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The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which Central European emerging stock markets (focusing on Poland) have been affected by the recent international financial crisis, and how the current investment climate (barriers, risks, challenges and opportunities) influences appetite for investments in Polish equities. In doing so, the study aims to report timely findings in relation to the determinants of the safety and profitability of international portfolio diversification to the Polish stock market.

Based on qualitative empirical research, the authors analyse the differences between the foreign (UK) and domestic (Poland) investors' views on equity investments in Poland. The study builds on questionnaires and interviews with practitioners associated with the Polish stock market.

The authors report that the global financial crisis influenced changes to domestic and international investors' appetite for risk related to equity investments in emerging stock markets: investors are more prudent about emerging markets but the Polish stock market has shown substantial growth potential and positively distinguished itself from other Central European stock exchanges; particular types of investment risks associated with equity investments in the Polish stock market have abated. Polish equities are an attractive component of the international portfolio diversification, provided that trading strategies are adjusted to the contemporary investment environment.

This paper addresses the absence of the academic literature devoted to the analysis of equity investments in the contemporary Central European emerging stock markets. The authors discuss the differences in appetite for risk between the UK and Polish investors and assumptions about investments in Poland. The authors also contribute to the international debate on investor protection and regulations that can improve investment processes.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the risk management practices of life assurance firms and non‐life insurance firms.

Through a comparative case study methodology, the study assesses the state of risk management in both life assurance companies and non‐life insurance firms to determine whether they exhibit different or similar risk management practices. The results of the survey were also analyzed and compared to the principles of good practices in financial risk management.

The findings of the study revealed some differences and similarities in the risk management practices of life and non‐life insurance firms. Almost all the life companies have stated their risk appetite levels, which enable them to identify which risks to absorb and which ones to transfer. But non‐life insurance firms have not laid down their risk tolerance levels explicitly. The results further revealed that the industry lacks sufficient personnel with the requisite risk management skills and that the sector does not manage risks proactively, rather they do so in a reactive response to regulatory directives.

Effective management of risks by insurers will increase the penetration of insurance in Ghana.

Risk management is a crucial issue, not only for the survival and profitability of the insurance industry, but also for the socio‐economic growth and development of the whole economy. As major risks underwriters, insurance companies need to adopt good practices or quality measures in the management of financial risk. This is important, more so, as the industry prepares to re‐position itself to underwrite the risks in the emerging oil and gas industry of Ghana.

Research into financial risk management in the insurance industry from the Ghanaian perspective is rare. This study is therefore timely and its findings are invaluable for the efficient management of financial risk in the insurance industry.

This paper aims to explain the de-risking phenomenon through Luhmann’s risk/danger model and demonstrate that de-risking should be facilitated and encouraged.

The paper applies Luhmann’s system theory and more specifically his risk/danger model to describe the de-risking phenomenon and identify recommendations to address its consequences.

The paper finds that re-defining risk and the anti-money laundering (AML)’s community’s understanding of it can support key stakeholders’ understanding of money laundering (ML) risk and the way to better address consequences of AML decisions.

The paper has implications for the banking and regulatory community in relation to the interpretation of de-risking. As systems aim to minimise their exposure to risk, they should not be prevented from de-risking.

This paper aims to move away from a narrative description of AML phenomena and presents a theoretical foundation for the analysis of ML risk. The current response to de-risking which demonises it and aims to prevent it is deconstructed through this theoretical lens.

Adoptive innovation becomes increasingly important in today’s competitive world. However, in the presence of current economic downturn, cautions are voiced against potential risks; these innovative activities can bring to from firm to country level. Our research addresses such concerns. The research is drawn from two key streams of literature: risk management and innovation management. We developed a conceptual framework that consists of three components: risk behaviour, environmental conditions and adoptive innovative (REAI). Applying the REAI framework, we examined the risk management efficacy of adoptive innovation activities of one organisation under a historical perspective. We conclude that although adopters have a high tolerance for managing uncertainty and appetite for risk taking in line with competitors, there are two key elements that deter mine the performance of such behaviour: level of environmental turbulence and the role of senior management. It is the first time research determining the relationship between risk and adoptive innovative behaviour is being undertaken and will also provide direct guidance for managers regarding how to manage risk and uncertainty under different circumstances of their innovative practices.

The critical success factor of enterprises is the ability to identify risks and subsequently adapt to the ever-changing technology, as well as the business environment. This paper aims to investigate the top risks faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In the meantime, this paper outlines the perspectives on enterprise risk management (ERM)-based best practices and the adoption level of ERM practices in SMEs.

A mixed methodology was used to collect a comprehensive understanding of the adoption of ERM, especially in SMEs. The research is based on cross-sectional questionnaires and collected from risk practitioners in Malaysia. Detailed analysis of the top risks and best practices presented in this paper to identify the developments of risk management in changing organizations. This study used chi-square tests to examine the distribution of the adoption of the ERM programme using risk and insurance management society risk maturity model attributes. Logit regression was used to test the association of ERM efforts with the probability of adopting/considering ERM practices.

The findings indicated that business interruption risk and economic slowdown risk are the major concern for companies in Malaysia. A business continuity plan was found to be the most common risk management practice. Efforts such as the establishment of a risk management team and the development of risk appetite and/or risk tolerance statements in an organization are associated with the probability of adopting/considering ERM practices.

This paper helps to identify challenges of implementing risk governance and management in SMEs that shed light on the regulatory setting which we rather know a little about its impacts.

There are limited studies conducted in emerging countries on ERM and the application of the ERM framework in SMEs. Prior research studies are mostly generalized and lack details of risk management strategies applying to specific risks. This paper successfully examined the low maturity level of ERM practices and how SMEs in Malaysia managed those risks that emerged in their organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to bring to light the risk management practices adopted by financial firms in the small island state of Malta. It seeks to: first, identify the risk management strategies and mechanisms that these firms adopt to manage risks, maximise opportunities, and maintain financial stability; second, determine whether these practices are perceived as contributing to principled performance; third, examine the extent to which risk management capabilities offer competitive advantage to firms, and fourth, investigate whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a key driver of risk management corporate strategies.

A self-administered questionnaire purposely designed for the present study was distributed among the 156 credit institutions, investment firms and financial institutions registered with the Malta Financial Services Authority. Overall, 141 firms participated in the study (a response rate of 90.4 per cent) and the responses were subjected to statistical analysis in an attempt to answer four research questions.

Maltese financial firms have sound risk management practices that link positively with added value and principled performance. Although competitive advantage has been given less weight by these firms, the implemented risk management mechanisms allow for a strong risk culture, defined risk management goals, accountability and continual improvement. CSR forms part of the firms’ risk management corporate strategies and is valued as part of these firms’ corporate culture, while financial/economic factors are viewed as key in driving effective risk management principles.

The study provides empirical evidence that securing “best practice” in firms’ risk management corporate culture is seen as better predicated on maximising financial advantage (“the instrumental driver”) rather than simply reflecting externally imposed standards (“the compliance driver”).

The increasing prevalence of enterprise risk coupled with global competition requires a strategic link to the way forward through measured outcomes determined in a collaborative and visual manner.

The model was conceptualized and validated through strategic management deficiencies encountered in venture ownership, management consulting and teaching practice and was augmented with extensive stakeholder input and existing scholarly research.

Managing risk is a complex and somewhat dark task that can happen everywhere or nowhere within a firm and requires mitigating strategies developed with stakeholder consensus. In practice with three distinct audiences of entrepreneurs, senior managers and capstone student strategists, the model does facilitate linked risk and opportunity identification as well as the quantification and/or qualification of variables. The process is as impactful as the outcomes when individual risk “appetites” and a collective risk culture emerge.

Innovative organizations must regularly scan their external environment and assess internal resources and capabilities in a structured and actionable manner while understanding their risk culture. Valuable outcomes emerge from facilitating strategic risk management discussions, particularly in growing and informal organizations. Risk communications with stakeholders are complex and increasingly important.

Opportunity mapping offers a novel process to identify prioritized strategies that may be otherwise determined intuitively with limited input or absent altogether. The process facilitates actionable outcomes as a supplement to the known practice of risk assessment while contributing to a competitive advantage.

This study aims to examine the relationship between corporate governance, including board gender diversity and bank risk-taking behaviour in Ghana.

This research uses panel corrected standard errors estimation on 26 selected banks over an 11-year period from 2006 to 2016.

Using three proxies for bank risk-taking and two proxies for gender diversity for the purposes of checking robustness, this study finds ample evidence to support the important influence of corporate governance and board gender diversity on bank risk-taking behaviour. The findings suggest that independence, gender diversity, size and leadership consolidation can have significant effects on the risk profile of banking firms. The initial finding of the study suggests the possibility that female board gender diversity on Ghanaian banking boards follows the tokenism theory. Subsequent estimations seem to provide evidence to suggest that attaining a critical mass of female board members imposes a significant control on risk-taking behaviour by banks.

This study has important implications for gender diversity in board construction within the banking sector and the discourse on bank risk-taking in an emerging market context.

After the Royal Ahold accounting scandal occurred in 2003, the Dutch government responded by publishing a new Corporate Governance code, often referred to as the “Tabaksblat Code”, updated in 2016. The Code focuses on long-term value creation by emphasizing risk management and accountability and reinforcing the roles and duties of management board, internal audit function, and supervisory board in designing adequate risk management and control systems and in assessing their effectiveness. Differently than the rule-based Anglo-Saxon regulations, the Code is based on best practices provisions and adopts a “comply or explain” approach. Professional bodies are actively supporting their associates in developing skills in current and emerging risk management areas. Despite these efforts, it is worth noting that there are still significant differences on how companies apply the risk management provisions. For instance, in terms of appointing a dedicated manager as Chief Risk Officer (CRO), in the frequency and scope of risk assessment, and in defining the risk appetite of the company.

Even though every decision a leader makes carries an element of risk, no review on the topic of leadership and risk has appeared in highly-ranked management journals in the past 20 years. This is in contrast to the discipline of psychology in which leadership and risk receives considerable attention, particularly in the field of heroism studies. In the context of the established body of research on the topic of leadership and risk in the discipline of psychology, this review therefore explores the research on leadership and risk in highly-ranked management studies’ journals.

The review was conducted in five stages. During phase 1, journal rankings were used as basis to determine which highly-ranked journals to include in the review. Phase 2 focused on identifying all relevant articles in the journals included in our review. We searched for articles published from 2000 to 2021 with the words “risk” or “danger” and “leader” or “leadership” in their abstracts. In phase 3, the author analysed the abstracts of the articles in depth to determine whether the keywords were included on the basis of an explicit scholarly reflection or research on leadership and risk. Phase 4 focused on analysing articles' treatment of leadership and risk, and assigning key words and key phrases. Finally, during phase 5 key words and key phrases were clustered together thematically.

This study analysis yielded six thematic clusters. The first two clusters – on risk appetite of followers and leaders – are closely related. In total, 12 journal articles explored these themes. The remaining thematic clusters contain four and seven articles each. These clusters are risk, creativity and innovation; risk and failure; risk in dangerous contexts; and risk and gender. Nine of the selected articles did not fit in any of the thematic clusters.

The review reveals a significant lack of research on leadership and risk in highly-ranked management studies’ journals. The author found that the topic of leadership and risk is approached in a binary fashion: successful leaders are viewed as using risk to drive innovation and unsuccessful leaders fail because of risk. The author argues that the heroic bias in leadership research could be partly blamed for this binarism. In practical terms, the author highlights that the growing importance of chief risk officers – leaders appointed to deal with company risk – indicates a clear need for research on leadership and risk in general management studies’ journals.