The purpose of the study is to investigate whether the relationship between financial development/investor protection and corporate commitment to sustainability is related to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to investigate whether the relationship between financial development/investor protection and corporate commitment to sustainability is related to social contagion, neighborhood effect, and community effect.
Design/methodology/approach
The study applies correlation analysis, difference tests, and regression model to a sample comprised of 369 large firms listed on FTSE Global 500 covering 11 industries, located in 31 countries. This paper examines three country‐level variables, financial development index, shareholder rights index, and strength of investor protection, and five corporate commitment to sustainability measures, Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index, Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions (direct, electricity indirect, and other indirect GHG emissions), and the corresponding carbon intensity.
Findings
The results support the view that the relationship between financial development/investor protection and corporate commitment to sustainability is associated with social contagion, neighborhood effect, and community effect. Companies are more willing to commit to carbon disclosure for countries with higher financial development. Corporate commitment to sustainability is lower if neighbor countries' financial development or shareholder rights are high. Similarly, companies place less strategic importance on climate change issues if their community countries protect investors better, notwithstanding their relatively low level of other indirect GHG emissions.
Research limitations/implications
Future research may build on this research by supplementing the current data with more variables such as domestic financial sector liberalization or measures, such as business environment, financial stability, and size, depth, and access. The negative relationship between commitment to sustainability and investor rights suggests that investor rights and commitment to sustainability are singing different tunes. Corporate commitment to sustainability does not keep pace with investor rights especially for countries with better shareholder rights or investor protection.
Originality/value
This study provides a new perspective on the relationship between financial development/investor protection and commitment to sustainability. This study contributes to the existing literature by using five measures of corporate commitment to sustainability based on firm‐specific data using a sample of the FTSE Global 500. This paper provides a better understanding of the relationship between country‐level characteristics and commitment to sustainability in an environment where global integration is relatively high.
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Wajde Baiod, Janet Light and Mostaq M. Hussain
As it is known, the accounting information system (AIS) plays a significant role in the business ecosystem by recording and processing financial and accounting data and reporting…
Abstract
As it is known, the accounting information system (AIS) plays a significant role in the business ecosystem by recording and processing financial and accounting data and reporting the produced information to all relevant parties for decision-making. However, its used methods and systems, including double-entry bookkeeping and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, have limitations, especially in terms of trust and reliability concerns for stakeholders and the possible scope for records manipulation and fraud. The application of blockchain technology is believed to enhance the reliability of the AIS and addresses many of its current limitations. Blockchain can offer numerous benefits if used to manage AIS functions through enhanced trust, reliability, and transparency, increased efficiency, reduced costs and fraud, improved accounting information quality and real-time accounting. Nevertheless, the adoption and implementation of blockchain in the AIS are associated with several technical and nontechnical challenges which are not easy to address and could limit the wide technology adoption in the immediate future. Considering that a full understanding of the benefits and challenges of adopting blockchain in the AIS still needs more clarification, this chapter examines blockchain technology and its implications for the AIS. It reviews blockchain characteristics and its benefits to the AIS, discusses its possible integration into the AIS, outlines adoption and implementation challenges, and suggests critical avenues for future research.
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Jurui Zhang, Shan Yu, Raymond Liu, Guang-Xin Xie and Leon Zurawicki
This paper aims to explore factors contributing to music popularity using machine learning approaches.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore factors contributing to music popularity using machine learning approaches.
Design/methodology/approach
A dataset comprising 204,853 songs from Spotify was used for analysis. The popularity of a song was predicted using predictive machine learning models, with the results showing the superiority of the random forest model across key performance metrics.
Findings
The analysis identifies crucial genre and audio features influencing music popularity. Additionally, genre specific analysis reveals that the impact of music features on music popularity varies across different genres.
Practical implications
The findings offer valuable insights for music artists, digital marketers and music platform researchers to understand and focus on the most impactful music features that drive the success of digital music, to devise more targeted marketing strategies and tactics based on popularity predictions, and more effectively capitalize on popular songs in this digital streaming age.
Originality/value
While previous research has explored different factors that may contribute to the popularity of music, this study makes a pioneering effort as the first to consider the intricate interplay between genre and audio features in predicting digital music popularity.
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Abdurra’uf M. Gora, Jayaprakash Jaganathan, M.P. Anwar and H.Y. Leung
Advanced fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have been increasingly used over the past two decades for strengthening, upgrading and restoring degraded civil engineering…
Abstract
Purpose
Advanced fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have been increasingly used over the past two decades for strengthening, upgrading and restoring degraded civil engineering infrastructure. Substantial experimental investigations have been conducted in recent years to understand the compressive behaviour of FRP-confined concrete columns. A considerable number of confinement models to predict the compressive behaviour of FRP-strengthened concrete columns have been developed from the results of these experimental investigations. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of experimental investigations and theoretical models of circular and non-circular concrete columns confined with FRP reinforcement.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews previous experimental test results on circular and non-circular concrete columns confined with FRP reinforcement under concentric and eccentric loading conditions and highlights the behaviour and mechanics of FRP confinement in these columns. The paper also reviews existing confinement models for concrete columns confined with FRP composites in both circular and non-circular sections.
Findings
This paper demonstrates that the performance and effectiveness of FRP confinement in concrete columns have been extensively investigated and proven effective in enhancing the structural performance and ductility of strengthened columns. The strength and ductility enhancement depend on the number of FRP layers, concrete compressive strength, corner radius for non-circular columns and intensity of load eccentricity for eccentrically loaded columns. The impact of existing theoretical models and directions for future research are also presented.
Originality/value
Potential researchers will gain insight into existing experimental and theoretical studies and future research directions.