Purpose - The purpose of this paper is twofold: detecting, describing and providing a detailed understanding on the essence of buyer responses on the channel capability in deciding new product purchase; and describing the effectiveness of new product innovation related to the channel capability. The new product innovation intended here is an outcome of the brand strategy created by the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) manufacturer. Design/methodology/approach - This research applies qualitative method and uses grounded theory approach and pragmatism interpretation, which are focused on FMCG. The approach chosen in research is grounded theory and pragmatism, parallel to the previous phenomenology and constructivism approach; therefore, the main data for this study use transcript records of the results of in-depth interviews in the field of study. Findings The research showed the following results: the channel capability aspects (warehouse space, shelf space and customer coverage) are the essence of buyers’ responses; construction of business buyer behavior and economic mechanism; the effectiveness of new product innovation; and channel capabilities of selling products. Practical implications The results of this research have some implications: developing the concept of business buyer behavior in a new-task purchase situation; expanding the micro-economic system of trading sector; and expanding the concept of marketing mix strategy. Originality/value Some of the theoretical implications are the originality of this research paper; therefore, the constructs will be described theoretically in order to provide practical understanding in some contexts of business importance.

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Purpose Growth enterprise market (GEM) in Hong Kong is acknowledged as one of the world’s most successful examples of small and medium enterprise (SME) stock market. The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolving efficiency and dual long memory in the GEM. This paper also explores the joint impacts of thin trading, structural breaks and inflation on the dual long memory. Design/methodology/approach State-space GARCH-M model, Kalman filter estimation, factor-adjustment techniques and fractionally integrated models: ARFIMA–FIGARCH, ARFIMA–FIAPARCH and ARFIMA–HYGARCH are adopted for the empirical analysis. Findings The results indicate that the GEM is still weak-form inefficient but shows a tendency towards efficiency over time except during the global financial crisis. There also exists a stationary long-memory property in the market return and volatility; however, these long-memory properties weaken in magnitude and/or statistical significance when the joint impacts of the three aforementioned factors were taken into account. Research limitations/implications A forecasts of the hedging model that capture dual long memory could provide investors further insights into risk management of investments in the GEM. Practical implications The findings of this study are relevant to market authorities in improving the GEM market efficiency and investors in modelling hedging strategies for the GEM. Originality/value This study is the first to investigate the evolving efficiency and dual long memory in an SME stock market, and the joint impacts of thin trading, structural breaks and inflation on the dual long memory.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between designated corporate governance attributes and the degree of earnings management in selected quoted companies in Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach In total, 70 listed companies in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) were selected based on the highest market capitalisation for the period covering from 2015 to 2017 and representing beverage, food and tobacco, diversified, hotel and travel, manufacturing, oil palms and health care sectors, which accounted for 59.9 per cent of the total market capitalisation of CSE. Findings This study found a positive relationship between CEO-Chair duality and earnings management. Practical implications The insights may also provide investors, economic analysts and regulators with early caution indicators of potential problems in a corporation regarding corporate governance failures and aid stakeholders in assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of the board and corporate governance structure and earnings management methods. Originality/value This study extends the extant research on board characteristics and real earnings management by adopting prominent research design and modernised data. This study offers evidence on how selected audit and board committee’s characteristics influence real earnings management practices.

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the asymmetric adjustment of cash holdings in Pakistani firms for above and below target firms. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs generalized method of moments (GMM) to investigate the adjustment of cash holdings. Findings – The study found that the firms which hold cash above the optimal level of cash holdings have higher speed of adjustment than the firms which hold cash below the optimal level. Financially constrained (FC) firms also adjust their cash holdings faster than financially unconstrained (FUC) firms but high speed of downward adjustment does not remain persistent after financial constraints are controlled. Findings of this study reveal this asymmetric adjustment in above and below target firms and extend these results in FC and FUC Pakistani listed firms, respectively. Research limitations/implications – The conclusion of this study has been derived under certain limitations. There is a vast space to extend this study in different dimensions. Firms operating in capital-intensive industries may provide different results for financial constraints because their policy designing would be quite different from other firms. Originality/value – This study contributes to cash holdings research in Pakistan by exploring the adjustment behavior of cash holdings across Pakistani non-financial firms using econometric modeling. Downward adjustment rate is supposed to be higher than upward adjustment rate and this rate is tested using dynamic panel data model. Similarly, it is inferred that this relationship holds for above target firms even after including the financial constraints in the presented model.

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how and why disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) information was influenced by independent directors in Japan and the USA. Design/methodology/approach – The author used a pooled cross-sectional data set of 498 Fortune Japanese and American firms between 2006 and 2011 and fixed effects estimation method. The author analysed the results by employing a comparative approach between the two national contexts. Findings – This study found that independent directors in Japanese firms had a significant positive effect on CSR disclosure whilst no evidence was found in the US firms, although the proportion of independent directors on American boards traditionally and largely outnumbers that of the Japanese counterparts. Originality/value – The study results offer an insight that independent directors could be evaluated in terms of effectiveness and efficiency in CSR disclosure. The findings support the stakeholder theory in Japanese globalised companies while challenging the theory in the US context, thereby calling for further research into the stakeholder engagement models, particularly in the USA.

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