Ebenezer Afum, Kassimu Issau, Yaw Agyabeng-Mensah, Charles Baah, Essel Dacosta, Emmanuel Essandoh and Emmanuel Agyenim Boateng
Anchored on the natural resource-based view and stakeholder theories, this study aims to investigate the mediating roles of sustainable supply chain management and green radical…
Abstract
Purpose
Anchored on the natural resource-based view and stakeholder theories, this study aims to investigate the mediating roles of sustainable supply chain management and green radical product innovation (GRPI) in the link between sustainable entrepreneurial orientation (SEO) and sustainability performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The comprehensive research model developed in this study is empirically tested by using data garnered from 248 managers of Ghanaian small and medium-sized enterprises. Partial least square structural equation modeling is applied as the methodological technique to test all the hypothesized relationships.
Findings
Results of the study indicate that SEO has a direct significant positive impact on environmental performance and social performance but not financial performance. However, through sustainable supply chain management and GRPI (both mediating variables), SEO tends to have significant impact on all sustainability performance dimensions (environmental, financial and social performance).
Originality/value
This study offers fresh empirical evidence by developing a unified research model that validates the specific mediation role of sustainable supply chain management between SEO and green radical product innovation, as well as the mediating roles of both sustainable supply chain management and GRPI between SEO and sustainability performance dimensions.
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Albert Danso, Emmanuel Adu-Ameyaw, Agyenim Boateng and Bolaji Iyiola
Prior studies suggest that, in an industry in which several public firms operate (i.e. greater public firm presence), uncertainty about business operations within the industry is…
Abstract
Purpose
Prior studies suggest that, in an industry in which several public firms operate (i.e. greater public firm presence), uncertainty about business operations within the industry is reduced due to greater analyst coverage and quality of information disclosure. In this study, the authors examine how UK private firms respond to investment opportunities in fixed intangible assets (FIAs) in an environment characterised by greater public firm presence (PFP).
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from 61,278 (1,358) private (public) UK firms operating in ten sectors spanning from 2006 to 2016, the authors conduct this analysis by using panel econometric techniques.
Findings
The authors observe that private firms are more responsive to their FIA investment opportunities when they operate in industries with more PFP. Also, the authors find that firms in industries with better information quality use more debt and have longer debt maturity security but less internal cash flow. Overall, the findings indicate that PFP generates positive externalities for private firms by lessening industry uncertainty and enhancing more efficient FIA investment. The results are robust to endogeneity concerns.
Research limitations/implications
A key limitation of the study is that it focuses on a single country (the UK) and therefore there is a likelihood that the results found are specific to this setting but not others, particularly developing and emerging economies. Thus, future studies could explore these ideas from the viewpoint of multiple countries.
Practical implications
Overall, the study demonstrates the importance of information disclosure in driving investment decisions of firms.
Originality/value
While this paper builds on the information disclosure and corporate investment literature, it is one of the first attempts, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to explore how private UK firms respond to investment in FIAs in an environment characterised by greater PFP.
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Emmanuel Tetteh Asare, King Carl Tornam Duho, Cletus Agyenim-Boateng, Joseph Mensah Onumah and Samuel Nana Yaw Simpson
This study aims to examine the effect of anti-corruption disclosure on the profitability and financial stability of extractive firms in Africa. It also tests the convergence of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effect of anti-corruption disclosure on the profitability and financial stability of extractive firms in Africa. It also tests the convergence of profitability and financial stability.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses an unbalanced panel data of 27 firms operating in five African countries covering the period 2006–2018. Anti-corruption assessment is done in line with GRI 205: Anti-Corruption. Profitability is measured using the return on asset and return on equity, whereas the z-score measures financial stability. The study uses the panel-corrected error regression technique for estimation.
Findings
There is evidence that corruption disclosure reduces the financial stability of firms. Disclosures on corruption analysis and corruption training are the main factors driving the reduction in financial stability. The effect on profitability is not significant except in the case of disclosure on corruption response, which also reduces profitability. There is strong statistical evidence to suggest that profitability and financial stability of extractive firms converge. This suggests that less-performing firms catch up with high performers.
Research limitations/implications
The study has relevant implications for practitioners, policymakers and the academic community. The study uses data that is skewed towards large extractive firms.
Originality/value
This study is premier in exploring the effect of anti-corruption disclosure on performance metrics among extractive firms in Africa. It is also unique in providing a test of both beta and sigma convergence of performance among the firms.
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King Carl Tornam Duho, Cletus Agyenim-Boateng, Emmanuel Tetteh Asare and Joseph Mensah Onumah
The purpose of this study is to examine the convergence and determinants of anti-corruption disclosures of extractive firms in Africa.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the convergence and determinants of anti-corruption disclosures of extractive firms in Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses an unbalanced panel data of 27 firms operating in 5 African countries covering the period 2006 to 2018. Corporate data is collected from the global reporting initiative (GRI) database. The study uses an index to measure overall disclosure and individual items are coded as binary. The study uses fixed effects, panel logistic and panel-corrected standard error regression, depending on the type of dependent variable used.
Findings
The results indicate that the determinants of anti-corruption disclosure are membership in the United Nations global compact (UNGC) and Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, multi-national enterprise status, corruption perception index and human development index (HDI). Specifically, UNGC membership and multi-national status enhance the disclosure on corruption analysis. Countries with a high prevalence of corruption tend to disclose more on corruption analysis. Disclosure on corruption training is high among firms that are UNGC signatories, countries with a high HDI and countries with a high prevalence of corruption. There is a weak effect of firm-level, industry-level and country-level factors on disclosures on corruption response.
Research limitations/implications
The study provides insights on the use of GRI 205: Anti-Corruption, which has relevant implications for practitioners, policymakers and the academic community.
Originality/value
This study is premier in exploring anti-corruption disclosure with a special focus on extractive firms in Africa. It is also unique in providing a test of both beta and sigma convergence among the firms.
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James Hazelton, Shane Leong and Edward Tello
This paper aims to explore the extent to which global reporting initiative (GRI) standards reflect the material concerns of stakeholders in developing countries, with particular…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the extent to which global reporting initiative (GRI) standards reflect the material concerns of stakeholders in developing countries, with particular reference to Latin America.
Design/methodology/approach
The main dataset was a sample of 120 media articles that discussed corporate conduct related to COVID-19 from both developing (Chile, Mexico and Peru) and developed (Australia, UK and the USA) countries. Concerns evident from those articles were compared and then mapped to applicable GRI standards to identify relevant disclosures and gaps. Findings were triangulated by drawing on two additional datasets: Latin American GRI-related academic literature (in Spanish) and submissions to GRI standards.
Findings
Media analysis reveals significant differences between developing and developed country concerns, as well as gaps in GRI disclosure requirements in relation to customers, labour standards and corporate interactions with non-government organisations and governments. Analysis of Latin American literature corroborates the concerns raised in media articles regarding employment. Additionally, it points out country-specific issues and calls for increased reporting of corruption. Analysis of the GRI standards development process reveals marked underrepresentation of developing countries, which may contribute to the observed deficiencies in the GRI standards.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the (surprisingly rare) research concerning the quality of GRI standards and responds to calls for greater attention to developing countries in the SEA literature by showing that GRI standards may not fully meet the needs of users in the developing country context of Latin America. The paper also contributes to practice via specific recommendations for improvement to GRI standards and the standard-setting process and provides a summary of the key findings from Spanish-language Latin American literature.