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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the level of implementation of Six Sigma (SS) in the construction industry of Pakistan along with the current state of affairs and the challenges, and opportunities for a successful implementation.

The research is purely exploratory in nature. Based on published work, critical success factors are gathered, and a number of questionnaire surveys and interviews are conducted to refine and quantify their impact. A system dynamics framework to assess the SS influence on project success is developed and case study project are simulated.

The construction industry of Pakistan is still functioning in a traditional way; marred with low level of awareness and ad hoc approaches, the findings point to a huge improvement opportunity. Further, when under planning projects are exposed to SS, the chances of project success improve better than under execution projects.

The limited level of awareness possessed by the respondents constrains the possible outreach of this work in industrially developed contexts. However, this work may become an impetus for further research in managing quality in construction industry.

The findings can be used to improve the quality provision of construction projects.

This work may trigger an important debate over the research and implementation of SS in the construction industry of developing countries that may greatly benefit by improving the quality of their projects and rectify their diminishing reputation for project success.

This study aims to examine the methodological and method-related challenges and opportunities arising from the use of video interviews in qualitative accounting research, focussed on collecting contextual data and visual cues, enriching communication quality and building and maintaining rapport with interviewees.

Prior literature and the authors’ experiences using video technologies for research, including conducting interviews, inform this research. This study uses a transactional conceptual refinement of information richness theory and channel expansion theory to critically analyse the challenges and opportunities of using video technology to conduct qualitative research interviews.

The ability, need for and significance of collecting contextual data depend on the researchers’ ontological and epistemological assumptions, and are, therefore, influenced by their research design choices. Video technology enables researchers to view research settings by video. In addition, whilst group/panel interviews have their advantages, it is often difficult to get everyone together in person, something video technology can potentially overcome. The feasibility and the quality of video interviews can be improved if both interview participants are experienced with using video technology, as well as with judicious investment in good quality video technology and through testing and practice. We also discuss how rapport building with interviewees can be facilitated by overcoming the video’s sense of disconnect and enhancing interviewees’ willingness to engage.

The study builds on the limited prior literature and considers the challenges and opportunities related to methodology and method when conducting video-based qualitative interviews in accounting research. Broadly, qualitative researchers will find the paper useful in considering the use of video interviews and in making research design choices appropriate for video interviews.

A major challenge for foreign lenders in financing public private partnerships (PPP) infrastructure projects in an emerging market (EM) is the bankability of country-related risks. Despite existing studies on country risks in international project financing, perspectives of foreign lenders on bankability of country-specific risks in an EM is yet to be explored. Hence, using a mixed methodology approach, three private finance initiatives/PPP projects in Sub Saharan Africa (Nigeria) were used to investigate political risk, sponsor, concession and legal risks in PPP loan applications. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The study adopted mixed methodological approach comprising focus group discussions and analysis of loan documents obtained from foreign project lenders, in addition to the questionnaire survey distributed to local and international project financiers with experiences in PPPs within Nigeria.

Results identified seven topmost bankability criteria for evaluating country-related risks (political risk, sponsor, concession and legal risks) in EM PPPs. In addition, a “Risk and Bankability Framework Model” was developed from the study presenting critical parameters for gaining foreign funding approval for EM’s PPP loan applications.

Since the study only explored bankability of PPPs in Sub Saharan Africa with the exclusion of other geographical regions, the proposed framework model should be taken in context of EMs as a mind-map for foreign lenders and local private investors seeking to finance PPPs in an EM.

Results from the study represent critical parameters for winning foreign loan approval for PPP infrastructure projects within an EM context.

Study proposed “Risk and Bankability Framework Model” relevant for evaluating PPP loan applications at the pre-approval stage for EM PPPs.

This paper aims to meta-analyze the results of the prior studies related to the relationship of human capital and financial performance in Islamic banking.

To examine the relationship between human capital and financial of Islamic banks, 23 empirical studies having sample of 15,607 are considered for the meta-analysis. Moreover, different measures related to financial performance including return on assets (ROA), return of equity (ROE) and Tobin’s Q have been taken as moderating for further subgroup analysis.

The results of meta-analysis reveal a positive correlation between human capital and financial performance with an effect size of 0.268. The subgroup analyses showed significant positive associations of human capital with ROA and ROE, insignificant with Tobin’s Q.

This study suggests Islamic banking should prioritize human capital development, maintain consistency and adopt a long-term perspective. Future research should consider context-specific factors and harmonize human capital and financial performance measurements for consensus.

The study aims to critically review the Shariah governance framework for Islamic banking prevailing in Pakistan and provide a comparison with Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI).

It analyzes 16 circulars issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) since 2002, including three Shariah governance frameworks in 2014, 2015 and 2018. Additionally, the study compares the SBP and AAOIFI Shariah governance standards to evaluate the soundness of the SBP framework against international benchmarks.

Pakistan’s Shariah governance model is centralized, with the SBP’s Shariah board having ultimate authority. The SBP has provided a comprehensive Shariah framework, which includes among others, the criteria for the qualifications and conflict of interests of Shariah members. Both AAOIFI and SBP Shariah governance frameworks have similarities and differences in terms of the tenure of Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB) members, reporting line of SSB, number of SSB meetings, minimum experience of SSB members, primary duties of Shariah board, code of ethics and conduct for SSB and management and requirement of publication of SSB report in the annual report of Islamic banks. The frameworks differ in terms of the delegation of SSB powers, assessment and appraisal of SSB effectiveness and outsourcing of Shariah Compliance Department and Internal Shariah Audit Unit.

The study recommends expanding the qualification criteria for Shariah advisors to include additional degrees and qualifications, upholding stringent criteria for conflict of interests and promoting stakeholder consultation through exposure drafts.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first of its kind which critically review and compare the Shariah governance framework prevailing in Pakistan.

This paper aims to evaluate the extent of materiality assessment disclosures in sustainability reports and their determinants. The study examines the disclosure practices of listed companies based in the member states of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, colloquially referred to as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

First, the materiality assessment disclosures were scored through a content analysis of sustainability reports published by listed GCC companies during a five-year period from 2013 to 2017. Second, a fixed effect ordered logic regression was used to examine the determinants of materiality assessment disclosures.

While sustainability reporting rates improved across the sample period, a significant majority of listed GCC companies do not engage in sustainability reporting. The use of internationally recognised standards has also declined. While reporters provide more information on their materiality assessment, the number of sustainability reports that offer information on how the reporter identifies material issues has declined. These trends potentially indicate the existence of managerial capture. Materiality assessment disclosure scores are positively influenced by higher financial performance (Return on Assets), lower leverage and better corporate governance. However, company size and market-to-book ratio do not influence materiality assessment disclosures.

The findings may prove useful to managers responsible for preparing sustainability reports who can benefit from the examples of materiality assessment disclosures. An evaluation of the materiality assessment should be included in the scope of assurance engagements and practitioners can use the examples of best practice when evaluating sustainability reports. Stock exchanges may consider developing improved corporate governance guidelines as these will lead to materiality assessment disclosures.

The findings may assist in improving sustainability reporting quality, through better materiality assessment disclosures. This will allow corporate stakeholders to evaluate the reporting entities underlying processes, which leads to transparency and corporate accountability. Improved corporate sustainability reporting supports the GCC commitment to implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and transition to sustainable development.

This study addresses the call for greater research examining materiality within a sustainability reporting context. This is the first paper to examine sustainability reporting quality in the GCC region, focussing particularly on materiality assessment disclosures.

This paper focuses on the market for sustainability assurance (SA) services. The aims of this paper are to review academic efforts in the field, highlighting ground covered, provide a comprehensive understanding of the market for this new form of assurance and identify potential avenues for future research.

These objectives were met through a review of 50 academic journal articles identified as relevant to the SA field.

SA is a voluntary exercise in most jurisdictions, and engagements are structured to meet the needs (demands) of the market and the capabilities (supply) of assurance providers. This has given rise to a diverse landscape with engagements of differing scopes and objectives. From a demand side, the literature reveals a number of drivers (both at the macro and micro levels) and inhibitors for SA services. From a supply side, the literature sheds light on the assurance providers operating in the market and the standards they use when undertaking SA services. These practitioners include accountants (the big four) who use ISAE3000 and non-accountants who prefer AA1000AS. The review reveals five broad areas which have been the focus of existing studies. Finally, the study identifies seven avenues for future research in the SA field.

The findings of this paper will prove valuable to practitioners as it will assist them in understanding this new form of assurance. Researchers will benefit from an understanding on ground covered and future avenues for research.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how sustainability assurance providers’ (SAPs) promotion of sustainability assurance influences the scope of engagements, its implications for professional and managerial capture and the ability of sustainability assurance to promote credible reporting.

The authors conducted in-depth interviews with sustainability reporting managers (SRMs) and SAPs in Australia and New Zealand, using an institutional work lens to focus the analysis.

At the start of a new assurance engagement, SAPs offer pre-assurance and flexible assurance scopes, allowing them to recruit clients on narrow-scoped engagements. These narrow-scoped engagements focus on disclosed content and limit SAPs’ ability to add value and enhance credibility. During assurance engagements, SAPs educate managers and encourage changing the norms underlying sustainability reporting. At the end of the assurance engagement, SAPs provide a management report demonstrating added-value of assurance and encouraging clients broader-scoped engagements. However, with each assurance engagement, the recommendations offer diminishing returns, often leading managers to question the value of broad-scoped engagements and to consider narrowing the scope to realize savings. Under these conditions, client pressure (potentially managerial capture) along with practitioners’ desires to grow assurance income (potentially professional capture) can affect SAPs’ independence and the quality of their assurance work.

The study implies that regulation mandating the scope of engagements may be called for.

The authors contribute to the research literature in several ways. First, the findings show how professional and managerial capture occurs before, during and at the end of the assurance process. The authors highlight how perceived value addition from sustainability assurance diminishes over time and how this impacts the scope of engagements (with implications for SAPs independence and the quality of assurance work). The authors show these findings in a table, clarifying the complicated interrelationships. Second, the authors contribute to theory by identifying a new form of institutional work. Third, unlike previous studies focused on SAPs, the authors provide insights from the perspectives of both SAPs and SRMs.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how sustainability reporting managers (SRMs) institutionalise sustainability reporting within organisations.

In total, 35 semi-structured interviews with SRMs in Australia and New Zealand were analysed using an institutional work perspective.

SRMs’ institutional work can be categorised into four phases with each phase representing a different approach to sustainability reporting. Organisations transition from phase one to four as they achieve a higher level of maturity and a deeper embedding and routinisation of sustainability reporting. These include educating and advocacy work undertaken by engaging with managers (phase one), transitioning to a decentralised sustainability reporting process (phase two), transitioning to leaner, focussed, materiality driven sustainability reporting (phase three), and using sustainability key performance indicators and materiality assessment reports for planning, decision-making, goal setting, performance appraisal, and incentives (phase four). However, SRMs face challenges including their inexperience, limited time and resources, lack of management commitment to sustainability reporting and low external interest in sustainability reporting. The study identifies ten reasons why material issues are not always (adequately) disclosed.

This study recommends more training and development for SRMs, and that regulation be considered to mandate the disclosure of the materiality assessments in sustainability reports.

This research extends the existing literature examining how sustainability reports are prepared and sheds further light on how a materiality assessment is undertaken. The study identifies ten reasons for the non-disclosure of material matters, including but not limited to, legitimacy motives. Researchers can use these reasons to refine their methods for evaluating published sustainability reports. At a theoretical level, the study provides four observations that institutional researchers should consider when examining forms of institutional work.

The purpose of this study is to understand the efforts of key social actors in influencing the reform of Iranian public universities budgeting system, from incremental to performance-based budgeting (PBB), the tensions that arose as competing efforts of institutional change were undertaken, and ultimately the impact of these efforts on the extent to which the Iranian government transitioned to a system of PBB in public universities.

Data comprises of semi-structured interviews with managers and experts involved in the budget setting process and an analysis of budgetary policy documents, reports and archival material such as legislation. An institutional work lens is employed to interpret the findings.

While actors advocating the change were engaged in institutional work directed at disrupting the old budgetary rules by disassociating the rules moral foundations and creating new budgetary rules (through new legislation), universities undertook subtle resistance by engaging in extended evaluation of the new proposed PBB rules thereby maintaining the old budgetary rules. The reforms undertaken to introduce PBB in Iranian universities achieved minimal success whereby incremental budgeting continued to constitute by far a larger percentage of the budget allocation formula for university budgets. This finding illustrates change and continuity in university budgetary systems resulting from institutional work of actors competing to control the basis of resource allocation under the proposed PBB system by proposing contradicting models.

The findings highlight the importance of understanding the interplay of institutional work undertaken by competing social actors as they seek to advance their goals in shaping budgetary reforms in the public-sector. Such an understanding may inform policy makers who intend to introduce major reforms in public-sector budgeting approaches.

Unlike prior studies that largely focused on how organization-level budgeting practices responded to changes in public budgeting rules (i.e. at the site of implementation of the rules), this paper highlights how strategies of change and resistance are played out at the site of setting budgetary norms.