Muhammad Farooque, Abraham Zhang and Yanping Liu
This paper aims to identify and systematically analyze the causal-effect relationships among barriers to circular food supply chains in China.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify and systematically analyze the causal-effect relationships among barriers to circular food supply chains in China.
Design/methodology/approach
Grounded in multiple organizational theories, this paper develops a theoretical framework for identifying relevant barriers to integrating circular economy philosophy in food supply chain management. The study uses 105 responses from Chinese food supply chain stakeholders including food processors, sales and distribution channels, consumers and government officials. It applies a fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method to examine the causal-effect relationships among the identified barriers.
Findings
Overall, the results suggest two key cause barriers: first, weak environmental regulations and enforcement, and second, lack of market preference/pressure. Meanwhile, lack of collaboration/support from supply chain actors is the most prominent barrier. The key cause and prominent barriers are also identified for each of the supply chain stakeholder involved.
Research implications
The study offers practical insights for overcoming barriers to integrating circular economy philosophy in the management of supply chains in the Chinese food sector, as well as in other contexts where similar challenges are faced. It also sheds light on which organizational theories are most suitable for guiding similar studies.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first barrier study on circular food supply chains. The use of multiple organizational theories for the development of the theoretical framework is unique in barrier studies. The study offers insights from multiple stakeholders in the Chinese food supply chains.
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Ummer Farooque, Muhammad Usman Awan and Muhammad Shafiq
The purpose of this study is to develop a scale for measuring housing quality in the context of Pakistan.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop a scale for measuring housing quality in the context of Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach
The inductive and deductive approaches for item generation have been combined, and items have been purified using multistage expert review. Data was collected from a sizeable purposive sample of 445 respondents, and exploratory and confirmatory factor approaches used for assessing psychometric properties of the scale.
Findings
The result is a 21-item scale covering five dimensions, namely, Design and Construction Quality, Neighborhood Quality, Adequacy of Space, Quality of Institutional Services and Proximity of Basic Amenities.
Originality/value
This study contributes to housing quality literature by deepening our understanding of the concept of housing quality in the context of Pakistan, the world’s fifth most populous country. The findings of the study have important implications for both theory and practice.
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Rami Ibrahim A. Salem, Ernest Ezeani, Ali M. Gerged, Muhammad Usman and Rateb Mohammmad Alqatamin
This study aims to examine the influence of the quality of voluntary disclosure (QVD) on earnings management (EM) amongst a sample of commercial banks in the Middle East and North…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the influence of the quality of voluntary disclosure (QVD) on earnings management (EM) amongst a sample of commercial banks in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sample of 1,060 bank-year observations for the period 2006–2015, this paper developed a three-dimensional framework to measure the QVD, which considers the quantity, spread and usefulness of the information. Furthermore, this study examines the QVD-EM nexus using an ordinary least squares regression model. This technique is supplemented with conducting an instrumental variable regression model and a two-stage least squares model to overcome the potential occurrence of endogeneity problems.
Findings
The findings suggest that QVD is negatively attributed to EM in the context of MENA banks. The findings also confirm that the quality of financial reporting is enhanced by QVD dimensions that were considered in the framework, leading banks to less engagement in EM practices. In contrast, the influence of the quantity dimension (level) of the disclosed information has an insignificant impact on EM, while the spread and usefulness dimensions of VD are negatively and significantly associated with EM in the region.
Research limitations/implications
Although the results are robust to various measurements and to the possible occurrence of endogeneity problems, there are a few limitations should be acknowledged, which provides opportunities for future research. For example, the sample size is relatively small due to data accessibility issues. Likewise, the findings of the research might not be appropriate for non-financial sectors. These limitations provide a good opportunity for future studies to expand on the research by covering other developing economies and, thereby, enriching the understanding offered by this study.
Practical implications
This study offers several implications for bank managers, academics and policymakers. Firstly, it may help managers to appreciate the function and the importance of QVD in mitigating EM. Secondly, for academics, the study provides suggestive evidence on the impact of QVD on EM; however, future research may need to consider the role of morality and ethical behaviour across different environments in reducing excessive risk-taking and constraining earnings manipulation. Finally, it provides insights for policymakers and regulators to develop a framework or guidance that can help banks in providing high-QVD in the context of developing economies.
Originality/value
The study distinctively develops an innovative measurement for QVD using a new multi-dimensional model. This paper also bring new evidence on QVD complexity and its impact on EM practice from an under-researched developing context, namely, the MENA region.
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Md. Ramjan Ali, Sharfuddin Ahmed Khan, Yasanur Kayikci and Muhammad Shujaat Mubarik
Blockchain technology is one of the major contributors to supply chain sustainability because of its inherent features. However, its adoption rate is relatively low due to reasons…
Abstract
Purpose
Blockchain technology is one of the major contributors to supply chain sustainability because of its inherent features. However, its adoption rate is relatively low due to reasons such as the diverse barriers impeding blockchain adoption. The purpose of this study is to identify blockchain adoption barriers in sustainable supply chain and uncovers their interrelationships.
Design/methodology/approach
A three-phase framework that combines machine learning (ML) classifiers, BORUTA feature selection algorithm, and Grey-DEMATEL method. From the literature review, 26 potential barriers were identified and evaluated through the performance of ML models with accuracy and f-score.
Findings
The findings reveal that feature selection algorithm detected 15 prominent barriers, and random forest (RF) classifier performed with the highest accuracy and f-score. Moreover, the performance of the RF increased by 2.38% accuracy and 2.19% f-score after removing irrelevant barriers, confirming the validity of feature selection algorithm. An RF classifier ranked the prominent barriers and according to ranking, financial constraints, immaturity, security, knowledge and expertise, and cultural differences resided at the top of the list. Furthermore, a Grey-DEMATEL method is employed to expose interrelationships between prominent barriers and to provide an overview of the cause-and-effect group.
Practical implications
The outcome of this study can help industry practitioners develop new strategies and plans for blockchain adoption in sustainable supply chains.
Originality/value
The research on the adoption of blockchain technology in sustainable supply chains is still evolving. This study contributes to the ongoing debate by exploring how practitioners and decision-makers adopt blockchain technology, developing strategies and plans in the process.
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Muhammad Nurul Houqe, Solomon Opare and Muhammad Kaleem Zahir-Ul-Hassan
The purpose of this study is to examine the association between carbon emissions and earnings management (EM). This study also considers the effect of female CEOs on the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the association between carbon emissions and earnings management (EM). This study also considers the effect of female CEOs on the association between carbon emissions and EM.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses the carbon disclosure project (CDP) for carbon emissions data, the Compustat database for financial information and the ExecuComp database for female CEOs. The empirical sample of this study consists of 1,692 firm-year observations in the USA that voluntarily participated in the CDP survey from 2007 to 2015. Regression analysis and robustness tests are conducted for this study and both accrual and real EM are considered.
Findings
This study provides evidence that firms with female CEOs who voluntarily disclose their carbon emissions information engage in less real EM. Thus, the presence of female CEOs moderates the association between carbon emissions and EM. This study/paper also finds a positive association between carbon emissions and real EM, although there is an insignificant association between carbon emissions and accruals EM.
Practical implications
The association between carbon emissions and EM has important implications for investors, regulators and policymakers. This study suggests that policymakers should improve the conditions that promote inclusion of females in the top management positions to constrain EM.
Originality/value
This study focuses on the USA, which is one of the major contributors to carbon emissions in the world. The presence of female CEOs moderates the association between carbon emissions and EM and firms with female CEOs show a greater impact on EM.
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This paper aims to meta-analyze the results of the prior studies related to the relationship of human capital and financial performance in Islamic banking.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to meta-analyze the results of the prior studies related to the relationship of human capital and financial performance in Islamic banking.
Design/methodology/approach
To examine the relationship between human capital and financial of Islamic banks, 23 empirical studies having sample of 15,607 are considered for the meta-analysis. Moreover, different measures related to financial performance including return on assets (ROA), return of equity (ROE) and Tobin’s Q have been taken as moderating for further subgroup analysis.
Findings
The results of meta-analysis reveal a positive correlation between human capital and financial performance with an effect size of 0.268. The subgroup analyses showed significant positive associations of human capital with ROA and ROE, insignificant with Tobin’s Q.
Originality/value
This study suggests Islamic banking should prioritize human capital development, maintain consistency and adopt a long-term perspective. Future research should consider context-specific factors and harmonize human capital and financial performance measurements for consensus.
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Muhammad Farooq, Asad Afzal Humayon, Muhammad Imran Khan and Sarmad Ali
The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of corporate governance proxies by ownership structure on financial constraints for a sample of 215 non-financial Pakistan…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of corporate governance proxies by ownership structure on financial constraints for a sample of 215 non-financial Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) listed firms between 2010 and 2018.
Design/methodology/approach
The dynamic generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator is used to determine the influence of ownership structure on financial constraints. The ownership structure of sample enterprises is measured using seven variables: managerial, family, institutional, foreign, associated, presence of block holder, and concentrated ownership, while financial limitations are determined using the KZ Index. The WW Index is used to assess the robustness of the results. In addition, for robustness, we also used OLS and FE.
Findings
Based on the system GMM results, it was discovered that firm ownership structure has a significant impact on the likelihood of financial constraints. In the case of Pakistan, the results show that institutional ownership, foreign ownership, and the presence of a block holder in the ownership structure have a significant negative impact on financial constraints, whereas family ownership and ownership concentration have a significant positive impact. This finding remains true when financial constraints are measured using the WW Index.
Practical implications
The findings of the study provide business managers and investors with more information regarding the relationship between corporate governance quality and the degree of financial constraint in Pakistani firms. Furthermore, this study contributes new information from emerging nations like Pakistan to the existing literature, which will help regulatory bodies and policymakers build long-term corporate governance solutions to manage financial constraints. It is well established that improving the quality of corporate governance practices improves capital market efficiency and lowers the likelihood of financial constraints.
Originality/value
The study adds to the body of existing work on corporate governance and the possibility of financial constraints, with a focus on Pakistan. The findings show that when projecting company financial constraints, regulators should pay special attention to the quality of corporate governance, specifically ownership structure.
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Muhammad Safdar Sial, Zheng Chunmei and Nguyen Vinh Khuong
This study aims to explore the possibility of a two-way relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and earnings management (accruals and real EM) with the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the possibility of a two-way relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and earnings management (accruals and real EM) with the moderating role of female and independent directors.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use STATA to test the generalized method of moments on a sample of Chinese listed firms data over the period 2009-2015. The unbalanced sample obtained 3,481 observations from China stock market and accounting research database and CSR rating provided by Rankins.
Findings
The results indicate a significant negative relationship between two-way CSR and accrual-based EM. Moreover, female and independent directors moderate the two-way relationship between CSR and EM.
Research limitations/implications
The present study does not include all financial, insurance and investment firms to impact on CSR and EM. Further research might consist of family ownership to enhance the evidence for an emerging market.
Originality/value
This study primarily contributes to the literature on CSR, female and independent directors, and EM by providing evidence for the moderating role of female and independent directors on the two-way association between CSR and EM.