Browsing by Author "Ting, Irene Wei Kiong"
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Item Are cryptocurrencies affected by their asset class movements or news announcements?(Malaysian Economic Association, 2019) Gurrib, Ikhlaas; Kweh, Qian Long; Nourani, Mohammad; Ting, Irene Wei KiongThis study analyses whether returns of top market capitalised cryptocurrencies are affected by their movements or major global macroeconomic news. Daily data are collected for the leading 10 cryptocurrencies from July 2017-December 2018. This study, (i) tests whether lagged variables can help predict other variables' returns through a vector autoregression (VAR) model, (ii) analyses the response of cryptocurrencies to one standard deviation shock on Bitcoin's returns, and (iii) decomposes factors that contribute to variance and tests for structural breaks. Findings show that most cryptocurrencies do not significantly affect other variances, except for Monero, which represented between 19% and 45% of the variances of five cryptocurrencies. Autoregressive (AR) models are superior in forecasting one day ahead return forecasts, compared to the VAR model, whereas the random walk (RW) model ranked last. Although remarkable structural breaks are observed via impulse response functions during December 2017-January 2018, no major news announcements were released on the same day the breaks occurred. Overall, this study suggests the need for high-frequency cryptocurrency prices to tackle the issue of the relationship between intraday news release and cryptocurrencies. © 2019 Malaysian Economic Association. All rights reserved.Item Board meeting frequency and financial performance : a case of listed firms in Vietnam(Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 2018) Hanh, Le Thi My; Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Kweh, Qian Long; Hoanh, Lam Thi HoangThis study investigates the effect of board meeting frequency on the financial performance of listed firms in a fiscal year. We use 94 firms listed on Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange from 2013 to 2015. Financial performance is measured as returns on asset, equity and sales. Results show that board meeting frequency exerts a negative effect on the financial performance of the sample firms. High board meeting frequency equates to low returns on asset, equity and sales. Overall, the quality of board meetings is an important factor that contributes to financial performance. © 2018, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. All rights reserved.Item Capital structure and dynamic performance : evidence from ASEAN-5 banks(World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte Ltd, 2019) Nourani, Mohammad; Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Lu, Wen-Min; Kweh, Qian LongIn today's dynamic economy, banks should focus on improving their dynamic performance to stay competitive. Using a dataset for the period 2007-2013, this paper evaluates the dynamic performance of ASEAN-5 banks through a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model, called the dynamic slacks-based measure (DSBM) model. The DEA results indicate that banks in Malaysia perform better than those in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Frontier projections through DEA indicate that banks in the ASEAN-5 countries underutilize their long-term assets, resulting in inefficiencies. Furthermore, this study finds that capital structure as a whole is positively related to bank performance. © 2019 World Scientific Publishing Company.Item CEO duality, board size and firm performance: evidence in Vietnam(Inderscience Publishers, 2023) Le, Hanh Thi My; Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Kweh, Qian Long; Ngo, Ha Lam TanFrom the perspective of the agency and stewardship theories for explaining the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance, this study examines the impacts of CEO duality and board size on the firm performance. We assess the association between CEO duality, board size and firm performance of top 200 companies listed on the Vietnam Stock Exchange (VSE) over 2014-2015. Our findings show that: 1) CEO duality limits the monitoring function of the board, and a large board size promotes dominance and power of leaders that create more conflicts; 2) the number of executive directors in the top management positively influences firm performance. Findings of our study certainly help policymakers and other stakeholders understand the relationship between CEO duality, board size and firm performance. Overall, this study highlights the CEO duality and the relationship of board size and firm performance in a nation with less protection of minority shareholders.Item CEO power and earnings management: Dual roles of foreign shareholders in Vietnamese listed companies(John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2022-01) Le, Hanh Thi My; Kweh, Qian Long; Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Nourani, MohammadUsing a sample of Vietnamese listed companies from 2007–2016, this study examines the impact of CEO power on earnings management. This work also explores how the association between CEO power and earnings management differs between companies with high foreign ownership (FOR) and low FOR. Our fixed-effects panel regression analyses reveal that CEO power significantly and positively affects earnings management, whereas FOR can control earnings management. However, when the sample is split into companies with high and low FOR, the significantly positive effect of CEO power is evident only in the group with high FOR, thereby suggesting that CEO power works positively on earnings management given high FOR. These results remain qualitatively the same when the composite CEO power is replaced with individual measures of CEO power. Overall, policymakers with an oversight function should be aware of the potential dual roles of foreign investors. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons LtdItem The cubic S-curve relationship between board independence and intellectual capital efficiency: does firm size matter?(Emerald Group Holdings Ltd., 2022-09-05) Kweh, Qian Long; Lu, Wen-Min; Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Le, Hanh Thi MyPurpose: First, this study assesses firms’ efficiency of transforming intellectual capital (IC) components into firm performance. Second, this study examines (1) cubic S-curve relationship between board independence and IC efficiency and (2) how firm size moderates the cubic S-curve relationship. Design/methodology/approach: This study employs a stochastic nonparametric envelopment of data (StoNED) framework to estimate IC efficiency, which is derived from the estimation process of transforming structural, relational and human capitals into accounting- and market-based performance indicators. This study conducts regression analyses on 1,104 firm-year observations of Taiwanese semiconductor firms over the period of 2011–2018. Findings: StoNED results suggest that sample firms' IC efficiency can be relatively improved by approximately 80%. Regression results indicate that a cubic S-curve relationship between board independence and IC efficiency exists, and firm size moderates the nonlinear effects. Practical implications: Overall, this study highlights the importance of examining the nonlinear effect of board independence on IC efficiency from the perspective of agency theory, and the moderating effect from firm size, which may suggest availability of resources from the resource-based view of the firm. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature through the innovative application of an efficiency-based tool for evaluating IC efficiency. The cubic S-curve relationship between board independence and IC efficiency also points to the policy concerning the appropriate number of independent directors on board. © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.Item Different levels of family ownership and dividend payout in the presence of growth opportunities(Inderscience Publishers, 2021) Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Kweh, Qian Long; Ahmad, Norazlin; Paramanantham, Neshaleni S.This study examines the family ownership, growth opportunities, and dividend payout of a sample consisting of 200 of the largest publicly listed companies in Malaysia from 2011-2016. Three main results emerge after controlling for firm and board characteristics as well as industry and year effects in various robustness checks. First, despite their positive impacts on dividend payout, family firms exhibit a lower dividend payout relative to net income. Second, growth opportunities increase the positive impacts of family ownership on dividend payout. A positive association between growth opportunities and dividend payout is also found. Third, the moderating effect of growth opportunities on the relationship between family ownership and dividend payout is present only in firms with family shareholdings, particularly those with high and medium ownership. These findings indicate varying dividend payout in the presence of growth opportunities for the different levels of family ownership. Copyright © 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.Item EFFECTS OF AIRCRAFT LEASED/OWNED ON OPERATIONAL AND WEALTH-CREATION EFFICIENCIES(Fabrizio Serra Editore Srl, 2021-06) Kweh, Qian Long; Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Lu, Wen-Min; Lin, Cheng-HsienThis study examines the operational performance and wealth-creation efficiency of 22 global airlines over the period 2005-2017. That is, an airline efficiency evaluation model is proposed and assessed by employing a dynamic DEA model with network structure via a slacks-based measure approach. Moreover, this study performs a DuPont analysis and examines how leasing or owning aircraft in the airline industry explains airline efficiencies. Results corroborate that airlines with more owned aircraft relative to leased aircraft are more efficient than their counterparts in all aspects. DuPont analysis reveals that the former group of airlines' positive return on equity (ROE) on average is attributable to their higher net profit margin and asset turnover ratio, but lower equity multiplier compared with those of the latter group of airlines. The number of aircraft owned (leased) has a significantly positive (negative) effect on airline efficiencies. Taken together, this study offers empirical evidence for the relevance of change in accounting standard, particularly leasing in this study, in the transportation economics. Airlines should manage well not only their resources, but also their aircraft fleet deployment. In addition, this study points out the relevance of the textbook-based DuPont system in analyzing airlines' financial performance. © 2021 Fabrizio Serra Editore Srl. All rights reserved.Item The effects of managerial ability on firm performance and the mediating role of capital structure: evidence from Taiwan(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2021-12) Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Tebourbi, Imen; Lu, Wen-Min; Kweh, Qian LongThis study utilizes mediation analysis and bootstrapping to analyze the mediating effect of capital structure on the association between managerial ability and firm performance. The dataset consists of 6384 firm-year observations from the Taiwanese electronics industry during 2005–2018. Our results indicate that (1) low (high) levels of debt are likely observed in firms with CEOs with high (low) ability, (2) managerial ability positively affects firm performance, and (3) capital structure mediates the positive relationship between managerial ability and firm performance. Overall, the findings may have limited generalizability due to the specific sample characteristics and provide convincing support for the importance of capital structure as a mediator in the managerial ability-firm performance nexus. Specifically, this study highlights the need for examining the effect of managerial ability on firm performance through a mediator. © 2021, The Author(s).Item Environmental, social, and governance and corporate efficiency: mediating role of R&D in achieving sustainable development goals(Routledge, 2023) Kweh, Qian Long; Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Ren, Chunya; Lu, Wen-MinWe examine whether and how research and development (R&D) mediates the association between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) pillars and corporate efficiency among companies within the supply chain of Microsoft Corporation from 2012 to 2020. An estimation of corporate efficiency using data envelopment analysis (DEA) indicates that companies should first improve their innovational efficiency (mean DEA score = 0.371), then operational efficiency (mean DEA score = 0.659), and finally profitability efficiency (mean DEA score = 0.695). Moreover, a mediation analysis confirms the mediating role of R&D intensity. Overall, R&D should be one of the spotlights in the supply chain amidst the highlights on ESG in this dynamic and challenging business world for companies to achieve sustainable development goals. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Item Evaluating traditional, dynamic and network business models: an efficiency-based study of Chinese insurance companies(Palgrave Macmillan, 2022-10) Nourani, Mohammad; Kweh, Qian Long; Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Lu, Wen-Min; Strutt, AnnaItem Family control, R&D expenses and firm efficiency: evidence from Taiwanese cultural and creative industries(Emerald Publishing, 2023) Kweh, Qian Long; Le, Hanh Thi My; Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Lu, Wen-MinItem Firm efficiency and corporate performance: the moderating role of controlling shareholders(Emerald Publishing, 2023) Nguyen, Thien Huu; Asif, Jawad; Kweh, Qian Long; Ting, Irene Wei KiongPurpose: This study analyses the effects of firm efficiency on firm performance and how controlling shareholders moderate the link between the two variables. Design/methodology/approach: This study employs data envelopment analysis to estimate firm efficiency and the panel regression method to assess the hypothesised relationships among 1,295 firm-year observations of publicly listed firms in Malaysia from 2015 to 2019. Findings: The results indicate that firm efficiency (technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency) has mixed relationships with firm performance (return on assets, market-to-book ratio and operating cash flows), all of which are being moderated by controlling shareholdings. Practical implications: This study highlights the importance of assessing firm efficiency as the key success factor for improving firm performance. Industrial managers should manage efficiently their resources or operating costs in achieving their corporate financial goals. Moreover, this study notes the presence of controlling shareholders, who can be either self-interested or company goal aligned. Originality/value: This study suggests becoming efficient in transforming inputs into outputs is a prerequisite before investigating accrual-based and cash-based firm performance measures, and the presence of controlling shareholders matters in these regards. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.Item Founder management, government ownership and firm performance : evidence from Malaysia(Faculty of Economics and Administration, 2018) Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Kweh, Qian Long; Lean, Hooi Hooi; Juan, Sui HaiThis paper examines first, how founder CEOs affect firm performance and second, whether government ownership moderates the relationship between founder CEOs and firm performance of companies listed in Malaysia between 2002 and 2011. Firms led by founder CEOs perform better than those led by non-founder CEOs. Although a direct-effect test indicates that government ownership may be detrimental to firm performance, there exists a positive relationship between founder CEOs and firm performance in the presence of government ownership from the perspective of growth opportunities. In terms of profitability, however, government ownership may not increase return on assets. These findings suggest that the government may play a crucial role to protect investor’s wealth, especially with respect to long-term survival of a company. © 2018, Faculty of Economics and Administration. All rights reserved.Item How do ownership concentration and family control affect R&D investments? new evidence from Taiwan(Wiley-Blackwell, 2020-03-01) Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Lo, Huai‐Chun; Kweh, Qian LongThis study finds a nonlinear relationship between ownership concentration and R&D investments. Specifically, ownership concentration is positively related to R&D investments at a low level of ownership concentration; the relationship becomes negative when ownership concentration is at a high level. However, the impact of ownership concentration on R&D investments is lessened in family-controlled firms; that is, family control moderates the relationship between ownership concentration and R&D investments. Overall, this study suggests that the ownership concentration's nonlinear impact on R&D investments differs between family-controlled firms and nonfamily-controlled firms. © 2018 International Review of Finance Ltd.article.listelement.badge How does stakeholder engagement through environmental, social, and governance affect eco-efficiency and profitability efficiency? Zooming into Apple Inc.'s counterparts(John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2023-01) Lu, Wen-Min; Kweh, Qian Long; Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Ren, ChunyaAs global ecological degradation intensifies, a trade-off has arisen between environmental protection and production efficiency to achieve sustainable development for the environment, society, and the company itself. However, the potential reverse causality relationship between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and corporate efficiency may lead to confusion. This study estimates the eco-efficiency of Apple Incorporated's value-chain counterparts in the first stage and creates values and profitability in the second stage of efficiency evaluation. Results obtained from the (i) directional distance function in the two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA), (ii) additive efficiency decomposition two-stage network DEA model, and (iii) network slacks-based measure model are consistent. That is, Apple counterparts manage more efficient eco-efficiency than profitability efficiency, implying that eco-efficiency is their competitive advantage. We thus also run a regression analysis to examine how the ESG ratings of Apple counterparts explain their eco-efficiency and profitability efficiency. Although the overall ESG rating positively explains the efficiencies, we found that the individual governance rating shows no statistically significant effect. The regression results provide insight for practitioners on the importance of investing in the three aspects of a firm's collective conscientiousness for societal and environmental governance. This paper integrates companies' eco-efficiency and profitability efficiency to resolve the conflict between environmental issues and production efficiency. It also analyzes in depth the effects of ESG and its three individual factors on eco-, profitability, and average efficiencies. The diversity of research methods also provides new ideas for future research related to firm efficiency. © 2022 ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Item The impact of knowledge creation on employee engagement from the perspectives of exploitation and exploration(Inderscience Publishers, 2020) Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Juan, Sui Hai; Darun, Mohd Ridzuan; Yao, Liu; Kweh, Qian LongThe main purpose of this study is to assess the impacts of knowledge creation on employee engagement from both exploration and exploitation perspectives. After identifying that knowledge creation could facilitate employee engagement from a literature review, the study proposed a model of knowledge creation toward employee engagement. A survey questionnaire was developed accordingly. With a stratified sampling method, data were collected from the academic staff of one public and one private university located in Malaysia. A total of 200 academic staff members participated in this study. Linear regression analysis was performed to test how knowledge creation (i.e., exploration and exploitation) affects employee engagement. Statistical results show that the exploration and exploitation of knowledge creation positively and significantly affect employee engagement. The proposed model could aid universities in utilising knowledge creation practices to engage employees so as to attain and sustain competitive advantage. Copyright © 2020 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.Item Innovation and Firm Performance: The Moderating Role of Intellectual Capital among Chinese Companies(Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2023-06-22) Ren, Chunya; Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Kweh, Qian Long; Zhang, ChengThis study examines the impact of innovation on firm performance and how intellectual capital (IC) moderates the association between innovation and firm performance. We apply an innovation index that measures the frequency of innovative related words, which appear in firm financial reports to proxy for innovation. IC is estimated through the value-added IC (VAIC™) model. This study analyses Chinese firm-year observations of financial profitability (firm value) datasets, which total 19,152 (18,276) over the years from 2007 to 2019. Results indicate that the innovation index is positively related to financial profitability and firm market value. Moreover, the moderating outcomes suggest that IC boosts the positive relationship between innovation index and firm performance. Overall, this study highlights the importance of having innovation and IC together for gaining firm competitive advantages and progressing profitably. That is, firms should be innovative and must manage their IC well. © Asian Academy of Management and Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2023.Item Intellectual capital and bank branches' efficiency: an integrated study(Emerald Group Holdings Ltd., 2022-05-26) Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Chen, Fu-Chiang; Kweh, Qian Long; Sui, Hai JuanPurpose: This study aims to investigate the association between intellectual capital (IC) and bank efficiency of Taiwanese bank branches. Design/methodology/approach: This study manually collects sample data from 107 non-public financial reports of the bank branches of Taiwan Business Bank Company Limited. As this study concerns bank branches, this study uses questionnaires related to IC to measure the implementation of IC at branch level. This study employs data envelopment analysis (DEA) models (BCC, EBM and BootBCC) to identify bank branches' efficiency. This study uses partial least square-based structural equation modeling analysis to assess the impact of IC and bank efficiency. Findings: Result reveals that relational capital (RC) significantly and negatively impacts bank efficiency. Findings also imply that human capital (HC) and structural capital (SC) do not contribute to bank efficiency in Taiwan. Practical implications: Spending effort in building relationships with customers diverts banks' resources. More inputs that are used may not be converted to outputs immediately. Bank branches should focus on enhancing their service quality to attract customers to use the facilities provided by branches. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this empirical study is the first to examine the association between IC and bank branches' efficiency in Taiwan by integrating primary and secondary data. For IC components, this study conducts a survey by designing the questionnaires related to IC to assess the implementation of IC at bank branches in Taiwan. In terms of efficiency, this study uses bank financial data and DEA models to identify bank branches' efficiency. © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.Item Intellectual capital and corporate performance in Malaysia: exploring nonlinearity and synergy effects(World Scientific, 2023) Asif, Jawad; Ting, Irene Wei Kiong; Lean, Hooi Hooi; Kweh, Qian Long