'Too-much-of-a-good-thing'? The role of advanced eco-learning and contingency factors on the relationship between corporate environmental and financial performance

Inspired by the natural-resource-based view (NRBV) theory, we attempt to shed light on a controversy which has been persistent over the last decade, concerning the relationship between corporate environmental performance (CEP) and corporate financial performance (CFP). Using the 'too-much-of-a-good-thing' (TMGT) concept, which suggests that "too much can be worse than too little," we link mixed results and consider the roles of advanced eco-learning and contingency factors in influencing the CEP-CFP relationship. Based on a sample composed of ISO 14001 certified companies in Indonesia, and analyzing the data using consistent Partial Least Squares (PLSc), we found that: the CEP-CFP relationship follows an inverted U-shape; advanced eco-learning is a significant predictor of the CEP-CFP relationship, meaning that organizations able to develop higher eco-learning capability will be better able to identify the ideal boundaries of investment in environmental performance without reducing their financial performance; and that contingency factors such as environmental strategy and firm size have a significant role in influencing the CEP-CFP relationship. The study's limitations, implications for practitioners and a future research agenda are also detailed

Like What You Like or Like What Others Like? Conformity and Peer Effects on Facebook

Users of the social networking service Facebook have the possibility to post status updates for their friends to read. In turn, friends may react to these short messages by writing comments or by pressing a Like button to show their appreciation. Making use of five Swedish accounts, we set up a natural field experiment to study whether users are more prone to Like an update if someone else has done so before. We distinguish between three different treatment conditions: (i) one unknown user Likes the update, (ii) three unknown users Like the update and (iii) one peer Likes the update. Whereas the first condition had no effect, both the second and the third increased the probability to express a positive opinion by a factor of two or more, suggesting that both number of predecessors and social proximity matters. We identify three reasonable explanations for the observed herding behavior and isolate conformity as the primary mechanism in our experiment

Forecasting Daily Variability of the S and P 100 Stock Index using Historical, Realised and Implied Volatility Measurements

The increasing availability of financial market data at intraday frequencies has not only led to the development of improved volatility measurements but has also inspired research into their potential value as an information source for volatility forecasting. In this paper we explore the forecasting value of historical volatility (extracted from daily return series), of implied volatility (extracted from option pricing data) and of realised volatility (computed as the sum of squared high frequency returns within a day). First we consider unobserved components and long memory models for realised volatility which is regarded as an accurate estimator of volatility. The predictive abilities of realised volatility models are compared with those of stochastic volatility models and generalised autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity models for daily return series. These historical volatility models are extended to include realised and implied volatility measures as explanatory variables for volatility. The main focus is on forecasting the daily variability of the Standard and Poor's 100 stock index series for which trading data (tick by tick) of almost seven years is analysed. The forecast assessment is based on the hypothesis of whether a forecast model is outperformed by alternative models. In particular, we will use superior predictive ability tests to investigate the relative forecast performances of some models. Since volatilities are not observed, realised volatility is taken as a proxy for actual volatility and is used for computing the forecast error. A stationary bootstrap procedure is required for computing the test statistic and its $p$-value. The empirical results show convincingly that realised volatility models produce far more accurate volatility forecasts compared to models based on daily returns. Long memory models seem to provide the most accurate forecasts

Ethical Awareness, Ethical Judgment and Whistleblowing: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

This study aims to examine the ethical decision-making (EDM) model proposed by Schwartz (J Bus Ethics, doi:10.1007/s10551-015-2886-8,2016), where we consider the factors of non-rationality and aspects that affect ethical judgments of auditors to make the decision to blow the whistle. In this paper, we argue that the intention of whistleblowing depends on ethical awareness (EAW) and ethical judgment (EJW) as well as there is a mediation–moderation due to emotion (EMT) and perceived moral intensity (PMI) of auditors. Data were collected using an online surveywith 162 external auditors who worked on audit firms in Indonesia as well as 173 internal auditors working in the manufacturing and financial services. The result of multigroup analysis shows that emotion (EMT) can mediate the relationship between EAW and EJW. The nature of this relationship is more complex and then tested by adding moderating variables using consistent partial least squares approach. We found that EMT and PMI can improve the relationship between ethical judgments and whistleblowing intentions. These findings indicate that internal auditors are more likely to blow the whistle than external auditors; and reporting wrongdoing internally and anonymously are the preferred way of professional accountants to blow the whistle in Indonesia

Whistleblowing intentions among public accountants in indonesia: Testing for the moderation effects

Our study contributes by providing new insights into the relationship between the individual levels of the antecedents and how the intention of whistleblowing is moderated by perceived organizational support (POS), team norms (TNs), and perceived moral intensity (PMI). In this paper, we argue that the intention of both internal and external whistleblowing depends on the individual-level antecedents attitudes toward whistleblowing, perceived behavioral control, independence commitment, personal responsibility for reporting, and personal cost of reporting (PCR) and is moderated by POS, TNs, and PMI. The findings confirm our predictions. Data were collected using an online survey on 256 Indonesian public accountants who worked in the audit firm affiliated with the Big 4 and non- Big 4. The results support the argument that all the antecedents of individual levels can improve the auditors’ intention to blow the whistle (internally and externally). The nature of the relationship is more complex than analysis by adding moderating variables using the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling approach. We found that POS, TNs, and PMI can partially improve the relationship between the individual-level antecedents and whistleblowing intentions. These findings indicate that the POS, TNs, and PMI are a mechanism or that attribute is important in controlling behavior. © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016

‘Whistleblowing Triangle’: Framework and Empirical Evidence

This work empirically tests the concept of the ‘whistleblowing triangle,’ which is modeled on the three factors encapsulated by the fraud triangle (pressure or financial incentives, opportunity and rationalization), in the Indonesian context. Anchored in the proposition of an original research framework on the whistleblowing triangle and derived hypotheses, this work aims to expand the body of knowledge on this topic by providing empirical evidence. The sample used is taken from audit firms affiliated with both the big 4 and non-big 4 companies operating in Indonesia. The results of analysis using the PLS-PM method found a significant relationship between the components of the whistleblowing triangle and the intention of blowing the whistle. We found that financial incentives are the most significant predictor of auditors’ intention to blow the whistle in Indonesia. Other components, such as opportunity and rationalization, also play an important role in supporting auditors’ intention to blow the whistle. Our findings also suggest that related pressures are the top priority for audit firms in Indonesia to consider in increasing whistleblowing intention. We expand the previous literature on whistleblowing which has been derived from the components of the fraud triangle (Brown et al. in Account Public Interest 16(1):28–56, 2016; Smaili and Arroyo in J Bus Ethics, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3663-7, 2017) by adding empirical evidence. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature

To Blow or Not to Blow the Whistle: The Role of Rationalization in the Perceived Seriousness of Threats and Wrongdoing

Whistleblowers who need to decide whether or not they should report wrongdoing usually experience several anxieties and pressures before making a final decision. As whistleblowers continue to attract the attention of a wide range of stakeholders, more research is necessary to understand the effects of the perceived seriousness of threats (PST) and perceived seriousness of wrongdoing (PSW), as well as the effect of the rationalization process on the intention to blow the whistle. We make the original proposal that the rationalization process can affect how PST and PSW trigger whistleblowing intentions. We tested our model using employees of tax offices operating in an emerging economy. We suggest several research findings, which can be summarized as follows: (i) PST reduces individuals' intention to blow the whistle. That is, the greater the threat perceived by whistleblowers, the higher the likelihood they will choose to remain silent; (ii) we find evidence of a positive relationship between PSW and whistleblowing intention, whereby PSW increases individuals' intention to blow the whistle. That is, the more serious the wrongdoing perceived by potential whistleblowers, the more likely they are to choose to blow the whistle; and (iii) we find evidence of the important role of rationalization in moderating the relationships between PST, PSW, and whistleblowing intention. The implications of these findings for business ethics scholars, managers, and end-users interested in whistleblowing are also presented. \textcopyright 2019, Springer Nature B.V

Towards a Regenerative Economy: An Innovative Scale to Measure People's Awareness of the Circular Economy

The concept of the circular economy (CE) has gained attention as a means of achieving environmental goals and economic sustainability. People's awareness of CE is critical in achieving a more circular and regenerative economy, but there is a lack of consistent tools to measure this awareness. This research aims to develop a reliable and valid scale to measure people's awareness of CE. A systematic literature review identifies the main constructs of this scale, and the validation process includes structured interviews with experts, use of the Q-Sort method, statistical methods, and a pre-test with 144 respondents using exploratory factor analysis and non-probability sampling. The final proposed scale is tested via a survey of 820 respondents, with confirmatory factor analysis used to ensure reliability and validity. The proposed scale can be used to assess people's awareness of different CE strategies and, thus inform strategies, actions, and policies to achieve a more regenerative economy. The scale represents a theoretical contribution by providing uniformity and can be applied in different contexts. It also has practical applications for companies and governments to measure the level of awareness people have towards CE. \textcopyright 2023 Elsevier Lt