Hadi O. Al Haddad and Elie G. Hantouche
The purpose of this study is to develop an analytical model that is capable of predicting the behavior of shear endplate beam-column assemblies when exposed to fire, taking into…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop an analytical model that is capable of predicting the behavior of shear endplate beam-column assemblies when exposed to fire, taking into account the thermal creep effect.
Design/methodology/approach
An analytical model is developed and validated against finite element (FE) models previously validated against experimental tests in the literature. Major material and geometrical parameters are incorporated in the analysis to investigate their influence on the overall response of the shear endplate assembly in fire events.
Findings
The analytical model can predict the induced axial forces and deflections of the assembly. The results show that when creep effect is considered explicitly in the analysis, the beam undergoes excessive deformation. This deformation needs to be taken into account in the design. The results show the significance of thermal creep effect on the behavior of the shear endplate assembly as exposed to various fire scenarios.
Research limitations/implications
However, the user-defined constants of the creep equations cannot be applied to other connection types. These constants are limited to shear endplate connections having the material and geometrical parameters specified in this study.
Originality/value
The importance of the analytical model is that it provides a time-effective, simple and comprehensive technique that can be used as an alternative to the experimental tests and numerical methods. Also, it can be used to develop a design procedure that accounts for the transient thermal creep behavior of steel connections in real fire.
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Malek Hamed Alshirah, Ahmad Farhan Alshira’h and Abdalwali Lutfi
This study aims to empirically examine whether the political connection is related to risk disclosure practices. The study also seeks to contribute to the existent risk disclosure…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to empirically examine whether the political connection is related to risk disclosure practices. The study also seeks to contribute to the existent risk disclosure literature by investigating the moderator effect of family ownership on this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The content analysis approach was used to collect data and determine the level of risk disclosure over the non-financial Jordanian firms listed on 1Amman Stock Exchange. The sample of this study contains 376 annual reports over four years from 2014 to 2017. It used the random effect regressions to examine the hypothesis of the study.
Findings
The results show that politically connected companies disclose less risk information than the unconnected ones in Jordan. The results also refer that family ownership contributes in mitigating the negative effect of the political connection on the level of corporate risk.
Practical implications
The results have implications for regulatory institutions such as the Jordan Securities Commission to take the negative effect of political connection in their consideration and impose further regulations to monitor this board’s attribute and control politicians’ domination on the board decisions.
Originality/value
The current study also contributes to the body of literature by investigating the effects of the political connections on the level of risk disclosure in the financial reports. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the current study is the first to examine the effect of the political connection on the risk disclosure practices. Moreover, the study is among the first studies that examine the moderating role of family ownership on such relationship.
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Husam Ananzeh, Malek Hamed Alshirah, Ahmad Farhan Alshira'h and Huthaifa Al-Hazaima
A key goal of this research is to examine empirically whether politically connected board members are likely to impact corporate philanthropy. A further goal of this study is to…
Abstract
Purpose
A key goal of this research is to examine empirically whether politically connected board members are likely to impact corporate philanthropy. A further goal of this study is to contribute to the existing literature by examining the moderating role of political connections on the relationship between family ownership and corporate donations.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the content analysis approach, the authors determined the level of cash and in-kind donations made by a group of 94 non-financial Jordanian companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange. This study examined 658 annual reports spanning over seven years from 2010 to 2016. Ordinary least squares regression (OLS) is used to test the study hypotheses. In addition, this study used the probit regression to validate those results reported by the OLS regression.
Findings
Compared to unconnected companies, politically connected companies in Jordan are more likely to donate to philanthropic causes. Moreover, the results revealed that the presence of significant family ownership shareholding in a firm can weaken the firm tendency to donate. Despite this, the regression analysis results indicate that family-controlled firms with political connections are more likely to engage in charitable giving activities compared to those without political nexuses.
Research limitations/implications
The study contributes to the conversation surrounding corporate giving and sheds light on the role political connections and ownership structure (particularly family-owned firms) play in affecting donations by firms.
Practical implications
Managers of Jordanian firms listed on the stock exchange can use the study's findings to make better decisions about their donations and other philanthropic activities.
Originality/value
This study is the first to examine the relationship between firm donations and political connections in Jordan, and how political nexuses can moderate the relationship between family ownership and corporate donations. Hence, it extends prior research significantly.
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Auwalu Musa, Rohaida Abdul Latif and Jamaliah Abdul Majid
This study examines whether the risk management committee (RMC) mitigates earnings management (EM) in Nigeria.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines whether the risk management committee (RMC) mitigates earnings management (EM) in Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a sample of 365 firm-year observations of Nigerian-listed nonfinancial companies from 2018 to 2022. Driscoll and Kraay’s fixed-effect standard error regression model is used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The study finds that RMC size, expertise, meeting frequency and membership overlapping with the audit committee have a negative effect on both accrual earnings management (AEM) and real earnings management (REM). While RMC independence is found to have a negative effect on REM. Moreover, additional tests reveal that RMC effectiveness is significantly associated with lower EM practices. Further analysis using the industry level finds that RMC attributes mitigate EM practices in some industries. The results remain after rigorous, robust analysis for endogeneity and alternative regressions.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited to a sample of Nigerian-listed nonfinancial service companies for a period of five years, resulting in the non-generalizability of the findings to different contexts as the countries’ internal policies and regulations varied.
Practical implications
The findings have important implications for regulators, policymakers and investors that a stand-alone RMC can effectively help to evaluate potential risk activities and implement a proper risk management system, thereby mitigating EM practices. The result can help investors, analysts and other stakeholders across the international community in considering RMC information to evaluate potential risk and earnings management practices.
Originality/value
Following the NCCG 2018 reform in Nigeria that requires listed firms to create a standalone RMC, this study is among the earliest that examines the effect of RMC attributes on EM practices and emerging markets. As such, the findings may draw the attention of regulators and policymakers across the African market and the international community to the monitoring role of RMC attributes in mitigating EM practices.
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Mahmoud Alghemary, Basil Al-Najjar and Nereida Polovina
The authors empirically investigate the association between acquisition, ownership structure and accrual earnings management (AEM) on real earnings management (REM) using Gulf…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors empirically investigate the association between acquisition, ownership structure and accrual earnings management (AEM) on real earnings management (REM) using Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-listed firms' context.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors' sample consists of 1,892 firm-year observations for the period from 2007–2017, and the authors adopt a panel data approach in investigating the interrelationships in this study. The authors employ different econometrics approach to test the authors' hypotheses.
Findings
The findings reveal that acquiring companies engage more in AEM if compared to REM. In terms of ownership structure, institutional ownership and state ownership mitigate the engagement in REM, whereas foreign ownership is found to be an ineffective mechanism in reducing engagement in REM. The authors report similar findings on ownership structure for AEM. The authors also find that the GCC firms engage more in REM when the firms engage in AEM, suggesting a complementary relation between these two earnings management techniques. These findings are robust after controlling for different aspects including any endogeneity issue in the authors' models.
Originality/value
The authors' research highlights the importance of understanding REM and AEM dynamics in GCC context. Also, the authors' findings on ownership structure suggest that GCC-listed firms can gain from institutional and state ownership which restricts earnings management, improving firm transparency and subsequently impacting firm performance.
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Agustin Palupi and Lusia Tania Aurelia
This study aims to examine the influence of related party transactions (RPTs), political connection (POLCON), board of directors (BOD), institutional ownership (IO), information…
Abstract
This study aims to examine the influence of related party transactions (RPTs), political connection (POLCON), board of directors (BOD), institutional ownership (IO), information asymmetry, audit quality (AQ), and leverage (LEV) on real earnings management (REM). The company used in this research is manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange from 2017 to 2019. The number of research samples is 192 firm years data. This study shows that RPTs, POLCON, IA, and LEV affect REM. In contrast, the BOD, IO, and AQ do not affect REM.
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Nabil Hussein Al-Fahim, Ali Ahmed Ateeq, Zahida Abro, Marwan Milhem, Mohammed Alzoraiki, Tamer M. Alkadash and Muskan Nagi
The purpose of this research was to investigate at the influence of technology acceptance model (TAM) characteristics including perceived ease of use, perceived compatibility, and…
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to investigate at the influence of technology acceptance model (TAM) characteristics including perceived ease of use, perceived compatibility, and perceived security on the perceived utility and actual use of mobile banking among Yemeni academics. It also investigated the function of perceived utility as a moderator in the link between TAM variables and mobile banking adoption. The sample size was 251 respondents who worked at universities in Yemen and were chosen using stratified random selection. According to the findings, perceived compatibility and perceived security had a substantial positive influence on perceived usefulness and real mobile banking use; however perceived simplicity of use had no effect on mobile banking usage. According to the results, perceived usefulness slightly mediated the association between perceived ease of use and security and mobile banking use, whereas it completely mediated the relationship between perceived compatibility and mobile banking usage. Overall, the research proved the significance of TAM elements in academics’ use of mobile banking in Yemen, offering a credible empirical framework for studying mobile banking usage in this setting.
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Hadi Esmaeilpour Moghadam and Arezou Karami
Women's financial empowerment (WFE) is one of the sustainable development goals. This research examines the effect of financial inclusion through FinTech (FIF) on WFE at the…
Abstract
Purpose
Women's financial empowerment (WFE) is one of the sustainable development goals. This research examines the effect of financial inclusion through FinTech (FIF) on WFE at the international level. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyze the dataset of 113 countries from the Global Findex (2017) and World Bank databases using principal component analysis (PCA) and cross-sectional data methodology. Initially, they calculate the overall index for FIF with PCA. Then, they investigate the effect of FIF on WFE in two groups of countries classified by low and high levels of gender discrimination.
Findings
The results show that the relationship between FIF and WFE is positive and significant in countries classified by low levels of gender discrimination. However, this effect is insignificant in countries with high gender discrimination. Hence, gender inequality is a barrier and denies financial independence to women.
Research limitations/implications
Given these results, it seems unlikely that FinTech will be able to eliminate the gender gap in financial inclusion on its own for women's empowerment. To directly address the gender gap and alter attitudes and social norms across demographics, FinTech development may need to be supplemented with focused policy initiatives.
Originality/value
This study provides evidence of FIF's impact on WFE at the international level.
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Lames Abdul Hadi and Areej Elsayary
A new High School Equivalency (HSE) policy was developed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in response to a shift toward a knowledge-based economy and a transformation toward STEM…
Abstract
A new High School Equivalency (HSE) policy was developed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in response to a shift toward a knowledge-based economy and a transformation toward STEM education. The purpose of this study is to explore and understand the stakeholders' perceptions and experiences in implementing the new HSE policy in a school that follows a US curriculum in the UAE. The study was conducted before the COVID-19 lockdown. The phenomenological approach was used to shed light on the implementation of the HSE policy in an active learning environment and the challenges facing the school's stakeholders. The study results reveal the challenges that stakeholders face in implementing the HSE policy and their experiences in offering students the courses they need. All stakeholders agreed that the transformation toward STEM education requires proper implementation of the high school equivalency policy in an active learning environment that help in developing students' twenty-first-century skills and prepare them to meet the job market needs.