Do firms substitute earnings management methods? The case of the MENA region

The purpose of this paper is to empirically test whether firms substitute accruals-based earnings management with real activities-based earnings management or complement the two methods in the MENA region. Further, this paper seeks to investigate the impact of IFRS adoption on accruals-based earnings management. To test the research hypotheses, this paper employs a panel fixed-effects regression model for a sample of 798 non-financial listed MENA region firms over the period 2008-2015, inclusively. The research findings provide evidence that firms complement accruals-based and real activities-based earnings management methods rather than substituting one earnings management method for the other, which suggests that MENA firms conduct both methods concurrently to achieve earnings targets and are not constrained by the relative costs of employing a particular method. Furthermore, a significant positive association between GDP growth and accruals-based earnings management is found, which provides evidence that economic growth leads to a greater degree of accruals-based earnings management behavior in MENA region firms.

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Cultural and Creative Cities and Regional Economic Efficiency: Context Conditions as Catalyzers of Cultural Vibrancy and Creative Economy

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13137150 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (13) ◽

pp. 7150

Author(s):

Silvia Cerisola ◽

Elisa Panzera

Keyword(s):

Fixed Effects ◽

Local Context ◽

Creative Economy ◽

Fixed Effects Model ◽

Creative Cities ◽

Economic Output ◽

Innovative Methodology ◽

Holistic Conception ◽

Panel Fixed Effects ◽

The Impact

Following the hype that has been given to culture and creativity as triggers and enhancers of local economic performance in the last 20 years, this work originally contributes to the literature with the objective of assessing the impact of cultural and creative cities (CCCs) on the economic output of their regions. In this sense, the cultural and creative character of cities is considered a strategic strength and opportunity that can spillover, favoring the economic system of the entire regions in which the cities are located. Through an innovative methodology that exploits a regional production function estimated by a panel fixed effects model, the effect of cities’ cultural vibrancy and creative economy on the output of their regions is econometrically explored. The data source is the Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor (CCCM) provided by the JRC, which also allows the investigation of the possible role played by the enabling environment in catalyzing the action of cultural vibrancy and creative economy. The results are thoroughly examined: especially through cultural vibrancy, CCCs strategically support the output of their region. This is particularly the case when local context conditions—such as human capital and education, openness, tolerance and trust, and quality of governance—catalyze their effect. Overall, CCCs contribute to feeding a long-term self-supporting system, interpreted according to a holistic conception that includes economic, social, cultural, and environmental domains.

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Motivating Information Technology Professionals: The case of New Zealand

Australasian Journal of Information Systems ◽

10.3127/ajis.v21i0.1421 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 21 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Shoaib Ahmed ◽

Nazim Taskin ◽

David J. Pauleen ◽

Jane Parker

Keyword(s):

Job Satisfaction ◽

New Zealand ◽

Turnover Intention ◽

Professional Growth ◽

Critical Role ◽

Positive Association ◽

It Professionals ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Significant Positive Association ◽

The Impact

IT professionals play a critical role in organizations. Research indicates that they may be unique in their attitudes toward motivation and job satisfaction. In New Zealand, a shortage of skilled professionals may contribute to or impact on motivation. Using a modified model of Herzberg’s two-factor theory by Smerek and Peterson (2007), this research seeks to answer the question: what motivates New Zealand IT professionals? In response, an online questionnaire was distributed to a population of New Zealand IT professionals and the data analysed using Partial Least Squares to understand the relationship between the various dimensions of job satisfaction, the impact of personal and job characteristics, and turnover intention. The findings show that the New Zealand IT professional is primarily motivated by the nature of his or her work, followed by perceptions of responsibility, and how supervisors encourage an environment for such. Satisfaction with salary is a predictor to a lesser degree. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, professional growth opportunities, career advancement, and recognition do not have a statistically-significant positive association with motivation. We conclude that, to motivate their IT workforce, organizations should: 1) focus on the nature of the jobs that IT professionals undertake; 2) train supervisors to provide an empowering environment; 3) offer competitive salaries to retain top talent; 4) not hesitate to employ IT professionals born outside New Zealand; and 5) take account of the singularities of the New Zealand labour market in seeking to attract, recruit and retain IT professionals. Implications for policy, practice and theory are discussed.

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Impact of Financial Risks on the Profitability of Systematically Important Banks in Nigeria

Paradigm ◽

10.1177/0971890719859150 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 117-129

Author(s):

Olufemi Adewale Aluko ◽

Funso Tajudeen Kolapo ◽

Patrick Olufemi Adeyeye ◽

Patrick Olajide Oladele

Keyword(s):

Interest Rate ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Financial Risks ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Bank Profitability ◽

Alternative Measures ◽

Cross Sectional Dependence ◽

Fixed Effects Regression ◽

The Impact

This study examines the impact of financial risks in form of credit, interest rate and liquidity risk on the profitability of systematically important banks in Nigeria over the period from 2010 to 2016. The fixed effects regression model is estimated with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors in order to produce results that are robust to heteroscedaticity, autocorrelation, cross-sectional dependence and temporal dependence. After controlling for some bank-specific, industry-specific, macroeconomic and institutional factors, the empirical results show that credit and liquidity risks have a positive impact on bank profitability while interest rate does not have an impact. The results are robust to alternative measures of profitability.

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Impact of Corporate Citizenship on Organizational Citizenship Behaviour of Managers: A Study from Selected Indian Banks

Global Business Review ◽

10.1177/0972150917749289 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 294-311

Author(s):

Neena R. Jain ◽

Irfan A. Rizvi

Keyword(s):

Organizational Citizenship ◽

Demographic Variable ◽

Corporate Citizenship ◽

Positive Association ◽

Significant Positive Association ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Public And Private ◽

The Public ◽

Indian Banks ◽

The Impact

The primary aim of this research article is to explore the relationship between corporate citizenship (CC) and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB), specific to selected banks in India. The article has used multi-cross-sectional descriptive empirical data collected from a sample of 430 managers from selected banks in the public and private sectors. The instruments used are a scale developed by Maignan and Ferrell (2000) for CC and a scale developed by Lee and Allen (2002) for OCB. The results show a significant positive association between CC and OCB. Findings also reveal that the ethical and discretionary dimensions of CC are significant predictors of employee OCB. The article draws upon the data to see the impact of demographics on CC and OCB. The demographic variable of age in the organizations is found to have an impact on the employee perception of CC and also OCB demonstrated by them. The results highlight the need for strengthening CC practices in the organization and the role of managers in communicating strongly the citizenship practices adopted by the organization to foster positive work attitudes.

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Do Female Executives Make a Difference? The Impact of Female Leadership on Gender Gaps and Firm Performance

The Economic Journal ◽

10.1093/ej/uez012 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 129 (622) ◽

pp. 2390-2423 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Luca Flabbi ◽

Mario Macis ◽

Andrea Moro ◽

Fabiano Schivardi

Keyword(s):

Firm Performance ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Female Leadership ◽

Wage Distribution ◽

Female Executives ◽

Female Workers ◽

Fixed Effects Regression ◽

The Impact

Abstract We investigate the effects of female executives on gender-specific wage distributions and firm performance. Female leadership has a positive impact at the top of the female wage distribution and a negative impact at the bottom. The impact of female leadership on firm performance increases with the share of female workers. We account for the endogeneity induced by non-random executives’ gender by including firm fixed-effects, by generating controls from a two-way fixed-effects regression and by using instruments based on regional trends. The findings are consistent with a model of statistical discrimination in which female executives are better at interpreting signals of productivity from female workers. This suggests substantial costs of women under-representation among executives.

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Is the MD&A of US REITs informative? A textual sentiment study

Journal of Property Investment and Finance ◽

10.1108/jpif-12-2019-0149 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 38 (3) ◽

pp. 181-201

Author(s):

Marina Koelbl

Keyword(s):

Firm Performance ◽

Real Estate ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Textual Analysis ◽

Real Estate Industry ◽

Content Type ◽

The Real Estate ◽

Domain Specific ◽

Panel Fixed Effects ◽

Fixed Effects Regression

PurposeThis study examines whether language disclosed in the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) of US Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) provides signals regarding future firm performance and thus generates a market response.Design/methodology/approachThis research conducts textual analysis on a sample of approximately 6,500 MD&As of US REITs filed by the SEC between 2003 and 2018. Specifically, the Loughran and Mcdonald (2011) financial dictionary, and a custom dictionary for the real estate industry created by Ruscheinsky et al. (2018), are employed to determine the inherent sentiment, that is, the level of pessimistic or optimistic language for each filing. Thereafter, a panel fixed-effects regression enables investigating the relationship between sentiment and future firm performance, as well as the markets’ reaction.FindingsThe empirical results suggest that higher levels of pessimistic (optimistic) language in the MD&A predict lower (higher) future firm performance. Hereby, the use of a domain-specific real estate dictionary, namely that developed by Ruscheinsky et al. (2018) leads to superior results. Corresponding to the notion that the human psyche is affected more strongly by negative than positive news (Rozin and Royzman, 2001), the market responds solely to pessimistic language in the MD&A.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that the market can benefit from textual analysis, as investigating the language in the MD&A reduces information asymmetries between US REIT managers and investors.Originality/valueThis is the first study to analyze exclusively US REITs, whether language in the MD&A is predictive of future firm performance and whether the market responds to textual sentiment.

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Does Regulation Influence Microfinance Institutions to Be More Client-Responsive?

International Journal of Financial Studies ◽

10.3390/ijfs8040063 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 63

Author(s):

Zakir Morshed ◽

Mohshin Habib ◽

Christine Jubb

Keyword(s):

Financial Literacy ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Positive Association ◽

Regulatory Regime ◽

Microfinance Institutions ◽

Protection Measures ◽

Financial Status ◽

Key Issues ◽

Financial Awareness ◽

The Impact

The regulation of microfinance services is likely to have a wide-ranging influence on the microfinance sector, particularly on institutions and their clients. This paper reveals the impact of a specific regulatory regime, the “Microcredit Regulatory Authority Act, 2006”, enacted by the Bangladesh government to monitor and supervise nonprofit nongovernment organizations (NGOs). We analyzed survey and interview data provided by clients of both nonprofit microfinance institutions (MFIs) registered under the Act and nonprofit institutions that are unregistered, all lending only to women. Client-level analysis using fixed effects for specific MFI membership is applied, focusing on the role of regulation by comparing protections as consumers of financial intermediations in terms of financial literacy, awareness, and status of clients of registered and unregistered MFIs. We found compelling evidence of a positive association between the financial status, financial literacy, and financial awareness of clients of registered MFIs, but not unregistered MFIs. These findings support the need for MFIs to implement consumer protection measures and inform their consumers about key issues to achieve improved client outcomes.

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Does R&D create additional business value through IT?

Chinese Management Studies ◽

10.1108/cms-04-2016-0084 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 194-208 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Yu Wang ◽

Tie-nan Wang ◽

Xin Li

Keyword(s):

Firm Performance ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Business Value ◽

It Investment ◽

Content Type ◽

Chinese Business ◽

Fixed Effects Regression ◽

The Impact ◽

D Investment ◽

It Payoff

Purpose R&D indicates absorptive capacity, which may affect IT payoff. The purpose of this paper is to examine how R&D investment affects the relation between IT investment and firm performance and under what circumstances R&D intensity is more beneficial to IT returns. Such study has been lacking in R&D research and IT payoff literature. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual model for linking IT investment, R&D investment, environmental dynamism and firm performance was developed and tested by data collected from Chinese listed firms from 2007 to 2013, using fixed effects regression model. Findings The results show positive moderating effects of firm R&D investment and government R&D subsidies on the relation between IT investment and firm performance. Furthermore, the impact of firm R&D investment on IT payoff is stronger for firms in more dynamic environments. The findings suggest that R&D investment creates additional business value through interactions with IT, and complementarities between R&D and IT, as manifested in their interaction effect on firm performance vary across industry sectors. Research limitations/implications This paper indicates the importance of complementarities between R&D and IT, which should prove helpful to researchers and practitioners engaged in Chinese business. Originality/value This paper presents one of the first attempts at examining the moderating effect of R&D investment on the relation between IT investment and firm performance. Especially this study helps to understand under what circumstances R&D investment is more or less likely to be beneficial to IT returns.

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The Association of Gut Microbiota with Resting Metabolic Rate in Overweight/Obese Women: A Case-Control Study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1123737/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sanaz Mehranfar ◽

Seyed Davar Siadat ◽

Sara Ahmadi Badi ◽

Sara Hajishizari ◽

Mir Saeed Yekaninejad ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Expenditure ◽

Metabolic Rate ◽

Resting Metabolic Rate ◽

Positive Association ◽

Gut Microflora ◽

Obese Women ◽

Significant Positive Association ◽

Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽

Future Work ◽

The Impact

Abstract Purpose Low Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), as a risk factor for obesity, can be affected by many factors. Indeed, genetic and environmental factors are variables taken into account when predicting RMR, and may contribute to a high inter-individual variance. Besides the well-known causes of obesity, researchers have demonstrated the contribution of gut microflora in obesity and energy expenditure. Therefore, the goal of the current study was to compare the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and the relative abundance of, Prevotellaceae, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, bifidobactrium spp, lactobacillus spp, Akkermansia muciniphila, Bacteroides fragilis, and Escherichia coli in two groups of people with normal and low RMR in overweigh/obese women in Iran. Results The abundance of F. prausnitzii (p>0.001), B. fragilis (P= 0.02), and Firmicutes phylum (P= 0.02) were significantly higher in the controls compared to the cases, and showed significant positive association with RMR, (β = 1.29 ×10−5, P=0.01), (β = 4.13 ×10−6, p= 0.04), and (β = 7.76 ×10−1, p= 0.01), respectively. Regarding Lactobacilus, the results showed a significant positive association with RMR (β = 1.73 ×10−4, p= 0.01). Conclusion Intestinal microbiota may be associated with host metabolism. Therefore, future work should investigate, using clinical trials, the impact of manipulating gut microflora to positively influence energy expenditure.

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Impact of the Climate Matters Program on Public Understanding of Climate Change

Weather Climate and Society ◽

10.1175/wcas-d-20-0026.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 863-876

Author(s):

Teresa A. Myers ◽

Edward W. Maibach ◽

Bernadette Woods Placky ◽

Kimberly L. Henry ◽

Michael D. Slater ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Political Ideology ◽

Positive Association ◽

The United States ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Public Understanding ◽

American People ◽

Significant Positive Association ◽

The Impact ◽

Media Market

AbstractClimate Matters is a localized climate change reporting resources program developed to support television (TV) weathercasters across the United States. Developed as a pilot test in one media market in 2010, it launched nationwide in 2013; in the autumn of 2019 more than 797 weathercasters were participating in the program. In this paper we present evidence of the impact of the Climate Matters program on Americans’ science-based understanding of climate change. We analyzed three sets of data in a multilevel model: 20 nationally representative surveys of American adults conducted biannually since 2010 (n = 23 635), data on when and how frequently Climate Matters stories were aired in each U.S. media market, and data describing the demographic, economic, and climatic conditions in each media market. We hypothesized that 1) reporting about climate change by TV weathercasters will increase science-based public understanding of climate change and 2) this effect will be stronger for people who pay more attention to local weather forecasts. Our results partially support the first hypothesis: controlling for market-level factors (population size, temperature, political ideology, and economic prosperity) and individual-level factors (age, education, income, gender, and political ideology), there is a significant positive association between the amount of Climate Matters reporting and some key indicators of science-based understanding (including that climate change is occurring, is primarily human caused, and causes harm). However, there was no evidence for the second hypothesis. These findings suggest that climate reporting by TV weathercasters, as enabled by the Climate Matters program, may be increasing the climate literacy of the American people.

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