Mao-Feng Kao, Lynn Hodgkinson and Aziz Jaafar
Using a data set of listed firms domiciled in Taiwan, this paper aims to empirically assess the effects of ownership structure and board of directors on firm value.
Abstract
Purpose
Using a data set of listed firms domiciled in Taiwan, this paper aims to empirically assess the effects of ownership structure and board of directors on firm value.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sample of Taiwanese listed firms from 1997 to 2015, this study uses a panel estimation to exploit both the cross-section and time–series nature of the data. Furthermore, two stage least squares (2SLS) regression model is used as robustness test to mitigate the endogeneity issue.
Findings
The main results show that the higher the proportion of independent directors, the smaller the board size, together with a two-tier board system and no chief executive officer duality, the stronger the firm’s performance. With respect to ownership structure, block-holders’ ownership, institutional ownership, foreign ownership and family ownership are all positively related to firm value.
Research limitations/implications
Although the Taiwanese corporate governance reform concerning the independent director system which is mandatory only for newly-listed companies is successful, the regulatory authority should require all listed companies to appoint independent directors to further enhance the Taiwanese corporate governance.
Originality/value
First, unlike most of the previous literature on Western developed countries, this study examines the effects of corporate governance mechanisms on firm performance in a newly industrialised country, Taiwan. Second, while a number of studies used a single indicator of firm performance, this study examines both accounting-based and market-based firm performance. Third, this study addresses the endogeneity issue between corporate governance factors and firm performance by using 2SLS estimation, and details the econometric tests for justifying the appropriateness of using 2SLS estimation.
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Mao-Feng Kao, Lynn Hodgkinson and Aziz Jaafar
Using a data set of Taiwanese listed firms from 2002 to 2015, this paper aims to examine the determinants to voluntarily appoint independent directors.
Abstract
Purpose
Using a data set of Taiwanese listed firms from 2002 to 2015, this paper aims to examine the determinants to voluntarily appoint independent directors.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses panel estimation to exploit both the cross-section and time-series nature of the data. Further, this paper uses Tobit regression, generalized linear model (GLM) in the additional analysis and the two-stage least squares to mitigate for a possible endogeneity issue.
Findings
The main findings show that Taiwanese firms with large board sizes tend to voluntarily appoint independent directors and firms that already have independent supervisors more willingly to accept additional independent directors onto the board. Furthermore, ownership concentration and institutional ownership are positively associated with the voluntary appointment of independent directors. On the contrary, firms controlled by family members are generally reluctant to voluntarily appoint independent directors.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are important for managers, shareholders, creditors and policymakers. In particular, when considering the determinants of the voluntary appointment of independent directors, the results indicate that independent supervisors, outside shareholders and institutional investors are significant factors in influencing effective internal and external corporate governance mechanisms. This research work focuses on the voluntary appointment of independent directors. It would be interesting to compare the effectiveness of voluntary appointments with a mandatory appointment within Taiwan and with other jurisdictions.
Originality/value
This study incrementally contributes to the corporate governance literature in several ways. First, this study extends the earlier research by using a more comprehensive data set of non-financial Taiwanese firms and using alternative methodologies to investigate the determinants of voluntary appointment of independent directors. Second, prior studies tend to neglect the possible issue of using a censored and fractional dependent variable, the proportion of independent directors, which might yield biased and inconsistent parameter estimates when using ordinary least squares regression estimation. Finally, this study addresses the relevant econometric issues by using the Tobit, GLM and the two-stage least squares for a possible endogeneity concern.
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Steve O’Callaghan, John Ashton and Lynn Hodgkinson
The purpose of this paper is to investigate two related questions. First, is earnings management behaviour in private firms related to managerial ownership and if so, what form…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate two related questions. First, is earnings management behaviour in private firms related to managerial ownership and if so, what form does the relationship take. Second, is there evidence of opportunistic earnings management behaviour in private firms.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses univariate and multivariate (regression) methodologies to examine the association between managerial ownership and earnings management in private firms. The study employs a data set of 1,223 large private UK firms.
Findings
Evidence is presented indicating opportunistic earnings management behaviour in private firms. Specifically, firms with low managerial ownership appear to engage in more earnings management when faced with poor performance. Further, when firms report income-increasing discretionary accruals, the magnitude of abnormal accruals varies non-linearly with managerial ownership.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited by availability of data on sample firm ownership. This study uses cross-sectional data due to these limitations. Further research could investigate the relationships between earnings management and classes of shareholders other than managers in private firms.
Practical implications
Policy implications of this work suggest that non-managing shareholders in private firms face considerable agency costs, in particular where managerial ownership is very low or very high.
Originality/value
Pervasiveness of earnings management in private firms compared to public firms is well documented in the literature. There is limited extant research on the relationship between ownership structure and earnings management in private firms. The novel aspect of this study is to present findings on the association between this behaviour, managerial ownership and firm performance in private firms.
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Jill Atkins, Warren Maroun, Barry Colin Atkins and Elisabetta Barone
The purpose of this paper is to explore a possible framework for extinction accounting which builds on but also extends significantly the existing GRI guidelines relating to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore a possible framework for extinction accounting which builds on but also extends significantly the existing GRI guidelines relating to species identified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List as under threat of extinction.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyses disclosures relating to rhinoceros conservation and protection produced by top South African-listed companies in order to assess the current state of “extinction accounting”. Following this analysis, the authors explore and discuss a potential framework for extinction accounting which may be used by companies to demonstrate their accountability for species and disclose the ways in which they are working alone, and in partnerships, to prevent species extinction.
Findings
Corporate disclosures relating to rhinoceros may be interpreted as emancipatory. The authors identify several disclosure themes dealing with rhinoceros in integrated and sustainability reports of large South African companies and on their websites. Contrary to initial expectations, there is evidence to suggest corporate awareness of the importance of addressing the risk of this species becoming extinct.
Research limitations/implications
The authors have relied on public corporate disclosures and would like to extend the work further to include interview data for a further paper.
Practical implications
An extinction accounting framework may be applied to corporate accounting and accountability for any species under threat of extinction. The framework may also be considered for use as a tool for institutional investors as well as NGO engagement and dialogue with stakeholder companies.
Social implications
The rhinoceros has, from the analysis, significant cultural, heritage, eco-tourism and intrinsic value. Developing and implementing an emancipatory extinction accounting framework to prevent extinction will have a substantial social and environmental impact.
Originality/value
This is the first attempt to the knowledge to explore accounting for extinction and a possible extinction accounting framework. It is also the first attempt to investigate accounting and accountability for the rhinoceros.
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Purpose – At the turn of the 21st century, popular claimsmakers made a series of claims about the benefits of volunteer work for youth: that volunteering would reduce youthful…
Abstract
Purpose – At the turn of the 21st century, popular claimsmakers made a series of claims about the benefits of volunteer work for youth: that volunteering would reduce youthful self-absorption with peer groups, introduce youth to people different from themselves, foster macro-level understandings of social problems, and connect youth to the community. This article examines youths’ experiences of volunteer work in order to determine which claims are realized and how.
Methodology/approach – I conducted in-depth interviews with 45 youth, aged 15–23, who engaged in volunteer work with a wide variety of organizations.
Findings – Youth did not always realize these claims and when they did, many did so through mechanisms different than those suggested by popular claimsmakers.
Research limitations/implications – Because this is an exploratory study which uses a purposive sample, the findings provide direction for future researchers to more fully investigate how youth realize the benefits of volunteering and under what conditions.
Practical implications – In order to make volunteering a valuable experience for as many youth as possible, volunteer coordinators need to be cautious of uncritically absorbing public claims.
Originality/value of paper – Youth speak for themselves about the value of volunteering and challenge popular claims made about youth and volunteerism.
Pooya Tabesh and Dusya M. Vera
The purpose of this paper is to describe how top management teams' expertise in comprehensive and intuitive decision-making contributes to effective improvisational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe how top management teams' expertise in comprehensive and intuitive decision-making contributes to effective improvisational decision-making in times of crisis. Also, improvisational decision-making, as a means for balancing or transcending the dualities of comprehensive and intuitive decision processes, enables the three strategic decision-making processes to coexist and contribute to decision-quality when in crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
After providing a general overview of comprehensive, intuitive and improvisational decision-making and introducing paradox theory, this paper offers a conceptual model of the link between improvisational decision-making and decision quality in crisis situations. Three boundary conditions are discussed: expertise in comprehensive decision-making, expertise in intuitive decision-making and the paradoxical balanced combination of comprehensive and intuitive decision-making. Two brief cases are included to illustrate the theory.
Findings
Although comprehensive and intuitive decision-making are rooted in distinct information processing approaches with different cognitive demands and at times contradictory logics, they can be combined in unique ways when senior executives improvise decisions in crisis situations.
Practical implications
Particularly in the contexts of crises, it is critical for managers to understand the value of improvisational decision-making and the balanced combination of decision-making tools available to them in order to make rapid and quality decisions. Potential action research interventions are suggested.
Originality/value
This paper offers an integrated model of decision-making, encompassing comprehensive, intuitive and improvisational processes and highlights the combinatory and synergistic nature of these approaches in a crisis.
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Native peoples living within their cultures find themselves the focus of increased attention and are renewing their own ties in a cultural renaissance. Non‐Natives are becoming…
Abstract
Native peoples living within their cultures find themselves the focus of increased attention and are renewing their own ties in a cultural renaissance. Non‐Natives are becoming more intrigued with both scholarly and popular interpretations of some aspects of Native cultures. Those Native Americans living outside the culture are trying, in varying degrees, to recover old ways, thus attempting to reverse generations of assimilation. It is with the latter group that this article is concerned: the non affiliated Native Americans who are intellectually and/or spiritually as well as physically removed from traditional teachings. What kinds of assistance can libraries provide to Native Americans wishing to reclaim their cultural legacy?
JUNE, from the enemy aerial view, has been a quiet month. Hitler, as was demonstrated on June 22nd, had turned his attention to Russia, and so more English libraries have not been…
Abstract
JUNE, from the enemy aerial view, has been a quiet month. Hitler, as was demonstrated on June 22nd, had turned his attention to Russia, and so more English libraries have not been added to his bag. The lull has given some of us a space in which to clear out debris and to get our damaged libraries more shipshape. In this, our new volume (Vol. xliv. No. 500), we glance rapidly back over a momentous year. It is difficult to realize that eleven months ago not a volume had been lost or a brick displaced in British libraries; that, in spite of the agony and triumph of Dunkirk, out attacks on Germany had been mainly of the paper kind; and that most, but by no means all, of our young librarians were still with us. The change has been great. True, the Battle of Britain, 1940, was won; but the night bomber introduced death and disaster unprecedented in this country, though well‐known in invaded lands. We went to bed at night hopeful and woke thankful, but not certain that there would be an awakening. Libraries suffered with other military objectives such as the small homes of suburban and country folk. We have been praised by our American brethren as heroic, and that is pleasant to hear, but we have not felt heroic; we have stood up to it because no other course is possible or thinkable. The problems of librarians in evacuation areas have been great; large numbers of their people migrated, and in some cases there were defence areas to which no visitor might go; falling revenues made existence almost impossible, and staffs were dismissed or transferred, the posts of librarians of years of service being endangered. Yet these sent out books for children in reception areas where, of their own kind, the problems were also great. Some libraries were overwhelmed by the demands made upon them, and although some towns (for example, Newton Abbot) have been prosperous beyond their experience as a result of the new settlers, the local authorities have had such “war economy” in their minds that they have been unwilling to do their obvious duty to libraries. This was, however, not universal. The year saw, unfortunately, the beginning of the new Roll of Honour for librarians, which in this case contains a few names of those killed in air raids over us; some, too, have been injured, although all, we believe, have now recovered. Active work has been done by many librarians for the Forces—some with a rather heavy loss of books. The Camps and Services Libraries movement, good as has been its limited activity, has not achieved much in the way of “libraries”. We have hopes, however. Everything is still, in most matters of the present and the future, in an undecided state—except the will to win through: that is universal and certain. The encouragement we receive from our American friends has been a heartening feature of a year of immense, and we believe hopeful, importance to men.