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This study aims to investigate the impact of changes in audit processes during the pandemic on auditors’ deviant behavior, considering auditors’ personal characteristics, including demographic variables, spirituality levels and personality traits.

A survey consisting of five parts was used to gather data from auditors employed at Big Four audit firms in the Middle East. The questionnaire collected data on auditors’ perceptions of changes in audit processes and deviant audit behavior during the pandemic, as well as information about their personal characteristics.

The findings revealed a significant positive association between changes in audit processes and a heightened perception of deviant audit conduct during the pandemic. Males and extravert auditors expressed less favorable attitudes toward such behavior.

The sample size was limited to 107 auditors due to the challenges of soliciting responses from auditors during the pandemic. The sole focus on the Big Four audit firms limited the generalizability of the results. Upcoming research should integrate qualitative methods alongside surveys and collect data from larger, more diverse samples to enhance the understanding of the pandemic’s impact on audit behavior.

The findings provide guidance and recommendations for audit firms to mitigate deviant behavior during crises while considering auditors’ personal factors. Recommended strategies include the organization of trainings to raise awareness of these risks and the integration of artificial intelligence to modernize audit processes and enhance audit firms’ readiness to confront future crises.

This study offers a novel empirical investigation into how pandemic-driven changes in audit procedures relate to auditors' deviant behavior, while exploring the influence of auditors' individual traits, an unexplored area in the literature. It addresses this gap specifically in the context of the understudied Middle East region.

This research paper investigates variances in auditors’ attitudes toward dysfunctional audit behavior (DAB) in two different time periods. The purpose of this paper is to explore changes in DAB among experienced/inexperienced auditors as well as differences between male/female auditors while facing time budget and time deadline pressures.

This study uses surveys administered to a group of junior auditors joining a Big 4 firm in the UK and compares the results to surveys completed by the same group of auditors after three years of experience. The survey assesses participant’s perception of DAB in the presence of time budget and time deadline.

The results of this paper show that experienced auditors have more tolerant views of DAB then inexperienced auditors. In terms of gender, inexperienced male auditors are more accepting of DAB when compared to their inexperienced female counterparts. Female auditors surveyed in both time periods seem to be unfavorable of DAB.

The uniqueness of this study derives from the fact that it explores the same group of auditors and assesses variances in their perception of DAB in two different periods over a passage of three years during which inexperienced auditors become experienced.

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on factors leading to unethical acts committed by auditors from a cultural and gender perspectives. It investigates differences in junior auditors’ attitudes towards audit behavior when a performance evaluation (PE) is anticipated. The objective of this study is to aid academicians and audit executives in developing new models of PE and internship programs that should mitigate dysfunctional behavior.

A survey adapted from Big Four companies’ performance appraisal templates was administered to junior accountants who have completed their internship programs and their external audit course at accredited universities in Lebanon and the USA. Several statistical tests were conducted to analyze the relationship between the different variables.

This paper shows how PE affects junior auditors’ attitudes to dysfunctional audit behavior (DAB). From a cultural standpoint, American auditors express more negative views towards DAB than their Lebanese counterparts. This paper also demonstrates that female auditors are less inclined towards DAB than male auditors.

Previous studies on the topic have been mostly conducted in developed countries with a scarcity of studies examining multiple countries. This study focuses on two different cultural contexts, a developed country, the USA and an emerging country, poorly represented in the literature, Lebanon. This paper also observes variances between male and female auditors in DAB when expecting a PE. The originality of this paper stems from its concurrent examination of the impact of gender and culture on DAB by using a sample of less-experienced auditors at the end of their educational path.

The paper explores the inflationary consequences of the Lebanese economic and financial crises on Lebanese society. The study investigates the distribution of inflationary harm across various demographic characteristics, including age, marital status, educational level, employment type, region of residence, income range and type. It also identifies the different coping mechanisms adopted by the Lebanese people to survive during the inflationary period.

The study surveys 168 Lebanese citizens to determine which groups of people are most affected by inflation, its impact on their quality of life and the different coping mechanisms the citizens employ to endure the period of growing prices.

The results show that some groups of Lebanese citizens are more influenced than others by rising prices. The categories of people who suffer the most from inflation are the elderly, the widowed, those characterized by low educational and low-income levels, the unemployed, the retired and public sector employees, as well as homemakers.

This study provides policymakers with substantial information regarding the economic and social well-being of Lebanese citizens by highlighting the categories of people in need for special financial and social support. The findings can guide targeted policy interventions to support vulnerable populations. The study can also inform future research on the impact of the crisis and the effectiveness of policies.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2022-0736

The purpose of this paper is to provide further insight into internet social and environmental reporting (ISER) in the Middle East by investigating the ISER of Lebanese banks as well as their greenwashing behaviour and identifying its extent, quality and association with different variables such as profitability, size, religion and other variables.

This study adopted a mixed methodology. Interviews were conducted to seek the opinions of banks towards corporate social responsibility (CSR). Content analysis of bank’s websites was used to examine the extent, quality and association of ISER with several bank characteristics.

The results show the prevalent use of ISER and greenwashing by Lebanese banks. The most disclosed category of ISER is community, whereas the least disclosed is environment. The study found a positive association between ISER and bank profitability, size, leverage and ownership concentration and an insignificant relationship with age and religion.

The authors recognise that the sample is small and addresses a single context and that it could have been expanded to other Middle Eastern contexts. However, the study is exploratory focusing on the Lebanese banking sector which is one of the most developed in the region. Further longitudinal studies could also be conducted to complement the work. The process used to measure greenwashing could be enhanced by addressing the materiality of CSR disclosures to stakeholders and the purpose of communicating CSR information.

In light of the empirical findings, banks will gain a better understanding of the status and importance of ISER and will understand the risks of greenwashing leading them towards higher standard ISER and more ethical activities, which will have a positive impact on the Lebanese economy and society.

This study examines almost all aspects of online social and environmental disclosures including the webpage, CSR sections in addition to online published reports; it is an investigation about ISER with reference to Lebanon which has perhaps the most significant banking sector in the Middle East. It tackles the greenwashing issue in a new context and in a different way by examining its association with several variables. The study also investigates the association between religion and ISER which has seldom been tackled in similar studies.

This study aimed to understand how parents and librarians describe their lived experiences in a modern children’s library that aims to create a triad bond through the organization of multiliteracy events and activities.

The study used a phenomenological case study approach using two semistructured interviews, the first with parents (n = 5) and the second with library staff (n = 5), to record their lived experiences in creating and attending literacy events and activities.

The findings indicated multiplicities of transformative and heterotypic spaces that juxtapose different yet compatible and vicarious experiences for librarians, parents and their children. The virtual and interactive features of the library fuel children’s curiosity and creativity and afford them authentic materials through a creative blend of local heritage and technology-mediated multimodal literacies. Moreover, the librarians engage in constant program evaluation and upgrades. The library environment creates a vibrant bio-network for disseminating literacy through creativity and ingenuity and affords an affinity space for community socialization.

This study has some limitations and delimitations. The data for this study were collected during the pandemic, which affected the sample size. Moreover, the children’s views were not considered, which could broaden our understanding of the phenomena. Furthermore, the study relied on interviews as the sole source of data; other sources, such as archival data and documents, could enrich the data and increase the study’s rigor. Finally, the study is confined to only one site.

The study found that a “living library” philosophy with an enthusiastic and attentive staff that caters to patrons’ interests draws parents and children to visit. Additionally, unexpected fun activities that occur when sufficient children are present keep them engaged and motivated to stay and learn more. The study suggests that librarians, architects, school leaders, policymakers and educators should consider how to conceptualize, design and experience a modern library space that prioritizes literacy activities and incorporates technology to inspire children’s innovations. The findings can be applied to both public and academic libraries.

The findings from this study could provide researchers, teachers, administrators, librarians and artificial intelligence with a viable orientation to envision new ways of reconceptualizing public and school libraries to create affinity spaces for the literate community, especially in a non-western context such as the United Arab Emirates.

Boutique hotels reflect a nascent phenomenon in the literature and in the accommodation sector. As a result, they are void of governmental classification and regulation. Concurrently, they lack any form of operational definition. The purpose of this paper is to address these limitations by identifying the core attributes found to define boutique hotels.

To fulfil the purpose of this paper, the authors conducted a systematic literature review on Web of Science. This resulted in an analysis of 33 peer-review articles published from 1994 to 2022.

The findings of this review revealed that boutique hotels are defined by eight core attributes; these are (1) multiple ownership structures, (2) situatedness in a historic premises, (3) strategic locations, (4) thematized internal décor, (5) experience design, (6) high levels of personalization, (7) novelty in service provisions and (8) niche marketing strategies.

For policymakers, this paper may be used as a reference point to establish designated classification systems for boutique hotels. For practitioners, this paper may be used as a source of inspiration and benchmark to establish boutique hotels which align to the criteria highlighted in this paper. For scholars, this paper proposes an operational description of boutique hotels and novel areas for future research.

This paper represents one of the initial efforts undertaken by researchers to unify the literature on boutique hotels.

Purpose: This chapter explores the strategic role of human resource development (HRD) as a function of talent management (TM) and discusses how HRD activities can help to facilitate more creative behaviours, in the international hospitality industry.

Approach: We focus on TM and HRD research exploring how these lenses are conceptually positioned given our current knowledge on creativity. We draw on the system-based approach to creativity and reconceptualise the creativity components by levels of flexibility/plasticity and outline how such approaches can help creative practice development.

Findings: We rationalise the existing conceptual approaches to creativity and propose a simplified model considering the developmental aspects of creativity. First, we theorise the TM/HRD strategies, such as training and development via learning, as a mechanism to connect TM/HRD to creativity in the organisational setting. We inform the current literature on whether and how creative processes emerge at work and affect creative flow in the bottom-top and top-bottom directions. Second, we advance the development of creativity theory by reconceptualising the established creativity components by degrees of flexibility/plasticity. Such re-conceptualisation allows for more nuanced examinations of organisational stimuli (i.e. training and development) on developmental conceptions of creativity.

Originality: This is the first piece of work that has investigated the fit between TM/HRD and creativity research. Our conceptual model illustrates that creativity can be promoted and developed at work by incorporating developmental initiatives such as TM/HRD.