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Growth enterprise market (GEM) in Hong Kong is acknowledged as one of the world’s most successful examples of small and medium enterprise (SME) stock market. The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolving efficiency and dual long memory in the GEM. This paper also explores the joint impacts of thin trading, structural breaks and inflation on the dual long memory.

State-space GARCH-M model, Kalman filter estimation, factor-adjustment techniques and fractionally integrated models: ARFIMA–FIGARCH, ARFIMA–FIAPARCH and ARFIMA–HYGARCH are adopted for the empirical analysis.

The results indicate that the GEM is still weak-form inefficient but shows a tendency towards efficiency over time except during the global financial crisis. There also exists a stationary long-memory property in the market return and volatility; however, these long-memory properties weaken in magnitude and/or statistical significance when the joint impacts of the three aforementioned factors were taken into account.

A forecasts of the hedging model that capture dual long memory could provide investors further insights into risk management of investments in the GEM.

The findings of this study are relevant to market authorities in improving the GEM market efficiency and investors in modelling hedging strategies for the GEM.

This study is the first to investigate the evolving efficiency and dual long memory in an SME stock market, and the joint impacts of thin trading, structural breaks and inflation on the dual long memory.

Purpose – Although some literature exists on how consumers may interpret firm-generated signals about the unobservable quality of their product, there has been little effort to examine whether and how managers deploy signals about unobservable quality to compete.Design/methodology/approach – In this chapter, we address this issue by examining whether managers consciously use signals to compete with other firms, and how they choose between the vast number of signals available to them. We develop a formal model that allows us to generate a set of predictions drawn from information economics and behavioral decision theory. The predictions specify a pattern of managerial behavior according to which signals belonging to some categories are relatively attractive (for economic as well as psychological reasons).Findings – We report on the results of a series of three experiments in which executives are given the opportunity to deploy signals to communicate unobservable quality to skeptical consumers in a competitive market.Value/originality – The results of the studies provide compelling evidence in support of the formal argument.

This study aims to examine the effect of sustainability reporting on market value growth (MVG) of quoted companies in Nigeria. The corporate reporting system has evolved, and this study examined how it influences the perception of investors.

This study adopted an ex post facto research design with 167 listed firms as the population. A total of 28 quoted firms were chosen with the use of purposive sampling. Data from 2009 to 2018 were obtained from secondary sources. Content analysis was used as a tool to analyse the disclosures in sustainability reports. The model was estimated using pooled ordinary least square (multivariate regression). Company age and financial leverage were used as control variables.

This study found that the compliance level of the sampled firms with sustainability reporting requirements for the four dimensions are below average, and sustainability reporting does not have a significant effect on MVG with Prob. (F-stat) of 0.7212 > 0.05. Therefore, this study recommends that management should intensify efforts in ensuring maximum compliance with the sustainability reporting guideline of Global Reporting Initiative to reflect in their market value and ensure its growth.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the original idea of the authors, although references were made to previous related study but it is a unique research work of its own. The work contained in this paper (in full and part) has not been previously submitted to any other journal for publication.

Warehouse receipt-based financing (WRF), an innovative instrument with its structure embedded in the agricultural value chain can potentially address farmers' concerns about timely credit access and accessible remunerative markets. However, studies indicate farmers' exclusion from currently practiced WRF mechanisms across developing countries. Transaction cost and lack of assured remunerative markets post storage are the challenges thwarting farmers' participation. The study explores how these challenges can be addressed by analyzing a case study. The finding will help in coming up with a farmer-inclusive WRF mechanism.

The study uses a case study as an analysis tool. Primary data is gathered through farmers. Descriptive statistics and partial least squares (PLS) approach to structural equation modeling methodology has been adopted for empirical testing of the hypothesis of the study. The study uses SMART PLS 3.0 for analysis of data.

Single window offering of multiple value chain operations and technological intervention in physical handling substantially reduces transaction costs for farmers. Sustained farmers' participation in the case supports this finding. The presence of an assured market (PAM) is found to have a positive and significant relationship with WRF in the case of beneficiary farmers. The PAM is found to have a negative yet significant relationship with WRF in the case of nonbeneficiary farmers. Critical success factors of the entity KisanMitra stated in the case substantiates a farmer-inclusive WRF mechanism.

The study analyzes a case study of specific geography. However, similarities enlisted across developing countries in the introduction section provide a scope of generalization of findings across developing countries. The identified factors for a farmer-inclusive WRF mechanism will enable the governments, policymakers and development institutions to ascertain and align their WRF implementation measures to inculcate and upgrade these factors to the prospective WRF agents. Future studies can explore the replication of farmer-inclusive WRF mechanisms across other geographies. The studies also explores the role of technological interventions in further reducing the transaction cost and suitable policy modifications to encourage replication of the study in other geopgraphical context.

The study on WRF and the methodology adopted is first of its kind to identify factors for a farmer-inclusive WRF mechanism.

The market for the assurance of carbon emissions disclosures is showing intensive growth. However, due to the largely voluntary nature of carbon reporting and assurance, there are currently no clear standards or guidelines and little is known about it. The purpose of this paper is to examine the reporting and assurance practices for carbon emissions disclosures.

This study provides evidence on this market, with a sample that includes 13,419 firm-year observations across 58 countries between 2010 and 2017 from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) database.

The results show that the demand for carbon emissions reporting comes mainly from North America, the UK and Japan. Recently, markets such as South Africa have also shown increased demand for carbon reporting. The data also shows that more firms are seeking assurance for their carbon emissions reports. Legitimacy, stakeholder and institutional theories are used to explain the findings of this study.

The results have important implications for firms that produce carbon emissions disclosures, assurance service providers, legislators, regulators and the users of the reports and there should be more specific disclosure guidelines for level and scope of reporting.

Amongst the firms that do provide assurance on their carbon emissions reports, a majority do so using specialist assurance providers, with only limited assurance being provided. The results further show that a myriad of assurance frameworks is being used to assure the carbon emissions disclosures.

This paper aims to provide a theoretical explanation of why credit rating agencies typically disclose credit risk of issuers in classes rather than publishing the qualitative ranking those classes are based upon. Thus, its goal is to develop a better understanding of what determines the number and size of rating classes.

Investors expect ratings to be sufficiently accurate in estimating credit risk. In a theoretical model framework, it is therefore assumed that credit rating agencies, which observe credit risk with limited accuracy, are careful in not misclassifying an issuer with a lower credit quality to a higher rating class. This situation is analyzed as a Bayesian inference setting for the credit rating agencies.

A disclosure in intervals, typically used by credit rating agencies results from their objective of keeping misclassification errors sufficiently low in conjunction with the limited accuracy with which they observe credit risk. The number and size of the rating intervals depend in the model on how much accuracy the credit rating agencies can supply.

The paper uses Bayesian hypothesis testing to illustrate the link between limited accuracy of a credit rating agency and its disclosure of issuers’ credit risk in intervals. The findings that accuracy and the objective of avoiding misclassification determine the rating scale in this theoretical setting can lead to a better understanding of what influences the interval disclosure of major rating agencies observed in practice.

Risk management involves assessing and dealing with objective risks and therefore risk managers are expected to have reasonably advanced analytical knowledge and skills. However as noted earlier, many, if not most, of the elements within the uncertainty field do not provide much in the way of adequate data or information, and – even when they do – there can be significant problems with data quality. Thus, statistical or actuarial analysis tools are best used thoughtfully and mainly in the context of cases where an organisation has many similar exposures (a fleet of hundreds of vehicles, large numbers of employees) or when external data analysis fits convincingly with the more limited experience of the organisation itself. In any case, the overarching challenge for risk managers is to develop a consistent approach to thinking about all risks, uncertainties, emergent/unknown phenomena, even when they have very different characteristics.

Chapter Eleven adopts an approach that is somewhat different from Chapter One to Chapter Ten. Previously, a general, descriptive overview of the subject is given beforehand, and then a slightly different discussion is offered to provide an alternative commentary. Here, the alternative insights are woven into a discussion of decision-making. After presenting this different approach, the traditional decision-making tools are presented and discussed. Since Chapter Twelve also serves as a summary, a more integrated approach is used here.

This study aims to provide a snapshot of voluntary sustainability assurance in New Zealand (NZ) in 2020. we assess the frequency of different assurance elements and discuss aspects of current practices that potentially contribute to the audit expectation gap. we also test whether the determinants of voluntary sustainability assurance in NZ are consistent with international findings.

For 118 companies listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange in 2020, we hand collected data on whether sustainability information was assured, subject matter assured, assurance level, outcome, provider, disclosure of detailed procedures, standard referenced and criteria applied. we then examine the influences of voluntary sustainability assurance using both univariate and regression analysis.

Approximately 20% of listed companies that disclosed sustainability information provide a sustainability assurance report, indicating low levels of assurance compared to international practices. we note that the presence of different forms of assurance and certification, placement of sustainability information before financial statements and the associated audit report and mixture of assurance levels potentially contribute to the audit expectation gap. Further, voluntary sustainability assurance practices are diverse, and there are notable differences between Big Four accounting firms and other providers in terms of assurance level and standard referenced. Consistent with prior studies, we find size and industry classification as two main drivers of voluntary sustainability assurance.

We contribute NZ-specific insights to the sustainability assurance literature. The findings on voluntary sustainability assurance practices and reflection on the audit expectation gap are timely and relevant to the new climate-related disclosure mandate and pending assurance requirements.

The purpose of this paper is to understand non-vegetarian food consumption behavior, and factors affecting the same of the consumers of middle-sized market, where organized retailing is still at infancy.

A total of 182 households of two middle-sized cities of India were personally surveyed with a structured questionnaire. Simple statistical analysis such as frequency distribution, factor analysis and analysis of variance, logit regression were carried out to infer the required information.

Although an important constituent of the food, for most the consumers, purchase of non-vegetarian products were weekly, well planned, and family affairs. Assured good quality, followed by the meat preparation in front of the customers’ eye emerged important market attributes for selecting the store by the consumers. The study revealed that consumers were mainly dependent on search and credence attributes of the product for non-vegetarian food purchase decisions.

This paper analyses non-vegetarian food consumption food behavior of those customers, for whom non-vegetarian food is still considered as special food, and who belong to middle-sized cities where organized food retailing has just started.

The subject is relatively less researched in emerging markets where organized food retail is still at infancy, and where non-vegetarian foods are considered special.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the concept of regulators’ independence, with a special focus on the competition authorities’ independence. The aim of the paper is to present a broader view of the competition authorities’ independence, by specifically questioning the Western Balkans’ competition authorities’ independence.

In the context discussed, the politicization of competition authorities does commonly result in decisions with uncompetitive nature, whose interference in the functioning of the market economy is fundamental. In that line, this paper discusses and argues in favour of non‐politicized competition authorities’ membership, whose structure should be determined by the law. Therefore, this paper goes on to argue that, when the competition laws determine the appointment of competition authorities’ members biased by and conditional on political factors, it is likely that the competition in the market will be crucially harmed, meanwhile the market mechanism would be insufficient in performance.

The paper finds that the competition policy's independence can be assured through a competition authority whose membership is freed from political appointments, and whose membership represents a plural environment of interests.

The paper limits itself to the organizational bases that precondition the competition authorities’ independence.

The paper provides/contributes for a new concept on competition authorities’ independence, and clarifies the limited role that the government can have in this regard. The paper can serve as a source of academic knowledge to both academicians and practitioners whose field of interest is market regulation.