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This study aims to reveal to what extent successful European listed firms depend on their intellectual capital investment in achieving business success during the global financial crisis.

This study used value added intellectual coefficient (VAIC) methodology to measure the effect of intellectual capital on financial performance of business, which consist of 683 the sample listed firms. To examine the nexus between intellectual capital, legal origin and firm performance, estimated panel test and ordinary least squares regression model is used to data obtained from a sample of European countries.

The finding of this study suggests that there exists a positive relationship between intellectual capital and firm performance with return on assets (ROA) before the financial crisis, while firm performance with return on equity did not contribute to intellectual capital before and after the crisis period. Additionally, common law countries have a positive and statistically significant impact on firm performance with ROA for the before-crisis period, while code law countries have positively significant effect with VAIC on ROA.

The VAIC method has played a critical role in the management decision-making process to integrate the intellectual capital in the financial crisis period.

This study examines intellectual capital components such as human capital, structural capital and process capital efficiencies and firm performance in the legal origin context. The empirical evidence shows that there are significant impacts of legal origin on the nexus between intellectual capital and performance of listed firms during the global financial crisis.

This study aims to identify the impact of intellectual capital (IC) on the bank’s performance using a cross-country approach with India and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries using the Skandia navigator model (SNM).

This study uses a mixed-methods research approach by taking financial and non-financial measures to assess the impact of the IC on the bank’s performance using the SNM. The study implies an analysis of the data from the top ten banks in India and twenty banks in GCC countries. The selection was done based on the volume of the bank’s business for three years (2019–2020, 2020–2021 and 2021–2022).

The research has three main findings: there is a positive impact of IC on the bank’s performance; amongst the factors of SNM, there is a direct impact of human capital and customer focus on the performance of the selected banks in both India and GCC countries; and the other factors of SNM such as structural capital and process focus, renewal and development focus also affect the selected banks.

The outcomes of the research may be useful for policymakers in India and GCC countries, as it identifies IC components that have a significant impact on the bank’s performance. This might enable them to develop policies that foster such factors, which, consequently, will improve the performance of the banks in the selected countries.

This study is an attempt to fill the gap in the existing literature on IC and bank’s performance for two different types of countries using the SNM.

This study aims to examine the relationship between audit committee (AC) effectiveness and firm performance (FP) with the moderation of knowledge intensity while observing the varying effect of each AC characteristic’s influence on its effectiveness.

This study examines 133 companies covering five years from 2016 to 2020 using the partial least squares-structural equation model and weighing AC effectiveness-related characteristics through multiple regression between AC characteristics and the AC effectiveness construct.

The results indicate that the knowledge intensity of the firms negatively influences the relationship between their AC effectiveness and FP, implying that the ACs are not sophisticated enough to monitor the knowledge component of the firm’s assets. Among AC characteristics, six attributes have a significant positive impact, two have a negative impact and three have no significant influence on AC effectiveness while influencing FP.

Apart from guiding the regulators, managers and other stakeholders to choose an appropriate mix of AC characteristics for enhancing FP, the study contributes to the existing literature by providing evidence that ACs are ineffective in monitoring the knowledge assets of the company compared to physical assets.

This study is pioneering in investigating the moderation role of knowledge intensity on the relationship between AC effectiveness and FP. While providing a comprehensive and holistic view of AC effectiveness by considering 11 AC characteristics’ individual as well as aggregate effects on FP, it removes the obsolescence of earlier research in the Indian context owing to the latest regulatory reforms.

The purpose of this study is to examine the level of Shariah governance disclosure among Islamic banks in Malaysia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (i.e. Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia). On top of that, the effect of Shariah governance disclosure on Islamic banks financial performance is investigated.

Data underwent quantitative content analysis and a mean comparison of the Shariah governance disclosure mechanisms as well as multiple regression analysis. Shariah governance information is obtained from the Islamic banks' official websites and the Bursa Malaysia Exchange.

The results of the content analysis revealed that the level of Shariah governance disclosure among Malaysian Islamic banks has been more pronounced than in the GCC countries. Additionally, the multiple regression analysis results specified that of the five Shariah governance disclosure mechanisms, the Shariah committee emerged as the strongest determinant in the financial performance of the Islamic banks, followed by transparency and disclosure.

Islamic banks should emphasise publishing Shariah governance information in annual reports to reflect superior accounting practices as assessed by certified Shariah auditors with an effective monitoring system.

The empirical findings are vital for serving as a guideline for Islamic banks in Malaysia and the GCC countries to disclose their practice of Shariah governance and gain empirical insights into its effect on firms’ financial performance. Following that, Islamic banks would improve their accounting practices while adhering to Shariah principles, strengthen internal controls and boost their brand reputation.

This study aims to analyze how sustainability, through an efficient knowledge management (KM) system, can serve as a driving force with respect to corporate culture and reputation. The research questions that guided this study are mainly the following: Are KM and sustainability related? Can culture strengthen the link between KM and sustainability? Can the link between KM and sustainability be affected by reputation?

The methodological approach adopted corresponds to qualitative research of analysis on the reference literature in the international field, also supported by empirical analysis.

In this study, the authors show that there is no explicit correlation between sustainability and KM. This relationship, in fact, is not underlined in nonfinancial reporting because it is absent or because it is not considered relevant. Too often sustainability is reduced to a mere relational and reputational tool, ignoring the fact it must be considered a consequence and not the main goal to improve companies’ culture.

The sample studied by the authors refers to the top 40 companies listed on the Italian market, not allowing to generalize the findings across the international context.

The practical implications that could result from making explicit the relationship between sustainability and KM are multiple: the substantial benefits of the reputational aspect, an increase in the economic value related to sustainability; to ensure the going concern of the company and implement its ability to produce and share value in the long term.

The social benefits of a stronger relationship between sustainability and KM are related to the possibility to improve the wealth of all the stakeholders.

This paper analyzes the links between sustainability and KM to understand the influence of these factors on corporate culture and reputation.

This study aims to examine the impact of corporate governance (CG) on anti-corruption disclosure (A-CD), paying particular attention to the FTSE 100. Notably, it examines how board and audit committees’ characteristics affect the quantity and quality of anti-corruption disclosure.

Data from FTSE 100 firms, spanning the period from 2014 to 2020, were analysed using the regression of the Poisson fixed effect and GEE analyses.

The findings show that gender diversity, audit committee expertise and the independence of the audit committee are positively associated with both quantity and quality of anti-corruption disclosure. Notably, no statistically significant relationships were identified between anti-corruption disclosure and factors such as board size, role duality or board meetings.

The findings provide valuable insights for decision-makers and regulatory bodies, shedding light on the elements that compel UK companies to enhance their anti-corruption disclosure and governance protocols to alleviate corruption and propel efforts towards ethical behaviour.

This study makes a notable contribution to the sparse body of evidence by examining the influence of board and audit committee attributes on anti-corruption disclosure subsequent to the implementation of the UK Bribery Act in 2010. Specifically, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study assesses for the first time the impact of board and audit committee mechanisms on both the quantity and quality of anti-corruption disclosure.

This study investigates the relationship between board gender diversity (BGD) and the time to Initial Public Offering (IPO), which stands as an entrepreneurially risky choice, particularly challenging in family firms. We also investigate the moderating role of family ownership dispersion (FOD).

We draw on an integrated theoretical framework bringing together the upper echelons theory and the socio-emotional wealth (SEW) perspective and on hand-collected data on a sample of Italian family IPOs that occurred in the period 2000–2020. We employ ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and alternative model estimations to test our hypotheses.

BGD positively affects the time to IPO, thus, it increases the time required to go public. FOD negatively moderates this relationship. Our findings remain robust with different measures for BGD, FOD, and family business definition as well as with different econometric models.

The article develops literature on family firms and IPO and it enriches the academic debate about gender and IPOs in family firms. It adds to studies addressing the determinants of the time to IPO by incorporating gender diversity and the FOD into the discussion. Finally, it contributes to research on women and outcomes in family firms.

This study aims to explore the intelligibility of communication with stakeholders as a result of accrual accounting adoption. It focuses on changes in the use of visual forms and the readability of text that occurred immediately after the adoption of accrual accounting in performance reports of Italian public universities.

The authors collect the stakeholder section of performance reports published before and after accrual accounting adoption. Then, the authors use manual and computer-assisted textual analysis. Finally, the authors explore the data using principal component analysis and qualitative comparative analysis.

This study demonstrates that switching from cash to accrual accounting provokes immediate changes in communication patterns. It confirms the significant reduction of readability and increase in visual forms after accruals accounting adoption. The results indicate that smaller universities especially put effort into increasing intelligibility while implementing a more complex accounting system. This study also finds a relation between the change in readability and the change in visual forms that are complementary, with the exception of several very large universities.

The findings underline the possibility of neutralising the adverse effects of accounting reform associated with its complexity and difficulties in understanding by the use of visual forms and attention to the document’s readability.

This paper adds a new dimension to the study of public sector accounting from the external stakeholder perspective. It provides further insight into the link between accrual accounting adoption and readability, together with the use of visual forms by universities.

Given the relevance of female directors in the governance of any firm, this paper aims to examine their effect on firms’ financial performance by investigating their general impact and segregating the same into different subgroups based on Kanter’s theory.

To achieve the purpose, this study selects a sample of the top 100 listed Indian firms for the period of 2014–2018 and gathers the data pertaining to the variables under consideration from the respective firms’ annual report and corporate database Capitaline Plus. For undertaking the investigation, the authors have segregated the sample into three groups, i.e. firms with boards having less than 10% of female directors are called skewed boards; firms with boards having female directors that range from 10% to 20% are called as tilted board; and firms with boards having sizable representation of female directors of above 20%. To examine the performance impact of overall female directors and their different subgroups, the authors have used a generalized estimating equation model. For the robustness test, the authors have used the fixed-effect model.

The authors find a significant positive impact of the overall percentage of female directors on the financial performance of firms. Additionally, the results indicate that boards with a titled group of female directors and boards with a sizable representation of female directors significantly positively impact firms’ performance. However, the authors fail to extricate any significant performance impact of boards with a skewed group of female directors.

First, the study reveals that despite prevailing nepotism in India, female directors, owing to their core characteristics, can create a favorable perception of firms in the market. Second, it also works as an eye-opener for regulators by revealing the minimum threshold for female directors that a board should have to exploit the benefits of a gender quota rather than mere compliance with the requirements of the Companies Act, 2013. Third, it implies that more gender-diverse boards can improve a firm’s financial performance only if female directors range between the thresholds of 10% to 20%. Finally, the finding is significant for changing the business culture in India, where institutions are traditionally less supportive of women than in other emerging countries.

Departing from existing studies, which provide evidence on the performance impact of the overall percentage of female directors, the study unveils the differential impact of female directors on firms’ financial performance depending on their level of representation on the board. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study in the context of an emerging market to test Kanter’s theory.

The purpose of this study is to discuss the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) favorable attitude toward the financial sector’s digital transformation and the development of FinTech due to the rise of financial technology. FinTech blends innovation and technology to provide financial inclusion to stakeholders through various new products and services such metaverse and artificial intelligence.

A quantitative research approach was used to empirically validate the suggested research model by using 260 Emirates-based banking authorities and administrators’ data.

The findings indicate that FinTech adoption had a substantial impact on the competitiveness and performance of the UAE banking industry during COVID-19 times. The research indicates that adequate FinTech implementation and alignment with technology management directly influence the performance of the UAE’s banking sector in difficult times.

This study is critical because the UAE banking sector serves diverse nationalities, and its success is contingent on FinTech and its competitive edge.