Scielo RSS http://www.scielo.org.pe/rss.php?pid=2077-188620230002&lang=pt vol. 28 num. 56 lang. pt http://www.scielo.org.pe/img/en/fbpelogp.gif http://www.scielo.org.pe http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2077-18862023000200218&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt Abstract Purpose: As the influence of institutional investors over managerial decision-making grows, so does the importance of understanding the effect of institutional investor ownership (IO) on firm outcomes. The authors take a comprehensive approach to studying the effect of IO on earnings management (EM). Design/methodology/approach: The authors study the relation between IO and EM using a sample of 59,503 listed U.S. firm-year observations from 1981-2019. The authors proxy EM with earnings surprises and with accrual-based and real activity measures. The authors test for nonlinear relations and analyze changes resulting from the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Findings: The findings support a positive IO-EM relation overall, but show that the relation is dynamic and heavily context-dependent with evidence of nonlinearity. The authors also find evidence that IO positively affects accrual-based EM and real activities EM negatively. Originality/value: To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of the IO-EM relation to consider evidence of nonlinearity in the U.S. context, measuring changes to the relation over time, and with the use of several measures of EM. http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2077-18862023000200237&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt Abstract Purpose: This study examines the impact of regional economic integration (REI) on stock market linkages in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) economic bloc. In this type of study, the BRICS framework is an appealing empirical case, given its uncommon characteristics. For example, BRICS member states come from remote geographic locations (Africa, Asia, Europe and South America) and have contrasting socioeconomic profiles. Design/methodology/approach: An empirical design is framed from the perspective of bilateral trade between South Africa and BRIC. The author accepts trade intensity as a proxy of regional economic integration and then examines the resulting effect on the stock market co-movement within BRIC. The study applies a two-step econometric procedure of the BEKK-MGARCH and panel data models. Findings: Overall, bilateral trade, as a proxy of economic inwctegration, is associated with an increase in stock market integration. This positive relationship is particularly observed during episodes of surplus trade, and more interestingly, was initiated three years after BRICS’ existence and continues to grow at an increasing rate. Practical implications: The study outcome should benefit international trade practitioners and global investors interested in portfolio diversification or concerned with risk spillovers. Originality/value: First, notwithstanding South Africa's significant economic presence in the African continent, to the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to empirically evaluate the BRICS economic integration on their stock market linkages from the perspective of South Africa. The value of this contribution is that further work may investigate the bidirectional spillover impact conveyed by South Africa's trade interactions within the juxtaposition of Africa and BRICS economies. Second, given that research on REI and stock market integration has historically concentrated on mature regional blocs of Europe, Asia, South and North America, the current study advances knowledge while correcting the prevailing literature imbalance. http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2077-18862023000200257&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt Abstract Purpose: The theoretical debate of corruption's impact on economic growth remains unsettled, making it an empirical question. This study aims to investigate corruption's effect on BRICS countries' economic growth. Design/methodology/approach: A panel dataset on BRICS countries spanning 1996 to 2020 was used. Bias-corrected estimators in small dynamic panels were employed to estimate a growth model as a linear-quadratic function of corruption that accounts for cross-sectional dependence, endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity due to country and time-specific characteristics. Findings: The results indicate that corruption is detrimental to economic growth in BRICS countries; the quadratic relationship implies corruption is less prevalent in some countries than others. Thus, governments of BRICS countries are encouraged to embark on anti-corruption policies to boost their economic performance. Originality/value: An important limitation of corruption studies is the difficulty in measuring real corruption experiences due to the secretive nature of corruption and the fact that corruption is known not to leave a paper trail. For the uncertainty of the index estimates, the analysis used a continuous corruption composite score measuring the standard deviation of the extent to which public power is exercised for public gain. Furthermore, estimation and inference are robust to small dynamic panels with a general form of cross-sectional dependence. http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2077-18862023000200273&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt Abstract Purpose: This research aims to study budgetary slack from a behavioural perspective, especially examining the effect of gender and code of ethics on budgetary slack ethical judgment. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopts the experimental method of 2 × 3 between-subjects mixed factorial design with 102 participants to test the hypotheses. The participants are undergraduate and postgraduate accounting students at a major university in Indonesia. Findings: The results show that gender affects budgetary slack ethical judgment, in which women judge budgetary slack as more unethical than men. Additionally, the results indicate that individuals consider budgetary slack more unethical when a code of ethics is present than when it is absent. Originality/value: This study contributes to the management accounting literature and behavioural research by understanding budgetary slack from an ethical perspective. Additionally, this study contributes to ethics literature by identifying the effect of gender and code of ethics on budgetary slack righteous judgment. http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2077-18862023000200287&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt Abstract Purpose: This study investigated the impact of corporate ownership structure on agency costs in the insurance industry. Design/methodology/approach: The study sample included 23 insurance companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) from 2010 to 2019. Panel regression was used to account for the firm- and time-specific unobservable variables and system-GMM estimation was used to address endogeneity concerns. Findings: The results show that managerial ownership positively (negatively) affects selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses (assets turnover), implying that unmonitored managers engage in activities that serve their own interests rather than those of shareholders. The largest shareholder's ownership has no impact on agency costs, implying that the ownership of the largest shareholder is irrelevant. However, as the wedge between the percentage of capital owned by the largest shareholders and managers increases, SG&A expenses (efficiency ratio) decrease (increases), indicating that the existence of large non-management shareholders reduces agency costs. After accounting for the endogeneity problem, the impact of ownership structure on agency costs measured by asset turnover remains robust. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to provide unique evidence and useful insights into the determinants of agency costs from a frontier market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with a focus on the insurance sector. Additionally, this study uses a new measure of separation between ownership and control by calculating the wedge between managers' and large shareholders' ownership. http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2077-18862023000200303&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt Abstract Purpose: This paper aims to estimate the determinants of the intensity of use of financial inclusion by households in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach: Due to the reality of a household using one or more financial products or services, this study uses the generalised Poisson model applied to GLSS6 and GLSS7 data collected in 2012/2013 and 2016/2017 respectively, to estimate the determinants of the intensity of use of financial inclusion. To deepen the analysis, a multinomial probit model is also applied. Findings: Results show that infrastructural variables such as roads, public transport and banks stimulate the intensity of financial inclusion. In addition, agricultural development characteristics such as markets and cooperatives are essential for the intensity of inclusion. Research limitations/implications: There is a need to incorporate how many services or depth of services that people use as part of the conceptualisation of financial inclusion, as this can provide more policy-relevant evidence to enhance priority setting in financial inclusion policies. Also, micro-level financial inclusion studies in agrarian economies should consider exploring agricultural development and infrastructure variables in the modelling framework. As lead to further studies, count models of financial inclusion should consider exploring cross-country analysis, the use of panel data, or other methodological approaches to provide more robust evidence. Originality/value: Previous studies have not modelled financial inclusion based on a count model as a means of measuring intensity though conceptualisations highlight the fact that people use varied financial products or services. Following from this angle, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study provides the first attempt at analysing the underlying determinants of the number of financial products or services used by households. http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2077-18862023000200319&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt Abstract Purpose: This study reviewed three customer-perceived components of integrated marketing communications (IMCs): consistency, interactivity and connectivity, as predictors of positive customer evaluation (product and retail service satisfaction). Design/methodology/approach: The customer data from 260 surveys were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The data were collected from the emerging economy in the Moscow region (Russia). Findings: The results reported that IMC consistency positively impacts product and service satisfaction. However, the effect of IMC interactivity was only significant in the case of service satisfaction. Meanwhile, IMC connectivity positively influenced only product satisfaction. Research limitations/implications: The study contributes to the marketing communications theory by defining three components of omnichannel IMC. It also adds to the customer behaviour theory by confirming the diverse nature of product and service evaluation. This study focuses on the retail industry. Practical implications: This research suggests that three components of IMC should be applied together towards enhancing the customer's positive post-purchase evaluation. Meanwhile, consistency enhances product and service satisfaction, interactive impacts satisfaction with the organization and connectivity with the retail service. Originality/value: The shift toward omnichannel marketing requires a broader perspective on communication integration. This research reports a novelty result of estimating the separate effect of each component of omnichannel IMC (consistency, interactivity and connectivity) on product and service satisfaction. http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2077-18862023000200335&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt Abstract Purpose: This study aims to investigate the occurrence of the decoy effect in stock investment decisions based on fundamental analysis. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, the decoy effect was investigated by applying two questionnaires, one of them with the presence of a decoy alternative, to a set of 224 respondents with knowledge of business fundamentals, simulating investment decisions in stocks of companies listed on the Brazilian Stock Exchange. The data analysis was performed using the Fisher's exact test, Student's t-test and ANOVA. The research also aimed to detect a potential relationship between the variables gender, age, degree and professional experience with the type of decision made. Findings: The results pointed to the occurrence of the decoy effect when analysing the general response data. However, such evidence was not confirmed when the sample was analysed by classes (gender, course, age and professional experience). There is no statistical evidence that the decoy effect influences classes. Originality/value: The recent decoy effect literature is little explored in investment decision-making. This study is unique in examining the decoy effect in investment decisions in the Brazilian context. http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2077-18862023000200352&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt Abstract Purpose: This paper aims to present a literature review of the most recent optimisation methods applied to Credit Scoring Models (CSMs). Design/methodology/approach: The research methodology employed technical procedures based on bibliographic and exploratory analyses. A traditional investigation was carried out using the Scopus, ScienceDirect and Web of Science databases. The papers selection and classification took place in three steps considering only studies in English language and published in electronic journals (from 2008 to 2022). The investigation led up to the selection of 46 publications (10 presenting literature reviews and 36 proposing CSMs). Findings: The findings showed that CSMs are usually formulated using Financial Analysis, Machine Learning, Statistical Techniques, Operational Research and Data Mining Algorithms. The main databases used by the researchers were banks and the University of California, Irvine. The analyses identified 48 methods used by CSMs, the main ones being: Logistic Regression (13%), Naive Bayes (10%) and Artificial Neural Networks (7%). The authors conclude that advances in credit score studies will require new hybrid approaches capable of integrating Big Data and Deep Learning algorithms into CSMs. These algorithms should have practical issues considered consider practical issues for improving the level of adaptation and performance demanded for the CSMs. Practical implications: The results of this study might provide considerable practical implications for the application of CSMs. As it was aimed to demonstrate the application of optimisation methods, it is highly considerable that legal and ethical issues should be better adapted to CSMs. It is also suggested improvement of studies focused on micro and small companies for sales in instalment plans and commercial credit through the improvement or new CSMs. Originality/value: The economic reality surrounding credit granting has made risk management a complex decision-making issue increasingly supported by CSMs. Therefore, this paper satisfies an important gap in the literature to present an analysis of recent advances in optimisation methods applied to CSMs. The main contribution of this paper consists of presenting the evolution of the state of the art and future trends in studies aimed at proposing better CSMs. http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2077-18862023000200372&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt Abstract Purpose: This study estimated total import demand elasticities concerning income, import prices and domestic prices. A high propensity to import constitutes a significant obstacle to economic growth in Mexico since the benefits of increased exports or any other aggregate demand expansion leak to the rest of the world. Design/methodology/approach: This paper estimated a Vector Error Correction Model of the total import demand elasticities concerning income, import prices and domestic prices. Total imports are a dependent variable, while Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and import and domestic prices are the independent variables. Findings: The principal finding is that an increase of 1 peso in the Mexican GDP leads to a rise of 0.50 pesos in Mexican imports; the elasticity of import demand for prices is low. Still, the elasticity of import demand for domestic prices is 2.14 times greater than that for import prices. These results have significant economic policy implications, such as promoting the expansion of the domestic market and the national content of exports. Research limitations/implications: It is tempting to estimate the import demand function for the entire 1993-2019 period since such data is available. But by doing so, the authors would overestimate the propensity to import, given that from 1993 to 2019, the proportion of imports as a percentage of GDP went from 11.37 in 1993 to 29.66 in 2019. Therefore, it makes more sense to estimate the import demand function from 2000 to 2019, a period with a stable proportion of imports to GDP. Originality/value: A high level of imports in developing countries means that much of their aggregate demand is filtered abroad. Therefore, the low impact of its exports on GDP is related to the Mexican economy’s high imports. The authors calculate this relationship with new data and methods. http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2077-18862023000200386&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the relationship between different types of organizational culture (hierarchical, clan or group, market or rational and adhocratic) and sustainability through three dimensions (economic, environmental and social) in ecotourism businesses in Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico. Design/methodology/approach: In this research 80 questionnaires were administered in the form of face-to-face interviews to ecotourism business owners'. Through a discriminant analysis and the theoretical support of the competing values framework (CVF), the prevailing types of culture were identified, and their influence was analysed through a regression analysis. Findings: The results show that ecotourism businesses which are driven by hierarchical culture tend to have a greater focus on economic sustainability, while those businesses with a market or rational culture show a positive and significant influence on environmental sustainability. Likewise, businesses with adhocratic culture achieve sustainability holistically; however, the data reveal that clan or group culture is not associated with social sustainability. Originality/value: This study offers empirical research that explains the relationship between organizational culture and sustainability. Additionally, it contributes to the study of environmental management issues in the ecotourism sector. http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2077-18862023000200404&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt Abstract Purpose. This study aims to seek to analyse the relationships between profitability, productivity, external debt and growth in SMEs. The authors also analyse firm size and age as explicative variables of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) growth. Design/methodology/approach. In this paper the data were collected for 3309 SMEs for the period 2010-2019. The authors estimate the model using the system generalised method of moments dynamic estimator. Findings. The results show that after a certain level of profitability, this determinant positively impacts SME growth. Productivity influences positively the firm growth. There is a positive effect of external debt on SME growth, which can be explained by the insufficiency of internally generated funds. The authors obtained a negative signal between size and firm growth, contradicting Gibrat's Law (1931). Moreover, the results suggest that SMEs grow less after a certain age, suggesting that small firms grow less after reaching the minimum scale of efficiency. Practical implications. For SME owner-managers, this study enhances the importance of profitability and labour productivity for firm growth. For policymakers, the results suggest the need for favourable conditions for SMEs in accessing external finance. Originality/value. Profitability negatively impacts on SME growth. However, the authors found that above a certain level of profitability, probably, as firms accumulate retained earnings, profitability has a positive effect on SME growth. Moreover, this study shows that labour productivity and debt positively impact on SME growth, evidencing the importance of the availability of financial resources to sustain the growth of these firms.