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Developed countries have adopted the circular economy concept to solve environmental problems. This study underpins the paradox theory to investigate the circular economy's implementation status in the ASEAN region through the circular economy index. The circular economy index disclosure data for top companies in the ASEAN region was collected through an automated content analysis approach using DICTION on the annual/sustainability reports. The findings show that most public companies from the ASEAN region disclose the circular economy indicators in their annual/sustainability reports. The environment-sensitive firms are disclosing the circular economy indicators actively compared to the non-environment sensitive companies. Based on the results, this study provides theoretical and practical implications. This study is also limited because it is based only on the ASEAN region. Future studies can underpin other theoretical support and provide a comparative analysis across the continents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has been subjected to a wide range of debate around the globe. In Malaysia, SOEs or government-linked companies (GLCs) play a significant role in shaping the economy. This study investigates whether GLCs with large debts suffer from poor financial performance as proposed by Public Choice Theory, and whether corporate governance mechanisms and board diversity as suggested by Agency Theory and Human Capital Theory can moderate the impact of debt on the GLCs’ financial performance. Utilizing longitudinal data from 20 largest GLCs listed on Bursa Malaysia from 2005 to 2019, our results show that the negative relationship between leverage and financial performance is not statistically significant, hence Public Choice Theory is not supported. CEO duality is found to significantly exacerbate the negative relationship between leverage and financial performance, while a higher proportion of independent directors attenuate, thus supporting Agency Theory. We also found that ethnic diversity weakens the negative relationship between leverage and financial performance, supporting the presumption in Human Capital Theory that diversity in personalities strengthen organizational performance. This study offers theoretical and policy implications surrounding corporate governance practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manuscript type: Research paper. Research aims: Drawing from the lens of dynamic capability view (DCV), this study investigates whether companies with big data analytics (BDA) capabilities, specifically BDA management, infrastructure, and personnel capabilities, disclose more sustainability posts on social media and whether such disclosure affects their competitive advantage. Design/Methodology/Approach: Data from 100 public listed firms in Malaysia were obtained from questionnaires and content analysis of Facebook pages. Smart PLS was employed to analyse the data. Research findings: The results suggest that in the context of Malaysia, BDA management capability significantly impacts sustainability reporting on social media (SRSM). The evidence also points to SSRM positively impacting a company's competitive advantage. Theoretical contribution/Originality: Theoretically, this study contributes to the literature on DCV. The findings provide insights into how BDA capabilities can help organisations focus on social media platforms and communicate with their stakeholders on sustainability performance. It also suggests that sustainability reporting on social media is associated with competitive advantage, as it allows for two-way interaction between organisations and its stakeholders. Practitioner/Policy implications: Practically, this study provides insights into the roles of accounting, social media, and big data within the current digital revolution. Specifically, it offers guidance to executives and managers on identifying the conditions that need to be present for BDA capability to add value to SRSM. Additionally, the findings here have implications for policymakers and businesses looking to use BDA in the context of SRSM to gain competitive advantage. Research limitation/Implications: Future studies could consider increasing the sample size. This study sheds light on the relevance of BDA capabilities in promoting sustainability issues using social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of institutional shareholdings on earnings management activities of their portfolio firms. Design/methodology/approach – Using a final sample of 94 top firms on the Bursa Malaysia based on market capitalization as at 31 December 2007, this paper uses the magnitude of discretionary accruals as the proxy for earnings management. The paper measures the aggregate institutional ownership percentage of shareholdings of the five top institutional investors which are further divided into two categories: pressure sensitive consisting of percentage ownership by banks and insurance companies; and pressure insensitive institutional investor consisting of percentage shareholdings by unit trusts, pension funds and state-owned institutions. Data were collected over a six-year period from 2002 to 2007. The year it started was also when all the listed companies in Bursa Malaysia started adopting the MCCG requirements as mandatory reporting in annual reports. Findings – The results show that only Malaysia Shareholders Watchdog Group (MSWG) institutional shareholdings are effective in mitigating self-serving earnings management behavior of their portfolio firms. Within MSWG shareholdings, Permodalan National Berhad (PNB) is the most effective institutional shareholder in mitigating opportunistic earnings management behavior. Overall, the findings suggest that ownership may not be enough to mitigate earnings management. Firms may have to engage in shareholder activism such as through proxy voting and establishing direct dialogues with management in order to preserve the value of their investments. Research limitations/implications – One of the limitations in this study is measurement error which is a critical problem for studies on earnings management. Hence, this study inherits all the limitations of the Jones model although it is noted that it and the modified Jones model are extensively used in earnings management literature. Overall, this study provides empirical evidence to assess the merits of calls for institutional investors to play a greater role in portfolio firms' corporate governance practice in Malaysia. In essence, the results from the study provide evidence that ownership alone is not enough and institutional investors need to be involved in shareholder activism in order to be effective as an external monitor. In other words, by engaging in shareholder activism, institutional investors would be better able to safeguard the value of their investment. Moreover, the size of their shareholdings should provide powerful incentive for them to monitor their investee firms. Originality/value – This is the first published paper that focuses on institutional investors and earnings management in Malaysia, as previous studies have focused more on developed countries. This study aims to provide empirical evidence on the effectiveness of institutional investors in mitigating opportunistic earnings management, in order to ascertain their generalizability to developing countries like Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]