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The advent of robotics and automation technologies was augmenting firm initiatives to attain competitive advantage. From a resource-based view perspective, human-led capabilities were important to operate with technology resource base of an organisation. This was evident for both manufacturing as well as services firms. However, employees as an individual confronted technology anxiety (TA) when they were working with new technologies like robotics and automation technologies. Thus, the purpose of this paper was to examine the factors causing TA.

Given the novelty of this research study context a qualitative exploratory method was designed. For this research study, the data collected was through in-depth interviews conducted through open-ended semi-structured questionnaire. The data was collected from 62 frontline employees who were working with robotics and automation-based technologies in manufacturing firms. The authors applied thematic content analysis on collected data for analysis.

Technology anxieties ranged from fear of complete inability to learn new technologies, failure to learn new technologies properly, incapability to implement the learned skills and job loss to younger technology savvy employees. Finally, there was anxiety over job loss as automation and robotic technologies over the years was expected to erode the employment of human workforce altogether.

The author undertook the research study based upon the TA perspective advocated by Meuter et al. (2003) and Yang and Forney (2013). Furthermore, this research study in the context of robotics and automation-based technologies in the manufacturing sector applied the mental accounting theory (Thaler, 1999) and technology self-efficacy perspective (Huffman et al., 2013).

Managers involved in the implementation of robotics and automation-based technologies were required to address TA of employees. Fear of job loss had to be addressed specially in a country like India. Anxiety regarding the ability to learn to work with robotics and automation technologies also was needed to be addressed by managers through adequate training and time for preparation. The benefits of robotics and automation-based technologies for employees as well as organisations have to be ascertained through open communication between the management and the frontline employees.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this was one of the first empirical research studies which deliberated regarding TA in the context of frontline workers working with robotics and automation-based technologies in the manufacturing sector. This research study was based upon a combination of varied perspectives ranging from micro foundations theory, TA, mental accounting theory and technology self-efficacy perspective.

The literature on the influence of audit committees (AC) and cosmetic accounting (CA) is scarce. AC plays a unique and vital role in boosting earnings reliability in countries with weaker application of accounting standards or weaker legal protection for investors. AC, therefore, are considered to be one of the essential tools available to directors in supervising management decisions regarding financial reporting. This paper aims to examine the influence of AC characteristics (ACC) on CA and how this relationship is moderated by the audit fee.

This study used probit regression to analyze 1,218 firm-year observations of listed companies in Tehran Stock Exchange from 2014 to 2020.

The results show that AC financial accounting expertise, AC independence, female AC membership and AC tenure were negatively related to CA. The negative relationship is highly pronounced when a firm incurs higher audit fees, and audit fees moderate the relationship between ACC and CA. Results for the robustness checks show that only AC independence was significant, and the results of other characteristics were not significant.

This research was conducted in an Iranian setting where the formation of ACs is on the verge of regulation; therefore, the data used for the study only contains the seven-year period of ACs’ statutory activity. In addition, a lack of consensus on the precise measures of an AC’s effectiveness could be considered as a restrictive factor.

The findings provide an initial insight into the effect AC on CA and moderating effect of audit fee on the relationship between ACC and CA.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of audit committee characteristics on firm performance. In particular, the authors employ the random-effects variant of the Hunter–Schmidt meta-analyze procedure to analyze the effects of key audit committee attributes, namely audit committee independence, audit committee expertise, audit committee size, audit committee meeting along with big four impact on firm performance. The authors hope to gain a better understanding of the function of audit committees in enhancing firm performance and to uncover potential discrepancies in prior findings due to varying economic levels or performance metrics.

This study uses the Hunter–Schmidt method to conduct a meta-analysis of 39 previous studies published between 2012 and 2022 to investigate the relationship between audit committee characteristics and firm performance.

The results indicate that audit committee independence, expertise, size and affiliation with the big four have a significant and positive effect on firm performance, while audit committee meetings have a non-significant effect. Furthermore, findings suggest that companies should carefully consider the contextual factors that may impact the effectiveness of their corporate governance structures, such as economic level, when designing and implementing governance mechanisms.

This study is significant as it is the first to combine and analyze previous research on this topic and highlights the importance of certain audit committee characteristics in enhancing financial reporting quality and corporate governance.

The objective of this research is to identify and prioritize the critical factors that influence the adoption of blockchain technology within the banking sector.

A well-known theoretical framework, the “Technology Organization Environment (TOE),” was chosen to analyze what criteria and sub-criteria affect blockchain adoption in the banking sector after a thorough assessment of the prior literature. Following that, 3 evaluation criteria and 14 sub-criteria were selected and verified using expert opinion. A survey design was created, and data for the study has been collected from various information technology (IT) managers/officers in the banking sector. A fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (Fuzzy-AHP) was then used to meet the purpose of the research.

The study identified that the organizational dimension is the most significant criteria for blockchain adoption in the banking sector, followed by the environmental dimension. In contrast, the technological dimension is the least influential criterion. Clientele pressure, IT resources, financial resources, pressure from competitors and relative advantage are the most influential sub-criteria for blockchain adoption.

This study provides valuable insights to bank managers, blockchain and IT developers, third-party service providers and policymakers. For instance, adopting the same blockchain platform is easier for both large and small banks for banking operations by using third-party service provider. At the same time, banks should have the banks' own core team to implement the blockchain-based systems or to have control over the third-party service providers during the adoption stage.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, no empirical studies have used a holistic organizational context to understand the factors influencing the adoption of blockchain technology from traditional to blockchain-based banking systems.