Asian Economic and Financial Review

Real earning management and firm performance of firms listing on Hanoi stock exchange in the context of promoting sustainability disclosure

La Soa Nguyen — 2025-05-30

This study investigates the impact of earnings management through real transactions (REM) on corporate financial performance (FP), mediated by sustainability disclosure. Using a sample of 192 companies listed on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) from 2019 to 2023, the authors analyze the effect of REM on FP, measured by Return on Assets (ROA) and Tobin’s Q, representing accounting-based and market-based performance, respectively. The study also examines the mediating role of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure in this relationship, given its growing importance. Control variables include company size (SIZE), financial strength (Z-SCORE), growth (GROWTH), and audit quality (AUDIT). Secondary data from financial statements and primary ESG scores based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standard are analyzed using STATA. Findings reveal that REM negatively impacts FP, with ESG disclosure acting as a significant mediator. The results suggest that firms engaging in REM undermine their financial performance, particularly when sustainability transparency is considered. Consequently, the study emphasizes the need for businesses to prioritize long-term development, strengthen ESG practices, and curb REM activities to sustain financial health and stakeholder trust. Practical implications highlight the importance of integrating ESG standards into corporate strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of short-term earnings manipulation.

Supply chain list disclosure and stock price crash risk – the role of industry competition and abnormal related-party transactions

Xi Pan — 2025-06-16

This study looks at how competition in an industry and unusual deals between related parties affect the release of supply chain lists and the risk of a stock price crash. Adding to earlier research that showed a link between supply chain list disclosure and stock price crash risk (SPCR), this study looks at how competition in the industry affects this relationship and how strange transactions involving related parties affect it. A quantitative approach is adopted, with OLS regression performed on a sample of 20,301 firm-year observations of Chinese non-financial listed companies from 2012 to 2022. The findings indicate that industry competition weakens the negative relationship between list disclosure and SPCR. More robust evidence reveals that supply chain list disclosure effectively reduces SPCR only in firms operating in low-competition industries. The results suggest that disclosing supply chain lists may undermine the competitive advantage of enterprises and further intensify the industry competition due to the high proprietary costs, particularly in highly competitive sectors. The mechanism test also shows that making the supply chain lists public lowers the number of strange related-party transactions, which lowers SPCR. Finally, our findings remain robust after conducting a series of robustness checks. This research offers valuable insights for corporate managers in selecting disclosure strategies, informs policymakers on enhancing disclosure regulations, and serves as a reference for investors concerned about SPCR.

Investigating the impact of bridging the digital divide on reducing unemployment and achieving sdgs in Saudi Arabia: Panel ARDL approach

Mohamed Ali Ali — 2025-07-07

This study seeks to examine how Internet penetration and usage affect the unemployment rate among Saudis by gender. A descriptive analysis was used to generate two standard models and conduct an analysis on them using the ARDL Approach. The findings reveal that there is a statistically significant relationship between the independent variables in the model developed, which are "Internet penetration rate" and "male Internet use," and the dependent variable "male unemployment rate." Additionally, there is a relationship between the independent variables "Internet penetration rate" and "female Internet use" and the dependent variable "female unemployment rate." In addition, the findings indicated that bridging the digital gap will help reduce unemployment and attain the sustainable development goals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Policymakers should focus on the expansion of Internet coverage, upgrading digital skills, e-employment, enhancement of digital infrastructures for SMEs, and aligning digital inclusion strategies with Vision 2030 and the UN SDGs to reduce the digital divide, tackle unemployment, and contribute to further sustainable economic development. This study adds to the existing literature by taking a closer look at how Internet penetration and usage affect unemployment rates in Saudis by gender and shows that this can reduce unemployment through bridging the digital divide and subsequently support advancing toward the SDGs.

FDI and economic growth nexus: An empirical assessment of ECOWAS countries

Timothy A Aderemi — 2025-07-07

This study evaluated the effects of FDI on ECOWAS economic growth in ECOWAS countries through time series data between 1990 and 2023. In its assessment, the ARDL approach was employed with the following results: the study found that FDI creates a considerable direct relationship with economic growth. Similarly, economic expansion goes hand in hand with open trading operations. The inflation rate shows a minor negative relationship with the economic expansion rate. The relationship between manufacturing value added shows positive and beneficial impacts on economic growth. The population growth rate shows both positive and considerable effects on economic growth in ECOWAS countries. This scholarly research recommends that policymakers throughout ECOWAS should establish programs to drive FDI inflows into their countries because such measures will create meaningful sub-regional economic growth. The research suggests that ECOWAS lawmakers should implement measures to enhance manufacturing sector growth, which will boost productivity levels while creating jobs for achieving sustainable economic expansion in their nations.

Exploring family dynamics: A confirmatory factor analysis of family functioning in Thai family-owned businesses

Akachai Apisakkul — 2025-07-07

This study aims to develop a comprehensive model of family functioning specifically tailored to family-owned businesses in Thailand and to assess its alignment with empirical data, focusing on key components that influence the sustainability and performance of such businesses. Data were collected from 305 family members involved in family-owned businesses using a family functioning assessment. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted using AMOS software to evaluate the model's fit with the empirical data. The analysis identified five critical components of family functioning: Problem Solving, Communication, Roles, Affective Responsiveness, and Affective Involvement. The model showed excellent alignment with empirical data, yielding favorable fit indices (χ² = 18.956, df = 14, RMSEA = 0.034, CFI = 0.998), confirming the proposed hypotheses. The study confirmed that effective family functioning—characterized by open communication, clear role definitions, and emotional bonds—is essential for the cohesion and long-term success of family-owned businesses in Thailand. The model provides valuable insights into how family dynamics influence business outcomes and intergenerational collaboration. Emphasizing communication, structured problem-solving, and role clarity can enhance operational efficiency, reduce conflicts, and strengthen succession planning, ensuring the sustainability of family businesses in a changing economic environment.

From idea to impact: Understanding the role of organizational climate in fostering innovation

Niranchana Priya Viswanathan — 2025-07-07

The moderating effect of HR practices on IWB. A primary objective of this research is to investigate the specific HR practices (i.e., information sharing, supervisory support, compensation, training, job autonomy) and their effect on the innovative work behavior (IWB) of IT sector employees in South India. It also considers the potential mediating effect of organizational climate on these relationships. The approach used was a positivist and quantitative research design with a stratified random sampling technique involving 450 employees from top IT companies in South India. Path analysis was conducted with AMOS to test the direct and indirect associations fitted to the data. The results show that all the HR practices investigated have significant effects on IWB, with information sharing having the greatest direct effect. Organizational climate partially mediates all these relationships, indicating that a favorable and conducive working environment reinforces HR practices to foster innovation. This study provides empirical evidence for the importance of organizational climate in strengthening the effect of HR practices on in-role innovative behavior in a regional IT setting. The findings offer guidance for IT and HR managers aiming to stimulate innovation. HR practices and climate enhancement can motivate employees' innovative behavior in the South Indian IT industry.