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The paper aims to identify the effective constructability methods and tools that should be applied during the early project design stages to prevent specific constructability failures regarding project context.

Seventeen basic constructability problems were defined, 12 constructability implementation methods for investigation were selected, and a general tool representing potential causal connections between the problems and the methods that could prevent them was developed. A comparative case study was conducted through a rigorous investigation of the construction documentation of four major building construction projects. Nearly four hundred constructability problems were identified. The tool developed was used to draw conclusions about the preferred constructability methods, in general, and with respect to specific project contexts.

The managerial approach offers the best methods for preventing constructability problems. The major methods that emerged were (1) assigning a constructability champion, (2) facilitating the involvement of the general contractor early in the design process, and (3) augmenting design quality control. At the other end of the scale, methods such as company procedures and owner involvement were found to be the least effective.

The paper offers the ability to relate constructability problems to preventive mechanisms and to identify the appropriate steps to be taken to resolve these problems. The mechanism described here can be used by construction companies that keep failure data within accounting files to check projects in retrospect and draw lessons from them to be implemented in future projects.

The way business practice adjusts to the models proposed by financial theory has been under moderate yet constant scrutiny from the academic world. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this line of research by showing CFOs’ perceptions of Spanish companies with regard to their capital structure decisions.

The empirical approach is examined using information gathered through a survey answered by 140 CFOs of Spanish companies during 2011. Results are obtained from mean difference tests and ordered probit estimations.

The results of the paper show that managers attach importance to establishing and monitoring a target debt ratio and the capacity to maintain additional debt in order to provide financial flexibility. In addition, CFOs prefer internal financing to external, using debt when internal funds do not allow investments to be funded.

On the whole, the results of this research show that trade-off and pecking order theories are not alternative views of the same problem, but represent complementary approaches of how companies define their capital structures.

El modo en que la práctica empresarial se ajusta a los modelos propuestos por la teoría financiera ha sido objeto de un tímido pero constante escrutinio por parte del mundo académico. En este trabajo, se contribuye a esta línea de investigación mediante la exploración de las percepciones que los directivos financieros de empresas españolas mantienen sobre sus decisiones de estructura de capital.

El análisis empírico explota las respuestas de 140 directores financieros de empresas españolas a una encuesta realizada en el año 2011. Los principales resultados son obtenidos de los tests de diferencias de medias y la estimación de modelos Probit ordenado.

Nuestros resultados muestran que los directivos financieros consideran importante el establecimiento y persecución de un objetivo de deuda objetivo y la flexibilidad financiera que otorga el mantenimiento de capacidad de endeudamiento adicional. Además los directores financieros prefieren utilizar los recursos generados internamente antes que la financiación externa, utilizando deuda cuando los fondos internos son insuficientes para financiar sus inversiones.

En conjunto, los resultados de nuestra investigación muestran que la teoría del trade-off y del pecking-order no son soluciones alternativas de un mismo problema, sino enfoques complementarios sobre las decisiones de estructura de capital adoptadas en la práctica.

Our aim is to analyze the type of lender and the debt maturity of Chilean firms as a function of their ownership structure and their growth opportunities. We perform the empirical analysis using an unbalanced panel data of 169 firms from 1990 to 2001. Our results show that Chilean firms with growth opportunities, ownership concentration, and a need for external funds issue short‐term bank debt to finance their new investments. This financing source is an efficient mechanism in Chile to alleviate agency and asymmetric information problems. The Chilean institutional environment influences firms’ decisions on banking debt.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the debt and ownership structure of a sample of Italian-listed companies to measure the role assumed in the control and monitoring of agency costs.

This study examines a balanced panel data, using both a random effects model and a generalized method of moments model to better capture any problems related to the endogeneity of the variables in the model.

The results provide evidence of a positive relationship between debt and ownership concentration on the one hand and a negative relationship between debt and institutional investors on the other hand. The debt seems to assume both functions, i.e. the disciplinary role of substitute at low levels of ownership concentration and a complementary role at high levels of ownership concentration.

This study provides three practical implications. The first is that the complementarity between debt and ownership concentration provides evidence of the entrenchment effect and tends to weaken the company financially. Second, the results also provide useful prompts to policy-makers who should encourage the presence of institutional investors. Third, the policy-makers should also encourage the expansion of the stock market to enhance the protection of shareholders, reduce private control benefits and provide Italy the same opportunities as other common and civil law countries to collect risk capital, avoiding the abuse of debt.

The empirical results suggest that ownership concentration increases the degree of corporate debt, whereas institutional investors assume the disciplinary role of monitoring and controlling agency costs. The results provide evidence of both the entrenchment effect and the alignment-of-interests hypothesis and that the expropriation theory seems to prevail over the control and monitoring role.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between financial decisions and ownership structure by using the control contests on a sample of Italian listed companies.

The analysis adopts a balanced panel data set of 984 firm-year observations for the period of 2002-2013, with estimation using a generalized method of moments.

The results appear to confirm both the hypotheses of the alignment of interests and the entrenchment effect. The entrenchment and alignment effects are not found to be alternatives but rather are found to co-exist. The presence of a coalition of minority shareholders acts as a tool to control agency costs, particularly when the coalition is instrumental in the contestability of corporate control.

These findings suggest that minority shareholders may have a larger impact than previously identified by strategically aligning with other shareholders to form coalitions. This study provides several practical implications. First, dividend payout is not necessarily a good instrument to control and monitor agency costs. This is because the payout can be used to expropriate benefits from the minority shareholders. Second, high ownership concentration does not always reduce agency costs. Third, a non-collusive coalition can be more useful in the monitoring of agency costs than other tools, such as the debt level.

This study shows that there is considerable value to the firm when individual blockholders come together in a contestable environment and become instrumental in making business decisions. The results support the contention that contestability is an excellent deterrent to dampen the expropriation of benefits to minority shareholders. This study also provides evidence that cash holding can be a good substitute for dividends and debt in the effort to limit agency costs.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of corporate governance (CG) on chief executive officer compensation (CEO COMP) and pay–performance relationship (PPR) in Indian listed firms.

A sample of 196 companies listed on the S&P BSE 500 (Standard and Poor's Bombay Stock Exchange 500) Index has been analyzed using the panel (random effects) regression technique over the period 2010–2019. In addition, the system GMM technique was used to deal with the endogeneity issue.

The study found that block ownership and ownership concentration negatively impact COMP measures and PPR. Board size also had a negative direct and moderating impact on CEO COMP; however, the linkages were generally insignificant, especially for total pay. Similarly, outsider blockholders were found to be playing an insignificant role. Further, board independence positively influences COMP levels and PPR, though the results were mixed with respect to significance. Finally, CEO duality positively and significantly influences CEO COMP and PPR. A comparison before and after the new Indian Companies Act 2013 also revealed similar results, particularly in the after period. It suggests that the new legislative initiative was not effective enough in improving the CG and, hence, the alignment of pay with performance.

This study investigates the direct and moderating impact of CG on CEO COMP in the context of emerging economy India. Further, it makes a comparison before and after the introduction of the new governance reform, that is, the Indian Companies Act, 2013. Moreover, providing support to the entrenchment effect, the study reveals that large shareholders expropriate minority shareholders’ wealth by not aligning CEO pay with performance, making agency problems graver in emerging economies like India.

The purpose of this paper is to establish the relationship between corporate governance, ethical culture, Internal Controls over Financial Reporting (ICFR) and compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by microfinance institutions (MFIs).

This is a cross-sectional survey based on a sample of 85 MFIs in Uganda. Hypotheses were tested using partial least squares (PLS) analysis technique. An unweighed IFRS compliance index to capture the level of compliance with IFRS was constructed. Yet to capture corporate governance, ethical culture and ICFR variables, the perceptions of top management of MFIs have been taken into consideration.

Corporate governance, ethical culture and ICFR, each makes a significant contribution to compliance with IFRS. Also both corporate governance and ethical culture are significantly associated with ICFR. However, compliance with IFRS by MFIs is better enhanced by corporate governance and ethical culture through ICFR.

Results support the idea that in terms of agency and virtue ethics theories, the board should support ICFR to minimize egocentric managers and other employees and also inculcate an ethical culture to achieve better compliance with IFRS because corporate governance and ethical culture are associated with sound ICFR which in turn lead to compliance with IFRS.

Boards of MFIs should encourage investments that improve ICFR. At the same time, regulators should ensure that boards are composed of members with financial expertise, with no conflict of interest and introduce mechanisms that encourage boards to perform their roles.

The study contributes towards a methodological position by showing that the behavioural perspective of corporate governance can be an alternative to the boards’ structural variables in investigating compliance with IFRS. A direct association of ethical culture and compliance with IFRS and an indirect association through ICFR can be envisaged.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between employee sensitivity to terrorism (STT), employee psychological well-being (EPW) and the mediating role of employee psychological resilience (EPR) for both male and female employees in an environment characterized by discontinuous terrorist incidents.

The study uses data collected from a sample of 432 university employees working in geographic areas impacted by discontinuous terrorist incidents. The study is cross-sectional.

Study findings reveal a significant relationship between employee STT and EPW. EPR mediated the impact of STT on EPW. Multigroup analysis highlighted significant causal order differences in STT between male and female employees. Females scored higher on STT.

Findings highlight important implications for organizational practitioners. Because STT leads to EPW and differs for males and females, practitioners should consider group differences when selecting interventions to enhance psychological resilience. Organizations should use customized training programs and development interventions to enhance psychological well-being.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is one of the few studies to investigate the relationship between STT and EPW and compare male and female employees. The study generates new insights into the experiences of male and female employees working in terrorist-ridden areas.

The benefits of integrating immersive technologies (ImTs) within a construction safety context are acknowledged within the literature; however, its practical application on construction sites remains low. Whilst research into the integration of ImTs within the construction industry is underway, most have viewed this from a broader adoption context or within educational settings, and not specifically from a practical on-site safety perspective. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to address the contributing factors to its integration within on-site safety processes, using the experiences of active construction professionals.

This study adopts a qualitative approach. Data was collected through online focus groups involving UK based construction professionals with experience in using ImTs, recruited using selective sampling. Data sets were subsequently analysed using inductive thematic analysis and are presented within key themes.

The results showed that among the experienced construction professionals, the use of ImTs specifically for on-site safety applications (including inductions/training/workshops) was rare on projects. The findings identified various contributing factors related to the integration of ImTs, including the potential improvements in on-site safety practices such as enhanced communication of hazards, safety planning, engagement during training and more accurate risk assessment. Critical challenges, concerns and frustrations included a lack of engagement from senior level management, inadequate leadership, limited investment, a need for digital expertise, fear of complacency and the acceptance of ImTs within existing safety processes from the wider project team.

This study provides a fresh perspective to this field by using practical accounts from active and experienced on-site construction professionals. This study supports the integration of ImTs within the construction industry, presenting key contributing factors influencing its integration within on-site safety processes. These factors can be considered by industry adopters, and includes the rationale, challenges and potential on-site benefits of ImTs.

Current research in the field of behavioural finance has attempted to discover behavioural biases and their characteristics in individual investors’ irrational decision-making. This study aims to find out how biases in information based on knowledge affect decisions about investments.

In step one, through existing research and consultation with specialists, 13 relevant items covering major aspects of bias were determined. In the second step, multiple linear regression and artificial neural network were used to analyse the data of 337 retail investors.

The investment choice was heavily impacted by regret aversion, followed by loss aversion, overconfidence and the Barnum effect. It was observed that the Barnum effect has a statistically significant negative link with investing choices. The research also found that investors’ fear of making mistakes and their tendency to be too sure of themselves were the most significant factors in their decisions about where to put their money.

This research contributes to the expansion of the knowledge base in behavioural finance theory by highlighting the significance of cognitive psychological traits in how leading investors end up making irrational decisions. Portfolio managers, financial institutions and investors in developing markets may all significantly benefit from the information offered.

This research is a one-of-a-kind study, as it analyses the emotional biases along with the cognitive biases of investor decision-making. Investor decisions generally consider the shadowy side of knowledge management.