For decades, entrepreneurship has become a major concern to both scholars and policymakers because of its significant role in economic and social transformation. This paper modeled the direct effects of entrepreneurial skill, environmental factors and entrepreneurial orientation on entrepreneurial intention as well as the indirect (moderating) effect of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship of entrepreneurial skill and environmental factors with entrepreneurial intention. Quantitative research design was employed using students' sample. It was found that entrepreneurial skill, environmental factors and entrepreneurial orientation have a positive influence on entrepreneurial intention. It was also discovered that entrepreneurial orientation moderates the relationship between entrepreneurial skill and entrepreneurial intention. However, the moderation effect of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship between environmental factors and entrepreneurial intention was not established in this study, thus, called for exploring this moderating effect in other contexts. As implication to policy, the government should ensure not only enriching students with entrepreneurial skill and conducive entrepreneurial environment but also well-built entrepreneurial orientation among Nigeria teeming youths as it has a direct effect as well as strong interaction with other factors in explaining entrepreneurial intention.

Purpose This study aims to examine the association between the effectiveness of risk committee (RC) and firms’ performance in Malaysian context. It also explores whether political connection has an impact on the relationship. Design/methodology/approach This study, using a principle components analysis, derives a factor score for RC attributes to proxy the effectiveness of RC. It also uses both accounting and market performance to measure the company performance. Findings Using a sample of financial firms from 2004 to 2018, this study finds that both accounting and market performance are higher for firms with an effective RC. It also finds that the effectiveness of RC in monitoring and management of risks is more pronounced for politically connected firms (PCFs). In further tests, the paper finds that RC attributes (i.e. RC independence, qualification and gender) are positively and significantly associated with accounting performance, while those of RC existence and overlap are positively and significantly related to market performance. The study also finds that RC size (RC diligence) has a positive (negative) impact on financial firms accounting and market performance. The further analysis also shows that PCFs with a separate as well as larger RCs experience both higher accounting and market performance. This study’s results are robust for concerns of endogeneity. Practical implications The findings of this study resolve the ongoing debates surrounding political connection by suggesting financial firms not to have politically connected board members as doing so may deteriorate their performance. This study’s results are also useful for investors, regulators and policymakers. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study, for the first time, introduces on the interaction term between the effectiveness of RCs and political connection to empirically explore how an effective RC may reduce the potential risk of political ties. As such, this study adds to the literature and sheds light on an aspect of risk (i.e. risk stems from establishing close link with the government) that is growing in importance.

This paper examines the assumptions of the Slippery Slope Framework using cross-country data; an area which has been neglected since the emergence of the framework in 2008. Several studies in this area have tested the assumption of the framework using primary data collected through survey with students or real taxpayers as subjects. Hence, this study tests these assumptions using statistical data generated from an institutional database. The empirical result from our sample indicates that trust in and power of authorities strongly interacts in explaining tax compliance.

Slippery Slope Framework has attracted exceptional attention from researchers in economic psychology and taxation field through validation by renowned scholars via variety of surveys and experimental designs. However, application of cross-sectional analysis in validating the framework has been scant, the available studies being focused on a single continent only. This study aims to test the assumptions of "Slippery Slope Framework" through examination of the influence of trust in authorities and power of authorities on tax compliance globally. The sample of 158 countries was selected as of 2016. Data was analyzed through Ordinary Least Squares Regression Analysis. The results reveal that trust in authorities significantly influences tax compliance, but power of authorities does not. Additionally, the interaction effect of trust and power on tax compliance has not been established through this crosscountry analysis. Practically, the results suggest that authorities should ensure judicious use of taxpayer monies in the provision of public goods and services, and also fairness and equity among taxpayers. Eventually, these will enhance trust and improve tax compliance. Theoretically, the study calls for disaggregation analyses where each continent will be studied individually for replication of these findings and establishing the interaction effect wherever possible.

The emergence of “Slippery Slope Framework” has attracted many researchers who examined the effect of trust in authorities and power of authorities on tax compliance using both the real taxpayer and student subjects. However, these researchers have neglected the use of cross-country data to examine these effects. In line with prior empirical evidences that confirm the effect of trust and power of authorities on tax compliance, this study hypothesizes that both trust and power have association with tax compliance across countries. It further hypothesizes that trust has more association with tax compliance than power. This study is based on 49 Sub-Saharan African countries as the population, out of which 37 countries were selected using multi-stage random sampling. The empirical results from these countries reveal that there is an association between both trust in authorities and power of authorities and tax compliance across the 37 Sub-Saharan African countries, but the association between power of authorities and tax compliance is stronger than that of trust in authorities and tax compliance. Further, the result does not find any causing effect of both trust and power on tax compliance in the countries that constituted the study sample.Keywords: Authorities; Compliance; Power; Tax; Trust.