Dimensions Of Governance Research Articles

THE ESPORTS ECOSYSTEM

Esports constitute an organized competitive human activity involving video games using either the internet or a local area network (LAN). Notably, esports follow a distinct historical trajectory, which has resulted in their present characteristics, including competition, social interaction, economic-cultural elements, entertainment, popularity, and professionalism. The ecosystem of esports includes video games, players, teams, viewers, game communities, institutions, publishers, and any sponsors associated with them. This paper aims to describe the esports ecosystem and its elements. The argument put forth is that esports possess all the extrinsic elements that are characteristic of conventional sports. This is a theoretical article based on pertinent information and data from the relevant literature. The characteristics of esports can be categorised into four dimensions: the gaming dimension, the governance dimension, the social dimension, and the dimension of esports as an entertainment industry. This suggests that esports are becoming more similar to conventional sports. However, the question remains as to whether esports can really be considered as sports.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0701/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Evaluating the Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility Incentives and Financial Outcomes of Corporations Operating in the GCC Region

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept that has gained traction in strategic management over the years, and it is continuously being cited as important for both the business and the business shareholders. Although there is much research examining the general CSR-CFP relationship, there is very little, if any, research that investigates the firms operating in GCC countries, which is the main objective of this study. One of the new methods used to measure Corporate Social Responsibility engagement in any organisation is the ESG rating. The ESG rating measures the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) dimensions of Corporative Social Responsibility engagement. This research uses the stakeholder theory framework, together with the agency theory framework to find the impact that CSR has on the financial performance of organisations. In the research, we used annual data of ESG and financial ratios of 98 publicly listed firms operating in the Gulf Cooperation Council, from 2008 to 2018. Regression analysis was used to test the impact of ESG scores on the financial performance of organisations. According to the results, the Environmental, Social, and Governance dimensions have a significant impact on the financial performance of organisations operating in the Gulf Cooperation Council. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on the relationship between CSR performance and Financial Performance.

Hard and soft governance mechanisms for large projects. A historical perspective

Purpose Drawing motivation from the greater exposure to uncertainty and condition changes that affect large projects due to their long lifecycle, this paper aims to investigate how the time factor affects the use of governance mechanisms to pursue the success of these projects. Design/methodology/approach To pursue its aim, the article applies the dichotomization between the hard and soft mechanisms of project governance to the analysis of a historical case study, whose findings are organized over the short, medium and long periods. The case selected is referred to the peculiar water system, made up of tunnels named “bottini,” that was in use in Siena (Italy) as the old aqueduct. Specifically, the study focuses on the project of expansion of this water system that was realized during the 14th century for the construction of the “Bottino maestro di Fontegaia.” Findings This article highlights the different relevance that, during the lifecycle of large projects, is assumed by hard and soft governance mechanisms, with the former having main relevance in a short and medium period, and the latter usually emerging in the medium period and, subsequently, playing a growing role for the project success in the long period. Originality/value The article contributes to the literature on large projects by providing novel insights about how the time factor impacts the governance of these projects. Furthermore, the case study, with its unique history, highlights the relevance of combining effectively the hard and the soft dimensions of project governance to pursue success.

The role of governance in shaping health system reform: a case study of the design and implementation of new health regions in Ireland, 2018–2023

BackgroundEffective governance arrangements are central to the successful functioning of health systems. While the significance of governance as a concept is acknowledged within health systems research, its interplay with health system reform initiatives remains underexplored in the literature. This study focuses on the development of new regional health structures in Ireland in the period 2018–2023, one part of a broader health system reform programme aimed at greater universalism, in order to scrutinise how aspects of governance impact on the reform process, from policy design through to implementation.MethodsThis qualitative, multi-method study draws on document analysis of official documents relevant to the reform process, as well as twelve semi-structured interviews with key informants from across the health sector. Interviews were analysed according to thematic analysis methodology. Conceiving governance as comprising five domains (Transparency, Accountability, Participation, Integrity, Capacity) the research uses the TAPIC framework for health governance as a conceptual starting point and as initial, deductive analytic categories for data analysis.ResultsThe analysis reveals important lessons for policymakers across the five TAPIC domains of governance. These include deficiencies in accountability arrangements, poor transparency within the system and vis-à-vis external stakeholders and the public, and periods during which a lack of clarity in terms of roles and responsibilities for various process and key decisions related to the reform were identified. Inadequate resourcing of implementation capacity, competing policy visions and changing decision-making arrangements, among others, were found to have originated in and continuously reproduced a lack of trust between key institutional actors. The findings highlight how these challenges can be addressed through strengthening governance arrangements and processes. Importantly, the research reveals the interwoven nature of the five TAPIC dimensions of governance and the need to engage with the complexity and relationality of health system reform processes.ConclusionsLarge scale health system reform is a complex process and its governance presents distinct challenges and opportunities for stakeholders. To understand and be able to address these, and to move beyond formulaic prescriptions, critical analysis of the historical context surrounding the policy reform and the institutional relationships at its core are needed.

Does digital economy affect corporate ESG performance? New insights from China

With the explosive development and innovation of digital and information technologies, a big data era has arrived in China. We examine the influence of the digital economy on corporate ESG performance using panel data from A-share listed firms in China between 2011 and 2021. First, we find that the digital economy can significantly improve corporate ESG performance, especially in environmental and governance dimensions. Second, our mechanism analysis identifies two channels—green innovation and digital transformation—through which the digital economy affects corporate ESG performance. Third, our cross-sectional analysis shows that the effect of the digital economy on corporate ESG performance is more pronounced for listed firms located in areas with lower economic levels, facing higher financing constraints, and belonging to high-polluting industries. Finally, our results remain robust after conducting a series of tests. Our study underscores the policy implication that embracing and promoting digital economy initiatives can serve as a potent lever to enhance corporate ESG performance, particularly in environmental and governance dimensions.

Governance and optimization of public expenditure: A literature review

Introduction/Objective: This study aims to explore the current state of knowledge regarding the relationship between governance and the optimization of public expenditure. Methodology: A bibliometric analysis was conducted in Scopus to examine the evolution of the topic, followed by a systematic review in Scopus, WOS, and Dimensions. Empirical studies addressing the relationship between governance and public expenditure were selected using rigorous quality criteria. The Prisma diagram was applied for the systematic review. Results: The bibliometric analysis revealed a growing research interest since 2011, highlighting the contributions of key authors such as Baldersheim, Canh, and Ståhlberg. Compliance with bibliometric laws was observed, and semantic analysis identified clusters linking governance with expenditure efficiency. The systematic review uncovered a widespread consensus: good governance, characterized by effectiveness, transparency, corruption control, and citizen participation, leads to an optimization of public expenditure outcomes. Empirical findings converge on five main blocks: governance as a catalyst for the impact of public expenditure, governance for greater sectoral efficiency of expenditure, public expenditure targeting vulnerable populations and associated governance, the moderating role of institutions and governance quality, and governance mechanisms to optimize public financial management. Conclusions: There is solid theoretical and empirical support indicating that the incorporation of principles of democratic, participatory, and transparent governance is crucial for efficiently directing public expenditure towards economic and social development. Future research should examine the relative weight of the various dimensions of governance and their impact on the optimal allocation of expenditure across different sectors.

Analysis of the Impact of Enterprise Environmental, Social and Governance Performance on High-quality Development: Taking Industrial and Commercial Bank of China as an Example

ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) advocates the transformation of enterprises from the pursuit of their own interests to the pursuit of social value maximization, which is highly consistent with the high-quality development goals, and is an effective starting point for enterprises to practice the new development concept and promote high-quality development. Under the “Dual Carbon” target, China has successively issued a series of measures to support the development of ESG. However, due to the short development time, the current domestic ESG standards are not unified, and the degree of improvement also needs to be improved. The mechanism of how to use ESG performance to promote high-quality development is not clear. This paper discusses the mechanism of the ESG performance on high-quality development in the three dimensions of environment, society and governance. Research shows that in the financial industry, for large financial institutions such as industrial and Commercial Bank of China, social responsibility has the highest weight of social responsibility, indicating that the performance of banks and financial institutions in the social level is much attention. The weight of environmental and corporate governance dimensions is relatively low, but still important. Financial institutions need to consider their environmental impact and sustainability while pursuing economic benefits. Corporate governance responsibility involves the internal governance structure, transparency, compliance, and risk management of the company, which are key factors in maintaining long-term stability and trust.

A quantitative study on the effectiveness of the governance attributes on ‘industry-wise earnings quality’ in the UK

Despite of positive impacts of the earnings management on the business purposes, many businesses have been suffered due to the audit failures as a result of aggressive earnings management. Therefore, the study on true reflection of earnings management, the controlling factors and how aggressively manipulated earnings quality can be mitigated are the areas of concern these days. For the estimation of earnings management, performance matched discretionary accruals model has been implemented as this model has been identified as the best explanatory models. Thereafter, this research has accumulated the sector-wise earnings management to identify the impact of sectors on the sectorial earnings management. There are eleven different industries involved in the research while four of them have revealed that the managers from certain sectors have got involved in the aggressive earnings management. Further, this research has investigated the impact of the attributes of the corporate governance on the sector-wise earnings management. the variables of corporate governance like managerial ownership, block-holders, institutional ownership and non-executive directors’ fees have significant impact on sector-wise earnings management where other variables like board meeting, board size, number of female members on the board, board independence have not been identified as they have significant impact on controlling earnings management. Univariate and multivariate methods are used to demonstrate the results and to establish the inferences of the outcomes of the research. The use of coefficients (β -value) and p-value are much prominent in this study.

Policy governance in the plantation sector: Challenges and impacts of palm oil in Riau Province, Indonesia

This study aims to examine and challenge the impact of local government policy governance on the oil palm plantation sector in Riau Province, Indonesia. It was discovered that 1,628 million hectares of illegal oil palm plantations are located within forest areas. Plantation area and crop harvest areas are declining due to the increase in damaged old plants, low productivity of plantation crops, inadequate facilities and infrastructure conditions, low technology application, plantation business licensing, limited downstream plantation industry and marketing, assistance in changing the attitudes, behavior, and skills of farmers. The methodology used was exploratory qualitative to explore this topic, and the determination of research topics was conducted using Biblioshiny application analysis. Then, the data was analyzed using Nvivo 12 Plus software. The results of this study discovered that the policy governance of the oil palm plantation sector as a leading commodity in Riau Province, Indonesia, is influenced by three dimensions: firstly, the actor dimension; secondly, the structural dimension; and third, the empirical dimension of governance. This research contributes as a knowledge reference to oil palm plantations.

Sustainable coffee: A review of the diverse initiatives and governance dimensions of global coffee supply chains.

With a global footprint of 10 million hectares across 12.5 million farms, coffee is among the world's most traded commodities. The coffee industry has launched a variety of initiatives designed to reduce coffee's contribution to climate change and biodiversity loss and enhance the socio-economic conditions of coffee producers. We systematically reviewed the literature on the sustainability and governance of coffee production and developed a typology of eleven sustainability initiatives. Our review shows that coffee sustainability research has focused primarily on the economic outcomes of certification schemes. The typology expands our knowledge of novel sustainability initiatives being led by coffee farming communities themselves, allowing for an improved consideration of power dynamics in sustainability governance. Sustainability initiatives governed by local actors can improve sustainability outcomes by empowering local decision makers to assess direct risks and benefits of sustainable practices to the local environment, economy, and culture.

ESG in the Internationalization of Higher Education Institutions

Purpose: The phenomenon of sustainability studies in the Economic, Social and Governance (ESG) dimensions has been developing in the literature, as well as that of the Internationalization of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), demanding practices to enhance actions that add healthy values to society. Based on this provocation, the objective of this research was to develop instruments capable of evaluating how HEIs incorporate the ESG principle in their internationalization initiatives. Theoretical Framework: For the development of the research we used ESG and its criteria (environmental, social and governance), relevant perspectives for sustainability in HEIs and internationalization of HEIs. Method: This research is based on a qualitative approach with an exploratory framework, with support from the databases Periódicos Capes, EbscoHost and Spell.org.br. Results and Discussion: The research discussed the literature to support the construction of two collection instruments: a structured interview script and a questionnaire, both modeled for application to professors or staff responsible for internationalization projects or initiatives in their respective HEIs. Research Implications: It is expected that the aforementioned research products can be used to support future research on ESG principles applied to higher education internationalization initiatives. Originality and Value: The research innovates in the articulation of two important themes (ESG and Internationalization of HEIs) and delivers two products for qualitative and quantitative research.

Do ESG ratings inhibit corporate leverage manipulation? The moderating effects of internal and external supervision

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the relationship between corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings and leverage manipulation and the moderating effects of internal and external supervision. Design/methodology/approach The authors draw on a sample of Chinese non-financial A-share-listed firms from 2013 to 2020 to explore the effect of ESG ratings on leverage manipulation. Robustness and endogeneity tests confirm the validity of the regression results. Findings ESG ratings inhibit leverage manipulation by improving social reputation, information transparency and financing constraints. This effect is weakened by internal supervision, captured by the ratio of institutional investor ownership, and strengthened by external supervision, captured by the level of marketization. The effect is stronger in non-state-owned firms and firms in non-polluting industries. The governance dimension of ESG exhibits the strongest effect, with comprehensive environmental governance ratings and social governance ratings also suppressing leverage manipulation. Practical implications Firms should strive to cultivate environmental awareness, fulfil their social responsibilities and enhance internal governance, which may help to strengthen the firm’s sustainability orientation, mitigate opportunistic behaviours and ultimately contribute to high-quality firm development. The top managers of firms should exercise self-restraint and take the initiative to reduce leverage manipulation by establishing an appropriate governance structure and sustainable business operation system that incorporate environmental and social governance in addition to general governance. Social implications Policymakers and regulators should formulate unified guidelines with comprehensive criteria to improve the scope and quality of ESG information disclosure and provide specific guidance on ESG practice for firms. Investors should incorporate ESG ratings into their investment decision framework to lower their portfolio risk. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature in four ways. Firstly, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is among the first to show that high ESG ratings may mitigate firms’ opportunistic behaviours. Secondly, it identifies the governance factor of leverage manipulation from the perspective of firms’ subjective sustainability orientation. Thirdly, it demonstrates that the relationship between ESG ratings and leverage manipulation varies with the level of internal and external supervision. Finally, it highlights the importance of governance in guaranteeing the other two dimensions’ roles by decomposing overall ESG.

How does governance quality affect the shadow economy-sustainable development nexus? New insights from a dynamic threshold analysis

Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of the shadow economy on three sustainable development indicators while considering the moderating effect of the governance quality, and to highlight the non-linearity of the considered relationship.Design/methodology/approach A sample of 82 countries covering the period from 1996 to 2017. The dynamic first-differenced generalized method of moments (FD-GMM) panel threshold model is implemented to control for non-linearity.Findings The shadow economy hinders sustainable development in countries with low-governance quality, while the opposite result holds in countries with high-governance quality. The critical thresholds triggering the switch from one regime to another vary across the sustainable development indicators. Boosting growth requires enhancing the legal system and the economic dimension of governance, while promoting environmental quality requires the implementation and enforcement of specific environment-friendly regulations.Originality/value The study addresses non-linearity and the moderating effect of governance quality. The use of six governance indicators allows to gauge the ability of each governance dimension to curb the negative effects of the shadow economy. Considering the three objectives of sustainable development allows to identify specific policy recommendations for each of them.

Corporate governance dynamics: How audit committees and board characteristics influence firm value through audit report lag?

This study investigates the impact of corporate governance attributes, particularly the board of directors and audit committee, on the firm value of property and real estate companies in Indonesia. Additionally, this study introduces the novel exploration of audit report lag as a mediating factor in the relationship between corporate governance and firm value. Utilizing a quantitative approach, secondary data were extracted from the financial statements of property and real estate companies. The study employed a purposive sampling technique, resulting in a sample of 26 companies listed on the IDX for 2018-2022. In this study, inferential statistical analysis is conducted using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique. The findings reveal that corporate governance attributes, including the board of directors and audit committee, significantly enhance firm value. Furthermore, audit report lag mediates the effect of the audit committee on firm value but does not mediate the effect of the board of directors. This implies that while the audit committee plays a crucial role in reducing audit report lag, thereby enhancing firm value, the board of directors may influence firm value through different mechanisms not captured by audit report lag.

Towards Sustainability: A Framework for Evaluating Portuguese Small-Scale Fisheries

Portugal has a historical tradition in fisheries, and its small-scale fishery (SSF) communities are the backbone of the national industry. There have been increased concerns about the state of fisheries and fish resources, particularly the sustainable performance of fishing sectors. In light of this aspect, understanding economic, social, environmental, and governmental aspects is a key element in assessing sustainability. Given the relevance of the fishing industry in Portugal, it is paramount to understand if the Portuguese SSFs are sustainable. This study aims to develop a contextualized indicator framework for SSFs’ sustainability with economic, social, environmental, and governance dimensions. Further, we developed a systematic literature review to evaluate Portuguese SSFs using such a framework. Of the list of suggested 31 indicators (8 economy, 9 social, 12 environmental, and 8 governance), 1394 published references were recovered from the systematic review for Portuguese SSFs. Results suggests that Portugal must improve socioeconomic and environmental data and strengthen governmental support for a sustainable fishing industry. In particular, understanding fishers’ financial stability and ecological knowledge and promoting further studies on fisheries’ impact on the marine environment is essential. Overall, the qualitative list of indicators provided represents an innovative and unique framework for evaluating fisheries’ sustainability in different worldwide settings.

Does Antitakeover Provision Harm Shareholders? Indexing for Antitakeover Provisions in China

Abstract Does antitakeover harm shareholders? Encumbered by a multitude of theoretical perspectives, the legality of antitakeover remains a shared intellectual inquiry that the A-share market has yet to fully address. This paper constructs a governance index for the A-share market based on a manually collected and hand-coded research dataset (C-index). This dataset, comprising 4251 historical firm-level profiles of Antitakeover Provisions (ATPs), is meticulously sampled from companies listed in China from 2001 to 2017. The study investigates the logical correlation between antitakeover strength, financial performance, and the governance attributes of the company by leveraging the index’s economic utility. Additionally, this paper explores the firm-level factors that prompt corporate directors to integrate ATPs. From an empirical standpoint, it provides evidence that the governance index of firm-level strength of ATPs is positively correlated with share liquidity, institutional shareholding, private ownership, and the company’s commitment to achieving specific financial performance.

Does trade openness improve or worsen public governance in sub-Saharan Africa?

The literature on the effect of trade openness on public governance shows contrasting results. Using a renewed empirical strategy, we contribute to the understanding of this indeterminacy by studying the influence of trade openness on public governance in Sub-Saharan Africa. We also examine how this effect varies with structural characteristics that may be subject to reforms. In this respect, we use an original measure of trade openness. We consider public governance and its three dimensions, namely economic governance, political governance, and institutional governance. Overall, we find that trade openness improves public governance, political governance, and economic governance. On the other hand, it worsens institutional governance. Moreover, these effects of trade openness on the dimensions of public governance depend on the defined levels of technology transfer, foreign direct investment, and natural resources. Our results are robust to different openness and governance indicators, alternative specifications, study periods, endogeneity, and cross-sectional dependence. Above all, they highlight the interest of dissociating public governance to understand the contrast observed in the empirical literature.

Nguyen Model of Caring and Professional Governance in Nursing: A Conceptual Framework

The concepts of caring and professional governance in nursing and their discrete associations with patient outcomes are widely studied. At present, little to no research has been published on the nature of the relationship between the two concepts. Adaptations of two established caring theories and defining attributes of professional governance guide a caring and professional governance conceptual framework. Descriptions of theories and attributes elucidate the overall description of the framework. Understanding the relationship between caring and professional governance in nursing enables exploration of the combined relational impact on practice and outcomes. The conceptual framework provides an evidence-based foundation to this work.

The energy quadrilemma challenges - Insights from the decentralized energy transition in Brazil

The energy trilemma concept provides an important framework for understanding the multidimensional nature of energy policy and planning. It captures three fundamental challenges that highlight the complex interrelationships among energy security, equity, and sustainability. However, effectively addressing these challenges requires a refined understanding of local contexts, regional differences, and governance. This study expands this framework by introducing a context dimension that includes socioeconomic, environmental, and governance factors to complement the Energy Trilemma Index, resulting in the "energy quadrilemma." This framework allows for a more comprehensive examination of regional energy transition challenges in Brazil. The results reveal significant regional disparities, highlighting energy access as a source of socio-spatial inequality in Brazil. The Northeast region excels in energy security, while the Southeast lags in electricity independence. The South, Southeast, and Midwest have outstanding energy equity and environmental sustainability scores. Context indicators exhibit low scores in all regions, particularly in the North and Northeast. In addition, areas with the highest poverty scores have also limited digital access. These findings highlight the need for effective strategies and policies to address the multifaceted challenges of the energy quadrilemma, integrating socioeconomic and governance dimensions to advance energy transitions and planning at the regional level.

The Impact of ESG Participation on Firm Innovation: Empirical Findings from International Data

This paper is to explore the association between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) dimensions and corporate innovative activities. Given that existing literature in the relationship between ESG and firm performance to date offers no clearly consistent empirical results and large-scale sample studies based on global companies remain scarce, this paper aims to offer a fresh and noteworthy insight about relationship between the ESG and innovation in recent times when ESG has been considered as important tenets of management because of the ESG’s enormous significance for corporate solid performance and sound development of capital markets. To test the hypotheses derived from the theoretical reasoning, this paper selected ESG indicators and financial data of global companies from 1999 to 2009 based on the relationship between ESG activities and corporate innovation, and the effects on corporate innovative product development performance are analyzed according to detailed ESG activities by logistic regression analysis. The study found that positive environmental and social activities appear to enhance innovation outputs by firms in various industries. These results indicate that the firms challenged by environmental issues respond with assertive innovative activities and the firms’ efforts to stimulate certain types of social activities are reflected in a higher level of innovation. Supporting the complex relationship between ESG activities and corporate innovation performance, the findings will help firms’ decision-makers, stakeholders, as well as academics, to improve their awareness of the impact of ESG activities on the innovation performance of the firm, both as a comprehensive factor and individually by pillar.