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Agency theory motivated this study, posing that leverage mitigates the agency problem. The aim was to examine whether leverage influences the relationship between executive-employee pay gaps (EEPGs) and firm performance. The study was conducted in the mining and retail sectors between 2012 and 2021.

Two EEPGs were featured based on their executive fixed pay and variable incentives accumulation. Proxies of firm performance were headline earnings per share; return on assets; earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation; and return on stock price. Data were collected from 76 JSE-listed firms in the retail and mining sectors and analysed using the two-step generalised method of moments.

The results revealed the hybrid implication of the pay gap for firm performance in the retail and mining sectors of South Africa, depending on the performance measures emphasised. More importantly, the study shows that with the moderating effects of leverage, firms can improve their performance while shrinking the pay gap.

The results have implications for policy addressing income inequality, debt management, executive compensation and regulatory reforms in South Africa concerning productivity and remuneration decisions.

The article provides specific literature for retail and mining industries on pay gaps, shows that it is possible to reduce the pay gap without compromising performance and suggests a new measure of performance that is more attuned to pay gap effect measurement.

Risk information provides information to enable stakeholders to make informed decisions about a company. Corporate communications should be readable and unbiased so as not to hamper disclosure usefulness. This study assesses whether risk disclosures in the integrated reports are readable and unbiased.

The readability and narrative tone of South African listed companies' risk and risk management disclosures as disclosed in their integrated reports are analysed using automated software for the Top 40 JSE listed companies from 2015 to 2019.

The results show that risk and risk management disclosures are unreadable and lack any improvement in readability during the period. Additionally, these disclosures are biased toward narrative tones signalling communality and certainty.

The study adds to the literature on the readability of corporate reports, by focussing on the readability and narrative tone of risk and risk management disclosures during a period of increased scrutiny over the content of such disclosures. Also, by analysing risk disclosure and risk management disclosure separately, and by performing trend analysis to determine whether requirement changes related to content (specifically King IV) affect readability and narrative tones.

This paper aims to explore the effect of female’s presence in corporate governance structures to reduce agency conflicts, using a quantile regression approach.

The research investigates the relationship between company performance and boardroom gender diversity using quantile regression methods. The study uses annual data of 111 companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2020.

The study reveals that women on the board impact firm return on assets and enterprise value, varying across performance distribution. This contrasts fixed effect findings but aligns with two-stage least squares. However, quantile regression indicates that female executives and independent non-executive directors have notably negative impacts in high and low-performing companies, highlighting non-uniformity in the board gender diversity effect compared with previous assumptions.

The empirical findings suggest that companies with no women directors on the board are generally more likely to experience a decrease in performance and enterprise value relative to companies with women directors on the board. As recommended through the King Code of Corporate Governance, it is thus valuable to companies to ensure gender diversity on the board of directors.

The research confirms through rigorous statistical analyses that corporate governance policies, principles and guidelines should include gender diversity as a requirement for a board of directors.

The purpose of this study is to examine the interplay between integrated reporting quality (IRQ) and capital markets. More specifically, the authors test the impact of IRQ on stock liquidity, cost of capital and analyst forecast accuracy.

The sample consists of listed firms on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa, covering the period from 2012 to 2020. The IRQ measure used in this study is based on data from Ernst and Young. To test the proposed hypotheses, the authors conducted a generalized least squares regression analysis.

The empirical results evince a positive relationship between IRQ and stock liquidity. However, the authors did not find a significant effect of IRQ on the cost of capital and financial analysts’ forecast accuracy. In robustness tests, it was shown that firms with a higher IRQ score exhibit higher liquidity and improved analyst forecast accuracy. Additional analysis indicates a negative association between IRQ and the cost of capital, as well as a positive association between IRQ and financial analyst forecast accuracy for firms with higher IRQ scores (TOP ten, Excellent, Good).

The study stands as one of the initial endeavors to investigate the impact of IRQ on the capital market. It provides valuable insights for managers and policymakers who are interested in enhancing disclosure practices within the financial market. Furthermore, these findings are significant for investors as they make informed investment decisions.

This paper examines the effect of ESG ratings and its dimensions (environmental, social and governance) on the financial performance of JSE-listed firms included in FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Index.

The paper employs panel data covering 40 JSE-listed firms included in FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Index between 2015 and 2019. The paper employs the two-stage least squares (2SLS) instrumental variable regression technique to estimate the effect of ESG ratings and its dimensions (environmental, social and governance) on both accounting- and market-based performance indicators.

The results of the two-stage least squares instrumental estimation analysis reveal that investment in ESG initiatives improves both accounting- and market-based indicators of financial performance. Of the ESG pillars, the paper finds environmental initiatives improves firms' financial bottom line and market performance, while a firm's social and governance practices are observed to have no effect on a firm's accounting and market performance measures.

The insights from this study proffers policy implications for firms' management, investors and regulatory authorities.

As far as the authors are concerned, this paper presents the first empirical analysis on the contribution of ESG ratings on financial performance in South Africa.

This paper aims to develop a conceptual framework informed by a literature review. This framework aims to deepen and broaden the understanding of the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and non-financial reporting (NFR) through qualitative research approaches.

A review of corporate governance and NFR literature and existing research frameworks leads to the development of a conceptual framework to encourage future qualitative accounting research on the corporate governance mechanisms for NFR.

Few studies consider the complex interrelationships between NFR and corporate governance mechanisms. Quantitative studies using secondary data sources dominate accounting research on the topic. Of the small number of qualitative studies, many are theoretical and offer little new knowledge about the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms in practice. The research framework, developed from a literature review and consideration of multiple qualitative approaches, proposes numerous avenues for future research.

This paper is based on a scoping review of the literature using peer-reviewed journal papers. Other researchers may have identified additional literature for inclusion, including grey literature.

More qualitative research into NFR and corporate governance mechanisms may help to guide practitioners seeking to incorporate sustainability into their governance practices.

The critical relationship between NRF and corporate governance is under-explored in research yet has significant consequences for organisations pursuing sustainability.

The authors develop a conceptual framework for qualitative accounting research on NFR and corporate governance, addressing key outstanding questions in this area and considering different theoretical perspectives when approaching this critical topic. Although there is scope for further research in general in this promising area, including quantitative reviews and discursive studies, qualitative research would be of particular value. The authors also outline multiple directions for nurturing academic debate.

The purpose of this study is to explore the paranormal tourist experience on ghost tours, taking into account the participants’ perceptions and their prior knowledge of the paranormal, in order to determine the principal components of the future of paranormal tourist experience.

The study is divided into two phases. The first phase is based on participant observation during a ghost tour. The second phase is based on a previously published framework for paranormal tourism. It introduces a qualitative adaptation of the orchestra model to look in-depth at how experiences with paranormal tours might shape the future of tourism as a major subtype.

Paranormal tourism has external (situational-enchantment, historical, mystical, ghostly and unsolved mysteries) and internal (affective, cognitive, sensory, behavior and relationship) components that are inter-linked. Future paranormal tourist experiences (FPTEs) must be focused on enhancing these aspects in order to offer an immersive experience.

Consequently, this paper proposes the FPTE model.

This cross-country study aims to investigate from an interdisciplinary perspective the impacts of the accounting regulation's strength and cultural values of long-term orientation (LTO) and indulgence (ND) on board efficacy in developing countries.

Board Efficacy Index scores for 54 developing countries over the period 2007–2016 were employed to ascertain predictors of management's accountability to boards of directors and investors. Two types of explanatory variables – formal and informal – were employed in a pooled Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) analysis.

The research is the first to empirically show that more LTO and ND in a country have significant and positive effects on board efficacy. The findings also show that the strength of auditing and reporting standards (SARS) has a dominant impact on board efficacy, and the SARS' consideration is recommended in future cross-country research on board efficacy.

To restore investor confidence and increase the credibility toward firms, regulatory authorities in developing countries are called upon to integrate compliance with accounting and auditing regulations combined with cultural values in the implementation of good governance practices.

This study contributes to the board efficacy literature in two significant ways. First, the study constructs and empirically tests a conceptual model that integrates both informal factors, the six cultural dimensions of Hofstede et al. (2010), and formal factors, the strength of accounting regulations. Second, conducting a study on a sample not widely used in the literature, over a fairly long period of time, highlights the governance characteristics of this context and strengthens the internal and external validity of the study.

This study examines the value implications of oil price uncertainty for investors in diversified firms using a sample of 922 USA firms from 2001 to 2019.

Our study employs a panel dataset to examine the value implications of oil price uncertainty for diversified firm investors. We consider several alternative specifications to account for unobserved factors and measurement errors that could potentially bias our results. In particular, we use alternative measures of the excess value of diversified firms and oil price uncertainty, additional control variables, fixed-effects models, the Oster test, impact threshold for confounding variable (ITCV) analysis, two-stage least square instrumental variable (2SLS-IV) analysis and the system-GMM model.

We find that the excess value of diversified firms, relative to a benchmark portfolio of single-segment firms, increases with high oil price uncertainty. The impact of oil price uncertainty is asymmetric, as corporate diversification is value-increasing for diversified firm investors only when the volatility is due to positive oil price changes and amidst supply-driven oil price shocks. The excess value increases irrespective of diversified firms’ financial constraints and oil usage. Diversified firms become conservative in their internal capital allocations with high oil price uncertainty. Such conservatism is value-increasing for diversified firm investors, as it supports higher performance in response to oil price uncertainty.

Our study has three important implications: first, they are relevant to investors in understanding the portfolio value implications of oil price uncertainty. Second, they are helpful for firm managers while comprehending the value-relevant implications of internal capital allocations. Finally, our findings are policy relevant in the context of the future of diversified firms in developed markets.

Studies showed that stakeholders want the construction sector’s organisations to be more accountable and transparent regarding social and environmental issues through corporate social responsibility (CSR). There is a paucity of literature regarding CSR implementation in the construction sector, especially in developing countries like South Africa. Hence, the study evaluated CSR’s merits and hindrances and suggested solutions to enhance its implementation in the South African construction sector of Mpumalanga Province.

The researchers employed a questionnaire survey method to collect data from 68 useable respondents in the South African construction sector of Mpumalanga Province. The main section of the questionnaire was divided into three parts, each addressing an objective mean item score ranking technique.

Findings show management lacks willingness, absence of recognition for implementing CSR at tender adjudication, professionals regard CSR as a “soft issue,” inadequate ability to carry out CSR initiatives and lax CSR knowledge emerged as the key issues hindering construction stakeholders, especially construction companies, from participating in CSR in South Africa. The research suggests initiatives to enhance CSR in the construction industry.

The study shows that the findings can be used to improve the implementation of CSR engagement and possibly enhance a policy to stimulate friendly CSR in the South African construction sector.