Does national ethical judgement matter for earnings management?

Purpose This study aims to analyse the association between country-level ethical judgement and earnings management and the role that firm-level enforcement and the quality of accounting standards play in this association. Design/methodology/approach The analyses are based on a sample of 45,889 firm-year observations from 34 countries between 1998 and 2018. Based on the World Values Survey questionnaire, this study constructs a comprehensive index of the ethical judgement of each country. Findings The empirical findings suggest that firms from countries where ethically suspect behaviours are less acceptable are associated with lower levels of accruals-based earnings management and that firm-level enforcement and the quality of accounting standards dampen such association. Practical implications The results contribute to the debate about ethical issues in the accounting profession in an international context, adding to the sustainable development debate given that the creation of long-term value for firms is intrinsically related to business ethics and good quality financial reporting. Social implications When it is known that countries’ ethically-related judgements reduce the level of earnings management, actions can be taken by regulators and other stakeholders to build fairer societies with a more sustainable view, given that the quality of the financial reporting is inextricably linked to how income and wealth are distributed. Originality/value While previous literature documents that ethical judgement at both the individual and organizational levels matter as key determinants of the way managers are involved with unethical accounting practices, this study investigates the role of ethical judgement at the country level in explaining earnings management.

Sports effects on ethical judgement skills of successful entrepreneurs: adaptation of interpretative phenomenological analysis

Purpose This paper aims to identify how entrepreneurs’ active involvement in sports/athletic training affects and adds to their overall ethical judgement skills within and outside the workplace. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a qualitative approach and included a combination of 12 male and female entrepreneurs who were purposively selected based on the study’s requirements. The primary data was collected through semi-structured one-on-one interviews, and interpretative phenomenological analysis served as the primary method of data analysis. Findings Findings from this study suggest that entrepreneurs’ active involvement in sports/athletic training does indeed influence their ethical judgement skills all-round. Arising from a combination of sports involvement factors, a unique group of underlying elements surfaced that proves valuable accustomed relationships concerning the significant impact sports/athletic training have on successful entrepreneurs’ ethical judgement skills. Research limitations/implications The active involvement in sports/athletic training undoubtedly plays a vital role in achieving entrepreneurs’ daily ethical judgement ability. However, this study was limited to the opinion of a small sample of participants in a specific field. Also, this study’s phenomenological nature requires the researcher’s interpretation of the results to be viewed as the truth. Practical implications This study provides a new perspective and validates how purposeful involvement in sports/athletic training regimens can boost the ethical judgement skills of entrepreneurs all-round. This study also proves powerful and new insight into the unique relationships among the accustomed factors and the underlying elements thereto – contributing beyond existing theory. Originality/value This study is novel and provides new and powerful insight into the ethical judgement skills and benefits derived thereof that can be developed by entrepreneurs from the active involvement in sports/athletic training.

Antecedents of Social Media Advertising Avoidance: An Empirical Study in Pawnbroking Industry

Purpose - This paper aims to explore antecedents of ad avoidance with the context in the Vietnam pawnbroking industry. Furthermore, the differences in ad avoidance under personal characteristics will firstly appear in this study. Methodology - A qualitative method from 412 social media users was used to test the proposed model. All data were assessed reliability and validity on SPSS version 26 before conducting into CFA and CB-SEM in AMOS software. Findings - The findings indicate that while ad skepticism and perceptions ad as controversial partially mediates the relationship between ad avoidance and its three determinants (Advertising invasiveness, Perceived Value value and Expectation of Negative), perceived space invasiveness has the most potent effect on pawn ad avoidance. Skeptical customers are more likely to avoid pawnbroking advertisements than those who perceive such ads as controversial. The results also show that ethical judgement moderates both the relationship of perceived controversial ads and ad avoidance and the relationship between ad skepticism and ad avoidance. Implications - Social media platform owners were suggested to reinforce their censoring system and advertising placements. Marketers in this study were convinced to generate advertisements with emotional and informative appeals. Besides, appropriate marketing activities, channels, and ad formats with campaigns should be considered strictly. Originality/value - The mediating role of attitude in the relationship between perception and ad avoidance has been firstly affirmed by qualitative data in this study. Interestingly, researchers explored a new variable - Negative eWOM with a medium impact of ad skepticism. Ethical judgement was demonstrated as a drastically important factor in pawnbroking research.

The influence of organisational culture on corporate accountants' ethical judgement and ethical intention in Vietnam

PurposeThis research examines the impact of organisational culture on the ethical judgement and ethical intention of corporate accountants in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachThe study relies on survey data collected from 283 practising accountants in Vietnam. Organisational culture was measured using the Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument, developed by Cameron and Quinn (2011). The Instrument is developed based on the competing values framework comprised of four distinct cultures: clan, hierarchy, market and adhocracy. Ethical judgement and ethical intention were measured based on respondent responses to five ethical scenarios, each linked to a principle of professional conduct in the code of ethics.FindingsThe findings indicate that the clan culture (family oriented) is dominant and has a significant positive influence on accountants' ethical judgement and ethical intention. Respondents in the clan culture evaluate scenarios more ethically compared with accountants in the adhocracy and market cultures but not the hierarchy culture. Accountants who emphasise the adhocracy and market cultures display a more relaxed attitude towards unethical scenarios whereas respondents in the hierarchy culture (rule oriented) display the highest ethical attitude.Research limitations/implicationsThe code of ethics, its content and how it is interpreted and applied may differ between professions, organisations or cultures.Originality/valueOrganisational research on ethical decision-making is ample but few studies link organisational culture with ethical judgement and ethical intention from the perspective of individual accountants.

"To Be a Little More Realistic": The Ethical Labour of Suspension among Nightclub Hostesses in Southeast China

This article explores the "ethical labour" of suspension––the conscious effort of deferring one's ethical judgement and reflections in order to avoid irreconcilable ethical conflicts between one's present activities and long-term goals. While people engage in ethical judgement and reflections in everyday social interactions, it is the laborious aspect of regulating one's ethical dispositions that I highlight in the concept of "ethical labour." Although it cannot be directly commodified, ethical labour is a form of labour as it consumes energy and is integral to the performance of other forms of labour, particularly intimate and emotional ones. This formulation of ethical labour draws on my long-term ethnographic research with a group of young women migrants working as hostesses in high-end nightclubs in southeast China. Many of them perform socially stigmatized work with the goal of contributing to their family and saving money for a dignified life in the future. Ethical labour is essential to their hostess work because it enables them to juggle multiple affective relationships and defer the fundamental ethical conflict. They express ethical labour through the phrase "to be a little more realistic," making sure that they obtain what they want at a particular moment. But ethical labour does not simply mean pushing ethical questions aside. It is sustained by conscious effort and is overshadowed by fears of ageing and failure to achieve long-term life goals. Prolonged ethical labour often fails to resolve ethical conflict and may intensify one's stress. My analysis of these women migrants' situation contributes to the sex-as-work debate regarding women's agency in work and their subjection to exploitation.

"To Be a Little More Realistic": The Ethical Labour of Suspension among Nightclub Hostesses in Southeast China

This article explores the "ethical labour" of suspension––the conscious effort of deferring one's ethical judgement and reflections in order to avoid irreconcilable ethical conflicts between one's present activities and long-term goals. While people engage in ethical judgement and reflections in everyday social interactions, it is the laborious aspect of regulating one's ethical dispositions that I highlight in the concept of "ethical labour." Although it cannot be directly commodified, ethical labour is a form of labour as it consumes energy and is integral to the performance of other forms of labour, particularly intimate and emotional ones. This formulation of ethical labour draws on my long-term ethnographic research with a group of young women migrants working as hostesses in high-end nightclubs in southeast China. Many of them perform socially stigmatized work with the goal of contributing to their family and saving money for a dignified life in the future. Ethical labour is essential to their hostess work because it enables them to juggle multiple affective relationships and defer the fundamental ethical conflict. They express ethical labour through the phrase "to be a little more realistic," making sure that they obtain what they want at a particular moment. But ethical labour does not simply mean pushing ethical questions aside. It is sustained by conscious effort and is overshadowed by fears of ageing and failure to achieve long-term life goals. Prolonged ethical labour often fails to resolve ethical conflict and may intensify one's stress. My analysis of these women migrants' situation contributes to the sex-as-work debate regarding women's agency in work and their subjection to exploitation.

'Getting by’ on 4chan: Feminine self-presentation and capital-claiming in antifeminist Web space

The Internet imageboard 4chan is often believed to be a hub of fascism, white supremacism, and violent misogyny. The popular press associates 4chan with ‘incels’ (involuntarily celibate men), using the site to vent their rage at women. Yet a significant minority of posters on the site are female, and/or present themselves as such. These posters use various strategies to negotiate a space for identity-construction and to build subcultural capital within an antifeminist Web space, a striking development in what Amy Shields Dobson calls the process of ‘getting by’ in postfeminist neoliberal culture. By quantifying and analysing these strategies, whilst restraining the rush to ethical judgement typical to discussion of 4chan, this study aims to resituate 4chan’s feminine users from passive objects of violence to active participants in the site’s culture and influence.

D I Walker et al Preprint - Assessing Ethical Reasoning among Junior British Army Officers Using the Army Intermediate Concept Measure (AICM)

Army Officers face increased moral pressure in modern warfare where character and ethical judgement are vital. The article reports results of a study of 242 junior British Army officers using the Army Intermediate Concept Measure, comprising a series of professionally oriented moral dilemmas developed for the UK context. Results are suggestive of appropriate application of Army values to the dilemmas and of ethical reasoning aligning with Army excellence. The sample does slightly less well, however, for justification than action reasoning and there are differences following initial training for infantry and artillery officers versus other branches of service. Dilemmas involving anti-torture methods and not covering up soldiers’ failings generated best results compared to those requiring balance between compassion and mission, and negotiating personal relationships with military needs. Gender differences favouring women were less than those observed for other professional groups using similar measures. This research further develops a much-needed measure of ethical reasoning among junior Army officers, with potential for use among other ranks. This approach is advocated for other professional groups.

International Relations Theory

The study of international relations is dominated by the school of Realism, articulated in its classical form by Hans Morgenthau. It teaches that great powers are focused on enhancing their national interest defined in terms of power: military, political, and economic. Reinhold Niebuhr became known as the father of Christian Realism, adding his own biblical and Augustinian insights about human nature and its effects on the evil uses of power. Traditionally, both forms of Realism incorporated ethical judgement within their analysis. After Niebuhr’s death, Realism became neorealism, a value-free social science which eschews ethical judgement as any part of international relations study, as did the other major schools—except for the English School. This chapter argues that the English School represents the modern paradigm closest to Niebuhr’s perspective.