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This paper aims to examine the role of corporate governance (CG) in the earnings management (EM) of affiliated companies in family business groups (FBGs) listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), using principal–principal agency theory.

The sample of 327 nonfinancial firms of the PSX, consisting of 187 group-affiliated firms and 140 nonaffiliated firms has been used in this study for the period of 2010 to 2019. The study uses different regression models for analysis, with robustness tests of various alternative measures of EM and FBG affiliation. In addition, endogeneity is controlled with the propensity score matching method.

The findings show that EM is less prevalent in affiliated firms compared to nonaffiliated companies. The results show a negative and significant relationship between FBGs affiliated firms and EM. Moreover, the results also show a positive relationship between EM and the interaction term of the CG index and group affiliation. It refers to the fact that effective governance cannot reduce EM in affiliated companies of FBGs as well as in the nonfinancial companies of the PSX. In addition, the quality of CG is higher in affiliated companies compared to its counterpart in nonaffiliated firms. The findings support the principal–principal agency theory that CG cannot mitigate the expropriating behavior of controlling shareholders against minority shareholders by reducing EM in emerging markets due to the ownership concentration phenomenon.

This research study has implications for small investors, government agencies and regulators. The findings of the study show that CG code should make it mandatory for companies to reveal information about their complex ownership structure and ownership information about affiliated companies and directors. Furthermore, it is suggested to revisit the code of CG in the Pakistani context of principal–principal conflict instead of the agent–principal explanation of agency theory based on Anglo–Saxon countries.

This research study has contributed to the CG and FBG literature in relation to EM in idiosyncratic settings of Pakistan. One of the prime contributions of the paper is the development of a comprehensive CG index. This research study used detailed, manually collected novel data on affiliated firms of FBGs in Pakistan.

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of knowledge management practices, organisational commitment and capacity building on employee performance in the hotel industry. This study also investigated the mediating role of organisational commitment and capacity building between knowledge management practices and employee performance.

A quantitative approach and questionnaire survey were used to collect data from hotel employees from Malaysia. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to collect data from 291 participants, and partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the hypotheses.

The results of this study confirm that knowledge management practices positively and significantly affect knowledge-employee performance. Employees achieve this performance through the mediating influence of organisational commitment and capacity building culture.

This study offers several implications for Malaysian practitioners and policymakers regarding learning and knowledge management practices in the hospitality industry. The results suggest that organisations can manage knowledge assets and key processes of the organisational environment to create and use knowledge to improve sustainable employee performance through knowledge management practices.

This study sheds light on the knowledge management literature by examining the effect of knowledge management practices on organisational commitment, particularly in the hospitality industry in Malaysia.