The main purpose of this research is to investigate the cash holdings behaviour on sectoral level for South African firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The accounting cash ratio is used to identify abnormal (excess) cash holdings for the firms listed on the JSE. This informed the panel regression analysis to identify cash holdings determinants on a sectoral level. The sample data included 255 firms of which 102 represent Financial Firms and 153 represent Non-Financial Firms for 2005 to 2019. The findings show the significant internal and external determinants of cash holdings. Comparing coefficient sizes, this research finds that financial and non-financial sectors with abnormal (excess) cash holdings exhibit higher coefficient sizes as opposed to sectors without. As a result, the higher coefficient size shows that the internal and external determinants of cash holdings have a greater effect on the cash holding levels of these sectors. The implications of the findings of this study are that each sector operates differently and that each firm within each sector has differing cash management policies and procedures. Therefore, analyzing cash holdings behaviour on an aggregated level and assuming that all sectors and firms within the collective operate the same is an erroneous assumption, as shown by this study. This research firstly contributed by introducing the use of the accounting cash ratio to indicate the presence of abnormal (excess) cash holdings. Most research focus on cash holdings of Non-Financial Firms. Therefore, the second contribution of this research is that both Non-Financial and Financial Firms with and without abnormal (excess) cash holdings were included to identify determinants of cash holdings, this was also done on a sectoral level.

The Corona epidemic, as a global crisis, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) ISIS (war, as a regional crisis in Iraq, have significantly impacted the atmosphere of companies and the continuation of their activities. The present study examines the role of these crises in creating incentives for fraudulent reporting and reducing or improving audit quality. It also compares the results of these two relationships with each other. In other words, the current paper sought to answer these issues: What effect did the ISIS war and the COVID-19 pandemic have on the fraudulent reporting motives of companies, and how did it affect the quality of their audits? In the end, the answer to this question was addressed: What are the differences and similarities between the study results of the impact of COVID-19 and ISIS on fraudulent financial reporting and audit quality? For this purpose, the data of 33 companies from 2008 to 2021 (462 observations) were collected to examine six formulated hypotheses, and the hypotheses were tested using the method of structural equations and analysis of variance. Interviews with experts were also used to determine quality indicators of auditing and fraudulent financial reporting so that indigenous indicators were selected and finalized. The results showed no significant relationship between the epidemic of the COVID-19 crisis and the motives of fraudulent reporting and audit quality and between the crisis of the ISIS war and the motives of fraudulent reporting. However, the ISIS war crisis has negatively and significantly impacted audit quality. Finally, the results indicated no significant difference between the impact of the epidemic crisis of COVID-19 and ISIS on the motives of fraudulent reporting. Still, there is a significant difference in the impact of the epidemic crisis of COVID-19 and ISIS on the audit quality. The knowledge enhancement of the present study is the development of literature on the impact of the Corona and ISIS crises on corporate financial reporting and auditing. The current paper, by studying the consequences of COVID-19 and ISIS, showed that further investigations in this field, especially regarding the capital market environment and A company, can obtain essential results based on which practical suggestions can be made for possible future crises.

In the current digital era, digital communication has a profound impact on the construction of product brands and affects the organizational performance of enterprises; thus, digital communication has become a power that cannot be ignored to improve the organizational performance of enterprises. This study demonstrated three hypotheses based on previous research and used a questionnaire survey to collect first-hand data from distributors of a China’s leading domestic down coat brand (named BRAND A in this study), and then studied and analyzed the relationships among digital integrated and interactive brand communication (DIIBC), brand value, and organizational performance through SEM analysis methods. The results showed that DIIBC had an indirect negative significant positive effect on organizational performance through brand value, while it had a highly significant direct positive effect on the organizational performance of this brand in China’s domestic down coat industry, and DIIBC’s final function on organizational performance was highly significant positive.

Entrepreneurial self-efficacy has a predictive effect on entrepreneurial performance. The lithium-ion battery industry is the cornerstone of the emergency of the four emerging industries of “new energy”, “new materials”, “new technology” and “high-end manufacturing”. In the past, scholars have not considered the characteristics of entrepreneurs in their research on improving Chinese lithium-ion battery new venture growth. The personal characteristics of entrepreneurs have not received widespread attention from scholars. This article will start with the characteristics of entrepreneurs themselves and explore the path that entrepreneurs’ characteristics affect Chinese lithium battery new venture growth. This article builds a structural equation model to empirically analyze the relationship among variables. The data analysis results show that entrepreneurial self-efficacy significantly promotes the growth of new startups and entrepreneurial resilience plays a mediating role between the two. It cannot be concluded that entrepreneurial passion plays a positive moderation role between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial resilience. Entrepreneurial passion also does not play a positive moderation effect between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and new venture growth. However, entrepreneurial passion plays a positive moderating role in the influence of entrepreneurial resilience on new venture growth. The findings of the study are beneficial for practitioners of Chinese lithium battery enterprises and will allow their strategies to promote sustainable new venture growth.

The impact of the coronavirus outbreak was seen all over the world in all sectors. In the case of Bangladesh, it was not free of threats. Like all other sectors, the economic, social, and educational sectors were under serious threat. This study examined the effects of COVID-19 on the lives of Bangladeshi students, with a particular focus on their idealized portrayals of plans, daily routines, social interactions, and mental well-being. This research also investigated the influence of COVID-19 on education, social life, and other sectors and how the government was dealing with this unprecedented situation and these elevation challenges. A mixed-methods approach was adopted for this research. A total of 90 students from Bangladeshi higher educational institutions were taken as a sample size using the random sampling method. SPSS software was used for data analysis. The study’s quantitative results showed that Bangladeshi students faced challenges related to teaching, learning, and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the study revealed that the pandemic adversely affected higher education in Bangladesh. Rebels and concerned citizens from all parts of the state must work together to move forward. COVID-19 has had a natural effect on education and almost every other field. The need for social distancing has pushed the education system to change because of social distancing. Many educational institutions worldwide have shuttered their campuses and relocated their teaching and learning online.