International Journal of Ethics and Systems最新文献

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of corporate governance (CG) mechanisms on earnings management (EM) within the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries. In addition, the impact of firm’s political connections (PCs) on EM is investigated, as well as whether it moderates the relationship between CG and EM.

Design/methodology/approach

Fixed-effects model is used on a sample of non-financial firms across the GCC countries to test the hypotheses. Moreover, a two-stage least squares method and a propensity score matching procedure are used to mitigate potential reverse causality and sample selection bias.

Findings

This study reveals that CG mechanisms such as board size and board independence are negatively associated with EM, while CEO duality is positively association with EM. In addition, this study shows that institutional ownership and blockholders do not influence EM. Furthermore, PCs are shown to play a moderating role in the relationship between CG and EM. The results of this study are robust to endogeneity testing and to alternative measures of CG.

Research limitations/implications

Because of a lack of data, the authors do not consider additional CG attributes such as tenure, education and age of board members. Future research could explore the impact of these attributes when data becomes available.

Practical implications

This study provides valuable insights for government officials, policymakers, standard-setters, regulators and corporations by presenting new evidence on the relationship among CG, PCs and EM. Moreover, this study underscores that, in the absence of a strong institutional infrastructure and investor protection, relying solely on strong CG and Islamic values and GCC culture may have a limited impact on effective monitoring of opportunistic managerial behaviors.

Originality/value

This study contributes to existing literature with a specific focus on the unique political, legal, institutional, social and cultural setting of the GCC region. Moreover, this study provides new insights that PCs serve as a governance mechanism in mitigating EM because relatively little attention has been given to the impact of PCs in improving accounting outcomes, especially in the context of the GCC region where Islamic ethical norms often shape business practices.

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the relationship between CEO overconfidence and earnings management examined by the discretionary accruals and if this relationship is moderated by business ethics.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from a sample of 246 European firms selected from the Stoxx Europe 600 Index between 2010 and 2022 were used to test the model using panel data and multiple regressions. This paper considered the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) estimation for linear panel data models. A multiple regression model is used to analyze the moderating effect of business ethics on the association between CEO overconfidence and earnings management. For robustness analyses, this paper included the alternative measure of the dependent variable and independent variable.

Findings

Using discretionary accruals as a proxy for earnings management, the empirical results show a positive relationship between CEO overconfidence and earnings management. Furthermore, the results suggest that business ethics negatively moderates the relationship between CEO overconfidence and earnings management.

Practical implications

This paper makes a significant contribution to stakeholders such as investors, financial decision-makers and auditors. It underscores the importance of integrating ethical considerations into corporate governance practices for fostering accountability and transparency. In addition, it highlights the moderating role of business ethics in transforming the positive effect of CEO overconfidence on earnings management into a negative impact. This emphasizes the pivotal role of ethical norms in financial decision-making processes and extends implications to standard setters and policymakers in the regulatory domain.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the moderating role of business ethics on the relationship between CEO overconfidence and earnings management in the European context. It is also the first study to document that business ethics can reduce the effect of CEOs’ biased behavior and their scope for discretion, thereby reducing the amount of earnings management. This study fills a research gap by extending the existing literature, which generally focuses on the impact of CEO overconfidence and earnings management.

Purpose

This study aims to analyse the impact of love of money, personality traits and peer influence on the ethical behaviour of graduate accounting students at the University of Ghana Business School.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a quantitative research approach to sample postgraduate accounting students who completed a self-administered questionnaire on the variables of interest. Using partial least square–structural equation modelling, the hypothesized relationships were examined based on 328 appropriate responses received for the questionnaire.

Findings

The empirical findings suggest that peer influence and personality trait, extraversion positively and significantly influence unethical behaviour, whereas the personality traits, agreeableness and openness to experience have a negative and significant relationship with unethical behaviour. The study, however, does not find support for the hypothesized relationships between the love of money, personality traits (conscientiousness, neuroticism) and unethical behaviour.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the literature on unethical behaviour, highlighting how decision-making factors such as love of money, peer influence and personality traits, respectively, influence unethical behaviour explained by the self-justification concept under the social cognitive and moral reasoning theory. This could aid these potential managers in seeking higher reviews on ethical dilemmas. It could also aid the professional body and academics in Ghana particularly to intensify ethical education for students of the profession.

Purpose

This study aims to analyse the existing literature on the utilisation of financial technology (FinTech) in the Islamic social finance (ISF) sector, focusing on tools, applications and benefits. From this study, it is to provide insights for literature or for practitioners on how FinTech can be used in ISF, such as using blockchain (tools) in waqf (application) that can help to enhance transparency and trust (benefits) with donors. It is important to explore new available tools or applications in ISF markets so that such effort can benefit the industry in promoting its growth.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review (SLR) was carried out using Reporting Standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses (ROSES) which has been based on quality evaluation criteria, beginning with 41,945 entries in Scopus, 25,386 entries in the Web of Science and 1,590 entries in the Google Scholar databases and ending with 35 articles from data abstraction and analysis, all of which focus on tools, applications and benefits of FinTech in ISF sector.

Findings

This review yielded three primary themes and eleven sub-themes addressing FinTech, namely applications (four sub-themes: crowdfunding, blockchain, banking service and peer-to-peer (P2P), tools (three sub-themes: waqf, zakat and sadaqah), as well as benefits (four sub-themes: transparency, innovation, inclusiveness and efficiency).

Research limitations/implications

This study emphasises on innovative application of FinTech used in ISF industry which focuses on applications, tools and benefits of FinTech to the industry. However, the findings indicate that there is plenty of room for future investigation. The current work outlines several methodological issues and concerns as well as provides recommendations for future research. Various challenges associated with FinTech applications include inadequate regulations, complex permit application procedures, misuse of FinTech for terrorist financing, the existence of fraudulent FinTech companies and consumer disputes in the FinTech sector concerning ISF. There are few in-depth studies on the possible use of FinTech models in ISF, compared to studies focusing on upcoming challenges. This study also highlights the methodological limitations in previous research efforts, which can be used to improve future studies in this area. To offer a more comprehensive analysis, additional search keywords and engines that have not been included in this study could be used in future investigations with different methodologies.

Practical implications

For practitioners, the paper has significant managerial consequences. The analysis provides insights into real-life opportunities, limits and solutions for improving performance management by looking at FinTech applications from

Purpose

This study aims to comprehensively analyse and synthesize existing studies that investigate the relationship between ethical leadership and organizational silence. This review also aims to provide a detailed understanding of the impact of ethical leadership on various dimensions of organizational silence.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a systematic review methodology, adhering to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis guidelines, to explore the relationship between ethical leadership and organizational silence. Using the SCOPUS database, the search involved Boolean operators to narrow down relevant papers published in English between 2000 and 2023. Following a meticulous screening process, 10 papers were selected for review after removing duplicates and excluding non-English or irrelevant studies. The selected papers underwent a methodological quality assessment, ensuring focused research questions, precise subject selection methods, representative samples and reliable measurement instruments.

Findings

This study has led to two crucial findings. Firstly, the review has revealed that employees feel secure and motivated to share their opinions when leaders are ethical, which is essential from the perspective of organizational performance. Secondly, in a collectivist culture, employees generally do not express their views (prosocial silence) even though the leaders are ethical. However, in an individualistic culture, employees express their views and opinions on organizational matters even though leaders are ethical.

Research limitations/implications

This research has three research implications. Firstly, the papers on the relationship between ethical leadership and organizational silence followed quantitative approach. Besides, there is a dearth of qualitative studies. Therefore, qualitative studies are urgently needed to understand the true nature of this relationship. Secondly, the relationship between ethical leadership and organizational silence in existing literature is inconsistent. Several studies have reported a non-significant relationship between these two constructs, which requires further investigation. Thirdly, most existing literature on the relationship between ethical leadership and organizational silence is concentrated in the manufacturing sector. Therefore, it is necessary to test this model, even in the services or other sectors.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to have reviewed the impact of ethical leadership on organizational silence. This review provides insights into how ethical leadership can mitigate silent behaviour. In addition, this review suggests future research directions pertaining to the relationship between ethical leadership and organizational

Purpose

This paper critiques the scope of neurotechnologies in significantly expanding the epistemological field of tourism and warns of their potential to undermine the cognitive capacity of tourists to act responsibly and responsively.

Design/methodology/approach

This study explores the intersections of neurotechnologies and tourism through an analysis that entails a two-step process: firstly, identifying key themes and debates within neurotourism literature; secondly, critically evaluating these discussions through the lenses of social tourism theory and neuroethics.

Findings

Firstly, the work questions the potential of neurotechnologies to significantly expand epistemological boundaries concerning a perennial question in tourism studies: namely, the goal pursued by tourists. Secondly, the paper introduces the framework of an ethics of neurotourism, which can aid in developing the ethical research agenda on neurotechnologies applied to tourism. This framework is used to argue that one of the key risks associated with the use of neurotechnologies in tourism is their capacity to encourage non-responsive and non-responsible tourist behaviour.

Originality/value

Both due to the traditional lack of interest in philosophy in tourism and the pro-business orientation of the tourism academy, critical studies on the relationship between neurotechnologies and tourism are limited. The primary contribution of this work is to underscore that the implementation of neurotechnologies in tourism not only has the potential to foster non-responsible behaviour by undermining tourists’ cognitive capacities to act responsibly, but also can diminish their responsiveness. In a neural context where tourists may already exhibit a reduced inclination towards moral engagement, this reduction in responsiveness can be particularly significant.

Purpose

This study aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis of poverty salaries and minimum wage in light of virtue ethics and a new natural law perspective on work.

Design/methodology/approach

Existing approaches to poverty wages are critically examined, including the nonworseness claim and legal minimalism. This paper introduces a more nuanced framework, taking into account the concepts of merit and participation in light of virtue ethics.

Findings

We argue that the fairness of minimum wage policies can be assessed as a matter of contributive-distributive justice by considering individual contributions to an organization's outcomes within an approach that provides a robust foundation for reconciling the dignity of work with the operational realities of organizations.

Research limitations/implications

Empirical research is needed to validate the practical application of the proposed conceptual framework for addressing poverty wages.

Practical implications

The paper provides better decisional arguments for employers concerned with poverty salaries in their organizations considering the moral dimensions of wage policies and employee well-being, offering guidance for potential adjustments in compensation practices. It also contributes to the discourse on social and economic justice by emphasizing the moral obligations of organizations in fostering a just and dignified work environment without the employee's participation.

Originality/value

This paper presents a novel approach that blends virtue ethics and new natural law principles, emphasizing the moral responsibilities of employers and organizations in addressing the conditions of the working poor. It also highlights the potential for a “lesser evil” situation, morally acceptable when it serves as a transitional phase aimed at improving working conditions and employee well-being.

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to test the hypotheses proposed by Konadu et al. (2023) for the first time and provide empirical insight on the subject. Corruption concerns affect all economies, but those attempting to avoid foreign grants are especially vulnerable. Stakeholders in these economies have pushed for more honest public sector (PS) workers and better oversight of public funds in an effort to build a more trustworthy and efficient government to improve PS performance. Just as the mechanisms through which employee integrity (EI) influences work performance (WP) have not been proven empirically, neither has the effect of EI on WP in African economies. Also, how purposeful leadership (PL) interacts with EI to boost WP is yet to be empirically examined in the integrity literature.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper surveyed and analysed the responses of 875 workers across the three most corrupt large PS organisations in Ghana using Smart PLS 4. Perceived organisational support and contract fulfilment functioned as control factors influencing job satisfaction (JS, a mediator). Psychological need satisfaction and perceived procedural justice serve as control factors for organisational identification (OI, an additional mediator). Education, tenure, job position, sex and age were used as control variables in WP. Product indicator and variance accounted for (VAF) methods were used to estimate the impacts of moderation and mediation, respectively. A 5% level of significance was determined.

Findings

As hypothesised, this study found that EI and WP had a significantly positive connection (ß = 0.119, p = 0.026), and both JS (VAF = 25.16%) and OI (VAF = 39.59%) partially mediated this connection. Moreover, PL positively moderated the EI–JS (ß = 0.155, p = 0.000) and EI–OI (ß = 0.095, p = 0.000) connections.

Research limitations/implications

This paper affords empirical insight on the EI–WP relationship, how this relationship is mediated and how the EI–JS and EI–OI relationships are amplified. In this context, it sheds light on new ways in which EI and WP in the PS are improved. In addition, this paper provides a roadmap for forthcoming academics to test the hypotheses in diverse PS contexts globally to triangulate the results.

Practical implications

Leadership in PS organisations must maintain a “values-grounded approach” to all parts of human resource (HR) practices, including hiring, performance reviews, leadership enhancement programmes, training and promotions, if they are to attract, develop and retain employees who stand for the sector’s ethics and beliefs.

Social implications

This research gives African nations proof that enhancing EI in the PS is important,