bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
IS SOCIETY STILL SHACKLED WITH THE CHAINS OF A 1993 ENGLAND?: CONSENT, SADO-MASOCHISM AND R V BROWN
Authors: Moulds Jordan
Published: December 2016

Sadomasochism has traditionally been categorised as a deviant sexual desire, painted with the same brush of immorality that was applied to homosexuality and transvestism for decades. It has been denounced, not only by society, but also by the medical profession and the judiciary. In R v Brown, the House of Lords highlighted society’s revulsion for such practices and refused, as an issue of public policy, to allow consent to be raised as a defence by those who engage in such activities. In the 22 years since the decision, however, the weight placed on the protection of our bodily autonomy and freedom of sexual expression has significantly increased. The applicability of R v Brown in light of these changes is yet to be considered in Australia with any binding authority. This article seeks to provide readers with an insight into the likely outcome of an attempt to prosecute those who, in 2015, engage in sadomasochism. Ultimately, this article concludes that as a result of s 22 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA), construed in light of the increased value placed on protecting bodily autonomy, sexual self-determination and the preservation of privacy, a South Australian court, and to a lesser extent, all Australian courts, would recognise the consent of those who sustain harm in the pursuit of pain-induced pleasure.
What Shall We Do With The Dishonest Fiduciary? The Unpredictability Of Allowances For Work And Skill
Authors: Arnold Bronwyn
Published: December 2016

Fiduciaries who breach their obligations by making a profit may apply to the courts for an allowance for the work and skill that generated the profit, but it is unclear whether a court will indulge the application if the fiduciary’s breach was tainted with dishonesty. There are two different approaches available to the courts when faced with a dishonest fiduciary applying for an allowance. Courts that choose the first approach will rely on Boardman v Phipps and award an allowance that reflects the fiduciary’s conduct. Courts that follow the second approach will ignore the fiduciary’s dishonesty by relying on Warman International Ltd v Dwyer, and will award an allowance to prevent the principal’s unjust enrichment. The availability of the two different approaches has resulted in inconsistent outcomes and confusion in the law. This article explores the justifications for adopting each of the available approaches whenever a dishonest fiduciary applies for an allowance. Part I outlines the progression of the case law since Boardman v Phipps. Part II describes the rationales for adopting each of the approaches to awarding allowances to dishonest fiduciaries. It concludes that the conduct-based approach in Boardman v Phipps should be rejected, and that the unjust enrichment-based approach provided by Warman International Ltd v Dwyer should be adopted by the courts when awarding allowances to defaulting fiduciaries.
Allowances And The Search For Justification
Authors: Palmer Jessica
Published: December 2016

This article provides a response to the article in this volume entitled ‘What Shall We Do with the Dishonest Fiduciary? The Unpredictability of Allowances for Work and Skill’ by Bronwyn Arnold. It begins in Part I with an overview of Arnold’s position and moves on to consider the issue of dishonesty in Part II and the notion of unjust enrichment in Part III. Part IV explores two narrower grounds upon which allowances could be justified and concludes that neither dishonesty nor unjust enrichment provides a sound basis for the awarding of an allowance to a breaching fiduciary.
Response to Vanessa Deverson On 'Child Abuse And Neglect: Mandatory Reporting And The Legal Profession'
Authors: Caruso David
Published: December 2016

This comment responds to Vanessa Deverson’s article titled ‘Child Abuse and Neglect: Mandatory Reporting and the Legal Profession’ and examines whether it is desirable for lawyers to be required to report child abuse and neglect that may be revealed by their clients. The comment begins by articulating the role of the legal profession, and explains how it differs from other professions. Part I explains that an obligation to report child abuse would fundamentally change the role of the legal profession in defending or asserting the rights, liberties and liabilities of their clients. Part II argues that even if mandatory reporting were to be brought in, it would be unlikely achieve its intended purpose because it would create suspicion towards the legal profession and undermine its role. The final Part discusses current South Australian draft legislation aimed at protecting children and argues that this may be a more appropriate route. The comment concludes that current Northern Territory reporting laws do not belong in a legal system that depends on clients having confidence in their lawyers.
Iamb a Poet
Authors: Arnarsdóttir Hörn , Anderson Nicole , Nimtrakul Perry
Published: December 2016

N/A
The Way I Saw Ethnography
Authors: Matthew Tannith
Published: December 2016

No Abstract
The Union Canal
Authors: Lovell-Smith Gideon Francis , Bolton Becca , Silovsky Laura
Published: December 2016

No abstract
An Interview with David Roy: The Edinburgh Ceilidh Consultant
Authors: Fullerton Kirby R
Published: December 2016

No Abstract
Jesús.
Authors: Hallet Collard Charles
Published: December 2016

Jesus is certainly one of the most known men in history. Everyone and every epoch believes to know him and represents him according to their own criteria. This article trays to show the different ideas about Jesus. In order to do so, the author takes Christians, non Christians and atheist thinkers, especially from the modern times.
Hacia la plenitud en el amor.
Authors: Gomes de Amaral Eliezer
Published: December 2016

This research aims to deepen into the rich anthropological heritage which offers us St. Edith Stein. Its concern for offering a coherent discourse, built on solid foundations, does not make it lose sight of the contact and harmony with the fundamental issues of human existence. That is the reason why, in the following pages, you will see the development of important topics that are often assumed to be obsolete or second category. We have choose, with special attention, topics like the interior richness of the human being and the deployment that emerges from it, also a dynamic view to the human being from different dimensions: internal unity, the search for personal fulfllment, the importance of knowing oneself, responsibility for proper use of freedom, and the radiated power of love, among others. The contact with the inner self is described here as recollection. This appropriated expression helps us to understand the great power that irradiation has. The opposite of a scatters life –where people often spend energy on meaningless actions- is an integrated life, where the powers of the soul are focused on the pursuit and attainment of what fulfll us in an authentic way. However, far from understanding this integration as a prison for oneself, it is rather a way to put everything in place sort, because the spirit naturally tends to go out of itself, to communicate with the environment.
El Pecado Original, una oportunidad para el salto al amor gratuito.
Authors: Daniels M. Claudio
Published: December 2016

The reality of original sin for the Christian cultural background is not alien for us, but rather represents a subject that in one way or another we have been dealing with throughout our life of faith in the Church. That’s why we ask: how can we understand the collective dimension of original sin and its implications in soteriological terms? The nude fact and its implications; what it means for us as a reality that permeates our entire history of salvation; and the way it manifests and affects us in our life is very important. Every one of these aspects is inherent to the human reality, and in them our salvation history, the incarnation and redemption get their deepest meaning.
Un Dios que se comunica, invita y provoca la respuesta de la creatura:
Authors: Gómez Cristián
Published: December 2016

How God communicates to man? How man can discover this communication and take care of it? Can man be free if he discovers what God wants from him? Can a man reject God’s will? Can God induce a human answer? In this paper we will approach to the idea of God’s self communication. In order to do so, we are going to get into the experience of St Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Jesuits and the Ignatian spirituality inspiring). We will discover a loving God that communicates to man, invites him and «provoke» his answer as a free creature.
De la movilización ciberactivista a una biopolítica de las redes
Authors: Condorelli Antonino , Gambetta Leticia
Published: December 2016

Este artículo propone la subsunción del concepto de ciberactivismo —que se reduce al uso estratégico de las tecnologías digitales para movilizaciones políticas— en el de biopolítica digital, entendida como producción incesante de lo común en y por las redes. Para operar ese desplazamiento conceptual, se dialoga con las principales concepciones de ciberactivismo y se defiende que, si bien esas visiones ayudan a comprender cómo las redes facilitaron la emergencia de una cultura general de la movilización, no problematizan las posibilidades de captura de las propias movilizaciones en red, ni la existencia de un activismo digital de carácter reproductor/conservador. Se plantea entonces la idea de una biopolítica digital para pensar las manifestaciones —provocadas por acontecimientos— como posibilidades que emergen de un proceso inmanente de producción de lo común en las redes. Para sustentar esta idea, se analizan las estrategias de dos movimientos sociales brasileños.
El sujeto en el centro de la socialización mediática: entre la recepción y la participación virtual
Authors: Sola-Morales Salomé
Published: December 2016

El objetivo de este artículo es reflexionar sobre la condición socializadora de los medios de comunicación en un entorno donde conviven la tradicional recepción mediática y las nuevas formas de participación virtual. Tomando como punto de partida las aportaciones de Alfred Schütz, Albert Bandura, Claudio Esteva Fabregat y Lluís Duch, se pone de manifiesto la necesidad de profundizar en el concepto de socialización mediática y en el rol clave de los sujetos. Para ahondar en este proceso se debe adoptar una perspectiva dialéctica que integre el rol de los seres humanos como entes mediadores y la capacidad socializadora de los propios discursos mediáticos, dejando a un lado cualquier visión pasiva de los sujetos.
La construcción de mensajes en la sociedad del conocimiento, y la formación de ciudadanía para la paz en Colombia
Authors: Ribero Salazar Fabio Andrés
Published: December 2016

Este artículo busca problematizar las implicaciones del mensaje utilizado en las distintas plataformas de comunicación, en el marco de la sociedad del conocimiento. Los elementos que se trabajan señalan la necesidad de reflexionar sobre la concepción de ciudadanía, dentro de un contexto de paz, para un mejor acercamiento a la realidad de Colombia. De este modo, se propone un marco teórico para desarrollar una comunicación que permita generar procesos de integración social y que, desde la necesidad de construir escenarios de paz, contribuya a la formación ciudadana.
Aproximación a una experiencia regional de responsabilidad social empresarial en el suroccidente colombiano
Authors: Azuero Rodríguez Andrés Ramiro , García Mónica , Betancourt Benjamín
Published: December 2016

Hoy es importante la articulación de diversos actores en torno a experiencias de responsabilidad social regional, que aporten al desarrollo local, dadas las múltiples necesidades de las regiones que no pueden ser resueltas por un solo actor. Esta articulación es una oportunidad de construir proyectos desde múltiplesperspectivas y capacidades locales. Por ello, los grupos de investigación Humanismo y Gestión y Previsión y  Pensamiento Estratégico de la Universidad del Valle, plantean una investigación que tiene como objetivo identicar y visibilizar los avances, logros, aprendizajes, dicultades y retos del proceso de consolidación de la experiencia de región socialmente responsable en el norte del Cauca. Para ello se realiza un estudio de tipo exploratorio, descriptivo con enfoque cualitativo donde se emplean técnicas como entrevistas en profundidad, grupos focales y talleres de formulación colectiva con los actores de la región. Los resultados muestran que la estrategia ha aportado a la visibilización de la región y a la construcción de proyectos conjuntos de mayor impacto contando con la participación de empresarios, instituciones y gobierno. Se reconocen dicultades como la de lograr acuerdos institucionales en torno algunos temas y la consecución y disposición de recursos por parte del gobierno nacional, para resolver problemas locales. Esta experiencia permite reexionar sobre aprendizajes, retos y dicultades que aunque son particulares pueden ser un ejemplo para otras regiones que estén interesadas en articularse en torno a proyectos conjuntos.
Entre gafanhotos e vaga-lumes: a potência narrativa na criação de outros imaginários políticos na Praia da Estação
Authors: Migliano Milene
Published: December 2016

Buscamos, neste artigo, realizar uma montagem de narrativas de situações vivenciadas na experiência insurgente Praia da Estação a partir de 2010, em Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Partimos do questionamento de Ana Clara Ribeiro Torres (2011) sobre a novidade, com o uso da Internet, das mobilizações de resistência política urbana e a capacidade delas de superar a contenção do imaginário politico. Por meio de três narrativas imagéticas de eventos – o primeiro Eventão; o aniversário de um ano da experiência, com a chegada do mar na praça; e a lavagem das escadarias do edifício da prefeitura, durante o bloco de carnaval da Praia da Estação –, pretendemos tensionar os processos de produção de sentidos, tentando desvelar detalhes e conexões de fabulação de imaginários diferentes daqueles que circulam na contemporaneidade do planejamento urbano.
Board size and firm operating performance: Evidence from Germany
Authors: Graf Andrea , Stiglbauer Markus
Published: December 2016

Determining the optimum size of corporate boards is an important task for companies. Agency theory suggests that either too large or too small boards cause negative effects on firm operating performance. For a given sample of 113 listed firms in the German Prime market, we tested the effect of board size on return on assets and return on equity. Our findings provide evidence that there is a significantly negative Management Board size effect both on return on assets and return on equity. The results are consistent with the assumption of dysfunctional norms of behaviour within the German two-tier board structure.
Investigating the relationship between corporate governance and banks’ financial performance: Egypt case
Authors: Youssef Amr , Bayoumi Mohamed
Published: December 2016

In the last few decades, policy makers around the world have focused on corporate governance reform since the Asian financial crisis and scandals in the United States such as the Enron debacle. In addition, there is no doubt that banks have significant position in the welfare of any economy. Corporate governance involves in how banks’ businesses and affairs are governed by its board of directors that raises a fundamental question of how this could affect banks’ financial performance. The focus of this research is to investigate the relationships between some of the corporate governance variables that are related to the board of directors on the financial performance of these banks working in the Egyptian market. Thirteen banks that are listed in the Egyptian Stock Exchange were selected with data collected for the period from 2011 till 2013 which is the post Egyptian revolution era. Research analyses adopted in this study are descriptive, correlation and regression analyses to test the research hypotheses. Findings of this research provide evidence that some of these variables such as board independence, foreign board members ratio, women board members ratio and board educational ratio have significant effect on the financial performance of these banks; however, board size and CEO qualities do not have any significant effect on banks’ performance. The research reaches some implications that are important to different stakeholders on practical and academic levels.
Impact of supervisory board members’ professional background on banks’ risk-taking
Authors: Froneberg Dennis , Kiesel Florian , Schiereck Dirk
Published: December 2016

This paper examines the impact of financial expertise of supervisory board members on the risk-return profile of 200 German regional cooperative banks during the period 2004–2009. The results show that with more financial expertise the bank performance does not improve, but bank risk increases. These findings induce concerns that mandating financial expertise on boards is not necessarily beneficial for the risk-return profile of regional banks. We suggest that overconfidence of entrepreneurs in the supervisory boards leads to this unfavorable development since they represent the largest fraction of professionals within the sample.
Asset revaluations and earnings management: Evidence from Australian companies
Authors: Hu Fang , Percy Majella , Yao Daifei
Published: December 2016

This paper examines the association between asset revaluations and discretionary accruals (a proxy for earnings management) using a sample of the largest 300 Australian companies. The results from this study indicate that the revaluation of non-current assets is positively associated with discretionary accruals. This finding is consistent with the argument that revaluation of assets reflects higher agency problems in the form of increased earnings management. Additional findings are that discretionary accruals are higher for firms reporting their non-current assets at fair values appraised by directors, than those of firms that use external appraisers. As well, the choice of auditors and the strength of corporate governance can constrain the opportunistic behaviour of managers in the accounting choice to revalue non-current assets.
The effect of psychological and contextual factors on the entrepreneurial intention of university students in South Africa
Authors: Dzomonda Obey , Fatoki Olawale , Oni Olabanji
Published: December 2016

This study focused on investigating the factors that affect the entrepreneurial intention of final year undergraduate students at a South African university. It aimed to achieve the following objectives, (1) to assess the entrepreneurial intention of final year university students, (2) to investigate the effect of psychological and contextual factors on entrepreneurial intention of final year university students and (3) to examine if there is a gender difference in the effect of psychological and contextual factors on entrepreneurial intention of final year university students. The study examined the effect of psychological and contextual factors on the entrepreneurial intention of final year undergraduate students. The study used the quantitative research method with a descriptive research design. 140 students participated in the survey and data was collected through the use of self-administered questionnaire in a survey. The participants in the study were final year undergraduate business management students. The convenience sampling technique was used in the study. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and the T-test. The results indicated that business students have a high level of entrepreneurial intention. Both psychological and contextual factors positively impact on entrepreneurial intention. There is no significant gender difference. Recommendations to improve the entrepreneurial intention of students are suggested.
Topics to be included in a meaningful and informative undergraduate business ethics course for accountancy students: A South African perspective. Part 2.
Authors: Lubbe Nandi , Lubbe Dave
Published: December 2016

Unethical business practices in South Africa, as in many other countries, is at the order of the day. As a result there is increasing pressure on the auditing and accounting professions to devote sufficient attention to business education during the training of prospective auditors and accountants. This is the second in a series of two articles regarding topics that should be included in a meaningful and informative business ethics course for undergraduate students in the fields of accounting and auditing.
Benefits of good corporate governance principles: A study of the city of Tshwane, South Africa
Authors: Khale Solomon , Worku Zeleke
Published: December 2016

Annual reports issued by the City of Tshwane (2015) for the financial years 2010 to 2014 show that the City of Tshwane has received qualified audit reports from the South African Auditor General (2015). The two key causes of underperformance were lack of adherence to norms and standards that are applicable to municipal service delivery and lack of adherence to the fundamental principles of good corporate governance (King, 2009). A study was conducted in the City of Tshwane, South Africa in order to assess and evaluate the degree of adherence to good corporate governance principles stipulated by Mervin King (King, 2009) in the form of the King III report. Data was collected from a stratified random sample of size 1, 012 residents of the City of Tshwane. Stratification was done by geographical zone. Data was collected from respondents by using a structured, pre-tested and validated questionnaire of study consisting of 22 indicators of service quality. The study found that 84.37% of respondents who took part in the study were satisfied with the overall quality of municipal services that were provided to them by the City of Tshwane. Only 15.63% of respondents were not satisfied with the overall quality of services provided to them. The study showed that most of the respondents had a positive perception on the quality of routine municipal services such as water and lights and waste removal by employees of the City of Tshwane. The study showed that the degree of satisfaction of residents, ratepayers and stakeholders with the quality of municipal services that were provided to them was significantly influenced by the degree of motivation of employees of the City of Tshwane at work, the ability of employees of the City of Tshwane to treat all customers with respect, the ability of employees of the City of Tshwane to provide adequate answers promptly to queries raised by customers, and the degree to which employees of the City of Tshwane were skilled on technical issues, in a decreasing order of strength.
Credit risk management practices in small and medium-sized micro-finance providers
Authors: Chakabva Oscar , Thurner Thomas
Published: December 2016

Microfinance providers play a significant role in emerging economies by providing banking-related financial services to the low income market. However, lending to the low income market is associated with high credit risk. This paper investigates the use of certain risk management practices by small and medium-sized micro finance providers in the Cape Metropolitan Area. The big difference of micro-finance is that collaterals are absent and instead, a close connection between microfinance providers and their clients come into place. And while micro-finance providers use follow up calls and penalties to avoid losses from loan overdue, the classical way to the court is not really an option. Instead, community leaders function as middlemen between the provider and the customer. Although most respondents agree that policies are in place, written risk policies exist in only half of our respondent’s enterprises. We further showed that the views on risk management depend on whether the respondent is an owner or a manager of the venture.
Corporate governance and intellectual capital disclosure. An empirical analysis of the Italian listed companies
Authors: Baldini Maria Assunta , Liberatore Giovanni
Published: December 2016

Intellectual capital (IC) as well as disclosure of information on IC has in recent years gained importance. IC is the key issue in strengthening a firm’s competitive position and in achieving its objectives. The purpose of this study is to investigate some determinants of the disclosure of IC in annual reports. In particular the aim of this research is to analyse the internal mechanisms of corporate governance (board composition, role duality, ownership structure, auditor type and size of audit committee), which influence the intellectual capital disclosure in corporate annual reports for a sample of all listed Italian firms at 31st December 2010. It has been used a disclosure index as a dependent variable, (ICD), and the method used to measure it is content analysis.
Earnings management motives and firm value following mandatory IFRS adoption – evidence from Canadian companies
Authors: Leung Raymond
Published: December 2016

When Canada already has a set of well- established legal enforcement and investor protection mechanism to control earnings management; and the quality of Canadian GAAP is high, I examine if the accounting quality for Canada can still be improved since its adoption of IFRS mandatorily in 2011. The extant literature argues that IFRS adoption benefits firms domiciled in countries with strong legal and financial institutions. However, when the quality of IFRS is as good as the local standards for many Anglo-Saxon countries such as Canada, it is questionable for these countries to receive substantial economic consequences. Following the literature, I estimate a set of comprehensive measurements of earnings management as the proxies of accounting quality. Empirically, I document evidence that even though the results are mixed, there are still certain significant improvements in accounting quality. However, I find that firms issuing more equities are motivated to associate with lower earnings quality. Also, firms engaging in two distinct strategic directions (prospector vs. defender) have systemically dissimilar effects on earnings quality in IFRS adoption. Finally, I document evidence that firm value following IFRS adoption has been increased, but at the expense of lower accounting quality. Overall, my study shed some lights into the literature that accounting standards per se is not sufficient to ensure a uniform-level of accounting quality because firm-level earnings management motives are important factors too.
The influence of corporate social responsibility on corporate competitive advantage: a case of Zimbabwean stock exchange listed companies
Authors: Makovere Peter H. , Ngirande Hlanganipai
Published: December 2016

The study investigated the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Corporate Competitive Advantage on Zimbabwean listed companies. A stratified sample of 10 participants from 10 companies listed on Zimbabwe Stock Exchange was utilised to examine the influence of corporate social responsibility on competitive advantage during a period from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013. The study utilised a mixed method approach and data was analysed in the form of descriptive statistics. The results show a significant influence of corporate social responsibility on competitive edge on Zimbabwe stock exchange listed companies. Results also reveal that the degree to which social responsibility is emphasized can impact a firm’s credibility, ultimately influencing the ability to raise capital, retain effective and productive staff, bid for quality raw materials from reputable suppliers and even manage to secure relatively lucrative growth opportunities. All these collectively help entities build and sustain strong competitive edges against their fellow competitors
Activist shareholders and the duration of supervisory board membership: Evidence for the German Aufsichtsra
Authors: Bassen Alexander , Schiereck Dirk , Thamm Christian
Published: December 2016

We study the fixed term nature of the German supervisory board appointment hypothesizing that the timing of the upcoming election has an impact on the credibility of effort by activist investors. More credible approaches should consequently be associated with higher wealth effects. An average abnormal return that is up to 6.9 percent higher can be observed when potential activists consider the timing of the next supervisory board election. Capital markets apparently perceive an activist effort within one to two years prior to the election as being most credible. Quite contrary to intuition it seems that high cash positions on targets’ balance sheets have a negative impact on the post-announcement wealth effects.
Frequency of and reasons for bargain purchases – Evidence from Germany
Authors: Boehm Josefine , Teuteberg Torben , Zülch Henning
Published: December 2016

This study investigates the prevalence of transactions resulting in negative goodwill under IFRS 3 Business Combinations. For a sample of 1,440 firm-year observations of listed German firms for the years 2005 to 2013, we find 96 negative goodwill transactions which give rise to an immediate gain recognized by the acquirer. Besides the fact that “bargain purchases” are not as rare as assumed by the standard setter when developing the current guidance, we document the reasons for the occurrence of negative goodwill. Our findings show that “bargain purchases” indeed account for the single most disclosed reason in our sample. However, alternative reasons such as future restructuring activities or market conditions are together equally likely to explain the existence of negative goodwill. Therefore, our results question whether the current treatment of negative goodwill as an immediate gain is most appropriate.
Differential effects of plural ownership and governance mechanisms in limiting shirkers and free riders
Authors: Silkoset Ragnhild , Nygaard Arne , Kidwell Roland E.
Published: December 2016

Using evidence from paired franchisor-franchisee dyads, this study identifies how plural formed ownership mechanisms curb the risk of shirking and free riding in franchise systems. These risks have damaging effects on the invested capital of franchisee entrepreneurs. Although shirking and free riding produce a major source of uncertainty for the franchisee entrepreneur it can be limited by plural formed governance dimensions. These mechanisms have different effects based on unit status, i.e., company owned-units versus franchisee-units. We tested our model using a paired-dyadic data approach to mitigate the problem of shared-method variance among the psychometric measures. Results support the contention that competition limits shirking and free riding across inter-firm relationships, but did not support the hypothesized role of relational mechanisms in lowering potential shirking and free riding. Also, endogeneity test uncovered that dealer’s self-selected into either one of the plural form contracts. Drawing on the economics, marketing and management literatures, this study presents a basis for further investigation by placing international franchising entrepreneurship into a broader context of transactional and relational governance
Corporate governance and risk disclosure: evidence from Saudi Arabia
Authors: Al-Maghzom Abdullah , Hussainey Khaled , Aly Doaa
Published: December 2016

This study aims to empirically explore corporate governance and the demographic traits of top management teams as the determinants of voluntary risk disclosure practices in listed banks. This study also aims to contribute to the existing risk disclosure literature by investigating the effect of a combination of determinants on voluntary risk disclosure practices in an emerging market. Furthermore, this study seeks to contribute to risk disclosure theories by employing the upper echelons theory to examine the determinants and their effects on voluntary risk disclosure practices. Design/Methodology/Approach- This investigation uses manual content analysis to measure the levels of risk disclosure in all Saudi listed banks from 2009 to 2013. It also uses ordinary least squares regressions analysis to examine the joint effect of corporate governance and demographic traits on risk disclosure. Results- The empirical findings show that external ownership, audit committee meetings, gender, size, profitability and board size are primary determinants of voluntary risk disclosure practices in Saudi listed banks. The remainder of the independent variables of both corporate governance mechanisms and demographic traits are insignificantly correlated with voluntary risk disclosure practices in Saudi listed banks. This study supports upper echelons theory and further encompasses demographic research into the risk disclosure field. Potential Implications- The empirical findings offer several important implications by reporting to banks’ stockholder, regulatory bodies and any other interested group on the importance of corporate governance and demographic determinants, which can be used to augment risk reporting in the banking industry. This study also backs upper echelons theory and encourages further demographic research into the risk disclosure field. Originality- To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, no prior research has been conducted on the determinants of risk disclosure in Saudi Arabian listed banks. Therefore, this is the first study to investigate the determinants of risk disclosure in the context of Saudi Arabia.
E-banking and consumer behavior: the role of switching costs
Authors: Wachyudhi Norman , Haryanto Budhi
Published: December 2016

The objective of this study was to examine the behavior of consumer continuing intention to use e-banking. In the model, the consumer’s continuance intention was designed as target variable which affected by perceived relationship marketing and electronic service quality (e-serqual) as well as mediated by the attitude of consumer satisfaction and trust, and moderated by the magnitude of perceived switching costs. Data were gathered from 200 e-banking users, by using the convenience sampling method, and the participants as the subject for this study were Business Administration Students of Krisnadwipayana University, Jakarta – Indonesia. The result indicated that the correlation between relationship marketing and electronic service quality was to be reciprocal, and mutually positive and significant. In addition, perceived e-serqual had only positive effects on customer statisfaction and customer trust. But both of the observed key variables (relationship marketing and electronic service quality) showed no direct or indirect effects on consumer intention to continue using e-banking either through mediation of customer satisfaction and customer trust. However, after being given the moderating effect by low and high level of switching costs, it turned out that switching costs quite moderate significantly consumer intentions to continue using e-banking. Thus in this study, the findings of unsignificant effects were also discussed in order to provide theoretically and practically implication.
Impact of dividend policy on stock price volatility and market value of the firm: evidence from Sri Lankan manufacturing companies
Authors: Gunarathne UGVDD , Priyadarshanie WAN , Samarakoon SMRK
Published: December 2016

The impact resulted from the dividend policy of a firm on the volatility of the market value of stocks is the major concern of this study, which is an issue bearing an utmost significance, when considering the objectives of a corporate. The focus of an entity should be aligned on the maximization of stock holders’ wealth and this necessitates the selection of an optimum dividend policy. The present study, thus, attempts to shed a light on the above fact within the Sri Lankan context. Data was collected from a sample of companies listed under the manufacturing sector of the Colombo Stock Exchange from year 2006 to 2014. The study occupied panel data regression model for analysis. The outcome revealed that the dividend yield of the current year has a negative impact on the share price volatility, while the dividend payout ratio of both the current and previous years has a positive impact. In addition, the impact of dividend yield is negative on the market value of the firm, where the dividend payout ratio of the current year is also depicts the same impact. The findings of the study reassure the findings of the previous researchers within the Sri Lankan context in case of the market value of the firm while being contrary in case of the share price volatility. Accordingly, the firms’ ability of utilizing the dividend policy as a mechanism of controlling the volatility of share prices is established. However, it will not be effective in altering the market value of the firm.
Financing structure and outreach of selected SADC microfinance institutions (MFIS)
Authors: Bayai Innocent , Ikhide Sylvanus
Published: December 2016

This paper probes the link between financing structure and outreach noting the commercialization trend for selected Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) MFIs. Assuming MIX panel data on 60 MFIs, this study tackles outreach depth and breadth – a diversion from an outreach depth-centered study which employed Planet Rating data on 74 Sub-Saharan African MFIs. Robust panel methods show that, both outreach depth and breadth are affected by the same variables, though in a different way. Equity, deposits and ‘new’ MFIs significantly further depth whilst borrowings limit depth. Breadth is constrained by borrowings, equity and ‘new’ MFIs while deposits expand the breadth. We suggest that, permitting MFIs to collect deposits go a long way in spurring outreach depth and breadth.
Do investors value firm efficiency improvement? Evidence from the Australian context
Authors: Pham Hai Yen , Chung Richard , Roca Eduardo , Bao Ben-Hsien
Published: December 2016

Do investors value improvement in efficiency? This paper investigates the relation between the firm’s technical efficiency change and subsequent stock returns. We employ a stochastic frontier analysis to evaluate a firm’s efficiency for a large panel of non-financial companies in Australia from January 1990 to October 2012. The results show that over the sample period, the estimated mean improvement in firm’s efficiency is 3% per year. We find that an equally-weighted (value-weighted) portfolio of stocks with the top tertile level change in efficiency outperforms an equally-weighted (value-weighted) portfolio of stocks with the bottom tertile level change in efficiency, by an average of 11% (7%) per annum during the sample period. We also find a significant efficiency change effect on a cross-section of stock returns after controlling for other risk factors such as size, book-to-market, market liquidity, industry concentration, and seasonality effect.
Ineffective corporate governance: busyness of internal board monitoring committees
Authors: Al-Yahyaee Khamis H. , Al-Hadi Ahmed
Published: December 2016

We examine whether the voluntary formation of a Risk Committee (RC) compromises the effectiveness of other monitoring duties carried out by the board members. We argue that adding more monitoring committees increases the board’s internal busyness, which reduces the effectiveness of monitoring by the Audit Committee (AC). Using a sample of financial firms over the period 2007 to 2011 from the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), we find that voluntarily adopting a risk committee impairs the effectiveness of the audit committee, which in turn reduces financial reporting quality. Our findings suggest that multiple layers of monitoring capacity viz-a-viz the existence of both an audit and risk committee may weaken the quality of monitoring provided by the audit committee
CSR serves to compete in the sport industry? An exploratory research in the football sector in Peru
Authors: Salguero Julio Quispe , Rivera-Camino Jaime
Published: December 2016

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept used by firms to obtain competitiveness. Although the focus of academic research has been on identifying the link between financial and social performance, the causal evidence of this relationship remains unclear. Our research attempts to fill this gap by validating hypotheses indicating that the effect of CSR on business competitiveness requires integrating other variables. The literature review shows limited research conducted on CSR and professional sports in emerging countries. Our article fills these gaps by investigating the effect of CSR on competitiveness of football teams. Our results will expand the applicability of CSR to other organizations, while at the same time offering recommendations to a sector with economic and sociological global repercussions
The impact of merger on working capital management efficiency of American production firms
Authors: Gill Amarjit , Biger Nahum , Tibrewala Rajen , Prabhakar Pradeep
Published: December 2016

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of merger on the efficiency of working capital management of American production firms. This study applied a co-relational research design. A sample of 497 listed American production firms for a period of 4 years (from 2010-2014) was analyzed. The findings of this study indicate that mergers may contribute to an improvement of the efficiency of working capital management. This is a co-relational study that investigated the association between merger and working capital management efficiency. There is not necessarily a causal relationship between the two, although the paper provides some conjectures to such relationship. The findings of this study may only be generalized to firms similar to those that were included in this research. This study contributes to the literature on the factors that improve the efficiency of working capital management, and in particular on the association between merger and the efficiency of working capital management. The findings may be useful for financial managers, investors, financial management consultants, and other stakeholders.
Market concentration, corporate governance and innovation: Partial and combined effects in US-listed firms
Authors: Ugur Mehmet , Hashem Nawar
Published: December 2016

Existing research on the relationship between market concentration and innovation has produced conflicting findings. In addition, the emerging literature on the relationship between corporate governance and innovation tends to focus only on partial effects of corporate governance on innovation. We aim to contribute to the debate by investigating both partial and combined effects of corporate governance and market concentration on innovation. Utilising a dataset for 1,400 non-financial US-listed companies and two-way cluster-robust estimation methodology, we report several findings. First, the relationship between market concentration and innovation is non-linear. Secondly, the relationship has a U-shape in the case of input measure of innovation (research and development - R&D – expenditures); but it has an inverted-U shape when net book-value of brands and patents is used as output measure of innovation. Third, corporate governance indicators such as anti-takeover defences and insider control tend to have a negative partial effect on R&D expenditures but a positive partial effect on net book-value of brands and patents. Finally, when interacted with market concentration, anti-takeover defences and insider control act as complements to market concentration. Hence, firms with strong anti-take-over defences and under insider control tend to spend more on R&D but are less able to generate valuable brands and patents as market concentration increases. These results are based on two-way cluster-robust estimation, which takes account of both serial and cross-sectional dependence in the error terms.
How psychology affects decisions in corporate finance: Traditional vs. behavioural approach
Authors: Piras Luca
Published: December 2016

The aim of this research is to draw a theoretical line to connect on a common conceptual base, behavioural fi-nance with what is internationally known as Modern Finance. The debate often involves discussions about the prevalence of rationality over irrationality. This paper will address mainly two questions: as an economist, should I propend for traditional or for behavioural finance? And, perhaps more important, are they in opposition to each other? Linking the principles upon which the traditional theory of finance is based to behavioural finance appears also to be useful to better understand recent global turmoil in the world financial system. In finding such links, behavioural finance studies will help on driving research to define market models much closer to reality than they are today. Thus literature recognition will be carried out, starting from the most important contribution to fundamental analysis, value theory, going through modern portfolio theory and efficient market hypothesis to seminal contributions on behavioural finance, reaching recent findings of Neuronomics, in order to establish some common theoretical base in corporate finance studies.
Universal banking and the return of ‘glass-steagall’
Authors: Bugeja George
Published: December 2016

The article aims to consider the arguments for and against universal banking and considers universal banking within different systems of law. The author also provides insight into the discussions on the changes to the banking regulatory infrastructure and the implications which this may have.
Some empirical evidence on the relationship between inventory management and social responsibility
Authors: Elsayed Khaled
Published: December 2016

Despite the crucial role that inventory plays in supply chain management (SCM), research that examines the relationship between inventory and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is rare. This is surprising given the evidence that inventory represents a huge source of cost, a matter that is often reported as a major impediment in practicing social responsibility in SCM. As such, this paper fills this gape in literature by examining directly the effect of inventory management on CSR. Maximum-likelihood ordered logistic regression was performed on a sample of 38 Egyptian listed firms during the period from 2007 to 2010. The results demonstrate that inventory management exerts a positive and significant coefficient on CSR. Further analysis shows that inventory management cannot be safely dropped from model of analysis. Rather, inventory management does add something unique in explaining differences in CSR. For practitioners interested in optimizing their firms’ values, thinking in managing supply chain imperatives, and specially inventory, in terms of social responsibility may guide them to build up a stock of reputational capital that can be used, in turn, to increase the cost of their rivals. This study, to the best of knowledge, is the first one that offers empirical evidence regarding the effect of inventory management on CSR. Moreover, the paper adds to both SCM and CSR literature by providing empirical evidence from Egypt as an emerging market, where much of the existing evidence reflects experience from developed countries