Dr Jing Jia

Purpose: This study aims to analyze whether various textual characteristics in corporate sustainability disclosure associate with corporate sustainability performance in Australia, pertaining to tones of language and readability. The voluntary disclosure theory and legitimacy theory are used to formulate the study hypothesis. Design/methodology/approach: Using data from Australian listed firms (2002¿2016), four textual characteristics are examined: tone of optimism, tone of certainty, tone of clarity and readability. Corporate sustainability performance is measured by Thomson Reuters Asset4 ratings. Different strategies are adopted to mitigate endogeneity concerns. Findings: The authors found that there is a positive relationship between the textual characteristics of sustainability disclosure and sustainability performance. Specifically, firms with better performance communicate in an optimistic, certain, clear and more readable manner. Practical implications: The results suggest that Australia¿s voluntary reporting status does not induce a combination of poor performance and positive disclosure. This paper should be of interest to investors and other stakeholders and also informs regulatory policy on sustainability disclosure in Australia. Originality/value: The authors contribute to the sustainability disclosure literature using computer-based textual analysis to explore whether firms reveal their sustainability performance by ¿how things are said¿ (i.e. textual characteristics) in sustainability disclosure. As far as the authors could ascertain, they are the first to investigate textual characteristics of sustainability disclosure in Australia.

This study examines the association between corporate environmental performance and financial distress. Using a sample of Australian firms, we find that environmental performance is negatively related to the financial distress probability perceived by the market. In addition, the negative association between environmental performance and the financial distress probability is more pronounced for firms with a higher level of risk. The findings provide important empirical evidence regarding the implications of environmental performance on firms¿ risk management.

Purpose: This study aims to examine whether announcements of mandatory sustainability disclosure affect corporate sustainability performance (CSP). Design/methodology/approach: The authors use a quasi-experiment provided by mandatory sustainability disclosure announcements that occurred in 21 countries from 2006¿2016. A difference-in-differences method is adopted. The authors restrict the drawing of all candidate treatment and control firms to a pool of firms that did not disclose sustainability information one year before the announcements. Findings: The authors find that the announcements of mandatory sustainability disclosure are positively related to CSP. The positive effect is more pronounced for firms in countries with higher anticipation effects and lower awareness effects. Specifically, the authors find that the effect of the announcements is more pronounced in a country where the rule of law is higher and stakeholders are less likely to initiate communication about sustainability with firms, and with fewer active participants in and signatories to the United Nations Global Compact initiative. The findings hold under different robustness analyses. Originality/value: The study enriches the knowledge about the effect of the announcements of comprehensive mandatory sustainability disclosure by analysing the consequences of these announcements. In the contribution to this growing stream of research, the authors provide evidence on the consequences of the announcements based on a cross-country sample and importantly, focusses on the non-economic consequences.

We examine the relationship between board of director committees tasked with risk management and environmental performance, based on a sample of 1466 firm-year observations from 2007 to 2015. We find that the presence of board committees dedicated only to risk management is associated with better environmental performance. The human capital of risk committees (measured by board tenure, committee tenure, experience, and qualifications) is also positively related to environmental performance. Our findings suggest that the benefits of risk management committees extend to non-financial matters, such as environmental performance. Our findings further suggest that environmental performance is now managed through the regular governance mechanisms within firms. This supports the notion that environmental performance is managed for economic reasons and for the benefit of investors, rather than for the aggrandisement of individual managers. Our findings should be of interest to boards, CEOs, and CFOs who are interested in risk management, as well as to investors, lenders, and auditors who are interested in assessing risk.

Using data from Australian listed firms from 2002 to 2018, we found that firms¿ sustainability performance is associated with higher future earnings and cash flows. We also revealed that firms¿ sustainability performance was positively related to earnings persistence and had a positive effect on the association between earnings and future cash flows. Our findings support resource-based theory and the theoretical argument indicating a positive relationship between firms¿ sustainability performance and earnings quality. This paper enriches the literature by showing that firms¿ sustainability performance reveals information about their future financial prospects and earnings quality.

Purpose: This study aims to explore how lean and lean dimensions are perceived by senior managers in New Zealand (NZ). The authors use Searcy¿s (2004) framework to establish how lean performance dimensions differ in importance in terms of sector, size and users of lean, thus, revealing the motivations and benefits of lean from the view of lean organisations. Design/methodology/approach: Data were primarily sourced using an online survey tool. A thematic approach was used to establish an understanding of lean by NZ senior managers. An analytical hierarchy process model was used to determine if the relative importance of the lean performance dimensions is perceived differently between manufacturing and service organisations, large firms and small- and medium-sized enterprises and adopters and non-adopters of lean. The results are informed by Searcy¿s (2004) framework. Findings: The study reveals efficiency, elimination of waste, cost reduction and meeting customer demands based on secondary sources, to be the current prevalent dimensions of lean in NZ. Managers are yet to realise the importance of customer value and product quality, and the former is at the heart of the successful diffusion of lean dimensions. Customer value is beyond satisfying customer demands and needs; the focus is on how the authors can understand the customers. Research limitations/implications: The sample size limits the generalisability of the results. Practical implications: The study suggests that practitioners, including managers, need to incorporate customer demand and satisfaction into their lean performance dimensions to improve effectiveness. This group of actors should be instrumental in taking the lean philosophy, tools and techniques to NZ firms by hosting in-house training and seminars at regional and national levels. Furthermore, academics should incorporate lean studies as a programme/course in their respective tertiary institutions so that graduates can take this phenomenon to their workplace. Originality/value: This study contributes to the understanding of lean within a NZ business context and provides evidence that NZ corporate managers need to incorporate customer value and product quality aspects when adopting lean.

Purpose: Using 2010 corporate governance principles and recommendations (CGPR) as a natural setting, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between risk management committee (RMC) gender diversity and a firm¿s likelihood of financial distress. Empirical evidence regarding whether CGPR (2010) enhances RMC gender diversity (RMCGD) is also provided. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from the annual reports of the top 300 Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) listed companies from 2007 to 2014. To control for potential endogeneity, the association between (RMCGD) and a firm¿s likelihood of financial distress was investigated using an instrumental variable approach (panel 2SLS regression). The relationship between CGPR (2010) and RMCGD was explored using panel regression analysis with firm fixed effects. Findings: RMCGD was found to be associated with a lower probability of financial distress, suggesting that women are better at monitoring and reducing firms¿ excessive risk-taking behaviours, which, in turn, decreases firms¿ risk of financial distress. The results also indicate that CGPR (2010) is quite effective in enhancing committee gender diversity. In the additional analysis, the results show that RMCGD moderates the negative relationship between risk and likelihood of financial distress. Importantly, the proportion of women with financial experience on RMCs is more effective in reducing the likelihood of financial distress compared to the proportion of men with financial experience on RMCs. These results highlight the benefits of having a gender diverse RMC. Research limitations/implications: The results were based on the top 300 ASX-listed companies; thus, restricting generalisability. In addition, this study only focussed on listed firms, non-listed firms may add additional insights to the literature. Practical implications: The results provide new and useful empirical evidence about RMCGD for Australian policymakers. This paper suggests that, in the short-term at least, RMCGD should be encouraged by regulators. Regulators could also recommend that the firms with a non-diverse RMC include women with financial experience on their RMC. Originality/value: Given that prior studies have indicated that gender diversity is closely related to risk, this study contributes to the previous literature by investigating RMCGD and its effect on the likelihood of financial distress. It is expected that the role of RMC member would be to protect the firm from ultimate failure (likelihood of financial distress), especially during a financial crisis.

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the ¿quality¿ of narrative risk management disclosures (RMD) from a ¿quantity¿ and ¿richness¿ (width and depth) perspective, utilising a finer-grained approach. Evidence is then provided on the relationships between RMD quality and the corporate determinants driving that quality. Design/methodology/approach: Within a multidimensional quality disclosure framework, annual report narrative RMD from the top 100 Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) listed companies precisely ¿matched¿ for the 2010 and 2012 years were examined using semantic content analysis. The relationship between the dimensions and sub-dimensions of RMD ¿quantity¿ and ¿richness¿, and various corporate characteristics were explored using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis. Findings: The results indicate that RMD are considerably lacking in quality, from the ¿quantity¿, ¿width¿ and particularly the ¿depth¿ dimension and sub-dimensions for both years. Many companies provide ¿boiler plate¿ RMD over consecutive years and many do not comply with the intent of the ASX Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations under the ¿if not, why not¿ regime (ASX CGC, 2010). Company size and cross-listing were found to be the primary determinants of higher quality RMD and, to a lesser extent, firm risk. Some evidence was found that ¿quality¿ RMD were less likely where companies are more highly leveraged and when their shareholders are more concentrated. Research limitations/implications: Although two coders independently coded the RMD and specific decision rules were followed, the subjectivity inherent in conducting semantic content analysis into the dimensions and sub-dimensions of the framework cannot be completely eliminated. However, by adopting a finer-grained approach, this study contributes to the global literature on the quality of RMD. Previous studies are extended by analysing and testing the individual dimensions and sub-dimensions of ¿quantity¿ and ¿richness¿ which provides new empirical evidence and a more comprehensive portrayal of RMD quality and a greater understanding why some companies are more likely to disclose higher quality RMD than others. Practical implications: These results provide useful and predominantly new empirical evidence on the quality of RMD for practitioners, regulators and researchers. As many companies are not complying with the ¿intent¿ of the ¿if not, why not¿ approach, these results support the argument for mandated narrative RMD regulations at an international level. Originality/value: The multidimensional framework of RMD ¿quantity¿ and ¿richness¿ provides a basis for examining not only how much is disclosed, but what is disclosed and how. In adopting a finer-grained approach, this study analyses and tests the individual dimensions and sub-dimensions of the framework. This provides a deeper understanding of the overall quality of RMD and the determinants driving RMD quality for the sample companies.