Corporate Governance Mechanisms： Evidence From Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises （SMEs）

This paper aims to investigate the extent to which Malaysian small- and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs） adopted corporate governance （CG） principles and their effects on firm performance. The principles examined included： establishing clear roles and responsibilities; strengthening composition; and reinforcing independence. The paper is based on a questionnaire survey study among 113 SMEs that consisted of 35% （39） of manufacturing and related services and 65% （74） from services including information and communication technology （ICT）, primary agriculture, construction, mining, and quarrying. The analysis of the data indicates that 32% of the respondents said that the primary reason why they have their own business is to have control over their own working life. This fmding appears to confirm the f＇mancing theory that SMEs owners have other goals than profitability. In addition, 30% of SMEs perceived that the most important role played by the board is risk management; hence, these boards have a greater control over financial risks that may lead to better financial performance. The analysis also shows that 81% of the respondents＇ board consisted of internal board members only. These enterprises need to see the important role of external board members as a source of advice providers and experts to them. For policies relating to clear roles and responsibilities of board, only 28% of the respondents established clear functions reserved for the board and those delegated to management; substantial respondents did not draw up policies relating to reinforce board independency （between 75% and 79%） and to strengthen board composition （46%）. Besides, 68% of the respondents have the position of chairman and CEO held by same individuals and 81% of the chairman is an executive member of the board. These findings suggest that SMEs cannot see the importance of strengthening board and having independent board members. Regression analysis also indicates that board independence has a significant and positive impact on firm performance. Hence, SMEs need to appreciate networking advantages, competency, and strategic knowledge that the right board can offer. The governmental ministries and agencies in Malaysia need to take active measures to encourage SMEs to strengthen their board governance, because SMEs are the important economic powers for stimulating national economic growth. This paper contributes to the empirical literatures on the adoption of CG principles and their effects on SMEs＇ firm performance in emerging markets.

Vacuum pyrolysis characteristics of waste epoxy printed circuit boards

Vacuum pyrolysis was employed to dispose scrap brominated epoxy printed circuit boards (PCBs).Pyrolysis characteristics of waste PCBs under normal pressure and vacuum were investigated in this paper.A detailed study on the analysis of the elemental composition of PCBs and the pyrolysis products was performed.The thermal decomposition kinetics was measured by a thermogravimetric (TG) analyzer.The activation energy of pyrolysis under nitrogen atmosphere and vacuum were 193 kJ/mol to 206 kJ/mol and 145 kJ/mol to 165 kJ/mol,respectively.The composition of materials was analyzed by elemental analyzer.The pyrolysis products were analyzed by GC (gas chromatograph),GC-MS (chromatography and mass spectrometry) and FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy).Vacuum helped to increase the yield of pyrolysis oil.The liquid yield of PCBs pyrolysis at 15 kPa and normal pressure were 31.3% and 23.5%,respectively.The main components in pyrolysis oils were phenol,isopropyl-phenol,and their brominated substitution.

Surface Breakdown of Printed Circuit Board under Magnetic Field with Reduced Pressure

Epoxy resin laminate onto which a pair of copper foil was printed was employed as test samples.The samples were placed in an artificial atmospheric chamber, which was vacuumed by a rotary pump from 100 kPa to 5 kPa.The magnetic field was produced by permanent magnets that were assembled to make E×B drift away from, into and parallel to the sample surface, respectively.Magnetic flux density was adjusted at 120 mT, 180 mT and 240 mT respectively.By applying a negative bias voltage between the electrodes, the ...

Board Independence and Internal Committees in the BRICs

To be successful in global markets, companies from the emerging countries need the approval of foreign investors and other stakeholders. In this regard, Brazil, Russia, India, and China （BRIC） have progressively strengthened their corporate governance rules to help their companies overcome the competitors from the old industrialized countries. Directors＇ non-executive qualification, independence, and professional expertise represent basic requirements for effective corporate governance, so they should be carefully considered to guarantee a proper board composition and an adequate establishment of internal committees in listed companies. The paper intends to compare the legislative and regulatory frameworks adopted by the four countries; then it aims at answering to the following research questions by means of an empirical investigation： Have BRIC companies appointed non-executive and independent board members？ What do BRIC companies do in order to assure an effective participation of non-executive and independent board members to corporate governance activities？ Have BRIC companies established internal committees？ The research examines the appointment of non-executive directors and independent directors to the boards of 100 BRIC leading firms, as well as their involvement in internal committees focused on matters requiring motivated and impartial opinions. Although the laws and recommendations seem to favor a general convergence of corporate governance principles among the four BRIC and towards the international best practices, some differences and peculiarities emerge from a firm-level perspective. Indeed, the Indian and the Chinese companies analyzed appear more inclined than the Brazilian and the Russian ones to reassure their international stakeholders about board independence and effective committees.

The Relationship Between Board Skills and Conservatism： Malaysian Evidence

This study seeks to examine the influence of board skill, multiple directorships （BSHIP）, and tenure of independent directors on accounting conservatism, as measured by asymmetric timeliness and accrual-based conservatism （CONACCR）. Fixed-effect regression models were constructed on a sample of 2016 firm-year observations for asymmetric timeliness model and 2033 firm-year observations for CONACCR model, which covered from 2001 to 2007. The findings show that the degree of financial expertise on the board is positively associated with the recognition of bad news which is relative to good news into earnings. BSHIP appears to have no effect on conservatism. Independent directors who have longer tenure in the board of the firms are slower in recognizing bad news which is relative to good news into earnings. The study provides empirical evidence on the effectiveness of the board of directors, which will be an interest to the practitioner or regulators in reviewing the corporate governance regulations.

The effects of corporate governance compliance on market valuation in Malaysia

This study investigates the effects of corporate governance compliance on market valuation in Malaysia using a sample of 164 companies listed on the Main Board in Bursa Malaysia from 5 different industries （consumer, trading ＆ services, industrial, constructions and properties） within 2001 to 2005. Throughout, this study will use correlation and regression analysis in the SPSS software to determine the effects of corporate governance practices on Market Valuation. In analyzing firms＇ market valuation, we will use the Tobin＇s Q formula and for the corporate governance compliance, we will look at 4 criteria to compare with market valuation, which are （1） Board of Director＇s composition, （2） Board of Director＇s remuneration （salaries）, （3） Board of Director＇s training and development, （4） Board of Director＇s meeting. In order to determine the effects between the corporate governance compliance and market valuation, we will use regression analysis. Based on the correlation analysis, the first null hypothesis must be rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted, in which dependent variable and independent variables are significantly correlated with BOD remuneration and BOD training availability. Overall, there is a significant relationship between Tobin＇s Q and independent variables （BOD remuneration and BOD training）. This study also recommends that for the company who did not comply with the code, they should follow the best practice because it will be a pivotal weapon in facing with the fierce competition in era globalization.

Perfection solutions of supervisory audit in Chinese listed companies

Operational mechanism of supervisory audit in Chinese listed companies is not ideal, the supervisory effect of the listed company rely on features of supervisors＇ board and member of the supervisors＇ board. Based on the comparison of supervisory audit in Britain, Germany, France and Japan, and the empirical research on 100 listed companies in a share market, the paper analyses supervisory audit in Chinese listed companies, and proposes some perfection solutions to strengthen supervisory audit.

Family Firms and the Market Reaction to Dividend News

This paper provides an analysis of the market reaction to dividend change announcements for publicly-traded, family-controlled firms. Family firms have a significantly lower proportion of independent directors than non-family firms, which is consistent with the idea that family members dominate the board of directors and that family shareholders are common in publicly-traded firms. The author analyzed 390 dividend change announcements in Portugal over the period from 1991 to 2010 using a panel data approach. The results show no evidence of a significant market reaction to dividend change announcements, providing no evidence in support of the dividend-signaling hypothesis in the context of family firms. This conclusion agrees with previous studies in which there was no distinction between family and non-family firms. Empirical results show that family firms engage in lower payouts than their non-family counterparts, giving some supports to the expropriation hypothesis. This finding may indicate that families expropriate the wealth of shareholders through lower dividends. This result is also consistent with the clientele theory of dividends.

Lukasiewicz and Lorenzen as Interpreters of Aristotle＇s Syllogistic

Jan Lukasiewicz acknowledged that Aristotle＇s syllogistic does not admit singular terms and presents syllogism as an implication. But he failed to recognize syllogistic necessity, reducing this necessity to ＂formal implication＂ as introduced by Russell, when Aristotle shows it as binding relations between three terms. On the contrary, Paul Lorenzen directly recognized syllogistic necessity as the typical example of his own logical implication. His reconstruction of syllogistic differs from the original by his interpretation of particular propositions as the determination of classes which are specified by predicates. The result is the representation of valid moods as the board of all multiplications of relations which are permitted. These relations are not only the Aristotelian ,4, E,I, O, but also the new converse asymmetrical relations of A and O： （a） and （o）.

Diversity and Board Effectiveness： A Case of India

A number of research studies have dealt with the relationship between diversity and effectiveness of corporate boards. The present paper makes an attempt to provide an international perspective on diversity and effectiveness of corporate boards and examines such relationship in detail in the case of India. The paper presents the theory relating to diversity and board effectiveness with particular reference to women on boards. The position of diversity as related to the boards of National Stock Exchange （NSE） listed 511 companies and the 245 state-owned enterprises （SOEs） by the Government of India （GoI） is reflected in the paper. It then examines gender diversity specifically in the case of India and Singapore. Drawing from the evidence of diversity in the case of global companies, it offers the rationale for making boards global in composition and character. The paper highlights an interestiiag issue： whether the boards should have younger or veteran members？ This follows a discussion on diversity of boards in terms of skills, age, and personalities. Finally, the paper makes suggestions for balance boards to enhance their effectiveness and brings out lessons for the corporate organizations to promote diversity of their boards.

Analysis of the Effect of Corporate Governance Attributes and Disclosure Level on Firms＇ Costs of Financing

The purpose of this article is to analyze the impact of corporate governance and disclosure policy on corporate financial performance by examining the combined effect of board characteristics and disclosure level on financing costs. The empirical analysis, conducted on a sample of 192 Canadian companies, generally shows the importance of board characteristics in determining the level of disclosure and firms＇ costs of financing. In particular, the results found indicate that boards whose characteristics meet the governance requirements that are associated with greater transparency in disclosure on governance attributes reduce the costs of financing of their companies by debt as well as by equity capital.

Directors＇ Board Characteristics and Audit Quality： Evidence From Belgium

This study investigates the relationship between board characteristics and external audit quality on a sample of 97 Belgian listed companies during the period 2003-2007. Board characteristics proxies are the composition of the board, its independence, its structure in terms of duality or independence and its diligence. Our results are consistent with board independence and size being complements with external audit, rather than substitutes

Board Effectiveness in Pharmaceutical Industry： The Case of TAPIC Pharmaceutical Group

Pharmaceutical industry plays a strategic role in economy of Iran. Corporate governance, in pharmaceutical companies as the very core of an organization, and the driving force of corporate leadership, plays a significant role in business success and overall productivity of the firms. As yet, the characteristics, factors causing success and failure of core governance in Iranian pharmaceutical industry have remained unsearched. Furthermore, the applicability of western theories and models to the traditional societies such as Iran are largely unknown. This study is an attempt to explore the pattern of board effectiveness and firm performance in Iranian pharmaceutical industry and suggesting an alternative good governance model suitable to apply to less developed countries （LDC） pharmaceutical industry, with emphasis on Iranian context. After An intensive literature review the model suggested by Ingley and Van der Walt （2001） was found to be more comprehensive, practical and suitable for this study. However, after empirical evaluation further development to the model to fit the pharmaceutical industry and the context of LDCs, especially Iran, is suggested. Empirically the paper stands upon a rich database consisting of Tamin Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Investment Company （TAPIC） and its 11 subsidiary companies which are treated as 11 mini-cases. Data were collected by document analysis, questionnaire and interviews. Since two of the authors have many years experience as managers in the same industrial group, we got access to rich information that normally are not accessible to researchers in less developed countries. The results suggest some improvements to the earlier models and show that the pattern of board effectiveness in Iranian pharmaceutical industry can be influenced by： （1） Internal factors including： （a） board members, the personality and background, （b） board composition, which is influenced by selection criteria, Tribalism, interpersonal relationship and belonging to the same ideological group, （c） board interactions, and （d） power distribution in the board, which is influenced by parenting power in holding companies. All internal factors are directly or indirectly affected by political issues as well as socio-cultural forces. （2） External factors including： （a） industrial complexity and the nature of industry, （b） industrial ethos, （c） legislation, and political forces, （d） economy, which the last two factors are influenced by international environment as well.

Instructions to authors

GENERAL INFORMATIONWorld Journal of Gastroenterology （World J Gastroenterol ISSN 1007-9327 CN 14-1219/R） is a weekly open-access （OA） peer reviewed journal supported by an editorial board consisting of 1179 experts in gastroenterology and hepatology from 60 countries.

Evaluating Board Roles Performance in Adopting Corporate Social Responsibility （CSR） Practices

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the board roles that make a board effective in the performance of adopting corporate social responsibility （CSR） practices. This paper examines directors＇ perceptions of the three main roles： monitoring, service, and strategic, which provide tools for critically understanding how the board adds the value in moving the organization towards more CSR practices. The stakeholder theory is used to distinguish the influence of the three main roles on the adoption of CSR practices. Primary data were collected for this research by conducting structured questionnaires with a sample of 461 directors from Saudi listed companies for study purpose. The results show that an appropriate mix of directors＇ roles and the development of sound board monitoring and service roles are the most crucial determinants of CSR adoption in Saudi listed companies. As the extant corporate governance and CSR literatures do not provide a clear perspective with contradictory outcomes about board roles in influencing CSR practices, the originality of this research is its contribution by evaluating the directors＇ perceptions of developing a direct relationship between the board roles and the adoption of CSR practices. Furthermore, the use of the stakeholder theory provides additional insights into identifying the most influential board role factors enhancing stakeholders＇ expectations of CSR practices.

Board Members Oversight System- A Polish Example

The goal of the study was the development of a system to monitor the members of supervisory and management boards. The system currently covers 8,454 joint stock companies registered in Poland. The main purpose of the system is to monitor every change in the composition of every board of every joint stock company, from March 2001 up to the present, and it is updated every month. This system, however, also enables us to confirm some of the theories from the field of corporate governance. A generation change has been identified in the boards of the joint stock companies which were examined. Women constitute a large, and continuously increasing, section of the board members. The number of family companies, and of family involvement in boards, is still increasing. Board members of financial institutions （and not just of banks） possess significantly more directorates than board members of non-financial institutions. The number of interlocking directorates is positively linked to the macroeconomic development indicator of the total investment as percentage of GDP for Poland.

Entrenched Board in New Public Firms： An Empirical Study of Chinese IPOs

This study empirically investigates the impact of managerial entrenchment on firm financial performance of Chinese firms initial public offerings （IPOs）. Using 142 firms listed in the Shenzhen Stock Exchange （SZSE）, which was collected from the Guotaian Research Service Center （GTA-RSC） databases, this study uses two proxies to measure firm performance and three proxies to measure managerial entrenchment. The two proxies for firm performance are Tobins＇ Q and return on assets （ROA）, and the three proxies for managerial entrenchment are entrenchment 1, entrenchment 2, and entrenchment 3. These three entrenchment proxies are derived from the principal component analysis （PCA）. Though previous studies of managerial entrenchment and firm performance variables suffer from endogeneity, with respect to the corporate governance it is unclear as to which variables are endogenous and which are exogenous. This study confirms that the data are linear and no endogeneity issue should be address in this study, but only heteroskedasticity, non-normality for Tobins＇ Q are a problem, therefore, the regression method employed for Tobins＇ Q is the generalised least square （GLS） and the ordinary least square （OLS） between estimators for ROA. The regression result for Tobins＇ Q reveals that managerial entrenchment is negatively impact on firm performance. The results are in contradiction to the stewardship theory for new firms whereas the managerial entrenchment for new firms is positive. Furthermore, only one entrenchment proxy yields a significant coefficient. In conclusion, the negative results of entrenchment proxies were caused by the different institutional structures and legal systems which are the Chinese corporations that are still largely owned and controlled by a state and hence the centralised state controlled was responsible for all managerial actions.

Internal Mechanisms of Corporate Governance and Firm Performance： A Review of Theory and Empirical Evidence

Literature has revealed the existence of several external and internal disciplining mechanisms that are hypothesized as factors influencing corporate governance. This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on five internal mechanisms of corporate governance, namely, dividend payouts, financial leverage, institutional shareholding, board duality, and board size. These mechanisms have received the greatest deal of attention in the literature. The paper makes an original contribution to the literature as it is the first of its type, to the best of our knowledge, to provide a comprehensive idea on these five internal mechanisms of corporate governance. This study will help in investigating the relationship between internal corporate governance mechanisms and firm performance with the main aim of extending the existing literature on firm performance by empirically investigating the contribution of these mechanisms in the smooth conduct of business operations. The empirical evidence amassed favors a smaller board size, non-existence of duality and favorable dividend mechanisms as effective internal governance mechanisms affecting firm performance. At the same time, there is no conclusive evidence on the relationship between leverage and institutional ownership as internal governance mechanisms influencing agency cost and firm performance.

Board Characteristics and Firm Performance

Based on agency theory, the importance of corporate governance is to reduce agency conflicts between those who control and those who own the residual claims in a firm. In other words, corporate governance as a mechanism helps to align management＇s goals with those of the stakeholders that are to increase firm performance. Since, the value creation of corporate governance can be measured through the firm performance; the aim of this study is to answer this question： ＂is there any relationship between corporate governance and firm performance？＂ Therefore, the four board characteristics that are of interest in this study are board independency, CEO duality, ownership structure, and board size. Based on a randomly selected sample of companies listed on Bursa Malaysia and applying the linear multiple regression as the underlying statistical tests, it is found that CEO duality has a negative relationship with firm performance---Return on Equity （ROE） and Return on Asset （ROA）, but there is no significant relationship among board independency, board size, and ownership structure as independent variables and firm performance as dependent variable.