Search results for: financial sustainability

Authors: Ahmadreza Hakiminejad, Changfeng Fu, Hamideh Mohammadzadeh Titkanlou

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For decades, sustainable development has been an imperative concern in the process of urban development of the world’s developed countries. Despite the fact that the concept of sustainability, primarily, emerged by virtue of warning over global environmental catastrophes, it subsequently led to the ongoing debates not only over environmental, but also economic and sociocultural issues involved. This study, particularly, discusses the constituents of social sustainability– as one of the three pillars of sustainable development– and its situation within an urban context. It tries to investigate the interrelationships between the elements of social sustainability and the quality of physical environment. The paper, firstly, depicts a theoretical overview of the notions of social sustainability and urban form. Secondly, it will discuss the interrelationship between the two. And lastly, it will investigate and analyse this interrelationship through the historical transformation of Iranian cities. The research aims to answer this very question that how the urban form within the context of the built environment can influence the social behaviors so as to achieve a more sustainable society. It is to examine how and why compact, high-density and mixed-use urban patterns are environmentally sound, efficient for transport, socially beneficial and economically viable. The methodology used in this paper is desk research. Thus, the documents from different urban related disciplines including urban planning, urban design, urban sociology and urban policy have been reviewed. The research has also applied a comparative approach to discuss and analyse the impacts of different urban forms on the elements of social sustainability within the context of modern and traditional Iranian cities. The paper concludes with an examination of possible future directions of Iranian cities with consideration to socio-cultural concepts and the challenges that will have to be overcome to make progress towards social sustainability.

Keywords: social sustainability, urban form, compact city, Iranian cities

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Authors: Spase Janevski

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We, as designers, should be aware of the consequences of our material selection, at the early stages of the design process. Some of the designer’s decisions can have a very significant impact on design for sustainability. The influence of this concept has led to years of research studies into eco-friendly materials and their potentials for creating new sustainable products. In order to answer the question, 'how cork has become a design trend', this paper will present an overview of the implications of the concept of design for sustainability on the potential uses of cork material. A decade ago, cork as a material had an association with wine stoppers, but with the evolution of sustainable product design as part of the concept of design for sustainability, cork now offers product designers a wide range of new materials and applications. The purpose of this paper is to show how the phenomenon of sustainability has had an impact on the progress of the material which is currently not being an integral component of the design material palette. At the beginning, the nature of the relationship between cork and sustainability will be explained through the following stages: 1) fundamental understanding of the concept of Design for Sustainability and the importance of material selection for sustainable product design, and 2) the importance of cork oak trees for the environment and the environmental impacts of cork products. In order to examine and present the influence of the sustainability on the innovation in cork applications, the paper will provide a historical overview of designing with cork. The overview will consist of four stages: 1) pre-industrial period - the period when ancient nations used cork and amphoras to store their wine; 2) industrial period - emergence and industrialization of well-known wine stoppers; 3) post-industrial period - commercializing cork products in the area of floors and coverings and first developments in industrial research; and 4) the period when large cork realized the importance of sustainability and started to focus more markedly on research and development. The existence of new cork materials, the investigation in new applications and the investment in new innovations have proved that the sustainability approach has had a great influence on the revival of this material. In addition, the paper will present some of the new cork innovative materials and applications and their potentials for designing promising and sustainable solutions with additive manufacturing technologies, such as 3D printing. Lastly, the paper will introduce some questions for further study, such as the environmental impacts of the new hybrid materials and the gap between cork industry and cork research and development teams. The paper concludes by stating that cork is not only a material for wine stoppers anymore, thanks to the awareness of the concept of design for sustainability.

Keywords: cork, design for sustainability, innovation, sustainable materials

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Authors: Joy Debski

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Due to the varying degrees of the problem posed by global warming, environmental sustainability dominates international discourse. International initiatives' aims and expectations have proven particularly challenging to put into practice in developing nations. To reduce human exploitation of the environment, stricter measures are urgently needed. However, putting them into practice has proven more difficult. Relatively recent information from the Climate Accountability Institute and academic researchers shows that fossil fuel companies are major contributors to the climate crisis. Host communities in oil and gas-producing areas, particularly in developing nations, have grown hostile toward both oil and gas companies and government policies. It is now essential that the three main stakeholders—government, the oil and gas sector, and host communities—cooperate to achieve the shared objective of environmental sustainability. This research, therefore, advocates a governance system for Nigeria that facilitates the achieving the goal of environmental sustainability. This objective is achieved by the research's examination of the main institutional framework for environmental sustainability, evaluation of the strategies used by major oil companies to increase stakeholder engagement in environmental sustainability, and examination of the involvement of host communities in environmental sustainability. The study reveals that while environmental sustainability is important to the identified stakeholders, it's challenging to accomplish without an informed synergy. Hence the research advocates the centralisation of CSR through a CSR commission for environmental sustainability. The commission’s mandate is to facilitate, partner with, and endorse companies. The commission is strongly advised to incorporate host community liaison offices into the process of negotiating contracts with oil and gas firms, as well as to play a facilitative role in helping firms adhere to both domestic and international regulations. The recommendations can benefit Nigerian policymakers in enhancing their unsuccessful efforts to pass CSR legislation. Through the research-proposed CSR department, which has competent training and stakeholder engagement strategies, oil and gas companies can enhance and centralise their goals for environmental sustainability. Finally, the CSR Commission's expertise would give host communities more leverage when negotiating their memorandum of understanding with oil and gas companies.

Keywords: environmental sustainability, corporate social responsibility, CSR, oil and gas, nigeria

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Authors: Aline F. Marcon, Eduardo F. da Silva, Marina Bouzon

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The impact of lean management on environmental sustainability is the research line that receives the most attention from academicians. Therefore, the social dimension of sustainable development has so far received less attention. This paper aims to evaluate the impact of intra-plant lean manufacturing practices on social sustainability indicators extracted from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) parameters. The method is two-phased, including MCDM approach to uncover the most relevant practices regarding social performance and Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) method to reveal the structural relationship among lean practices. Professionals from the academic and industrial fields answered the questionnaires. From the results of this paper, it is possible to verify that practices such as “Safety Improvement Programs”, “Total Quality Management” and “Cross-functional Workforce” are the ones which have the most positive influence on the set of GRI social indicators.

Keywords: indicators, ISM, lean, social, sustainability

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Authors: Natalia Feruleva

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The goal of this paper is to develop the fraud risk assessment model basing on both relational and financial data and test the impact of the relationships between Russian non-public companies on the likelihood of financial fraud commitment. Relationships mean various linkages between companies such as parent-subsidiary relationship and person-related relationships. These linkages may provide additional opportunities for committing fraud. Person-related relationships appear when firms share a director, or the director owns another firm. The number of companies belongs to CEO and managed by CEO, the number of subsidiaries was calculated to measure the relationships. Moreover, the dummy variable describing the existence of parent company was also included in model. Control variables such as financial leverage and return on assets were also implemented because they describe the motivating factors of fraud. To check the hypotheses about the influence of the chosen parameters on the likelihood of financial fraud, information about person-related relationships between companies, existence of parent company and subsidiaries, profitability and the level of debt was collected. The resulting sample consists of 160 Russian non-public firms. The sample includes 80 fraudsters and 80 non-fraudsters operating in 2006-2017. The dependent variable is dichotomous, and it takes the value 1 if the firm is engaged in financial crime, otherwise 0. Employing probit model, it was revealed that the number of companies which belong to CEO of the firm or managed by CEO has significant impact on the likelihood of financial fraud. The results obtained indicate that the more companies are affiliated with the CEO, the higher the likelihood that the company will be involved in financial crime. The forecast accuracy of the model is about is 80%. Thus, the model basing on both relational and financial data gives high level of forecast accuracy.

Keywords: financial fraud, fraud prediction, non-public companies, regression analysis, relational data

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Authors: Abdul Ganiyu Iddrisu

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Digitization is the process of transforming analog material into digital form, especially for storage and use in a computer. Significant development of information and communication technology (ICT) over the past years has encouraged many researchers to investigate its contribution to promoting economic growth, and reducing poverty. Yet compelling empirical evidence on the effects of digitization on economic growth remains weak, particularly in Africa. This is because extant studies that explicitly evaluate digitization and economic growth nexus are mostly reports and desk reviews. This points out an empirical knowledge gap in the literature. Hypothetically, digitization influences financial sector development which in turn influences economic growth. Digitization has changed the financial sector and its operating environment. Obstacles to access to financing, for instance, physical distance, minimum balance requirements, low-income flows among others can be circumvented. Savings have increased, micro-savers have opened bank accounts, and banks are now able to price short-term loans. This has the potential to develop the financial sector, however, empirical evidence on digitization-financial development nexus is dearth. On the other hand, a number of studies maintained that financial sector development greatly influences growth of economies. We therefore argue that financial sector development is one of the transmission mechanisms through which digitization affects economic growth. Employing macro-country-level data from African countries and using fixed effects, random effects and Hausman-Taylor estimation approaches, this paper contributes to the literature by analysing economic growth in Africa focusing on the role of digitization, and financial sector development. First, we assess how digitization influence financial sector development in Africa. From an economic policy perspective, it is important to identify digitization determinants of financial sector development so that action can be taken to reduce the economic shocks associated with financial sector distortions. This nexus is rarely examined empirically in the literature. Secondly, we examine the effect of domestic credit to private sector and stock market capitalization as a percentage of GDP as used to proxy for financial sector development on 2 economic growth. Digitization is represented by the volume of digital/ICT equipment imported and GDP growth is used to proxy economic growth. Finally, we examine the effect of digitization on economic growth in the light of financial sector development. The following key results were found; first, digitalization propels financial sector development in Africa. Second, financial sector development enhances economic growth. Finally, contrary to our expectation, the results also indicate that digitalization conditioned on financial sector development tends to reduce economic growth in Africa. However, results of the net effects suggest that digitalization, overall, improves economic growth in Africa. We, therefore, conclude that, digitalization in Africa does not only develop the financial sector but unconditionally contributes the growth of the continent’s economies.

Keywords: digitalization, economic growth, financial sector development, Africa

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Authors: Joseph Paul Chunga

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The investment universe is awash with a myriad of financial choices that investors have to opt for, which principally culminates into a duality between aggressive or conservative approaches. Howbeit, it is pertinent to emphasize that the investment vehicles with an aggressive approach tend to take on more risk than the latter group in an effort to generate higher future returns for their respective investors. This study examines the conditionality effect that such partiality in financing has on the High-Tech and Public Utility companies listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SSE). Specifically, it examines the significance of the relationship between capitalization ratios of Total Debt Ratio (TDR), Degree of Financial Leverage (DFL) and profitability ratios of Earnings per Share (EPS) and Returns on Equity (ROE) on the Financial Risk of the two industries. We employ a modified version of the Panel Regression Model used by Rahman (2017) to estimate the relationship. The study finds that there is a significant positive relationship between the capitalization ratios on the financial risk of Public Utility companies more than High-Tech companies and a substantial negative relationship between the profitability ratios and the financial risk of the former than the latter companies. This then spells an important insight for prospective investors with regards to the volatility of earnings of such companies.

Keywords: financial leverage, debt financing, conservative firms, aggressive firms

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Authors: Adel M. Qatawneh

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This paper aimed to determine the importance of knowledge innovation for external audit on anti-corruption in the entire Jordanian bank companies are listed in Amman Stock Exchange (ASE). The study importance arises from the need to recognize the Knowledge innovation for external audit and anti-corruption as the development in the world of business, the variables that will be affected by external audit innovation are: reliability of financial data, relevantly of financial data, consistency of the financial data, Full disclosure of financial data and protecting the rights of investors to achieve the objectives of the study a questionnaire was designed and distributed to the society of the Jordanian bank are listed in Amman Stock Exchange. The data analysis found out that the banks in Jordan have a positive importance of Knowledge innovation for external audit on anti-corruption. They agree on the benefit of Knowledge innovation for external audit on anti-corruption. The statistical analysis showed that Knowledge innovation for external audit had a positive impact on the anti-corruption and that external audit has a significantly statistical relationship with anti-corruption, reliability of financial data, consistency of the financial data, a full disclosure of financial data and protecting the rights of investors.

Keywords: knowledge innovation, external audit, anti-corruption, Amman Stock Exchange

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Authors: I. Hakki Eraslan, Birol Ozturk, Istemi Comlekci

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This paper begins by defining what is meant by “globalization” in finance and by identifying the sources of value-added in the internationally-competitive financial services sector origination, trading and distribution of debt and equity capital market instruments and their derivatives, foreign exchange trading and securities brokerage, management of market risk and credit risk, loan syndication and structured bank financings, corporate finance and advisory services, and asset management. These activities are considered in terms of a “value-chain” one that ultimately gives rise to the real economic gains attributable to financial-center operations. The research presents available evidence as to where the relevant value-added activities usually take place. It then examines the “centrifugal” and “centripetal” forces that determine the concentration or dispersal of value-added activity in financial intermediation, both interregionally and internationally. Next, the research assesses the factors, which appear to underlie the locational pattern of international financial centers that has evolved. In preparing this paper, also it is examined the current position and the main opportunities and challenges facing world major financial services sector, and attempted to lay out a potential vision and strategies. It is conducted extensive research, including many internal research materials and publications. It is also engaged closely with the academia, industry practitioners and regulators, and consulted market experts from major world financial centers. More than 60 in‐depth consultative sessions were conducted in the past two years which provided insightful suggestions and innovative ideas on how to further financial industry’s position as an international financial centre. The paper concludes with the outlook for the future pattern of financial centers in the global competitive environment. The ideas and advice gathered are condensed into this paper that recommends to the strategic decision leaders a vision and a strategy for financial services sector to move forward amid a highly competitive environment.

Keywords: financial centers, competitiveness, financial services industry, economics

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Authors: Rashika Sharma

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The campuses at tertiary institutes can act as a social environment for peer to peer connections. However, socialization is not the only aspect that campuses provide. The campus can act as a learning environment that has often been termed as the campus curriculum. Many tertiary institutes have taken steps to make their campus a ‘green campus’ whereby initiatives have been taken to reduce their impact on the environment. However, as visible as these initiatives are, it is debatable whether these have any effect on students’ and their understanding of sustainable campus operations. Therefore, research was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of sustainable campus operations in raising students’ awareness of sustainability. Students at two vocational institutes participated in this interpretive research with data collected through surveys and focus groups. The findings indicated that majority of vocational education students remained oblivious of sustainability initiatives on campuses.

Keywords: campus learning, education for sustainability, social learning, vocational education

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Authors: Cheng Li, Jie Shen, Yutian Tang

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Embracing the upcoming era of urbanization with the challenges of limitation of resources, disappearing cultural identities and conflicts among different groups of stakeholders, new integrated approaches are offered in our urban practice to help decision-makers and stakeholders frame and develop well-conceived, practical strategies for urban developing trajectories to approach urban-level sustainability in multiple social, cultural, ecological dimensions. Through bottom-up participation, we take advantage of tourism and leisure industries as driving forces for urbanization in China to promote integrated sustainable systems, with the hope of approaching both historical and ecological aspects of urban sustainability; and also thanks to top-down participation, we have codes, standards and rules established by the governments to strengthen the implementation of ecological urban sustainability. The results are monitored and evaluated experimentally and multidimensionally and the sustainable systems we constructed with local stakeholder groups turned out to be effective. The presentation of our selected projects would indicate our different focuses on urban sustainability.

Keywords: urban sustainability, integrated urban strategy, tourism and leisure industries, history, modern technology

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Authors: Teguh Sugiarto, Amir Mohamadian Amiri

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Background: This study aims to explore if there is fraud in the company's financial report distribution using the number first digit Lucas, Fibonacci and Benford. Research methods: In this study, the author uses a number model contained in the first digit of the model Lucas, Fibonacci and Benford, to make a distinction between implementation by using the scale above and below 5%, the rate of occurrence of a difference against the digit number contained on Lucas, Fibonacci and Benford. If there is a significant difference above and below 5%, then the process of follow-up and detection of occurrence of fraud against the financial statements can be made. Findings: From research that has been done can be concluded that the number of frequency levels contained in the financial statements of PT Bank BRI Tbk in a year in the same conscientious results for model Lucas, Fibonacci and Benford.

Keywords: Lucas, Fibonacci, Benford, first digit

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Authors: Irni Rahmayani Johan, Ira Kamelia

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One of the impacts of the rapid advancement of technology is the rise of digital finance, including peer-to-peer lending (P2P). P2P lending has been widely marketed, including an online student loan that used the P2P platform. This study aims to analyze the effect of financial literacy, perception of debt, and perception of risk toward student willingness to use the online student loan (P2P lending). Using a cross-sectional study design, in collecting the data this study employed an online survey method, with a total sample of 280 undergraduate students of IPB university, Indonesia. This study found that financial literacy, perception of debt, perception of risk, and interest in using online student loans are categorized as low level. While the level of knowledge is found to be the lowest, the first-year students showed a higher level in terms of willingness to use the online student loan. In addition, the second year students recorded a positive perception toward debt. This study showed that level of study, attendance in personal finance course, and student’ GPA is positively related to financial knowledge. While debt perception is negatively related to financial attitudes. Similarly, the negative relationship is found between risk perception and the willingness to use the online student loan. The determinant factor of the willingness to use online student loans is the level of study, debt perception, financial risk perception, and time risk perception. Students with a higher level of study are more likely to have a lower interest in using online student loans. Moreover, students who perceived debt as a financial stimulator, as well as those with higher level of financial risk perceptions and time risk perceptions, tend to show more interest to use the loan.

Keywords: financial literacy, willingness to use, online student loan, perception of risk, perception of debt

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Authors: Raif Parlakkaya, Umran Kahraman, Huseyin Cetin

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Internet financial reporting and corporate governance issues are in the focus of academic and professional studies due to their attributed importance by stakeholders of corporations. Major aim of this study is to reveal the relationship between internet financial reporting which is held as dependent variable and some indicators of corporate governance such as the ratio of managerial ownership, blockholder ownership, number of independent members in the board of directors, frequency of meetings by audit committee and education level of audit committee members which are held as independent variables. Main purpose is to reveal the effect of corporate governance on the voluntary efforts of Internet Financial reporting. The scope of the research is limited to the Turkish Corporations listed in Borsa Istanbul (Istanbul Stock Exchange) and findings which are generated by means of SPSS software are revealed in results section and interpreted in conclusions.

Keywords: audit committee, corporate governance, internet financial reporting, managerial ownership

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Authors: Uwalomwa Uwuigbe, Olubukola Ranti Uwuigbe, Jinadu Olugbenga, Otekunrin Adegbola

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Corporate reporting has evolved over the years resulting from criticisms of the precedent by shareholders, stakeholders and other relevant financial institutions. Integrated reporting has become a globalized corporate reporting style, with its adoption around the world occurring rapidly to bring about an improvement in the quality of corporate reporting. While some countries have swiftly clinched into reporting in an integrated manner, others have not. In addition, there are ample research that has been conducted on the benefits of adopting integrated reporting, however, the same is not true in developing economies like Nigeria. Hence, this study basically examined the factors determining the adoption of integrated reporting in Nigeria. One hundred (100) copies of questionnaire was administered to financial managers of 20 selected listed companies in the Nigeria stock exchange market. The data obtained was analysed using the Spearman Rank Order Correlation via the Statistical Package for Social Science. This study observed that there is a significant relationship between the social pressures of isomorphic changes and integrated reporting adoption in Nigeria. The study recommends the need for an enforcement mechanism to be put in place while considering the adoption of integrated reporting in Nigeria, enforcement mechanisms should put into consideration the investors demand, the level of economic development, and the degree of corporate social responsibility.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, isomorphic, integrated reporting, Nigeria, sustainability

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Authors: Ghanima Al-Sharrah, Haitham M. Lababidi, Yusuf I. Ali

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The main objective of the current work is to introduce sustainability factors in optimizing the supply chain model for process industries. The supply chain models are normally based on purely economic considerations related to costs and profits. To account for sustainability, two additional factors have been introduced; environment and risk. A supply chain for an entire petroleum organization has been considered for implementing and testing the proposed optimization models. The environmental and risk factors were introduced as indicators reflecting the anticipated impact of the optimal production scenarios on sustainability. The aggregation method used in extending the single objective function to multi-objective function is proven to be quite effective in balancing the contribution of each objective term. The results indicate that introducing sustainability factor would slightly reduce the economic benefit while improving the environmental and risk reduction performances of the process industries.

Keywords: environmental indicators, optimization, risk, supply chain

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Authors: Philemon Rakoto

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This paper tests the improvement of financial reporting quality when firms award stock options to their executives. The originality of this study is that we introduce the moderating effect of business ethics in the model. The sample is made up of 116 Canadian high-technology firms with available data for the fiscal year ending in 2012. We define the quality of financial reporting as the value relevance of accounting information as developed by Ohlson. Our results show that executive stock option award alone does not improve the quality of financial reporting. Rather, the quality improves when a firm awards stock options to its executives and investors perceive that the level of business ethics in that firm is high.

Keywords: business ethics, Canada, high-tech firms, stock options, value relevance

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Authors: Md Al Masum Bhuiyan, Maria C. Mariani, Osei K. Tweneboah

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In the present work, we develop a technique for estimating the volatility of financial time series by using stochastic differential equation. Taking the daily closing prices from developed and emergent stock markets as the basis, we argue that the incorporation of stochastic volatility into the time-varying parameter estimation significantly improves the forecasting performance via Maximum Likelihood Estimation. While using the technique, we see the long-memory behavior of data sets and one-step-ahead-predicted log-volatility with ±2 standard errors despite the variation of the observed noise from a Normal mixture distribution, because the financial data studied is not fully Gaussian. Also, the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process followed in this work simulates well the financial time series, which aligns our estimation algorithm with large data sets due to the fact that this algorithm has good convergence properties.

Keywords: financial time series, maximum likelihood estimation, Ornstein-Uhlenbeck type models, stochastic volatility model

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Authors: Hakim Herbane

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Efforts to achieve sustainability in architecture must prove their effectiveness despite various methods attempted. Biomimicry, which looks to successful natural models to promote sustainability and innovation, faces obstacles in implementing sustainability despite its restorative approach to the relationship between humans and nature. In Nunavik, Inuit communities are exploring a sustainable production system that aligns with their aspirations and meets their demands of human, technological, technical, economic, and ecological factors. Biomimicry holds promise in line with Inuit philosophy, but its failure to implement sustainability requires further investigations to remedy its deficiencies. Our literature review underscores the importance of involving the community in defining sustainability and determining the best methods for its implementation. Additionally, vernacular architecture shows valuable orientations for achieving sustainability. Moreover, reintegrating Inuit communities and their traditional architectural practices, which have successfully balanced their built environment's diverse needs and constraints, could pave the way for a sustainable Inuit-built environment in Nunavik and advance architectural biomimicry principles simultaneously. This research aims at establishing a sustainability monitoring tool for Nordic architectural process by analyzing Inuit vernacular and biomimetic architecture, in addition to the input of stakeholders involved in Inuit architecture production in Nunavik, especially Inuit. The goal is to create a practical tool (an index) to aid in designing sustainable architecture, taking into account environmental, social, and economic perspectives. Furthermore, the study seeks to authenticate strong, sustainable design principles of vernacular and biomimetic architectures. The literature review uncovered challenges and identified new opportunities. The forthcoming discourse will focus on the careful and considerate incorporation of Inuit communities’ perceptions and indigenous building practices into our methodology and the latest findings of our research.

Keywords: sustainability, biomimicry, vernacular architecture, community involvement

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Authors: Omuvwie R. Ewien

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Palm oil production in Delta State, Nigeria, is a significant economic activity. However, ensuring its sustainability is crucial to mitigate environmental impacts, promote social equity, and maintain long-term economic viability. This abstract provides an overview of palm oil production sustainability in Delta State, focusing on environmental, social, and economic aspects. In terms of environmental sustainability, the impact of palm oil plantations on deforestation and biodiversity loss is explored. The adoption of sustainable land use practices and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as conserving high conservation value areas and utilizing methane capture systems, are highlighted. Social sustainability considerations encompass the inclusion and empowerment of smallholders, ensuring fair labor practices and community engagement. Supporting small-scale farmers, promoting fair working conditions, and investing in local infrastructure and services are identified as key strategies. Economic sustainability is emphasized through yield improvement, efficiency, and value addition. Enhancing productivity and profitability for farmers, promoting downstream processing and market diversification, and building economic resilience is crucial for long-term sustainability. Government policies, including regulatory frameworks and public-private collaborations, play a pivotal role in promoting sustainable palm oil production. Enabling policies and partnerships with industry stakeholders and NGOs facilitates the adoption of sustainable practices. Challenges such as illegal activities, the need to balance economic development with environmental conservation, and leveraging technology for sustainability are discussed. The abstract concludes by emphasizing the importance of stakeholders' commitment to prioritize sustainable palm oil production in Delta State, Nigeria, for a sustainable future.

Keywords: palm oil production, environmental sustainability, community development, yield improvement, future outlook

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Authors: T. Hansen

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Many consumers are uncertain of what financial borrowing behavior may serve their interests in the best way. This is important since consumers’ risky financial decisions may not only negatively affect their short-term liquidity but may haunt them for years after they are made. Obviously, this is especially critical for young adults who often carry large amounts of student loans or credit card debt, which in turn may hinder their future ability to obtain financial healthiness. Even though factors such as financial knowledge, attitudes towards risk, gender, and motivations of borrowing, among others, are known to influence consumer borrowing behavior, no existing model comprehensibly describes the mechanisms behind young adults’ risky borrowing behavior. This is unfortunate since a better understanding of the relationships between such factors and young adults’ risky borrowing behavior may be of value to financial service providers and financial authorities aiming to improve young adults’ borrowing behavior. This research extends prior research by developing a conceptual framework for the purpose of understanding young adults’ risky borrowing behavior. The study is based on two survey samples comprising 488 young adults aged 18-25 who have not obtained a risky loan (sample 1) and 214 young adults aged 18-25 who already have obtained a risky loan (sample 2), respectively. The results suggest several psychological, sociological, and behavioral factors that may influence young adults’ intentional risky borrowing behavior, which in turn is shown to affect actualized risky borrowing behavior. We also found that the relationship between intentional risky borrowing behavior and actualized risky borrowing behavior is negatively moderated by perceived risk – but not by perceived complexity. In particular, the results of this study indicate that public policy makers, banks and financial educators should seek to eliminate less desirable social norms on how to behave financially. In addition, they should seek to enhance young adults’ risky borrowing perceived risk, thereby preventing that intentional risky borrowing behavior translates into actualized risky behavior.

Keywords: financial services, risky borrowing behavior, young adults, financial knowledge, social norms, perceived risk, financial trust, public financial policy

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Authors: Abdul Ganiyu Iddrisu, Bei Chen

Abstract:

Digitization is the process of transforming analog material into digital form, especially for storage and use in a computer. Significant development of information and communication technology (ICT) over the past years has encouraged many researchers to investigate its contribution to promoting economic growth and reducing poverty. Yet the compelling empirical evidence on the effects of digitization on economic growth remains weak, particularly in Africa. This is because extant studies that explicitly evaluate digitization and economic growth nexus are mostly reports and desk reviews. This points out an empirical knowledge gap in the literature. Hypothetically, digitization influences financial sector development which in turn influences economic growth. Digitization has changed the financial sector and its operating environment. Obstacles to access to financing, for instance, physical distance, minimum balance requirements, and low-income flows, among others can be circumvented. Savings have increased, micro-savers have opened bank accounts, and banks are now able to price short-term loans. This has the potential to develop the financial sector. However, empirical evidence on the digitization-financial development nexus is dearth. On the other hand, a number of studies maintained that financial sector development greatly influences growth of economies. We, therefore, argue that financial sector development is one of the transmission mechanisms through which digitization affects economic growth. Employing macro-country-level data from African countries and using fixed effects, random effects and Hausman-Taylor estimation approaches, this paper contributes to the literature by analysing economic growth in Africa, focusing on the role of digitization and financial sector development. First, we assess how digitization influences financial sector development in Africa. From an economic policy perspective, it is important to identify digitization determinants of financial sector development so that action can be taken to reduce the economic shocks associated with financial sector distortions. This nexus is rarely examined empirically in the literature. Secondly, we examine the effect of domestic credit to the private sector and stock market capitalization as a percentage of GDP as used to proxy for financial sector development on economic growth. Digitization is represented by the volume of digital/ICT equipment imported and GDP growth is used to proxy economic growth. Finally, we examine the effect of digitization on economic growth in the light of financial sector development. The following key results were found; first, digitalization propels financial sector development in Africa. Second, financial sector development enhances economic growth. Finally, contrary to our expectation, the results also indicate that digitalization conditioned on financial sector development tends to reduce economic growth in Africa. However, results of the net effects suggest that digitalization, overall, improve economic growth in Africa. We, therefore, conclude that, digitalization in Africa does not only develop the financial sector but unconditionally contributes the growth of the continent’s economies.

Keywords: digitalization, financial sector development, Africa, economic growth

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Authors: Abraham Rotich

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The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of relationship banking on the financial performance of SMEs. The paper attempted to establish the link between the constructs of relationship banking and SME performance. The study was guided by relationship lending, relationship monitoring, relationship risk sharing and bundle of products as independent variables while financial performance will be the dependent variable. The study used a quasi experimental design with population being the 620 SMEs who have a relationship banking arrangement with banks in Nairobi. The study used stratified sampling to pick a sample of 235. The population of interest will be the CEOs of the respective companies. The basis of stratification is the sectors in which the SMEs operate in. The study will use a questionnaire to collect data. The questionnaire will have both open and close ended questions. A pilot study will be conducted to test reliability and validity of questionnaire. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Regression analysis was employed to test if there is a relationship between the dependent and the independent variable. The study found evidence that relationship banking positively impacts on financial performance of SMEs. Specifically, the study established that each component of relationship banking in this study i.e relationship lending, monitoring, bundle of products and risk sharing positively affects financial performance.

Keywords: relationship banking, SMEs, financial performance, entrepreneurial orientation

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Authors: Riyadh Alsultani, Ali Majdi

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It is necessary to develop a design methodology that includes the possibility of seismic events occurring in a region, the vulnerability of the civil hydraulic structure, and the effects of the occurrence hazard on society, environment, and economy in order to evaluate the flood and earthquake risks of coastal bridge networks. This paper presents a design approach for the assessment of the risk and sustainability of coastal bridge networks under time-variant flood-earthquake conditions. The social, environmental, and economic indicators of the network are used to measure its sustainability. These consist of anticipated loss, downtime, energy waste, and carbon dioxide emissions. The design process takes into account the possibility of happening in a set of flood and earthquake scenarios that represent the local seismic activity. Based on the performance of each bridge as determined by fragility assessments, network linkages are measured. The network's connections and bridges' damage statuses after an earthquake scenario determine the network's sustainability and danger. The sustainability measures' temporal volatility and the danger of structural degradation are both highlighted. The method is shown using a transportation network in Baghdad, Iraq.

Keywords: sustainability, Coastal bridge networks, flood-earthquake risk, structural design

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Authors: C. Park, H. Lee, Y-J. Lee

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Aim: This study presents Interdisciplinary Collaborative Innovation Mechanism as a medium to enable the effective generation of innovations for sustainability challenges facing humanities. Background: Interdisciplinary approach of fusing disparate knowledge and perspectives from diverse expertise and subject areas is one of the key requirements to address the intricate nature of sustainability issues. There is a lack of rigorous empirical study of the systematic structure of interdisciplinary collaborative innovation for sustainability to date. Method: To address this research gap, the action research approach is adopted to develop the Interdisciplinary Collaborative Innovation Mechanism (ICIM) framework based on an empirical study of a total of 28 open innovation competitions in the format of MAKEathons between 2016 to 2023. First, the conceptual framework was formulated based on the literature findings, and the framework was subsequently tested and iterated. Outcomes: The findings provide the ICIM framework composed of five elements: Discipline Diversity Quadruple; Systematic Structure; Inspirational Stimuli; Supportive Collaboration Environment; and Hardware and Intellectual Support. The framework offers a discussion of the key elements when attempting to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration for sustainability innovation. Contributions: This study contributes to two burgeoning areas of sustainable development and open innovation studies by articulating the concrete structure to bridge the gap. In practice, the framework helps facilitate effective innovation processes and positive social and environmental impact created for real-world sustainability challenges.

Keywords: action research, interdisciplinary collaboration, open innovation, problem-solving, sustainable development, sustainability challenges

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Authors: Shibly Abdullah

Abstract:

This paper provides an overview of fundamental philosophical and functional differences in conventional and Islamic accounting. The aim of this research is to undertake a detailed analysis focus on specific illustrations drawn from both these systems and highlight how these differences implicate in recording financial transactions and preparation of financial reports for a range of stakeholders. Accounting as being universally considered as a platform for providing a ‘true and fair’ view of corporate entities can be challenged in the current world view, as the business environment has evolved and transformed significantly. Growth of the non-traditional corporate entity such as Islamic financial institutions, fundamentally questions the applicability of conventional accounting standards in preparation of Shariah-compliant financial reporting. Coupled with this, there are significant concerns about the wider applicability of Islamic accounting standards and framework in order to achieve reporting practices satisfying the information needs generally. Against the backdrop of such a context, this paper raises fundamental question as to how potential convergence could be achieved between these two systems in order to provide users’ a transparent and comparable state of financial information resulting in an alternative framework of financial reporting.

Keywords: accounting, conventional accounting, corporate reporting, Islamic accounting

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Authors: Manel Youssef, Lotfi Belkacem

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This paper employs multivariate long memory GARCH models to simultaneously estimate mean and conditional variance spillover effects between oil prices and different financial markets. Since different financial assets are traded based on these market sector returns, it’s important for financial market participants to understand the volatility transmission mechanism over time and across these series in order to make optimal portfolio allocation decisions. We examine weekly returns from January 1, 2003 to November 30, 2012 and find evidence of significant transmission of shocks and volatilities between oil prices and some of the examined financial markets. The findings support the idea of cross-market hedging and sharing of common information by investors.

Keywords: oil prices, stock indices returns, oil volatility, contagion, DCC-multivariate (FI) GARCH

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Authors: Matthias Nnadi

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Using samples of 250 large listed firms by market capitalization in China and Hong Kong, we conducted empirical test to determine the impact of regulatory environment on reporting quality following IFRS convergence using three financial reporting measures; earning management, timely loss recognition and value relevance. Our results indicate that accounting data are more value relevant for Hong Kong listed firms than the Chinese A-share firms. The empirical results for timely loss recognition further reveal that there is a larger coefficient estimate on bad news earnings, which suggests that Chines A-share firms are more likely to report losses in a timely manner. The results support the evidence that substantial convergence of IFRS can improve financial reporting quality in a regulated environment such as China. This further supports the expectation that IFRS are relevant to China and has positive effect on its accounting practice and quality.

Keywords: reporting, quality, earning, loss, relevance, financial, China, Hong Kong

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Authors: Ali M. Al-Shaery

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The purpose of this paper is to address the functions of sustainability dimensions in city information modelling and to present the required sustainability criteria that support establishing a sustainable planning framework for enhancing existing cities and developing future smart cities. The paper is divided into two sections. The first section is based on the examination of a wide and extensive array of cross-disciplinary literature in the last decade and a half to conceptualize the terms ‘sustainable’ and ‘smart city,' and map their associated criteria to city information modelling. The second section is based on analyzing two approaches relating to city information modelling, namely statistical and dynamic approaches, and their suitability in the development of cities’ action plans. The paper argues that the use of statistical approaches to embedding sustainability dimensions in city information modelling have limited value. Despite the popularity of such approaches in addressing other dimensions like utility and service management in development and action plans of the world cities, these approaches are unable to address the dynamics across various city sectors with regards to economic, environmental and social criteria. The paper suggests an integrative dynamic and cross-disciplinary planning approach to embedding sustainability dimensions in city information modelling frameworks. Such an approach will pave the way towards optimal planning and implementation of priority actions of projects and investments. The approach can be used to achieve three main goals: (1) better development and action plans for world cities (2) serve the development of an integrative dynamic and cross-disciplinary framework that incorporates economic, environmental and social sustainability criteria and (3) address areas that require further attention in the development of future sustainable and smart cities. The paper presents an innovative approach for city information modelling and a well-argued, balanced hierarchy of sustainability criteria that can contribute to an area of research which is still in its infancy in terms of development and management.

Keywords: information modelling, smart city, sustainable city, sustainability dimensions, sustainability criteria, city development planning

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Authors: Ica Wulansari

Abstract:

Today, globalization encourages the global culture acceleration in the middle of accelerated industrialization that leads to the transformation of consumption pattern. Consumption is not only considered as a need but also lifestyle, moreover, plays a role as an ideology supported by global shopping system. This paper is aimed at analyzing how global society directed to support sustainability consumption, this is line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that prioritise sustainable program for environmental preservation to cope with economic growth impact. The paper applies qualitative method to analyze through literature studies. As a result, we attempt to discuss the relationship of various concepts among globalization, consumption, and risk society that produce green capitalism. There are three points related with green capitalism: Sustainable agenda, political ecology, and sustainable commodities that show sustainable consumption pattern supported by Capitalism. Sustainability consumption system is an ideal instrument to be implemented, nevertheless, this is not only solely a modernity of ecology politics to hidden Capitalist`s interest.

Keywords: consumption, sustainability, capitalist, environmental

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