Search results

This study aims to examine the extent to which external auditors (EAs) use the work of the internal audit function (IAF) based on the purpose of its primary activities. The authors rely on attribution theory, which suggests that individuals search for meaning when an event occurs. In this setting, the authors explore how the overall (assurance vs advisory) or specific (e.g. risk management and evaluating internal controls) focus of IAF activities influences perceived EA reliance on the IAF’s work.

The authors first explore the research question with data extracted from a broad, longitudinal survey conducted triennially by the national chapters of the Institute of Internal Auditors in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The data includes responses from 2014, 2017 and 2020 administrations of the survey. The authors conduct a parallel survey with practicing EAs attending two training sessions of a European office of a global network firm. Hypotheses were tested using ordered logistic regression.

Among the chief audit executive (CAE) participants, the authors observe that a balanced or primarily assurance-related purpose of the IAF, relative to a primarily advisory-related purpose, is associated with higher perceived EA reliance. The authors observe similar perceptions of the extent of reliance among the EA participants.

With a unique data set of practicing internal auditors from three countries, coupled with a sample of EAs, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine differences in EA reliance across the IAF’s primary roles. The study relies on data from three European countries, which differs from prior EA reliance literature with a largely North American focus. Further, comparison between perceptions of EAs and CAEs is a novel approach and this paper’s findings suggest that perceptions of CAEs could be a reliable proxy for EA-intended behavior.

This paper aims to narrow the gap caused by the lack of literature relating the three concepts of corporate sustainability, organizational resilience and corporate purpose in the context of corporations. A framework that explains how these three concepts are related and effectively merged for long-term corporate survival are proposed.

A systematic review is carried out. It is explained, first, initial search strategies to identify those documents that define each concept and to identify concepts with which each concept is associated. Subsequently, it is designed a search strategy combining all three concepts and their associated concepts to gather and analyze all the possible studies that have tried to connect these concepts. Finally, it is identified some gaps in the understanding of how these three concepts are related.

Results indicate that corporate sustainability, organizational resilience and corporate purpose merge to achieve long-term corporate survival. There exists a two-way relationship between these three variables. Findings also present gaps and future directions that should be addressed to foster an increase in knowledge about the relationships between corporate sustainability, organizational resilience and corporate purpose.

Nowadays, some authors endeavor to explain how aspects such as corporate sustainability, organizational resilience and corporate purpose are crucial in the dynamic environment facing corporations every day. Nevertheless, there needs to be more understanding of how these three concepts are related and effectively merged for long-term corporate survival. This paper contributes to the literature by closing this gap.

This paper aims to understand whether, and if so how, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) influence large companies’ adoption and implementation of a broader corporate purpose, beyond profit maximization.

Adopting a multiple-case study method, data were collected from semi-structured interviews with 28 managers from 16 large companies in Australia and Japan, and from secondary sources. Grounded theory methods were used to analyze the data and draw out key findings.

The study revealed the influence of the SDGs on corporate purpose depends on the SDG integration level: where and how the SDGs are integrated into management practices. The influence was more significant when the companies implemented the SDGs at a normative level compared to those implementing the SDGs at a strategic and/or operational level.

Due to the exploratory nature of the study, the sample size is limited and covers only companies in two countries. Future studies could examine the validity of the findings and the explanatory model by testing with a larger sample and expanding the scope into different countries. The study provides practical implications on how large companies’ could scale up their contributions to achieving the SDGs.

While the extant literature suggests a simple relationship between sustainability (the SDGs) and corporate purpose, this paper identified a more complex relationship. It presents in a multi-pathway model that explains the relationship, based on empirical evidence from 16 large companies in two different institutional contexts.

A charity’s core purpose is legally mandated and delivery thereof is not a corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity which, by definition, is voluntary in nature. Any CSR activity not required by law should be “incidental” and be an outcome of a core purpose/object and not a focus of activity. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to address the lack of research into voluntary CSR activities conducted by charities so that charities might have a clearer operating platform and do not involuntarily contravene legislation.

This was an exploratory investigation using purposive sampling of senior leaders in UK charities. This study uses a case study approach to identify pragmatic areas of concern and also identify practical actions.

The conventional hierarchical ordering of Carroll’s CSR pyramid (1991) for profit-focussed organisations were found to be inconsistent with those for charitable organisations which were: ethical, legal, economic and philanthropic/voluntary/incidental.

This was an exploratory study and would benefit from further investigation.

Corporate social responsibility actions undertaken by charities need to be carefully evaluated to ensure that they comply with the core charitable purpose or are incidental.

Many employees in charities are motivated by social justice; however, they need to be cautious that they do not exceed the core purpose of the charity.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no research was identified which has addressed the fundamental issue of charities’ core purposes and the extent to which charities might legally undertake CSR activities.

The research seeks to evaluate stakeholder perceptions of firms, the extent these assessments impact trust in firms and possible implications for sustainability communications.

Three studies were undertaken involving two experiments (n = 436, n = 393) and one survey (n = 217). Analyses of variance was used in all three studies and in studies 2 and 3—to test for possible mediators—each variable was tested using Hayes' PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2013) with bootstrapping of 5,000 samples.

Results demonstrate significant favouring of sustainability-minded firms. Some differences between consumers and investors were found but also notable commonalities such as a general propensity to favour purpose-oriented firms and similar determinations of trust in firms.

Findings could support more effective sustainability communications and firm decisions regarding investments in purpose- and sustainability-oriented initiatives. The results may also support designs to pursue and promote designations (e.g. B Corp) that legitimize sustainability claims.

This research was unique in its evaluation of two stakeholder types in the same context. Further, it provides new insights into how a firm’s profit-purpose orientation affects stakeholder perceptions and assessments of trustworthiness.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

The authors carry out a systematic review focusing on the interrelationships between corporate sustainability, organizational resilience and corporate purpose and their combined effects on long-term corporate prosperity.

The briefing saves busy executives, strategists, and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Integrating transaction costs economics and task-technology fit theory, this study distinguishes two categories of social media–enabled interactions, namely task-related interactions and tie-related interactions, and explores the match between these two and firms' use of contracts in achieving safeguarding and coordinating purposes in interfirm governance.

Two studies were conducted to test the hypotheses. In Study 1, this study collaborated with a professional market research firm and collected responses from Chinese manufacturing firms in a survey. In Study 2, this study designed a scenario-based experiment and collected 239 participants from the Credamo platform.

This study categorized social media–enabled interactions into task-related interactions and tie-related interactions and conducted two studies to reveal that the safeguarding purpose of contract specificity is amplified by tie-related interactions, whereas the coordinating purpose of contract specificity is strengthened by task-related interactions.

This study assumes that firms permit and encourage the use of social media. However, some firms might prohibit the use of social media due to risk issues, or their partners may be prohibited from using social media.

Given that social media–enabled interactions have joint effects with contracts in achieving safeguarding and coordinating purposes, a firm's employees should match their goals with an appropriate type of social media–enabled interactions.

This study enriches the interfirm governance literature by uncovering the roles of these two types of interactions in matching contract specificity to achieve safeguarding and coordinating purposes, which provides actionable insights for managers in governing interfirm relationships.

This paper aims to investigate the behaviour determinants towards cash waqf for productive purposes between two different classes of Muslims: the upper-middle class and the lower-middle class.

Under the Theory of Planned Behavior framework, this study modified previous literature to investigate the determinants of two Muslim classes’ behaviour towards cash waqf for productive purposes. A structural equation model was applied to test the hypothesis, and an in-depth interview was conducted to explain the findings further.

The behaviour of participating in cash waqf for productive purposes differs between the two Muslim segments. Upper-middle-class Muslims’ intentions will not necessarily consider subjective norms, even though they will consider religiosity as their deciding factor. Meanwhile, this study found different results on the influence of attitude, religiosity and subjective norms to intention in the lower-middle-income group. Other attributes such as perceived behaviour control, knowledge, trust and perceived benefits show positive and significant effects on the intention for both income classes of Muslims.

The current findings may not accurately reflect ideal conditions due to the low level of waqf literacy and actual participation of Muslims in cash waqf for productive purposes. Researchers can conduct further studies based on other criteria, such as gender, age, education level or area of residence, using experimental or simulation methods to complement the research.

This study’s findings can support policymakers and related waqf stakeholders to set strategies for cash waqf literacy and participation by providing more detailed information about the differences in Muslims characteristics based on the income classes.

This study specifically modifies the behavioural framework to investigate differences in the behaviour of two classes of Muslims towards their participation in cash waqf for productive purposes in Indonesia.

This study analyzed the relationship between mobile financial services (MFS) usage and customer satisfaction with MFS in Bangladesh, considering perception, purpose of use and technical challenges as the primary factors influencing customer satisfaction with MFS. The aim is to determine the factors most influencing the use of MFS.

Data were collected from 400 MFS users through a structured web survey using snowball sampling that is consistent with the nature of MFS users who are difficult to identify or locate. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data and evaluate the reliability and validity of the measurement model.

The results show that customers’ perceptions and satisfaction significantly impact their intention to use MFS. Specifically, customers’ perceptions strongly influence their satisfaction with MFS, and the purpose of use significantly predicts both perception and satisfaction. Technical problems and challenges were found to have no significant impact on satisfaction levels, but other factors were more critical. Furthermore, the integration of innovative technological solutions is crucial for fostering sustainability in MFS, as it enhances reliability and efficiency while minimizing environmental footprints.

The study was conducted in a single country, relied on self-reported data, and used a cross-sectional design, which limits the ability to draw causal inferences. Future research could explore the factors that influence customer satisfaction with MFS in different countries and regions and incorporate additional variables to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the drivers of customer satisfaction with MFS.

This study significantly contributes by extending the technology acceptance model (TAM) framework with the innovation resistance theory, offering a nuanced understanding of MFS adoption. The findings challenge conventional wisdom, highlighting the limited impact of technical problems on satisfaction and emphasizing the central role of user perceptions in shaping satisfaction and intention to use.

In today’s digital world, data-driven digital artefacts pose challenges for education, as many students lack an understanding of data and feel powerless when interacting with them. This paper aims to address these challenges and introduces the data awareness framework. It focuses on understanding data-driven technologies and reflecting on the role of data in everyday life. The paper also presents an empirical study on young school students’ data awareness.

The study involves a teaching unit on data awareness framed by a pre- and post-test design using a questionnaire on students’ awareness and understanding of and reflection on data practices of data-driven digital artefacts.

The study’s findings indicate that the data awareness framework supports students in understanding data practices of data-driven digital artefacts. The findings also suggest that the framework encourages students to reflect on these data practices and think about their daily behaviour.

Students learn a model about interactions with data-driven digital artefacts and use it to analyse data-driven applications. This approach appears to enable students to understand these artefacts from everyday life and reflect on these interactions. The work contributes to research on data and artificial intelligence literacies and suggests a way to support students in developing self-determination and agency during interactions with data-driven digital artefacts.