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Data gathered from routine clinical settings is complementary to evidence garnered from controlled efficacy trials. The purpose of this paper is to present individual-level analysis of changes in a group of patients discharged from psychological therapy within an outpatient pain service. The service had recently shifted from a traditional cognitive-behavioural approach to one underpinned by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

Reliable and clinically significant change methodology was applied to CORE-10 outcomes for 27 patients discharged during 2013-2014. Outcomes were compared to 2012-2013. A patient satisfaction questionnaire was administered and functional outcomes were collated.

Outcomes were not adversely affected by the shift in service focus as clients demonstrating reliable improvement increased from 2012-2013; 81 per cent reliably improved, 44 per cent made a clinically significant improvement. Increases in returning to work/unpaid activities at post-treatment were noted. The service met a number of NICE quality standards concerning the “relational” aspects of care.

Clinical effectiveness is evaluated through one outcome measure thereby limiting conclusions. The longer term effectiveness of the service remains unclear. Narrow demographic information limits an assessment of any systematic biases in findings. Little is known about treatment drop-outs.

A number of recommendations concerning data collection and future service evaluations are made.

Returning to paid or unpaid activities has a high public health impact.

This paper contributes towards the evidence base for using psychological therapies with clients experiencing chronic pain and related distress. Importantly, the paper complements evidence for general efficacy (from large-scale controlled studies) through an evaluation of real-world effectiveness (i.e. practice-based evidence).

The importance of alignment between users’ and providers’ expectations of accounting services has long been recognized as paramount in the auditing profession. The importance of expectations, and especially expectations gaps, is even more compelling for new assurance services, where the importance of marketing the service is pronounced. This paper develops the Assurance Gaps Model, which describes expectations gaps in general, defining these holistic differences between users’ and providers’ perceptions of assurance services as assurance gaps. The model suggests that assurance gaps really have a number of components – expectations, evaluations of performance and disconfirmation – all of which impact users’ satisfaction with the service. The magnitude of each of these components, as well as the emphasis placed on each one, is important in describing the nature of the gap. This model is consistent with previous research in auditing as well as a large body of research in marketing studying expectations and the satisfaction process (Oliver, 1997). To illustrate potential applications of the Assurance Gaps Model, hypotheses are developed and tested using an online simulation of the ElderCare assurance service proposed by the AICPA/CICA. Results indicate that users and providers demonstrate similar magnitude of each of the factors in the model, but differ in that users emphasize performance in forming satisfaction judgments while providers emphasize expectations. The study and results illustrate the usefulness of the model for performing detailed analysis of assurance gaps and for suggesting appropriate courses of action to manage the factors that contribute to them.

The purpose of this study is to analyse the role played by institutional investors in a firm’s decision to hire sustainability assurance services and to determine the benefits of sustainability assurance for the functioning of the capital market. This analysis is complemented by examining the quality of the sustainability assurance service that institutional investors demand.

The authors selected a sample of 1,564 multinational firms from 2002 to 2017. Panel data logit and generalised method of moments (GMM) regressions were estimated to consider decisions about hiring sustainability assurance services or not, and the assurance quality indexes constructed by a checklist based on the academic literature, respectively.

Institutional pressures associated with the environmental and social impacts of a firm’s activities lead to the convergence of institutional investor attitudes towards corporate sustainability, so that, regardless of their investment horizon, they promote the hiring of sustainability assurance services by corporate boards, which favours analyst precision and a reduction in the cost of capital. Long-term (LT) institutional investors exert influence through a selection mechanism, whereas short-term (ST) institutional investors exert influence through their presence on the board. Once the company has decided to provide assurance about its sustainability report, both types of institutional investors promote a higher quality of such service, although this is not well valued by the stock market.

This paper extends research on the monitoring role of institutional investors into the sustainability assurance context. Researchers may benefit from this paper’s findings when they examine the factors that drive the hiring of sustainability assurance services and their characteristics. This paper also shows that sustainability assurance services are a significant weakness due to the lack of standardisation in comparison with financial auditing, which complicates the assessment of their quality by stock market participants, thereby penalising those companies that provide more complete sustainability assurance reports.

Considering this paper’s findings, it seems advisable that regulators establish a normative framework to standardise sustainability assurance processes. The results can also be used as an orientation for both companies, to design their sustainability disclosure policies and regulators, to improve the running of the capital market.

Sustainability assurance services have a positive effect on the running of the capital market and improve external stakeholder decision-making by providing more reliable information, which, in turn, will favour the implementation of more sustainable actions that contribute to the attainment of sustainable development goals.

This is one of the first papers to analyse the effect of institutional ownership on a firm’s decision to hire sustainability assurance services and consider the effect of the institutional investors’ investment horizon – LT versus ST – and the channel – selection methods and/or active engagement – used by them to exert their influence. The authors also propose several measures of sustainability assurance quality to demonstrate the relevance of the contents of the assurance statement for the capital market in general and the institutional investors in particular.

The purpose of this study is to examine the satisfaction formation process under conditions of varying involvement for new, nontraditional, credence‐based service offerings.

Hypotheses were tested using an on‐line simulation of a service encounter, beginning with perceptions of an advertisement and continuing through satisfaction with the completed service report. ElderCare, an assurance service provided by Certified Public Accountants to the children of an elderly parent, was the context of study.

The findings indicated expectations were not influential in the satisfaction formation process for these services, regardless of involvement. Under conditions of high involvement, performance evaluation was the dominant predictor of satisfaction. Low‐involvement subjects used disconfirmation to assess satisfaction.

Limitations of the research stem from the use of a convenience sample in a simulated service encounter. Future research should examine the influence of individual characteristics, particularly innovation, on the results. Additional research examining the determinants of model variables, from disconfirmation to involvement, across subjects in a variety of situations would also be valuable.

This research suggests a heightened need to guide the consumer experience where expectations are hard to develop and performance is hard to evaluate. Providers should carefully spell out key service dimensions, provide tangible information about performance outcomes for high‐involvement individuals, and focus on emotional appeals, provider qualities and sensory aspects of the service for low‐involvement individuals.

This paper helps researchers and practitioners better understand the applicability of expectancy disconfirmation theory and role of involvement in the context of new, nontraditional, credence‐based services.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the choice of an assurance service provider on financial and social performance in an emerging economy. The study also examines whether the chief executive officer’s (CEO) characteristics influence the choice of an assurance service provider.

This study uses descriptive statistics, ordinary least square and probit regression to examine the 800 firm-year observations for the period 2010–2019 and with the Indian stock market as a testing ground.

The study shows that the engagement of assurance service providers reduces financial performance (stock price returns and Tobin’s q). The study also shows that consulting firms and auditing firms improve the social performance disclosure of the firm in an emerging economy. However, consulting firms outweigh auditing firms in improving social performance disclosure. Also, the implementation of mandatory reporting may slightly impede instead of an increase in social performance disclosure in an emerging economy. The study also shows that ageing CEOs prefer consulting firms over auditing firms in assurance service provision. Finally, the study shows that an extended stay in office by a CEO improves the choice of consulting firms, but the effect has a near-neutral significance.

The choice of CEO characteristics as an independent variable adds to the factors or drivers that cause the choice of an assurance service provider in an emerging economy. Also, the measurement variable of stock price returns and Tobin’s q expands the financial performance measurement in the relationship with assurance service providers.

The need for reliable information for decision makers is a fundamental principle underlying the demand for audit and assurance services. Yet, individuals and companies often do not understand the value that users place on independent third‐party assurance. This paper aims to address this issue.

This paper uses the market for baseball cards to provide an empirical analysis of the value users associate with third‐party assurance services. Paired observations for baseball cards are identified on eBay; one with a third‐party assurance regarding its quality and one with only the seller's statement.

Comparative analysis indicates that bidders are willing to pay significantly more for the items when third‐party assurance was provided.

These findings indicate that third‐party assurance is valued by consumers, and where information asymmetry exists between buyer and seller, sellers should consider the use of third‐party assurance to increase sale price.

This paper aims to verify whether the legitimate pressure of external forces on heavily polluting firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related behaviors affect firms’ assurance strategy in the Chinese context. The authors argue that, under external pressure, as a source of legitimacy, the assurance over CSR reports allows the business behaviors of heavy polluters to be recognized by society.

This paper sampled listed heavy polluters in China from 2011 to 2018 and used the multiperiod logit model to examine the effects of external corporate governance on firms’ assurance decisions. Principal component analysis methods were used to construct a comprehensive framework of external corporate governance. The indicators were obtained from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research databases, the NERI Report and the China Urban Statistical Yearbook.

This paper confirms that external corporate governance positively affects firms’ assurance decisions, and good financial conditions, well-governed internal controls and sufficient government subsidies positively moderate this effect.

The findings provide feasible ways to encourage firms’ high-quality corporate environmental information disclosure, thus providing valuable guidance for policymakers and other stakeholders to effectively supervise firms’ CSR behaviors.

The findings are of great importance in encouraging high-quality corporate environmental information disclosures, improving the support of capital markets among developing countries and drawing social attention to the environmental protection and social responsibility of heavy polluters.

The research extends the current research in the field of social environmental accounting by using legitimacy theory to explain firms’ assurance motivations. Additionally, this paper focuses on the practices of assurance services in the emerging economy and provides suggestions for developing assurance over CSR reports.

This study aims to empirically examine a model of the halal logistic services, its impact on manufacturers’ trust and satisfaction.

This study was conducted through survey questionnaires after an extensive review of the literature. A total of 564 samples of the questionnaire were distributed to logistics management representatives of halal manufacturing companies in Malaysia. This survey was carried out to measure the respondents’ perception of halal manufacturers’ satisfaction with third-party logistic (3PL) service providers in Malaysia. The instruments/survey incorporate halal assurance services, halal service diversity and halal service procedure as the antecedents of halal manufacturers’ trust and satisfaction.

The findings indicate that halal assurance services and halal service procedure are positively associated with manufacturers’ trust and satisfaction, while halal service diversity is not associated with it. The study also shows that manufacturers’ attitude play a mediator role between the halal logistic service and manufacturers’ satisfaction.

The study provides useful information in understanding the importance of halal logistic services and more particularly aims at facilitating 3PL service providers to offer halal logistic services quality that suits the manufacturers’ needs.

In view of the significant deficiencies that have been observed in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practices, some companies have undertaken a new communication strategy based on a combination of the GRI guidelines and the IFC Performance Standards (termed the GRI-IFC strategy). This paper aims to analyse the role of the CSR committee and of assurance services in promoting this novel practice.

The authors use an unbalanced sample of 750 international companies that operate in emerging markets for the years 2011-2016, in which logistic and ordinal regressions are applied to the panel data to test the research hypotheses.

The results show that the existence of a CSR committee facilitates adoption of the GRI-IFC strategy, thus promoting sustainable management policies and systems and enhancing communication with stakeholders. In addition, these specialised committees often commission assurance for sustainability reports, to reinforce strategies aimed at improving corporate transparency.

The analysis of mediation shows that diverse characteristics of corporate governance mechanisms interact in improving sustainability and business transparency.

There is an evident need for greater commitment by institutions to sustainability, for example by requiring greater specialisation of the members of the CSR committee in social and environmental issues. In addition, consideration should be given to including the creation of a CSR committee as a good practice, within the code of corporate governance and to establishing a specific framework for the committee’s actions.

The previously cited impacts of this paper all contribute indirectly to a greater social welfare by generating higher levels of transparency, ethics and corporate performance. Specifically, higher quality verification services will have an impact on the improved functioning of the financial and capital markets, as well as in decision-making by internal and external stakeholders with more reliable information that will favour the implementation of more sustainable processes that in the short and long term will mean more companies who are responsible towards the environment and society.

This novel study explains why companies adopt voluntary strategies in compliance with GRI guidelines, seeking to provide better CSR disclosure.

The study aims to examine the connection between practices of total quality management (TQM) and sustainability in Malaysia food and beverages companies (FBC). Continuous process improvement, benchmarking, management leadership, human resources management, quality assurance, service design and information and analysis as TQM practices are considered and their relationship, respectively, with sustainable performance.

A survey questionnaire is administered to gather responses from 303 FBC, while 98 responses are useable and subsequently analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling.

The results reveal that effective implementation of continuous process improvement, benchmarking, quality assurance, service design and information and analysis have positive and significant effect on sustainability.

The scope of the present study was limited to FBC in Malaysia, and a cross-sectional design was employed to examine the hypothesized relationships at a single point in time.

The proposed and developed model of this study can be employed by policy and decision makers in the industry. This model can be considered by practitioners in the industry to implement critical policies in the future.

The premises of the institutional and contingency theory are supported by re-affirming the importance of contingencies and institutions for any successful strategic practices to enhance sustainable performance by implementing TQM.