| 1. |
- Elliot, Viktor, et al.
(author)
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CEOs’ understanding of blockchain technology and its adoption in export-oriented companies in West Sweden: a survey
- 2021
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In: Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing. - 2398-5364.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study current practices in adopting blockchain technology amongst export companies in West Sweden and to capture their CEOs’ knowledge of and attitudes towards blockchains. Design/methodology/approach – Factors enabling or hindering the adoption of blockchains were identified from a comprehensive literature review and a survey of 72 chief executive officers (CEOs) of exportoriented firms in West Sweden, all with turnovers exceeding e2m, regarding their knowledge of and attitudes towards blockchains. Findings – Blockchain technology is not currently perceived to provide benefits that would outweigh the costs of introducing it into West Sweden’s export firms. Nevertheless, the findings suggest that such technology, though currently too immature to meet today’s industrial requirements, could experience more widespread use if certain key factors (i.e. lower cost, traceability, improved security or trustworthiness and new blockchain-enabled business models) are prioritised. Research limitations/implications – Answered by 72 CEOs, the survey achieved a response rate of 6%, meaning that the findings are only exploratory. Even so, they offer new insights into CEOs’ attitudes towards blockchain technology. Practical implications – The CEOs reported comparatively limited knowledge of and experience with implementing blockchains, the lack of which has hampered their large-scale implementation in multi-actor supply chains. Social implications – Negative sentiment amongst CEOs towards blockchain technology may lower onthe-job satisfaction amongst tech personnel aspiring to develop and implement blockchain applications in their firms. Originality/value – Knowledge of and attitudes towards blockchain technology amongst top-level managers, as well as about factors enabling or hindering its adoption, guide managers in crafting strategies for implementing blockchains in their organisations and maximising the benefits therein. Unlike past studies focussing on technological aspects or views of experts and middle-management, the study was designed to capture the views of CEOs.
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| 2. |
- Hosseinniakani, Seyed Mahmoud, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Do key audit matters matter? Correspondence between auditor and management disclosures and the role of audit committees
- 2024
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In: Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation. - 1061-9518. ; 55
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study examines whether there is a correspondence between auditor disclosures of key audit matters (KAM) and the management disclosures of significant accounting policies and estimates, following the introduction of the International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 701. We also investigate the moderating effect of audit committees on the relationship. We employ a sample of Swedish listed firms (2016–2018), using measures that capture the extent and the quality of management disclosures and how they relate to auditor KAM disclosures, including the number of accounting items disclosed, total number of words, and the number of unique KAM-related words (via a “bag-of-word” technique). We find a positive correspondence between auditor and management disclosures, greater in firms with audit committees. Additional analyses provide some evidence that management disclosure quality increases following the introduction of ISA 701, but it is mostly found in firms with a separate audit committee on the board. The results are robust to alternative measures for disclosures and using a matched sample design. Our findings suggest that policy makers should consider the interplay between audit standards and audit committees.
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| 3. |
- Mavruk, Taylan, 1977, et al.
(author)
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Keeping it real or keeping it simple? Ownership concentration measures compared
- 2020
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In: European Financial Management. - : Wiley. - 1354-7798 .- 1468-036X. ; 26:4, s. 938-957
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We analyze the distributional properties of ownership concentration measures and find that measures come from different underlying statistical distributions. Consistent with theory, some measures that are classified to represent a monitoring dimension have a positive influence on firm performance; other measures that are interpreted to represent a shareholder conflict dimension are negatively related to firm performance. However, other measures deviate from this pattern, and therefore, we cannot conclude that simple measures can replace complicated measures. Some measures are more suitable for analyzing the relationship between management and owners, whereas other measures are more suitable for analyzing the relationships among owners.
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| 4. |
- Overland, Conny, 1975, et al.
(author)
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Board-level employee representation in Sweden
- 2023
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In: Corporate Governance in a Nordic Setting: The Case of Sweden. - 9783110725346 ; , s. 113-124
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A special feature of the Swedish corporate governance system is that employees are allowed to appoint two to three representatives to the board of directors of the company they work for. As other aspects of board structure (e.g., size, independence, gender) are found to be related to how firms decide and perform, allowing employees to enter the boardroom could have implications for corporate outcomes as well. In this chapter we first provide with a description of how the Swedish system for board-level employee representation (BLER) is designed, and how this compares to other countries with some form of BLER. We then account for some empirical findings related to employee representation in Sweden. First, not all firms have employee representatives as it is voluntary to appoint representatives to the board. We therefore account for the existing evidence on when employees chose to appoint representatives to the board of directors. Second, we turn to the literature on how employee representatives are regarded by managers and chairpersons as shown by survey data. Third, we account for the empirical evidence there is on how BLER in Sweden is related to firm performance and reporting outcomes. Lastly, we summarize and conclude.
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| 5. |
- Overland, Conny, 1975, et al.
(author)
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Diversity on the board
- 2023
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In: Corporate Governance in a Nordic Setting: The Case of Sweden. - 9783110725346 ; , s. 97-111
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Boardroom diversity has been subject to significant changes thanks to new legislation in Europe and in other parts of the world. There is a greater focus on gender diversity in the board which is in line with active policy debates for promoting gender equality in reforming organizational structures. Given these changes it is not surprising to see a great interest in studying the impact of gender diversity in recent corporate governance research. Although current research places greater emphasis on studying gender diversity, research on board diversity can be categorized in two groups: "taskrelated and non-task-related" diversity (Adams et al., 2015). Task-related diversity is mainly related to the functional background, education, experience, and knowledge of directors, while non-task-related diversity refers mostly to the personal characteristics such as gender, age, race, or nationality. In this chapter, we begin with a brief theoretical overview on the topic of diversity on the board and proceed with a discussion of diversity in Swedish corporate boards. While we seek to present research on diversity in various dimensions, we give a bigger room to gender diversity in Sweden in line with the current debate in policy making and research. Sweden offers an interesting setting to study gender diversity because despite the lack of legislations for having female directors on the board, there have been various pressures on corporations for improving gender diversity in management and corporate boards. The institutional setting of Sweden and the Swedish law plays an important role in promoting women in the labor market and not least in reaching top level management positions. Specifically, the law on gender balance (jämn könfördelning) since 1994 promotes equal gender distribution and requires that the proportion of men and women in workforce range between 40 to 60 percent. Having such support for bringing women to work in place has made Sweden to be one of the top countries (out of 146 surveyed countries) in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI) in their study of national gender gaps on economic, political, education and health related criteria.32 Diversity is also promoted in the Swedish Corporate Governance Code, considering different aspects of diversity in terms of competence and experience, but also explicitly to strive for gender balance: The board is to have a composition appropriate to the company's operations, phase of development and other relevant circumstances. The board members elected by the shareholders' meeting are collectively to exhibit diversity and breadth of qualifications, experience and background. The company is to strive for gender balance on the board. (Corporate Governance Code, 2020; rule 4.1)
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| 6. |
- Overland, Conny, 1975, et al.
(author)
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The Sheep Watching the Shepherd: Employee Representation on the Board and Earnings Quality
- 2022
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In: European Accounting Review. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0963-8180 .- 1468-4497. ; 31:5, s. 1299-1336
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We investigate to what degree employee representatives contribute to the board’s monitoring of earnings quality. We argue that employee representatives have incentives to prevent earnings manipulations motivated by negotiation considerations. Furthermore, they seek risk reducing policies, have a long-term interest in their firm and possess firm-specific knowledge, which in turn can result in improved earnings quality. Employee representation also increases the diversity on the board, which can enhance the board of directors’ internal communication and monitoring. Using a sample of firms listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange (2006–2014), we find lower abnormal accruals as well as less excessive R&D cuts in firms with employee representation, controlling for alternative model specifications and potential sample selection bias. Moreover, we find less income-decreasing abnormal accruals in firms with employee representatives during the 2010-2011 collective bargaining period. This study also reveals that earnings quality varies with the characteristics of employee representatives. Our findings contribute to the literature on boards’ monitoring and financial reporting quality, as it examines a less noticed aspect of board diversity, i.e. employee representation.
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| 7. |
- Samani, Niuosha, et al.
(author)
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The role of the EU non-financial reporting directive and employee representation in employee-related disclosures
- 2023
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In: Accounting Forum. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0155-9982 .- 1467-6303. ; 47:2, s. 278-306
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study investigates how the European Union (EU) Directive (2014/95) on Non-Financial Reporting and employee representation within the board affects the extent and quality of employee-related disclosures. Using a sample of Swedish firms listed on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm Exchange, we find that both the Directive and employee representation on the board positively affect the extent and quality of disclosures on employee-related matters. We document that employee-related disclosures are more precise and less uncertain among firms with employee representatives, although the level of uncertainty increases after implementing the Directive. Moreover, our interaction analysis indicates that the Directive and employee representatives affect employee-related disclosures independently. This finding suggests that both internal corporate governance and external regulation are important, and that the Directive ensures a minimum extent of disclosures at firms that lack internal governance mechanisms (i.e. employee representation on their corporate boards).
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