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1 – 10 of 367
Article
Publication date: 30 November 2023

Hesham Bassyouny and Michael Machokoto

This paper aims to investigate the association between negative tone in annual report narratives and future performance in the UK context. Under the principle-based approach in…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the association between negative tone in annual report narratives and future performance in the UK context. Under the principle-based approach in the UK, managers tend to bias the tone of narrative reports upward, as the reporting regime is more flexible than the rule-based approach in the USA. Consequently, any negative disclosure not mandated by regulators conveys credible information about a firm’s prospects.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a sample of UK FTSE all-share non-financial companies from 2010 to 2019. The authors use the textual-analysis approach based on Loughran and McDonald (2011)’s wordlist (LM) to measure the negative tone in UK annual reports.

Findings

The results show a significant negative association between negative tone and future performance. Moreover, our further analyses suggest that only the negativity in the executive section of the annual disclosures correlates significantly with future performance. In summary, this study suggests that negativity does matter under the principle-based approach and can be used as an indicator of future performance.

Originality/value

In contrast to the literature arguing that only positivity has the power to affect a firm’s outcomes under the principle-based approach, the authors provide new empirical evidence suggesting that negativity also matters within the UK context and can be used as an indicator for future performance. Also, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to identify which section of the annual report is more informative about a firm’s future performance.

Details

International Journal of Accounting & Information Management, vol. 32 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1834-7649

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 January 2024

Zizhong Zhang

Hair loss is often overlooked but psychologically challenging. However, the emergence of online health communities provides opportunities for hair loss patients to seek social…

Abstract

Purpose

Hair loss is often overlooked but psychologically challenging. However, the emergence of online health communities provides opportunities for hair loss patients to seek social support through self-disclosure. Nevertheless, not all disclosures receive the desired support. This research explores what patients disclose within the community and how their health narrative (content, form and linguistic style) regarding self-disclosure influences the social support they receive.

Design/methodology/approach

This study investigated a 13-year-old online support group for Chinese hair loss patients with nearly 240,000 members. Using structural topic modeling, Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count, and a negative binomial model, the research analyzed the content of self-disclosure and the interrelationships between social support and three narrative dimensions of self-disclosure.

Findings

Self-disclosures are classified into 14 topics, grouped under analytical, informative and emotional categories. Emotion-related self-disclosures, whether in content or effective word use, receive deeper social support. Longer and image-rich posts attract more support in quantity, but not necessarily in quality, while cognitive words have a limited impact.

Originality/value

This study addresses the previously overlooked population of hair loss patients within online health communities. It employs a more comprehensive health narrative framework to explore the relationship between self-disclosure and social support, utilizing unsupervised structural topic modeling methods to mine text. The research offers practical implications for how patients seek support and for healthcare professionals in developing doctor-patient communication strategies.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 March 2024

Sourour Hamza and Anis Jarboui

This paper explores how the disclosure quality, measured by the abnormal tone of environmental and social report, may determine the environmental, social and corporate governance…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores how the disclosure quality, measured by the abnormal tone of environmental and social report, may determine the environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) performance of the firm. This study also investigates the impact of the moderator “board of directors” to explore the extent to which a well-balanced board of directors may affect this association within an impression management strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

This work uses a sample of 616 firm-year observations using a sample of French firms indexed on SBF120 index from 2010 to 2017. To test the developed hypotheses, the GLS regression is applied and to control for endogeneity issue and sample selection bias, the authors used, respectively, the two stage least square (2SLS) procedure and the Heckman model.

Findings

Findings suggest that a well-balanced board of directors moderates the relationship between the ESG performance and the disclosure quality. The positive effect of abnormal tone management on ESG is weakened by the presence of a good structure of the board, attenuating impression management initiatives.

Research limitations/implications

The research provides evidence of the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting quality, in particular disclosure tone management, on the level of ESG performance in the French context. As the board of directors may have a major impact on weakening impression management strategies in particular tone management practices, in order to improve CSR report quality, the authors recommend French companies to ensure a well-balanced board of directors.

Originality/value

This study helps investors to comprehensively evaluate the information disclosed on CSR reports. It unveils that a strong board composition induces better quality of CSR report and brings better ESG performance. Thus, the study results point to the importance of a well-balanced board of directors and the regulation of the narrative disclosure of CSR information.

Details

EuroMed Journal of Business, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1450-2194

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 August 2023

Yahya Mohammed Al-Sayani, Ebrahim Mohammed Al-Matari, Mohamad Naimi Mohamad Nor, Noor Afza Amran and Mohammed Ahmed Alsayani

The purpose of this study is to look at the structure of the interactions between the board of directors’ chairman qualities such as chairman independence, tenure, ethnicity, age…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to look at the structure of the interactions between the board of directors’ chairman qualities such as chairman independence, tenure, ethnicity, age- and impression management (IM).

Design/methodology/approach

The research population consists of non-financial Malaysian companies listed on Bursa Malaysia’s Main Market, using data gathered via annual reports and DataStream. The study relies on the ordinary least square regression to test the direct relationships between the directors’ chairman characteristics and IM. Moreover, robustness and sensitivity tests were used to examine the effectiveness of chairman characteristics with IM. Furthermore, the results rely on the FGLS regression as an additional test. The study found that chairman independence, chairman ethnicity and chairman age have a significant impact on IM.

Findings

The results reveal that chairman independence has a negative association with qualitative IM (IMSC1). Moreover, chairman ethnicity has a positively significant relationship with qualitative IM (IMSC1) and quantitative IM (IMSC2). Also, the effectiveness of chairman characteristics has a negative and significant association with IMSC1.

Originality/value

The primary goal of this paper is to fill a gap in the literature and to open up opportunities for more in-depth research on the subject. So far, there has been no research into the impact of the board chairman’s (BC) personality on IM. This study serves as a warning to policymakers, businesses and their stakeholders, as well as researchers, about the importance of BC characteristics, which may impede the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms. The paper provides a framework for investigating these characteristics in the context of IM.

Details

Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-0701

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 April 2023

Prapaporn Kiattikulwattana and Ra-Pee Pattanapanyasat

This study examines whether investors value the timing and/or information of mandatory disclosures in a unique research setting of listed companies in Thailand.

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines whether investors value the timing and/or information of mandatory disclosures in a unique research setting of listed companies in Thailand.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopt an event-study based approach. Abnormal stock returns are calculated using an OLS market model to measure market reactions to three types of mandatory reports issued by listed Thai firms: financial statements, Form 56-1 and Form 56-2. These reports are released sequentially but contain overlapping information content. Multivariate regression models are employed to examine the market reactions to these regulatory reports and explore the characteristics of firms that affect the market response.

Findings

The stock market reacts differentially to these reports. The financial statements, which are filed the earliest and are the most concise, prompt the strongest reaction. Investors similarly react significantly to Form 56-1 and Form 56-2, although Form 56-2 provides additional information beyond Form 56-1. The market reactions to small firms are stronger. Collectively, equity investors focus on the timeliness of disclosures rather than the information disclosed in the mandatory reports.

Practical implications

The evidence provides support for ongoing regulatory initiatives aimed at improving the timeliness of mandatory disclosures in emerging economies.

Originality/value

Prior studies on disclosure regulation investigate either the effect of information content or the timing of mandatory disclosures in isolation. The authors differentiate the effect of information content from disclosure timing and extend the literature by suggesting that investors incrementally value timeliness of disclosures. Investors perceive the benefit of the timely release of quantitative information compared to subsequent narrative disclosures. Between Form 56-1 and Form 56-2, the earlier release of the narrative non-financial information is incrementally traded into share prices.

Details

Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-1168

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 February 2024

Halina Waniak-Michalak and Jan Michalak

The study aims to determine whether a relationship exists between the potential significance of corporate controversies for stakeholders and how organisations respond to them in…

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to determine whether a relationship exists between the potential significance of corporate controversies for stakeholders and how organisations respond to them in their annual and sustainability reports.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper employs content analysis on annual and sustainability reports of 48 listed companies from the Refinitiv database. The logit regression was used to estimate the model.

Findings

The study revealed that the main factors increasing the probability of a controversial issue being addressed in a corporate report are the controversy’s potential significance, companies’ financial performance and lawsuits.

Research limitations/implications

Our study has three major limitations. These are a relatively small sample of companies and reports, focusing on disclosures made in corporate reports and omitting other channels of communication, for example, social media, and a certain amount of subjectivity in the process of coding information.

Social implications

Former studies show that corporations face a serious risk of their hypocritical strategies becoming too evident for stakeholder groups. Our findings suggest that the risk is already materialising and may undermine the idea of CSR and sustainability reporting.

Originality/value

Our research focuses on high-profile adverse incidents widely reported in the media, the omission of which from corporate reports seems to constitute a particular case of organised hypocrite. It also demonstrates that companies use an impression management strategy to defuse adverse publicity and that major controversies cause minor ones to be omitted from their reports.

Details

Central European Management Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2658-0845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 August 2023

Mohsen Ebied Abdelghafar Younis Azzam, Marwa Saber Hamoda Alsayed, Abdulaziz Alsultan and Ahmed Hassanein

This study aims to scrutinize the relationship between the perception of big data (BD) features and the primary outcomes of financial accounting. Likewise, it explores whether…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to scrutinize the relationship between the perception of big data (BD) features and the primary outcomes of financial accounting. Likewise, it explores whether financial accounting practices moderate the relationship between BD features and firm sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a questionnaire survey based on the Likert scale for two distinct groups of participants: academic scholars and industry practitioners operating in the BD era within the energy sector.

Findings

The results reveal significant positive associations between BD features and firm performance, reporting quality, earnings determinants, fair value measurements, risk management, firm value, the efficiency of the decision-making process, narrative disclosure and firm sustainability. Besides, the path analysis indicates an indirect impact of BD on firm sustainability via financial accounting practices. The results suggest that energy firms should consider incorporating BD analysis into their financial accounting processes to improve their sustainability performance and create long-term value for their stakeholders.

Practical implications

The findings are particularly interesting to academics in accounting and business to improve the accounting curriculums to fit the technological revolution, especially in the field of BD analytics. Practitioners within energy industries must also refine their skills and knowledge to meet the challenges of BD in the foreseeable future. The results provide important implications for policy setters to revise current financial accounting standards to cope with technological innovation.

Originality/value

The study makes a valuable contribution by critically examining the impact of BD on various financial accounting practices neglected in prior research. It highlights the transformative power of BD in the domain of financial accounting and provides insights into its potential implications for energy firms.

Details

Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1985-2517

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 March 2024

Yawen Shan, Da Shi and Shi Xu

Based on imprinting theory and episodic future thinking, this paper aims to study how CEOs’ attributes and experiences inform innovation in tourism and hospitality businesses. It…

Abstract

Purpose

Based on imprinting theory and episodic future thinking, this paper aims to study how CEOs’ attributes and experiences inform innovation in tourism and hospitality businesses. It also explores ways to quantify innovation in this sector.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors quantitatively analysed innovation in tourism and hospitality using extensive data from companies’ annual reports. They further adopted multivariate regression to test how CEOs’ experience affects enterprise innovation.

Findings

Results demonstrate that CEOs’ academic education and rich work experience can promote corporate innovation. The authors also identified a mediating role of the tone of narrative disclosure in annual reports between CEOs’ academic education and corporate innovation. The imprinting effects of career experience and educational experience appear both independent and interactive.

Research limitations/implications

CEOs are more inclined to engage in corporate innovation when influenced by the combined imprinting effects of strategic management training and work experience. Additionally, leaders should consider how communication styles indirectly influence innovation activities.

Originality/value

This paper introduces an integrated perspective that blends imprinting theory and episodic future thinking to bridge knowledge gaps regarding the interaction of CEOs’ past experiences. This work enhances understanding of how CEOs’ imprinted experiences, together with their capacity for envisioning future scenarios, can drive corporate innovation.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 October 2023

Zhihao Qin, Menglin Cui, Jiaqi Yan and Jie Niu

This paper aims to examine whether managerial sentiment, extracted from annual reports, is associated with corporate risk-taking in the context of Chinese companies. This study…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine whether managerial sentiment, extracted from annual reports, is associated with corporate risk-taking in the context of Chinese companies. This study expands the vein of literature on overconfidence theory.

Design/methodology/approach

By leveraging textual analysis on Chinese listed companies’ annual reports, the authors construct firm-level managerial sentiment during 2007 and 2021 to examine how managerial sentiment influences corporate risk-taking after control for firm characteristics. Corporate risk-taking is denoted by corporate investment engagements: capital expenditures and net fixed asset investment.

Findings

Results show that incentives for corporate risk-taking are likely to increase with the positive managerial sentiment and decrease with the negative sentiment in companies’ annual reports. Positive managerial sentiment is associated with over-/under-investment and low/high investment efficiency. Further additional tests show that the managerial sentiment effect only holds during low economic uncertain years and samples of private-owned firms. Furthermore, the robust tests indicate that there is no endogenous issue between managerial sentiment and corporate risk-taking.

Research limitations/implications

Annual report textual-based managerial sentiment may not perfectly reflect managers’ lower frequency sentiment (e.g. weekly, monthly and quarterly sentiment). Future studies could attempt to capture managers’ on-time sentiment by using media sources and corporate disclosures.

Practical implications

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first research to provide insights into supervising managers’ corporate decisions by observing their textual information usage in corporate disclosure. Moreover, the approach of measuring managerial sentiment might be a solution to monitoring managerial class.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature on accounting and finance studies, adding another piece of empirical evidence on content analysis by examining a unique language and institutional context (i.e. China). Besides, the paper notes that in line with the English version disclosure, based on Chinese semantic words, managerial sentiment in the Chinese-speaking world has magnitude on corporate decisions. The research provides insights into supervising managers’ corporate decisions by observing their textual information usage in corporate disclosure. Moreover, the approach to measuring managerial sentiment may be a practical solution to monitoring managerial class.

Details

Management Research Review, vol. 47 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8269

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 August 2023

Sarath Lal Ukwatte Jalathge, Hang Tran, Lalitha Ukwatte, Tesfaye Lemma and Grant Samkin

This study aims to investigate disclosure of asbestos-related liabilities in corporate accounts and counter-accounts to examine whether and how accounting contributes to corporate…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate disclosure of asbestos-related liabilities in corporate accounts and counter-accounts to examine whether and how accounting contributes to corporate accountability for asbestos-contaminated products.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses the Goffmanesque perspective on impression management to examine instances of concealed asbestos-related liabilities in corporate accounts vis-à-vis the revealing of such liabilities in counter-accounts.

Findings

The findings show counter-accounts provide significant information on liabilities originating from the exposure of employees and consumers to asbestos. By contrast, the malleability of accounting tools enables companies to eschew accounting disclosures. While the frontstage positive performance of companies served an impression management role, their backstage concealing actions enabled companies to cover up asbestos-related liabilities. These companies used three categories of mechanisms to avoid disclosure of asbestos-related liabilities: concealing via a “cloak of competence”, impression management via epistemic work and a silent strategy of concealment frontstage with strategic reorganisation backstage.

Practical implications

This study has policy relevance as regulators need to consider the limits of corporate disclosures as an accountability tool. The findings may also initiate academic and practitioner conversations about accounting standards for long-term liabilities.

Originality/value

This study highlights the strategies companies use both frontstage and backstage to avoid disclosing asbestos-related liabilities. Through analysis of accounts and counter-accounts, this study identifies the limits of accounting as an accountability tool regarding asbestos-induced diseases and deaths.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-372X

Keywords

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