We examine the determinants of Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI) focusing on institutional and social factors. Using panel data on 59 countries from 1995 to 2008, we find that host countries with free and open markets and greater cultural distance from Japan attract Japanese FDI. Good...

This study investigates the impact of government controlling ownership on the cost of debt of Chinese listed corporations. We find that corporations under government control have a lower cost of debt compared to corporations under private control, and that government ownership is most beneficial...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the perceptions of the roles, responsibilities and basic characteristics of audit committees (ACs) in the current business environment in China, from the perspectives of investors/creditors, independent directors (AC members), company...

Purpose – This paper sets out to explore the effects that the setting-up of an independent director system has on the operating efficiency of information electronics companies in China. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses 87 Chinese listed electronics companies during the initial...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test two agency-based hypotheses regarding the effect of ownership concentration on dividend policy using a large sample of Japanese firms. Design/methodology/approach – Level regressions associating payout rates to ownership concentration are run....

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors driving greenhouse gas reporting by Chinese companies. Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis of annual reports and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports for the year 2010 of the top 100 A-share companies...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of audit committee meeting frequency in Chinese listed companies. Design/methodology/approach – A multiple linear regression model, derived from the logarithmic model proposed by Raghunandan and Rama, is used to examine...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the level of bad debt provisions of financial institutions is affected by internal governance mechanisms (IGMs) from the perspective of the Type II principal-principal (PP) conflicts between the controlling shareholders and the...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the important role played by corporate governance in de facto International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) convergence, and to provide empirical evidence that audit quality mediates the degree of IFRS convergence....