Study's Empirical Results Research Articles

Empirical perspective of working capital management practices among large building construction firms in Ghana

Purpose This paper is a response to the failure of construction firms to use sufficient attention to their working capital management (WCM) practices, resulting in operational challenges, and leading to the collapse of firms in most developing countries. Hence, this study aims to explore the empirical perspective of WCM practices among large building construction firms (LBCFs) in Ghana, to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 9. Design/methodology/approach The study collected primary data through structured survey questionnaires from LBCFs in Ghana. The CEOs/Directors, General Managers and Accountant/Finance of LBCFs in Ghana formed the unit of analysis based on a simple random sampling technique. Mean score, standard deviation and one-sample t-test were used to perform the empirical analysis of the study. Findings According to this study's empirical results, LBCFs appear to have effective WCM practices in place. This was evidenced in the surveyed responses which indicate that the sector’s WCM practices sound good based on the mean scores and statistically significant as the t-values > 1.664. Notably, LBCFs in Ghana pay their suppliers early to reduce the fear of adverse effect of late payments on their credit history, making them conservative in their approach toward financial management. Originality/value This is a pioneering paper in a developing country like Ghana, highlighting the significance of gaining an in-depth understanding of WCM practices among LBCFs. The findings of this study are expected to provide valuable information to industry players toward ensuring WCM efficiencies and can serve as a solid foundation for further empirical studies.

A Narrative Inquiry into EFL Teachers’ Emotional Geographies in Online Grammar ‘Funtainment’ Assessment

In EFL classrooms, each teacher is expected to be able to act professionally in teaching and assessing the students through the ability to control emotions. However, studies that capture such phenomenon are lacking. This study investigated the narratives of Indonesian EFL teachers’ emotional geographies who conducted online assessments using 'Funtainment Assessment' in 'Grammar' classes. The study employed a narrative inquiry as the design by collecting individual in-depth interview data over four months. Findings unveiled five aspects that influenced changes in the participants' emotional geographies: physical, moral, sociocultural, professional, and political. Participants had a variety of attitudes in response to the emotions that arose when assessing the students' grammar competence online. Interestingly, the participants experienced continuous adaptation to the practice of negotiation to the emotional changes Thus, it did not distract the professional developments they had done through agentive actions. The study's empirical results also suggest that the 'emotional geography dimensions' contributed to future teachers' professional developme

Foreign direct investment on economic growth in Nepal: A sector specific analysis

This paper investigates the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the economic development of Nepal through a comprehensive and sector-specific analysis. With a growing interest in attracting foreign investments to foster economic growth, this study aims to provide nuanced insights into the diverse effects of FDI across various sectors in the context of Nepal. Utilizing a robust methodology that incorporates quantitative and qualitative approaches, the research examines key economic indicators and sectoral performance data over a specified period. This paper employs a sophisticated econometric framework that includes unit root tests to assess the stationarity properties of the time series data, ensuring the reliability of subsequent econometric models. The ECM and ARDL models facilitate the examination of both short-term and long-term dynamics between FDI and economic development variables, ARDL Bound test, is applied to investigate the existence of cointegration among the variables, providing insights into the long-term equilibrium relationship. Additionally, Granger causality tests are conducted to discern the directionality of causal relationships, helping to discern whether FDI leads to economic development or vice versa. The empirical results reveal compelling insights into the relationship between FDI and economic development in Nepal. Robustness checks further validate the reliability of the findings, enhancing the overall robustness and credibility of the study's empirical results. The comprehensive analysis provides valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders aiming to formulate targeted strategies for fostering sustainable economic development in Nepal through FDI.

The impact of digital transformation on enterprise performance: An empirical analysis based on China's manufacturing export enterprises.

Currently, countries worldwide are embracing digital strategies, enabling enterprises to utilize digital technology, digital supply chains, blockchain, and additional digital measures to increase their competitiveness. This paper analyzed the correlation between the digital transformation of manufacturing export enterprises and their business and export performance, focusing on China's manufacturing export enterprises through empirical analysis. The study investigated the influence of digital transformation on enterprise performance. Using the Resource Based View theory and Trade theory, hypotheses were proposed and regression models were developed to analyze a sample of 1007 enterprises listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock markets from 2012 to 2019. The study conducted regression analysis, intermediate effect test, robustness test, stage lag, and heterogeneity analysis. The study found that (1) Manufacturing export enterprises listed in the stock market implemented digital transformation, leading to a significant positive impact on their overall performance. (2) Digital transformation led to cost reduction, improved R&D intensity, and enhanced human resources, among other benefits for enterprise performance. (3) According to the fractal analysis, non-state-owned enterprises exhibited more favorable effects on enterprise performance, and the digital transformation of manufacturing export companies in developed regions had a more significant impact on their performance. Finally, the study's empirical results yielded pertinent proposals for digital transformation.

Commitment-based HRM and inbound open innovation in SMEs: the role of organizational trust and developmental culture

Purpose Although scholars have been studying human resource management (HRM) and open innovation (OI), yet there is less attention to this relationship in the context of small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper aims to bring some insights about the human side of inbound open innovation (INOI) in SMEs. The goal is to better understand the role of organizational trust (OT) and developmental culture (DC) in the interactions between commitment-based HRM (C-HRM) and INOI.Design/methodology/approach The present study employs partial least squares-structural equation modeling to investigate the interrelationships among constructs, utilizing data gathered from a sample of 206 SMEs.Findings The study's empirical results indicate that the presence of OT serves as a complementary factor in mediating the relation between C-HRM and INOI. Furthermore, the analysis shows that there exists a moderating influence of DC in the relationship between C-HRM and INOI.Practical implications The role of HRM practices is important in developing OT and consequently foster INOI in SMEs. To achieve INOI, SMEs need a DC that induces C-HRM toward an OI approach.Originality/value This study adds to the understanding of the interactions between C-HRM practices and INOI in SMEs. The comprehension of the mediating function of OT and the moderating effect of DC serve to enhance the scholarly understanding of the human dimension of OI research.

Did Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Induce Herding Behavior in the Indian Stock Market?

This study empirically examines the herding behavior of the Indian stock market investors during the heightened geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine in 2022.
 An intensified Russia-Ukraine geopolitical event window was constructed, and the high-frequency trading data (intraday) of the Nifty index was analyzed using Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MFDFA) to compute the 5th-order Hurst exponent (Hq (5)) that detects herding behavior.
 The study's empirical results revealed the presence of profound herding behavior during the intensified Russia-Ukraine geopolitical event window. The study contributes to the existing literature on herding behavior by examining the impact of a geopolitical event on the Indian stock market. Additionally, the study utilizes MFDFA to compute Hurst exponents, a relatively new approach to detecting herding behavior in financial markets.
 The findings of this study may assist investors and policymakers in understanding the impact of geopolitical events on financial markets and the potential for herding behavior among investors during times of heightened uncertainty. The study's results demonstrate the interconnectedness of global events and financial markets, highlighting the need for policymakers to consider the potential social and economic consequences of geopolitical events.

Does the implementation of a Pigouvian tax be considered an effective approach to address climate change mitigation?

This paper investigates the viability of environmental taxes as a means to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions within the European Union (EU) using the panel threshold model on two balanced panel data comprising countries from the European Union: the Northern and Western countries and Southern and Eastern countries for the period 2000–2020. The study's empirical results support the Pigouvian theory for developed countries, as they indicate an optimal minimum threshold for environmental taxes, where these taxes effectively contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, the results diverge for emerging countries, revealing a maximum threshold for environmental taxes beyond which their impact in curbing emissions diminishes. To achieve the ambitious goal of climate neutrality, policymakers must adopt a comprehensive and diversified approach. This includes a combination of environmental taxes, more stringent regulations, and emission standards for industries. Additionally, the implementation of carbon pricing mechanisms, promotion of investments in sustainable fuels and technologies, and the establishment of low-carbon emission infrastructure are essential components of this strategy. By integrating these various measures, policymakers can better navigate the path toward climate neutrality and effectively combat climate change in the EU and beyond.

Institutional quality and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: a panel data approach

PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to examine the impact of different dimensions of institutional quality indices on the economic growth of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a panel data set of 31 SSA countries from 1991 to 2015 and employs a two-step system-GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) estimation technique.FindingsThe study's empirical results indicate that investment-promoting and democratic and regulatory institutions have a significant positive effect on economic growth; however, once these institutions are taken into account, conflict-preventing institutions do not have a significant impact on growth.Practical implicationsThe study's findings suggest that countries in the region should continue their institutional reforms to enhance the region's economic growth. Specifically, institutions promoting investment, democracy and regulatory quality are crucial.Originality/valueUnlike previous studies that use either composite measures of institutions or a single intuitional indicator in isolation, the present study has employed principal component analysis (PCA) to extract fewer institutional indicators from multivariate institutional indices. Thus, this paper provides important insights into the distinct role of different clusters of institutions in economic growth.

Capital formation and natural resources extraction: A source of sustainable development or a curse for the economy?

Based on the evidence that gross capital formation contracted during the Covid-19 pandemic, the drivers of contraction were mainly natural resources volatility and economic growth disturbance. Hence, during the post-pandemic, when the economic system is going towards recovery, policymakers have focused on the concerns of the contraction of gross capital formation in low-income economies; thus, this issue requires attention. Hence, this study examines the impact of natural resource rents and economic growth on the gross fixed capital formation of low, and middle-income aggregate groups from 1985 to 2021. We have leveraged various time series econometric techniques for this study, including the ADF-GLS unit root test, which examines the stationarity of modeled variables. The study found that coal, forest, and oil rents are stationary at level (0), whereas the remaining modeled variables are stationary at I (1). This study found long-term cointegration of dependent and explanatory variables through Bayer-Hanck cointegration. The study's empirical results demonstrate that GDP, oil rents, and forest rents significantly positively impact gross fixed capital formation. In contrast, natural gas rents reduce gross capital formation for the FMOLS, DOLS, and CCR methods. Moreover, the study found the impact of mineral and coal rents insignificant and inconclusive. The Robustness check results provide similar results in robust regression analysis and quantile regression. However, oil rents were found to be significant in lower quantiles and became insignificant in the upper quantiles. Thus, this study suggests policy implications regarding efficient and sustainable usage of natural resources to generate enough revenues for gross fixed capital formation.

How hotel firm value fluctuates with alternative leveraging strategies

AbstractThis study empirically examines the impact of leverage and capital structure on firm value for the US hotel industry from 1991 to 2017. We find strong evidence that leverage positively relates to firm value for firms in the hotel industry. This relationship is most robust for hotel firms with low financial health, consistent with the theory that firms signal positive information through capital structure. We also find that the relationship between leverage and firm value was weakened during the financial crisis, particularly for firms close to financial distress. Our results suggest that hotel management, creditors, and investors should pay attention to the magnifying effect of leverage on firm performance and the impact of financial crises on the value of debt. This study's empirical results also support the idea that firms in the hotel industry signal to outside investors through debt.

Assessing SDG-3 efficiency for SDG-1 by studying interplay of tourism development, poverty alleviation and sustainability.

The modern world is facing chaos of different connected issues. Achieving sustainability in the tourism industry for poverty reduction is one of them, having limited guidance for stakeholders. Thus, following SDG-3 guidelines for good well-being via tourism development could contribute to SDG-1 for no poverty. This roadmap needs scientific validation. Therefore, this research aims to determine how much of an overall impact tourism has on alleviating poverty and what factors account for the wide range of estimates of that impact. Using data from 2002 to 2020 and the ARDL model with eight variables, including (a) currency supply, (b) GDP per capita, and (c) tourism earnings higher GDP area, the current emphasis is on reducing the likelihood of any negative impacts this business may have on tourism. Lower Gross Domestic Product (GDP) regions, higher profits per capita from tourism, and reduced poverty all have a role. With a 1% significance threshold, the observed data becomes more convincing. Last, the results show that the Laotian government intends for tourism to contribute to long-term environmentally responsible financial development. In addition, the study's empirical results corroborated the conclusion that policymakers should encourage the successful expansion of the tourist industry.

The effects of quantitative easing on Bitcoin prices

This study aimed to examine the impact of the US quantitative easing policy on Bitcoin Prices in 2017–2023. A Time-Varying Parameter VAR (TVP-VAR) model was constructed for discussing the price influence mechanisms of quantitative easing on Bitcoins. The study's empirical results showed that the impacts of quantitative easing policies on Bitcoin prices can vary over time, a temporary positive impact on Bitcoin prices through different channels was also observed. Furthermore, it was found to impose a long-term positive impact via the liquidity channel.

Does the Performance of Banking Sector Promote Economic Growth? A Time Series Analysis

Purpose: In terms of stimulating the economy, banks play an essential role. These banks directly or indirectly influence the economic growth (GDP) of a country. This study analyses the association between banks' performance and GDP growth. Theoretical Framework: The banking sector acts as an effective mechanism that funds various projects all over the country. The majority of such studies focus on developed nations. Although there is a great deal of literature on this issue concerning developed markets, there is a lack of literature related to emerging and developing economies (Sensarma & Bhattacharyya, 2016). This study has been undertaken to analyse the influence of banks on India's economy, which is a developing economy Design/Methodology: The data of the study includes the independent variables that indicate banking performance. The proxies used for the bank's performance are: bank nonperforming loans to total gross loans (%) (NPL), domestic credit provided by the financial sector (% of GDP) (DC), Return on Equity (ROE), bank capital to assets ratio (%) (CAP), and regulatory capital to risk-weighted assets (CAR). At the same time, the substitute for economic growth is growth in domestic product (GDP). All organised banks operating in India form the sample of the study. The period of study is from 1990 to 2029. To test the hypotheses, simple regression, multicollinearity tests, and ordinary least square (POLS) are performed. Findings: The findings indicate that a few of the variables such as domestic credit, return on equity, and capital adequacy ratio, which are linked to the bank's operational and financial efficiency, are correlated with India's GDP growth. The study's empirical results recommend that this country's (India's) policymakers should assist the banking sector by laying down new growth and developmental policies that will strengthen the banking sector, which will in turn strengthen the economy. Research, Practical & Social Implications: This study shows that Indian banks have a major impact on Indian economic growth. It also identifies the primary banking attributes that influence GDP. Such a study will help policymakers and researchers understand the significant contributors to economic growth. Originality and Value: There are many studies that have studied the determinants of GDP. But this is the first study that has tried to establish the impact/relationship of banking variables on GDP growth.

Board gender diversity, feminine culture, and innovation for environmental sustainability

AbstractThe environmental crisis is one of global society's most extreme grand challenges. One of the supply‐side factors that can help cope with it is corporate environmental innovation. Based on the upper echelon and value belief theory and with significant empirical analyses, our results strongly support that the presence of women on the board positively impacts innovation aimed at environmental sustainability. The results are based on a sample of 19,800 firm‐year observations of 2966 unique firms in 54 industry groups domiciled in 52 countries for the 2003–2019 period. The global distribution of the firms means that the sample is diverse enough to examine our main hypotheses. In addition, we show that culturally masculine societies, as captured by their grammatical gender marking, have a negative impact on such innovation. The masculine culture also moderates the impact of gender board diversity on innovation for environmental sustainability. Our results are robust to a battery of empirical tests and definitions, including instrumental variable approach and propensity score matching causality tests. We further explored firms' attitudes toward innovation for environmental sustainability by adding a qualitative case study research design to our quantitative analysis. That was based on semi‐structured interviews with board members and executives. The case studies provided additional support to the results in the quantitative analysis part. This study's empirical results have various broad theoretical and practical implications for board composition, taking into account the linguistic environment of the firm.

Natural resources and environmental sustainability: COP26 targets from resources-based perspective

In current era, the issue of environmental quality degradation is attracting scholars' and policymakers' attention. As a consequence of the COP26 target, both developed and emerging economies are struggling to attain the carbon neutrality target. Since the existing literature is rich for developed countries' environmental assessment. This research analyzes the nexus of natural resources and carbon (CO2) emissions. Unlike the prevailing studies, which cover only one or total natural resources, this research covers all the components of natural resources separately, which is a novel contribution in emerging economies. Besides, this study also considered the role of economic growth, urbanization, and renewable energy consumption on carbon emissions. The study's empirical results validate the existence of cointegration between the variables. Using non-parametric estimators, the study explored that each component of natural resources has a specific influence on CO2 emission. Where the impact of rents for coal, forest, and mineral are positive while negative for natural gas rents. On the other hand, the impact of oil rents is mixed with CO2 emissions, which are negative in lower quantiles and positive in the upper quantiles. In addition, the study found that economic growth is a significant driver of emission, whereas the increased emissions could be significantly reduced via renewable energy consumption and urbanization. This study suggests the increased production of renewables and efficient utilization of natural resources to attain the COP26 target.

Big data and supply chain resilience: role of decision-making technology

PurposeAs global supply chains continue to develop, uncertainty grows and supply chains are frequently threatened with disruption. Although big data technology is being used to improve supply chain resilience, big data technology's role in human–machine collaboration is shifting between “supporters” and “substitutes.” However, big data technology's applicability in supply chain management is unclear. Choosing appropriate big data technology based on the enterprise's internal and external environments is important.Design/methodology/approachThis study built a three-factor structural model of the factors “management support,” “big data technology adoption” and “supply chain resilience”. Big data technology adoption was divided into big data-assisted decision-making technology (ADT) and big data intelligent decision-making technology (IDT). A survey was conducted on more than 260 employees from supply chain departments in Chinese companies. The data were analyzed through structural equation modeling using Analyze of Moment Structures (AMOS) software.FindingsThe study's empirical results revealed that adopting both ADT and IDT improved supply chain resilience. The effects of both types of big data were significant in low-dynamic environments, but the effect of IDT on supply chain resilience was insignificant under high-dynamic environments. The authors also found that government support had an insignificantly effect on IDT adoption but significantly boosted ADT adoption, whereas management support factors promoted both ADT and IDT adoption.Originality/valueBy introducing two types of big data technology from the perspectives of the roles in human–machine collaborative decision-making, the research results provide a theoretical basis and management implications for enterprises to reduce the supply chain risk of enterprises.

Analyzing Effects of Institutional Quality on Banking Stability: Evidence from Asean Countries

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine the effect of institutional quality on bank stability using bank-level data from 2010 to 2020. Theoretical framework: The study considers institutions from the perspective of governance institutions. Accordingly, the concept of government institutions is related to the country's organizational foundation in terms of governance, implying institutional quality. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses GMM method and also choose the Zscore as the primary variable for bank stability. Findings: The results show that institutional quality increases the stability of banks. Moreover, with the threshold model, the results show that countries with institutional quality above the threshold will increase the stability of banks. In addition, macroeconomic and banking characteristics variables such as total assets, income diversification, quality of control, inflation, and GDP growth rate have a high significance in the model. Research, Practical & Social implications: The study shows The study's empirical results have specific policy implications for the Government in implementing policies related to institutional quality to improve bank stability. Originality/value: there are not many researches done to investigate institutional quality to improve bank stability. Moreover, from economic crisis, the matter of banking stability is among main concerns of many researches. Second, previous researches just focus on the aspect of corruption and ignore other aspects or other factors. That’s why authors conduct this research.

Does natural resources cause sustainable financial development or resources curse? Evidence from group of seven economies

The current study tends to answer the question of whether natural resources are a curse or a blessing for financial development in the group of seven (G7) economies. This study also analyzed the role of technological innovation, exports, and renewable energy in financial development from 1990 to 2020. The study's empirical results validate the long-run equilibrium relationship between the variables. Due to asymmetric data distribution, this study uses the novel method of moment quantile regression. The empirical outcomes are evident that natural resources adversely affect financial development, thus validating the natural resource curse. Also, renewable energy consumption negatively affects financial development. In contrast, technological innovation and exports substantially enhance financial development throughout the quantiles. The results are robust and reliable as validated by the panel Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square approach. Besides, the pairwise Granger causality asserted that there is bidirectional causal nexus between financial development and the priory discussed variables. This study suggests that authoritative interferes with the sustainable extraction of natural resources and regulating or channelizing them with the utilization of financial resources. Also, this study recommends policies to enhance support and encourage technological innovation to promote financial development in the G7 economies.

Do wildfires exacerbate COVID-19 infections and deaths in vulnerable communities? Evidence from California

Understanding whether and how wildfires exacerbate COVID-19 outcomes is important for assessing the efficacy and design of public sector responses in an age of more frequent and simultaneous natural disasters and extreme events. Drawing on environmental and emergency management literatures, we investigate how wildfire smoke (PM2.5) impacted COVID-19 infections and deaths during California's 2020 wildfire season and how public housing resources and hospital capacity moderated wildfires' effects on COVID-19 outcomes. We also hypothesize and empirically assess the differential impact of wildfire smoke on COVID-19 infections and deaths in counties exhibiting high and low social vulnerability. To test our hypotheses concerning wildfire severity and its disproportionate impact on COVID-19 outcomes in socially vulnerable communities, we construct a county-by-day panel dataset for the period April 1 to November 30, 2020, in California, drawing on publicly available state and federal data sources. This study's empirical results, based on panel fixed effects models, show that wildfire smoke is significantly associated with increases in COVID-19 infections and deaths. Moreover, wildfires exacerbated COVID-19 outcomes by depleting the already scarce hospital and public housing resources in local communities. Conversely, when wildfire smoke doubled, a one percent increase in the availability of hospital and public housing resources was associated with a 2 to 7 percent decline in COVID-19 infections and deaths. For California communities exhibiting high social vulnerability, the occurrence of wildfires worsened COVID-19 outcomes. Sensitivity analyses based on an alternative sample size and different measures of social vulnerability validate this study's main findings. An implication of this study for policymakers is that communities exhibiting high social vulnerability will greatly benefit from local government policies that promote social equity in housing and healthcare before, during, and after disasters.

How dissimilarity attributes at restaurants trigger negative emotions and associated behavioral intentions: the role of attribute performance

PurposeConsumers' perceptions of different aspects pertaining to servicescape and social servicescape at restaurants have received little consideration in the hospitality literature. To fill this gap, the authors develop a model that conceptualizes and empirically examines the impact of dissimilar attributes in restaurants on the development of negative emotions and the influence of negative emotions on consumers' dissatisfaction, which in turn determines consumers' behavioral intentions.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used the moderating impact of restaurant attribute performance to support the link between negative emotions and dissimilar attributes. To achieve the study's goals, the authors conducted two investigations, Study 1 and Study 2, in Bangladesh and China, respectively. For study 1, 600 data were obtained from local Bangladeshi consumers, while for study 2, 396 foreign customers in China were surveyed. The collected data were examined by using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. The authors utilized IBM Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS), version 24.0.FindingsBoth studies 1 and 2 found that dissimilar restaurant attributes had significant positive effects on the development of negative emotions, positive effects of negative emotions on consumer dissatisfaction and a positive influence of consumer dissatisfaction on consumers' behavioral intentions. Results of both studies 1 and 2 also showed that restaurant attributes performance positively moderate the relationships between dissimilar attributes and negative emotions.Practical implicationsThe study's empirical results contribute to the body of knowledge in the domains of tourism, consumer psychology and consumer behavior. The study's findings can assist restaurant managers in better understanding how different features related to the servicescape and social servicescape dimensions cause unpleasant emotions and, as a result, influence consumer behavioral intentions.Originality/valueNo preceding research has looked at the link between dissimilar features and negative emotions in the restaurant setting to the authors' knowledge. Also, no previous research has looked at the moderating consequence of restaurant attributes in the association between dissimilar attributes and negative emotions. This research aims to fill those knowledge gap.