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International development projects are a dominant means by which aid is distributed to countries. Over the past 70 years, the distribution of trillions of dollars of development aid has been mediated by the United Nations (UN). However, most of this aid has failed to deliver the expected outcomes for which it was assigned. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of projects can be considered successful. Despite the glaring question as to which factors contribute to the success or failure of projects, no study has comprehensively documented the relationship between procurement mechanisms invoked to deliver aid projects and project outcomes. This study aims to assess this relationship.

Leveraging network analysis methodology, this study examines the World Bank data set of over 247,000 developmental contracts worldwide granted over the past 20 years. It identifies the range of procurement practices used and interrogates their ability to deliver satisfactory project outcomes.

Eleven prevalent practices are identified covering aid projects across twelve sectors. As might be expected, Africa is the largest recipient of aid, while the Middle East is the least. Overwhelmingly, international competitive bidding (ICB) is the leading procurement procedure, both in terms of contract number and total dollar value. However, ICB does not always deliver the best outcomes, with other, more boutique approaches sometimes doing better.

The breadth of this study, encompassing such a vast data resource, and generating such a rich pool of findings will now empower researchers to take the next important step, which is to progress this study in exploring why it is that certain procurement strategies have worked for some sectors, but not others. Countries, financial institutions, the UN and construction enterprises alike will be very interested in the results.

The spectrum of outcomes identified will be of interest to academics and practitioners alike wishing to investigate further the drivers behind the results described here.

Involvement of lenders for PPP highway projects in India starts after the bid award. The post-award development phase of Toll and Annuity PPPs differ significantly in terms of potential risk assumed by lenders. This study aims to assess the impact of the transparency law on the post-award development phase of Toll and Annuity PPPs.

A unique dataset of 469 PPP highway projects implemented in India was used to conduct this empirical study. An OLS regression model was developed to assess the impact of the transparency law on the post-award development phase.

Enacting the transparency law increased the duration of the post-award development phase of Toll projects; however, its impact on Annuity projects was not significant. Moreover, Toll and Annuity projects with a longer post-award development phase had a shorter construction phase. The post-award development phase of the Toll projects was relatively more sensitive to technical, economic and location-specific variables than Annuity projects. Length of road stretch, duration of the concession period and individual income of end-users significantly impacted the duration of this phase of Toll projects.

Transparency law can improve risk mitigation of Toll projects during the post-award development phase.

The impact of transparency law on PPP projects has never been assessed. This study assesses its impact on the two forms of PPPs. It also highlights the determinants of this phase and how they differ for the two forms of PPPs.

The primary purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the unsolicited proposal (USP) and the performance of private participation infrastructure (PPI) projects in developing countries.

The main data set for this study was collected from the World Bank database consisting of 8,951 PPI projects that occurred in developing countries from 1996 to 2020. Hierarchical logistic regression was applied for investigating the effects of USPs on project success. Three moderators, namely, control of corruption, presence of local sponsor and project size were also included in the model to test the impact of their interactions with the USP on the performance of PPI projects. Further, to assess the impact of the effect of USPs, the average marginal effect was calculated. The framework used in this study consists of 18 control variables, three moderators and one noncontrolled independent variable (the USP).

The results of hierarchical logistic regression indicate that USPs have a significant and negative effect on the success of PPI projects occurring in developing countries. The negative effect of a USP weakens with the presence of local sponsors and stronger control of corruption in the host country. However, contrary to the authors’ expectations, the results show that project size does not significantly affect the association between USPs and the success of PPI projects. Moreover, the results of average marginal effects show that the negative impact of USP on the success of PPI projects ranges between 2.4% and 3.8%.

This study quantifies the negative impact of USP on the success of PPI projects in developing countries, which will be helpful for the practitioners to understand the associated risk with USP projects. Furthermore, it also identifies the moderating roles of control of corruption and the presence of local sponsors on the relationship between USP and the success of PPI projects.

The study aims to explore the role of procurement of good governance (PGG) on value for money (VfM) achievement in public construction projects. By investigating various dimensions of PGG, including transparency, accountability, competition and integrity, this study provides insights into how these factors contribute to the successful achievement of VfM outcomes in public construction projects.

The data were sourced from 203 construction project practitioners from 24 selected procuring entities in Tanzania using a census approach and a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used for data analysis.

The findings of the study revealed a positive and significant impact of various dimensions of PGG on VfM. Specifically, transparency, accountability, competition and integrity were positively and significantly related to VfM, with p-values <0.001. Based on the study findings, we conclude that PGG is an important predictor of VfM achievement in public construction projects.

The study offers policy implications for streamlined PGG and VfM achievement in public construction projects. It is suggested that procuring entities can enhance VfM by enforcing compliance with the principles of PGG throughout the entirety of construction projects. In this case, streamlined legislative frameworks and control mechanisms are crucial components that could enhance PGG and the achievement of VfM.

This study contributes to the academic literature on the strategic role of PGG in enhancing VfM achievement. This is one of the research domains, which has not been adequately researched, particularly in Tanzania’s context. In addition, the study provides valuable insights to policymakers, practitioners and stakeholders involved in public construction projects to improve project outcomes and resource allocation.

The description of “blockchain banking”, the determination of “the sub-processes” of “blockchain banking” as a “business process”, and the assessment of “maturity level” in Parsian Bank.

Theoretical sources on “blockchain banking” were initially investigated. Then the “sub-processes” of “blockchain banking” as a “business process” were extracted by Parsian Bank's experts through the “Delphi method”. Next, the “sequence” of the “sub-processes” was determined by means of the “AHP”. Eventually, Parsian Bank's maturity levels for all the sub-processes as well as the overall maturity level were specified on the basis of the “CMMI” V1.3 in order for Business Process Management (BPM).

Blockchain banking’ combines traditional banking with cryptocurrencies, which can be provided by merging “hybrid e-wallet” with “bank account” and “bank card” – all together as “crypto bank account”. Plus, “hybrid e-wallet” is a form of mobile e-wallet on blockchain that supports both cryptocurrencies and traditional currencies in the same platform by which the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies are possible. Besides, “Blockchain banking service” can also be offered within the framework of “open banking” aligned with “open innovation” through a FinTech (or a beta bank) in collaboration with a licensed bank via “open API”, which is called “blockchain banking based on FinTech”. At last, the eight sub-processes of “blockchain banking” were determined and Parsian Bank's “maturity level” was specified.

This is the very first practical guide to “blockchain banking service”.

The World Bank-sponsored public financial management reforms attempt to instil fiscal discipline through techno-managerial packages. Taking Ghana's integrated financial management information system (IFMIS) as a case, this paper explores how and why local actors engaged in counter-conduct against these reforms.

Interviews, observations and documentary analyses on the operationalisation of IFMIS constitute this paper's empirical basis. Theoretically, the paper draws on Foucauldian notions of governmentality and counter-conduct.

Empirics demonstrate how and why politicians and bureaucrats enacted ways of escaping, evading and subverting IFMIS's disciplinary regime. Politicians found the new accounting regime too constraining to their electoral and patronage politics and, therefore, enacted counter-conduct around the notion of political exigencies, creating expansionary fiscal conditions which the World Bank tried to mitigate through IFMIS. Perceiving the new regime as subverting their bureaucratic identity and influence, bureaucrats counter-conducted reforms through questioning, critiquing and rhetorical venting. Notably, the patronage politics of appropriating wealth and power underpins both these political and bureaucratic counter-conducts.

This study contributes to the critical accounting understanding of global public financial management reform failures by offering new empirical and theoretical insights as to how and why politicians and bureaucrats who are supposed to own and implement them nullify the global governmentality intentions of fiscal disciplining through subdued forms of resistance.

This paper aims to investigate the practice of accounting in the Seventh-day Adventist church of the Pacific Islands and pays particular attention to the coexisting of two control devices: accounting and religion.

This paper implemented a qualitative field study design collecting interview data from church members from the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Fiji. Data were also collected through focus group discussions, document reviews, website analysis and participant observations. Pierre Bourdieu’s thinking on symbolic violence, doxa and capital are used to interpret the findings.

This paper’s main contribution shows that while there is a divine and profane divide, social agents, given their agency, can move back and forth from one side of the divide to the other. Accounting as a control device does not include features such as faith, which is helpful for decision-making; accordingly, religion is relied upon when it comes to decision-making. In contrast, accounting has features that are useful for stewardship purposes. Accordingly, when it comes to the church’s stewardship function accounting in the form of financial reports is relied upon.

Pacific Island culture almost permeates all facets of life, including church life; however, this study did not clarify this. Later studies can explore the implications of culture on the deployment of accounting in a religious setting.

This rich empirical study describes the control dynamics and the tension between accounting and religion in a religious organisation. Accounting needs to adapt to churches’ unique characteristics, whereby religious/doctrinal beliefs must be accounted for and respected. Unlike in the corporate world, accountants in churches cannot fully practice their training or exercise the kind of influence they usually hold in organisations due to their religious belief systems.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is one of a few studies on the religion-accounting relationship. While the focus of earlier studies was generally on a secular and sacred divide, this study looks at coexisting of accounting and religion. This study adds to the sparse literature on accounting and religion and their controlling influence.

The operational framework of external financing in the correlation between the gender of entrepreneurs and firm performance remains to be resolved. This study aims to investigate the mediating effect of external financing on gender-based disparities in private firm performance and to explore its heterogeneity within the Chinese context.

Based on national data from the 10th to 13th Chinese Private Enterprise Survey, this study used a bootstrap-based mediation effect model to analyze the role of external financing as a mediator in the relationship between entrepreneur gender and firm performance.

This study found that external financing is a constructive mediator between entrepreneur gender and firm performance. Heterogeneity analysis revealed that external financing plays a complementary mediation role in the impact of entrepreneur gender on performance in West China. In the tertiary industry, external financing acts as the sole mediator for the impact of gender on firm performance. Notably, this mediating effect is present in non-startups but not in startups.

The findings suggest that external financing can improve the firm performance of female entrepreneurs. Governments and policymakers should strengthen financial support for female entrepreneurs in West China, tertiary industry and non-startup enterprises.

This paper contributes to the literature on gender and corporate governance by shedding light on the mediating role of external financing in the relationship between the gender of business owners and firm performance.

Official development assistance (ODA) education projects have played a crucial role in improving education and training fields in developing countries, but are often facing several considerable challenges (e.g. long implementation time). Thus, this study aims to identify critical success factors (CSFs) in ODA education projects and investigate the influences of CSFs on ODA project performance measured by 11 nonprofit outcomes (NPOs).

A comprehensive literature review and expert interviews were conducted to compile a list of 35 potential success factors for ODA education projects. Using a survey questionnaire, 143 valid responses were collected from practitioners joining ODA projects in Vietnam. Various statistical methods (e.g. mean score method, Spearman rank correlation test, analysis of variance test, factor analysis and regression analysis) were used to analyze the collected data.

This research identified seven CSFs for ODA education projects in Vietnam: comprehensive project management competency (C1), clarity and compliance in project execution (C2), transparency and committed funding (C3), external context conditions (C4), well-controlled design and project management procedures (C5), preparations in equipment and complexity insight (C6) and punctual site delivery (C7). Furthermore, the results of regression analysis indicated that comprehensive project management competency (C1) and transparency and committed funding (C3) could significantly affect various NPOs.

This study offers significant insights for practitioners (e.g. project managers) to improve ODA projects’ performance and effectiveness in the education and training sector of a developing country context (like Vietnam).