Consumer Services Sector Research Articles

Text mining analysis of retail and consumer service leaders' sustainability narratives: Are they actually true?

This study investigates the relationship between the sustainability narratives of retail and consumer services leaders and their actual sustainability practices, with a focus on the impact of these narratives on consumer perceptions and engagement. Firm-generated content (FGC) has become a significant factor influencing consumer reactions, especially in the context of sustainability claims within the retail and consumer services sectors. Our research examines the alignment of linguistic and communicative elements in sustainability communications with the actual sustainability performance of companies employing a multifaceted analytical approach including content/theme analysis, sentiment analysis, emotion detection, and readability assessments. The findings reveal that thematic content related to sustainability, emotional engagement strategies, and the clarity of communication are shown to play vital roles in enhancing consumer trust and engagement with retail and consumer services firms. Moreover, readability and polarity are critical in shaping consumer perceptions of authenticity and reliability in sustainability narratives. The study underscores the importance of transparency and authenticity in sustainability communications, demonstrating that effective messaging can significantly influence consumer engagement with retail and consumer services firms. By bridging the gap between sustainability narratives and actual practices, the research contributes to a deeper understanding of strategic communication's role in fostering sustainable consumer behavior and trust in the retail and consumer services sector.

Comparing the Impacts of Past Major Events on the Network Topology Structure of the Malaysian Consumer Products and Services Sector

Comparing the Impacts of Past Major Events on the Network Topology Structure of the Malaysian Consumer Products and Services Sector

Empirical analysis of ESG-driven green innovation: the moderating role of innovation orientation

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the influence of ESG practices on green innovation with the moderating effect of innovation orientation in Malaysian manufacturing listed companies.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a quantitative research approach by using a well-structured questionnaire for data collection. The questionnaire was distributed to 204 Malaysian manufacturing listed companies in consumer products and services sector. Finally, partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was utilized to examine the relationship between constructs.FindingsBased on stakeholder theory, results indicated that environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices significantly improve green innovation. The insignificant moderating effect of innovation orientation was identified between the relationship of environmental and social practices and green innovation. Interestingly, results affirmed the negative moderating effect between the relationship of governance practices and green innovation.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to Malaysian manufacturing companies of consumer products and services sector in Bursa Malaysia. Hence, the findings of this study cannot be generalized to manufacturing companies of other geographical contexts.Practical implicationsThis work provides constructive implications to management and policymakers of Malaysian manufacturing companies in strategic planning toward enhancing green innovation and developing business competitiveness to achieve sustainable business performance.Originality/valueThis research magnifies valuable insights into the literature through a comprehensive model that simultaneously investigates the relationships between ESG practices, innovation orientation and green innovation. In addition, this is the first attempt to investigate the influence of ESG practices on green innovation with a moderating effect of innovation orientation, which indeed strengthens the originality of this study.

The Impact of Financial Risk on Financial Performance of Consumer Services Sector in Sri Lanka

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of financial risk on financial performance of the listed consumer services sector in Sri Lanka. It aims to uncover the effects of financial risk under operational risk, market risk, liquidity risk, and credit risk on return on equity which is the measurement of the financial performance for the period 2011–2020 from 32 listed consumer service companies listed under Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).This study used a quantitative research approach, and secondary data were collected from the published audited annual report of listed consumer service companies over ten years (2011–2020). The algorithms contained in Stata version 14.2 was used to evaluate hypotheses using the fixed effect regression model under panel data analysis. The study's outcome accepted three hypotheses while rejecting one. It was concluded that operational risk and liquidity risk have a positive statistically significant impact, and credit risk has a negative statistically significant. Further, it was revealed that market risk has a statistically insignificant impact on financial performance. The following study will enable consumer service firms to understand the impact and examine the financial risk impact on financial performance due to its unique nature, which would help firms increase shareholders’ wealth maximization. The findings demonstrate statistical significance, which may aid policymakers and industry experts in intervening and developing policies and regulations.

The Wavelet Multi-Scale Analysis of Exchange Rate Exposure: An Application to Malaysian Consumer Products and Services Sector

Objective – Past efforts in assessing foreign exchange rate exposure assume homogeneity in the level of exposure across time horizons which seems to be impractical due to the dynamic nature of comovement between firm value and exchange rate. Methodology – Given this, the study aimed to investigate the multi-scale relationships between changes in exchange rates and firm values of 56 multinational corporations in the consumer products and services sector from January 2000 to December 2020. Findings – The novelty of the study lies upon the application of Maximal Overlap Discrete Wavelet Transformation (MODWT) method which allows decomposition of a single time series domain into different time domains. The fragmentation into multiple time domains allows the measurement of scale-dependent foreign exchange exposure. As a result, the study discovered a non-monotonic trend for wavelet scale j of currency exposure across time scales. In particular, there was a gradual increase in the magnitude of beta exchange exposure and the proportion of exposed firms from low to high time scales. This finding suggested that firm value is more sensitive to changes in the exchange rate within a widened time domain. Novelty – The study demonstrated on how the wavelet technique can be used to measure foreign exchange risk and aided firm managers and market participants in managing foreign exchange risk for a specific time interval. Type of Paper: Empirical JEL Classification: E42, F31, F39 Keywords: Currency exposure; multi-horizon exchange rate; Malaysian Sectors; Wavelet Analysis; MODWT. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Wahab, H.A; Nasir, N.A.M. (2023). The Wavelet Multi-scale Analysis of Exchange Rate Exposure: An Application to Malaysian Consumer Products and Services Sector, J. Fin. Bank. Review, 8(1), 58 – 72. https://doi.org/10.35609/jfbr.2023.8.1(3)

РАЗВИТИЕ ИНСТРУМЕНТОВ ФРАНЧАЙЗИНГА В СОВРЕМЕННЫХ РОССИЙСКИХ УСЛОВИЯХ

Franchising as a business technology is not widely represented and in demand in the Russian business environment. But at the same time, the key advantages of franchising, while stabilizing the overall political and economic situation, make it possible to activate business activity in this business format. Moreover, the consumer services sector is the most dynamically developing segment of the service market, since the growth of the welfare of the population (projected in the medium term) and the growth of the quality of life will stimulate demand primarily in the service sector. However, in order for franchising, as an optimal business technology, to be developed in the Russian consumer services sector, the services provided by copyright holders to their franchisees must be characterized by an appropriate level of quality and sufficient efficiency. It follows from this that franchising networks need to develop their own business models. The article presents a practical analysis of the activities of a franchise network in the Russian Federation, identifying problems in its model and developing proposals aimed at business development.

Determinants of Corporate Sponsorship: Evidence From Consumer Product and Services Sector

Determinants of Corporate Sponsorship: Evidence From Consumer Product and Services Sector

The Multi-horizon Exchange Rate Exposure of Consumer Products and Services Sector in Malaysia

After the abolishment of fixed exchange regime under the Bretton Woods System in 1970s, the issue of foreign exchange risk expecially among multinational corporations operating under small and open economies of Malaysia remains relevant till today. According to Abdul Wahab et al. (2017) and Adler and Dumas (1984), exchange rate exposure refers to the extent of firm's sensitivity to exchange rate fluctuations. While there has been growing interest in examining foreign exchange risk incidence under Malaysia market, however limited studies have been focusing on single sector of consumer products and services in Malaysia. Under Bursa Malaysia, the sector consists of several sub-fields including agricultural products, automotive, food and beverages, household goods, personal goods, retailers and travel and leisure services. Given the wide range of products and services, the corporations under the sector have been involved in vigorous cross-border trading activities. The consumer products and services equities become the second largest sector in Bursa Malaysia which constitues 15.89% of total stocks in main market of Bursa Malaysia in July 2021 with a 265.02 billion of total market capitalization. In terms of methodological issue, the study addresses on the bias in exchange risk pricing in previous studies. Specifically, majority of past studies assume homogeneity of exchange risk across time domains which seems to be unrealistic. Capital market contains wide range of participants with heterogenous investment holdings and expectations. To address time domain bias, the study adopts Maximal Overlap Discrete Wavelet Transformation (MODWT) in foreign exchange risk pricing to decompose a single time domain series into multiple time domains. Given this, the primary objective of the study is to examine the extent of multi-horizon foreign exchange exposure of consumer products and services sector in Malaysia from January 2000 till December 2020. Keywords: Currency Exposure, Wavalet Technique, MODWT, Malaysian Consumer Sector

Effect of presidential elections on investor herding behaviour in African stock markets

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate investor herding behaviour and the effect of presidential elections on investor herding behaviour in African stock markets at the sector level.Design/methodology/approachThe study segregates listed firms into financial, consumer goods, consumer services and basic materials sectors and uses the cross-sectional absolute deviation approach as a metric of detecting herding in each of the sectors. The authors extend the model to tease out the effect of presidential elections on investor herding behaviour.FindingsThe study reveals that sectoral differences are fundamental to the evolution of herding. Herding is prominent in a financial services sector dominated by banks. The phenomenon also prevails in markets with smaller consumer goods and services sectors. A post-presidential election effect on investor herding is found for the consumer goods and services sectors of Ghana and a pre-presidential election effect is documented in Nigeria's consumer services sector. The authors conclude that post-presidential election effect is as a result of political connections whilst a pre-presidential election effect is attributable to political business cycles.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based on four African countries due to data constraints. Nonetheless, the study is the first in Africa to the best of the authors' knowledge, and the results are very solid and have a lot of practical and policy implications.Practical implicationsThe study has implications for investors as it guides investment behaviour in pre- and post-presidential election periods.Originality/valuePast studies on investor herding behaviour in African stock markets have largely concentrated on the aggregate market. Knowledge on sectoral differences in investor herding is almost non-existent for African stock markets. Furthermore, premised on the fact that stock markets react to presidential elections, there is no known study that have attempted to examine the effect of presidential elections on investor herding behaviour. This paper contributes to the literature by providing evidence on sectoral differences in investor herding behaviour and the effect of presidential elections on sectoral herding behaviour.

THE IMPACT OF INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL ON FIRM VALUE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CONSUMER SERVICES COMPANIES AND CAPITAL GOODS COMPANIES LISTED IN CSE

In the modern economic era, Intellectual capital (IC) is a key competitive advantage for a company. Thereby, this study is conducted to investigate the impact of Intellectual Capital and its components on the firm value in Consumer Service Sector and Capital Goods Sector companies listed in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in Sri Lanka. The study is done as a comparison between these two sectors. It examined the data for the period from 2015 to 2020 based on the sample of 25 companies in Consumer Service Sector and 20 companies in Capital Goods Sector by usingtwo regression models in random effect. Dependent variable for the study is Firm value and independent variables are Intellectual capital, capital employed efficiency, human capital efficiency and structural capital efficiency. The measurement of the Intellectual capital is Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC) andmarketto book value (MB) is used as the measurement of the firm value of the companies in both sectors. The data gathered from both sectors is analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and regression analysis. The results and findings of the study evident that, the intellectual capital has a positive impact on the firm value in both the consumer service sector and capital goods sector companies. However, when consider the component wise impact of intellectual capital, capital employed efficiency (CEE) has a positive impact on the firm value and human capital efficiency (HCE) and structural capital efficiency (SCE) have not a positive impact on firm value in both sectors. The findings of the study contribute to identify the impact of intellectual capital on the firm value in two sectors in the Sri Lanka economy. The results are significant for shareholders, owners, managers, employees, and all stakeholders. Especially, it is significant for the investors for their decisions on investments. In addition, companies could make investment decisions on Intellectual Capital to get competitive advantages and face market challenges and competition.

Opening of high-speed rail and the consumer service industry: Evidence from China

This paper studies the impact of high-speed rail (HSR) on the consumer service industry. Using data from 291 prefecture-level cities in China for the 2003–2019 period, we show the following: First, the opening of high-speed rail causes a 8.38% increase in consumer service employment. Second, it is found that the promotion effect of high-speed rail on the consumer service industry is mainly reflected in three industries: the wholesale and retail industry; the accommodation and catering industry; the culture, sports and entertainment industry. Third, we find that the city heterogeneity in the effect of HSR. The opening of HSR increases employment within the large cities’ consumer services sectors. Our findings demonstrate that transportation infrastructure has an obvious employment effect, which will not only affect the tradable sector but also promotes the growth of the non-tradable sector.

Corporate Governance and Financial Distress: Empirical Evidence from listed Consumer Services Firms in Sri Lanka

Objective - COVID – 19 has created unique and very profound challenges for almost all listed firms in Sri Lanka. The purpose of the study is to examine the influence of corporate governance practices on the financial distress status of listed companies in the consumer services sector in Sri Lanka. Methodology/Technique – To assess the level of corporate governance, the current study constructs six dimensions of corporate governance, such as board size, board composition, CEO duality, board meeting, director ownership, and audit committee size. The Altman Z-score is used as a proxy for financial distress and measures it inversely. The bigger the Z-score indicates the smaller the risk of financial distress. Using 108 individual observations of consumer services firms listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange for the period of 2019 to 2021 and employing the fixed effects model, the effect of corporate governance practices on financial distress is evaluated. Findings - The results from panel data regression analysis reveal that firms having a large number of directors on the board have a low likelihood of financial distress of listed consumer services companies in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, when a chief executive officer serves as the chairman of the board at a company, the more likely it is that the company will experience financial distress. The current study also provides evidence that firm-specific characteristics, such as firm size, leverage, and profitability, could be useful in determining the likelihood of financial distress. Novelty - This study extends the existing literature by investigating the association between corporate governance practices and financial distress in listed companies in the emerging markets during the period of the COVID 19 pandemic. Type of Paper: Empirical. JEL Classification: G30, G34 Keywords: Board size, CEO duality, corporate governance, financial distress Reference to this paper should be referred to as follows: Balagobei, S; Keerthana, G. (2022). Corporate Governance and Financial Distress: Empirical Evidence from listed Consumer Services Firms in Sri Lanka, Acc. Fin. Review, 7(1), 39 – 50. https://doi.org/10.35609/afr.2022.7.1(1)

Factors Affecting the Sustainability Reporting with Special Reference to Consumer Services Sector Listed Companies in Sri Lanka

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors affecting the sustainability reporting practices of the consumer services sector companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). Annual reports of 15 companies listed under the consumer service sector on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) were examined for the period from 2015 to 2019 using content analysis. A disclosure index comprising 77 items was constructed based on the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) standards. The sustainability disclosure index was the dependent variable and profitability, leverage, firm size, firm age, board composition, and board size were the explanatory variables. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and panel regression analysis were utilised for the data analysis. Descriptive statistics reveal that the level of sustainability reporting by consumer services companies is at a moderate level. This study found that there is a positive significant relationship between firm age and sustainability reporting practices in consumer services sector entities. It implies that younger firms are more likely to report sustainability performance information. Furthermore, it was revealed that there is a positive, significant impact of firm size on sustainability reporting practices. Findings support the legitimacy theory, which states that large companies provide more information since they are more visible and subjected to scrutiny by the general public. However, there is no significant impact of other variables on sustainability reporting practices. There are many practical implications of the findings. Regulators and policymakers should take necessary actions to be aware of the GRI guidelines and encourage listed companies to incorporate those standards in their business reporting. As a limitation, this paper is based on the consumer services sector of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and has focused mainly on secondary data. Future studies can be conducted considering a primary investigation.
 Keywords: Sustainability Reporting, Consumer Service sector, Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI)

Efekat dana u nedelji na južnoafričkom tržištu akcija - a garch analysis

Understanding dynamics of daily stock returns provide insight in trading opportunities available in stock markets. The purpose of the study was to examine whether day of the week effect exists in the South African equity market. Daily data from Top 40, All Shares, Basic Materials, Industrials, Consumer Goods, Health Care, Consumer Services, Telecommunications, Financials and Technology indices were collected for period 1995 to 2018. Exponential and threshold generalized auto regressive conditional heteroskedasticity models were employed to analyse day of the week anomaly. Findings of the day of the week for the mean equation revealed a positive Monday effect for aggregate indices namely Top 40 and All shares whilst the sectorial analysis showed a positive Monday effect for Basic materials, Consumer goods, Health care and Telecommunication. Furthermore, the mean equation for day of the week depicted a positive Tuesday effect for Financials sector, positive Wednesday effect for Consumer services sector and Thursday effect for Industrials and Technology sectors. The variance equation highlighted negative Monday effect for Top 40 and All shares as well as Basic materials, Consumer goods, Health care, Consumer services, Telecommunication and Financials sectors. However, Industrials sector indicated a negative Friday effect. The existence of day of the week effect nullifies the efficient market hypothesis in its weak form. In practice, it is recommended that for Mondays investors should invest in Top 40 and All shares, for Tuesday and Wednesday it would be prudent for investors to invest in Financial and Consumer services sectors respectively. Returns for Thursdays are attractive to an investor investing in the Industrial sector. An investor can reduce exposure by diversifying in the Health sector on Monday and in the by Industrial sector on Friday. Unlike previous studies that focussed on aggregate market indices, this study extended the analysis to sectors that constitute the market index.

Civil liability of taxi-aggregation companies: Between contract and tort law

Technical and information progress undoubtably have an influence on the trade market and the consumer service sector of the modern economy. The sphere of taxi companies is no exception. When a user downloads a taxi-aggregation company’s application and orders a taxi, using its information about a carrier, this causes uncertainty in the qualifcation of the legal relationship between aggregator, carrier, and consumer. This ambiguity becomes critical if non-performance of the contract causes injury or non-pecuniary loss to a passenger. In this case, a concurrence arises between contact and tort qualifcation of the claim against the carrier and/or aggregator. The essay examines approaches to the distribution of liability between the aggregator, the carrier, and other persons who could contribute to causing harm, from the point of view of contract and tort law.

Методика оценки комплектарности потребительских услуг на территории городской агломерации

The article presents methodological approaches to the formation of a criteria of assessing the level of consumer services sphere development on the territory of an urban agglomeration, taking into account the determination of the indicative supply rate of companies providing services. The semantic basis of the category "complectarity" is formulated and the significance of this category in the approach of assessing the actual state of the development level of the consumer services sphere is shown, taking into account the actual set of services provided by enterprises in relation to the set of services, which serve as a measure of their number. The application of this methodology allows us to reveal the unevenness of the supply of consumer services relative to real demand of this services and to explain the formation of pricing policy of companies, providing services in conditions of deviation from the equilibrium of supply and demand, which fully meets the principles of the theory of pricing formation by formulating a coherent strategy of the consumer services sphere development. Research carried out on the basis of using methodology of complectarity makes it possible to more accurately determine the species and quantitative disparities in supply in any territory of an urban agglomeration, taking into account the size of the population living in it. Evaluation of the supply of consumer services relative to their real demand based on the application of the bundling methodology allows us to determine the specific and quantitative disproportions of the supply of consumer services in any territory of an urban agglomeration relative to the number of people living there, which corresponds to the theory of pricing, explains the possibility of forming an equilibrium price, subject to the presence or absence of a package offer of consumer services, including specific and quantitative indicators. Thus, a program or strategy for the development of consumer services should be aimed at bringing the indicator of integral completeness to one. It is with this meaning that economic equilibrium and the absolute achievement of the goals of strategic development of the consumer services sector take place. This condition corresponds to the concepts of "set", "ideal completeness" and serves as a criterion for assessing the level of development of consumer services in the territory under consideration.

Sectoral Analysis of Capital Structure and Distribution Policies of Companies listed on the JSE

Abstract The objective of this paper was to investigate whether companies listed in four sectors of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) treated their financing and distribution policies differently and the interdependence thereof because of sectoral nuances. The research employed a single equation (fixed effect) and a simultaneous equation (3SLS) on a sample of twenty three companies from the basic materials sector, nine companies from the consumer goods sector, sixteen companies from the consumer services sector and twenty one companies from the industrial sector over the period 1990-2017. The empirical findings provide evidence that sectoral nuances played an important role in explaining the treatment of financing and distribution decisions across these four sectors of the JSE. The empirical findings revealed that dividend payments and capital structure are positively significantly correlated with each other in the basic materials sector and consumer service sector, while in the consumer goods sector, capital structure and dividend payment are negatively significantly correlated with each other. Furthermore, the results provided evidence of joint determinants affecting the sectors significantly and differently because of sector nuances. Profitability, size, and assets tangibility were the strongest in explaining the effects of joint determinants within the 3SLS approach. The research proposed that South African managers must consider sector differences when formulating and inter-relating financing decisions to payout decisions.

Constructing a Financial Reporting Disclosure Quality Model of Listed Firms in Malaysia

The national accounting standards set by the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) is largely converged with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The benefit arising from this is to enable foreign investors to analyse their investments via a standardised financial reporting system in Malaysia. Financial reporting disclosure quality by the listed firms in the consumer product and service sector on Bursa Malaysia is an essential feature in the firms’ financial reporting to the public. This research evaluates the development of financial reporting disclosure quality assurance by firms listed on Bursa Malaysia, by examining financial reporting disclosure quality and subsequent compliance with the International Financial Reporting Standards. This study uses a content analysis approach to identify a financial reporting standard compliance disclosure index, based the financial statements issued by firms listed on Bursa Malaysia from 2008 – 2016. A panel regression model is utilised to construct a model of financial reporting disclosure quality of the firm, based the extent of compliance with IFRS disclosure requirements from the following perspectives: corporate governance practice, audit quality and corporate social responsibility. The sustainability of financial reporting disclosure quality by the listed firms and subsequently the Malaysian capital markets will enable the same to attain a competitive edge in the international markets. In addition, this study will discuss financial reporting disclosure quality implications relevant to the policy makers in Bursa Malaysia, and it is envisaged that such model can be utilised in the improvement of future financial reporting policies.

Financial Market Risks during the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT This article examines the nature of time-varying systematic risk for both Islamic and non-Islamic sectoral indices during COVID-19. The novelty lies in the analysis of behavioral changes in beta as the global health crisis moved from an epidemic to a pandemic. Using daily stock market return data on 10 different industry sectors, we show that both Islamic and conventional indices depict a similar pattern, but Islamic equities exhibit lower risk, indicating a subdued reaction to market movements. However, as the COVID-19 evolves from an epidemic to a pandemic the trend changes, with Consumer Services, Financials, Healthcare, and Oil & Gas sector betas depicting an overreaction in Islamic equities. These results remain robust to multiple additional tests. On this basis, we argue that a lower systematic risk of Islamic equities can offer portfolio diversification opportunities.

Wearable technology and consumer interaction: A systematic review and research agenda

There has been exponential growth is the use of wearable technology, and these are now considered to be of critical importance in certain consumer goods and services sectors, including healthcare. However, research on this topic remains fragmented, and the approaches to aid its study and enhance the understanding of how these technologies are used and its implications for the future have not yet been delimited. Thus, this study aims at identifying the different trends and themes prevailing in the literature on wearable technology. Through a systematic literature review, using bibliometric analysis, we identify five themes: i) Wearable technology decision-making; ii) Wearable technology well-being; iii) Wearable technology consumer behavior; iv) Wearable technology utility, and v) Wearable technology and big data analytics. Our analysis of the review data suggests that despite being multi-disciplinary, there is a lack of integration between this research field's micro and macro perspectives. This lack of integration and dialogue has led to several disconnected constructed terminologies, overlapping research questions, studies that are not based on appropriate results, fragmentation, and mixing or confusion of different theories. The study articulates key questions that could drive future research on wearables and consumer interaction.