limiting the definition of whistleblowing can only increase this myopia. Although most academic studies have adopted Near and Miceli (1985) definition of whistleblowing, the literature has yet to reach a consensus. Indeed, the analysis shows that Near and Miceli’s (1985) definition of whistleblowing is incomplete and narrow by today’s standards, not to mention out of step with regulators’ needs.

The main contributions are offering a big picture of whistleblowing academic research's evolution and proposing a more complete and updated view of this act.

The purpose of this paper is to mesoscopically analyze the impact of parameter variations in the random pore structure on the stress distribution of layered-porous sintered silver used in high-power electronics, and to conduct a variable importance analysis of the parameter variations in the random pore structure.

Sintered silver, featuring a porous structure, improves thermal and mechanical performance by effectively absorbing stress and facilitating heat dissipation. To ensure the performance and scalability of layered-porous sintered silver, this paper uses Gaussian random fields to model the random pore structure and performs a sensitivity analysis on pore characteristic length and porosity, both of which significantly impact the stress distribution within the sintered silver layer. First, multiple sets of random pore models with varying characteristic lengths and porosities were generated using Gaussian random fields. Then, the maximum stress of the sintered silver layer containing random pores under power cycling conditions was extracted. Finally, the Morris screening method was used to perform a sensitivity analysis on the variables of the random pore structure that affect the maximum stress in the sintered silver layer. The systematic evaluation of the parameter variations in the random pore structure was conducted to assess their impacts on the maximum stress in the sintered silver layer.

Due to the high randomness of the pore structure generated by the Gaussian random field function, the maximum stress in the sintered layer fluctuates with different mesoscopic models. After systematic evaluation using the Morris screening method, it was found that the maximum stress in the sintered silver layer is most sensitive to the variation in the pore characteristic length in the x-direction. Reducing the length of pores in the x-direction can significantly decrease the stress concentration between pores in the sintered silver layer after power cycling.

This paper innovatively uses a Gaussian random field to model the mesoscopic structure of layered-porous sintered silver for high-power electronics, and applies the Morris screening method to perform variable importance analysis on the stress distribution results within the sintered silver layers. The mesoscopic study demonstrates that the maximum stress in the sintered silver layer is most sensitive to changes in the pore characteristic length in the x-direction.

The purpose of this article is to better understand the relevance of value creation in the interconnection amongst entrepreneurship, marketing and innovation by reviewing the literature.

The authors employed a systematic review methodology using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol to analyse the literature in depth. The articles were selected from the Scopus database and dated from 1987 to 2021. An initial total of 1,158 articles was successively narrowed down to a final list of 123 papers matching the selection criteria. Moreover, content analysis on the sample was performed to explore and analyse whether value creation directly or indirectly appears as a goal or antecedent amongst entrepreneurship, marketing and innovation.

The findings suggest that the literature does not clearly define the topic linkage, and with the authors' results, the authors provide a comprehensive mapping of the contributions to a theoretical framework that synthesises knowledge. Moreover, the authors highlight that the interconnection between marketing and entrepreneurship, i.e. entrepreneurial marketing, requires an innovative approach for satisfying customer needs and creating value. Co-occurrence analysis of the keywords also allowed to identify four clusters that were open to new research streams.

Entrepreneurship, marketing and innovation are recognised research topics in the business and management literature. However, prior research has not provided clear and comprehensive evidence about how these three research topics are linked to each other. This work analyses the hidden relationship amongst them.