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There is a clear gap in the literature regarding the factors that determine social conductivity (extent of interactions) in project relationships. This study aims to use social capital theory to answer the research question – What factors determine social conductivity in project relationships?

In the study, the authors use fuzzy synthetic evaluation based on the findings from a survey of 203 project practitioners to quantify the impacts of three principal components of factors determining social conductivity in project relationships.

The study findings reveal the structural, relational and cognitive dimensions of project social capital are all significant (impact levels exceeding 3.50) for determining social conductivity in project relationships. However, the study’s main finding reveals – issues relating to the cognitive dimension of project social capital are the most critical factors determining social conductivity in project relationships (a criticality index of 4.326).

This study provides evidence of varieties of ways social capital can boost the conductivity of project relationships.

The key contributions of this study are linked to the manner in which project social capital determines social conductivity in project relationships. The findings add to previous research by extending the dimensions of the factors that increase social conductivity from relational project social capital to include two new dimensions (the cognitive and structural dimensions of project social capital).

The purpose of this study is the same as those of the preceding 16 studies on happiness, health and religion, and they are as follows: to estimate the mean scores and the sex-related differences in the study scales; to examine the associations between the study scales; to investigate the principal components; and to compare the present results with the previous findings.

A non-probability sample of university students in the United Arab Emirates was selected by the “snowball” sample method. To overcome the issue of people refusing to participate in the study, this method was used in the selection process due to the challenge of sampling students in all the universities across the nation, which makes it difficult to choose a probability sample. The approval of the Ethics Committee was obtained from Ajman University to apply the study tools, and then the students were given the choice through open announcement to participate in the study and circulate it to other students at Ajman University.

Results showed that men had significantly higher mean ratings on mental health, physical health and happiness than did women. All the Pearson correlations between the scales were significant for men. Except for the correlations between religiosity and both happiness and mental health, all correlations between the scales for women were significant. A principal components analysis extracted one component for men which was labeled “Well-being and religiosity”, whereas two components were retained for the women which were labeled “Well-being” and “Religiosity and physical health”. Comparing the present sample’s mean happiness score to that of prior students from 16 other countries revealed that it was higher and consistent with other scores from rich Arab nations with a high GDP per capita (such as Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Oman). In conclusion, happiness was found to be associated with mental and physical health in both men and women, as well as religiosity in men.

Despite the strengths of the current investigation, i.e. the large sample size and the good to high reliability and validity properties of the scales, some limitations have to be acknowledged. First, the convenience and non-probability sample. Second, university students are a special segment of any country. Their age range is limited, and they probably have greater intelligence and more education compared to the general population. Therefore, a replication of the present study using a probability sample from the general population is needed.

SPSS (2009) was used for data analysis. Means, standard deviations, t-tests, d for effect size, Pearson product moment correlation coefficients and principal components analysis were used. For the principal components analysis, the Kaiser criterion (i.e. eigenvalue > 1.0) and the scree plot were used to define the number of components to be retained.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study about happiness in United Arab Emirates.

The purpose of the study is to demonstrate the influences of three dimensions of social capital (the structural, relational and cognitive dimensions) on five situated learning processes (institutionalization, socialization, knowledge articulation, experience accumulation and knowledge reuse) in projects.

Drawing on a cross sectional survey, data were drawn from 203 construction professionals in Ghana who have hands-on experience in managing projects. Partial least square structural equation modeling was used to conduct both confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis of the structural model of the relationship between these two constructs.

In relation to the research questions, all three dimensions of social capital have effects of the situating learning processes. However, the research’s key finding is that the relational dimension of social capital exerts much influence on the situated learning processes in projects, with the structural and cognitive dimensions of social capital exerting medium and small effects, respectively.

The study’s key finding implies that – addressing the “relational” conditioners that moderate project participants’ behaviour in social relationships is critical for increasing situated learning activity in projects. These must, however, be complemented by both structural and cognitive factors.

The research findings expand existing frontiers of knowledge by addressing the gap in the literature on the lack of practical demonstration of the influences exerted by the various dimensions of social capital on a situated learning activity in projects.

This study aims to investigate the antecedents of behavioral intention and actual usage of mobile payment (m-payment) services during the COVID-19 pandemic among Indian consumers.

The proposed research model of this study is based on the extended framework of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) by using two additional variables, namely, perceived security (PS) and perceived trust (PT). In total, 436 sample respondents are chosen from Indian consumers with experience using m-payment services through the online survey method. The data analysis and proposed hypothetical relationships were tested using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling techniques.

The results confirm that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, PS, PT, habit and price value are antecedents of consumer intention toward adopting m-payment services. Furthermore, behavioral intention significantly influences the actual usage of m-payment services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though the impact of COVID-19 has been observed during the research period in getting responses from m-payment service users, the constructs used in the study are confined to the UTAUT2 model, and dimensions related to COVID-19 are not directly included in the measurement scale. The study’s findings propose valuable insights for service providers and policymakers.

This study’s results offer valuable insights to the service providers and policymakers to achieve the Government of India digital India objective of “Faceless, Paperless and Cashless” transactions.

This study’s results contribute to extending the empirical research literature on m-payment as antecedents of behavioral intention toward the adoption of m-payment services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, this study assumes important interrelationships among UTAUT2 constructs with the additional incorporation of PS and PT.

The level of cynicism officers experience can directly impact their day-to-day decisions, especially in policing’s currently strained climate. This paper provides an updated systematic review of the predictors, outcomes and conceptualizations of police cynicism within the relevant literature.

A systematic review was conducted utilizing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach. Results from the 56 articles published after Langworthy’s 1987 systematic review are included. It was hypothesized that due to the current climate, police cynicism may be more discussed within the literature, especially when examined with the “Ferguson Effect.”

Researchers conceptualize police cynicism in various ways outside the traditional measures. Officers who were more cynical were more likely to maintain tougher law enforcement orientations and may have been more likely to engage in problem behaviors. Lack of internal support was related to organizational cynicism. Support for the Ferguson effect and demographic-related variables (tenure, racial identity and gender) on police cynicism yielded mixed findings despite the field’s inclination of their augmenting impact.

More research needs to be conducted on operationalizing and conceptualizing police cynicism. Researchers should establish standardized measures of police cynicism to help disaggregate results, as well as recruit from multiple agencies to increase generalizability.

This review is the first literature review conducted on police cynicism since Langworthy’s 1987 review. Exploring data post-1987 illustrates contemporary conceptualizations of police cynicism and related significant findings.

This study aims to examine the determinants of disclosing repetitive year-to-year key audit matters (KAMs) content by auditors for a client and whether repetitive KAMs content is indicative of lower audit effort.

The authors use a sample of publicly listed firms from New Zealand between 2016 and 2020. Multivariate regression models are used to test the determinants of the extent of repetitive content in the KAMs section of the audit report. The authors compare the KAMs disclosed in the current period to those disclosed in prior period(s) to determine the level of recurring items and repetitive textual content.

The authors find evidence of repetitive KAMs content being disclosed at the client level since the reporting requirement was introduced. In multivariate analyses, the authors find that client business risk and auditor reputation are negatively associated with auditors’ reporting of repetitive KAMs. Furthermore, the authors find that auditors exert lower effort on audits for which they report a higher level of repetitive content in KAMs.

The study provides novel findings that contribute to the literature on auditors’ voluntary reporting of KAMs and provide important practical implications for investors and regulators.

This paper aims to examine the effects of the 2014 European regulatory reform on auditors’ activity, the audit outcome and the audit market, with a focus on the Spanish market.

The research is based on in-depth, semistructured interviews with partners of the main audit firms operating in the Spanish market. This qualitative approach provides a precise identification of the cause-effect relationships of the new measures introduced by the European audit regulation.

The findings indicate that, based on auditors’ opinions, the costs of the main regulatory changes outweigh the benefits. The European Union (EU) Audit Regulation imposes more demanding provisions, such as an extended auditor’s report, mandatory audit firm rotation, more banned nonaudit services and stricter quality controls, resulting in substantial side effects on audit activity and the audit market. This could undermine the objective of enhancing the quality of audit services.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the effect of the 2014 EU regulatory reform on audit activity, audit market and audit outcome based on auditors’ perceptions. The findings may be of interest to academics, professionals and regulators alike, as they offer valuable insights for assessing the effectiveness of the new audit provisions. Additionally, the qualitative methodology used facilitates a causal analysis of the key elements introduced by the regulations, potentially paving the way for future research avenues.

The paper examines the influence of procurement capabilities (skills) and procurement planning on project success in Ghana. The paper further examines the mediating role of procurement planning.

Drawing insights from human capital theory, a model of four hypotheses was developed and validated. The proposed model was validated using survey data from 200 procurement and construction professionals at construction firms in Ghana. The data gathered was analysed using structural equation modelling. Confirmatory factor analysis using Amos software was conducted to establish reliability and validity of the constructs. Hayes process was employed to test the structural model.

Our study revealed that procurement capabilities and procurement planning directly improve project success in the construction sector in Ghana. We found procurement planning acts as a pathway for achieving greater success in construction projects.

This study is among the very few attempts to demonstrate how project success could be enhanced through developing procurement capabilities for effective procurement planning. Theoretically, this study is among the first attempts to theorise the effect of procurement capabilities and planning on project success from the human capital perspective. Our findings also offer practical insight to practitioners in the construction setting by emphasising the need to pay crucial attention to capabilities and planning in the quest to enhance project success in the construction setting. The findings indicate that building capabilities alone is not enough; rather, the ability to deploy such capabilities for effective procurement planning is necessary for driving project success.

The authors examine whether the duration of performance shortfall in the firm impacts the real earnings management.

We find the results in the context of India, an emerging market, on a large sample set of 15,011 firm-year observations during 2006–2020.

We find that when managers continue to face short-term performance pressures, they shift their focus away from aspirational levels, prefer not to engage in strategic actions to address performance shortfalls and engage in opaque actions of real earnings management. We discover that this baseline relationship for business group-affiliated firms is stronger; however, the moderation effect is weaker under stronger corporate governance and the involvement of high-quality auditors.

The study suggests that the governing council of firms, such as the board of directors, must pay additional attention to underperforming firms, as a longer duration of performance shortfall may induce firms to engage in earnings management, which is detrimental to the long-term viability of organizations. Government authorities should pay close attention to the choices made by managers, especially when their performance is subpar. Furthermore, the government has the option to implement policies or offer financial assistance, such as special funds, to incentivize companies to refrain from participating in manipulation activities.

This is the first study to examine corporate misconduct through the lens of the “threat rigidity hypothesis,” which has significant implications for the management literature.