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Design of architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) project organizations expose project management practitioners (PMPs) to poor mental health due to the influence of project organization designs on project management activities assigned to the PMPs. The AEC project organization design comprises the integration of permanent organization, project organization and external environment layers. In spite of the link between project organization design and mental health, limited studies have examined the impact of permanent organization factors, project organization factors and external environmental factors on mental health management practices. Therefore, this study aims to examine the interactive relationships between permanent organization factors, project organization factors, external environment factors and mental health management indicators.

Four organizational theories: institutional theory, agency theory and resource-based theory were integrated to develop a theoretical model guiding the aim of the study. Eighty-two survey data were collected from PMPs in AEC firms in Australia. Structural equation modelling was used to test the relationships between the constructs.

The study found that mental health management indicators are predicted by the interactive and direct effects of permanent organizational factors, project organizational factors and external environmental factors. The results of the interactive effects of the factors and mental health management indicators revealed that 20 of 26 proposed hypotheses were supported. Based on the established hypotheses, economic factors, technological factors, environmental factors, legal factors and organizational culture positively correlated with mental health management indicators. Likewise, human resources management (HRM), corporate governance, project governance and integrated project delivery (IPD) positively impact mental health management indicators. However, political factors, social factors, knowledge management and project management skills negatively impact mental health management indicators. Moreover, political factors, economic factors, technological factors, environmental factors, legal factors and organizational culture are positively related to corporate governance. Additionally, organizational culture positively impacts corporate governance, project governance and HRM, whereas project governance positively correlated with IPD and knowledge management.

The findings provide guidelines to AEC firms on achieving positive mental health management indicators through concentration on project organization design.

This paper explores how conflicting institutional logics shape the behaviors of macro- and micro-level actors in their use of a calculative practice. Thereby, this paper explains how quantification can undermine the intended purpose of a governance system based on a single number.

The study draws upon the literature on calculative practices and institutional logics to present the case of how a single number—specifically the conversion factor for Atlantic Cod, established by macro-level actors for the purposes of governance within the Norwegian fishing industry—is interpreted and used by micro-level actors in the industry. The study is based on documents, field observations and interviews with fishers, landing facilities, and control authorities.

The use of the conversion factor, while intended to protect fish stock and govern industry actions, does not always align with the institutional logics of micro-level actors. Especially during the winter season, these actors may seek to serve their interests, leading to potential system gaming. The reliance on a single number that overlooks seasonal nuances can motivate unintended behaviors, undermining the governance system’s intentions.

Integrating the literature on calculative practices with an institutional logics perspective, this study offers novel insights into the challenges of using quantification for the governance of complex industries. In particular, the paper reveals that when the logics of macro- and micro-level actors conflict in a single-number governance system, unintended outcomes arise due to a domination of the macro-level logics.

The purpose of this paper is to model a process for moving toward sustainable ecosystem service decisions in a Coastal Biodiversity and discuss the directions of the process for decision-makers to apply in ocean ecosystem services.

After the development of theoretical approaches to understand their prospects for the future development of ecosystem services, the authors worked on a process for developing factors for sustainable decision-making. It uses the Delphi method to develop all the factors supported by six dimensions in two specific moments: deductive-inductive and inductive-deductive.

This process of modeling the factors expands the possibility of adaptive governance to make prior and subsequent decisions using factors related to dimensions, stakeholders and benefits, risks, opportunities and costs.

Considering the limitations, future studies could use another database to widen the view in terms of the studies, factors, dimensions and other additional information to maintain the evolution of this process in ocean ecosystem services decision-making. Another limitation arose in the number of projects and experts defining the factors. This may prevent the opportunity to have more impact in terms of future decisions if more sources are used in the market. In addition, time and the access to experts during this modeling process demonstrate a limitation, as does the time for feedback.

This set of factors developed for adaptive governance decision-making can be applied to develop a prior alignment of stakeholder interests with sustainable practices.

This set of factors developed with the intervention of experts reinforces the importance of sustainable collective decisions on ocean ecosystem services. This is a joint approach with participants in the NextOcean project, sponsored by the European Commissions (EC)’s Horizon 2020 program. An Earth Observation-based Consortia aims to create sustainable value for Space, Land and Oceans.

This modeling process generated dimensions and factors to support adaptive governance stakeholders in making sustainable decisions in a coastal biodiversity zone.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate governance characteristics and risk disclosure in Shariah-compliant financial firms operating in Kuwait. It aims to provide insights into the factors influencing risk disclosure practices within these institutions.

The research used manual content analysis to quantify risk disclosure levels in the annual reports of 47 Shariah-compliant financial companies listed in Kuwait in 2020. Subsequently, multiple regression analysis was conducted to assess the impact of various corporate governance factors on the extent of risk disclosure.

The study reveals that while Kuwaiti Shariah-compliant firms exhibit limited risk disclosure in their annual reports, larger boards and committees, along with a higher number of independent directors, positively influence the level of risk disclosure. Interestingly, the size of the Shariah supervisory boards did not show a significant impact on risk disclosure practices.

These findings hold regulatory implications for Kuwait, highlighting the need to ensure information adequacy and promote market efficiency. Additionally, they offer practical insights for managers and investors seeking to optimize fund sourcing and diversify investment portfolios within the context of Shariah-compliant financial institutions.

This study contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between corporate governance characteristics and risk disclosure in the specific context of Shariah-compliant financial firms operating in Kuwait. Furthermore, it identifies avenues for future research to delve into the influence of additional governance factors on risk disclosure practices within this unique financial landscape.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of country-level governance on sustainability performance, taking into account the effect of sustainable development goals (SDGs) and board characteristics.

This study uses panel data analysis using fixed effect models to investigate the influence of country-level governance on sustainability performance while considering the effect of SDGs and board characteristics. The sample comprises 8,273 firms across 41 countries during the period spanning from 2016 to 2021. The sample is divided into two categories based on the score of SDGs.

The findings of this study show that countries with high SDGs score have better overall country-level governance and board attributes which have a statistically significant positive impact on sustainability performance. However, for those countries with low SDGs, political stability shows a statistically insignificant and negative impact on sustainability performance, while government effectiveness indicates a statistically insignificant positive impact on sustainability performance.

This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between country-level governance, SDGs, board characteristics and sustainability performance. The study also highlights the importance of considering the effect of SDGs on the relationship between country-level governance and sustainability performance. The findings of this study could be useful for policymakers and firms in improving their sustainability performance and contributing to sustainable development.

This study aims to investigate the effects of three significant events – the 1994 CFA currency depreciation, the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), and instances of political coups – on the relationships between FDI inflow, economic growth, and governance within the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) countries. It seeks to evaluate how these events influence the linkages between FDI, economic growth, and governance, to aid the understanding of responses to external shocks and internal political disruptions.

The study employs a panel Vector Autoregression (VAR) analysis using data from 1990 to 2019 by exploring the dynamic relationships among FDI inflow, economic growth, and aggregate governance indicators within the CEMAC sub-region. The analysis was conducted utilizing the EViews software package, facilitating robust examination through the introduction of the Bayesian VAR to facilitate the interpretation of parameters and the data.

The results indicate that, contrary to initial hypotheses, growth and governance do not emerge as determinants for attracting FDI within the CEMAC sub-region. However, governance stands out as a crucial determining factor for economic growth. Furthermore, the study suggests that the 1994 CFA currency depreciation, the 2008 GFC, and instances of political coups did not significantly impact FDI, growth, and governance within these countries. Despite the potential vulnerability of the CEMAC countries to external shocks, the effects of these events on the dynamics of FDI, economic growth, and governance were not apparent. Notably, political instability, as evidenced by coups, emerges as a significant factor shaping the interactions between FDI, growth, and governance in CEMAC countries.

These findings have significant implications for policymakers and stakeholders in the CEMAC countries. Understanding that governance has a central role in driving economic growth places great importance of prioritizing governance reforms to foster sustainable development. Moreover, the identification of political instability as a key determinant affecting the relationships between FDI, growth, and governance emphasizes the need for political stability and effective governance structures to attract and sustain FDI inflows as well as foster economic growth.

This study contributes to the existing literature by offering insights into the linkages between FDI, economic growth, governance, and external shocks within the CEMAC sub-region. By examining the specific impacts of the 1994 CFA currency depreciation, the 2008 GFC, and political coups on these dynamics, the study provides original perspectives on the resilience of CEMAC countries to external and internal disruptions.

Given the perceived weak corporate governance systems in Ghana, corporate governance education curriculum requires empirical investigations to ascertain factors that can enhance student knowledge in governance systems based on their career interests and programme of study. Therefore, we investigate whether students with a career interest in corporate governance exhibit a significantly different level of comprehension compared to those without such an interest. Furthermore, we explore whether the comprehension of course concepts differs across various business-related programmes, investigating potential variations in understanding among students from diverse programme backgrounds.

Using a descriptive design, we adopt a quantitative approach and survey method to collect cross-sectional data from 1,050 undergraduate students in selected Ghanaian public universities. We analyse the data using t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).

We establish no statistically significant difference in comprehension levels of corporate governance concepts between students with a career interest in corporate governance and those with no career interest. However, we find statistically significant differences in the comprehension of corporate governance concepts among students pursuing different business-related programmes.

Our findings imply that the corporate governance course should be taught practically, giving students insights into what the course entails from an industrial viewpoint. This may entail engaging experts from industry as visiting lecturers at intervals to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Students could also benefit from mentorship programmes from industry, internships and related placements to ensure an understanding of theoretical concepts from practical perspectives.

Our study is novel and contributes to extant literature because it is the first empirical study on corporation governance education that emphasizes on students career interests and programme of study from a developing country perspective.

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have the potential to transform the infrastructure, mobility and social well-being paradigms in New Zealand (NZ) amid its unprecedented population and road safety challenges. But, public acceptance, co-evolution of regulations and AV technology based on interpersonal and institutional trust perspectives pose significant challenges. Previous theories and models need to be more comprehensive to address trust influencing autonomous driving (AD) factors in natural settings. Therefore, this study aims to find key AD factors corresponding to the chain of human-machine interaction (HMI) events happening in real time and formulate a guiding framework for the successful deployment of AVs in NZ.

This study utilized a comprehensive literature review complemented by an AV users’ study with 15 participants. AV driving sprints were conducted on low, medium and high-density roads in Auckland, followed by 15 ideation workshops to gather data about the users’ observations, feelings and attitudes towards the AVs during HMI.

This research study determined nine essential trust-influencing AD determinants in HMI and legal readiness domains. These AD determinants were analyzed, corresponding to eight AV events in three phases. Subsequently, a guiding framework was developed based on these factors, i.e. human-machine interaction autonomous driving events relationship identification framework (HMI-ADERIF) for the deployment of AVs in New Zealand.

This study was conducted only in specific Auckland areas.

This study is significant for advanced design research and provides valuable insights, guidelines and deployment pathways for designers, practitioners and regulators when developing HMI Systems for AD vehicles.

This study is the first-ever AV user study in New Zealand in live traffic conditions. This user study also claimed its novelty due to AV trials in congested and fast-moving traffic on the four-lane motorway in New Zealand. Previously, none of the studies conducted AV user study on SUV BMW vehicle and motorway in real-time traffic conditions; all operations were completely autonomous without any input from the driver. Thus, it explored the essential autonomous driving (AD) trust influencing variables in human factors and legal readiness domains. This research is also unique in identifying critical AD determinants that affect the user trust, acceptance and adoption of AVs in New Zealand by bridging the socio-technical gap with futuristic research insights.

This study aims to explore the interaction of “contractual governance – relational governance – governmental governance” mechanisms and proposes hypotheses about the effects of megaproject governance on governance performance from both theoretical and practical perspectives.

In this paper, a megaproject governance model is developed to explain the relationship between governance mechanisms and governance performance. The model is based on related literature and explores the interactions between governance mechanisms and how they work to improve governance performance. The structural equation model (SEM) is adopted to explore the influence path on governance performance for megaprojects.

The results indicate that: (a) The findings highlight the positive role of project governance mechanisms on governance performance. (b) Contractual governance, relational governance, and governmental governance directly affect governance performance. In addition, contractual governance mediates governance performance through relational governance and governmental governance; governmental governance mediates governance performance through contractual governance and relational governance. (c) Contractual governance, relational governance, and governmental governance play a positive role in governance performance.

Governmental governance is added to project governance theory and the empirical research method is used to explore the interaction between contractual governance, relational governance, and governmental governance of megaprojects. The SEM is used to systematically explore the paths of megaproject governance mechanisms on governance performance, considering the interactive role of the “contractual governance - relational governance - governmental governance” and the mediating role.

The study reveals the impact path of multidimensional megaproject governance mechanisms on governance performance. In this paper, the empirical findings can help the project participants by providing a decision-making basis for good governance and references for the governments to promote the construction of a micro-institutional environment for megaprojects.

The contributions of this study are (1) to add an exploration of governmental governance to the existing project governance theory, and (2) to consider the interactions of the “contractual governance – relational governance – governmental governance” mechanisms, and (3) to explore their effects on governance performance, including direct and mediating effects. This study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of megaproject governance by considering governmental governance and the interactions of the three governance mechanisms. Understanding the impact of megaproject governance on governance performance could assist project stakeholders and provide decision guidance for good governance.

This study examines the association between geopolitical risk (GPR) and corporate tax, which is a major source of revenue for the government and a significant explicit cost for firms. The authors use a comprehensive measure of GPR to study its effects on corporate taxes by using an international sample.

The authors adopt the geopolitical measure constructed by Caldara and Iacoviello (2022) as a proxy for GPR and cash-effective tax rate benchmarked with statutory tax rate to measure corporate tax avoidance. The authors employ panel regression with fixed effects (FEs) to investigate the impact of GPR on corporate tax avoidance. The authors also conduct a battery of robustness tests to ensure the strength of the study’s results.

This study’s empirical results indicate that sample firms increase their tax avoidance amid increasing GPR. Further analyses show that financial constraints incentivize firms to avoid taxes during rising geopolitical tensions. The authors also provide evidence on the role of firm-level and country-level governance in weakening the association between GPR and tax avoidance.

Policymakers and governments may strengthen the enforcement rule to limit aggressive tax practices of corporates during GPR to balance fiscal deficit. In addition, this study sheds light on the debate among administrators and politicians over the efficacy of current tax laws and governance structures in the presence of heightened GPR.

The authors extend the literature on GPR by analyzing its effect on corporate tax avoidance. Unlike existing single-country studies, the authors use a cross-country setup to investigate the impact of GPR on tax avoidance, making this study’s results more generalizable as the authors control for a host of country, industry, and time factors. Apart from political uncertainty, terrorism, and climatic issues, the authors document GPR as a strong macroeconomic driver of corporate tax avoidance. The authors make a new contribution to the literature on the moderating role of governance and institutional factors on the association between tax avoidance and GPR in an international context. The authors also contribute to the literature on macroeconomic determinants of tax avoidance.