Recent Submissions

  • Accounting professionals' legitimacy maintenance of modern slavery inspired extreme work practices in an emerging economy

    Win, Sandar; Chhatbar, Mehul; Parajuli, Mahalaxmi Adhikari; Clement, Seyefar; Sheffield Hallam University; Coventry University; Abertay University; University of Bedfordshire (Taylor and Francis, 2024-02-23)
    It is well-established in the human resource management literature that high intensity and excessive workload can cause undesirable physiological, psychological, behavioural, and social outcomes. However, there is a need to theorise the process by which extreme work has been legitimised and embedded among professionals. In this paper, we view extreme workers as those professionals who contribute to their works beyond acceptable contractual obligations, either voluntarily for personal rewards or involuntarily due to the menace of penalty, or both. We chose to investigate how accounting professionals in India legitimise extreme work in their workplaces using exploratory qualitative research methods and applied economies of worth theoretical framework. Our findings demonstrate that senior accounting professionals with the assistance of professional associations can play an important role in mobilising professional and organisational resources to tackle extreme work in their accounting firms and the industry.
  • Digital financial inclusion in emerging economies: evidence from Jordan

    Al-Khub, Abdalla Fuad; Saeudy, Mohamed; Gerged, Ali Meftah; University of Bedfordshire; Sheffield University; Misurata University (MDPI, 2024-02-08)
    This study explores the role of digital financial inclusion in mitigating poverty and bolstering economic growth, with a special focus on developing nations during the COVID-19 era. Centering on Jordan, it seeks to identify key influencers of financial access by analyzing data from 260 participants using a non-linear probit regression model. The research uncovers a significant disparity in financial inclusion between Jordanian adult males and females, attributable to differences in education, wealth, employment, and income levels. These findings point to the necessity of prioritizing financial accessibility for marginalized groups such as women, the elderly, and those with lower income to effectively combat poverty and facilitate economic advancement and sustainable development in emerging markets.
  • An institutional perspective on the shifts in banking and capitalist ideology: ‎sustainability, social, and environmental insights

    Saeudy, Mohamed; Hussainey, Khaled; ; University of Bedfordshire (Emerald, 2024-03-04)
    Purpose – This paper investigates the development of moralised business ideologies (MBIs) among sustainable banks as they navigate social and environmental business prospects. Methodology –Empirical evidence is drawn from top-management-level interviews with 16 UK-based small and medium-sized banks that specialise in financing social and environmental projects. Findings – MBIs have emerged in the literature review and empirical data analysis as a new concept taken on by sustainable banks with roots closer to MBIs such as ethical practices, moralised values, sustainable business models, and ecological standards. The results confirm that MBIs help banking institutions to create a more sustained positive impact in terms of social and environmental business opportunities. Originality– This paper offers novel evidence on the intersection between banking and MBIs with a focus on social and environmental considerations.
  • Exploring the relationship between digital initiatives, dynamic capabilities and market performance: a conceptual framework

    Ho Dang, Lan Phuong (Emerald Publishing Limited, 2023-12-13)
    This chapter delves into the impact of digital initiatives on firms and sheds light on how they can be explained through market reactions and the resource/capabilities mechanism. By providing a novel conceptual framework that reflects the potential impact of digital initiatives on the sensing, seizing and transforming capabilities of dynamic capabilities, this chapter reveals the tremendous potential of digital initiatives to help firms become more adaptive to their environment and create sustainable competitive advantages that elicit positive market responses. This conceptual framework represents an original contribution to the literature. It enhances the understanding of the resource-based view and efficient market hypothesis, providing a fresh perspective on the influence of digital initiatives on firm performance and the dynamic capabilities mechanism that has hitherto been overlooked. As a result, this chapter enables researchers to develop testable hypotheses that examine the causal relationships between digital initiatives, dynamic capabilities and market performance using robust quantitative research methods. Furthermore, this chapter offers valuable insights for managers seeking to develop a more focused approach to digital transformation and enhance their competitive advantage. By exploring the impact of digital initiatives on sensing, seizing and transforming capabilities, managers can gain a deeper understanding of how they can leverage digital initiatives to improve their organisational performance and respond more effectively to the demands of an ever-changing landscape.
  • Big Data innovation and implementation in projects teams: towards a SEM approach to conflict prevention

    Owolabi, Hakeem; Oyedele, Azeez A.; Oyedele, Lukumon O.; Alaka, Hafiz; Akanbi, Lukman; Ganiyu, Sikiru Abiodun; Olawale, Oladimeji; Aju, Oluseyi (Emerald, 2024-02-01)
    Purpose: Despite an enormous body of literature on conflict management, intra-group conflicts vis-à-vis team performance, there is currently no study investigating conflict prevention approach to handling innovation-induced conflicts that may hinder smooth implementation of big data technology in project teams. Design/methodology/ Approach: This study uses constructs from conflict theory, and team power relations to develop an explanatory framework. The study proceeded to formulate theoretical hypotheses from task-conflict, process-conflict, relationship, and team power conflict. The hypotheses were tested using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) to understand key preventive measures that can encourage conflict prevention in project teams when implementing big data technology. Findings: Results from the structural model validated six out of seven theoretical hypotheses and identified Relationship Conflict Prevention as the most important factor for promoting smooth implementation of Big Data Analytics technology in project teams. This is followed by Power-Conflict prevention, prevention of relationship disputes and prevention of Process conflicts respectively. Results also show that relationship and power conflict interact on the one hand, while Task and relationship conflict prevention on the other hand, suggesting the prevention of one of the conflicts could minimise the outbreak of the other. Research Limitations: The study has been conducted within the context of big data adoption in a project-based work environment and the need to prevent innovation-induced conflicts in teams. Similarly, the research participants examined are stakeholders within UK projected-based organisations. Practical Implications: The study urges organisations wishing to embrace big data innovation to evolve a multipronged approach for facilitating smooth implementation through prevention of conflicts among project frontlines. We urge organisations to anticipate both subtle and overt frictions that can undermine relationships and team dynamics, effective task performance, derail processes and create unhealthy rivalry that undermines cooperation and collaboration in the team. Social Implications: The study also addresses the uncertainty and disruption that big data technology presents to employees in teams and explore conflict prevention measure which can be used to mitigate such in project teams. Originality/Value: The study proposes a Structural Model for establishing conflict prevention strategies in project teams through a multidimensional framework that combines constructs like team power, process, relationship & task conflicts; to encourage Big Data implementation.
  • PRME as a curricula planning mechanism to achieve the UN SDGs

    Saeudy, Mohamed (2023-05-21)
    This presentation explores how we could use PRME as a curricula planning mechanism to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Moreover, it will highlight the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Apps for students to comprehend and contribute towards achieving the UN SDGs, within the context of business school curricula planning processes.
  • Empowering and integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME)‎: using AI & PRME teaching and learning activities

    Saeudy, Mohamed (2023-06-18)
    The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into educational frameworks has the potential to revolutionize various fields, including the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME). This research paper explores the opportunities and challenges of empowering and integrating AI into PRME, with a focus on promoting responsible management education and practices. The paper delves into how AI can help with PRME-related teaching and learning such as enhanced learning experiences, personalized education, and teaching and learning data intelligence. Additionally, the paper discusses how AI can facilitate the integration of real-world, industry-relevant cases and simulations into PRME curricula, fostering practical skills and critical thinking among students. However, alongside the benefits, the paper also examines the challenges and ethical considerations associated with AI integration in PRME-related teaching and learning activities. It addresses concerns related to data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the need for human oversight and accountability. Ethical frameworks and guidelines for responsible AI usage in education are explored, emphasizing the importance of transparency, fairness, and inclusivity in AI-enabled learning environments. This paper aims to explore the role of Artificial intelligence (AI) in empowering PRME-related teaching and learning activities. It focuses on enhancing students’ capabilities to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN ‎SDGs hereafter). It explores how AI could offer a framework for integrating the SDGs into business curricula and pedagogy, with the aim of developing the capabilities of students to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. It focusses on how we guide business schools in incorporating sustainability and social responsibility into their curricula and practices. By incorporating the SDGs into business curricula, PRME could provide students with the knowledge, skills, and values they need to become responsible leaders and global citizens. Through PRME, students learn about the interconnectedness of economic, social, and environmental issues, and are encouraged to think critically about the role of business in society. Students will learn about the challenges and opportunities of sustainable development, and are equipped with the tools they need to create innovative and sustainable solutions to global problems.
  • Performance evaluation of deep learning and boosted trees for cryptocurrency closing price prediction

    Oyedele, Azeez A.; Ajayi, Anuoluwapo O.; Oyedele, Lukumon O.; Bello, Sururah A.; Jimoh, Kudirat O.; University of Bedfordshire; University of West of England; Osun State University (Elsevier, 2022-11-09)
    The emergence of cryptocurrencies has drawn significant investment capital in recent years with an exponential increase in market capitalization and trade volume. However, the cryptocurrency market is highly volatile and burdened with substantial heterogeneous datasets characterized by complex interactions between predictors, which may be difficult for conventional techniques to achieve optimal results. In addition, volatility significantly impacts investment decisions; thus, investors are confronted with how to determine the price and assess their financial investment risks reasonably. This study investigates the performance evaluation of a genetic algorithm tuned Deep Learning (DL) and boosted tree-based techniques to predict several cryptocurrencies' closing prices. The DL models include Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), Deep Forward Neural Networks, and Gated Recurrent Units. The study assesses the performance of the DL models with boosted tree-based models on six cryptocurrency datasets from multiple data sources using relevant performance metrics. The results reveal that the CNN model has the least mean average percentage error of 0.08 and produces a consistent and highest explained variance score of 0.96 (on average) compared to other models. Hence, CNN is more reliable with limited training data and easily generalizable for predicting several cryptocurrencies' daily closing prices. Also, the results will help practitioners obtain a better understanding of crypto market challenges and offer practical strategies to lower risks.
  • Middle eastern extinctions: building a religious motivation for species protection

    Almontaser, Tariq; Atkins, Jill; Elfadli, Ali; Eskandrany, Abdullah; Hassan, Abeer; Mowafi, Omar; Norton, Simon; Saeudy, Mohamed (Routledge, 2022-05-30)
    The extinction and biodiversity accounting literature focused initially on developed economies including the UK and Europe, spreading recently to research on Africa, especially South Africa, China and other countries in the Far East. This chapter addresses species extinctions in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Libya to provide insights into the situation in these countries, problems and issues arising, as well as potential solutions. It presents the causes of species extinctions in the Middle East and provides information on some of the initiatives underway to prevent extinctions. The chapter builds a religious rationale, indeed imperative, for species protection and biodiversity conservation. It discusses the status of threatened species in Saudi Arabia, providing an understanding of the importance of religion as a rationale for species protection.
  • Accounting perspectives on the business value ‎of big data during and beyond the Covid-19 ‎pandemic

    Saeudy, Mohamed; Gerged, Ali Meftah; Albitar, Khaldoon; University of Bedfordshire; De Montfort Universit; Misurata University; University of Portsmouth (Editura ASE, 2022-04-22)
    Research Question: How can business organizations develop accounting practices to use big data to create competitive intelligence advantages to survive during and beyond the Covid-19 conditions? Motivation: We aim to provide new accounting perspectives for using big data techniques in business organizations beyond the covid-19. Idea: We argue that the massive reduction in business capacity and operations will interpose the accounting and financial practices beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a crucial need to uncover the underlying business practices and market circumstances toward the radical shifts in business and society. Date: Our paper uses a desk study method to investigate companies' possible challenges and opportunities to use big data analytics as a survival method during and beyond the Covid-19 conditions. Tools: Critical contingencies represent one of the leading business strategies to manage the shift in customer demand and business risks. Big data can be used in this sense as a valuable intangible asset to create these critical contingencies and help a business survive beyond this pandemic. Findings: This study provides policy and practitioner implications in relation to establishing new accounting perspectives on big data analytics in the context of achieving economic sustainability for corporations during and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic. It offers new forms of trust, accountability and governance practices to integrate big data into accounting practices to create more competitive intelligence for businesses.
  • Collaborating across disciplines for climate change education

    Pritchard, Diana J.; Worsfold, Nicholas T.; Connolly, Helen; Rowinski, Paul; Egbe, Amanda; Saeudy, Mohamed; Bishop, James; Ashley, Tamara; University of Bedfordshire; Brunel University (2021-11-22)
    Academics with a shared purpose for climate change education have come together from across the University of Bedfordshire to create a bottom-up Sustainability Forum, where each member defines their own contribution and purpose. This collaboration facilitates mass ‘learn-in’ events on climate change and social justice themes, where students cross disciplinary boundaries and engage with external stakeholders as professionals.
  • Emergent themes of social and environmental ‎reporting in the UK retail banks ‎

    Saeudy, Mohamed; Hussainey, Khaled; University of Bedfordshire; University of Portsmouth (Inderscience Publishers, 2021-11-24)
    We examine current practices in the development and communication of social and environmental reporting (SER) in the UK retail banks. Empirical data was triangulated between semi-structured interviews with bank executives, bank sustainability reports, and third-party sustainability entrepreneur initiatives (termed ‘SEIs’) to identify current practices and growth areas. We use social contract theory to examine how these social and environmental retail banks developed their SER practices. Our findings reveal that SER practices are crucial for pursuing more positive social and environmental values. We clarify the role of SER as a form of integrated reporting (IR) to assess and improve the usefulness of the IR reporting practices. The SER practices also appear to have benefited from the presence of a number of SEIs in the sampled banks who specialise in commercialising social and environmental projects. In addition, methodical analyses of SER components assist managers and regulators in determining which components are meaningful to stakeholders.
  • Large shareholding and firm value in the Alternative Investment Market (AIM)

    Mortazian, Mona; Tabaghdehi, Seyedeh Asieh H.; Mase, Bryan (Springer, 2018-11-30)
    This paper investigates the impact of non-managerial and managerial blockholders on the value of the firms listed in the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). This study mainly investigates whether the effect of blockholders on firm value is due to the AIM high ownership concentration and low investor protection. The primary empirical finding, using GMM, justifies that non-managerial and managerial blockholders in the AIM affect the firm value in different ways. Non-managerial blockholders in the AIM improve the firm value by monitoring managers when their block sizes are up to 32%. However, when their block sizes exceed 32%, the blockholders expropriate other shareholders.
  • Liquidity and volatility of stocks moved from the Main Market to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM)

    Mortazian, Mona; University of Bedfordshire (Springer, 2021-07-10)
    Companies moving from the Main market of London Stock Exchange to the AIM impair their information environment when entering the AIM; the information environment is measured by the stock’s liquidity and volatility. The primary empirical finding is that movement from the Main Market to the AIM decreases the liquidity and volatility of stocks. After controlling for the effects of factors that are known to affect stock liquidity and for the change in company characteristics after the movement date in the multivariate analysis, it is found that moving to the AIM is associated with a significant increase in Amihud illiquidity and the bid–ask spread and with a decrease in stock return volatility. The documented effects of movement to the AIM are found to be sustained over a long period of time following the movement event. This therefore implies that moving from the Main Market to the AIM is not improving the companies’ liquidity and volatility.
  • Interpreting banks’ sustainability initiatives as reputational ‎risk management and mechanisms for coping, re-‎embedding and rebuilding soceital trust ‎

    Saeudy, Mohamed; Atkins, Jill; Barone, Elisabetta A.V.; University of Bedfordshire (Emerald Publishing, 2021-06-09)
    The financial crisis and increasing concerns around climate change and global warming have combined to shatter societal trust in the banking sector worldwide. Consequently, there is an urgent need for banks to rebuild trust among their stakeholders and enhance their reputations. This paper contributes to a growing literature in sustainable and green banking by exploring the views of senior banking representatives towards the implementation of sustainability initiatives through extensive interview research. We explore the extent to which such initiatives are embedded within the banking industry, whether they represent risk management mechanisms and whether they are imbued with reputational risk management rather than a genuine response to ethical societal concerns. The interviewees’ utterances are interpreted through a sociological theoretical lens derived from the work of Giddens and Beck, allowing us to conclude that external initiatives such as the Equator Principles seem to be adopted as re-embedding mechanisms that can rebuild societal trust, as well as representing mechanisms of reputational risk management. Further, the analysis suggested that internal sustainability initiatives were interpreted as coping mechanisms whereby bank employees can recreate their protective cocoon, reinstating their ontological security in response to the high consequence risks of climate change and other related systemic factors that create overwhelming feelings of engulfment.
  • Four approaches to accounting for diversity in global organisations

    Özbilgin, Mustafa F.; Tatli, Ahu; Ipek, Gulce; Sameer, Muhammad; Brunel University London; Université Paris-Dauphine; Koç University; Queen Mary University of London; University of Bedfordshire (Academic Press, 2015-05-07)
    This paper examines four distinct approaches to accounting for diversity outcomes in global organisations: shareholder, stakeholder, regulation and global value chain. Drawing on a study of 22 globally significant organisations, our analyses show that there is a need to move beyond narrow framing of benefits of diversity management based on shareholder and stakeholder perspectives. Our study demonstrates that regulation as well as global value chain is pertinent new perspectives that organisations need to move towards if they are to seriously account for diversity outcomes. Yet, our study shows that such a development is not likely to happen easily due to a number of significant challenges in accounting for diversity outcomes in global organisations.
  • Young people and police making "Marginal Gains": climbing fells, building relationships and changing police safeguarding practice

    Factor, Fiona; Ackerley, Elizabeth; University of Bedfordshire; University of Manchester (Emerald, 2019-09-05)
    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe a youth work model of participatory research practice which utilises a range of methods within non-traditional research settings, highlighting the importance of trust, risk-taking and the creation of mutually respectful and non-hierarchical relationships. The paper suggests that such methods enable the development of new insights into previously intractable challenges when working with adolescents needing a safeguarding response from professionals. Design/methodology/approach The paper reflects on the challenges and successes of a project which brought police officers and young people together to develop solutions to improving safeguarding responses to young people affected by sexual violence and related forms of harm in adolescence. In particular, this paper focuses on a residential held in October 2016 in the Lake District involving 7 officers and 15 young people. Findings Despite a number of ethical challenges throughout the project, this paper makes the case that potentially high-risk participatory research projects can be supported and managed by university research centres. However, for these to be successful, staff need to work in trauma-informed ways, and possess high-level expertise in group work facilitation. Transparency, honesty, constancy and a range of different and creative activities, including mental and physical challenges, all contributed to the success of the project. Originality/value By detailing the empirical steps taken to develop, support and realise this project, this paper advances a youth work model of participatory research practice, filling an important gap within the methodological literature on participatory work with young people affected by sexual violence.
  • Microfinance governance: a systematic review and future research directions

    Rasel, Md. Ali; Win, Sandar (Emerald, 2020-04-20)
    Purpose The purpose of this article is to systematically review extant research on the corporate governance (CG) of microfinance institutions (MFIs) from a global perspective. In the process, it discusses scholarly contributions and highlights key issues from the findings of past studies on several governance attributes, in particular, their interconnections and influence on different institutional outcomes of the sector. Design/methodology/approach Although academic work on microfinance governance is substantial, prior studies lack a comprehensive approach to reviewing the literature on this topic. We adopted a systematic method to review past studies on microfinance CG by applying particular inclusion and exclusion criteria. In this regard, the study developed specific questions and sought to find their answers from the existing literature. Findings The findings from our research indicate that microfinance governance-performance relationship is the central focus of the majority of our reviewed papers, although a few attempts have been made to explain the interconnection between CG mechanisms at the firm and institutional level. Our findings also show that existing studies have used a variety of techniques to measure MFI performance vis-à-vis their hybrid mission, such as profitability and outreach. Moreover, the study found that common topics discussed in the mainstream literature include board structure, CEO characteristics, audit quality, external governance, disclosure and MFI ownership type. Research limitations/implications This review has some limitations that warrant further research. First, we considered only peer-reviewed scientific publications for our systematic review. Second, we omitted non-English journal papers from our sample. In light of these limitations, we provide some future research directions that may shed further light on our current inquiry. Originality/value This paper evaluates past relevant studies using a systematic approach (in preference to the commonly used narrative approach) for a span of over eighteen years; thereby contributing significantly to the sectoral governance literature. This study is novel in that it offers new incentives and opportunities for further research in order to meet the shortcomings of reviewed papers from various theoretical, empirical, methodological and geographical standpoints.
  • Intraday and interday distribution of stock returns and their asymmetric conditional volatility: firm-level evidence

    Balaban, Ercan; Ozgen, Tolga; Karidis, Socrates; University of Bedfordshire; Craig Associates; Coventry University London (Elsevier, 2018-02-21)
    This paper is a pioneering effort to jointly analyze the intraday and interday distribution of stock returns and their asymmetric time varying volatility using firm level data from an emerging stock market, namely, the Bourse Istanbul. The joint intraday and interday distribution analysis is based on the two trading sessions with a two-hour lunch break and the trading days of week. The asymmetric time varying volatility is based on the Threshold Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity-in-Mean [TGARCH(1,1)-M] model with systematic risk entering the return generating process. This is a unique framework to simultaneously test (i) the weak-form informational efficiency, (ii) the conditional total risk-return relationship and the systematic risk effects, and (iii) volatility persistence and asymmetry in volatility. The firm level intraday data sets are used for the period 1995 to 2015. Firstly, a strong result can be pronounced for a positive return effect for the second trading session of Thursdays followed by the second session of Fridays. The first session of Wednesdays is more associated with a stock price decline. The volatility is the highest in the second session of Mondays. Although the second session of Thursdays sees a volatility increase referring to a positive risk-return relationship, Fridays do not have any significant volatility increase. This can be seen as a true anomaly where we could observe higher returns with lower volatility. Secondly, it can be concluded that only the systematic risk is priced for the great majority of the selected firms. In addition, we cannot observe a significant asymmetry in the volatility in most cases. Finally, it is found that the financial companies have a significantly higher systematic risk than the industrial companies.
  • Impact of board gender diversity on dividend payments: evidence from some emerging economies

    Saeed, Abubakr; Sameer, Muhammad; COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Pakistan; University of Bedfordshire (Science direct, 2017-05-06)
    This study investigates the impact of board gender diversity on dividend payments in the context of emerging economies. Using a dataset of listed firms from India, China and Russia over the period 2007–2014, we find strong and robust evidence indicating that board gender diversity is negatively related to cash dividend payments in all emerging economies. Moreover, we find that state-ownership positively moderates the relationship between gender diversity and dividend payments. However, this effect is observed only for China and Russia. In additional analyses, we find that the negative link between board gender diversity and dividend payments is more pronounced during the financial crisis. However, the moderating role of state-ownership does not remain significant during the financial crisis.

View more