Strength of auditing and reporting standards, corruption and money laundering: a cross-country investigation

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 1243-1259
Author(s):  
Ines Amara ◽  
Hichem Khlif ◽  
Anis El Ammari

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the strength of auditing and reporting standards (SARS) and money laundering, and test whether the SARS moderates the association between corruption and money laundering. Design/methodology/approach The sample consists of 348 country-year observations over the period 2015–2017. Data on money laundering are collected from Basel Anti-Money Laundering Reports for 2015–2017, while data on SARS and corruption are collected from the Global Competiveness Reports for the same years. Findings The findings of this study suggest that the SARS is negatively associated with money laundering, while corruption has an insignificant effect on the same variable. The effect of corruption on money laundering becomes positive and significant after removing the SARS. This result implies that the SARS and corruption represent two concurrent forces influencing money laundering phenomenon with a prevailing negative effect for the SARS. When testing for the moderating effect of SARS on the positive association between corruption and money laundering, findings show that the positive association remains stable under low SARS environments, while it is mitigated under high SARS. This moderating effect is further confirmed when using an interaction variable between the SARS dummy variable and corruption as this interaction variable has a negative effect on money laundering. Originality/value The findings emphasize the role played by the SARS in reducing money laundering and mitigating the positive association between corruption and money laundering. These results may have policy implications for governments aiming to combat this phenomenon.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toyo Amegnonna Marcel Dossou ◽  
Emmanuelle Kambaye Ndomandji

Abstract Unlike previous studies that focused mainly on the relationship between financial development and CO2 emissions, the current study examined the moderating effect of institutional quality on the influence of financial development on environmental pollution in G20 countries over the period 2003-2015. The panel corrected standard errors (PCSE) is employed as an econometric technique. The findings are established as follows: First, the findings show that institutional quality appears to have a mixed (positive and negative) effect on environmental pollution. Second, the findings show that financial development has mixed (positive and negative) effect on environmental pollution. Third, the findings also show that the interaction between institutional quality and financial development has a negative and statistically significant on environmental pollution, meaning that institutional quality complements financial sector to reduce environmental pollution. Policy implications are discussed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 545-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ines Amara ◽  
Hichem Khlif

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relationship between the financial crime and tax evasion and tests whether corruption moderates such a relationship. Design/methodology/approach Tax evasion measure is based on Schneider et al. (2010). Financial crime is collected from Basel anti-money laundering (AML) report. Findings Using a sample of 120 countries, the authors find that the level of financial crime is positively associated with tax evasion. When testing for the moderating effect of corruption, they document that the positive relationship between financial crime and tax evasion is more pronounced for high corrupt environments. Originality/value The findings have policy implications for governments aiming to combat tax evasion and financial crimes.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Achraf Guidara ◽  
Anis El Ammari ◽  
Hichem Khlif

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the association between the strength of auditing and reporting standards (SARS, hereafter) and sustainability and investigates whether ethical behavior of firms moderates relationship between SARS and sustainability.Design/methodology/approachThe sample consists of 500 country-year observations over the period of 2014–2017. Sustainability is collected from the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index Reports for 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, while SARS and ethical behaviors are collected from the Global Competitiveness Reports for the same years.FindingsThe findings of this study suggest that the SARS is associated with sustainability. Similarly, ethical behavior of firms has a positive and significant effect on sustainability. When testing for the moderating effect of ethical behavior of firms on the association between SARS and sustainability, the results show that the positive association SARS becomes positive and more significant for countries where firms operate with high ethical behaviors, while the association becomes insignificant for settings where firms operate with low ethical behaviors.Originality/valueThe findings emphasize the role played by SARS and business ethics in improving sustainability. These results may have policy implications for governments aiming to improve sustainability by strengthening auditing and reporting standards and enforcing laws obliging firms to act ethically.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (12) ◽  
pp. 2655-2680
Author(s):  
Shaojie Han ◽  
Yibo Lyu ◽  
Ruonan Ji ◽  
Yuqing Zhu ◽  
Jingqin Su ◽  
...  

PurposeThis study aims at developing a better understanding of the relationship between network embeddedness and incremental innovation capability and further examines the moderating effect of open innovation.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopts hierarchical regressions to validate the theoretical model and collect the patent data of the top 54 firm patentees in the smartphone industry as empirical sample. Using patent citation network data, this paper estimates the relationship between open innovation, network embeddedness and incremental innovation capability.FindingsThis paper empirically shows that structural embeddedness exerts a negative effect on incremental innovation capability, while relational embeddedness is positively related to incremental innovation capability. And open innovation strengthens the relationship between network embeddedness and incremental innovation capability.Originality/valueThis paper shifts the focus of the determinants of incremental innovation capability from internal factors to the external network features by exploring the linkage between network embeddedness and incremental innovation capability. A counterintuitive conclusion is that structural embeddedness shows a negative effect on firm's incremental innovation capability. Furthermore, in contrast to most previous studies, which only focus on the direct effect of open innovation on the firm's incremental innovation capability, our study examines the moderating effect of open innovation on the relationships between network embeddedness and incremental innovation capability. At last, the results provide practical guidance for firms to occupy the beneficial network positions and adopt appropriate open innovation strategies to improve their incremental innovation capability.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuria Viejo-Fernández ◽  
María José Sanzo-Pérez ◽  
Rodolfo Vázquez-Casielles

Purpose Customer journey is more omnichannel than ever. Currently, one of the most influential omnichannel behaviors is research shopping in its two predominant forms: webrooming and showrooming. The purpose of this study is to determine the possible moderating effect of each of these behaviors from a cognitive-affective perspective. Design/methodology/approach The proposed theoretical framework was applied to a sample of 636 mobile phone users. Findings The results indicated that research shopping moderated the intensity of the relationship between emotions and perceived value and between emotions and satisfaction. The analysis of the moderating effect of each concrete type of research shopping behavior indicated that negative emotions had a more intense negative effect on perceived value and satisfaction in the case of webrooming than in the case of showrooming. Originality/value This study focused on determining the possible moderating effect of research shopping vs one-stop shopping and webrooming vs showrooming on the intensity of the relationship between emotions, perceived value and satisfaction, considering determining factors of customer engagement to retailers (Han and Jeong, 2013). To achieve this objective, the authors performed a quantitative research in the Spanish market, choosing mobile phones as a reference product. The results will contribute to the current state of omnichannel retailing research by the analysis – through a cognitive-affective approach – of the consequences that research shopping and each of its two basic types (webrooming and showrooming) have on retailers.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Soon Kim ◽  
SooCheong (Shawn) Jang

Purpose This paper aims to explore the effect of hiring outside chief executive officers (CEOs) on restaurant performance. As outside CEOs have a mandate to bring changes but lack internal knowledge, this study expected that outside CEOs impose a significant influence on restaurant performance. It was further expected that the relationship is substantially moderated by franchising and recession. Design/methodology/approach The CEO data was manually collected from firms’ annual filings and the EXECOMP database. The COMPUSTAT database was used for company financial data. A two-way panel regression was used to examine the proposed relationships. Findings The results revealed that outside CEOs have a positive effect on growth but a negative effect on restaurant profitability. It was further turned out that franchising significantly moderates the outside CEO-performance relationship. However, the moderating effect of recession turned out to be insignificant. Practical implications The results suggested that outside CEOs play a critical role in determining restaurant performance. The results further imply that franchising helps to maximize the positive effect of outside CEOs while mitigating the adverse effects of outside CEOs. Originality/value This study is one of the first to examine the effect of outside CEOs in the hospitality context. Moreover, this study extended the literature by revealing the relationship in the restaurant industry and highlighting the importance of long-term organizational context.


Author(s):  
Monther Eldaia ◽  
Mustafa Hanefah ◽  
Ainulashikin Marzuki

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of Board of Directors Effectiveness (BODE) on the performance of Malaysian Takaful companies licensed by the Central Bank of Malaysia. In addition, the study investigates the moderating effect of Shariah Committee Quality (SCQ) on the relationship between BODE and companies’ performance. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a sample of 11 Malaysian Takaful companies during the period of 2010-2017. While BDE and SCQ are measured using indices, performance is proxied using ROA and ROE. A panel fixed effect regression analysis is used to test the impact of the BDE on the financial performance of Malaysian Takaful companies and the moderator role of SCQ. Findings The main finding of this study shows a positive association between BDE and performance. More specifically, boards with a high presence of independent, Muslim and female directors positively contribute to the performance of Malaysian Takaful companies. Another interesting finding is related to the positive moderating effect of SCQ on the relationship between BDE and performance. This result indicates that a high level of SCQ combined with a high level of board effectiveness improve performance. Practical implications The finding is of great importance to stakeholders and policymakers to improve their board effectiveness and the quality of the Shariah committee to reduce agency costs and to improve the performance of Malaysian Takaful companies. Originality/value This study adds to the prior literature by investigating for the first time the relationship between BDE and performance and the interaction effect of SCQ on the performance of Malaysian Takaful companies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hichem Khlif ◽  
Achraf Guidara

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the quality of management schools and tax evasion and tests whether the strength of auditing and reporting standards moderates such a relationship. Design/methodology/approach Tax evasion is measured using the macro-indirect approach based on Schneider, Buehn and Monterngro (2010). The quality of management schools is collected from The Global Competitiveness Report for 2014-2015. Findings On the basis of sample of 137 countries, the authors document that the level of tax evasion is negatively associated with the quality of management schools and the strength of auditing and reporting standards. When the authors distinguish between low- and high-strength of auditing and reporting standards countries, the authors find that the negative and significant association remains stable only for high-strength of auditing and reporting standards countries. Practical implications These results imply that the quality of management schools through its output (managers, fiscal controllers, auditors and businessmen) may increase the tendency of individuals in a given country to comply with tax rules and that legal enforcement may affect the ethical behaviours of these actors with regard to tax evasion. Originality/value The empirical findings have policy implications for governments with high levels of tax evasion since they highlight the importance of the quality of higher educational system in shaping tax compliance behaviour.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Rudyanto ◽  
Kashan Pirzada

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effect of sustainability reporting on the relationship between tax avoidance and firm value. This study also examines the moderating effect of sustainability reporting in both environmentally sensitive firms and non-environmentally sensitive firms. Design/methodology/approach This research uses moderated panel regression with 596 observations and 734 observations for cash effective tax rate (ETR) and generally accepted accounting principles effective tax rate (GAAP ETR) of firms listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange between 2014 and 2016. Tax avoidance is measured by both cash ETR and GAAP ETR. Findings This paper shows that sustainability reporting moderates the relationship between tax avoidance (GAAP ETR) and firm value. The results show that GAAP ETR has a negative association with firm value in non-environmentally sensitive firms and a positive association with firm value in environmentally sensitive firms. Consequently, the sustainability report alters only the effect of GAAP ETR on firm value in non-environmentally sensitive firms. The results imply that, unlike environmentally sensitive firms, non-environmentally sensitive firms need sustainability reporting to reduce the reputational costs of tax avoidance. Originality/value How shareholders view tax avoidance remains unclear; research on this topic often fails to produce a uniform result. The present research fills this gap by using the existence of sustainability reporting as proof of companies’ ethical motivations to moderate the association of tax avoidance and firm value, which has not been discussed in previous research.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xun Zhang ◽  
Biao Xu ◽  
Jun Wu

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between renqing and purchase intentions and the mechanism of its impact in the Chinese business-to-business (B2B) context. Design/methodology/approach Renqing in China has played an important role in business relationships and has been receiving increased attention in both practice and theory. However, little is known about whether it can influence purchase intentions in a rational B2B condition. This research aims to examine the relationship between renqing and purchase intentions and the mechanism of its impact in the Chinese B2B context. Based on a survey of 1,010 industry buyers from 468 Chinese downstream buyer companies, the empirical findings indicate a positive relationship between renqing and purchase intentions and the mediating role of long-term orientation (LTO) for increasing purchase intentions. In addition, this study also finds that product involvement (PI) has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between renqing and purchase intentions, which means that renqing has a big positive effect on purchase intentions in low PI conditions. The results highlight several implications for B2B companies that sell products to Chinese enterprises. Findings The empirical findings indicate a positive relationship between renqing and purchase intentions and the mediating role of LTO for increasing purchase intentions. In addition, this study also finds that PI has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between renqing and purchase intentions, which means that renqing has a big positive effect on purchase intentions in low PI conditions. Originality/value First of all, by answering the research question, this study shows that renqing has a positive effect on purchase intentions in Chinese B2B context. Second, this study elucidates the influence mechanism of renqing on purchase intention and identifies the mediating effect of LTO and the moderating effect of PI.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document