bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Auditor independence and accounting conservatism
Authors: Crockett Michael , Ali Muhammad Jahangir 
Published: January 2017

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to examine the efficacy of the current legislative provisions that protect auditor independence in Australia. The collapses of several high-profile companies (Enron and WorldCom in the USA, HIH insurance and OneTel in Australia) in the early 2000s has raised questions about audit quality and independence. In response, regulators have introduced new regulations and guidance to improve audit quality. In Australia, the Corporations Act 2001 (2001) was amended via the Corporate Law Economic Reform Program Act 2004. This study poses the question: do non-audit service fees influence the level of accounting conservatism?

Design/methodology/approach
– The sample used in this analysis consists of all available Australian listed companies from the years 2006 till 2010.

Findings
– Using multiple measures of accounting conservatism and the auditor-client economic bond, our results suggest that the level of the economic bond between the auditor and the client does not significantly influence the level of accounting conservatism.

Originality/value
– Our results demonstrate that the combination of intrinsic market mechanisms and regulation in Australia sufficiently protect auditor independence.
Voluntary accounting changes and analyst following
Authors: Huang Tzu-Ling , Wang Tawei , Seng Jia-Lang 
Published: January 2017

Purpose
– This study aims to examine the relation between voluntary accounting changes (VACs) and analyst following.

Design/methodology/approach
– A sample of firms was collected with VACs in the period from 1994 to 2008 and their major competitors, as well as industry benchmarking firms without accounting changes. The authors then investigated how VACs affect analysts’ following decisions given accounting choice heterogeneity.

Findings
– The findings demonstrate that VAC is negatively associated with analysts’ following decisions. Such association becomes stronger after taking into account accounting choice heterogeneity before and after VACs.

Originality/value
– This study contributes to the literature in the economic consequences of VACs and suggests that analysts presumably are able to comprehend the differences in accounting choices. However, the additional level of effort and the concern of manipulation may affect analysts’ behavior. This study documents whether VAC results in different accounting choices from the firm’s major competitors or industry benchmarking firms.
On the role of government in promoting altruism
Authors: Colombatto Enrico , Tavormina Valerio 
Published: January 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss whether altruism justifies ad hoc legislation with reference to three different contexts. One is defined by the libertarian notion of liberty; a second framework corresponds to the egalitarian vision; and a third one originates from social-contract theory.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors review two stylized visions of liberty, and consider to what extent the current legal systems comply with one of these visions. Moreover, the authors analyse the implications of the contractarian approach.

Findings
It is shown that current legislation is rather ambiguous and sometimes even contradictory. By and large, the common-law view tends to favour the libertarian approach, while the civil-law visions are closer to what one might expect from social-contract theory. In these cases, however, it seems that the letter of the law is often questioned by the academic community as well as by the judiciary, and decisions eventually follow the judges’ discretionary power.

Originality/value
This analysis of altruism combines the economic and legal perspectives. Although altruism is always considered an important part of social capital and worthy of privileged treatment, it is shown that policymaking is frequently inconsistent and sometimes contradictory.
Institutional frames for financial inclusion of poor households in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Bongomin George Okello Candiya , Ntayi Joseph Mpeera , Munene John 
Published: January 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine institutional frames for financial inclusion of poor households in a Sub-Saharan Africa context and provide policy implications in solving the persistent problem of limited inclusion of poor households into mainstream formal financial services in Uganda.Design/methodology/approachCross-sectional research design was used in this study. Data were collected from a randomly selected sample of 200 poor households located in Mukono District. Statistical program for Social Scientists and Analysis of Moment Structures were used to generate results.FindingsResults have revealed the presence of regulative, normative, and procedural and declarative cognitive institutional frames, which affect financial inclusion of poor households in rural rural Uganda. The findings and policy implications are discussed in detail in the paper.Originality/valueThis study parallels the World Bank Global Findex survey (2012) on general aspects of financial inclusion around the world. It examines frames, which structure behaviours and actions of poor households towards their financial decisions and choices in attempting to improve financial inclusion with a major focus on rural Uganda.
Public finance regulatory compliance among public secondary schools
Authors: Nakyeyune Gorrettie Kyeyune , Tauringana Venancio , Ntayi Joseph Mpeera , Nkundabanyanga Stephen Korutaro 
Published: January 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between deterrence measures, leadership support and public finance regulatory compliance among public secondary schools in Uganda.

Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey of 257 Ugandan public secondary schools was undertaken. Ordinary least squares regression was used to determine whether, in addition to deterrence measures, leadership support also explains variances in public finance regulatory compliance.

Findings
Results based on a hierarchical regression analysis indicate that deterrence measures explain 17.4 per cent of variances in public finance regulatory compliance. In addition, leadership support explains a further 18.2 per cent of the variances in public finance regulatory compliance.

Research limitations/implications
The results imply that in addition to deterrence measures, secondary schools in Uganda should also emphasise leadership support in order to improve their public finance regulatory compliance.

Originality/value
Contrary to previous studies, the authors explain regulatory compliance using deterrence measures and leadership support in a single study while also focussing on institutions and not individuals as a unit of analysis. The authors also extend the predominantly financial institutions compliance studies to the education sector. Thus probably for the first time, the authors show that leadership support complements deterrence measures in explaining public finance regulatory compliance in the education sector. Even with strong deterrence measures, the lack of leadership support may lead to inadequate public finance regulatory compliance.
A finite element analysis of bolted joints loaded in tension: protruding head and countersunk fastener
Authors: Dursun Tolga , Soutis Costas 
Published: January 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of fastener geometry (protruding head and countersunk fastener) and friction coefficient on the stress distributions around the hole of the double-lap single bolted aluminium alloy joints.

Design/methodology/approach
3D finite element analyses of double-lap bolted 7075-T6 aluminium joints were carried out. An elastic-plastic multi-linear kinematic hardening material behaviour was assumed for the Al alloy. Contact was defined using an augmented-Langrange contact algorithm, including the friction effect. Bolt clamping force and remote axial tensile loading were applied in two load steps and their separate and combined effects on the joint behaviour were investigated for two types of fastener configurations.

Findings
It was observed that bolt clamping reduces the axial tensile stress at the hole edge by introducing a through-thickness compressive stress. This reduction in stress concentration may have a beneficial effect on the fatigue life of the joint. Second, bolt clamping reduces the bearing stress at the fastener hole by creating a frictional force between the joint plates. Results showed that the joint with protruding head fastener shows lower tensile stress concentration, and lower bearing stress, near the bolt hole of the middle plate.

Originality/value
Bolt clamping force reduces both the stress concentration near the hole edge and the bearing stress at the hole by creating a frictional force. Joint with a protruding head fastener may lead to higher load carrying capability and improved fatigue life. Friction coefficient affects the stress levels around the bolt hole.
The perceived motivations behind the introduction of the law on external audit in Vietnam
Authors: Nguyen Phuong Thi , Kend Michael 
Published: January 2017

PurposeOver the past 20 years, external auditing activities and practices in Vietnam have developed quickly. An important milestone is the first Law on External Audit No. 67/2011/QH12 which has been passed by the National Assembly of Vietnam on 29 March 2011. The purpose of this paper is to understand the perceived motivations in regard to the introduction of the Law on External Audit, through the eyes of various key stakeholders. There has been genuine public interest concerns regarding audit quality in Vietnam as prior academic research has indicated, and this is the first study to examine whether the new audit reforms where introduced specifically to deal with those concerns.Design/methodology/approachFace-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with 45 key stakeholders during 2014 in both Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.FindingsThe study finds that the Law on External Audit was introduced because it holds the highest form of regulatory authority in Vietnam, and the lower level Decrees that existed before the law did not even detail the audit firms’ responsibilities resulting in low audit quality. Also, the new Law was introduced to add more credibility and trust in the external audit function in Vietnam, and to reduce unfair price competition. However, some of our findings indicate that the Governments’ motivations were not all purely public interest related. A theoretical framework is developed to evaluate whether these reforms are substantive enough in nature to effect public confidence in reported financial data and audits.Originality/valueExternal auditing plays a crucial role in any market-based economy. In a developing economy, audit quality is often perceived to be lower than in a developed economy. Therefore, it is not uncommon to observe governments in developing economies producing tighter regulations for the auditing and assurance market to help attract more foreign investment and to establish credibility and more trust. In Vietnamese context, the current study conveys that the new audit reforms not only were introduced with genuine public interest concerns but also were a mechanism to protect the government’s interests.
The impact of earnings management on the value relevance of earnings
Authors: Mostafa Wael 
Published: January 2017

Purpose
This paper aims to examine the association between earnings management and the value relevance of earnings (the latter is operationalized by earnings response coefficient). Specifically, this study examines whether opportunistic earnings management has a negative impact on the value relevance of earnings for a sample of firms listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange.

Design/methodology/approach
Different from prior work and due to data limitations in the Egyptian market, this paper first examines for the existence of earnings management based on the whole operating performances of the firms by testing whether firms with low/poor operating performance are more likely to choose income-increasing actions (strategies) than firms with high operating performance. After confirming that low operating performance firms manage earnings upward, the authors then assess whether this opportunistic earnings management by these low operating performance firms reduces the value relevance of earnings. This is performed by estimating a model of the relationship between stock returns and accounting earnings with a dummy variable that allows parameter shifts for earnings of low operating performance firms.

Findings
The results show that discretionary accruals are positive and significantly higher for firms with low operating performance than those for firms with high operating performance. These results indicate that low operating performance firms increase the earnings management practices by probably increasing their reported earnings opportunistically to mask their low performance. Furthermore, the results show that the earnings response coefficient is significantly smaller for earnings of low operating performance firms than that for earnings of high operating performance firms. These results suggest that earnings of firms with low operating performance (that are engaged in opportunistic earnings management strategies) have less value relevance than earnings of firms with high operating performance, i.e. the informativeness of managed earnings is lower than that of non-managed earnings.

Practical implications
Based on these results, it is plausible that the presence of opportunistic earnings management adversely affects the value relevance of accounting earnings.

Originality/value
Consistent with previous results from developed countries, this study shows that earnings management is a significant factor that affects value relevance of earnings in Egypt.
The impact of Big 4 consulting on audit reporting lag and restatements
Authors: Meckfessel Michele D. , Sellers Drew 
Published: January 2017

Purpose
This paper responds to concerns raised by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and scholars over the rapid growth of Big 4 consulting practices. This paper aims to explores the question: Does the regrowth of sizable consulting practices by the Big 4 influence audit reporting lag and restatement rates?

Design/methodology/approach
A population of the SEC-registered US audit clients of the Big 4 was used in this study. Longitudinal data on Big 4 audit clients from 2000 through 2009 were analyzed to determine the impact of consulting practice size on the clients’ audit reporting lag and restatement rate.

Findings
This paper finds that consulting practice size has a positive and statistically significant influence on audit reporting lag and restatement rate. The results are robust to alternative specifications of the sample and controlling for the level of non-audit services provided to audit clients.

Practical implications
The findings contribute to the discussion of the scope-of-services issue. They provide empirical support for Zeff’s (2003) and Wyatt’s (2004) intuition that the loss of Big 4 professional focus – not simply conflicts of interests – is a major factor affecting the audit quality.

Originality/value
The uniqueness of this paper is in how it counts restatements. Each year this paper counts that annual financial statements are restated as opposed to each disclosure of a restatement. This paper’s contribution is to examine the association between the regrowth of Big 4 accounting firm consulting practices with audit reporting lag and restatements.
Why papers are rejected and how to get yours accepted
Authors: Fischer Eileen , Gopaldas Ahir , Scaraboto Daiane 
Published: January 2017

PurposeInterpretive consumer researchers frequently devote months, if not years, to writing a new paper. Despite their best efforts, the vast majority of these papers are rejected by top academic journals. This paper aims to explain some of the key reasons that scholarly articles are rejected and illuminate how to reduce the likelihood of rejection.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is a dialogical collaboration between a co-editor of theJournal of Consumer Researchand two junior scholars who represent the intended audience of this paper. Each common reason for rejecting papers, labeled as Problems 1-8, is followed by precautionary measures and detailed examples, labeled as solutions.FindingsThe paper offers eight pieces of advice on the construction of interpretive consumer research articles: (1) Clearly indicate which theoretical conversation your paper is joining as early as possible. (2) Join a conversation that belongs in your target journal. (3) Conclude your review of the conversation with gaps, problems and questions. (4) Only ask research questions that your data can answer. (5) Build your descriptive observations about contexts into theoretical claims about concepts. (6) Explain both how things are and why things are the way that they are. (7) Illustrate your theoretical claims with data and support them with theoretical argumentation. (8) Advance the theoretical conversation in a novel and radical way.Originality/valueThe goal of this paper is to help interpretive consumer researchers, especially junior scholars, publish more papers in top academic journals such as theJournal of Consumer Research.
A systematic literature review on total quality management critical success factors and the identification of new avenues of research
Authors: Aquilani Barbara , Silvestri Cecilia , Ruggieri Alessandro , Gatti Corrado 
Published: January 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a systematic literature review to identify new avenues of research in line with the ongoing changes in quality and management required to firms, especially regarding customers.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a systematic review of the literature contained in the three databases Ebsco, JSTOR, and Springerlink and on the search engine Google Scholar.FindingsAn analysis of the literature identifies three different clusters of papers: “identification” papers, which show that customer focus has gained importance in recent times; “implementation” papers, which highlight that a general or shared model or scale to successfully implement total quality management (TQM) does not yet exist; and “impact-on-performance” papers, which show that few studies have considered the relationship between TQM and the issues of both marketing and performance, underlining the most significant gap in the TQM literature.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited by the small number of databases and search engines used and by the restricted number of keywords used in searching these sources.Practical implicationsThis work highlights a gap in the existing research and thus an incomplete consideration of the interplay between management, marketing, and quality issues, all centered on customers and other stakeholders. Researchers and firms are thus advised to adopt a wider view that considers the role of the quality process to support the firm’s engagement of customers in activities that enhance both the customer role and customer satisfaction.Originality/valueThis study uses a systematic literature review to review all critical factors of TQM and identifies new research avenues and different approaches to implementing TQM, focusing on the central role that customers play in achieving firm success.
Interrelationships among quality enablers, service quality, patients’ satisfaction and loyalty in hospitals
Authors: Sadeh Ehsan 
Published: January 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to clarify how enablers of quality management can secure the satisfaction and loyalty of patients through increasing service quality in hospitals.

Design/methodology/approach
The current study conducted a review of the existing literature to identify operational dimensions of the research variables. As a result of the review, 17 dimensions were identified; five European foundation for quality management enablers, five SERVQUAL service quality dimensions, four patients’ satisfaction elements and three patients’ loyalty components. To evaluate interrelationships among these 17 research dimensions, decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory technique was applied using experts’ opinions.

Findings
Several key relations were found among research dimensions. Research findings could provide a scientific insight for hospital managers to understand how they could increase the level of patients’ satisfaction and loyalty through high-quality services provided by quality management enablers.

Research limitations/implications
This study has been conducted based on the expert’s opinions from private hospitals located in Tehran and Alborz provinces, Iran. Although the results could be useful for hospital managers in different places and could provide them a valuable insight and knowledge, findings are limited to Iranian private hospitals.

Originality/value
It is taken for granted that patients’ satisfaction and loyalty could increase as a result of high-quality medical and treatment services in hospitals. On the other hand, offering excellent services meeting all the needs and expectations of customers could be consequence product of quality management enablers. Even though satisfaction and loyalty of customers, i.e. patients, is the primary target of quality management, there is little research in the literature as to how enablers of quality management can secure the satisfaction and loyalty through increasing service quality in hospitals. The gap is more critical because the specialized dimensions of four research variables have not been previously integrated into a coherent framework and interrelationships among them have not been studied and clarified in detail. The current study attempts to bridge this gap.
Leader personality traits and employee job satisfaction in the media sector, Kenya
Authors: Kiarie Mary Agnes Wambui , Maru Loice C. , Cheruiyot Thomas Kimeli 
Published: January 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the effect of leader personality traits on employee job satisfaction. A leader personality trait on employee job satisfaction remains a cause of concern in the contemporary business environment.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed an explanatory research design to establish the cause-effects between leader personality traits and employee job satisfaction. Path goal theory and Big Five-factor model of personality traits underpinned the study. Questionnaire was used to obtain data pertaining to the model’s constructs. A multiple regression equation model tested the hypotheses.FindingsThe study showed that leader extraversion; openness to new experiences; emotional stability; conscientiousness and agreeableness have significant effects on employee job satisfaction. The study thus concluded that leaders who portray extraversion; openness to new experiences; emotional stability; conscientiousness and agreeableness enhance employee job satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was only limited to leader personality traits and employee job satisfaction; as such further research area could be undertaken in leader personality traits and organizational adaptation to change.Practical implicationsLeaders need to communicate to employees effectively, listen to their input and feedback, mentoring and empowering them, be innovative and creative, embracing the determination of standards for task performance and be empathetic.Social implicationsAs organizations are exposed to changes, not only to prosper but also to survive in the current dynamic changing environment, leaders must be cognizant of the fact that employee job satisfaction is the bedrock of sustainable organizational performance.Originality/valueThe paper enhances on how leader personality traits (Big Five-factor model of personality traits) affects employee job satisfaction and performance in organizations.