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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.

This paper aims to examine the impact of dual-class share structures, where share structure is measured by the existence of a dual-class structure and also by excess voting rights and the proximity of the superior class shareholders in such structures, on financial constraints.

The study applies regression analyses to a sample of 2,466 observations on non-financial US firms over the period 2002–2018. The methods include regression with industry and year fixed effects, “propensity score matching” approach to match the dual-class firms with non-dual class firms and alternative measures of financial constraints.

The result shows that irrespective of how dual-class share structure is measured, it increases the level of financial constraints, except where dual-class share structure is measured by the proximity of superior class shareholders. Among the additional tests, the HM index has been used as a measure of financial constraints, and the findings show that the impact of dual-class structures on financial constraints appears to be driven by their effect on debt constraints. Finally, the findings are robust when the authors address endogeneity issues and remain consistent when the authors use alternative measures and tests.

The study has important implications for investors, regulators and policymakers, as it could help an understanding of the effect of the potential for conflict between superior class shareholders and other shareholders.

The results from the study support earlier literature on the impact of dual-class share structure on financial constraints. However, the study also provides new evidence on the different dimensions of dual-class share structure and financial constraints. Furthermore, the hand-collected data set on dual-class firms and the values of their voting wedge and the proximity of superior class shareholders may be useful to other researchers.

The study aims to study the extent of research done in luxury marketing in an emerging economy like India by conducting a bibliometric analysis. A period of 21 years has been considered to present a comprehensive picture for results and analysis. Key findings indicate the gaps and scope of further research for academics in India and abroad. The findings indicate a dearth of research by scholars and academicians in luxury, counterfeit and masstige, especially when there is a surge of the upper middle class in India. More specifically, Indian-grown luxury brands also present a massive scope for future research.

The present research investigates the effects of adopting Industry 4.0 technologies (ADT) on the Pakistani food sector’s sustainable performance (SP). Specifically, it focuses on the roles of green supply chain collaboration (GSCC), circular economy practices (CEP) and technological readiness (TR) as mediators and environmental dynamism (EDY) as a moderator.

This study is based on the natural resource-based view (NRBV) theory to determine the 14.0 adoption toward sustainable performance with mediators and moderators. The authors conducted an online questionnaire from 318 employees of the food manufacturing industries in Lahore, Pakistan, and applied the PLS-SEM approach to test the relationships of variables.

The findings of this study reveal that adopting Industry 4.0 technologies significantly influences sustainable performance through GSCC, CEP and TR in the Pakistani food sector. Moreover, the relation between industry 4.0 technologies, GSCC, CEP and TR is positively moderated by environmental dynamism.

The findings have marked implications for the literature on adopting I4.0 on sustainable performance in the Pakistani food sector. This research is based on data collected from a single country, and industry is the limitation of this study.

The present study provides conclusive evidence of the influence of the adoption of Industry 4.0 on sustainable performance through GSCC, CEP and TR in the Pakistani food sector. This study is the first to investigate the moderating role of environmental dynamism among industry 4.0 technologies, GSCC, CEP and TR.

This study uses meta-analysis to examine the relationship between corporate sustainability reporting (CSR) and stock price crash risk (SPCR) and to discern the moderating effects of country-level institutional quality and cultural dimensions on this link.

The study used mean correlation coefficients to test the relationship between CSR and SPCR and meta-regressions to test the moderating effects. The analysis considers 65 effect sizes from 24 empirical studies.

The results showed that CSR reduces the chances of SPCR. The inverse relationship between CSR and SPCR is stronger in masculine, high power distance and long-term oriented cultures and is less pronounced in individualistic, uncertainty avoidance and indulgent cultures. The inverse relationship is also stronger in countries where high-quality institutions exist.

This study is based on correlation coefficient analysis and excludes studies publishing only regression results. Furthermore, it provides guidance to lessen SPCR. Findings suggest that such initiatives may mitigate the risk of stock price crashes for firms. Through meta-analysis, this research investigates the correlation between environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure and stock price crash occurrences, offering insights with significant implications for the European financial landscape and globally.

This is a pioneer meta-analysis that investigates the link between CSR and SPCR and the moderating effects of country-level institutional quality and cultural dimensions. Our study sheds light on the potential impact of promoting a sustainable and responsible business environment in Europe through comprehensive ESG disclosure under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

COVID-19 pandemic interrupted global supply chains (SCs) affecting both developed and developing countries. In context of the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous studies were conducted on sustainable supply chain (SSC) in emerging markets (EMs). However, the contributions of these studies require to be systematically reviewed to provide a platform of knowledge. The purpose of this review is to systematically explore the relevant literature on SSC management during the COVID-19 pandemic in EMs.

The authors applied Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework to perform a systematic literature review. Scopus database was used to extract the relevant literature, and 51 journal articles along with 5 conference proceedings were included in the study.

This study identified the major contents along with four different themes, which are the impacts of COVID-19 on the SC, recovery strategies to alleviate the adverse impacts of COVID-19, sustainable practices to improve SC performance and resilience activities to assure firms' survivability. Furthermore, the research reveals that interview/survey/case study–based research and review articles focusing on various industries have dominated the field of SSC management in the context of EMs.

This research enriches the literature by providing an overall scenario of SSC during the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of emerging economies.

We aim to investigate the impact of different story types on small fashion business brand trust and purchase intention, guided by signaling theory. We investigate two potential moderators – product aesthetic judgment (i.e. consumers’ responses to the aesthetic aspects of a product) and underdog positioning (i.e. brand’s positioning as a loser that is not a leader in the marketplace and has only a small market share but puts efforts into creating valuable products) – that may influence consumers’ responses to a story.

We developed video stimuli that tell business stories to empirically compare two story types bringing brand trust: identity-focused and product-focused stories. We conducted two experimental studies and tested six hypotheses with 302 datasets. Study 1 compared eco-friendly storytelling with product-focused storytelling, considering perceived product aesthetic judgment as the moderator. Study 2 repeated the experiment with a founder story and a product-focused story, considering the perceived underdog as the moderator.

The findings suggest that the influence of eco-friendly storytelling, compared to product-focused storytelling, on higher purchase intention is fully mediated by brand trust. Consumers’ perceived product aesthetic judgments toward an eco-friendly product can positively moderate the storytelling effect and brand trust. However, founder storytelling did not bring higher brand trust and, consequently, had no significant impact on purchase intention. Similarly, the perceived underdog did not moderate this relationship.

The study is novel as it is one of the first to compare story types based on story contents, whereas previous studies have focused on story delivery. Especially, we explored which story types and contents effectively build brand trust for small businesses, a critical factor for their success. Based on the extant literature, we categorized story types into identity-focused stories and product-focused stories based on contents. We hypothesized and concluded that an identity-focused story can be more effective in eliciting consumer responses. Furthermore, we confirm the critical role of brand trust as a mediator in bringing about purchase intention through eco-friendly storytelling.

The study aims to investigate the mediating impact of supplier quality integration on the operational performance of the pharmaceutical supply chain (PSCs) by comparing mature and evolving PSCs.

The study adopted a quantitative method where data were gathered through a survey instrument to identify the differentiators of dynamic capabilities and establish the extent of quality integration in PSCs. Thus, 310 questionnaires were collected from mature and evolving PSCs, where the PROCESS technique was used to analyse the data.

The results demonstrate the significant paths that enable companies to create, extend and modify the resources to develop their dynamic capabilities. The results reveal significant differences in internal and supplier quality implementation and their impact on operational performance between mature and evolving PSCs.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine dynamic capabilities aspects of the pharmaceutical supply chain quality integration in mature and evolving PSCs, which extends the body of knowledge and makes a practical contribution.

In the realm of tourism and sustainability, transportation and mobility hold a crucial position. Among the green product categories, three-wheeled electric vehicles have gained significant attention due to their environmental benefits. However, research on consumers’ intentions to purchase these vehicles is limited, particularly in Asian destinations like Sri Lanka. This study aims to bridge this gap by examining the direct and indirect impacts of green brand awareness, green brand associations and green perceived quality of local Sri Lankans’ intention to choose branded electric three-wheelers in future purchase decisions.

A questionnaire survey garnered 400 usable responses, and structural equation modeling was used to test hypotheses.

The results indicate that green brand awareness, green brand associations and green perceived quality have a direct positive and significant effect on consumers’ intention to choose branded electric three-wheelers in future purchase decisions and green trust. Also, green trust has a positive and significant direct effect on consumers’ intention to choose branded electric three-wheelers in future purchase decisions. Furthermore, the results indicate that only green brand associations and green perceived quality have an indirect positive and significant effect on consumers’ intention to choose branded electric three-wheelers in future purchase decisions through green trust.

This research contributes to the tourism industry and other sectors involved in sustainability efforts in several ways. First, it emphasizes the importance of fostering positive associations with eco-friendly attributes and perceived product quality to build consumer trust and influence their purchase intentions for green products. Second, the study underscores the relevance of highlighting eco-friendly product attributes to stimulate consumer interest and adoption of green products. Finally, it theoretically underscores the significance of building trust through transparent and credible sustainability initiatives.

The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the consumer payment behavior in Italy by correlating financial literacy with digital payment awareness, examining media anxiety and financial security, and including a gender analysis.

Consumers’ attitudes toward cashless payments were investigated using an online survey conducted from November 2021 to February 2022 on a sample of 836 Italian citizens by considering the behavioral characteristics and aspects of financial literacy. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses and to determine whether the model was invariant by gender.

The analysis showed that the fear of contracting COVID-19 and the level of financial literacy had a direct influence on the payment behavior of Italians, which was completely different in its weighting. Fear due to the spread of news regarding the pandemic in the media indirectly influenced consumers’ noncash attitude. The preliminary results of the gender multigroup analysis showed that cashless payment was the same in the male and female subpopulations.

This research is noteworthy because of its interconnected examination. It examined the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s payment choices, assessed their knowledge, and considered the influence of media-induced anxiety. By combining these factors, the study offered an analysis from a gender perspective, providing understanding of how financial behaviors were shaped during the pandemic.