Purpose: Cost behaviour is the response of costs to changes in the volume of activity of businesses. In the literature, cost behaviour is discussed in two ways: symmetrical and asymmetrical. Firstly, this study aims to analyze the data on sales revenue and cost items related to sales of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) with the help of the ABJ model in terms of cost stickiness. Another aim of the study is to determine the decision-making styles of the managers who make investment decisions in these enterprises. Thus, cost stickiness can be interpreted in terms of the manager’s decision- making style in the companies that make up the sample. Methodology: A balanced panel data analysis method was used to test the cost stickiness levels in the study. The decision-making styles scale was used to determine the decision-making styles of the managers. Findings: The study concluded that the cost stickiness theory was valid for all variables in a one-year period, while the stickiness level of only general management expenses decreased in a two-year period. In addition, it has been determined that the managers of the enterprises adopt the rational decision-making style. Originality/Value: To measure the cost stickiness level of a business, various cost and revenue figures that occur in that business over long periods are needed. Companies do not want to share this data with third parties or institutions for various reasons. For this reason, studies on cost stickiness have been carried out on large- scale enterprises that have to offer their financial statements to the public. The originality of this study is that it tests the theory of cost stickiness for small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, it is thought that the study is important in terms of considering cost stickiness together with the decision-making style of the manager.

Purpose: This research was conducted to test whether ownership structure has an influence on earnings management using the control variables of leverage, company size, profitability, and company growth. Moreover, this research aims to find out what type of ownership has more influence on earnings management in Indonesia therefore the authors focus on all types of company ownership as independent variables. Design/methodology/approach: The purposive sampling method is used for the selection of the research samples. This research uses non-financial companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange from 2016 to 2019 as research objects. Earnings management is measured using discretionary accruals which is a Modified Jones Model. The ownership structure is calculated from the percentage of each share ownership in the company. Findings: The results of this research indicate that there is no significant effect of ownership structure on earnings management in Indonesia. Only leverage, company size, and company growth have a significant positive effect on earnings management. Practical implications: This research is useful for improving decision making for corporate governance, as well as providing information to academics about the influence of the supervisory role of ownership structure on earnings management. Originality/value: This article expands on previous research by including the type of ownership structure as an independent variable and examines its effect on earnings management in developing countries.

In an environment where competition is becoming increasingly fierce, the primary concern of entities is to find effective solutions to cope with the risks to which they are exposed. In this context, through the entire collection of mechanisms available to corporate governance, companies can limit their risk exposure and thus achieve their goals more quickly. This research aims to study the relationship between the characteristics of corporate governance and the financial performance of the top 65 listed American companies. The research was carried out over a period of 5 years (2015-2019). Regarding the characteristics of corporate governance, four variables were used: the duality of the CEO, the size of the Board of Directors, the independence of the Board, and the frequency of its meetings. In addition, to reflect financial performance, we tracked the rate of financial return (ROE) and return on assets (ROA). The data were processed using the SPSS statistical program, using multiple linear regressions as the quantitative method. The analysis results indicate the existence of a significant positive relationship between the variable of corporate governance represented by the frequency of Board meetings and the financial performance expressed by ROA and ROE. However, variables relating to the duality of the CEO, the size and the independence of the Board were statistically insignificant.

Green concrete is concrete produced using waste materials obtained from various sources to develop an eco-friendly construction and reduce carbon emissions. The present experimental study is carried out to produce concrete using waste material from different industries to partially replace traditional concrete. Many research studies have been made using different waste materials which are available and useful as a replacement. The present study deals with industrial waste such as foundry sand (FS) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) in the concrete so that the emission can be reduced and contribute to the environment. This study prepared two mixes for M35 Grade by replacing industrial wastes partially in the concrete mix. The first mix was prepared by partially replacing foundry sand with fine aggregates in proportions of 15%, 20%, 25% and 30%. The second mix was prepared by partially replacing the ground granulated blast furnace slag with cement in proportions of 30%, 40% and 50%. Test results were conducted to check the workability and compressive strength of the mixes prepared. These were then compared with the properties of conventional concrete at the end of 7 and 28 days. Test results indicate that 25% of FS and 30% of GGBS are the optimum percentages of industrial waste to use compared to conventional concrete properties at the end of 7 and 28 days. The present study also indicates the economic benefits of partially replacing the waste materials by reducing carbon emissions, and the study is beneficial to produce eco-friendly green concrete.

Purpose: This study aims to determine the effect of perceptions of the values karma phala teachings and psychological costs on the compliance of hotel tax payments that have been collected by hotel taxpayers in the Badung Regency. Methodology: This research was conducted at 226 star hotels in the Badung Regency. The sampling technique in this study used a probability sampling method and the sample size was calculated using the Slovin formula. The number of samples analyzed in this study was 52 respondents. The data analysis technique uses multiple linear regression. Findings: Based on the results of the research analysis found that the perception of the values of the teachings of karma phala and psychological costs have a positive effect on the compliance of hotel tax payments in the Badung Regency. Originality/Value: This study aims to determine by testing empirically the effect of perceptions of the values of Karma Phala teaching and psychological costs on hotel tax payment compliance that has been collected by hotel taxpayers in the Badung regency.

It has long been acknowledged that the various burgeoning problems inflicting the world are deeply rooted in human behaviour. Governance often entails policy formulation and strategies that initiate behavioural change to alleviate such problems and foster sustainability. However, this often appears as a strenuous endeavour, especially at the macro level. For this reason, implementing the behavioural spillover mechanism is deemed befitting. Few studies have directed their attention towards the relationship of individuals’ sustainable behaviour across different settings, and such a perspective could indicate the way forward required within various future policy frameworks. Hence, the following intervention study attempts to examine behavioural spillover, which entails the transfer of attitudes from one domain to another, in this case, from a work-home perspective. This chapter builds upon such notion through a case study from the Maltese islands, the smallest EU member state, by providing insights from public officers. Such sampling population was selected as these individuals work closely within governmental structures and should act as agents of change in this regard. The methodological framework employs a positivist paradigm, based on a quasi-experimental design through an identical pretest and posttest Likert-scale questionnaire distributed to 14 public officers who undertook an educational module about sustainability at the University of Malta. These tests aimed to examine whether spillover of sustainable behaviour occurs within a spatio-temporal context - across the two different domains and during the entire intervention adopted. Quantitative findings are utilized to address two core research questions, from which various trends have been identified. Results show that positive spillover occurs for those behaviours which involve the least time, cost, and effort. It transpires that respondents are not willing to adopt drastic lifestyle changes. Such findings lay the foundation for the recommendations delineated in the current study, which might be helpful to other practitioners in public policy, management, and sustainable development.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to examines the impact of financial leverage on the performance of listed manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka. Methodology: The present study employed ratio analysis to examine whether the financial leverage in listed manufacturing firms in Sri Lanka affected their performance involving the financial performance indicators of return on assets (ROA), return on operating assets (ROOA), return on net operating assets (RNOA), return on equity (ROE) and the impact on the financial level indicators as the debt to equity (DE) and financial spread. Findings: The results found both a positive and negative relationship between financial leverage and the firms’ performance using two different methods of analysis (overall business analysis and main business analysis). The overall business analysis showed a positive relationship between financial leverage and firm performance, which supports the agency cost theory of financial leverage, whereas the main business analysis showed a negative relationship between financial leverage and the firms’ performance Originality/Value: The article presents significant evidence in terms of its scrupulous approach towards checking the toughness of results. The article offers insights to the capital structure and the performance of manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka which helps to investors, managers and debtors on their investment decision.

Introduction: The Republic of Kosovo, as a new democratic state and independent in 2008, has managed to create a stable financial system over the last decade. The importance of this scientific research lies in the fact that through this study we understand the impact of public debt on economic growth, debt management by past governments and the destination of these funds in capital investments as internal, external and very important sources of financing the economy of Kosovo. Purpose: This scientific paper aims to analyze the impact of public debt on Kosovo's economic growth during the period 2007-2019. Through various analyzes related to the country's public debt, we will be able to conclude the effect of public debt on Kosovo's economic growth. To analyze the public debt of the country, the following variables are included: GDP as a dependent variable, while as independent variables are the internal debt (DD) and external debt (EXD) of the Republic of Kosovo. Methodology: This paper is mainly based on the collection of data from secondary sources which are provided by the annual public debt reports published by the Ministry of Finance, the reports of the Central Bank of Kosovo and the World Bank in a period of 13 years, while the review of the literature in terms of content includes studies of various authors regarding the impact of public debt on economic growth. The collected data will be analyzed, processed and interpreted through econometric models using the STATA software. Findings: Based on the results and findings of the study of this scientific research we can conclude that public debt has a positive impact on economic growth, implying that the low level of public debt has ensured financial stability at the national level and the use of debt to a large extent for capital investments has caused a positive substantive impact on the economic growth of the country during this period. Practical implications: Through the results of this study, we recommend that for the needs of financing the economy and capital projects, the Republic of Kosovo has the opportunity to use public debt for economic needs up to the allowable limit while maintaining financial and macroeconomic stability of the country. Originality/Value: This scientific research presents real and sustainable findings regarding the public debt of the Republic of Kosovo as an impact on economic growth for the analyzed period.

Purpose: This paper analyses the impact that performance audit has on improving procurement activities which lead to enhanced value for money. Therefore, the goal was to establish whether or not procurement-focused performance audits generally had an impact on undertaking positive actions/changes within the audited institutions in Kosovo. Methodology: OLM model is used to test the hypothesis raised that what kind of impact did performance audits have on changes undertaken within the entity that would enhance the value for money in the procurement process. The data was obtained through a questionnaire administered with 86 officials within institutions which were subject to performance audits carried out by the KNAO. Findings: We have managed to illustrate which were the changes undertaken by the audited entities after the audit and also determine that auditees’ perceptions are generally positive concerning the role of the Kosovo National Audit Office (KNAO) as a factor in improving performance and undertaking changes within entities. As well, the model results shows a positive and significant relationship between performance audit and changes undertaken by auditee institutions, confirming once again the positive role of the Kosovo NAO. Originality/Value: The main contribution of our research is to draw attention to the impact of performance audit in countries with high levels of corruption and irregularities, such as Kosovo. In addition, this research reveals audit entities key persons’ perceptions, on the factors that influence the undertaking of changes that derive from performance audits.

Because of its impact on an institution's functionality and performance, organisational culture is one of the most discussed topics in management, organisational behaviour, and sociology. The majority of the debates centre on this organisational phenomenon's ability to significantly contribute to the entity's competitive evolution by mobilising its resources, particularly human resources. Even though there is still debate about the definition of organisational culture, experts agree that most of its components contain the fundamental values of any institution. Moreover, any institution considers a robust organisational culture essential for outstanding performance. This paper aims to highlight the concepts of organisational culture at the organisational level from the standpoint of modern economics. A questionnaire was used as a research tool, and the data collected from it was analysed using quantitative statistical-mathematical analysis. The non-implementation or functioning with deficiencies in organisational culture can raise concerns about the entity's functioning and the managerial act's quality and efficiency.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the direct or indirect effect of the Balancing Fund and Capital Expenditure on the Financial Performance of Local Governments through Regional Original Income as an Intervening Variable. The object of this research is the report on the realization of the APBD of 17 districts/Cities in the Province of South Sumatra from 2016-2020. Design/methodology/approach: The data used is secondary data from the website of the Directorate General of Fiscal Balance of the Republic of Indonesia (www.djpk.depkeu.go.id) in the form of quantitative data with the type of data, namely time series, which is during the period 2016-2020. The research population used is 17 regencies/cities in South Sumatra Province and the sample used is 85 samples. Data analysis techniques in this research are descriptive analysis, classical assumption test, hypothesis testing and path analysis using SPSS for Windows version 26.0 software. Findings: The results of this study indicate that the Balancing Fund does not directly affect Regional Original Revenue, Directly Capital Expenditure affects Regional Original Income, Directly the Balancing Fund, Capital Expenditure, and Regional Original Income cannot affect Regional Government Financial Performance, Indirectly the Balancing Fund variable and Capital Expenditures affect the Financial Performance of Regional Governments through Regional Original Revenues as Intervening Variables. Practical implications: This research is expected to be an evaluation material for Local Governments in improving Government Financial Performance. Originality/value: The conclusion of this study is that indirectly Locally Generated Revenue plays an important role in increasing the effectiveness of local government financial performance. If the Regional Original Revenue gets a large contribution, the level of dependence on the central government will decrease. Government financial performance can be considered effective if the regions do not depend much on the center. Then if the revenue of Regional Original Income is high, the region is able to finance infrastructure development evenly in an effort to improve the welfare of the community.

Purpose: In an ever changing professional environment, the auditing profession could not have remained unaffected. Globalization and the increasingly higher levels of competition are among the major parameters contributing to the ongoing changes in the auditing profession. The view that the accounting profession presents a shift from “professionalism” to “commercialism” is often encountered in relevant literature. In case this assertion holds true, then serious issues related to the quality of audit work arise; therefore, the tendency of auditors towards “professionalism” or “commercialism” comes up as a major issue to be investigated, so that both the regulative authorities and all other interested parties may take the appropriate measures. Within this context, the purpose of the present study is the investigation of the tendency of Greek auditors towards “professionalism” or “commercialism”. In this respect, a structured questionnaire has been employed, addressed to active auditors in Greece and directly relevant to auditors’ decisions during the client acceptance and continuance procedures - given that such a tendency may clearly become apparent even from the very first stage of the external audit process. Methodology: A structured questionnaire was employed to collect information on the attitudes, opinions and perceptions of Greek auditors. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to analyse the data. Findings: The findings showed that despite the fact that audit firms present a tendency towards “professionalism”, the auditors tend to deviate from this, turning towards the “commercialism” of auditing services they provide. In addition to that, it became apparent that auditors working for the Big6 audit firms in Greece, as well as auditors with less professional experience/ briefer length of service verge towards “professionalism” to a greater extent in comparison to others. Originality/Value: While the subject of the paper remains a major and ongoing issue, this study examine it through a different prism emphasizing on the first stage of external audit, covering a gap in literature.

The paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on competitiveness and how organizational commitment and productivity have changed as a result of changes in processes, practices, or regulations. This paper analyses how employees fared during COVID in two countries, namely Afghanistan and India and the impact on organizational commitment and productivity. The research paper is based on secondary data and conceptual analysis of COVID-19 conditions or how this covetous environment affects their competitors, work environment, or fight for their rights. Moreover, the authors delved into how human capital management lead to organizational efficiency. Factors like (1) workplace safety, (2) targeted recruitment, (3) self-managed decision-making teams and decentralization, and (4) pay policy were all investigated. Employee engagement is widely assumed to influence organizational commitment, employee productivity, employee dedication, and, most importantly, it will generate comparative advantages for organizations. The primary goal of this research was to discover how people work efficiently and effectively with commitment and dedication during COVID-19.

Customer relationship management is not a project but is a strategy that every business aims to realize and manage the needs of current and potential customers of the company. This research aims to identify the factors that affect Customer Relationship Management, to provide a more detailed analysis of the importance of customer relationship management, how much businesses invest in meeting customer needs, whether they use the right methods to maintain customers. Through this research we have managed to identify several factors that affect the management of consumer behavior. Where intelligent customer management and care generates two main benefits for companies; reducing marketing costs and better penetration to customers. This paper contains theoretical and practical part including literature of various local and foreign authors and scientific publications. Also, the remarks and suggestions given by various local and international authors and organizations, relevant literature and reports, various research articles and other data are critically analyzed. The findings from this scientific research paper will be a good guide for the research of all researchers and a contribution to enrich the international scientific literature.

Purpose: The study sought to identify and measure the tax compliance costs incurred by SMEs in Ghana. It further sought to ascertain the compliance benefits earned by taxpayers. Methodology: Data was collected through a self-administered survey of 116 SMEs in five regions in Ghana. Findings: The study found that SMEs incur a gross compliance cost of GHC2 315 annually (excluding technological cost) or GHC4 687 where technological cost is included. The breakdown of the gross TCC by components showed the Internal Cost of GHC1 048, Incidental Cost of GHC121 and External Cost of GHC1 146. This study could not estimate the tax compliance benefits, even though most of the respondents agreed to the existence of benefits irrespective of their size. Small businesses were found to spend mostly on tax computational activities while medium and larger firms spent on tax planning activities. The results also depict the regressive nature of income tax in Ghana. Originality/Value: Very little is known about the magnitude of resource SMEs in Ghana devote to complying with tax. The paper thus provides a reference point for tax compliance cost against which future studies and improvement to the tax system could be measured. This study fills the literature gap on TCC in Ghana.

To protect against risks arising from fluctuations in spot prices and better manage risk, investors might evaluate futures markets. The role of price discovery in the futures markets and the possibility of reducing certain risks increase the importance of researching the relationship between spot and futures prices. This study aims to determine whether there is a relationship between the Bitcoin spot prices and the Bitcoin futures prices. To this end, the relationship between the two markets is analyzed using Johansen Cointegration analysis and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) using the daily data of the period 02.23.2017 – 08.31.2021. Unit root tests show that each series are not stationary at the level values and that the first differences of the series are stationary. The results of the cointegration analysis show that there is a long-term equilibrium relationship between the bitcoin spot market and the bitcoin futures market, and it is a single cointegration vector. The Granger causality test based on the vector error correction model was used to determine the causality relationship between the series. It has been determined  that there is a unidirectional causality relationship from the Bitcoin spot market to the Bitcoin futures market. Bitcoin is a new financial tool that attracts the attention of investors. Investors make transactions on Bitcoin for speculative purposes. Therefore, unlike other investment instruments, spot prices in the bitcoin market affect futures prices.

DEA is a frequently used non-parametric methodology for measuring the relative efficiency of Decision-Making Units (DMUs) that use the same inputs to produce the same outputs. Emrouznejad and Yang (2018) provided a literature survey on DEA with 10,300 peer-reviewed journal articles from 1978 to the end of 2016. Our article focuses on DEA applications in the insurance industry in convergence with the existing relevant literature as Kaffash et al (2020), who have surveyed 132 DEA articles in the insurance industry for the period from 1993 to 2018. We include particular keyword analyses necessary to identify research hotspots in different periods. This article aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis of DEA-published documents (articles in journals and book chapters) in the insurance industry from 1993 to 2021, focusing on identifying research hotspots based on keyword co-occurrence analysis. We have analyzed published documents from relevant databases, such as Scopus, Web of Science, Ebsco and ProQuest. We use descriptive analytics and text mining as the main methods in our analysis. We provide descriptive statistics for articles per year and category of the insurance industry, geographical distribution, top five journals and authors by citations, and citation analysis. An additional qualitative factor of our article is in-depth keyword cooccurrence analysis by using text mining to identify research hotspots in the insurance industry. Our analysis aims to contribute to researchers and insurance practitioners as an empirical and applicative point for initiating and developing research.

There is no agreed and precise definition of the concept of financial failure. This situation causes the studies of the concept to be associated with bankruptcies. Although not every company experiencing financial failure goes bankrupt, it can be noted that economic fluctuations that happen on a global scale cause many companies to face the risk of financial failure and even bankruptcy. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has also affected the economic policies of countries and thus affected the operations of companies. This study aims to analyze the financial failure risk of Borsa İstanbul (BIST) manufacturing companies before and after COVID-19. In the research, financial statements of BIST manufacturing industry companies published quarterly between the years 2019-2020 were used. Within the scope of the research, the quarterly financial statements of 146 BIST companies listed in the manufacturing industry for the years 2019-2020 were analyzed with the financial failure models of Altman (1968), Springate (1978), Taffler (1983) and Zmijewski (1984).

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the global financial services industry. The new digitalization model is powered by artificial intelligence technology, and AI has the potential to disrupt and refine the existing financial services industry. The increasing amount of data in banking has revealed the need for fast and reliable service. Banks are financial service organizations that have used AI effectively in recent years. This paper reveals the general profile of artificial intelligence adoption by banks. Based on the evidence from all 17 banks operating in the Afyonkarahisar province of Turkey, it is concluded that AI technologies are applied in almost every area of the banking sector to improve the overall service offered. Moreover, the use of AI is evaluated as a potential that provides ease of use and reduces costs. As for the operations in future, the participants think AI will provide high levels of benefit to banks in their financial services in the incoming years. Given no similar study, this study appears to provide an original contribution to the literature regarding the use of AI in banking services within the Turkish context.

The Covid-19 virus, which emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, spread all over the world in 2020, bringing commercial, social and economic life to a standstill. Governments have applied many support practices to reduce the impact of the virus on the economy. With public banks'  social life support loans, those who lost their income due to the pandemic were supported. In 2020, when the most intense  effects of the Covid-19 pandemic were experienced, public banks' loan and deposit volumes grew significantly. Banks profit by using the deposits they hold or collect as loans. Therefore, the efficiency of fiscal and monetary policies is increased through banks. The study aims to investigate whether the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a change in the clustering of banks by using the financial and size data of the deposit banks in the BIST Liquid Bank Index. The study tried to determine which banks included in the Borsa İstanbul (BIST) Liquid Bank Index were clustered using the values published in the 2019 and 2020 year- end annual reports. Cluster analysis was applied using the SPSS program. The study's findings determined that the pandemic process affected the clustering of banks and that public banks were in a different cluster compared to 2019.

Revenue mobilization is critical for community-managed water systems to overcome financial constraints and to achieve financial sustainability. Using data from beneficiaries of a community managed water supply system in Ghana, we employed descriptive statistics, chi-square, perception index and document review of the system’s financial reports to assess beneficiaries’ views and perception on revenue mobilization for operations and maintenance, system expansion as well as sustainability of the project. The results showed that revenue mobilization for sustainability of operations and maintenance is significantly influenced by water connection type and religion while marital status, age and income of beneficiaries determine sustainability of the project’s expansion. The findings further revealed a significant relationship between sustainability of replacement of the project’s accessories and water connection type as well as gender, marital status, age and income of beneficiaries. The average perception index of 3.2 showed that beneficiaries perceived revenue mobilization as very good for replacing the water system’s accessories. Revenue mobilization is able to support the water system’s expansion to help meet the increasing water demands. In addition, with an average perception index of 3.6, the beneficiaries’ perception was that revenue was enough to fund operations and maintenance. Furthermore, the document review of the system’s financial reports confirmed beneficiaries’ perception of sufficiency of revenue for operations and maintenance. Finally, we found weaknesses in revenue mobilization with over 40% of bills in arrears, mostly from private users. To build resilience to the financial challenge with enhanced innovations, the study recommends the institution of effective debt recovery strategies such as the provision of pre-paid metering for private users, similar to the public standpipe pay-as-you-fetch system as well as the introduction of smart tap technology for public standpipes in community-managed water supply systems.

Organic certification, especially for smallholders, often uses group certification procedures. An internal control system (ICS) visits all farmers, and then the external certification body (CB) inspects a sample to assess the ICS’ performance. Harmonised methods for measuring the ICS’ reliability are missing so far. Here, we define criteria of “ICS performance”, propose a new procedure for quantifying this performance and, based on this procedure, suggest that the sample size can be determined using classical statistical methods for survey sampling, instead of using the square root or a percentage of group size as in current practice.

Purpose: The main objective of this study is to measure the effect of managerial ability on financial reporting timeliness in Egypt. Methodology: We analyzed a sample of Egyptian firms listed on the EGX100 index, the final sample was 62 firms during the period 2014 - 2018, we measured managerial ability depending on data envelope analysis (DEA) presented by Demerjian et al. (2012). The data was analyzed through the OLS method. Findings: Under the resource-based theory, we expect that higher ability managers own the utmost human capital, they are more able to maintain good internal control systems and provide higher earnings quality. Consequently, we predict that higher ability managers provide financial statements in a timely manner. The results confirm a negative relationship between managerial ability and financial reporting lag. Originality/Value: Our results provide insights to researchers, investors, regulators, auditors, and other stakeholders in emerging economies to understand and perceivetheimplicationsofmanagerialabilityonfinancial reportingtimeliness.