The Effect of IFRS Adoption Conditional Upon the Level of Pre-adoption Divergence

Prior studies on whether or not International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption improves earnings quality have found mixed results. We note that some of the countries that have adopted IFRS had national accounting standards similar to IFRS prior to adopting IFRS, while others had national accounting standards divergent from IFRS. We examine the effects of IFRS adoption by taking into account the level of divergence prior to the adoption of IFRS. We find that countries experience a greater drop in earnings management when they have a higher level of divergence from IFRS prior to IFRS adoption. More specifically, high divergence countries with higher levels of enforcement benefit the most followed by high divergence countries with lower levels of enforcement. Lower divergence countries with higher levels of enforcement do not significantly benefit from IFRS adoption. Lower divergence countries with lower levels of enforcement do not benefit from IFRS adoption at all. Our results support the contention that countries with lower quality local accounting standards prior to IFRS adoption benefit more from IFRS adoption.     

Bangladesh’s trade partners and the J-curve: an asymmetry analysis

Separating currency appreciations from depreciations and using non-linear models in recent literature have improved discovering significant link between the trade balance and the exchange rate. We add to this growing literature by considering the experience of Bangladesh with 11 trading partners. When a linear model was used, support for the J-curve effect was present only with one small partner. However, when a non-linear model was used, support increased to three countries including the largest partner, the United States, which accounts for more than 12% of Bangladesh’s trade. Furthermore, the non-linear models supported short-run asymmetry adjustment as well as short-run asymmetry effects of exchange rate changes in most cases. However, long-run asymmetric effects were limited to a few.     

The extent and magnitude of formalin adulteration in fish sold in domestic markets of Bangladesh: a literature review

Bangladesh has been suffering from rampant food adulteration for the last few decades. Dishonest businessmen use formalin illegally as preservative to prevent spoilage and increase shelf‐life of fish. Prolonged consumption of formalin adulterated fish may cause serious health hazards (i.e. cancers) which lead to increased morbidity and mortality. The aim of the review was to examine the extent and magnitude of illegal formalin treatment in fish sold in domestic markets of Bangladesh. A systematic review was conducted using conventional databases and non‐conventional approaches to identify the relevant studies. Out of nine studies, eight confirmed the presence of formalin in fish collected from the markets of four main cities. Large and imported fishes were found to be mainly affected. Formalin adulterated fish was reported in seven studies. The fish were tested using a locally developed kit, and the amount of formalin treated fish ranged between 0.5 and 50%. Two other studies used the spectrophotometric method and reported specific formalin levels. The study conducted in Dhaka found mean levels of formalin to be 402.35 mg/kg in imported fishes and 118.60 mg/kg in local fishes which were much higher than the WHO recommended levels. In another study conducted in Mymensingh, formalin levels ranged between 1.4 and 7.3 mg/kg in both marketed and freshly caught pond fishes. The use of accurate, simple, specific and sensitive techniques is therefore highly recommended. The government and other agencies should address the issue as a priority basis by formulating effective policies and programs to safeguard the health of the public.     

Linking Customer Engagement to Trust and Word-of-Mouth on Facebook Brand Communities: An Empirical Study

Given the rise of social networking sites, particularly Facebook, companies have started engaging with customers in this newly emerged digital space. This study explores the role of customer engagement in enhancing trust and word-of-mouth on brand communities over Facebook. The effect of customer involvement on customer engagement is also checked. This study also investigates the direct relationship of customer involvement with trust and word-of-mouth. A pen-and-paper questionnaire survey of 450 Facebook account holder students was used. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results reveal that a higher level of involvement with the brand community leads to a higher level of customer engagement. Customer engagement leads to customer trust and word-of-mouth activities. The results further suggest a direct positive relationship of customer involvement with trust and word-of-mouth, but the mediation of customer engagement strengthens the mentioned effect.     

Earnings quality and corporate cash holdings

Poor earnings quality exacerbates information asymmetry between internal and external stakeholders of a firm. Agency considerations then persuade investors to discount the value of corporate cash holdings out of concern about the inappropriate use of funds. In this study, we show that poor earnings quality has a negative impact on the value of corporate cash holdings and a positive impact on the level of cash reserves. We find that the negative effect of poor earnings quality either neutralizes or more than offsets the positive effect of excess cash on firm value. Our results are robust to several measures of earnings quality and model specifications.     

The influence of organisational and personal factors on the use of accounting information: An empirical study

The study empirically investigates the relationship between styles of using accounting information and selected job related traits and organisational factors. Three styles of using accounting information for operational control and subordinate evaluation are defined, measured and compared with a previous operational measure. Evidence on the relationship between the styles and functional background, goal, time and structural orientations, management style and traits, and hierarchical position is presented and discussed.     

Cultivating group-oriented travel behaviour to major events: assessing the importance of customer-perceived value,enduring event involvement and attitude towards the host destination

Abstract

Major events, such as the Olympics and Glastonbury music festival, attract tourists and result in increased consumer spending in host economies. The purpose of this study is to gain insights into the key determinants driving future intentions of travel consumers to participate in group-based travel to major events. An integrated theoretical model is empirically tested with 424 travel consumers who have had prior experience travelling in a group to a major event. The results substantiate the model showing that customer value perceptions of a past group-travel consumption experience conceptualised with multiple benefit dimensions has the largest relative effect on future intentions to engage in group-travel behaviour to major events, followed by attitude towards the host destination and enduring event involvement. The results provide managers with holistic insights into components that are used as the basis upon which group-travel consumers develop their choice behaviour which can be used to effectively cultivate more attendees to major events.     

Drivers of radical and incremental creativity—A moderated mediation framework

Researchers establish that rewards play an important role in shaping employees' creative behaviors. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms that transmit the effects of rewards for creativity on different types of creative behaviors. Drawing on the sense making perspective, this study identifies unique mediators and moderators of reward—creativity relationship. The results of this survey-based study, comprising of 220 independent employee - supervisor dyads, suggested that enjoyment in the activity mediated the relationship between intrinsic rewards and radical creative behaviors. Moreover, the interactional effects of extrinsic rewards and their perceived importance on creative behaviors were mediated through perceptions of climate for innovation. These results provide important insights and guide managers in promoting distinct types of creative behaviors.     

Women’s Labour Contribution to Productivity and Efficiency in Agriculture: Empirical Evidence From Bangladesh

This article examines the contribution of women’s labour input to productivity and efficiency in crop farming using a large survey dataset of 1,839 households from 16 villages in two agro‐ecological regions of Bangladesh. Results reveal that female labour accounts for a substantial 28% of total labour use (mainly supplied from the family) and contributes significantly to productivity as well as technical efficiency. Contrary to expectation, the cost share of female labour input is significantly higher than the male share, and has a substitution relationship with all other inputs, including male labour. The estimated mean level of technical efficiency is 0.90, implying that crop output might be increased by 10% by eliminating technical inefficiency. Both male and female education have a significant impact on improving technical efficiency. Other significant technical efficiency shifters are farming experience, family size and crop diversification. Owner operators are found to be technically inefficient relative to the tenants. Policy implications include creation of a hired labour market for female labour so that more women can be involved in the production process, and can contribute to towards improving productivity and efficiency. In addition, investment in education for both men and women, strategies to promote crop diversification and effective regulation/modification of the tenancy market will significantly improve technical efficiency in this case.