Search results
1 – 10 of 299Mary Jane Lenard, Bing Yu, E. Anne York and Shengxiong Wu
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether companies with female executives and directors are less likely to be involved in financial reporting fraud litigation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether companies with female executives and directors are less likely to be involved in financial reporting fraud litigation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors build a data set comprised of companies from the Stanford Securities Class Action Clearinghouse database that were involved in fraud litigation along with a control set of companies listed on the Compustat database for the time period 2007-2013. The authors use a logistic regression model to determine the likelihood of fraud when there is at least one woman in an executive position or on the board of directors.
Findings
The authors find that the presence of at least one female leader decreases the likelihood that the company will be involved in litigation for financial reporting fraud. The results are robust after controlling for sample selection bias by using a propensity score matched sample.
Practical implications
The findings add to the literature which indicates that women tend to be more risk averse and are more committed to ethics policies. The study also supports previous research that indicates large firms with inflated market value are more likely to be subject to fraud litigation.
Originality/value
The study combines the literature on the characteristics of women in leadership positions with the study of fraud litigation. The authors find evidence that the presence of either female executives or female directors lowers financial reporting fraud risk.
Details
Keywords
Kent Walker, Zhou Zhang and Bing Yu
This paper aims to examine how increases in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR) relate to firm performance. Further, this paper…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how increases in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR) relate to firm performance. Further, this paper investigates how increases in CSR (CSiR) while CSiR (CSR) is present relate to three measures of firm performance: profitability, management efficiency and market valuation.
Design/methodology/approach
Using over 10,000 observations from 2009-2013 and combined data from Sustainalytics and Compustat, this paper examines how increases in either CSR or CSiR relate to firm performance.
Findings
The paper finds that increased CSR significantly relates to increased firm performance in all three measures, and that increased CSiR significantly relates to decreased profitability only. Furthermore, increased CSR when CSiR is present relates to increased efficiency and market valuation. Finally, increased CSiR when CSR is present relates to increased profitability and efficiency. The results suggest that CSR dominates the relationship to firm performance, as it was positively related to all three measures of firm performance, and when CSR and CSiR exist simultaneously, CSR has a dominant positive effect.
Research limitations/implications
The study sample consists of US firms only from 2009-2013, thus the generalizability of the results to other countries and periods is unknown.
Practical implications
The results demonstrating differing effects based on the measure of firm performance suggest that managers should be specific with which measures are used to gauge the impact of CSR and CSiR. In addition, managers would be wise to invest in CSR, as the results suggest that they can improve profitability, efficiency and market value. Even further, the empirically identified angel-halo effect suggests that investments in CSR may counter any potential negative effects from CSiR. Finally, the latter results suggest that firms can “get away” with some degree of CSiR when CSR is present.
Originality/value
By examining changing levels of CSR and CSiR independently and conjunctly across various measures of firm performance, this paper found a dominating role for CSR, which is labeled as the angel-halo effect.
Details
Keywords
This paper examines relationship between bargaining powers of creditors as well as employees and financial leverage across countries. The purpose of this paper is to explore roles…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines relationship between bargaining powers of creditors as well as employees and financial leverage across countries. The purpose of this paper is to explore roles of creditors and employees in capital structure decisions under different legal and political regimes across countries.
Design/methodology/approach
Using country‐level creditor rights index and labor rights index as a proxy for bargaining powers of creditors and employees, respectively, the author addresses the interaction between creditors as well as employees and shareholders. The paper tests the impact of employee rights and creditor rights on capital structure across countries.
Findings
The author finds a positive relationship between employee rights and firms' use of debt and a negative relationship between creditor rights and firm debt ratio.
Social implications
The paper provides a new perspective to interpret international variation in financial leverage in the world. The results obtained from this paper help us to understand financial leverage in different countries with various corporate governance mechanisms.
Originality/value
This paper takes all stakeholders into account when studying agency problems; it explores the role of creditors and employees in financing decision making under various corporate governance patterns and political and legal systems across countries.
Details
Keywords
Examines the wide range of business process analysis/modelling (BPA/M) tools available, and compares the features of 12 specific tools. Presents two case studies with examples of…
Abstract
Examines the wide range of business process analysis/modelling (BPA/M) tools available, and compares the features of 12 specific tools. Presents two case studies with examples of software tool analysis results. The discussion addresses whether these tools meet the needs of managers of change and business process re‐engineering (BPR) initiatives, and offers suggestions for future tool evolution. The focus is to highlight the differences between the often lofty claims of tool vendors, and both the real needs of BPR analysts and implementors, and the actual capabilities of the BPR tools. The BPA/M tool market has three groups: drawing packages with templates; drawing packages with templates and some spreadsheet‐like capabilities; and the heavyweight BPA/M tools proper, akin to discrete event simulators. The general strengths of such heavyweight tools include: the high price for low software complexity, the large number of confusingly similar tools, the lack of comprehensive standards, and the potential “faddishness” of the tools. Irrespective of evolving management trends, the authors contend that the future use of similar process analysis tools is assured if standards issues are addressed.
Details
Keywords
Bing Yu, Jennifer Anne Harding and Keith Popplewell
Manufacturing enterprises must satisfy customers’ needs, in order to sustain their position in the competitive market. This requires the enterprises to continuously design and…
Abstract
Manufacturing enterprises must satisfy customers’ needs, in order to sustain their position in the competitive market. This requires the enterprises to continuously design and produce new products. To handle new product introductions or changes to existing product ranges, enterprises must modify or re‐design their processes. Enterprise design and implementation is very expensive and time consuming. Hence, application of modelling techniques can be beneficial, first to avoid mistakes, which may result in loss of market position, and secondly to test alternative designs with minimum cost. Modelling a complex manufacturing enterprise requires a great amount of varied information. Thus, efficient collection and assessment of information are key factors in successful design. This paper introduces a multi‐view support tool, called Factory Design Process Views (FDP Views), which aims to facilitate the capture, evaluation, access and modification of all the information required by designers and management during an enterprise design.
Details
Keywords
Simulation is an established method of predicting, in detail, theperformance of manufacturing systems at the shop or cell level. Recentdevelopments in computer hardware and…
Abstract
Simulation is an established method of predicting, in detail, the performance of manufacturing systems at the shop or cell level. Recent developments in computer hardware and software technology, combined with methodologies for approximate modelling, allow the extension of simulation to modelling of complete factories or manufacturing enterprises. Such applications require appropriate performance measures, possibly different from those generated in more detailed simulation, to be derived from the models. Examines the performance measures which can be usefully predicted by such models, their relationship with one another, and their propagation through the hierarchical structure of factory management systems. Applies practically the taxonomy of performance measures derived to industrial case studies, and includes a brief example of application.
Details
Keywords
Mary Jane Lenard, Karin A. Petruska, Pervaiz Alam and Bing Yu
The purpose of this paper is to compare the effect of corporate governance variables and fraud litigation on audit fees both before and after the implementation of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare the effect of corporate governance variables and fraud litigation on audit fees both before and after the implementation of the Sarbanes‐Oxley (SOX) Act in 2002.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper utilizes a sample of firms that had litigation proceedings filed against them for fraudulent financial reporting, and compare these firms to a sample of non‐fraud firms in the pre‐and post‐SOX period. First, the authors examine indicators of audit fees using the Simunic model. Next, the authors develop a logistic regression model with corporate governance variables and other financial control variables in order to identify the characteristics of firms that are accused of fraud in the pre‐and post‐SOX period.
Findings
The paper identifies specific components of corporate governance that are positively related to audit fees and which subsequently aid in classifying companies subject to fraud litigation. The most successful logistic regression model for 2005 (post‐SOX) is 64.4 per cent accurate in distinguishing firms litigated for fraud, while the most successful model for 2001 (pre‐SOX) is 61.4 per cent accurate in distinguishing such firms.
Originality/value
The research design and findings assist in providing additional evidence about the association between the effectiveness of the corporate governance structure and the external auditor in assessing the risk of fraud.
Details
Keywords
Mary Jane Lenard, Bing Yu, E. Anne York and Shengxiong Wu
The purpose of this paper is to study gender diversity on the board of directors and the relation to risk management and corporate performance as measured by the variability of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study gender diversity on the board of directors and the relation to risk management and corporate performance as measured by the variability of stock market return.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consists of companies from the RiskMetrics database from 2007 to 2011. This database contains information on corporate board of directors. Financial variables were collected from the Compustat database and CRSP database for the years 2005-2011. The authors then measure the effect of gender diversity on corporate performance in terms of firm risk, using the model by Cheng (2008) which measures the variability of stock market return.
Findings
The study shows that more gender diversity on the board of directors impacts firm risk by contributing to lower variability of stock market return. The higher the percentage of female directors on the board, the lower the variability of corporate performance.
Originality/value
The research design and findings assist in providing additional evidence about the role of women in corporate leadership positions and the association with corporate performance. The approach combines Cheng's (2008) model of stock market variability with the impact of gender diversity on the board of directors.
Details
Keywords
Shahla U. Umar and Tarik A. Rashid
The purpose of this study is to provide the reader with a full study of the bat algorithm, including its limitations, the fields that the algorithm has been applied, versatile…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide the reader with a full study of the bat algorithm, including its limitations, the fields that the algorithm has been applied, versatile optimization problems in different domains and all the studies that assess its performance against other meta-heuristic algorithms.
Design/methodology/approach
Bat algorithm is given in-depth in terms of backgrounds, characteristics, limitations, it has also displayed the algorithms that hybridized with BA (K-Medoids, back-propagation neural network, harmony search algorithm, differential evaluation strategies, enhanced particle swarm optimization and Cuckoo search algorithm) and their theoretical results, as well as to the modifications that have been performed of the algorithm (modified bat algorithm, enhanced bat algorithm, bat algorithm with mutation (BAM), uninhabited combat aerial vehicle-BAM and non-linear optimization). It also provides a summary review that focuses on improved and new bat algorithm (directed artificial bat algorithm, complex-valued bat algorithm, principal component analyzes-BA, multiple strategies coupling bat algorithm and directional bat algorithm).
Findings
Shed light on the advantages and disadvantages of this algorithm through all the research studies that dealt with the algorithm in addition to the fields and applications it has addressed in the hope that it will help scientists understand and develop it.
Originality/value
As far as the research community knowledge, there is no comprehensive survey study conducted on this algorithm covering all its aspects.
Details
Keywords
News has reached us of the death on 19th August of Hans Peter Luhn, President of the American Documentation Institute since October 1963. Born in Barmen, Germany, in 1896, Mr Luhn…
Abstract
News has reached us of the death on 19th August of Hans Peter Luhn, President of the American Documentation Institute since October 1963. Born in Barmen, Germany, in 1896, Mr Luhn went to the United States in 1924. He joined IBM in 1941 and worked there until 1961, when he retired and became a consultant to industry. Although Mr Luhn was known by relatively few people in Britain, his contributions in the field of mechanization are widely known. During his time at IBM Mr Luhn was at the source of a steady stream of innovations in the field of information retrieval. Among the projects he initiated, or developed, are: Keyword‐In‐Context Indexes, automatic abstracting, statistical methods of automatic indexing and selective dissemination of information. He was a prolific writer and some of his publications are already classics. Mr Luhn will be remembered as one of the great pioneers in library automation.