Purpose This study enhances the financial modelling of companies undergoing an Initial Public Offering (IPO) by focusing on internal capability determinants and IPO proceeds. Design/methodology/approach A hybrid logistic regression and shallow-depth decision tree approach are employed to predict the initial three-year post-IPO performance of companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) using data from 2002 to 2021. Findings The results demonstrate that these models not only perform competitively against complex machine learning algorithms but also surpass them in terms of interpretability, an essential feature in financial modelling. The proposed approach effectively captures the effects of each determinant, offering valuable insights into strategic resource allocation and investment decision-making during transition years. Originality/value This study introduces a novel application that integrates logistic regression with decision trees to predict multiclass financial performance, filling the gap between complex machine learning techniques and interpretable financial models. It offers practical tools for companies and investors to make informed decisions in challenging post-IPO environments.

Purpose This study aims to examine the factors affecting accounting students’ adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach This study employs an empirical analysis based on hand-collected data from 275 accounting students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The study model was performed using the partial least squares structural equation modelling methodology, facilitated by SmartPLS 4.0. Findings The study results show that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use (PEOU), AI literacy, social influence (SI), facilitating conditions and technology readiness are positively associated with AI adoption by accounting students. The findings suggest the important role of SI in shaping the relationship between PEOU and AI adoption. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to universities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with a small sample size, which may reduce the generalisability of findings to other cities in Vietnam or other countries due to different regulations. Future research could examine comparative and cross-country analyses within similar institutional settings. Practical implications The study findings suggest that universities should consider offering more AI-related subjects to improve students’ AI proficiency and capacity. Originality/value This study examines the determinants of AI adoption by accounting students in Vietnam, addressing a previously unexplored area in the literature.

Purpose This study investigates the competition–risk nexus for Taiwan’s banking industry from the stability–inefficiency perspective over the period 2002–2021. Design/methodology/approach This study investigates the effect of competition on bank risk from the perspective of stability inefficiency. Following Koetter et al. (2012), we measured bank competition levels by adjusting the Efficiency Lerner index. Findings This finding supports the competition–stability hypothesis for the banking sector, which states that intensified competition reduces banks’ insolvency and credit risk, making the banking sector sounder. However, banks enjoy a “quiet life” environment and face less competition but still obtain high profits despite inefficiency. Originality/value This study considers the moderating effects of multiple factors and finds that bank size, the revenue growth rate and new business income moderate the relationship between risk and competition. In addition, compared with the Z-score, this study investigates the competition–risk relationship through stability inefficiency, which was evaluated using the stochastic frontier approach, offering more robust results than previous studies.

Purpose This study estimates the impact of growth transmitted from a near economic center (NEC) to neighboring countries in boosting the growth of Asian countries. Design/methodology/approach This study constructs the NEC of a country and combines it with the Penn World Tables database. The study estimates the impact of NEC on the economic growth of Asian countries over the period 1950–2019. The study also identifies the factors that boost the delivery of neighboring effects. Findings Estimation results show that a country’s output growth increases by about 0.14% when NEC’s output growth increases by 1%. Practical implications This study suggests that Asian growth benefited from a developed country that transmits economic prosperity to neighboring countries. Social implications This study suggests that a country should have a good economic relationship with neighboring countries to boost economic growth. Originality/value This study contributes to the existing literature as follows: First, this is the first study that investigated spatial externality in growth between neighboring countries in Asia. Secondly, this study empirically tests the flying geese model in Asian growth. Thirdly, the study investigates the factors that facilitate growth spillover between countries.

Purpose This study demonstrates the necessary and significant role of national formal institutional frameworks in shaping the quality of e-governance in Asian countries. Moreover, it presents a robust model of e-governance as a necessary and significant driver of sustainable human development. Design/methodology/approach This study applied the cross-lagged panel method in path modelling and conducted competing model and necessary condition analyses to test the lagged, necessary and positive effects of formal institutions on the level of e-governance and sustainable human development in 45 Asian countries from 2012 to 2022. Findings Formal governance institutions have necessary direct and indirect (through e-governance development) causal effects on a country’s sustainable human development. Research limitations/implications Future studies should explore how informal institutions such as culture, industry and government norms and practices shape the extent of e-governance development and sustainable socio-economic development in Asia and beyond over time. Practical implications A renewed focus on the institutional fundamentals of governance and development should be the legislative priority of policymakers and leaders of Asian countries. Social implications Proactive digital citizen engagement in institutional building in respective countries is critical to developing sound, human-development-centred institutional governance in Asia. Originality/value The study presents robust necessary condition models that offer more nuanced explanations of the institutional imperatives of enabling Asian countries to strengthen their e-governance towards sustainable human development.

Purpose This study assesses the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) certification on capital structure decisions considering the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The study utilizes the annual Asset-4 and Datastream data of Thomson Reuters Eikon for non-financial firms in member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Firm-fixed effects are used to avoid unobserved heterogeneity. Findings Firms with higher corporate sustainability have a higher leverage ratio. The positive impact of ESG scores on book leverage became more significant during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings imply that ESG activities might serve as a signalling tool, especially considering the pandemic: ESG activities mitigate financial constraints when they are most pronounced and impactful. Practical implications Firms should invest in ESG activities to alleviate financial constraints. Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to explore how ESG and macro-specific factors jointly affect debt financing. Policymakers should incentivize ESG investment to reduce agency conflicts. Regulators in OIC countries should support firms that are encountering obstacles in obtaining ESG certification. Originality/value To date, the role of ESG investing in capital structure policy by considering the recent pandemic has not been assessed in OIC countries.