The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of external auditors in potentially approving or limiting a firm's earnings management practices in institutional settings which do not provide incentives for auditors to deliver high audit quality. We use signed discretionary and performance-adjusted discretionary accruals as proxies for earnings management, and audit firm size (Big 4 vs. Non-Big 4) and audit opinion type (Qualified vs. Unqualified) as measures for audit quality. Using a sample of 183 firms listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange, Pakistan for the five-year period from 2009 to 2013, we find that there is statistically no significant difference between earnings management activities of firms audited by Big 4 and non-Big 4 auditors. Audit opinion is not being issued in response to the earnings management activities being employed by firms. Further consistent with the entrenchment hypothesis, we find that earnings management is pervasive in family controlled firms and Big 4 auditors do not moderate the relation between family firm dominance and earnings management. A small audit market coupled with non-existent litigation risk, strong economic bonding of auditors with their clients, lower investor protection, poor enforcement mechanisms and dominance of firms by influential family groups lead auditors to behave opportunistically, which undermines their independence and objectivity.
Background: A great deal of research has been carried out on the assessment of the eudaimonic perspective of psychological well-being and the hedonic perspective of subjective well-being. The Flourishing Scale (FS) has been extensively used in research and practice, as it assesses the fundamental aspects of social psychological functioning. Nevertheless, the psychometric properties of Urdu versions of eudaimonic measures, such as the FS, have not yet been ascertained. The translation and validation of the FS in the Urdu language was not available, and hence this study was planned with the aim to validate the Urdu version of the FS.Methods: We assessed the psychometric properties of the FS in a sample of adults aged 18 years and above in Pakistan (N = 130) using exploratory factor analysis based on principal component analysis with varimax rotation and confirmatory factor analysis.Results: The exploratory factor analysis confirmed the unidimensional nature of the 8-item FS. We assessed that the Urdu version of the FS showed a high internal consistency reliability (α = 0.914) with a significant intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), p < 0.001). In our study, the Kaiser–Mayer–Olkin value was 0.915 with a chi-square test value (χ2) of 637.687, and Bartlett's test of sphericity was significant (df = 28, p < 0.001). The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) at test–retest for all domains were statistically significant (p < 0.001) and showed excellent agreement for all the items. The revised confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good-fit model, but with item 8—“People respect me”—removed due to its lower factor loading.Conclusions: The findings suggest that the FS is a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing social psychological functioning among adults in Pakistan. Therefore, the validated Urdu version of the FS may be used in future studies of well-being in clinical psychology and positive psychology.
Purpose – This study aims to compare the entrepreneurial activity in China and Pakistan based on these factors: fear of failure, perceived capabilities, perceived opportunities, and knowledge of other entrepreneurs. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use the data from global entrepreneurship monitor (GEM). In this study, the authors use the cross-sectional data for survey year 2010, both for China and Pakistan. The authors employed the sequential logistic regression model in order to predict the likelihood of involvement in entrepreneurial activity. Findings – Chinese are not significantly influenced by their fear of failure to engage in entrepreneurial activity. Gender is also not a significant predictor of entrepreneurial activity in China. In Pakistan, perception of opportunities does not significantly predict whether to involve in entrepreneurial activity or not, while other factors do. Gender is a significant predictor of entrepreneurial activity in Pakistan. Originality/value – Previously literature is lacking in this kind of a unique comparison based upon GEM data evidence. There are many lessons for Pakistan in this study. There is a need to create awareness among people about the fruits of self-employment. Government should create a conducive environment for doing business. Efforts should be made to enhance the women participation in business.
Environmentalism has become not only a significant policy issue but also a crucial topic in marketing research. Environmental consciousness is now considered as a fundamental requirement to prevent further damage to the environment. Efforts have been made to improve the consumers understanding about the environmental consequences of their consumption patterns. This study develops a conceptual model of green purchase behaviour to determine the effects of environmentalism, advertisement message credibility and green perceived value on the consumers’ green purchase intentions with green product knowledge as a moderator. The convenience sampling technique with cross-sectional research design was used to select the sample. Data were collected using survey, and a total of 368 valid questionnaires were used for further analysis. The results from the structural analysis using Smart-PLS depict that environmentalism significantly influences the ad message credibility and green perceived value, and these constructs significantly affect the green purchase intentions. Furthermore, the green product knowledge moderates the relationship between environmentalism, ad message credibility and green perceived value. Overall, the findings of this study extend the theoretical basis of green purchase intentions by empirically testing the proposed model and provides the limitations and further research directions.
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