Resource Dependence Theory Research Articles

ESG Performance and Corporate Governance—The Moderating Role of the Big Four Auditors

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of corporate governance on ESG performance in large publicly listed firms in Indonesia from 2016 to 2023. The study adopts both stakeholder-agency theory and resource dependency theory to explore the relationship between sustainability assurance, board governance characteristics, and the extent of ESG performance. Fixed effects regression controlling both industry and year fixed effects is used to measure the relationship between sustainability assurance, corporate governance characteristics, and ESG performance. We find a positive significant relationship between assurance sustainability reports and ESG performance. Additionally, we also document a positive association between sustainability committees and ESG performance. Adopting the Big Four auditors as a moderating variable, we find a positive relationship between gender-diverse boards and firms audited by the Big Four auditors and sustainability performance. This result suggests that firms with gender-diverse boards audited by the Big Four auditors enhance sustainability performance. Additional robustness tests using GMM estimation, conducted to address endogeneity concerns, corroborated the main test results.

Foreign funding, accountability and contention: exploring self-regulatory practices in Georgian civil society

ABSTRACT The impact of Western development aid on civil society organisations’ (CSOs’) behaviours in developing countries has gained a growing amount of scholarly attention, however, less is known about individual forms of self-regulatory practices in civil society. This article explores how external resources shape accountability, internal democracy and agency of CSOs by inquiring into the case of Georgia through in-depth interviews and review of relevant CSO documents. The case of Georgian civil society is illustrative due to aid dependence, push for NGOization, contrasting persistent informality, failure of collective self-regulation and contentious state-NGO relations. Resource dependency theory (RDT) is often used to highlight organisations’ adjustment of behaviours in accordance with their need for critical resources, mainly in the form of funding – but this article builds on the organisational self-regulation approach to untangle CSO’s resource strategies and agency to complement and juxtapose the assumptions of the RDT.

Women in Boardrooms and Firm Performance: A Review of the Recent Trends, Global Scenario, and Way Forward

The aim of this review paper is to explore the literature on board gender diversity (BGD) as a corporate governance strategy and whether it brings a favourable impact on firm’s performance. While referring to previous empirical studies, we found a mixed view of the impact of women on boards (WOB) on firm’s performance (FP), but the majority of literature does present a business case for having women directors. To establish the quality and objectivity of this review paper, articles from several high-ranked journals which were published between 2001 and 2023 were selected, and a structured investigation was carried out to prepare a clear meta-analytic presentation of the theme. The findings from chosen research have been categorised, synthesised, and summarised to touch upon the role of gender in corporate boardrooms across four major continents and put forward its implications. Through our cross-continent analysis, we discover stronger positive WOB-FP relationships in developed nations (with higher gender parity scores) than in emerging economies. Our research underpinnings suggest scanty research in the African Subcontinent emanating from inadequacies of a conducive and progressive business environment, while still asserting a positive WOB-FP link. Critical mass and resource dependency theories have also influenced a large section of the literature. This study pulls out many important themes from empirical research on board gender diversity that has been undertaken for over two decades now which aids in identifying pitfalls in the global context and establishing a research agenda for the future.

Corporate governance and bank risk-taking: transitional economic evidence

ABSTRACT This study examines the impact of corporate governance on risk-taking in Vietnamese banks. Using data from 2007 to 2020 and employing the two-step generalized method of moments (GMM) technique, the study finds that certain aspects of corporate governance significantly influence bank stability efficiency. Specifically, the presence of female board members, independent directors, and larger board sizes are associated with improved stability efficiency, while the presence of foreign board members has a negative impact. These findings are consistent with agency theory, stewardship theory, and resource dependence theory. By employing the stochastic frontier approach, this research contributes to understanding how corporate governance characteristics can help mitigate risk-taking in emerging market contexts.

The role of audit committee characteristics in improving the risk disclosure of companies examining the moderating role of audit quality

This paper examines the association between audit committee characteristics (ACC) and risk disclosure (RD) of firms, focusing on the moderating effect of audit quality (AQ). The importance of RD to investors and stakeholders is that such a practice offers a better evaluation of the overall risk profile of companies. Based on agency theory complemented by the resource dependence theory, this paper therefore suggests that effective audit committees have an effect of reducing information asymmetry while increasing audit quality monitoring capacities and consequently enhance risk disclosure practices. In this respect, the literature sources were reviewed, and a hypothetical framework was developed to test the hypotheses. The sample selection comprises 54 companies with non-financial companies listed in the Egyptian Exchange Market, EGX100, for the period 2018 to 2021, which amounts to 216 observations. According to the results, ACC, such as size and financial expertise, are significant for RD, while ACC relating to meetings and independence are less important for RD. The study further established that AQ moderates the relationship between ACC and RD, implying that the significant influence of ACC is stronger when AQ is high. These inferences are of essence to policy makers and companies in understanding the implication of ACC on RD and the relation to high-quality audits in improving the effectiveness of audit committees. It underlines the importance of audit committees in giving assurance about transparency and accountability in financial reporting.

Military Connections, Investment Efficiency and Political Uncertainty: Evidence from Pakistan

This study examined the impact of military connections on a firm's investment efficiency in Pakistan during the period from 2011 to 2019. Fixed effect regression results revealed that military connections exert a positive and significant effect on the firm's investment efficiency, supporting the resource dependence theory's prediction. This result remains robust when using alternative measurements of investment efficiency, considering periods of political uncertainty proxied by election years, and controlling for endogeneity issues related to the military connection variable. However, a breakdown of military connections revealed that the presence of a military-connected Chairman reduces firms' investment efficiency. Our paper contributes to the growing attention on the impact of military-connected key individuals on corporate decision-making.

The Impact of ESG on Earnings Volatility of Manufacturing Companies in China

This study examines how environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) performance influences a firm’s earnings volatility, considering the mediating role of financial constraints and the moderating effects of supply chain concentration. Drawing on stakeholder theory and resource de-pendency theory, the research model was proposed and hypotheses were developed to address the research questions. The study employs fixed effects regression analysis, conducted using STATA 18.0, on data from 603 manufacturing companies listed in China's A-shares market from 2013 to 2022. The results reveal that ESG significantly impacts earnings volatility, with financial constraints partially mediating this relationship, and supply chain concentration serving as a moderator. These findings have important implications for managers, policymakers, and investors.

Enhancing Islamic Bank Performance: The Role Of Sharia Supervisory Board Attributes And Intellectual Capital

Islamic banks are required to establish a sharia supervisory board (SSB). In that sense, there is a need to gain insight into whether the characteristics of the sharia supervisory board affect the performance of Islamic banks. This research investigates the effect of SSB size, sharia background, financial background, gender diversity, and the moderating effect of intellectual capital on the performance of Islamic banks in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam during 2011-2021. The data used in this study is taken from the annual reports of Islamic banks, as many as 269 observation data, and analyzed through the panel data regression. The results show that the financial background and gender diversity variables among SSBs impact the performance of Islamic banks in the countries. Theoretically, this study strengthens the relevance of resource dependence theory in Islamic banking by highlighting that more extensive and diverse boards attract expertise, networks, and legitimacy that support performance. Practically, this study can serve as a reference for practitioners and policymakers to underline the strategic importance of board composition, gender diversity, and intellectual capital investment as drivers of ethical compliance and financial stability.

Institutional context matters: board diversity and ESG outcomes in the UAE

Purpose This study empirically examines the impact of board diversity on environmental, social and governance (ESG) outcomes in organizations from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study aims to extend prior literature by covering the impacts of the institutional context on board diversity and ESG outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Using a thematic analysis of interviews with 42 UAE board members, this research uncovers the effects of institutional context on ESG outcomes. The study focuses on the impact of culture, the influence of regulatory bodies and the relationship between critical board diversity traits and ESG. Findings Three major themes emerged from the data: the impact of institutional context and culture, the impact of regulatory bodies and critical board diversity traits’ relationship with ESG. The findings indicate that the institution’s cultural and regulatory context impacts board diversity and ESG. The findings also demonstrate that the board’s functional diversity (educational and occupational diversity) and age diversity impact ESG outcomes. Originality/value This research contributes to resource dependence theory by indicating the specific resources diverse directors bring to a corporate board. The study also highlights how institutional context dictates the types of resources directors seek for effective ESG implementation, providing a novel insight into board diversity’s role in ESG performance.

The Role of Digital Supply Chain Management Practices in the Relationship between Organizational Culture and Customer Development

Through Digital Supply Chain Management Practices (DSCMP), this study investigates the relationship between organizational culture (OC) and customer development (CD), taking into account both direct and indirect influences. Data from 214 respondents who have registered in Indonesia's Riau Islands Province were analysed statistically. The results showed that CD was positively impacted by OC and DSCMP. Additionally, the connection between OC and CD was found to be mediated by DSCMP. Two crucial facilitators for growing a company's clientele in digital supply chains (SC) are DSCMP and OC. Using the Resource Dependency Theory (RDT) as a basis. This study discovered that in order to increase the firm's efficiency, digitalization-related SCMP capabilities need to be developed internally. Organizational leaders (OL), organizational glue (OG), dominating characteristics (DC), and strategic focus (SE) should all be integral parts of DSCMP in organizations.

Insights into CEO duality in corporate governance: a bibliometric and systematic analysis approach

Purpose This study aims to analyze chief executive officer (CEO) duality in corporate governance by using Scopus data. It explores CEO duality research trends across diverse corporate governance contexts and disciplines, shaping the future research agenda, and proposing recommendations for further investigations in this area. Design/methodology/approach This analysis is conducted through VOSviewer software and Biblioshiny by extracting the bibliometric network from the output files of the Scopus bibliographic database. Findings Research on CEO duality centers on keywords such as corporate governance, agency theory, board of directors, board size and firm performance. Word tree maps uncover various research areas and gaps. Top authors are Elsyed K. & Rashid K, with the University of Utara Malaysia as the leading organization. Main disciplines are “Business Management and Accounting” followed by “Economics.” “Corporate Governance: An International Review” tops the journals with 1,120 citations. Quantitative methods using secondary data dominate (94%), mostly from nonfinancial industries (96%). Theoretical lenses include agency theory, stewardship theory, stakeholder theory, resource dependence theory and institutional theory. Firm performance is the most researched aspect (38% of studies) concerning CEO duality. Practical implications Bibliometric and systematic analysis offer researchers a general overview and in-depth insights into current CEO duality research trends, influential articles and keywords in corporate governance. This study’s findings benefit research institutions, professional bibliometric users and funding agencies alike. Originality/value By visualizing bibliometric networks and conducting systematic analysis of top-cited articles, this study not only advances the academic understanding of CEO duality in corporate governance but also provides actionable recommendations for researchers, practitioners and policymakers to enhance governance practices and contribute to the field’s evolving body of knowledge.

A comparative study of urban and rural aging systems in China

The paper contrasts the urban elderly care system and the rural geriatric care system in China and evaluates the differences concerning the quality of life of the elderly. The study shows that elderly care facilities in urban areas are more developed. There is greater involvement from the government and a variety of community care services whereas in the rural facilities’ elderly population relies predominantly on family care and insufficient skilled nursing and medical facilities. Employed both qualitative and quantitative methods, this paper explains disparities in resource allocation, service provision, and policy implementation between urban and rural areas of China and provides recommendations to enhance elder care in the rural regions of China. The research also recognizes other countries experience and it utilizes resource dependency and social equity theory to explain and enhance equality-based policies in the provision of elder care.

Exploring corporate financial reporting theories: a systematic approach

Purpose The study aims to identify, summarize and synthesize the theories used in corporate financial reporting (CFR) and propose a conceptual framework based on those theories. Design/methodology/approach The study applied the systematic literature review approach to achieve the study objectives. So, the researchers systematically collected the relevant documents from the Scopus database with the help of an advanced search string containing keywords to the CFR theories. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses technique was used for the relevant document selection process. Finally, 67 documents were extracted and analyzed spanning from the year of 2017 to 2023. Findings The major findings of this study indicate a predominance of legitimacy, agency and stakeholder theories in CFR studies. Whereas, this study reveals that neo-institutional, signaling, resource dependency, political economics and impression management theories have been less focused on by scholars in the CFR studies. Those theories need to be reemphasized in this field in future research. Originality/value The study’s contributions are significant for academics, policymakers and different parties, as it enhance the understanding of CFR theoretical frameworks and suggest directions for future research to broaden the theoretical landscape. The study maps the motivations of applying a certain theory which will help the researchers to select a specific theory for the underlying context of CFR.

Surviving the COVID-19 pandemic: European and African SMEs and domestic public policies compared

Purpose The paper investigates factors that contribute to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) surviving major exogenous shocks. Global crises such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have increasingly heightened scholarly interest in post-crises responses. However, studies that compare the relative responses to external shocks and the outcomes for SMEs operating in different institutional settings are limited. We examine the relative degrees of success European and African SMEs experienced in avoiding the worst consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachWe use the resource dependency theory (RDT) with variants of institutional theory since the RDT has been shown in practice to have greater explanatory power when used in this way. We augment our framework with a feminist theory dimension. To test our hypotheses, we apply regression analyses using cross-sectional data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys (WBES), which include responses from private enterprises in 26 European and eight African countries. We construct our data by combining the COVID-19 follow-up surveys with relevant firm-specific characteristics from the WBES conducted in 2020–2021 using firm-specific unique IDs. After removing the firms with missing observations, the sample number of SMEs is 15,178.Findings Our empirical findings support the theoretically posited positive effects of innovativeness, institutional connectedness and governance capability on SMEs’ survival in the face of external shocks. Further, we confirm the importance of firm-specific characteristics (financial status, size and age) for SMEs’ survival. Female-owned SMEs are more likely to suffer during COVID-19, especially in Africa. The results are more nuanced when we consider industry specificity and heterogeneity of government support.Originality/value Our article helps answer the theoretical (and policy-relevant) question of whether SMEs that are resilient to major exogenous shocks may share certain characteristics despite operating in different institutional environments. If that is so, then it may be that lessons from one continent may have at least some relevance for the other. Our approach’s broad value lies in its capacity to test the degree to which established bodies of theory developed in the Northern Hemisphere may be deployed in Africa, well beyond the contexts which provided their initial empirical basis. This paper also contributes to the literature on the effect of environmental-change shocks on entrepreneurship performance outcomes.

Collaborations for Circular Food Waste Management in Italian Fish Manufacturing Firms: a Resource Dependence Perspective

This paper aims to shed light on supply chain collaborations in circular economy for food waste prevention and management. The exploratory study adopts a multiple case study research design on a sample of two polar cases: a small enterprise and a large company in the Italian manufacturing industry of fishery products. Resource Dependence Theory (RDT) allows for an understanding of the mechanisms of circular supply chains, describing strategic motivators of collaborations for circular economy, and overall provides a novel perspective on food waste prevention and management. This study highlights how companies develop in-house solutions when the food waste streams are moderate but rely on collaborations when the streams are conspicuous, thus, the need to implement circular economy solutions fosters collaborations. The findings provide a novel perspective on collaborations in circular economy; furthermore, RDT offers a novel conceptualization of food waste management practices, highlighting the suitability of further applying RDT to this field of study.

Business alliances, shared resources and environmental uncertainty: A qualitative study

Globalisation and competitiveness among companies have been increasing, leading many companies to be unable, in isolation, to meet the demands of markets in constant turbulence. The business model based on isolated competition has given way to establishing alliances between companies, allowing them to face the uncertainty and complexity of the changing environment more easily. A growing number of companies depend on forming alliances to access the necessary resources and thus achieve strategic objectives. Following on from the study by Prabhudesai et al. (2022), the present study aims to determine how the different types of resources available to a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), in conjunction with the uncertainty of the environment perceived by owner-managers, affect alliance formation. To achieve this goal, a qualitative thematic approach/methodology was used, combining two theoretical perspectives, Resource Dependence Theory (RDT) and Resource Based View (RBV), taking into account the uncertainty of the environment and the resources held. Based on interviews with managers of three companies and analysis of internal documents, the results show that the companies’ resources and the uncertainty of the environment trigger alliance formation. This study distinguishes between the two types of resources, tangible and intangible, and explains how the interaction of resource type and environmental uncertainty affects alliance formation.

Does Agricultural Science and Technological Innovation Always Boost Farmers’ Income? Evidence from China

Agricultural science and technological innovation (ASTI) provides important opportunities to enhance agricultural welfare. Based on comparative advantage, value chain, and resource dependence theories, this study employed a variety of econometric models, including fixed effects (FEs), panel-corrected standard errors (PCSEs), feasible generalized least squares (FGLSs), and the systematic generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM), to investigate the impacts of ASTI on farmers’ income using data from a panel of 31 Chinese provinces spanning from 2012 to 2021. Our results reveal that ASTI contributes significantly positively to income growth, but its effects are not uniform: the central and western regions benefit more from ASTI compared to the eastern region. Moreover, as the level of ASTI increases, its positive impact on income growth diminishes. However, regions with higher levels of rural human capital—measured by educational attainment and skills—experience a more pronounced amplification of ASTI’s benefits on income. Additionally, aging populations in both urban and rural areas initially enhance the influence of ASTI on farmers’ income, but this effect diminishes as demographic gaps widen.

Autonomizing Public Universities in Ethiopia: Exploring the Potential Challenges

Background This study examines the challenges faced by Ethiopian public universities in achieving institutional, administrative, academic, and financial autonomy. Institutional autonomy refers to a university’s ability to self-govern, set its mission, and establish policies without external interference. Administrative autonomy concerns decision-making in operations, academic autonomy relates to academic freedom and quality assurance, and financial autonomy involves control over resources and revenue generation. In Ethiopia, centralized governance, political interference, and limited financial strategies create significant barriers to autonomy. Method A qualitative research approach was employed, utilizing semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and direct observations. Data were collected from 59 participants across three public universities. Tools included consent forms, interview guides, focus group discussion guides, and observation checklists. Thematic analysis was used to identify key patterns in the autonomy challenges. The study is grounded in Institutional Theory, Principal-Agent Theory, and Resource Dependency Theory. Result The findings indicate that institutional autonomy is constrained by centralized governance and political interference, limiting universities’ ability to make independent decisions, as explained by Institutional Theory. Administrative autonomy faces similar restrictions, with decision-making influenced by external entities, as highlighted by Principal-Agent Theory. Academic autonomy is challenged by the tension between standardization and institutional diversity, particularly in quality assurance and accreditation. Financial autonomy is limited by restricted revenue sources, economic instability, and a lack of innovative funding strategies, as discussed through Resource Dependency Theory. Conclusion The study concludes that Ethiopian public universities face significant barriers to autonomy. Addressing these challenges requires reducing strict governmental control, improving governance structures, and promoting independent decision-making and sources of incomes. Recommendations The study recommends implementing governance reforms, providing leadership training for university administrators, enhancing academic freedom with flexible quality assurance systems, and diversifying revenue streams through partnerships and expanded university enterprises to ensure financial sustainability.

Mapping stakeholder role and influence: Malik ISCs model for sustainable provision of low-income housing

AbstractHousing provision is an integrated network of stakeholders, resources, institutions, and regulations. This study explores the stakeholder analysis approach through grounded theory to rationalize the stakeholder influence and role in developing collaborative frameworks for the sustainable provision of low-income housing in Pakistan. This study aims to theorize the Institutional Stakeholder Collaborations (ISCs) conceptual framework derived from institutional, stakeholder, collaboration, and resource dependence theories. The research also presents an interesting feature, i.e. stakeholder-resource cross-tabulation in achieving the research objective to develop the ISCs theory by placing core categories against stakeholder categories and resource domains. Stakeholder mapping plotted the influence against attributes of power, legitimacy, and interest (PLI) within the context of low-income housing in Punjab, Pakistan. The new theory was generated from the grounded data as a collaborative model for the sustainable provision of low-income housing, i.e., the Malik ISCs Model. This informed discovery of collaboration through the Malik ISCs Model for effectively providing low-income housing projects suggests some key points for the broader global policy discourse of housing development, emphasizing the low-income segment.

Influence of Supply Chain Management Practices on Service Delivery at the Judiciary Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya

Purpose: Service delivery is a fundamental aspect of public organizations, playing a critical role in fulfilling the expectations and needs of the public. As a result, organizations are called upon to improve the efficiency of their supply chain. The primary goal of this research was to find out how supply chain management techniques affect the quality of services provided at the Kenyan Judiciary Headquarters in Nairobi. The specific objectives were to find out how e-sourcing techniques, collaboration, inventory management and supplier management relationships practices affect service delivery. Methods: The study was grounded on the transaction costs theory, institutional theory, resource dependence theory, and the Kaizen theory. The study used a descriptive design, targeting 235 employees working at Judiciary Headquarters in Nairobi. A stratified random selection technique was used to pick the 149 participants that made up the sample size. Interview guides and structured questionnaires were used for data gathering. All the data was processed and analyzed in SPSS V.24. Results: The multiple regression analysis revealed a strong model fit, with an R² value of 0.610, indicating that the independent variables explain 61% of the variance in service delivery. Specifically, e-sourcing practices, collaboration, and supplier relationship management were found to have significant positive effects on service delivery, with standardized coefficients (Beta) of 0.367, 0.328, and 0.312, respectively. Inventory management also had a positive impact, though to a lesser extent (Beta = 0.215). The ANOVA results confirmed the overall model’s significance with an F-statistic of 31.45, p < 0.001. These findings underscore the crucial role of effective supply chain management practices in enhancing service delivery performance. Conclusion: The study concludes that targeted improvements in these areas can significantly enhance service outcomes, and it recommends further investment in e-sourcing systems, fostering collaboration, and strengthening supplier relationships to improve overall service delivery.