Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science

Exploring the importance of the perceived value of port users: evidence from the public port system in Ecuador

2024-04-16T21:25:46+00:00

Purpose

This article aims to explore the concept of chain value of the public port system in Ecuador from the perspective of importing/exporting companies, analyzing how perceived value in the use of port services affects customer satisfaction and the intermediate links of the influence of trust and commitment on customer loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

Relying on a survey of 634 Ecuadorian companies with experience in international trade as port users and a theoretical framework well-established in the literature on consumer behavior, the empirical study found evidence of a positive and significant relationship with the knowledge of chain effects.

Findings

The findings confirm the chain effect and reveal ways to maintain an ongoing satisfactory, trust and committed relationship with users, thereby ultimately gaining and maintaining their loyalty. The conclusions suggest how this postulate can help to close the gap referred to the effective management of port services, and point out that port managers should be concerned with a continuous in-depth understanding of the perceived value and its chain effects.

Originality/value

The authors add evidence of the use of the postulate of the chain of effects on these dimensions, whose applicability is very well established, tested and consensual for the doctrine in industrial marketing. In contrast, it is scarcely present in the port relationship with its users.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JEFAS-09-2022-0214

The relationship between dividend policy and earnings management: a causality analysis

2024-04-16T21:35:02+00:00

Purpose

The objective of this paper is to investigate the direction of the causal relationship between dividend policy (DP) and earnings management (EM).

Design/methodology/approach

This research utilizes the panel data analysis to investigate the causal relationship between EM and DP. It provides empirical insights based on a sample of 280 French nonfinancial companies listed on the CAC All-Tradable index during the period of 2008–2015. The study initiates with a Granger causality examination on the unbalanced panel data and employs a dynamic panel approach with the generalized method of moments (GMM). It further estimates the empirical models simultaneously using the three-stage least squares (3SLS) method and the iterative triple least squares (iterative 3SLS) method.

Findings

The estimation of our various empirical models confirms the presence of a bidirectional causal relationship between DP and EM.

Practical implications

Our study highlights the prevalence of EM in the French context, particularly within DP. It underscores the need for regulatory bodies, the Ministry of Finance, external auditors and stock exchange organizers to prioritize governance mechanisms for improving the quality of financial information disclosed by companies.

Originality/value

This research is, to the best of our knowledge, the first is to extensively investigate the reciprocal causal relationship between DP and EM in France. Previous studies have not placed a significant emphasis on exploring this bidirectional link between these two variables.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JEFAS-09-2021-0198

The impact of relationship marketing practices on companies’ market and financial performance in emerging markets

2024-04-16T21:43:17+00:00

Purpose

The paper aims to reveal the impact of relationship marketing (RM) practices adopted by companies in emerging markets on their market and financial performance (FP) over a long-term, 13-year perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

The research design combines primary empirical data from 229 Russian companies, based on the Contemporary Marketing Practices (CMP) survey, and objective FP data from official statistical databases for 2008–2020 to verify the impact of RM practices on market and FP in the long term.

Findings

The research underlines the significant impact of RM practices. It is important to notice that the effect of product development (PD) on marketing performance is mediated by competitor orientation. PD affects market and FP, whose roles vary with the return on assets (ROA).

Research limitations/implications

Research design supplements the subjective survey data with the objective FP data on the ROA to avoid common method bias.

Practical implications

Implementation of RM practices by Russian companies can increase their effectiveness of performance in the long term.

Originality/value

This research shows the positive impact of RM practices on the FP of Russian firms over the past 13 years.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JEFAS-01-2022-0034

Impact of competition and concentration on bank income smoothing in Central and Eastern European countries

2024-04-16T20:22:11+00:00

Purpose

This study examines the impact of competition and concentration on bank income smoothing in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The two-step system GMM method was used to analyse the impact of competition and concentration on bank income smoothing in 17 CEEs from 2004 to 2015.

Findings

Loan loss provisions (LLPs) are negatively related to bank competition and concentration. The authors find no evidence for income smoothing using LLPs in a high-competition or high-concentration environment.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of the study is that the analysis was restricted to commercial banks. The authors did not examine investment banks or microfinance banks in this study. Also, not having access to databases does not allow them to include recent years in the study.

Practical implications

CEE commercial banks will likely keep fewer provisions or engage in under-provisioning when they face intense competition, and this can expose them to credit risk, which may threaten their stability.

Originality/value

This study is the first to investigate the effect of concentration and competition on income smoothing among CEE banks.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JEFAS-11-2021-0250

Spillovers between cryptocurrencies, gold and stock markets: implication for hedging strategies and portfolio diversification under the COVID-19 pandemic

2024-04-16T20:33:02+00:00

Purpose

This study analyzes the static and dynamic risk spillover between US/Chinese stock markets, cryptocurrencies and gold using daily data from August 24, 2018, to January 29, 2021. This study provides practical policy implications for investors and portfolio managers.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use the Diebold and Yilmaz (2012) spillover indices based on the forecast error variance decomposition from vector autoregression framework. This approach allows the authors to examine both return and volatility spillover before and after the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. First, the authors used a static analysis to calculate the return and volatility spillover indices. Second, the authors make a dynamic analysis based on the 30-day moving window spillover index estimation.

Findings

Generally, results show evidence of significant spillovers between markets, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, cryptocurrencies and gold markets are net receivers of risk. This study provides also practical policy implications for investors and portfolio managers. The reached findings suggest that the mix of Bitcoin (or Ethereum), gold and equities could offer diversification opportunities for US and Chinese investors. Gold, Bitcoin and Ethereum can be considered as safe havens or as hedging instruments during the COVID-19 crisis. In contrast, Stablecoins (Tether and TrueUSD) do not offer hedging opportunities for US and Chinese investors.

Originality/value

The paper's empirical contribution lies in examining both return and volatility spillover between the US and Chinese stock market indices, gold and cryptocurrencies before and after the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. This contribution goes a long way in helping investors to identify optimal diversification and hedging strategies during a crisis.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JEFAS-09-2021-0173

Do credit risks deter FDI? Empirical evidence from the SAARC countries

2024-04-16T20:44:18+00:00

Purpose

This paper makes a novel attempt to estimate the potential impact of credit risk on foreign direct investment (FDI hereafter), thereby focusing on a completely unexplored area in the existing empirical literature.

Design/methodology/approach

To provide a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between credit risk and FDI inflows, the study incorporates all the eight-member economies of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC hereafter) and analyzes a panel data set, over the period 2011 to 2019, extracted from the World Development Indicators, using the suitable econometric techniques for the efficient estimations of the specified models.

Findings

The results indicate a negative and statistically significant relationship between the credit risk of the banking sectors and FDI inflows. Similarly, market size and inflation rate appear to be the two other main factors behind the increasing FDI inflows in the SAARC member economies. Interestingly, the size of the market became irrelevant in attracting FDI inflows when the Indian economy is excluded from the sample due to its higher economic weight. On the other hand, FDI inflows are not dependent on the level of trade openness, with most of the specifications showing either an insignificant or negative coefficient of the variable.

Practical implications

The obtained results are unique and robust to alternative methodologies, and hence, the SAARC economies could consider them as the critical inputs in formulating the appropriate policies on FDI inflows.

Originality/value

The findings are unique and original. The authors have established a relationship between credit risk and FDI for the first time in the SAARC context.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JEFAS-09-2021-0191

Impact of private and public initiatives on individuals' employment and income during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from Peru

2024-04-16T20:52:38+00:00

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of private and public initiatives (financial literacy, entrepreneurship, remote work and government aid) on individual job loss and decrease in income during the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used an unbalanced panel data analysis with the National Household Survey for 2019–2020. The hypotheses are tested with a probit panel data model since the dependent variables are binary.

Findings

The study findings indicate that financial preparedness reduced the probability of having a decrease in income, but only to informal workers in metropolitan Lima. Furthermore, entrepreneurship helped mainly female informal workers to reduce their probability of becoming unemployed in metropolitan Lima. Besides, the implementation of remote work as a substitute of face-to-face work was not enough to avoid the decrease in income in the case of informal workers and it was only effective to avoid unemployment in the case of formal workers in metropolitan Lima. Finally, public aid proved to be instrumental in mitigating the decrease in income, but only to informal workers in Metropolitan Lima.

Research limitations/implications

The study results only apply for the first year of the pandemic.

Practical implications

Policymakers should focus on increasing the financial preparedness of informal workers, especially in provinces.

Social implications

Policymakers must expand unemployment benefits, and design public aid programs targeting informal workers in provinces.

Originality/value

This is the first study that analyses the impact of private and public initiatives on the decrease in income and unemployment situation of Peruvian individuals during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JEFAS-08-2023-0230

The specific factors of heterogeneity characterizing investors' beliefs

2024-04-16T21:00:44+00:00

Purpose

A separate study of the different behavioral biases does not allow for a full understanding of the complexity and stability of the heterogeneity of beliefs. Therefore, through a more global view of these anomalies, the authors wish to show that they can converge on a single concept, which is the heterogeneity of beliefs.

Design/methodology/approach

It is therefore essential to stress that the importance of this study is mainly reflected in the methodological approach used in the construction and analysis of the map and not only in the results achieved. This contribution states that structural analysis, as a means of building the cognitive map, can facilitate the task of investors and other decision-makers, in the identification and analysis of the heterogeneity of beliefs that can therefore guide investors' strategy in decision-making.

Findings

The authors have studied the behavior of the investor and its way of interpreting the information and the authors have emphasized the value of studying the concept of heterogeneity of beliefs in its complexity. So that part of the work seems to be relevant and crucial to filling, if you will, that void. In this sense, the authors have shown that behavioral abnormalities are multidimensional concepts: “self-deception”, “cognitive bias”, “emotional bias” and “social bias”.

Originality/value

In particular, this article will aim to achieve the objective of proposing a model for measuring the heterogeneity of beliefs. Thus, the authors want to show that the heterogeneity of beliefs can be measured directly through the different behavioral anomalies.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JEFAS-09-2021-0195

Foreign direct investment and local interpretable model-agnostic explanations: a rational framework for FDI decision making

2024-04-16T21:10:17+00:00

Purpose

This study aims to examine foreign direct investment (FDI) factors and develops a rational framework for FDI inflow in Western European countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Austria.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this study were collected from the World development indicators (WDI) database from 1995 to 2018. Factors such as economic growth, pollution, trade, domestic capital investment, gross value-added and the financial stability of the country that influence FDI decisions were selected through empirical literature. A framework was developed using interpretable machine learning (IML), decision trees and three-stage least squares simultaneous equation methods for FDI inflow in Western Europe.

Findings

The findings of this study show that there is a difference between the most important and trusted factors for FDI inflow. Additionally, this study shows that machine learning (ML) models can perform better than conventional linear regression models.

Research limitations/implications

This research has several limitations. Ideally, classification accuracies should be higher, and the current scope of this research is limited to examining the performance of FDI determinants within Western Europe.

Practical implications

Through this framework, the national government can understand how investors make their capital allocation decisions in their country. The framework developed in this study can help policymakers better understand the rationality of FDI inflows.

Originality/value

An IML framework has not been developed in prior studies to analyze FDI inflows. Additionally, the author demonstrates the applicability of the IML framework for estimating FDI inflows in Western Europe.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JEFAS-05-2021-0069

The relationship between goodwill and capital structure and the moderating effect of financial market development

2024-04-16T21:16:10+00:00

Purpose

This study empirically investigates the relationship between goodwill assets and capital structure (i.e. debt ratio) of firms and the moderating effect of financial market development on the relationship between goodwill assets and capital structure.

Design/methodology/approach

This research applied a quantitative method. The article collects large samples of listed firms from 23 developing and nine developed countries and applied the panel data techniques. This research used firm-level data from the DataStream database for both developed and developing countries. The study uses 4,912 firm-level data from 23 developing countries and 4,303 firm-level data from nine developed countries.

Findings

The findings reveal a significant positive relationship between goodwill assets and capital structure in developing countries, but goodwill assets have a significant negative relationship with capital structure in developed countries. Moreover, financial market development positively moderates the relationship between goodwill assets and the capital structure of firms in developing countries. The results inform firm managers that goodwill assets serve as additional collateral to secure debt financing. Moreover, policymakers should formulate a debt market policy that recognizes goodwill assets as additional collateral for the purpose of obtaining debt capital.

Research limitations/implications

The study has several implications. First, goodwill assets are identified as a factor of capital structure in this study. Fixed assets have been identified as one of the drivers of capital structure in previous research, although goodwill assets are seldom included. Second, this article shows that along with demand-side determinants, supply-side determinants also play an important role in terms of the firms' choice about the capital structure. Therefore, firms should take both the demand-side and supply-side factors into consideration when sourcing for external financing (i.e. debt capital).

Originality/value

The study considered goodwill as a component of capital structure. The study analysis includes a large sample of enterprises, including 4,912 big firms from 23 developing countries and 4,303 large firms from nine industrialized or developed countries, which adds to the current capital structure information. Furthermore, a large sample size increases the results' robustness and generalizability.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JEFAS-04-2022-0107

Editorial: 57th issue of the Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science

2024-04-16T20:18:40+00:00

We introduce the June edition, our 57th issue, of the Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science (JEFAS). Our journal consistently delivers outstanding publications in English twice a year, all subjected to double-blind peer-review processes.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JEFAS-04-2024-335