The conflict in the growth of the Nigerian petroleum industry and the environmental quality

Rapid expansion of economic activity is a deeply entrenched preoccupation in Nigeria, as is evident in the National Development Plans. However, this rapid expansion has been sustained by the rapidity with which the Nigerian oil industry has taken off. The picking up of this industry has consequently brought unprecedented economic buoyancy to the Nigerian economy. Nonetheless, the oil activities breeding this buoyancy have conflicted with the original environmental quality objectives. In other words, the appreciable boom in the economy has equally brought along with it environmental disaster unprecedented in Nigeria. This article highlights the problems emanating from this conflict and also offers suggestions for adequate environmental protection in future planning.     

Mail accounting survey response patterns: an example of the total design method

This paper describes how questionnaire administration techniques (such as indication of institutional support for a research topic, anonymity, promise of a feedback of research results) were and can be used to enhance the patterns (quality) of response from potential respondents. It suggests that a properly designed and pretested questionnaire which incorporates an appeal for assistance, guarantees anonymity, promises a feedback of research results and advertises the support of reputable institutions, can influence response rate, response speed, and response completeness.     

The effects of job and personal resources on hotel employees’ work engagement

Our study developed and tested a research model, which predicted the impacts of job (supervisor support) and personal resources (trait competitiveness and self-efficacy) on work engagement. Respondents were full-time employed frontline employees of the five- and four-star hotels of Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. We used path analysis in LISREL 8.30 for testing the study hypotheses. The results demonstrated that trait competitiveness predicted three dimensions of work engagement better than did self-efficacy. That is, trait competitiveness enhanced frontline employees’ feelings of vigor, dedication, and absorption, while self-efficacy significantly and positively influenced only absorption. Unexpectedly, supervisor support had no significant effects on three dimensions of work engagement. The results further revealed that frontline employees who had elevated levels of competitiveness and adequate supervisor support in the workplace had higher self-efficacy beliefs. Implications of the empirical findings and limitations are discussed in our study.     

The growth,poverty and inequality nexus in South Africa: Cointegration and causality analysis

This study empirically established the long-run relationship and causality effects that exist between growth, poverty and inequality. The analysis was carried out on a panel of nine South African provinces from 1995 to 2012. To capture poverty and inequality in a broader context, two measures of poverty (income and non-income) and three measures of inequality (income, education and land) were adopted for the study. The results confirm that there is a long-run relationship between growth, poverty and inequality. Notable results from the causality tests suggest that growth does not promote equal distribution of income in society but as income distribution begins to equalise, economic growth rises. This is regarded as growth–inequality disconnect. The unidirectional causality, which runs from income poverty to income inequality, suggests that a rising level of income poverty will lead to falling income inequality in the society; likewise, income inequality increases as non-income poverty declines.     

Applying the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior to Predict Sustainable Street Food Patronage in a Developing Economy

With over 2.5 billion daily street food consumers globally, the consumption paradigm of the urban-informal-sector street food is shifting towards sustainable street food (SSF). This has led to the emerging SSF-market segment. The extended Theory of Planned Behavior (e-TPB), which incorporates the past behavior construct, is used to provide preliminary insight by unraveling behavioral predictors. The e-TPB research framework is premised on five key constructs - attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and past behavior. The framework was tested using primary data collected from 437 street food consumers drawn from three main urban cities in southeast Nigeria. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique was used to analyze data. It is revealed that past behavior/experience does not necessarily connote patronage intention for sustainable street food. This study validates the utility of e-TPB for the prognosis of emerging consumer behavior. Recommendations and implications for marketing-related street food vending strategies are discussed.     

The Relationship Between the Comprehensiveness of Corporate Annual Reports and Firm Characteristics in Spain

Not much information exists in the international accounting literature on Spanish accounting. Spain is selected as a subject of study because it is different from those countries that are subjects of the research concerned with investigating the multivariate impact of firm characteristics on disclosure in annual reports and accounts. The conceptual model underlying our empirical tests is based on economic and political incentives for providing greater detail in corporate annual reports and accounts. The paper provides evidence that the amount of detail in Spanish corporate annual reports and accounts is increasing in firm size and stock exchange listing, and decreasing in liquidity.     

Macro-econometric modelling for the Nigerian economy: A growth–poverty gap analysis

This study develops comprehensive full-sector macro-econometric models for the Nigerian economy with the aim of explaining and providing a long-term solution for the persistent growth–poverty divergence experienced by the country. The models are applied to test the hypothesis of existing structural supply-side constraints versus demand-side constraints impeding the economic growth and development of the country. A review of the historical performance of the Nigerian economy reveals significant socio–economic constraints as the predominant impediments to high and sticky levels of poverty in the economy. Thus, a model which is suitable for policy analyses of the Nigerian economy needs to capture the long-run supply-side characteristics of the economy. A price block is incorporated to specify the price adjustment between the production or supply-side sector and real aggregate demand sector. The institutional characteristics with associated policy behaviour are incorporated through a public and monetary sector, whereas the interaction with the rest of the world is represented by a foreign sector, with specific attention being given to the oil sector. The models are estimated with time-series data from 1970 to 2006 using the Engle–Granger two-step co-integration technique, capturing both the long-run and short-run dynamic properties of the economy. The full-sector models are subjected to a series of policy scenarios to evaluate various options for government to improve the productive capacity of the economy, thereby achieving sustained accelerated growth and a reduction in poverty in the Nigerian economy.     

Determinants of Nigerian managers’ environmental attitude: Africa's Ubuntu ethics versus global capitalism

We investigate the impact of economic, institutional, and ethical pressures on African managers' corporate social and environmental attitude based on a survey involving 377 Nigerian executives in the extractive industry. We find that environmental orientation and behavior are mostly induced by instrumental economic motives, while ethical considerations exert a weak impact. This finding is significant because it contradicts mainstream corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature in Africa, which suggests the dominance of the culturally based, altruistic African Ubuntu philosophy. Based on this research finding, we suggest that economic globalization has spurned a transnational capitalist cadre of managers whose values are shaped far more by global capitalist instincts than any putative cultural philosophy. The findings also undercut the fundamental logic underpinning the numerous global initiatives to promote environmental responsibility by multinational corporations in developing countries, which assumes that managers will pursue environmental sustainability voluntarily in the absence of robust regulations and strict enforcement.