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This study aims to examine the influence of accounting professionals’ Machiavellian behavior and ethical judgments on their intention to report fraudulent acts and also to examine the moderating effect of Machiavellianism on the relationship between professionals’ ethical judgments and whistleblowing intention, as well as the mediating effect of personal responsibility, personal costs/benefits and the seriousness of the questionable act on this relationship.

The data were collected via a survey sent to 201 Tunisian accounting professionals and analyzed using the structural equation method.

The results indicate that ethical judgments support the whistleblowing intentions among Tunisian accountants. However, this relationship is affected by Machiavellian behavior that minimizes whistleblowing. Furthermore, the results show that Machiavellianism is negatively associated with whistleblowing intention and has an indirect effect on whistleblowing through perceived personal benefit and the seriousness of the questionable act.

Examining the ethical ideologies that may affect whistleblowing, including Machiavellianism and ethical judgment, in the Tunisian context contributes to the literature on the accounting profession in the Middle East and North Africa. The results of this study could raise awareness among policymakers and regulators in developing countries, particularly in Tunisia, to value whistleblowing as a mechanism for detecting and controlling organizational misconduct and enact regulations that encourage accounting professionals to report fraudulent acts while protecting them.

This paper examines how manufacturing firms impacted by the nitrogen oxides (NO_x) Budget Trading Program (NBP) strategically managed working capital to release funds for increased costs and mitigate the negative impact on firm performance.

The study uses a panel data set including 11,302 manufacturing firm-year observations listed on the US exchanges during the period 2000–2008. The authors use Tobin's Q to proxy for firm performance, and cash holding, cash conversion cycle (CCC), days sales outstanding (DSO), days sales inventory (DSI) and days payable outstanding (DPO) for working capital management (WCM). The empirical analysis is conducted using both ordinary least squares (OLS) and propensity score matching (PSM) regressions.

The authors find that firms respond to the higher utility costs imposed by the NBP by decreasing CCC, DSO and DSI. This active WCM response partially mitigated the impact of increased compliance costs on performance for firms affected by the NBP. Results are robust in PSM regressions.

Climate change is a global issue that has attracted increasing attention in recent years. This study shows how firms can adjust short-term financing strategies to address the costs of compliance with climate change regulation.

The paper contributes to the emerging literature on corporate finance and climate policy actions. The authors use the unique experimental setting of the NBP to examine the regulatory impact on corporate financial management. The authors demonstrate how firms used active WCM to mitigate the negative performance impact of regulatory compliance with the NBP, providing novel insight on the implication of compliance with climate change legislation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resurfaced challenges to gender equality and gender relations both worldwide and in Norway. There have been massive public discussions on social media platforms, highlighting the potential of analysing public discourses in a non-reactive manner (Rauchfleisch et al., 2021). Further, discourses from social media may affect cultural representations and broad discourses in society (Rambukkana, 2015), such as that related to gender. In this article, by studying the Norwegian Twitter users' discussion on gender as related to COVID-19 pandemic, the authors will examine the everyday gendered discourses.

Data for this project were collected from the social media platform Twitter. The authors conducted the search on 16th November 2020, and that resulted in a total of 485 results, inclusive of both original tweets and replies. The data were analysed qualitatively using thematic analysis.

The thematic analysis of the tweets revealed three main categories which were mirrored in recognisable and widespread discourses about gender: (1) stereotypical gendered behaviours, (2) construction of masculinities and (3) othering. The authors argued that the stereotypes on gendered behaviour, traits and ideology together attribute to the maintenance of unequal gender structures.

This article explored discourses on gender on Twitter, the networked public sphere of Norway during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that discourses both reflect and shape social configurations, they have the power to shape gender realities. With the transcendence of social media across geographic boundaries, the authors’ findings are relevant both for Norway and globally.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-08-2022-0482

The study aims to determine the outcomes of mentorship in an online game system, as well as the characteristics of good mentors.

A combination of anonymized survey measures and in-game behavioral measures were used to power longitudinal analysis over an 11-month period in which protégés and non-mentored new players could be compared for their performance, social connections and retention.

Successful people were more likely to mentor others, and mentors increased protégés' skill. Protégés had significantly better retention, were more active and much more successful as players than non-protégés. Contrary to expectations, younger, less wealthy and educated people were more likely to be mentors and mentors did not transfer their longevity. Many of the qualities of the mentor remain largely irrelevant—what mattered most was the time spent together.

This is a study of an online game, which has unknown generalizability to other games and to offline settings.

The results show that getting mentors to spend dedicated time with protégés matters more than their characteristics.

Good mentorship does not require age or resources to provide real benefits.

This is the first study of mentorship to use survey and objective outcome measures together, over time, online.

Women are exposed to vulnerabilities that can lead to drug use or hinder recovery. However, there is a dearth of studies on recovery programs for women. This study aims to add to the literature by examining the feasibility of a women-only aftercare program for recovering users in the Philippines.

The study used a mixed-method design with pre and post-program surveys used to measure changes in participants’ recovery capital. Focused group discussions elicited participants’ context, their reactions, perceived outcomes and suggestions on the program.

Women in the program shared narratives of pain, trauma and abuse before treatment. Participants reported significant improvements in personal, community and family recovery capital dimensions. The program enabled personal growth in the form of new knowledge, skills and self-confidence. The women-only program also provided a safe space for women, to receive support from other women, community members and family. However, the women continue to face continuing challenges related to stigma and discrimination and a lack of livelihood opportunities.

A limitation of the study was its small sample size and the lack of a control group. Another limitation was the variability in treatment received by the women, which could have affected overall outcomes. Future studies using a randomized control trial and longitudinal designs may provide more robust conclusions on the effectiveness of the program.

Given punitive contexts, gender-sensitive and trauma-informed programs and services for women involved in drug use could potentially mitigate the abuse, stigma and vulnerabilities they experience.

This study contributes to the sparse literature on women-only aftercare, particularly in countries that criminalize drug use.