Fatimazahra Bendriouch, Imad Jabbouri, Harit Satt, Zineb Jariri and Mohamed M'hamdi
This paper explores the impact of tone complexity on the cost of debt in the USA.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the impact of tone complexity on the cost of debt in the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
A sampling from 692 publicly nonfinancial-traded companies in the USA is employed over the period between 2010 and 2018. Generalized methods of moments (GMM) model is implemented to examine the impact of tone complexity on the cost of debt and its implications upon creditors and users.
Findings
The findings show that high-tone complexity is associated with a greater cost of debt. The use of a more complex tone in a company's annual reports has been shown to influence creditors' perceptions of risk.
Originality/value
This research pursues innovation by examining how creditors can use the tone complexity of annual report to assess the level of information asymmetry and estimate the required rate of return accordingly.
Details
Keywords
Sara Dassouli, Virginia Bodolica, Harit Satt and Mohamed M'hamdi
This paper aims to examine the specific role that partnerships play in the relationship between adaptation strategy, international experience, and export performance of handicraft…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the specific role that partnerships play in the relationship between adaptation strategy, international experience, and export performance of handicraft firms in an emerging country setting. The authors' purpose is to identify the key factors that may contribute to the success of export activities of small handicraft companies in international markets.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on a non-probability sampling technique, the authors collected survey data from 410 handicraft companies located in Morocco. The authors' conceptual model, which draws on the network theory, was tested using covariance-based Structural Equation Modeling by means of AMOS 24 Software.
Findings
The results indicate that adaptation marketing strategy and partnerships impact positively the export performance of handicraft firms. Partnerships also play an intermediary role by partially (fully) mediating the relationship between adaptation strategy (international experience) and export performance.
Practical implications
This study may assist marketers and entrepreneurs in handicraft companies to better understand the causal relationship between adaptation strategy, marketing experience and export performance of entrepreneurs' firms. Managers in these companies should be aware of the importance that partnerships play in boosting the export performance through marketing practices and experience.
Originality/value
The authors' paper contributes to the scant literature on the adaptation marketing strategy and export performance and the intermediary role of partnerships in the specific context of handicraft businesses operating in North African emerging markets, namely Morocco.
Details
Keywords
Fatimazahra Bendriouch, Imad Jabbouri, Mohamed M'hamdi, Harit Satt, Sara Katona and Rhita Serir
This paper explores the factors that shape the complexity of company annual reports in the USA. Using a general-to-specific modeling approach, this study examines the determinants…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the factors that shape the complexity of company annual reports in the USA. Using a general-to-specific modeling approach, this study examines the determinants of annual reports' tone complexity.
Design/methodology/approach
Negative relationships were found between agency problems and tone; agency costs and readability of annual reports; profitability and tone; and ownership structure and tone complexity.
Findings
These relationships helped to confirm several of this study’s hypotheses, whereas positive associations were found between investment growth opportunities and tone complexity, which contradicts one of our initial hypotheses. Findings reveal that the more complex the language in an annual report is, the more difficult it is to strategically make a judgment or decision about the reported financial situation.
Originality/value
Analyzing these variables allows security analysts and investors to obtain important information, not available in the financial statements, which would enhance their understanding of the firm and improve their recommendations and investment decision-making process.
Details
Keywords
Salman Alzayani, Khaldoon Al-Roomi, Ahmed Jaradat, Ali M. Hamdi and Mohamed H. Shehata
Medical schools aspire to graduate doctors who are competent in interpreting, conducting and publishing scientific research. Hence, the purpose of the paper is explore the impact…
Abstract
Purpose
Medical schools aspire to graduate doctors who are competent in interpreting, conducting and publishing scientific research. Hence, the purpose of the paper is explore the impact of a structured compulsory community-oriented, project-based research program in the undergraduate medical curriculum on medical graduates’ future careers, publications and motivation for scientific research.
Design/methodology/approach
An online questionnaire was sent through the Alumni Association of the Arabian Gulf University (AGU) to medical graduates who have valid email addresses, seeking information on their scientific productivity along with demographic and current employment data. Responses were collated and analyzed using a standard statistical software package. The chi-square test and p-value were calculated. P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Findings
Completed forms were received from 91 medical graduates. In this sample, almost a quarter of the respondents have published a research paper out of their undergraduate research project, and about 50% have published at least one paper (as main or co-author) after graduation. Both demographic and medical specialty was not related to the doctor's perception of the benefits they have attained from the compulsory undergraduate research program. However, medical graduates who are at senior levels in their medical careers and those who are employed in secondary healthcare are significantly more likely to publish research papers.
Originality/value
The compulsory community-oriented, project-based research program in AGU has positively contributed to the research productivity of graduates, and it would be worthwhile to include such programs as an integral part of the undergraduate medical curriculum.
Details
Keywords
Imad Jabbouri, Maryem Naili, Rachid Jabbouri, Helmi Issa and Karim Bahoum
This paper investigates the financing preferences and practices of Senegalese entrepreneurial firms, with a particular focus on understanding the gaps between the two and how they…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the financing preferences and practices of Senegalese entrepreneurial firms, with a particular focus on understanding the gaps between the two and how they may contribute to financing constraints in developing economies. By juxtaposing the preferences of different financing options against their degree of usage, this study attempts to reveal the mismatch in demand and supply of entrepreneurial firms financing in Senegal.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured questionnaire was used to survey 524 entrepreneurial firms, and data was analyzed using various statistical methods.
Findings
The results indicate that the most preferred sources of financing for Senegalese entrepreneurial firms are self-financing and short-term bank loans. Short-term funding horizons are also much more preferred than their long-term counterparts. However, there is a mismatch between financing preferences and practices, particularly with regards to equity sources, which were found to be more preferred than used. The study argues that a combination of preferences, firm, and owner characteristics can explain the choice and frequency of usage of financing sources.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by contrasting preferences and practices, revealing gaps between theory and practice, and providing better insight into the real financing needs of entrepreneurial firms in developing economies. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the financing preferences of Senegalese entrepreneurial firms, making it an important contribution to the literature on entrepreneurial firms financing in developing economies.
Details
Keywords
Zeinab Hosseini, Mohammad Taghi Ghaneian, Mahin Ghafourzade and Abbasali Jafari Nodoushan
This paper aims to evaluate the bioremediation [chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color removal] of the effluent from the cardboard recycling industry in Yazd, central province of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the bioremediation [chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color removal] of the effluent from the cardboard recycling industry in Yazd, central province of Iran, using mixed fungal culture.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the effluent samples from the cardboard recycling industry were cultured on potato dextrose agar medium to isolate native fungal colonies. The grown colonies were then identified using morphological macroscopic and microscopic characteristics to choose the dominant fungi for bioremediations. The mixed cultures of Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium digitatum were finally used for bioremediation experiments of the cardboard recycling industry. A suspension containing 1 × 106 CFU/ml of fungal spores was prepared from each fungus, separately and their homogenous mixture. Sewage samples were prepared and sterilized and used at 25%, 50% and 90% dilutions and pH levels of 5, 7 and 8 for bioremediation tests using mixed fungal spores. Following that, 10 ml of the mixed fungal spores were inoculated into the samples for decolorization and COD removal and incubated for 10 days at 30°C. The amount of COD removal and decolorization were measured before incubation and after 3, 6 and 10 days of inoculation. In this research, the color was measured by American Dye Manufacturer Institute and COD by the closed reflux method. The results of the present study were analyzed using SPSS 21 statistical software and one-way ANOVA tests at p-value < 0.05.
Findings
The results of this research showed that the mean decolorization by mixed fungal culture over 10 days at pH levels of 5, 7 and 8 were 44.40%, 45.00% and 36.84%, respectively, and the mean COD removal efficiency was 71.59%, 73.54% and 16.55%, respectively. Moreover, the mean decolorization at dilutions of 25%, 50% and 90% were 45.00%, 31.93% and 30.53%, respectively, and the mean COD removal efficiency was 73.54%, 62.38% and 34.93%, respectively. Therefore, the maximal COD removal and decolorization efficiency was obtained at dilution of 25% and pH 7.
Originality/value
Given that limited studies have been conducted on bioremediation of the effluent from the cardboard recycling industry using fungal species, this research could provide useful information on the physicochemical properties of the effluent in this industry.
Details
Keywords
Shrawan Kumar Trivedi, Pradipta Patra, Amrinder Singh, Pijush Deka and Praveen Ranjan Srivastava
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted 222 countries across the globe, with millions of people losing their lives. The threat from the virus may be assessed from the fact that most…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted 222 countries across the globe, with millions of people losing their lives. The threat from the virus may be assessed from the fact that most countries across the world have been forced to order partial or complete shutdown of their economies for a period of time to contain the spread of the virus. The fallout of this action manifested in loss of livelihood, migration of the labor force and severe impact on mental health due to the long duration of confinement to homes or residences.
Design/methodology/approach
The current study identifies the focus areas of the research conducted on the COVID-19 pandemic. Abstracts of papers on the subject were collated from the SCOPUS database for the period December 2019 to June 2020. The collected sample data (after preprocessing) was analyzed using Topic Modeling with Latent Dirichlet Allocation.
Findings
Based on the research papers published within the mentioned timeframe, the study identifies the 10 most prominent topics that formed the area of interest for the COVID-19 pandemic research.
Originality/value
While similar studies exist, no other work has used topic modeling to comprehensively analyze the COVID-19 literature by considering diverse fields and domains.