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The study examines the association between firm-level political risk and corporate innovation and also this study explores how financial constraint and growth level of a firm influence this association.

A sample of 14,140 firm-year observations of the US firms from 2003 to 2020 is used. Unlike prior studies, this study uses a firm-level measure of political risk recently developed by Hassan et al. (2019) and measure innovation by patent and patent citation data and a text-based measure. A regression technique is used for empirical testing.

This study finds that firm-level political risk is negatively associated with innovation and also document that firm-level political risk has a negative impact on innovation for financially constrained and high growth firms. The overall results are robust after addressing the issue of potential endogeneity using entropy balancing and two-stage least squares regression techniques. This study also documents qualitatively consistent results after using alternative measures of innovation as well as firm-level political uncertainty.

The findings of this study could help the managers to make better investment decision and improve economic efficiency through understanding the effect of firm-level political risk on innovation activities.

The study concentrates on firm-level political risk and innovation and presents new insights that political risk at the microlevel is an important determinant for investment in innovative activities.

The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the association between corporate governance and the extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures in insurance companies, using archival data.

The data set comprises 277 listed insurance company-years in Bangladesh for the period of 2008 to 2014. The authors have used a checklist to measure the extent of CSR disclosures. The checklist was developed based on the previous CSR literature. The study uses a multiple regression analysis technique to investigate the association between different governance variables, particularly managerial ownership, institutional ownership, board independence and the proportion of female directors, and the extent of CSR disclosures in Bangladeshi insurance companies.

The authors find that board independence and the proportion of female directors have positive associations with the extent of CSR disclosures. However, the results indicate that managerial ownership is negatively associated with the extent of CSR disclosures.

Unlike most of the prior research that explored CSR disclosures in non-financial companies, the authors focus on financial companies, namely, insurance businesses. The authors provide empirical evidence using archival data that suggests that some governance mechanisms are important determinants of CSR disclosures in the insurance industry.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the association of corporate political connection with the level of voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures to determine how the relationships between the state and the corporate sector influence CSR engagement.

Based on a neo-pluralist view of legitimacy theory, which conceptualizes the state as a concentration of power amenable to exploitation by the corporate sector, the study develops and empirically tests a hypothesis that CSR disclosures are inversely associated with political connection. A sample of 936 firm-year observations is used with data collected from annual reports of companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange in Bangladesh from 2005 to 2013.

Results indicate that corporate political connection is associated with reduced CSR disclosures. This finding suggests that the perceived need for CSR disclosures as a legitimation strategy diminishes for politically connected firms. The finding supports a neo-pluralist argument that political connection could enable firms to eschew stakeholder pressure associated with potential legitimacy threats originating from poor CSR performance. This conclusion challenges the pluralist view of legitimacy theory that considers the state as a neutral arbiter resolving conflict among stakeholder groups in society.

The study makes a significant contribution to the literature by developing a neo-pluralist theorization of voluntary CSR disclosures within legitimacy theory and empirically testing it. Because prior empirical CSR disclosure research is largely underpinned by the pluralistic conception of society, examining this phenomenon from a neo-pluralist perspective enables a more complete understanding of CSR disclosure behaviors of firms.

This study aims to explore the association between chief executive officer (CEO) tenure and the quality of information disclosed through integrated reporting quality (IRQ), which combines financial and non-financial data. The authors also investigate how formal (e.g. board independence and gender diversity) and informal (e.g. corporate culture) governance mechanisms influence this association. By analysing these factors, the authors expect to provide valuable insights on the impact of CEO tenure and governance structures on the comprehensive nature of integrated reporting.

This study uses a sample of the top 200 Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed companies from 2015 to 2019. IRQ is measured through levels of compliance with the integrated reporting (IR) framework proposed by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). The hypotheses are tested using multiple regression analyses.

The authors find that CEO tenure is negatively associated with IRQ. Furthermore, CEO tenure has a more positive influence on IRQ in the early CEO tenure years than later ones. The authors' study finds that the association between CEO tenure and IRQ is insignificant when firms have a high level of monitoring, as measured by board independence and gender diversity. The authors also document that competitive corporate culture moderates the negative association between CEO tenure and IRQ.

The authors' study highlights the significant impact of internal formal and informal governance mechanisms on disclosure practices in Australia's voluntary IR environment. By shedding light on these factors, the authors' research enhances understanding of Australian companies' IR practices and offers valuable insights for scholars, policymakers and practitioners in the field.

The effect of political connections of agency costs has attracted considerable research attention due to the increasing recognition of the fact that political connection influences corporate decisions and outcomes. This paper aims to explore the association between corporate political connections and agency cost and examine whether audit quality moderates this association.

A data set of Bangladeshi listed non-financial companies is used. A usable sample of 968 firm-year observations was drawn for the period from 2005 to 2013. Asset utilisation ratio, the interaction of Tobin’s Q and free cash flow and expense ratio are used as alternative proxies for agency costs; membership to Big 4 audit firms or local associates of Big 4 firms is used as a proxy for audit quality.

Results show that politically connected firms exhibit higher agency costs than their unconnected counterparts, and audit quality moderates the relationship between political connection and agency costs. The results of this paper suggest the importance of audit quality to mitigate agency problem in an emerging economic setting.

The findings of this paper could be of interest to regulators wishing to focus regulatory effort on significant issues influencing stock market efficiency. The findings could also inform auditors in directing audit effort through a more complete assessment of risk and determining reasonable levels of audit fees. Finally, results could inform financial statement users to direct investments to firms with lower agency costs.

To the knowledge of the authors, this study is one of the first to explore the relationship between political connection and agency costs, and the moderating effect of audit quality of this relationship.

This study aims to investigate the moderating role of audit quality on the association between business group affiliation of firms and earnings management in the South Asian emerging economy of Bangladesh.

A usable sample of 917 firm-year observations was drawn from companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange from 2005 to 2013. Data were collected from the annual reports of sample companies. Earnings management was measured using the absolute value of discretionary accruals, and two proxies were used to measure audit quality: auditor size and industry specialisation.

Results showed that the level of discretionary accruals is positively associated with business group affiliation status, and higher audit quality reduces this association. This suggests that in environments without strong investor protection, complex ownership structures create opportunities for controlling shareholders to expropriate minority shareholders. The controlling shareholders could then mask this practice through earnings management. The findings also show that in environments lacking strong investor protection, audit quality can help improve earnings quality for group-affiliated firms.

The results suggest that financial statement users need to consider audit quality for a reasonable evaluation of the earnings quality of business groups. The study also informs regulators by illuminating audit quality as a key area of focus in any effort directed at enhancing stock market efficiency through improved earnings quality in environments where business group affiliation is prevalent.

This study documents empirical evidence on the moderating effect of audit quality on the positive association between business group affiliation and earnings management.

This study aims to examine the setting of International Standards on Auditing (ISA) 701 on disclosing key audit matters (KAMs) to explore the role of standard setting in maintaining or reconstituting the relationship of the auditing profession with preparers and users of financial reports.

This study draws on concepts from the sociology of the professions literature and the regulatory space metaphor. Data comprises comment letters and other documents pertaining to the setting of ISA 701.

The study shows that the KAM reporting requirement is part of the ongoing re-calibration of the regulatory arrangements governing auditing, which started in the early 2000s. This study interprets standard setting as a site for negotiating the relationships between linked ecologies in the audit regulatory space, namely, the auditing profession, preparers of financial statements and users of audited reports. This study identifies three processes involved in setting ISA 701, namely, reconstitution of the rules governing auditors’ reports as a link between the three ecologies, preserving boundaries between the auditing profession and preparers and negotiation aimed at balancing competing interests of the interrelated ecologies.

The study offers insights into the role of regulatory rule setting as a central medium through which the adaptive relationship of the profession with its environment is negotiated.

Although proponents of integrated reporting (IR) advocate that this emerging practice has the potential to transform corporate reporting, the eventuation of this expectation would depend on the incentive IR provides to firms. This study aims to examine whether IR is associated with cost of debt and whether IR moderates the relationship between financial reporting quality and cost of debt.

Based on insights drawn from information asymmetry and agency theories, the authors develop models that link IR and financial reporting quality with a firm’s cost of debt. The authors analyze 847 firm-year observations drawn from non-financial firms traded on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, for the period between 2009 and 2015.

The authors find that firms that provide integrated reports tend to have a lower cost of debt than those do not provide IR. The authors also find an inverse association between financial reporting quality and cost of debt, and that integrated reports accentuate this association. The findings suggest that the debt market perceives value in the information presented in integrated reports beyond what is furnished in financial reports.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to document evidence suggesting that the debt market perceives value in the information presented in integrated reports, beyond what is furnished in financial reports.

The emerging practice of integrated reporting (IR) has raised curiosity regarding how it impacts on firms and their stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether a firm’s decision to provide integrated reports is associated with its financing decisions and whether financial reporting quality mediates the relationship.

A usable sample of 832 firm-year observations was employed based on a dataset drawn from companies listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) for the period between 2009 and 2015.

The findings show that firms that provide integrated reports tend to have lower levels of leverage, and this effect is partially mediated through financial reporting quality. We further document that the partial effect of financial reporting quality on leverage is stronger for firms that provide integrated reports than is the case for other firms. The findings suggest that IR enables firms to employ equity financing, which is a more informationally-sensitive source of capital than debt financing.

This study is the first to document evidence suggesting that management can draw on IR in devising optimal financing strategy.

This study examines whether engagement with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-focused specialized training programs enable senior public officials (focal actor) to collectively deliver on public services that have a transformational societal impact over time. Further, the study explores the factors that impede and facilitate the delivery of such services. The authors do so by using service mechanics theorization and drawing on the lens of actor and collective engagement.

This study undertakes a longitudinal exploratory qualitative study design. SDG-focused training programs were delivered, as interventions, for two cohorts of senior public officials from Bangladesh in an Australian University in 2017 and 2019. In-depth interviews were conducted upon the training's completion and then after 8- and 12-month intervals to assess the short- and long-term impact respectively.

An empirical framework is proposed from the study findings. It shows that engagement – cognitive, emotional and behavioral – with SDG-focused specialized training programs enables focal actors (i.e. senior public officials) to engage other actors (other public officials, community members) in networks, facilitated the delivery of SDG-aligned public services. Such engagement results in a transformative impact that spans micro (individual), meso (organizational) and macro (societal) levels over time. Factors that impede and facilitate SDG-aligned delivery of public services are also identified.

Theoretically, the authors contribute to the literature that relates to actor and collective engagement, SDG-focused capacity-building training programs and service mechanics. Practically, this study informs organizations about the ways that they can effectively engage their senior employees with capacity-building training programs that focus on sustainability.

This study is one of the few that connects the interface between public service delivery for enacting societal changes and SDG-focused capacity-building training programs through service mechanics theorization and using the lens of actor and collective engagement.