N.M. Abdel Monem, N.M. Al‐Mansi and M.S. El‐Nawasra
The removal of Ismative SHR blue (reactive dye) using a very cheap cement factory waste called by‐pass kiln dust has been investigated in batch mode. The effects of initial dye…
Abstract
The removal of Ismative SHR blue (reactive dye) using a very cheap cement factory waste called by‐pass kiln dust has been investigated in batch mode. The effects of initial dye solution concentration, particle size, agitation rate, amount of by‐pass kiln dust, and dye solution temperature were studied. A 95.5 per cent removal was achieved. Some pretreatment of by‐pass kiln dust, such as washing by distilled water or rinsing with HCL solution, has been done. By using the washed by‐pass kiln dust the values of total dissolved solids, alkalinity, and efficiency of colour removal were reduced. A very rapid irreversible chemical reaction may occur in addition to the adsorption process. Ferric chloride was used as a coagulant after settling to complete the separation of the dust from the clear solution. A removal of 96 per cent from the initial colour of the industrial coloured wastewater was achieved.
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S.S. Younis, N.M. Al Mansi and S.H. Fouad
The objective of this work is studying the use of chemicals to enhance primary treatment in municipal wastewater treatment plants, thereby reducing the cost of the secondary…
Abstract
The objective of this work is studying the use of chemicals to enhance primary treatment in municipal wastewater treatment plants, thereby reducing the cost of the secondary treatment stage. Jar tests using chemicals, polymers and sea water have been conducted to determine the best performing chemicals, alone and in combinations. The process performance parameters studied were pH, type and dosage of coagulant, mixing intensity, detention time, settling time and addition of coagulant aid. The efficiency of the process has been measured as percentage removals in COD, TSS, turbidity, settleable matter and removals of heavy metals. The results proved the improvement of removal efficiencies.
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Pallab Kumar Biswas, Mansi Mansi and Rakesh Pandey
The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of board gender composition, board independence and the existence of a board sustainability committee on the corporate social…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of board gender composition, board independence and the existence of a board sustainability committee on the corporate social and environmental performance of Australian firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The dataset comprises 2,188 Australian Securities Exchange listed firm-year observations (407 individual firms) from 2004 to 2015. The ASSET4 environmental, social and governance database is used to measure corporate social and environmental performance and their sub-dimensions.
Findings
Our results show that firms with higher board gender composition, greater board independence and sustainability committees tend to have better social and environmental performance. This paper also provides empirical evidence of the positive association of these variables on the sub-dimensions of social and environmental performance. The results are robust after controlling for self-selection and various forms of endogeneity.
Originality/value
This is the first study that examines the relationship between sustainability committees and corporate social and environmental performance in the context of Australia. This study also overcomes the relatively small sample size and shorter study period issues of similar studies in Australia that provide inconclusive evidence on the relationship between each of board gender composition, board independence and corporate social and environmental performance.
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Haoyu Gao, Ruixiang Jiang, Junbo Wang and Xiaoguang Yang
This chapter investigates the cost of public debt for firms using a comprehensive sample consisting of 17,368 industrial bond issues from 1970 to 2011. The empirical evidence…
Abstract
This chapter investigates the cost of public debt for firms using a comprehensive sample consisting of 17,368 industrial bond issues from 1970 to 2011. The empirical evidence shows that yield spreads for seasoned bond issues are significantly lower than those for initial bond issues. This seasoning effect is robust across different sample periods, subsamples, and model specifications. On average, the yield spreads for seasoned bond issues are around 50 bps lower than those for initial bond issues. This difference cannot be explained by other bond and firm characteristics. The seasoning effect is more pronounced for firms with higher levels of uncertainty, lower information disclosure quality, and longer time intervals between the first and subsequent issues. Our empirical findings provide supportive evidence for the extant theories that aim to rationalize the information role in determining the cost of capital.
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Aakanksha Kataria, Kumari Rashmi and Mansi Rastogi
This study aims to investigate how workplace resourcefulness (positive psychological climate), as well as personal resources (psychological capital [PsyCap]), influence work…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how workplace resourcefulness (positive psychological climate), as well as personal resources (psychological capital [PsyCap]), influence work engagement to promote change-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors (Ch-OCBs) among Indian information technology (IT) personnel.
Design/methodology/approach
The social exchange theory and job demands-resources model are used to provide rationale for proposing a comprehensive mechanism including antecedents, moderators as well as mediators enabling Ch-OCBs among IT personnel. Structured questionnaires were administered targeting IT professionals and their supervisors to test the proposed relationships. The obtained data from 30 supervisors and 240 subordinates were tested using confirmatory factor analysis, SEM and moderated path analysis technique.
Findings
Psychological climate, PsyCap and work engagement positively relate to Ch-OCBs; PsyCap moderated the relationship between psychological climate and work engagement. Specifically, the relationship between psychological climate and work engagement has come out stronger for employees with high PsyCap. Work engagement fully mediated the relationship between psychological climate and Ch-OCBs.
Practical implications
The findings can be critical in promoting voluntary change-focused behaviors among Indian IT personnel, for Indian and foreign (non-Indian) multi-national corporations that are interested in reaping profits by availing change-driven extra-role services of their efficient and the most preferred Indian IT employees of the world.
Originality/value
This study addresses to the call for more research on change-focused promotive part of OCB and advances the literature by providing evidence on the proposed set of associations from fast-pacing Indian economy.
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This study has three objectives: (i) to examine whether using a Big 4 auditor reduces loan interest rates; (ii) to analyze how loan interest rates differ between smaller firms…
Abstract
Purpose
This study has three objectives: (i) to examine whether using a Big 4 auditor reduces loan interest rates; (ii) to analyze how loan interest rates differ between smaller firms, which face more acute asymmetric information problems, and larger firms; and (iii) to investigate whether the negative relationship between Big 4 auditors and loan interest rates is a function of client size.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample comprises all publicly traded nonfinancial companies listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange from 2007 to 2020. Pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) regression tests the hypothesized relationship between the dependent and independent variables.
Findings
The study offers three notable findings. First, borrowers audited by Big 4 auditors receive significantly lower interest rates than those audited by non-Big 4 auditors. Second, banks offer lower interest rates to larger firms (i.e. firms with fewer informational problems) than to smaller ones. Third, no conclusive evidence exists that the beneficial effects of Big 4 auditors (in terms of reduced interest rates) differ significantly between larger and smaller firms. This finding is attributable to the idea that Big 4 auditors do not report more favorably for larger clients or more conservatively for smaller clients. The results remain robust, even after addressing the endogeneity arising from auditor self-selection bias, which is validated by the results of two econometric tests: Heckman’s two-stage procedure and propensity score matching.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to examine the relationship between auditor size and bank loan contracting in Saudi Arabia.
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Haoyu Gao, Ruixiang Jiang, Chunchi Wu and Xiaoguang Yang
This chapter presents evidence of persistence in pricing new corporate bond issues. Both transition matrix and regression analyses show that cross-sectional differences in the…
Abstract
This chapter presents evidence of persistence in pricing new corporate bond issues. Both transition matrix and regression analyses show that cross-sectional differences in the yields of initial public bond offerings across issuers persist over time, and the persistence effect is stronger for firms with no rating changes, less frequent bond issuance, and higher information asymmetry. Our findings support the hypothesis of the “ride on past” behavior and confirm the value of information production accumulated from the past bond issuances for the pricing of newly issued bonds.
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Li (Lily) Zheng Brooks, Susan Gill, Bernard Wong-On-Wing and Michael D. Yu
This study aims to examine the moderating effect of audit firm tenure on the association between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm value. Prior studies provide mixed…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the moderating effect of audit firm tenure on the association between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm value. Prior studies provide mixed results on this association, which may be due to differing theoretical expectations related to CSR and firm value. It is also possible that external stakeholders are unable to differentiate between positive and negative CSR investments, as CSR reports are generally not assured by independent third parties. Thus, the authors propose that audit firm tenure may be used by external stakeholders to evaluate CSR performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use an ordinary least squares regression to examine the moderating effect of audit firm tenure on the relation between CSR and firm value after controlling for other determinants of firm value and various internal and external governance mechanisms documented in the literature. The sample consists of 15,707 firm-year observations from US firms during the sample period of 2000 to 2012. The authors measure CSR quality using rating scores from MSCI ESG STATS (formerly the KLD database), audit firm tenure as the number of years the incumbent auditor has served the client and firm value using Tobin’s Q.
Findings
The results indicate that CSR is positively associated with firm value when audit firm tenure is long but not when tenure is short. The results are robust to alternative measures of firm value, CSR performance scores, and individual CSR dimensions. The evidence supports the argument against mandatory audit firm rotation in the USA.
Research limitations/implications
Future studies could examine a similar issue in alternative settings and/or look at cross-sectional variations among firms on the association between CSR and firm value by other auditor traits such as auditor industry specialization and big-name reputation. Additionally, as auditor alone is unable to ensure the quality of management disclosures and their accountability, future studies could examine the moderating effect of internal and other external governance mechanisms on the association between CSR and firm value, exploring when the signaling effect of auditor tenure on CSR reporting quality and its effect on firm value is most salient.
Practical implications
The findings are important to regulators and investors. The authors provide evidence that longer audit tenure serves as a signaling device for external investors with regard to the quality of a firm’s CSR performance. Hence, the study facilitates regulators’ cost-benefit analysis related to mandating audit firm rotation. The evidence suggests that mandating a term limit on auditor tenure may have the unintended consequence of eliminating a signaling effect of auditor tenure on the quality of CSR disclosures under information asymmetry. This supports the Public Company Oversight Board’s decision to forgo the requirement of mandatory audit firm rotation in the USA.
Originality/value
Prior literature presents mixed findings on the association between CSR performance and firm value based on a variety of underlying theories (economic, stakeholder and contingency theory). Literature on mandatory auditor rotation has concentrated on the auditor tenure effect on perceived and actual audit quality as reflected in earnings quality. Relying on agency theory, this study posits that auditor tenure serves as a signal for the quality of CSR activities in the absence of CSR assurance reporting as CSR quality can be difficult to evaluate. The authors provide evidence that audit tenure moderates the association between CSR activities and firm value and longer audit tenure makes it more likely that the CSR activities are associated with increased firm value.
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Ralph Adler, Mansi Mansi, Rakesh Pandey and Carolyn Stringer
The purpose of this paper is to explore the biodiversity reporting practices and trends of the top 50 Australian mining companies before and after the United Nations (UN) declared…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the biodiversity reporting practices and trends of the top 50 Australian mining companies before and after the United Nations (UN) declared the period 2011-2020 as the “Decade on Biodiversity”.
Design/methodology/approach
Using content analysis and interviews, this study compares the extent and type of biodiversity disclosures made by the Australian Stock Exchange’s top 50 metals and mining companies both before and after the UN’s “Decade on Biodiversity” declaration in 2010.
Findings
A significant increase in the amount of biodiversity reporting is observed between the 2010 fiscal year preceding the UN’s declaration and the 2012 and 2013 fiscal years following the declaration. The findings reveal, however, that the extent of biodiversity reporting is quite variable, with some companies showing substantial increases in their biodiversity reporting and others showing modest or no increases. In particular, the larger companies in the sample showed a statistically significant increase in their disclosures on biodiversity in 2013 compared with 2010, while the increase in biodiversity disclosures by smaller companies was not significant. While interviewees spoke about their companies being more open and transparent, the biodiversity information that is being reported would not enable external parties to assess the company’s biodiversity performance.
Research limitations/implications
To minimise an organisation’s use of biodiversity reporting as an impression management tool, it is suggested that biodiversity reporting should be more impact based and organisations should provide a report of their activities and their direct and tangible impacts on short-term and long-term biodiversity in and around their operating sites. A possible limitation of the present study pertains to its focus on companies’ voluntary disclosures made in their annual reports and sustainability reports, as opposed to other possible formal or even informal disclosure mediums.
Social implications
Australia is one of 17 mega-diverse wildlife countries in the world. Finding ways to support the country’s biodiversity framework and strategy are crucial to this continued status. Due to the mining industry’s significant impact on Australia’s biodiversity, a strong need exists for biodiversity reporting by this industry. Furthermore, this reporting should be provided on a site-by-site basis. At present, the reporting aggregation typically conducted by mining companies produces obscure information that is neither useful for stakeholders who are impacted by the mining companies’ activities nor for policymakers who are vested with responsibility for protecting and sustaining the world’s biodiversity.
Originality/value
This study examines the biodiversity reporting and discourse practices of mining companies in Australia and develops a 50-item biodiversity reporting index to measure the biodiversity reporting practices.
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Mansi Gupta and Rakesh Mohan Joshi
This study aims to provide a structured and comprehensive synthesis of studies of the art infusion phenomenon, which describes the influence of art on consumers’ perception and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to provide a structured and comprehensive synthesis of studies of the art infusion phenomenon, which describes the influence of art on consumers’ perception and evaluation of a product with which that art is associated. Further, this study aims to identify the issues in the literature and suggest future research directions.
Design/methodology/approach
Publications relevant to the art infusion phenomenon until 2021 were identified through a systematic literature review. Subsequently, the 35 retrieved articles that met the selection criteria were evaluated using descriptive and content analyses.
Findings
This literature review brings to light the origin, significance, evolution and development of the art infusion phenomenon. This study highlights the catalogue of drivers of this phenomenon and illuminates the interrelationships among the factors through a conceptual model using the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) paradigm.
Research limitations/implications
This study adds to the art infusion literature by synthesizing extant studies and presenting a comprehensive overview of the subject, thereby motivating its prorogation and becoming a single point of reference for scholars.
Originality/value
The art infusion phenomenon has become a dominant theoretical pillar in the fields of arts and branding. However, little effort has been made to systematically review research on the phenomenon and consolidate its findings. To address this gap, this study first identifies and categorizes the factors that influence the art infusion phenomenon using the SOR paradigm. This study then creates a conceptual model that elucidates the interrelationships among the key elements of the phenomenon.