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The study aimed to recognize the environmental awareness of corporate entities by exploring the extent of their associated information reporting practices. The study also strived to learn the notable board characteristics that transform the environmental reporting practices of the listed companies in an emerging market economy. This quantitative study was based on annual reports of randomly selected 100 manufacturing companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange. The research used a self-developed disclosure index linked to the environment to collect data for the study. The study revealed that the extent of average environmental reporting practices by the sampled companies was too low, which was only 14.48% of the disclosure index developed for this study. Moreover, 4% of the selected companies did not disclose any environmental information in their annual report for the fiscal year 2018–2019 . The most disclosed theme was the concern for the general environment, whereas the lowest was the environmental performance, which was between 25.83% and 6.2%. The study documented that no other board characteristics were highly significant and could positively explain the extent of corporate environmental reporting practices in Bangladesh, only the willingness to disclose by the board.

IntroductionPatient satisfaction is an important indicator of the quality of care provided by health care facilities. The objective of this study was to investigate the rate of satisfaction and its associated factors among the patients admitted to tertiary care hospitals in Bangladesh.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted in a public and two private tertiary care hospitals in Bangladesh in December 2019, including 923 consecutive patients admitted to medical and surgical departments. Face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire was conducted to collect patient-level data. Logistic regression models were used to determine the factors associated with patients' satisfaction.ResultsPatients' overall satisfaction level was 65% (51% in public and 75% in private hospitals) with a satisfaction rate of 63% in hospital staff courtesy, 56.5% in a hospital environment, 67% in physician care, 63% in general patient satisfaction, and 58% in patient's family care. Private hospitals (aOR 3.64, 95% CI 2.2–6.03), conservative management (aOR 3.34, 95% CI 2.10–5.33), shorter hospital stay (aOR 1.58, 95% CI 1.05–2.37) and perceived improvement after treatment (aOR 1.67, 95% CI 1.01–2.76) were associated with patients' satisfaction. In contrast, patients' accommodation on the floor (aOR 0.38, aOR 0.22–0.66) and high health care costs (aOR 0.97, 95% CI 0.95–0.99) were associated with patients' dissatisfaction with the in-patient service they received in both public and private hospitals.ConclusionAlmost two-thirds of the patients were satisfied with the inpatient service they received, though, the satisfaction rate was higher in private hospitals. Treatment modality, cost, and outcome, as well as hospital environment like accommodation, were associated with their satisfaction level.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the moderating effect of independent directors on the relationship between politicians on the board and corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD). Design/methodology/approach The ordinary least square has been used to analyze the CSRD data collected from the annual reports of all 30 listed banks of Bangladesh covering six years period ranging from 2013–2018. Further, the study has applied the generalized method of moments to prove the robustness of the model across the endogeneity issue. Findings The study found a positive relationship between board independence and CSRD that indicates board independence enhances the CSRD to a great extent. On the contrary, the inclusion of politicians on the board has shown a negative impact on CSRD that implies the higher the presence of political members on the board of a bank, the lower the involvement of the bank in CSR activities. However, board independence positively and significantly moderates the politician directors on the CSRD. The findings imply that if the independent directors are empowered, they play the role of whistleblowers that, in turn, mitigates the negative role of politician directors to CSRD. Research limitations/implications The study suggests the banks’ management, and regulatory bodies formulate sound policies so that the banks are forced to include more independent directors with enough power and at the same time, reduce the politician directors on the board. Originality/value The study extends debate on the political CSR and CSRD through validating the role of board independence.

This study intended to explore when and how often fixed asset revaluation (FAR) is practiced in Bangladesh and explain the impacts of FAR on net asset value (NAV), stock prices, and debts of companies. Based on 175 listed companies on the Dhaka Stock Exchange, this study found increasing use of the revaluation model where the textile industry witnessed the highest number of revaluations. Most of the listed companies were irregular revaluer, and they performed FAR during the bull market in 2010. Most newly listed companies did it just before their initial public offerings (IPO). The results of the Wilcoxon signed-rank test imply that the changes in NAV, stock prices, and total debts after revaluation were statistically significant. This study found evidence of enhancing debt capacity and stock prices of several companies through improved NAV. The findings will assist regulators to recognize the consequence of revaluation and enable them to take an appropriate stance for controlling abusive and creative reporting. The study will also make investors cautious about companies with revaluation induced assets. This study suggests that companies practicing the revaluation model should perform FAR on regular intervals to reduce information asymmetry about assets’ value and thus help improve investors’ confidence.Keywords: Fair value accounting, IAS 16, PP&E, Bull-bear market, Information asymmetry, NAVJEL Classifications: G1, G11, M41, M48DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijefi.10828

Robi Axiata Limited (Robi)—a multinational cellphone operator—got the nod for the ever-biggest initial public offering (IPO) from Bangladesh's regulatory body on 14 October 2020. The IPO process ended on 24 December 2020 through its debut on the country's two stock exchanges. Based on both primary and secondary data, this study intends to depict the 23 years strategic journey of Robi till its IPO. Robi's IPO was oversubscribed by 5.75 times compared to its counterpart telecom giant Grameenphone by 3.5 times. Beyond the most common motive of settling the loan, network expansion was the only motive for Robi's IPO. The IPO enabled the company to reduce its corporate tax and create a positive brand image among stakeholders. Before the IPO, rebranding from AKTEL into Robi and its merger with Airtel were two major turning points. The merger contributed significantly to the company's market share and overall performance, which ultimately led the company to raise the largest-ever amount from the capital market through IPO., {"references":["Ahmed, J. U., Sultana, H., Jahan, N., & Nisha, N. (2018). Achieving a competitive edge through merger: evidence from telecoms industry of Bangladesh. International Journal of Strategic Business Alliances, 6(3), 166–180.","Ahmed, J. U., & Rahman, M. S. (2017). The rise and fall of Citycell in Bangladesh. SAGE Business Cases [online] http://sk.sagepub.com/cases/the-rise-and-fall-of-citycell-inbangladesh.","Amor, S. B., & Kooli, M. (2017). Intended use of proceeds and post-IPO performance. The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance(65), 168–181.","Andriansyah, A., & Messinis, G. (2016). Intended use of IPO proceeds and firm performance: a quantile regression approach. Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 36, 14–30.","Arora, N., & Singh, B. (2020). Determinants of oversubscription of SME IPOs in India: evidence from quantile regression. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, https://doi.org/10.1108/APJBA-05-2020-0160.","Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). http://www.btrc.gov.bd/","Brau, J. C., & Fawcett, S. E. (2006). Initial public offerings: an analysis of theory and practice. The Journal of Finance, 61(1), 399–436.","Faisal, F., & Ridwan, S. M. (2012). Infrastructure financing through capital market in Bangladesh. World Journal of Social Sciences, 2(5), 31–41.","Fan, P. (2019). Debt retirement at IPO and firm growth. Journal of Economics and Business, 101, 1–16.","Husain, I. (2016). Robi-Airtel merger sets out on commercial journey. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://archive.dhakatribune.com/business/2016/11/17/robi-airtel-merger-sets-commercial-journey","Kongpichayanond, P. (2009). Knowledge management for sustained competitive advantage in mergers and acquisitions. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 11(3), 375–387.","Mehmood, W., Mohd-Rashid, R., & Ahmad, A. H. (2020). Impact of pricing mechanism on IPO oversubscription: evidence from Pakistan stock exchange. Pacific Accounting Review, 32(2), 239–254.","Rahman, M. T. (2010). Making Teletalk a healthy competitor among the mobile phone operators in Bangladesh. Journal of Business and Technology (Dhaka) 5(2), 133–149.","Rahman, M. T. (2017). Revaluation of fixed assets before IPO: a study on textile industry in Bangladesh. Journal of Finance and Accounting, 5(5), 200–205.","Rahman, M. T., Hossain, S. Z., Haque, M. A., & Ashik, M. A. H. (2020). Exploration of IPO motives, oversubscription and flotation costs: evidence from Bangladesh. International Journal of Management, Accounting, and Economics, 7(12), 708–725","Rahman, M., Hossain, S. Z., & Omar, N. (2017). Factors influencing subscription of IPO in Bangladesh. International Journal of Economics, Management and Accounting, 25(3), 529-548.","Robi Axiata Limited. (2020). Initial Public Offering Prospectus 2020. https://www.robi.com.bd/en/corporate/investor-relations/ipo/robi-ipo-prospectus?","Robi Axiata Limited. (2020). Integrated Annual report 2020. https://webapi.robi.com.bd/uploads/files/shares/Page/robi-annual-report-2020.pdf","Robi Axiata Limited. (2022). Company Profile. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://www.robi.com.bd/en/corporate/company-profile","Silva, A., & Bilinski, P. (2015). Intended use of proceeds, underwriter quality and the long‐run performance of SEOs in the UK. Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 42(9-10), 1282–1309.","The Daily Star. (2020). Robi gets nod for largest-ever IPO in Bangladesh. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/robi-gets-nod-largest-ever-ipo-bangladesh-1966517","Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: design and methods. Sage Publications."]}

The study strived to explore whether the accounting curricula of the University of Rajshahi fit the needs of both domestic and foreign job markets. To accomplish this purpose, we prepared five sets of Likert-type structured questionnaires and administered them to stakeholders viz faculties, students, alumni, non-academic staff, and employers. The Higher Education Quality Enhancement Program (HEQEP) of the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh provided the questionnaires. The study found a notable gap between the courses and content covered in the accounting curricula and the skills acquired by the graduates as well their skills and needs of the job market. The Department of Accounting and Information Systems of the University developed the accounting curricula without any participation of its stakeholders and professional body members. Faculties designed curricula, but it was just routine work. Recently it has mandatory to include a member from alumni, employers, and professionals in the curriculum committee. But they have very little freedom to exercise their rights and give inputs to a curriculum to meet the needs of the job market. Moreover, the prevailing lecture-based teaching-learning pedagogy and exam-based assessment practiced by universities expand the gap. The study recommends proper representation of stakeholders in the curricula Committee and designing market-led forward-looking curricula for accounting programs giving emphasis on information technology and taking into account the demands of the prevailing and prospective job markets.

Intellectual Capital (IC) stimulates corporate competitive advantages that can enhance firm performance and sustainable growth (SG). This study investigates IC’s affinity with and impact on accounting and market performance and SG of listed nonfinancial companies in Bangladesh. Data were collected from 69 nonfinancial companies for five years during 2017–2021, forming 345 observations. Modified Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (MVAIC) and steady-state models consecutively measured IC efficiency and Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). The Robust fixed effect model was applied to confirm the highest reliable results. Results of MVAIC, Intellectual Capital Efficiency (ICE), and Human Capital Efficiency (HCE) showed a positive affinity with and impact on firm performance and SGR. Structural Capital Efficiency (SCE) showed an insignificant association with and impact on explained variables, whereas Relational Capital Efficiency (RCE) showed a significant negative relationship with and impact on the same. Tangible capital employed efficiency (CEE) enhanced firm performance but failed to confirm sustainable growth. The findings help business executives, government, and policymakers formulate strategic plans for sustainable resource utilization and can create value, competitive edges, and survival for firms. The study recommends that corporate entities should strive to enhance their efficiency in internal structural resources and relational activities to achieve better firm performance and sustainable growth.

Tax reform is an issue of endless political debate in all developed and developing countries. The discussion on tax reform revolves around the issues relating to designing an appropriate tax base, strengthening tax administrations, and ensuring efficiency, equity, and progressive taxation. In Bangladesh, a lot of reform initiatives have taken in the last four decades. This study is an attempt to review those initiatives by highlighting corporate matters as there is hardly any research work on those issues in the context of Bangladesh. Content and document analysis and interview methods are used to carry out this study. The study finds that the outcome of those reforms is mixed and in some cases, noteworthy achievements are evident, as for examples, the establishment of Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) and Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) and digitalization of the tax process, while remarkable weaknesses are still prevailing in enforcement, audit, and compliance. Revenue implication of tax reforms displays that the trend in the direct tax collection is increasing moderately, and the overall tax- GDP ratio is showing very slow progress. We recommend a new all-inclusive reform effort covering all the upcoming challenges in the field of corporate taxation as no comprehensive reform effort has been undertaken for nearly a decade.

Background and objective: Patient satisfaction and its relation with healthcare cost in Bangladesh remains unknown. The objective of the study was to perform a comparative analysis of satisfaction of patients in relation with healthcare cost in public and private healthcare settings in Bangladesh.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at two public and two private hospitals in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. A total of 1120 respondents were included by purposive sampling. Data collection was performed with a semi-structured questionnaire. The level of satisfaction was assessed by a 5-point Likert scale. Expenditure details during hospital stay were also recorded. Informed consent was obtained, and study procedures were conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki. SPSS 23 was used for statical test. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 50.10±21.13 (SD) years, with a male-female ratio of 1.14:1. The majority were from urban areas. The average health-care cost of patients in both the conservative and operative groups was statistically significantly higher in private hospitals than in public hospitals (p the public (pConclusion: Despite higher expenses, the overall satisfaction level was significantly better in private health-care facilities. These findings need to be explored in further large multicenter studies.

Since the empirical evidence on the relationship between corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) and firm productivity is scarce in the context of the banking industry, the study examines whether CSRD leads banks in Bangladesh to higher productivity. Using annual report data of all 30 banks listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange in Bangladesh from 2011 to 2018, the study applied a data envelopment analysis (DEA) to determine the productivity of the sample banks, and then ordinary least squares (OLS) analysis to examine the impact of CSR on the banks’ productivity. Furthermore, the study utilized two-stage least squares (2SLS) and a generalized method of moments (GMM) to check the robustness of the findings amid the detection of endogeneity issues. The study also used several alternative variables to check and verify the reliability of the study. The findings indicate that the greater a bank’s contribution to CSR, the higher its productivity. However, banks with more debt to assets are less productive. Additionally, the study observed that the impact of CSRD on bank productivity is higher in GRI banks compared to non-GRI banks, non-politically connected banks as opposed to politically connected banks, and conventional banks compared to Islamic banks. The study provides valuable insight into how CSR activities can promote bank productivity, thus motivating the banks to execute a well-thought-out action plan to ensure more CSR contribution. This study is the first ever bank-level evidence that provides insight into how the patterns of CSR activity of publicly traded banks impact their productivity.

This study intended to explore the IPO motives and the factors that contributed to IPO oversubscription in Bangladesh. Based on hand-collected data from 101 sample IPO prospectus during 2010–19, the study found an average of 10 IPOs per year, mostly (90%) through the fixed-price method. Among the sample companies, 34.7% were in the textile sector, followed by 17.8% in the engineering sector and 12.9% in the pharmaceuticals & chemical sector. This study observed an average subscription times of 23.41, which was much lower than in some other South Asian countries. Regarding the use of IPO proceeds, loan settlement was the prime motive, followed by capital expenditure, and working capital financing. Companies expensed around 6% of the total IPO proceeds as flotation cost. Although the detailed disclosure of the use of IPO proceeds in the prospectus is a common and expected feature, it was found absent in around 12% of companies. The logistic regression model found a statistically significant influence of lot size (LOT), post-IPO capital (PIC), and flotation cost (FTC) on oversubscription times (OST). The contribution of FTC to OST was a novel finding of this study. The study also found the absence of large and reputed domestic and multinational conglomerates in the listing through IPOs. Thus, the current study recommends regulators should take proper drives to customize and familiarize the book-building method, which can entice good companies for listing in stock exchanges through IPO., {"references":["Amor, S. B., & Kooli, M. (2017). Intended use of proceeds and post-IPO performance. The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance(65), 168–181.","Andriansyah, A., & Messinis, G. (2016). Intended use of IPO proceeds and firm performance: a quantile regression approach. Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 36, 14–30.","Arora, N., & Singh, B. (2020). Determinants of oversubscription of SME IPOs in India: evidence from quantile regression. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, https://doi.org/10.1108/APJBA-05-2020-0160.","Ball, R., & Shivakumar, L. (2008). Earnings Quality at Initial Public Offerings. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 45(2-3), 324–349.","Bateni, L., & Asghari, F. (2014). study of factors affecting the initial public offering (IPO) price of the shares on the Tehran stock exchange. Research in World Economy, 5(2), 68–73.","Brau, J. C., & Fawcett, S. E. (2006). Initial public offerings: an analysis of theory and practice. The Journal of Finance, 61(1), 399–436.","Chan, A. M., Sit, C. L., Tong, M. M., Wong, D. C., & Chan, R. W. (1996). Possible factors of the accuracy of prospectus earnings forecast in Hong Kong. International Journal of Accounting, 31(3), 381–398.","Cohen, B. D., & Dean, T. J. (2005). Information Asymmetry and Investor Valuation of IPOs: Top Management Team Legitimacy as a Capital Market Signal. Strategic Management Journal, 26(7), 683–690.","Dambra, M., Field, L. C., & Gustafson, M. T. (2015). The JOBS act and IPO volume: evidence that disclosure costs affect the IPO decision. Journal of Financial Economics, 116(1), 121–143.","Faisal, F., & Ridwan, S. M. (2012). Infrastructure Financing through Capital Market in Bangladesh. World Journal of Social Sciences, 2(5), 31–41.","Fan, P. (2019). Debt retirement at IPO and firm growth. Journal of Economics and Business, 101, 1–16.","Hasan, T., & Quayes, S. (2008). Underpricing of initial public offerings in Bangladesh. Applied Financial Economics Letters, 4, 5–8.","Hoque, M., & Musa, M. (2001). The Long Term Performance of IPOs in Bangladesh. Journal of Business Administration, IBA, Dhaka, 27(1&2).","Hossain, M. F., & Siddiquee, M. (2007). IPO flotation costs in Bangladesh during 1983-2006. Available at SSRN 1018321 .","Islam, M. A., Ali, R., & Ahmad, Z. (2010). Underpricing of IPOs: the case of Bangladesh. Global Economy and Finance Journal, 3(1), 44–61.","Islam, M. S., & Munira, S. (2004). IPO Flipping and its Determinants in Bangladesh. Dhaka University Journal of Business Studies, 25(1), 1–23.","Karim, A. K., Zijl, T. v., & Mollah, S. (2013). Impact of board ownership, CEO‐chair duality and foreign equity participation on auditor quality choice of IPO companies. International Journal of Accounting & Information Management, 21(2), 148–169.","Low, S.-W., & Yong, O. (2011). Explaining over-subscription in fixed-price IPOs — evidence from the Malaysian stock market. Emerging Markets Review, 12(3), 205–16.","Mehmood, W., Mohd-Rashid, R., & Ahmad, A. H. (2020). Impact of pricing mechanism on IPO oversubscription: evidence from Pakistan stock exchange. Pacific Accounting Review, 32(2), 239–254.","Ooi, J. T., Mori, M., & Wong, W. C. (2019). Rationale behind IPO underpricing: evidence from Asian REIT IPOs. Real Estate Economics, 47(1), 104–137.","Rahim, R. A., Sapian, R. Z., Yong, O., & Auzairy, N. A. (2013). Flipping activity and subsequent aftermarket trading in Malaysian initial public offerings(IPOs). Asian Academy of Management Journal of Accounting and Finance, 9(1), 109–128.","Rahman, M. T. (2017). Revaluation of fixed assets before IPO: a study on textile industry in Bangladesh. Journal of Finance and Accounting, 5(5), 200–205.","Rahman, M. T., Hossain, S. Z., & Omar, N. (2017). Factors influencing subscription of IPO in Bangladesh. International Journal of Economics, Management and Accounting, 25(3), 529–548.","Rashida, A. (2013). IPO procedure: an analysis on the book building method in Bangladesh. The International Journal of Social Sciences, 7(1), 172–180.","Sahoo, S., & Rajib, P. (2012). Determinants of pricing IPOs: an empirical investigation. South Asian Journal of Management, 19(4), 59–87.","Silva, A., & Bilinski, P. (2015). Intended use of proceeds, underwriter quality and the long‐run performance of SEOs in the UK. Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 40(9-10), 1282–1309.","Wyatt, A. (2014). Is there useful information in the 'use of proceeds' disclosures in IPO prospectuses? Accounting & Finance, 54(2), 625–667.","Yong, O., Yatim, P., & Sapian, R. Z. (2002). Size of offer, over-subscription ratio and performance of Malaysian IPOs. Malaysian Management Journal, 16(1&2 ), 35–51."]}

This study intended to explore when and how often fixed asset revaluation (FAR) is practiced in Bangladesh and explain the impacts of FAR on net asset value (NAV), stock prices, and debts of companies. Based on 175 listed companies on the Dhaka Stock Exchange, this study found increasing use of the revaluation model where the textile industry witnessed the highest number of revaluations. Most of the listed companies were irregular revaluer, and they performed FAR during the bull market in 2010. Most newly listed companies did it just before their initial public offerings (IPO). The results of the Wilcoxon signed-rank test imply that the changes in NAV, stock prices, and total debts after revaluation were statistically significant. This study found evidence of enhancing debt capacity and stock prices of several companies through improved NAV. The findings will assist regulators to recognize the consequence of revaluation and enable them to take an appropriate stance for controlling abusive and creative reporting. The study will also make investors cautious about companies with revaluation induced assets. This study suggests that companies practicing the revaluation model should perform FAR on regular intervals to reduce information asymmetry about assets’ value and thus help improve investors’ confidence.

In compliance with the socioeconomic theory, the study has strived to investigate the impact of economic and non-economic public policies on tax evasion using panel data of 7 SAARC countries covering the period from 1998 to 2015. The study has applied the ordinary least square with fixed effect and random effect models to analyze the data assembled. The result of the study implies that the higher the degree of economic freedoms, the lower the tax evasion. More specifically, the government policies about property rights, monetary freedom, fiscal freedom and investment freedom have a negative influence on taxpayers' choices of tax evasion while financial freedom result shows a positive effect on tax evasion. Additionally, there is a negative impact of public sector governance and religiosity on tax evasion, which implies the higher the public sector governance and the higher the religious faith amid the people, the lower the degree of tax evasion. The findings of the study are supposed to offer the governments, tax authorities, and research scholars the valuable insights into public policies for reducing the tax evasion to a significant extent., Tax evasion; Public policies; Economic freedom; Good governance; Religiosity; SAARC Countries; Economics; Public finance; Accounting; Macroeconomics; Business policy

Objectives: The paper strives to generate deep insights into the shared value practices of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL). The specific objectives are to examine the extent to which IBBL is creating shared value through its innovative products and to comprehend the motives for such value creation. Methods/Statistical Analysis: The study is founded on case study research design. The case study has used published financial information as well as interviews with practicing managers and customers of IBBL to triangulate data and validate the results. Findings: The study reveals that IBBL, to some extent, has been creating shared value in all the three areas of Porter and Kramer’s shared value concept but mostly in the areas of re conceiving products and markets and redefining value chain to improve productivity. Although shared value is practicing at IBBL, its managers hardly acquainted with Porter and Kramer’s shared value model. The study also demonstrates that the main motivating factor behind pursuing shared value at IBBL is to reach market resources in the form of goodwill and brand image. Bank customers also appreciated the shared value effort as they are truly benefiting from the shared value practices of IBBL. Application/Improvements: The way IBBL is performing its banking business (taking social problems as business opportunities to create shared value) will be a role model for other banks both in developed and developing countries. Keywords: Banking on Shared Value, Creating Shared Value, Islamic Banking Shared Value, Shared Value Practices, Sharia’h-Based Banking

Creating shared value is the opportunity driven approach of business entities to benefit the less addressed segment of the society through their core products and services. For bank financial institutions, the opportunity driven approach signifies that banking corporations ought to identify bankable needs that are less addressed or unaddressed and invest on purpose to benefit both society and business. The study strives to develop a conceptual model of how Private Commercial Banks (PCBs) in Bangladesh are creating shared value (a popular concept developed by ([Porter ME, Kramer MR], [The big idea: creating shared value; how to reinvent capitalism—and unleash a wave of innovation and growth], [2011])) through reviewing the products and services of PCBs in light of available literature in the field of strategic corporate social responsibility and creating shared value. The model has identified core products and services that are creating shared value for both the bank and the society concurrently. It has also identified factors that are limiting shared value creation capacity of PCBs. Thus, the model will assist the money market policy planners especially bankers to identify the products, services, markets, and value chain that could augment capacity of creating shared value and remove the road-blocks for creating upscale shared value in the developing country context.

We explore the relationship between the degree of financial risk disclosure and a firm&rsquo, s financial attributes. Financial risk disclosure indices (FRDIs) are calculated based on a set of 30 disclosure identifiers through content analysis of the annual reports of 48 manufacturing companies over a six-year period (2010&ndash, 2015) in Bangladesh. We find no common practice among the companies in disclosing financial risk by integrating a customized financial risk disclosure into their financial reporting process. The results indicate that firm size, financial performance, and auditor type are positively and significantly associated with the level of financial risk disclosure.

The study examined the existing practices of corporate governance (CG) as well as the relationship between family ownership and CG structure in Bangladesh. The study found that prevailing practices of CG were not in line with CG guidelines. Furthermore, the study found that family ownership had significant negative influence over board independence and board size, but a significant positive influence on dominant personality. These findings suggest that good governance is not possible under family based culture in Bangladesh. The findings of this study will contribute to the existing literature and suggest formulating a guideline that can ensure best CG practices.

Using secondary sources, this study strives to appraise both the revenue and development budget allocation for education in Bangladesh compared to other South Asian countries giving special emphasis to higher education. It is observed that an insufficient budget for education in Bangladesh has a negative impact on expansion of higher education and the human development index (HDI). Inappropriate distribution among different subheads and noncompliance of the guideline for implementation of a higher education budget are two serious problems. Besides getting adequate budgetary support from the government, public universities should generate more funds from internal and other external sources. The university budget allocation should be thoroughly reviewed and revised accordingly to make it more productive and with an emphasis on teaching, research and curriculum development.

The study strives to examine the effect of financial leverage on financial performance in a developing country context using two OLS regression models based on panel data consisting of 816 cases (48 companies x 17 years). Financial performance is measured using ROA, ROE, EPS, and Tobin’s Q, and financial leverage is measured using the debt-assets ratio and debt-equity ratio. It is observed that ROA and Tobin’s Q are negatively correlated with financial leverage, which is in line with the assumptions of the pecking order theory, market timing theory, and many empirical studies. However, financial leverage has a positive effect on ROE and no effect on EPS. These results are also consistent with the MM theorem, static trade off theory and many other empirical studies. Yet again, the two OLS models have put forward conflicting results while taking EPS as the dependent variable. The results corroborate the inefficient use of debt capital and suggest the need to improve the reliability of accounting information.

The Creating Shared Value (CSV) concept (creating business value through creating social value by addressing societal unmet needs and challenges) has been appeared as a new way of doing responsible business in the world and formed the core of recent business research. The study strives to investigate reflective insights into the Porter and Kramer’s CSV concept taking evidence from Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited (DBBL) in Bangladesh. The results show that DBBL has been creating shared value through its innovative products and services like mobile financial services, school banking, and agricultural, SME and environment friendly banking. The results also indicate that DBBL has been creating shared value along the three areas of Porter and Kramer’s CSV concept but mostly through reconceiving products and services, and redefining value chain to improve productivity. Taken as a whole, DBBL has been sharing its CSV with different stakeholders for mutual benefits.

After the cruel crash in 1996 Bangladesh stock market had started growing from 2006 due to listing of a few profitable government entities and Multinational Companies (MNCs). Together with individual investors nearly all commercial banks involved themselves intensely in stock market. Step by step, the bullish market transformed into a bubble and on December 05, 2010, the Dhaka Stock Exchange General Index (DGEN) reached at the record high of 8918.5, almost 5.6 times higher than December 2006. Concurrently, market capitalization and turnover increased by 11.1 times and 61.7 times respectively. However, when the bubble burst on December 19, 2010 the DGEN witnessed its biggest one day fall of 6.7 percent and since then the market has become bearish with almost no positive movement of stock prices. Against this backdrop, this study identified four moneymaking psychologies of domestic investors specifically greed, envy, speculation, and overconfidence that contributed to the formation of bubble, while four loss-minimizing and capital-protecting psychologies such as panic, frustration, lack of self-confidence, and distrust caused the bubble to burst. The bankers, brokers and manipulators were the biggest gainers, whereas the most unaware and greedy small investors encountered heavy loss. The market will be less volatile, more mature, and sustainable when most of the investors will be conscious about the potential risks and returns and the regulators will play their part sincerely and efficiently.