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This paper aims to examine the relationship between ownership type and the likelihood of publication of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) report.

Drawing on stakeholder salience theory, the probit model is used for a sample of 1,839 Chinese listed firms to study how different types of owners influence firm CSR engagement.

The analysis reveals that the Chinese stock exchanges exert a positive influence on the likelihood of a firm producing a CSR report, an effect which is more significant in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Foreign investors lead to a greater likelihood of publication of a CSR report, though this effect is weaker in SOEs. In contrast, the holdings of state and domestic institutional investors are broadly neutral.

The study helps corporate managers to recognise how particular types of shareholders will value their efforts regarding CSR activities and disclosure and also assists policymakers in improving the level of CSR disclosure through the development of new policy.

Apposite CSR disclosure enhances trust and facilitates the shared values on which to build a more cohesive society.

The novelty of this study is that it addresses the effect of institutional investors on Chinese firm CSR engagement and thus provides an important insight for firms, investors and other stakeholders into the interplay of portfolio investment and CSR.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether bank capital strength and external auditing requirements influenced international stock market stability during the 2007/2008 global financial crisis.

Bank mandatory regulation data are obtained from the World Bank database, while stock market stability is gauged for 385 listed banks across 43 countries by means of generalised least squares regression models.

The authors find that mandatory capital strength requirements and the existence of mandatory audit increase stock market stability across countries. Further, more profitable banks increase stock market stability. The results are robust to both country institutional settings and economic freedom characteristics.

This paper provides evidence of the impact of bank regulations on stock market stability during the global financial crisis, thereby providing a useful insight for stakeholders to enhance financial regulation and policy.

This paper aims to investigate firm-level variations in the extent of mandatory disclosures and address the drivers of mandatory disclosure using data from the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region.

The extent of mandatory disclosure is examined using a disclosure index created with reference to 24 International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs).

The authors find that the extent of mandatory disclosure required by applicable IFRSs/International Accounting Standards increases with international presence, group firms, the level of voluntary disclosure, firm age and the education level of company financial controllers. It decreases with firm size and the proportion of institutional share ownership. The degree of board independence is positively related to the level of mandatory disclosure in firms with no state ownership. Profitability positively affects the level of mandatory disclosure to a greater extent in more liquid GCC firms. The results confirm that there is a greater sensitivity of mandatory disclosure to loss than to profit. Loss increases, whilst profit decreases, the extent of mandatory disclosure.

The results promote further understanding of international financial reporting differences in an emerging country setting.

The findings provide a detailed insight to investors, financial analysts, practitioners and academics.

The authors develop a highly granular mandatory disclosure index in a developing country setting and identify key drivers of such disclosure.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between intellectual capital (IC), measured in terms of the market to book (MTB) ratio, and potential key determinants of IC value such as intangible assets (IA) and a range of other factors.

The study is conducted for a sample of 140 Italian corporations over the period 2009-2013. Applying a holistic market-based approach, the relationship between IC value and selected determinants from the extant literature is tested. Five hypotheses are tested using a pooled OLS regression model, while controlling for time. ROE is employed as a useful firm profitability indicator from the perspective of an equity investor. Moreover, four robustness tests are undertaken.

The results show that IA, profitability, leverage, industry type, auditor type, and family ownership positively affect IC value, whereas SIZE and AGE negatively affect IC value. Moreover, the findings of the robustness tests suggest that all firms, and not just knowledge-intensive business service industry firms, manage knowledge.

The validity of the findings is limited to the Italian context, as the study focuses on a sample of companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, all of which prepare their individual financial statements according to IFRS. Further limitations are related to the use of market value in the short term, as it is influenced by market volatility. The study may allow academic researchers to investigate the impact of other non-accounting sources of information on market value within a multidisciplinary perspective.

This paper also has implications for managers and practitioners. The findings suggest that managers should not take for granted that firm growth (an increase in SIZE) alone will lead to an increase in IC value, in the absence of a consistent IC-oriented investment strategy. Managers should also avoid smoothing their IC investment as the company grows, in order to maintain a stable MTB ratio. Further, standard setters should seek to explore better means of disclosing non-accounting information relating to IC value.

This paper contributes to the IC literature as it is the first study which applies the market capitalization approach to analyze IC value determinants in the Italian context, within the framework of IFRS. The findings reveal some interesting relationships between the MTB ratio and recognized intangible investments, which are found to be insignificant in previous studies, confirming that, through the holistic effect, the MTB ratio may be a good proxy for IC.

This paper aims to investigate auditor choice in those Italian non-listed firms adopting the “traditional” model of corporate governance. In Italy, non-listed firms can choose between two types of auditor: the Board of Statutory Auditors (BSA), that is the statutory auditors, or an “external” auditor. At the same time, a BSA conducts the administrative auditing for all companies with equity exceeding €120,000.

The paper estimates a logistic regression model of firm auditor choice between an external auditor and the BSA, which incorporates variables proxying for both agency conflict and organizational complexity effects.

The results show that of the potential agency factors, only board independence drives auditor choice, whereas organizational complexity and risk factors including firm size, investment in inventories, subsidiary status and complexity drive auditor choice. These results may be explained in the administrative audit role of the BSA, which monitors both day-by-day firm operations and the financial statements preparation “project”. Stakeholders as a result are reassured that, in general, their interests are protected. Finally, it was found that legal form and voluntary International Financial Reporting Standards compliance exert an impact on auditor choice.

The paper provides support for an internal yet independent auditing body such as the Italian BSA as a wider model for corporate governance in European non-listed firms (OECD, 2004 and 2015). The BSA as an administrative and financial auditing body made up solely of independent highly qualified professionals can work within the firm on an operational basis, and in so doing can increase stakeholder protection.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the quality of property rights institutions (PRIs) and bank financial performance in an empirical study of 136 countries over the period 1999-2006.

The quality of PRIs and financial accounting-based measures of bank performance are obtained from the Economic Freedom of the World Project (Gwartney et al., 2006), the Polity IV Project, the World Bank data indicators database, and the International Monetary Fund. Several multiple regression analyses are conducted to test the study hypotheses.

The results reveal that the quality of legal structure and security of PRIs positively (negatively) affects both bank cost efficiency (inefficiency) and profitability. The presence of a quality political structure negatively (positively) affects bank cost efficiency (inefficiency). The quality of political structure has no direct impact on bank profitability. The impact of PRIs on bank cost efficiency is more evident in the upper middle and high income group of countries than in the low and lower middle income group of countries. An appropriate level of PRI quality is essential to achieve both competition and development.

The paper highlights policy implications for international policy makers, regulators, and the management of banks who are interested in banking sector development across countries.

The study investigates the fundamental importance of PRI quality in its effect on the banking sector and extends the largely US-focused literature to a broader international setting.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the incidence of target gearing behaviour in firms as well as the drivers of such behaviour.

The paper employs a triangulation approach across three methodological phases: a questionnaire survey, logistic regression modelling of firm data, and interviews with finance directors. The results are then discussed under the key themes of gearing optimality, valuation issues, external drivers, the finance life‐cycle, the impact of risk, and the relationship between gearing and corporate strategy.

The results reveal that the majority of firms engage in targeting, though targets are subject to fairly frequent revision as both external and internal drivers evolve. Important external drivers include macroeconomic variables and analysts' views, whereas important internal drivers include income gearing and profitability.

Given the range and variety of drivers, target gearing evidently represents a complex strategic decision for finance directors. The paper provides a benchmark perspective for finance directors when determining their firm's gearing strategy.

The innovation of the paper is the study of target gearing across three methods, the results of which are then triangulated to provide a deeper understanding of both the quantifiable and qualitative drivers of gearing. This provides a far broader insight into the real‐world determination of gearing strategy than a conventional empirical approach.

This paper aims to examine whether and how females on the board of directors affect US-listed companies’ merger and acquisition (M&A) decisions. Specifically, the paper concerns the impact of females in the boardroom on the likelihood and type of M&A deals (i.e. foreign vs domestic acquisitions and listed vs unlisted acquisitions).

Archival data of M&A deals using a sample of 17,899 firm-year observations of the US public companies from 2012 to 2018 are collected and examined using probit and logit models.

This paper offers three main results supporting the propositions of the behavioral consistency theory. First, female directors are negatively associated with the likelihood of making the acquisition. Second, female directors are positively associated with acquiring domestic rather than foreign targets. Third, female directors are positively associated with acquiring listed rather than unlisted targets.

The findings provide additional evidence-based insights into the debate about diversity on boards with the aim of informing policy and offering practical recommendations for the effective implementation of gender diversity on the boards of companies.

Overall, consistent with the premise of behavioral theory, the results expand the literature on gender diversity by augmenting the argument that females’ behavior in corporate policies is viewed as opposition to change and a tendency toward risk aversion and thus, influences companies’ strategic investment decisions, such as M&A.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight theoretical and clinical similarities between therapeutic communities (TCs) and group analysis (GA).

Literature review shows comparison of TC and group-analytic concepts with illustrative case material.

Findings reveal many similarities between TCs and GA, but also significant divergences, particularly in practice.

This paper provides theoretical basis for TC practice, and highlights the need for greater theorising of TC practice.

This paper highlights the importance of group-based treatment approaches in mental health.

This is the first paper to review the relevant literature and compare theory and practice in TCs and GA, highlighting their common roots in the Northfields Experiments in the Second World War.