Purpose The paper aims to estimate the factors affecting Vietnam's export in rice and coffee, the two most important agricultural products, especially in exploring the role of “behind-the-border” constraints. Design/methodology/approach The paper applies the stochastic frontier gravity model, which models the aggregate effect of “behind-the-border” factors for Vietnam's export in rice and coffee. Findings The paper finds that the impact of “behind-the-border” constraints is statistically significant, suggesting that Vietnam's exports in rice and coffee may be prevented from reaching their export potential by such factors. Moreover, technical efficiency and potential export suggest that Vietnam has a lot of potential to increase its exports in rice and coffee with its major trading partners. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations group continues to be the major market of Vietnamese rice and coffee. Vietnam can also take advantage of the opportunity to export these commodities to the European Union (EU) (not including the UK), and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, especially in coffee to the EU. Research limitations/implications The study cannot identify specific “behind-the-border” factors due to the limitation of data availability. Originality/value Many existing studies suggest that export in agricultural products of Vietnam, especially in rice, is significantly affected by natural factors and “explicit beyond-the-border” constraints. They ignore the impact of “behind-the-border” constraints in Vietnam and its trading partners. My study proved the significant impact of such constraints. Therefore, Vietnam needs more policies to remove the “behind-the-border” constraints to promote export in rice and coffee.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the financial autonomy that affects the financial accounting information quality of public organizations. This study also tests the impact of the financial autonomy on support from leadership. How this impact has affected elements of accounting information systems such as hardware, software, communications technology and chief accountant to support providing the quality of the financial accounting information. Design/methodology/approach The research model is in the SEM form and measurement models are reflective scales so this study applies the PLS-SEM analysis technique on the Smart PLS 3.2.7 software to test the research hypotheses. Analytical data is collected through survey questionnaires with observed variables measured using the typical 7-point Likert scales. The result obtained after cleaning the data includes 164 Vietnamese public organizations with the different levels of the financial autonomy. Findings This research has three primary findings: firstly, FA has a positive direct effect on FAIQ and SL. Secondly, SL influences FAIQ through four mediate variables including AM, HW, SW and CN. Finally, SL also acts as a mediate variable in the relationship of FA and FAIQ. Originality/value This is one of the first empirical studies to examine the role of financial autonomy in leadership support to improve the quality of the accounting information in the public sector in the context of the Vietnamese government is promoting the financial autonomy of public organizations.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to extend the literature on the spillovers across economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and cryptocurrency uncertainty indices. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses cross-country economic policy uncertainty indices and the novel data measuring the cryptocurrency price uncertainties over the period 2013–2021 to construct a sample of 946 observations and applies the time-varying parameter vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) model to do an empirical study. Findings The findings suggest that there are cross-country spillovers of economic policy uncertainty. In addition, the total uncertainty spillover between economic policies and cryptocurrency peaked in 2015 before gradually decreasing in the following periods. Concomitantly, the cryptocurrency uncertainty has acted as the “receiver.” More importantly, the authors found the predictive power of economic policy uncertainty to predict the cryptocurrency uncertainty index. This paper’s results hold robust when using alternative measurement of cryptocurrency policy uncertainty. Originality/value This study is the first research that deeply investigates the association between two uncertainty indicators, namely economic policy uncertainty and the cryptocurrency uncertainty index. We provide fresh evidence about the dynamic connectedness between country-level economic policy uncertainty and the cryptocurrency index. Our work contributes a new channel driving the variants of uncertainties in the cryptocurrency market.

Purpose This study explores the response of consumer confidence in policy uncertainty in the Japanese context. The study also considers the dynamism of stock market behavior and financial stress and its impact on consumer confidence, which has remained unaddressed in the literature. The role of these control variables has important implications for policy discussions, particularly when other countries can learn from Japanese experiences. Design/methodology/approach The nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model postulated by Shin et al. (2014) was used for studying the asymmetric response of consumer confidence to policy uncertainty. This method has improved estimates compared to traditional linear cointegration methods. Findings The findings confirm the asymmetric impact of policy uncertainty on the consumer confidence index in Japan. The impact of the rise in policy uncertainty is greater than that of a fall in asymmetry on consumer confidence in Japan. Furthermore, the Wald test confirmed asymmetric behavior. Originality/value The contribution of this study is threefold. First, this study contributes to the extant literature by analyzing the asymmetric response of consumer confidence to policy uncertainty, controlling for both the financial stress and stock price indices. Second, to test the robustness of the exercise, the study utilized different frequencies of observations. Third, this study is the first to utilize the concept of Arbatli et al. (2017) to formulate a combined index of uncertainty based on economic policy uncertainty index, along with uncertainty indices such as fiscal, monetary, trade and exchange rate policies to study the overall impact of policy uncertainty.

Purpose This study examines the causal relationship between information communication technology (ICT) and economic growth in high-income and middle-income Asian countries. Design/methodology/approach This study utilises a high-quality data from 25 Asian countries from 2000 to 2018. This study presents the robustness results by employing panel cointegration and estimation procedures to account for the endogeneity and cross-sectional dependence issues. Findings The results illustrate that high-income Asian countries have achieved positive and significant economic development from high Internet penetration. Additionally, the middle-income countries have started to benefit from ICT Internet. The findings show that the telephone line and mobile phone penetration is highly capable of promoting economic growth in middle-income Asian countries. Practical implications In high-income Asia countries, an appropriate ICT infrastructure policy will support feasible ICT penetration, which may drive the processes of economic development and innovation that contribute to economic growth. Moreover, in middle-income Asian countries, the establishment of better-quality ICT service and infrastructure is more critical. Policymakers should accommodate sufficient support to establish the ICT infrastructure and expand ICT penetration. Originality/value This study reveals that high-income Asian countries have been more proactive and effective than middle-income countries in embracing ICT to foster economic growth. Examining the case of high-income and middle-income Asian countries provides comprehensive insight for policymakers regarding the relevance of ICT in boosting economic growth through the advantages of technology expansion.

Purpose This study aims to pinpoint gaps in the literature on corporate governance and remuneration by producing a comprehensive bibliometric review for the period 1990–2020. Design/methodology/approach Bibliometric analysis is the quantitative study of the bibliographic material in a specific research field. It allows an analyst to classify that material by paper, journal, author, indexation, institution or country, among other possibilities. This study reviews a total of 298 Web of Science–indexed journal articles on corporate governance and top-management remuneration schemes. Findings The authors find five distinct research strands: (1) firm performance and remuneration of top management, (2) the remuneration and independence of boards of directors and the efficiency of boards of directors as a governance system, (3) outside-director remuneration and the efficiency of outside directors as a monitoring system, (4) director remuneration and the corporate governance of companies and (5) the role of ownership structure and top managers' compensation schemes as corporate-governance tools. The authors identify gaps in the literature and avenues for future research for each of these strands. Practical implications The authors’ findings have implications for board diversity (e.g. gender diversity), remuneration policy for top-level managers and governance issues (independent directors, separation of ownership with control). This study is the only one to summarize the key topics on which top research has been focused and can be broadly used for corporate governance management perspective. Originality/value This paper provides an overview of how the literature on corporate governance and remuneration has developed and a synopsis of the most influential and most productive authors, countries and journal sources. It creates an opportunity for other researchers to focus on this area. This study will also serve as a foundation for future meta-analyses.

Purpose This study investigates the characteristics of business and management consulting firms (firm size, international affiliation and scope of operation) affecting the adoption rate (i.e. recency of adopting big data analytics (BDA) as a new idea) and usage level of BDA. Ten critical areas of BDA application to business and management consulting were investigated, (1) Human Resource Management; (2) Risk Management; (3) Financial Advisory Services; (4) Innovation and Strategy; (5) Brand Building and Product Positioning; (6) Market Research/Diagnostic Studies; (7) Scenario-Based Planning/Business Simulation; (8) Information Technology; (9) Internal Control/Internal Audit; and (10) Taxation and Tax Management. Design/methodology/approach Survey data was obtained through a structured questionnaire from one hundred and eighteen (118) consultants in Nigeria from diverse consulting firm settings in terms of size, international affiliation and scope of operation (Big 4/non-Big 4 firms). Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, cluster analysis, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), multivariate discriminant analysis and multivariable logistic regression. Findings Whereas organizational characteristics such as firm size, international affiliation and scope of operation significantly determine the adoption rate of BDA, two attributes (international affiliation and scope of operation) significantly explain BDA usage level. Internationally affiliated consulting firms are more likely to record higher usage level of BDA than local firms. Also, the usage level of BDA by the Big 4 accounting/consulting firms is expected to be higher in comparison to non-Big 4 firms. Practical implications Contrary to common knowledge that firm size is positively associated with the adoption of an innovation, the study found no evidence to support this claim in respect of the diffusion of BDA. Overall, it appears that the scope of operation is the strongest organizational factor affecting the diffusion of BDA among consulting firms. Originality/value The study contributes to knowledge by exposing the factors promoting the uptake of BDA in a developing country. The originality of the current study stems from the consideration that it is the first, to the researchers' knowledge, to investigate the application of BDA by consulting firms in the Nigerian context. The study adds to literature on management accounting in the digital economy.

Purpose This study investigates the impact of derivatives as risk management strategy on the value of Malaysian firms. This study also examines the interaction effect between derivatives and managerial ownership on firm value. Design/methodology/approach The study examines 200 nonfinancial firms engaged in derivatives for the period 2012–2017 using the generalized method of moments (GMM) to establish the influence of derivatives and managerial ownership on firm value. The study refers to two related theories (hedging theory and managerial aversion theory) to explain its findings. Firm value is measured using Tobin's Q with return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) as robustness checks. Findings The study found evidence on the positive influence of derivatives on firm value as proposed by the hedging theory. However, the study concludes that managers less hedge when they owned more shares based on the negative interaction between derivatives and managerial ownership on firm value. Hedging decision among managers in Malaysian firms therefore does not subscribe to the managerial aversion theory. Research limitations/implications This study focuses on the derivatives (foreign currency derivatives, interest rate derivatives and commodity derivatives) and managerial ownership that is deemed relevant and important to the Malaysian firms. Other forms of ownership such as state-/foreign owned and institutional ownership are not covered in this study. Practical implications This study has important implications to managers and investors. First is on the importance of risk management using derivatives to increase firm value, second, the influence of derivatives and managerial ownership on firm value and finally, the quality reporting on derivatives exposure by firms in line with the required accounting standard. Originality/value There is limited empirical evidence on the impact of derivatives on firm value as well as the influence of managerial ownership on hedging decisions of Malaysian firms. This study analyzes the influence of derivatives on firm value during the period in which reporting on derivatives in financial reports is made mandatory by the Malaysian regulator, hence avoiding data inaccuracy unlike the previous studies on Malaysia. This study therefore fills the gap in the literature in relation to the risk management strategies using derivatives in Malaysia.

Purpose Financial health of a corporation is a great concern for every investor level and decision-makers. For many years, financial solvency prediction is a significant issue throughout academia, precisely in finance. This requirement leads this study to check whether machine learning can be implemented in financial solvency prediction. Design/methodology/approach This study analyzed 244 Dhaka stock exchange public-listed companies over the 2015–2019 period, and two subsets of data are also developed as training and testing datasets. For machine learning model building, samples are classified as secure, healthy and insolvent by the Altman Z-score. R statistical software is used to make predictive models of five classifiers and all model performances are measured with different performance metrics such as logarithmic loss (logLoss), area under the curve (AUC), precision recall AUC (prAUC), accuracy, kappa, sensitivity and specificity. Findings This study found that the artificial neural network classifier has 88% accuracy and sensitivity rate; also, AUC for this model is 96%. However, the ensemble classifier outperforms all other models by considering logLoss and other metrics. Research limitations/implications The major result of this study can be implicated to the financial institution for credit scoring, credit rating and loan classification, etc. And other companies can implement machine learning models to their enterprise resource planning software to trace their financial solvency. Practical implications Finally, a predictive application is developed through training a model with 1,200 observations and making it available for all rational and novice investors (Abdullah, 2020). Originality/value This study found that, with the best of author expertise, the author did not find any studies regarding machine learning research of financial solvency that examines a comparable number of a dataset, with all these models in Bangladesh.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the moral licensing effect of other in-group members' organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) on focal employees' organizational deviance through moral self-concept. This paper also examines the moderating role of in-group identification in the mediated relationship. Design/methodology/approach The multilevel path analysis and bootstrapping technique are employed to analyze the findings of a sample of 340 employees in 56 workgroups in Vietnam. Findings The results demonstrate that moral self-concept mediates the positive relationship between other in-group members' OCB and focal employees' organizational deviance. Furthermore, the findings indicate that in-group identification strengthens the indirect effect of other in-group members' OCB on focal employees' organizational deviance via moral self-concept. Practical implications The findings suggest that managers should be aware of the potential negative consequences of OCB and the drawbacks of in-group identification in group contexts. In addition, practitioners should proactively prevent other in-group members' OCB from resulting in employees' organizational deviance. Originality/value This is the first study to examine the moral licensing effect of OCB on organizational deviance through the moral self-concept mechanism and the moderating role of in-group identification in this mediated relationship.

Purpose The study aims to reveal the effects of transformational leadership on nonfamily employee international intrapreneurship with the mediating role of psychological empowerment. Design/methodology/approach The study sample consists of 379 employees at 132 family export and import firms in Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam. The data is analyzed by a partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings The paper reveals that transformational leadership had a positive and significant influence on nonfamily employee international intrapreneurship. The effect of transformational leadership on international intrapreneurship is strongly mediated by psychological empowerment. Practical implications Family firms would have to form the architecture and mechanisms for supporting the dedication of nonfamily international intrapreneurship actions with transformational leadership and psychological empowerment. Originality/value The paper grants the driving mechanism of the transformational leadership on nonfamily employee international intrapreneurship through the mediating role of employee psychological empowerment in the context of family businesses in an emerging market.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse and evaluate the effect of customer experience management (virtual interaction, physical interaction and service interaction) on customer loyalty in the banking industry. Design/methodology/approach The study followed an explanatory research design to sample 384 respondents. Stepwise regression analysis was used to validate the relevance of the study model. Findings The results indicated that there is a positive association between customer experience management and customer loyalty. The dimensions of customer experience management, namely virtual interaction, physical interaction and service interaction, were also found to be statistically significant in explaining customer loyalty behaviour. Practical implications The study practically influences the way banks and other financial institutions gain competitive advantage through managing the experiences of customers in a volatile business environment. At a time when banks are no longer the only providers of financial services, the study offers a road map to reduce portfolio purchasing and switching behaviour through enhanced experience management at all customer touch points. Originality/value The study presents an augmented model of customer experience management which is linked to consumer loyalty.