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Government administrative data have enormous potential for public and individual benefit through improved educational and health services to citizens, medical research, environmental and climate interventions and better use of scarce energy resources. The purpose of this study (part of the Administrative Data Research Centre in England, ADRC-E) was to examine perspectives about the sharing, linking and re-use (secondary use) of government administrative data. This study seeks to establish an analytical understanding of risk with regard to administrative data.

This qualitative study focused on the secondary use of government administrative data by academic researchers. Data collection was through 44 semi-structured interviews plus one focus group, and was supported by documentary analysis and a literature review. The study draws on the views of expert data researchers, data providers, regulatory bodies, research funders, lobby groups, information practitioners and data subjects.

This study discusses the identification and management of risk in the use of government administrative data and presents a risk framework.

This study will have resonance with records managers, risk managers, data specialists, information policy and compliance managers, citizens groups that engage with data, as well as all those responsible for the creation and management of government administrative data.

First, this study identifies and categorizes the risks arising from the research use of government administrative data, based on policy, practice and experience of those involved. Second, it identifies mitigating risk management activities, linked to five key stakeholder communities, and it discusses the locus of responsibility for risk management actions. The conclusion presents the elements of a new risk framework to inform future actions by the government data community and enable researchers to exploit the power of administrative data for public good.

As a remedy to usually voluminous, complicated and not easily readable construction contracts, smart contracts can be considered as an effective and alternative solution. However, the construction industry is merely known as a frontrunner for fast adoption of recent technological advancements. Numerous administrative risks challenge construction companies to implement smart contracts. To highlight this issue, this study aims to assess the administrative risks of smart contract adoption in construction projects.

A literature survey is conducted to specify administrative risks of smart contracts followed by a pilot study to ensure that the framework is suitable to the research question. The criteria weights are calculated through the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process method, followed by a sensitivity analysis based on degree of fuzziness, which supports the robustness of the developed hierarchy and stability of the results. Then, a focus group discussion (FGD) is performed to discuss the mitigation strategies for the top-level risks in each risk category.

The final framework consists of 27 sub-criteria, which are categorized under five main criteria, namely, contractual, cultural, managerial, planning and relational. The findings show that (1) regulation change, (2) lack of a driving force, (3) works not accounted in planning, (4) shortcomings of current legal arrangements and (5) lack of dispute resolution mechanism are the top five risks challenging the adoption of smart contracts in construction projects. Risk mitigation strategies based on FGD show that improvements for the semi-automated smart contract drafting are considered more practicable compared to full automation.

The literature is limited in terms of the adoption of smart contracts, while the topic is receiving more attention recently. To support easy prevalence of smart contracts, this study attempts the most challenging aspects of smart contract adoption.

This paper aims to explain the implementation process of risk management (RM) practices as a trade facilitation initiative in a public organization undergoing public sector reform and modernization processes in Jordan.

The paper draws on the institutional theory and presents a qualitative case study of Jordan Customs (JC). It synthesizes an institutional isomorphism framework to interpret the interplay between the JC institutional environment and the JC RM practices. The data were collected and analyzed by using the triangulation of interviews, observations and documents.

The study findings reveal that JC has experienced institutional pressures that mobilize the emerging of RM as a managerial tool that contributes to facilitating international trade, improving state revenues and reducing the public budget deficit. To be internationally recognized, JC benchmark its RM practices with international practices recommended by International Agencies such as World Customs Organizations (WCO). The study concludes that RM practices have been tailored and aligned with the JC’s external and internal context and role and RM has been embedded as an integral part of all organizational processes including strategic and business planning, as well as all accounting change and management activities. The study finds that coercive, normative and mimetic pressures are the driving forces with coercive mechanisms being the most influential.

This paper has important implications for practitioners, academics and students, as well as international donors especially U.S. Agency for International Development. It mainly depends on the analysis of documents and records to elucidate the development of RM, yet corroborated by interviews. It also uses a retrospective approach with interviewees being asked to describe, explain and reflect upon the events they had experienced during the JC change processes.

This paper significantly contributes to the scarce of knowledge that currently exists about RM in the public sector of developing countries and in particular “customs administrations.” It recognizes how the public sector in Jordan responded to the international community and WCO’s recommendation in implementing RM.

This study shows that JC’s experience of institutional pressures mobilized by the enactment of RM as a managerial tool that enabled a higher quality of custom services, trade facilitation, improvement of state revenues and a reduction of the state’s budget deficit.

This paper investigates the policy changes made towards infrastructure public–private partnerships (PPPs). The purpose of this study is to empirically identify the policy risks associated with the development of PPPs and to assess their impacts on the projects.

A case study of the policy changes that have been implemented for PPPs in China over the past seven years has been undertaken and is presented in this study. The causal loop diagrams are applied to assess and illustrate the potential impacts of the risks as a result of such changes on PPPs.

A sequence of the policy risks, which relate to PPP risk allocation, contract management and implementation, payment and abatement mechanisms and financing, has been identified. It is also found that the identified risks will generate significant but negative impacts on PPPs, leading to an ineffective project delivery, low revenue, poor service quality and even contract breach.

This research provides the private-sector entities that will embark on PPPs with an insight into managing and controlling policy risks over the project's lifecycle.

PPPs have been critical for infrastructure development worldwide. Nevertheless, they have been a controversy, as many of them were subjected to poor outputs. Consequently, a variety of political mechanisms has been implemented to enhance the governance for PPPs. Policy can bring not only benefits but also risks and, however, policy risks of PPPs with a particular assessment for their potential impacts have received limited attention. Therefore, the study presented in this paper will contribute to the identification and assessment of policy risks within the context of PPPs.

The purpose of this paper is to bring to light the risk management practices adopted by financial firms in the small island state of Malta. It seeks to: first, identify the risk management strategies and mechanisms that these firms adopt to manage risks, maximise opportunities, and maintain financial stability; second, determine whether these practices are perceived as contributing to principled performance; third, examine the extent to which risk management capabilities offer competitive advantage to firms, and fourth, investigate whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a key driver of risk management corporate strategies.

A self-administered questionnaire purposely designed for the present study was distributed among the 156 credit institutions, investment firms and financial institutions registered with the Malta Financial Services Authority. Overall, 141 firms participated in the study (a response rate of 90.4 per cent) and the responses were subjected to statistical analysis in an attempt to answer four research questions.

Maltese financial firms have sound risk management practices that link positively with added value and principled performance. Although competitive advantage has been given less weight by these firms, the implemented risk management mechanisms allow for a strong risk culture, defined risk management goals, accountability and continual improvement. CSR forms part of the firms’ risk management corporate strategies and is valued as part of these firms’ corporate culture, while financial/economic factors are viewed as key in driving effective risk management principles.

The study provides empirical evidence that securing “best practice” in firms’ risk management corporate culture is seen as better predicated on maximising financial advantage (“the instrumental driver”) rather than simply reflecting externally imposed standards (“the compliance driver”).

By January 1, 2023, the German supply chain due diligence act (SCDDA) has become effective. This represents a strong governmental intervention into global operations and supply chain management (SCM). Hence, its frame conditions and implications are worth being studied.

Expert interviews with managers reveal factors of risks and opportunities as well as performance impacts and implementation issues.

A conceptual framework and research avenues are outlined.

Pathways for SCM research and interdisciplinary studies are suggested.

Practitioners may gain a deeper understanding of relevant factors for managing supply chains (SCs) that are exposed to the new act.

Understanding implications of the act may help improve social SC sustainability.

This study offers an initial empirical exploration and a first conceptualization of the expected consequences of the German SCDDA.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the motivations and inhibitions linked to the entrepreneurial act in Tunisia, a country belonging to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The findings of such a study help to better understand why new graduates are reluctant to create their own firms in spite of the political efforts made by the government.

A qualitative approach is adopted. It is based on 38 semi-directive in-depth interviews conducted with new graduates in entrepreneurship, some of them being young entrepreneurs, and others who did not go through the entrepreneurial process. On the basis of the data collected, a thematic content analysis has been carried out.

A set of contextual and cultural factors has been highlighted by the analysis. When the context is characterised by poverty, mafia, corruption, or even by a popular revolution or a war in a neighbouring country, these factors may significantly affect new graduates’ decision to create their own firm. Besides, the entrepreneurial decision may be affected by cultural factors: the bureaucratic system, autocracy, and the existence of entrepreneurial milieus such as social class, region, and geographical regions.

The inductive qualitative approach adopted in a research study affects the generalisable character of the results. This study is also geographically limited to the great Tunis area (the capital and its suburbs).

This study has been carried out in a context of an emergent country from the MENA region. This special setting leads to the valorisation of an understudied set of contextual and cultural motivations and inhibitors of entrepreneurship.

Administrative burdens are known to be a major business constraint for incumbent small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in modern economies. Far less is known about the influence of these burdens on the start‐up of new firms. The current paper aims to examine to what extent perceived administrative complexity related to starting a new business influences the number of business owners across 18 OECD countries.

The article combines data on business ownership from EIM's COMPENDIA database and data on perceived administrative complexity from the Eurobarometer public opinion surveys coordinated by the European Commission. This regression model enables one to explicitly control for the influence of unemployment on the level of business ownership (“refugee effect”). There is also control for risk tolerance and access to finance.

The results suggest that administrative complexity is negatively related to business ownership. When administrative procedures related to business start‐up are complex, potential entrepreneurs are discouraged from starting a new firm.

Owing to data constraints, the temporal specification of the independent variables is not ideal. Therefore the findings in this paper should be regarded as exploratory.

The results suggest that it is important not only to reduce administrative burdens in order to increase the number of new firms, but also for governments to communicate existing administrative regulations to a country's population.

This is one of the first attempts to empirically link business ownership and perceived administrative complexity related to starting a new business for a large number of countries.

This paper aims to examine the extent to which two commonly recommended information sharing and communication interventions, direct reporting lines between the internal audit function (IAF) and the audit committee (AC) and their joint reviews of internal audit standards and procedures, improve the internal audit in the continuous audit control and monitoring efforts.

This study uses data from the Audit Intelligence Suite-Benchmarking (AIS) Report for the years 2007 to 2016 published by the Institute of Internal Auditors. The authors test the research hypotheses using the ordinary least squares regression method.

Functional reporting lines from the IAF to the AC positively impact the internal audit, but administrative lines have a negative impact. Reviews conducted jointly between the IAF and the AC positively influence the internal audit. The impacts of reporting lines and joint reviews are also associated with accounting complexity within a given industry, organizational control structure, organizational scope and the level of IAF’s responsibilities over internal control environment to comply with Sarbanes–Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002.

Because the study uses AIS data, operationalization of variables is constrained to items in the given data set. Future studies, including field studies, may identify other variables and measures using diverse data sources. This study expands the knowledge of effective means of information sharing and communication to enhance interactions between the IAF and the AC.

The results suggest that the use of reporting lines should correspond to accounting complexity, organizational control structure, organizational scope, and reliance on the IAF in handling SOX responsibilities. They also highlight the importance of joint reviews between the IAF and AC in ensuring a high-quality internal audit.

The authors envisioned reporting lines and joint reviews as an excellent tool to balance the relationship between the IAF and the AC for continuous internal auditing beyond generating internal audit reports according to the US Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission framework Principle 14.

This study explores the relationships between governance quality and disaster risk in respect to the pillar values of public administration. The objective is to strengthen the focus and resolve of bureaucratic institutions to engage with disaster risk management (DRM) as a core function.

Multiple correlation analysis is conducted using data from global indices of disaster risk and governance quality. This is situated in the argument for the importance of public administration to conduct DRM under the auspices of core values for governance.

There are strong relationships between measures of disaster risk and various qualities of governance that adhere to the administrative theories of public welfare management, particularly through measures for mitigation and preparedness.

This study is conducted at the national level and may obscure regional effects of governance quality and disaster risk that occur in larger and environmentally diverse countries.

There are few studies that champion the value of public administration's qualities and values in the efforts of DRM. This research provides support for such a position by connecting governance quality to disaster risk and overlaying the influence of the core administrative values of efficiency, effectiveness, the economy and equity.