Bruce Burton

• BAcc (hons) PhD
• Head of Department at University of Dundee

Purpose Financial shenanigans are the omissions or actions undertaken with the purpose of misrepresenting an organisation's financial statements. Many examples now exist of such behaviour emerging in the context of a desire to deceive the users of financial reports. In this context, research has illustrated how investors can find themselves impacte...

This paper explores the manner in which a range of issues relating to emotional propensities – including ethics, trust, fear and institutional exploitation of these – shape perceptions about the Islamic banking industry in the UK. Much of the ethos and practice of Shariah that originally defined such activities have been lost amidst the hegemony of...

This paper introduces a theoretical model that relates firm dynamics to bankruptcy processes on both univariate and multivariate bases. The distinctiveness of the study lies in the estimation of default using a framework where firm dynamics are linked to the bankruptcy process itself. The structure builds on theoretical relations among the construc...

Purpose The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed descriptive account and analysis of corporate internet reporting (CIR) practices among non-financial companies listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) at two points in time – December 2010 (pre) and December 2013 (peri) political and social unrest in Egypt. Design/methodology/approach The st...

Economic Modelling (EM) is a premier journal for policy-relevant economic models. However, so far, no retrospective studies exist for the journal. This study addresses this gap using a machine learning n-gram (bigram and trigram) analysis. The survey results find that the journal has contributed to 9,517 topics, with 69 topics covered in at least 1...

Earnings quality is of great concern to corporate stakeholders, including capital providers in international markets with widely varying regulatory pedigrees and ownership patterns. The current study examines the association between the cost of equity capital and earnings quality, contextualised via tests that incorporate the potential for moderati...

Purpose This study aims to explore individual perceptions about how the government, as the main architect of policies and regulations, discharges strategic accountability in Ghana’s oil and gas sector and, in so doing, promotes resource sustainability. Design/methodology/approach The study reports on a series of interviews with key actors using in...

PURPOSE This study explores Ghanaian views about accountability discharge by firms and government in the context of the nation’s newly discovered oil and gas resources. The research focusses on a range of issues relating to stakeholder interaction, communication flows and the impact of decision-making on Ghanaian lives, as perceived by individuals...

This paper provides evidence regarding the impact of soft information on foreign bank efficiency in the ASEAN-5 market in the years following the Asian crisis. The analysis presented here develops previous literature by disaggregating soft information into five difference types and examining whether institutional quality (proxied for by host-countr...

This study presents a retrospective review of the Australian Accounting Review (AAR) across its first thirty years of publication, 1991 to 2020. AAR's academic contributions have grown by 17.01% year-on-year over this period, while its level of academic influence has risen by 20.21%. Authorship numbers have grown by 16.10% annually, from 11 authors...

•Funding for renewables has been cut across Europe in the years since the financial crisis.•Crowdfunding models share a societal ethos with proponents of investment in renewables.•Positive attitudes are shown to be widespread regarding crowdfunding's potential to support renewables.•The evidence suggests that both emotional and pragmatic (experient...

Abstract Purpose: The Managerial Auditing Journal (MAJ) started publication in 1986 and celebrates its 35th year of publication in 2020. The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed bibliometric analysis of the journal’s primary trends and themes between 1986 and 2019. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses the Scopus database to analys...

This study commemorates the 25th anniversary of The European Journal of Finance (EJF) by providing a detailed retrospective analysis of the journal’s output using a range of bibliometric tools. The evidence demonstrates that since its inception the journal has grown consistently in terms of dimension, breadth, quality and reach. The major themes th...

Purpose - This study aims to explore the views of 18 users and preparers regarding Corporate Internet Reporting (CIR) practices of companies listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX). Design/Methodology - Using a decision-usefulness theoretical framework as a lens to conduct this study to shed the light on: (i) internet infrastructure and the use of...

The objective of this paper is to investigate the perceptions of users and preparers regarding financial disclosure practices in annual reports of Kuwaiti listed firms. To measure participants’ views, a questionnaire survey was distributed in Kuwait between October and December 2012, to preparers (financial managers) and users (financial analysts)...

This eBook stems from the work, events and results carried out during the CrowdFundRES project and available on www.crowdfundres.eu. In particular, this document collects insights from the following project results: guidelines for crowdfunding platforms, guidelines for project developers, guidelines for investors and the report on policy recommenda...

This study examines the views of UK-based Muslims, Islamic Scholars and Islamic banking employees on the current state of the latter industry, both in practical terms and as regards engagement with the nation's large, but often marginalised Islamic community. The British Government has recently championed the Islamic banking sector and committed to...

We are currently seeing a deceleration of renewable energy growth in Europe. This is partly attributed to the challenges for financing renewable energy projects. Reduced access to conventional financing options over the past few years has triggered innovative financing schemes to emerge, with crowdfunding attracting a lot of attention. The project...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide detailed findings regarding the perceived role of corporate governance in Zambia. There have been no detailed studies of opinions in a setting such as Zambia, i.e. a nation which has experienced relative political calm and which has an abundance of natural resources – but where corporate governance f...

It is argued that internet-based short-sellers take advantage of asymmetric information, publishing research online which often values shares in a target company at a large discount to their current price. The increasing popularity of online dissemination of information, coupled with evidence that individuals are prone to behave in a herd-like fash...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide exploratory evidence about the use of the internet for disclosure purposes by non-financial companies listed on the Egyptian Exchange – and influences thereon – at two points in time: 2010 and 2011. Selection of these periods permits direct investigation of the extent to which the disruption caused b...

This study examines the issue of minority empowerment and scholarly input in the context of Islamic banking in the UK. The nation has a large Muslim population that has often been characterised as marginalised, and so the study employs a critical lens to explore views regarding the extent to which the Islamic banking sector meets community needs. T...

The report presents the findings of an online survey conducted over Spring and Summer 2016 at the European level regarding characteristics of economic agent decision making in the crowdfunding marketplace for renewable energy projects.

This report presents the findings of three online surveys conducted in the second half of 2015 at the European level regarding perceptions about crowdfunding in the renewables sector. The surveys form part of the CrowdFundRES project which aims to help unleash the potential of crowdfunding for renewable energy projects and is funded by the European...

This paper investigates the information content (signalling) of dividend announcements by firms listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) over the period 2005 to 2009. This sample period was selected in order to avoid contamination of the dividend signal with a capital gains tax effect since a capital gains tax was introduced in Pakistan from 2010...

This paper investigates the information content (signalling) of dividend announcements by firms listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) over the period 2005 to 2009. This sample period was selected in order to avoid contamination of the dividend signal with a capital gains tax effect since a capital gains tax was introduced in Pakistan from 2010...

This paper examines the value relevance of Corporate Internet Reporting (CIR) provided by Egyptian non-financial listed companies. It investigates the association between the level of CIR and companies' market values. The findings indicate that CIR information was value relevant over the period of investigation. In addition, an analysis of the sub-...

This paper analyses the effects of off-balance sheet (OBS) activities and various types of risks on the cost and profit efficiencies of banks in seven East Asian countries between 2001 and 2008. Cost and profit efficiency scores are estimated using the data envelopment analysis approach. The results of this analysis are then used to identify the im...

The Centre for Qualitative Research in Finance (CQRF) was launched at the University of Dundee in 2013 supported by both the University itself and Emerald, the publishers of the Centre’s sister journal Qualitative Research in Financial Markets. The Centre, like the journal, is intended to act as a fulcrum for work of this nature through dedicated s...

This article explores the relationship between the level and identity of the largest equity blockholding and the proportion of outside directors on the boards of New Zealand corporations between 2002 and 2007, using models that allow for nonlinearity in the relationship as well as interaction between the two exploratory variables. New Zealand provi...

Purpose – The paper aims to investigate disclosure practices in the annual reports of Libyan banks in the run‐up to the opening of the nation's first stock exchange. Banks dominate this embryonic market but very little research has examined the extent (or determinants) of transparency achieved by these firms, an issue argued by Stiglitz and others...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the views of company executives and investors regarding the signalling impact of dividends in Pakistan. Quantitative research in the area has been scant, but recent large sample evidence suggests a number of noteworthy idiosyncrasies exist in terms of the market reaction and these require furthe...

This article examines the gap between the theory and practice of corporate governance in developing nations using Uganda as a case study. It shows that the theory of corporate governance is understood in these nations and that there are well developed corporate guidelines in some of them. However, there is a mismatch between theory and practice as...

Purpose – Very little is known about the influences on dividend decisions in Pakistan, despite the importance of the market in the region and the nation's non‐standard tax system. This study therefore aims to provide detailed evidence regarding this issue by examining the views of those charged with the decisions in practice. Design/methodology/ap...

The interrelation of privatisation and accounting constitutes a wide-ranging focus for research that is attractive from a critical theoretical and interdisciplinary perspective. A number of studies may be considered part of this focus in holding themselves out as types of evaluation of – or as an accounting, or accountability, for – privatisation....

Purpose – This paper aims to identify the views of Dublin‐based financial analysts and major Irish fund managers on dividends. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses semi‐structured interviews with 16 participants and analyses their responses concerning the role of dividends in the share screening process; the perceived relationship between...

This exploratory study analyses the factors that affect the selection of a contract, alliance or joint venture for collaborative activity. The findings, based on a sample of 441 announcements made by UK firms, reveal that although no unequivocal support exists for either the agency- or transaction cost economics-based explanations of vehicle choice...

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: This paper sets out to investigate perceptions about corporate governance practices in the developing African nation of Uganda. The study employs interview and questionnaire analysis to examine the part played by a range of factors in supporting effective governance. Research Findings/Results: The...

Purpose This study aims to examine the extent to which UK directors failed to report their share trading in the timeframe required by extant regulations in the run‐up to the changes in insider trading law contained in the Financial Services and Markets Act. Design/methodology/approach The study investigates the extent of non‐compliance amongst the...

Purpose This study aims to provide a modern perspective on the role of dividends in smaller developed countries such as Ireland by examining views regarding the determinants of payout levels, the role of taxation and the relevance of conventional signalling theory. Design/methodology/approach The study employs semi‐structured interviews with the f...

Purpose – This paper sets out the reasons for putting together a special issue of the Journal on Qualitative Research in Finance, discussing the pedigree of the approach, and outlining the articles contained therein. Design/methodology/approach – The approach adopted in this paper involves discussing the use of qualitative research in finance in p...

Several recent studies document significant share returns at the time when strategic alliances are announced to the stock market. However, the earlier evidence is focused on equally weighted portfolio returns and/or individual partner returns. A value-weighted portfolio approach is used here to demonstrate that the overall market impact of alliance...

A substantive literature examines the short- and long-run performance of share returns following an Initial Public Offering (IPO). However, the related issue of why companies seek to raise money through an IPO, or the factors that are important in this equity-issuing process, have attracted very little academic attention. The current paper seeks to...

This study investigates the manner in which the Irish stock market responds to company announcements about dividend payments. In particular, the paper examines whether the predictions of the 'signalling' hypothesis hold or if more recent findings (which suggest that there is little value-relevant information contained in dividend changes) better ch...

Institutional practices around the time of equity offers by listed firms have recently been the subject of scrutiny by UK regulatory authorities including the former Monopolies and Mergers Commission. Moreover, several published studies indicate that managers in both Britain and the US continue to make extensive use of the equity issue methods that...

This paper examines the effect of concurrent capital expenditure on the market reaction to corporate alliance announcements. Based on a large sample of announcements made in the UK between 1993 and 1995, the evidence suggests that the market response is most favourable when new investment does not form part of the joint activity. The results also s...

A number of recent studies have found a link between movements in crude oil prices and equity values. However, the literature concentrates almost exclusively on North American and Australian data and is primarily conducted at a stock market-wide level. The present study therefore investigates the relationship between the price of crude oil and equi...

This study examines differences in the extent of predictability in the pricing of the two main classes of equity traded in China, namely: A shares (available to Chinese investors) and B shares (traditionally available only to non-Chinese investors). The study extends previous work by conducting a wider range of analyses and extending the sample per...

Corporate governance as a coherent notion and independent topic of academic and practitioner interest has developed rapidly in the last ten years. In particular, most countries have seen the publication of vast numbers of regulatory reports outlining best practice in handling the issues that arise from the increased prominence of the governance con...

Deeply-discounted rights issues (DDRIs) remain rare on the world's largest stock markets, but the costs and benefits of such issues have attracted renewed attention in recent years as market regulators search for ways of driving down the cost of external fund raising. The relative scarcity of DDRIs presents a puzzle to researchers because the ratio...

Several recent studies have examined whether the main Chinese stock markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen are weak-form efficient. A consistent feature of the findings is that the pricing of foreign-owned B shares is more predictable than domestically-owned A shares. However, none of the earlier investigations examine the overreaction effect, one of the...

This study investigates the views of Irish corporate managers regarding dividend policy. It seeks to explain (i) how firms determine dividend levels, (ii) perceptions of the relationship between dividend policy and firm value, and (iii) the role of earnings, risk preferences and tax clienteles in determining payout ratios. Data were obtained from a...

This paper examines the determinants of external credit ratings attained by insurance firms in the United Kingdom (UK) and of the likelihood that insurers will have such an assessment. Using panel data relating to A.M. Best-rated and Standard and Poor's (S&P)-rated insurers over the period 1993-1997, a trichotomous logit model and an ordered probit...

A number of recent empirical studies have examined the extent to which growth indicators (or 'proxies') affect the market reaction to major corporate announcements. Although the method employed in these studies is broadly similar, the results to date have varied quite markedly. One key difference amongst the previous studies relates to the nature o...

Eckbo and Masulis (1992), Burton et al. (1999) and Armitage (1999) reported that the method used to issue new shares is one of the key determinants of the market reaction to seasoned equity offer announcements. This article develops this earlier line of research by examining a sample of 193 rights issues and 329 placings of shares made by UK firms...

The paper examines three hypotheses about the effect of insider trading on the market response to new financing announcements (NFAs) using a sample of disclosures made by UK firms between 1989 and 1991. The study demonstrates first that no systematic relationships exist between the market response to NFAs and pre-announcement insider trading. Secon...

In this paper we present novel evidence on the stock market reaction to new equity issues in the UK. Using a sample of 116 announcements made during the period 1989-1991 we find evidence of significantly negative market reactions to such news, consistent in both sign and magnitude with earlier US results. We proceed to examine the role of growth op...

In this paper we provide novel evidence about the market reaction to capital expenditure announcements in the UK using a sample of nearly 500 disclosures made between 1989 and 1991. First, we show that the market reaction to joint venture announcements is significantly positive, whilst similar announcements from individual companies do not elicit a...

The evidence in this note indicates that the average stock market reaction to news of ordinary equity issues by quoted companies may depend on the share issue method employed. Using a sample of announcements made in the UK between 1989 and 1991 we find that the market response is significantly negative when the disclosure relates to a rights issue,...

In this paper we extend the analysis of earlier investigations into the relationship between patterns of corporate growth and the announcement of new financing (see for example, Pilotte 1992; Burton et al., 1993) by examining the growth in turnover and earnings achieved by equity and debt-issuing firms. We study the performance of UK firms which ma...