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Earlier studies have found that the country characteristics play important role in measuring the corporate transparency. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the firm-level determinants play an important role in corporate transparency measured as the quality of disclosed earnings across transitional Europe and what role an overall transparency measured by the Corruption Perception Index plays in it. This paper further tests if the market reacts similarly to discretionary and non-discretionary components of earnings across different groups of countries with respect to transparency.

The financial and ownership data of listed companies in ten European countries is obtained from Amadeus. The transparency ratings are obtained from Transparency International. The sample consists of a panel of 2001 listed companies and modified Jones model of Dechow et al. (1995) is used to measure the quality of earnings.

This paper shows that the firm-level determinants (except firm size) of the quality of earnings are different among different groups made on the basis of transparency ratings. However, the determinants of the quality of earnings are not different within each group. The ownership structure of companies plays important role in determining the quality of earnings in most transparent countries whereas financial factors play significant role in least transparent countries. The markets respond positively to earnings quality in most transparent group of countries.

The results of this study provide interesting basis for future research on economic and social integration of Europe. Although the policy makers are trying to integrate the countries through common Laws and decrees but examining the firm-level factors such as size, growth and ownership are still important. The regulators should address the issue of corporate transparency in Europe by looking at the importance of these factors with respect to overall transparency.

This study extends the knowledge, not only for academicians and investors but for policy makers as well. This study re-emphasizes the role of country-level transparency and firm-level determinants of the corporate transparency within Europe.

Briefly describes five current debates in the service quality literature. One debate, of importance to operations academics and managers, is the identification of the determinants of service quality. Seeks to investigate whether there are some quality determinants that are predominantly satisfiers and others that are predominantly dissatisfiers. The analysis is based on 579 anecdotes, from personal account customers of a major UK bank, collected using the critical incident technique. The study′s main findings are that the predominantly satisfying determinants are attentiveness, responsiveness, care and friendliness; and the dissatisfiers are integrity, reliability, responsiveness, availability and functionality. Responsiveness is identified as a crucial determinant of quality as it is a frequent source of satisfaction, and the lack of it is a major source of dissatisfaction. Contrary to the existing literature, shows that the causes of dissatisfaction are not necessarily the obverse of the causes of satisfaction and, furthermore, that reliability is predominantly a source of dissatisfaction not satisfaction.

Despite the expected benefits to stakeholders, as well as the number of contributes aiming at identifying and proposing best practices on the integrated reporting (IR) adoption, it seems that the IR struggles to be diffused in companies. Several are the reasons explaining this evidence. It could mainly be the consequence of some critical issues underlying IR implementation, such as difficulties in the complete application of the IR framework.

Strictly related to this last aspect is the topic of the IR quality that recently has begun to gain interest both in the literature and in the empirical research. Particularly, the issues of IR quality and its determinants now appear to be more important than the IR quantity.

Starting from these premises, this chapter aims to identify the determinants of IR quality. The authors have identified main drivers of IR quality, considering previous studies on voluntary disclosure and in particular on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability disclosure while with reference to the quality assessment of IR, the authors have used the Integrated Reporting Scoreboard, recently proposed in the literature.

After developing the research hypothesis, an empirical analysis has been carried out on a sample of IRs issued by 55 companies in a three-year period.

The main research results highlight, on the one hand, that the main determinants of IR quality are the country where the company operates, in particular European ones and mandatory IR countries; on the other hand, industry and firm’s size don’t seem to have a positive impact on IR quality.

Examines the applicability of determinants identified in a physical services environment to assess the services relating to e‐commerce. It is argued that the lack of human interaction during the Web site experience means that determinants such as competence, courtesy, cleanliness, comfort and friendliness, helpfulness, care, commitment, flexibility are not particularly relevant in e‐commerce. On the other hand, determinants such as accessibility, communication, credibility, understanding, appearance, and availability are equally applicable to e‐commerce as they are in physical services. The paper argues the need for further research to identify suitable determinants for the e‐commerce operating environment.

This paper aims to identify specific corporate governance determinants of asset quality in the Indian banking system and suggest a future course of action for research in the Indian banking industry. The results will guide other developing nations to handle poor asset quality in banks. Nations with economic interest in India can take cognisance from the results.

The authors identify the determinants of asset quality for the Indian banks using novel data from 2010 to 2019 through a dynamic panel data approach. The authors analyse 45 public and private sector banks using general method of moments.

The results indicate that intensity of board activities, board functioning and ownership concentration are significant determinants of asset quality. Furthermore, the study hypotheses on board independence and board size are rejected as they do not significantly impact the asset quality. The authors also call for further research on the qualitative aspects of gender diversity, board independence and special committee activity for better insights.

This is the first study to identify specific corporate governance determinants of asset quality for the Indian banking system using a dynamic panel data approach with data spanning over ten years from 45 banks. Unlike all other studies, the authors have used both bank-specific and macroeconomic variables as control variables, making the results accurate and reliable. The authors also recognise the persistent nature of asset quality.

This study aims to investigate the determinants of the extent and quality of corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) in Jordan. The study examines a number of factors that influence the extent and quality of CSR disclosure, such as corporate characteristics, corporate governance and ownership structure.

A quantitative approach and a content analysis technique is used to measure the extent and quality of CSRD from annual reports. The sample is drawn from the annual reports of 118 Jordanian companies between 2010 and 2015. A CSRD index is constructed, which includes the disclosures of the following categories: environmental, human resources, product and consumers, and community involvement. This is the first study that presents a new measurement for CSR disclosure quality by using images and charts in a seven-point scale measurement.

The result reveals that the extent of CSRD is higher than quality in Jordan. Regarding the determinants of CSR disclosures, the following factors were found to have a significant relationship with both the extent and quality of CSRD: board size, non-executive directors, age of firm, foreign members on the board, number of boards meetings, the presence of audit committees, big 4, government ownership, size of firm and industry type. Non-executive directors was found to have a significant correlation with the extent of CSRD.

The current study has some limitations; first, the study findings are limited to the Jordanian environment. Second, the study adopted a purely quantitative method, and future research could include interviews and questionnaires to gather data from financial managers and chief executive officers (CEOs). Third, the potential influences on the level and quality of CSR are not limited to the variables tested in this study. Future research can be done on new determinants, such as CEO interlocking and profitability. Finally, the sample included companies from two main sectors – the services and industrial sectors; thus, this limited the results to these two main sectors.

Practitioners, as firms, should develop new strategies and ensure that CSR is included in their reports. Thus, companies can achieve legitimacy for their products and activities. Policymakers must consider introducing new laws that mandate CSRDs since it has many advantages for companies and society. In addition, this research suggests amending the law to require companies to have 33% of their directors be non-executives since this will remove the negative effect on CSR disclosure. Investors must pay attention to the social activities of the companies they invest in, as CSR could have a positive effect on their market value.

The study has indicated that Jordanian companies became increasingly more involved in CSR activities, as this growth in CSRD is linked with global increases in CSR. Moreover, the study has revealed that the highest category of CSR disclosures is related to products or services and employee information. On the other hand, the lowest category of CSR disclosures is related to community and other disclosures (extent) and environmental disclosures (quality). Furthermore, the results show that the services sector was found to have more disclosures regarding employees and community, whereas the industrial sector was more concerned about environmental and product information.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that presents a new measurement for CSR disclosure quality by using images and charts in a seven-point scale measurement. This new seven-point scale will be adopted to distinguish between poor and excellent disclosures. In addition, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study in Jordan which examines the determinants of the extent and the quality of CSR for three categories, namely, corporate characteristics, corporate governance and ownership structure.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze determinants of institutional quality based on six separate indicators of governance: voice and accountability, political stability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption.

The determinants under consideration include measures of economic freedom by the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation, indicators of policy quality, real per capita gross domestic product (GDP), risk rating, and the degree of openness.

Five measures of institutional quality increase real GDP growth significantly across Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. In contrast, institutional quality has a negative impact on the growth of private credit and private investment. Further, the combined evidence does not suggest that improvement in institutional quality is a major factor in attracting foreign direct investment flows to MENA countries.

The research provides startling evidence that illustrates how institutions have impacted macroeconomic performance and the underlying roots of institutional quality. Addressing shortcomings in institutions should top the policy agenda in an effort to drive the growth process.

Improving institutional quality will distribute the benefits of growth and enhance macroeconomic performance in the MENA region, which is rich in endowed resources. Nonetheless, the region lacks fundamentals of economic management and quality governance to utilize resources in the most efficient and productive fashion in order to maximize the welfare for a growing population that is constantly seeking productive opportunities to secure employment and a higher real standard of living.

The MENA region is understudied and worthy of much more empirical work. Many cross‐country studies of the determinants of growth omit oil‐producing nations. Focusing on this oil‐rich region is an attempt to fill this void. Unlike previous literature on the relationship between institutions and growth, the paper's approach to the issue analyzes micro foundations in the transmission channel between institutions and economic growth.

The service sector has assumed greater economic importance over the past decade. The latest statistics show that the sector accounts for 60 per cent of the value added in the European Economic Community (EEC). It is estimated that “doing things wrong” typically accounts for between 30 and 40 per cent of a service organization’s operating costs. The elimination of this waste and meeting customer expectations are the major challenges facing managers in the service sector. This is why quality improvement is a vital concern for many service organizations. Despite the significance of the service sector and the importance of quality‐related matters to the sector, there is a paucity of research and publications dealing with service quality. Furthermore, there is significant misunderstanding of the various aspects of service quality. Examines the salient features of service quality and its determinants and describes and discusses several service quality models. Each model represents a different approach to quality improvement. The primary aims are to enhance understanding of “service quality” and to identify models that managers in the service industry can employ to improve quality.

The aim of this paper is to identify the quality determinants for education services provided by higher education institutions (HEIs) in Greece and to measure their relative importance from the students' points of view.

A multi‐criteria decision‐making methodology was used for assessing the relative importance of quality determinants that affect student satisfaction. More specifically, the analytical hierarchical process (AHP) was used in order to measure the relative weight of each quality factor.

The relative weights of the factors that contribute to the quality of educational services as it is perceived by students was measured.

The research is based on the questionnaire of the Hellenic Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. This implies that the measured weights are related mainly to questions posed in this questionnaire. However, the applied method (AHP) can be used to assess different quality determinants.

The outcome of this study can be used in order to quantify internal quality assessment of HEIs. More specifically, the outcome can be directly used by HEIs for assessing quality as perceived by students.

The paper attempts to develop insights into comparative evaluations of quality determinants as they are perceived by students.

The overall purpose of this study is to enhance the understanding of customer perceived service quality within grocery retailing in a North European context. We do this by comparing customer perceived service quality evaluations of the traditional supermarket store with evaluations of the discount store.

This study is based on empirical data from four store cases (two traditional and two discount stores), including information gained from a total of 542 respondents. In the study, we have used and tested a model of grocery store service quality, presented in Vázquez et al. (2001), with structural equation modelling (LISREL) and traditional multivariate analysis (SPSS).

The ability of the Vázquez et al. (2001) model to capture customer perceived quality was below 40 per cent for both concepts which signals limited relevance and that important dimensions in the service evaluation could be missing for both of the two concepts, at least in a North European context. The results show that the traditional supermarket outperforms the discount stores on all service aspects but availability and reliability. When comparing the determinants of the service quality evaluation, the two concepts are very similar. Finally, the overall results regarding determinants of service quality show resemblance to retail studies in other countries and cultures.

This study has been limited to investigate service quality in Sweden and from two out of at least five possible retail concepts. As the explanatory power of the model is limited, future studies should explore other possible determinants of service quality, e.g. the role of technological innovations.

Kotler and Keller (2012) proposes five generic differentiation strategies: product, service, people, channels and image. The results suggest that traditional grocery stores that choose to differentiate and position themselves by focusing on service rather than physical product differentiation should work with assortment issues as well. In order to decide which aspect of service to choose and promote, companies should emphasise differences that are considered important by customers, distinct from competitors and superior in terms of delivering the overall benefit – in this case – in terms of service quality. The results show that the policy dimension would satisfy all three criterions.

The study enhances the understanding of customer perceived service quality within grocery retailing, specifically in comparison between the supermarket and the discount store concept.

This study is the first to focus on whether there is a divergence in service quality and service quality measuring between the traditional supermarket concept and the growing discount concept, and if so to what extent. Furthermore, it is a test of a model that has gained acceptance in Latin and South European countries, but in the context of Northern Europe.