Qiuping Yang, Huizhi Li, Yubo Zhai, Xiaofeng Li and Peizhi Zhang
To prepare a new type of composite for selective laser sintering 3D printing, the surface of Al2O3 nanoparticles was modified by the coupling agent…
Abstract
Purpose
To prepare a new type of composite for selective laser sintering 3D printing, the surface of Al2O3 nanoparticles was modified by the coupling agent (3-methacryloxypropyl)-trimethoxy silane (KH570) before coated with thermoplastic epoxy resin (TER).
Design/methodology/approach
Laser diffraction confirmed that the size distribution of prepared powder materials in this study ranged between 20 to 80 µm. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the loading of organic matter was below 5 per cent. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated that the silane coupling agent molecule bound strongly with the alumina. X-ray diffraction confirmed the prepared powder materials to be α-alumina. Through the angle of repose (AOR) test, the AOR = 18.435º was obtained, suggesting the high flowability of prepared powder materials. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation demonstrated that the shape of the prepared powder materials was sphere-like grains.
Findings
Molding properties of prepared powder materials were studied on the basis of particle size distribution, particle size, sphericity, crystal structure and the reaction mode of the TER. This prepared powder materials can be well applied to the production of epoxy resin-coated Al2O3 composite parts with high precision and good mechanical performance.
Originality/value
This composite can be well applied to the production of epoxy resin-coated Al2O3 composite parts with high precision and good mechanical performance.
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Rishi Kapoor Ronoowah and Boopen Seetanah
This study aims to focus on the direct, mediating and moderating effects of corporate governance (CG) and capital structure (CS) in their relationships with firm performance (FP).
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to focus on the direct, mediating and moderating effects of corporate governance (CG) and capital structure (CS) in their relationships with firm performance (FP).
Design/methodology/approach
Multivariate panel data regression techniques are employed to analyse the direct, mediating and moderating impacts of the CG and CS on FP of 38 listed Mauritian non-financial companies from 2009 to 2019.
Findings
This study shows that CG has a positive but insignificant influence on return on equity (ROE) and Tobin's Q. CS has a significant negative impact on both ROE and Tobin's Q and supports the pecking order theory (POT). The interaction of CG and CS influences FP, but the strength of the moderating effects depends on the performance measure being used. Both CS and CG have no mediation effects in their relationship with FP measured by ROE and Tobin's Q.
Practical implications
The results indicate that the combination of the high leverage ratio and good governance practices of companies can improve FP and increases investor confidence resulting in a positive reaction on their market share prices.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the CG and CS literature by introducing a more precise and comprehensive research approach and is the first to attempt to extend CG and CS in their associations with FP by incorporating both CG and CS as profound moderator and mediator variables simultaneously in the same study.
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Abdallah A.S. Fayad, Saleh F.A. Khatib, Alhamzah F. Abbas, Belal Ali Abdulraheem Ghaleb and Ali K.A. Mousa
This systematic literature review investigates the phenomenon of board multiple directorships and its implications for corporate governance and organisational performance.
Abstract
Purpose
This systematic literature review investigates the phenomenon of board multiple directorships and its implications for corporate governance and organisational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a systematic approach, which involves identifying and analysing relevant research papers on board multiple directorships. This study synthesises the latest research findings to gain insights into the determinants and consequences of multiple directorships. The sample literature was collected from the Scopus database from year 2000 till 2023.
Findings
The review reveals several key findings. Firstly, multiple directorships have both positive and negative implications for corporate governance. They can bring value by providing directors access to valuable information and resources from different companies, enhancing board functions and improving firm performance. However, there is a concern that overworked directors may not effectively fulfil their fiduciary responsibilities on any board, compromising their monitoring abilities.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by comprehensively reviewing multiple board directorships research and their impact on organisations. This study synthesises the latest research findings and offers valuable insights into the determinants and consequences of this practice. Also, this study highlights the need for effective corporate governance practices that balance multiple directorships’ benefits and potential drawbacks. The study also identifies research themes and suggests potential areas for future research, contributing to the advancement of understanding in board multiple directorships.
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Charilaos Mertzanis, Haitham Nobanee, Mohamed A.K. Basuony and Ehab K.A. Mohamed
This study aims to analyze the impact of corporate governance on firms’ external financing decisions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze the impact of corporate governance on firms’ external financing decisions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyzed a unique set of panel data comprising 2,425 nonfinancial firms whose shares are traded on stock exchanges in countries in the MENA region. The authors fitted an ordinary least squares model to estimate the regression coefficients. The authors performed a sensitivity analysis using alternative measures of the critical variables and an endogeneity analysis using instrumental variable methods with plausible external instruments.
Findings
The results revealed that corporate governance characteristics of firms are strongly associated with their degree of leverage. They also showed that macrofinancial conditions, financial regulations, corporate governance enforcement and social conditions mitigate the impact of corporate governance on firms’ financing decisions.
Research limitations/implications
A larger sample size will further improve the results; however, this is difficult and depends on the extent to which increasing disclosure practices allow more corporate information to reach international databases.
Practical implications
This study provides new evidence on the role of corporate governance on firms’ financing decisions and documents the essential mitigating role of institutions, alerting managers to consider them.
Originality/value
This study is a novel attempt. Based on information from different data sources, this study explored the predictive power of corporate governance, ownership structures and other firm-specific characteristics in explaining corporate leverage in MENA countries. Overall, the analysis provides new evidence of the association between corporate governance and capital structure in the MENA region, highlighting the critical role of institutions.
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Francisco Elder Escossio de Barros, Ruan Carlos dos Santos, Lidinei Eder Orso and Antonia Márcia Rodrigues Sousa
From the agency theory’s point of view, this paper aims to analyze corporate governance mechanisms about the characteristics of the companies quoted in the segments Bovespa Mais…
Abstract
Purpose
From the agency theory’s point of view, this paper aims to analyze corporate governance mechanisms about the characteristics of the companies quoted in the segments Bovespa Mais and Bovespa Mais 2 and their influence on the creation of value in preparation for the opening of the initial public offering (IPO).
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative approach was adopted to achieve the proposed objective using the panel data with fixed effects and secondary data collected on the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários website, using statistical software Stata® 13.0 for statistical tests. The population comprises non-financial companies belonging to the Bovespa Mais and Bovespa Mais Level 2 groups, as the survey sample took into account the period of adhesion of the companies, totaled in 15 companies, which cover the period from 2008 to 2019. The selected variables correspond to the ownership structure’s characteristics, then the board’s composition and the fiscal council as the body responsible for supervising the administrators’ acts.
Findings
The main results indicate that the number of independent members on the board of directors and the supervisory board’s participation positively influence market performance. However, it also reveals that the concentration of ownership brings fundraising for other companies’ acquisitions, risk reduction concerning information asymmetry between investing powers.
Research limitations/implications
The main results indicate that the number of independent members on the board of directors and the supervisory board’s participation positively influence market performance. Despite this, it also reveals that the concentration of ownership brings fundraising for other companies’ acquisitions, risk reduction concerning information asymmetry between investing powers.
Practical implications
This paper advances a comparative institutional perspective to explain capital market choice by firms making an IPO in a foreign market. This paper finds that internal governance characteristics (founder-chief executive officer, executive incentives and board independence) and external network characteristics (prestigious underwriters, degree of venture capitalist syndication and board interlocks) are significant predictors of foreign capital market choice by foreign IPO firms.
Social implications
While product market choices have been central to strategy formulation for firms in the past, financial markets’ integration makes capital markets an equally crucial strategic decision. This paper advances a comparative institutional perspective to explain capital market choice by firms making an IPO in a foreign market.
Originality/value
This situation generates value to shareholders and is perceived by the market and, ultimately, generates a direct relationship with the market performance of companies. While product market choices have been central to strategy formulation for firms in the past, financial markets’ integration makes capital markets an equally major strategic decision.
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Kehinde Peter Alabi, Ayoola Patrick Olalusi, John Isa, Kehinde Folake Jaiyeoba and Michael Mayokun Odewole
Fresh fruits and vegetables (FV) are crucial global food resources, but the presence of heat loads during harvest adversely impacts their shelf life. While freezing technology…
Abstract
Purpose
Fresh fruits and vegetables (FV) are crucial global food resources, but the presence of heat loads during harvest adversely impacts their shelf life. While freezing technology provides an effective means of removing heat loads, it is an energy-intensive process and may consequently prove too costly for practical business viability. The growing interest in utilizing magnetic field (MF) technology during the freezing of fresh FV enhances the freezing rate and rapidly removes the heat loads of products.
Design/methodology/approach
In the present study, pulsed magnetic field (PMF) pretreatment employing specific field strengths (9 T, 14 T and 20 T) was examined as a preliminary step before freezing mango and tomato and compared to the conventional freezing method (untreated) at − 18 °C.
Findings
PMF pretreatment prior to freezing demonstrated a noteworthy enhancement in freezing rate by around 10 and 12% when compared with the conventional (untreated) freezing, which exhibited freezing rates of −0.08 °C/min and −1.10 °C/min for mango and tomato, respectively. The PMF pretreatment (at 20 T) provided a higher freezing rate (at p = 0.05) than the conventional freezing method reduced heat loads amounting to 1.1 × 107 J/kg oC and 2.9 × 106 J/kg oC, significantly (at p = 0.05) from mango and tomato, respectively. These reductions in heat loads were approximately more than 5% of the calculated heat loads removed during conventional freezing.
Research limitations/implications
Mango and tomato samples were only tested; the results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test for other products for further studies.
Practical implications
The paper includes implications for the development of a rapid freezing technique, the development of “pulsed magnetic field” and for eliminating the problem associated with conventional (slow) freezing.
Originality/value
The study holds significance for the production of postharvest freezing technology, providing insightful information on the PMF-assisted freezing of cellular foods.
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Hai-xi Jiang and Nan-ping Jiang
A more accurate comprehension of data elements and the exploration of new laws governing contemporary data in both theoretical and practical domains…
Abstract
Purpose
A more accurate comprehension of data elements and the exploration of new laws governing contemporary data in both theoretical and practical domains constitute a significant research topic.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the perspective of evolutionary economics, this paper re-examines economic history and existing literature to study the following: changes in the “connotation of production factors” in economics caused by the evolution of production factors; the economic paradoxes formed by data in the context of social production processes and business models, which traditional theoretical frameworks fail to solve; the disruptive innovation of classical theory of value by multiple theories of value determination and the conflicts between the data market monopoly as well as the resulting distribution of value and the real economic society. The research indicates that contemporary advancements in data have catalyzed transformative innovation within the field of economics.
Findings
The research indicates that contemporary advancements in data have catalyzed disruptive innovation in the field of economics.
Originality/value
This paper, grounded in academic research, identifies four novel issues arising from contemporary data that cannot be adequately addressed within the confines of the classical economic theoretical framework.
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Xin Gong and Mun C. Tsang
Based on government data from 1993 to 2008, this chapter aims to compute and analyze the trends of inequity in interprovincial and regional per-student spending in China's…
Abstract
Based on government data from 1993 to 2008, this chapter aims to compute and analyze the trends of inequity in interprovincial and regional per-student spending in China's compulsory education, and to ascertain the potential impact of changes in education financing policies. Appropriate inequity measures (Gini and Theil index and Gini decomposition, among others) are employed to provide a systematic picture of the trends. Main findings include: (1) all inequity measures show large and overall increased disparities among provinces and among regions, between 1993 and 2008. (2) However, a slight drop of spending inequity is observed at the primary education level around 2002 and a larger reduction in 2005 and on. There are more turning points in the trend of lower-secondary per-student spending among provinces. These patterns are consistent across different inequity measures and spending indicators (per-student total spending, per-student recurrent spending, and per-student nonpersonnel spending). (3) The trend toward more balanced resource allocation around 2002 and 2005 could be the impact from the Reform of Tax and Administrative Charges and the New Mechanism for Financing Rural Compulsory Education. An increased share of budgetary expenditure in determining total spending suggests that equalizing financing policies have the potential to induce a significant reduction in spending inequity. These findings may help policy makers to better understand and alter the extent of spending inequity in compulsory education. This is an original empirical study that systematically derives the spending inequity trends over a long period in China's compulsory education.
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Guangzhen Wu, David A. Makin, Yongtao Li, Francis D. Boateng and Gassan Abess
The purpose of this paper is to examine the contours of police integrity among Chinese police officers. Specifically, this study explores how Chinese police evaluate integrity…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the contours of police integrity among Chinese police officers. Specifically, this study explores how Chinese police evaluate integrity based on official policy governing interactions, discipline governing infractions, views of seriousness, and willingness to inform when others engage in misconduct.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 353 police officers were surveyed representing those attending in-service training program at a Chinese police university in May 2015. Questionnaires containing 11 scenarios describing police misbehaviors were distributed to officers during classes.
Findings
There was a strong correlation between officers’ perceptions of rule-violation, misconduct seriousness, discipline, and willingness to report. Additionally, preliminary results suggest there exists a code of silence among Chinese officers, and that Chinese officers hold a lenient attitude toward the use of excessive force.
Research limitations/implications
This study utilizes a convenient sample, which restricts the generalizability of the results.
Practical implications
The results indicate the existence of code of silence among Chinese officers and their lenient attitude toward the use of excessive force.
Originality/value
Although there has been a growing body of research examining police integrity in both western democracies and transitional societies, China as the largest developing nation in the world and with a unique police system (falls somewhere between the centralized model and the integrated model) is understudied. This study addresses this gap in previous literature by exploring the contours of police integrity among Chinese police officers.
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Xingmiao Guan and Xingfang Qin
Data has become a factor of production. This occurs when history enters the era of big data, in which technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and blockchain…
Abstract
Purpose
Data has become a factor of production. This occurs when history enters the era of big data, in which technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and blockchain are used to collect, manipulate, mine and process data. Data is a special product of labor, a sub-derivative of other production factors.
Design/methodology/approach
The data factor has a dual attribute: being physical (technical) and social. The social attribute of the data factor can not only materialize the technical attribute but also amplify it. In other words, the data has a multiplication effect on the allocation efficiency of other production factors. The social attribute of the data is brought out via the technical attribute as the medium. From a technical perspective, this medium is strongly adhesive, and after being bonded with other factors of production, it will only lead to a physical reaction and not change the nature of other factors.
Findings
However, once these two attributes interact with each other, especially when data is combined with capital, the most adhesive factor in the market economy, a series of new social relations will then be produced based on the technical attribute, resulting in significant adjustments in social relations, involving both positive and negative externalities.
Originality/value
Therefore, to get a scientific understanding of the dual attribute and its interaction effects on the data factor, it is necessary to take the following steps. We should promote institutional design that amplifies the positive externality, with a focus on facilitating public data sharing and improving the value of commercial data development. Also, we need to strengthen institutional arrangements that prevent and control the negative externality by emphasizing data supervision based on data types and levels as well as the rule of law.