Asif Saeed

@article{saeed_3498,

title = {CSR decoupling and financial fraud: Unveiling the hidden nexus in US-listed firms},

author = {Asif SAEED and Samreen Hamid and Riadh Manita and Phassawan Suntraruk},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0275531925000479},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-03-01},

journal = {Research In International Business And Finance},

volume = {75},

pages = {102791},

abstract = {In an era marked by heightened transparency and growing social consciousness, many companies opt for symbolic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) communication rather than substantive action, giving rise to skepticism and a phenomenon known as 'CSR decoupling.' Moreover, revelations of financial fraud within ostensibly socially responsible firms exacerbate ethical concerns, raising doubts about their sincerity and regulatory oversight mechanisms. This study delves into US-listed firms to explore the nexus between CSR decoupling and financial fraud. Utilizing propensity score matching (PSM), the sample is meticulously drawn from 15,993 firm-year observations from US-listed firms. The research uncovers that firms engaged in CSR decoupling face elevated risks of financial misconduct. Additionally, deficient governance, subpar audit quality, and concentrated ownership structures amplify the likelihood of financial fraud. Our findings underscore the imperative for stakeholders and regulatory bodies to exercise discernment in scrutinizing CSR performance and disclosures, as managerial self-interests can skew CSR initiatives, misleading stakeholders.},

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@article{saeed_3549,

title = {Co?opted Independent Directors and Firms' Environmental Performance},

author = {Asif SAEED and Aitzaz Ahsan Alias Sarang and Asad Ali Rind},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/corg.12588},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-01-01},

journal = {Corporate Governance-An International Review},

volume = {33},

number = {1},

pages = {73-102},

abstract = {Research Question/Issue: Considering escalating environmental concerns and the important role of board members in shaping strategic corporate decisions, we investigate the relationship between co-opted independent directors and firms' environmental performance.

Research Findings/Insights: Examining US firms from 2002 to 2018, we document a significant negative relationship between

co-opted independent directors and firm environmental performance. Our findings show that while institutional ownership and CEO power exacerbate the negative association, strong corporate governance mitigates this negative impact of co-opted independent directors on environmental performance. The cross-sectional results show that the relationship is pronounced in firms with young CEOs, male CEOs, and low CEO compensation. Further, the relationship is also prevalent in boards with fewer meetings, high multiple directors, and higher compensation, indicating a monitoring compromise by independent co-opted directors.

Theoretical/Academic Implications: Reasonable theoretical arguments are drawn from agency theory and the theory of friendly boards, and our statistical analysis supports the academic position of the theory of friendly boards. The negative effect of

independent co-opted directors on firm environmental performance challenges the role of independent directors in addressing

agency issues in environmental efforts, hinting at a departure from conventional agency theory expectations.

Practitioner/Policy Implications: To improve environmental performance, firms should reconsider their board structures, acknowledging the potential drawbacks of co-opted independent directors. Our findings challenge the Sarbanes-Oxley Act's

(SOX) emphasis on increasing the number of outside directors, which assumes independent board members will rigorously oversee executives. Such legislation is greatly based on the premise that independent board members strictly monitor executives. However, our findings indicate that not all independent directors are strict monitors, as demonstrated by lower environmental performance when there are more co-opted independent directors.},

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@article{saharti_3293,

title = {Lending Relationships of Firms for a Just Transition},

author = {Mohammed SAHARTI and Asif SAEED and Sajid M. CHAUDHRY and Muhammad Ali NASIR},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eufm.12535},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-12-01},

journal = {European Financial Management},

abstract = {This paper examines lending dynamics for firms aiming for a ?just transition?. Analyzing 37,426 firm-year observations from DealScan and Refinitiv's environmental, social and governance (ESG) transition data (2002-2021), we find that lenders offer lower interest rates to firms with prior relationships and strong ESG commitments, particularly environmental ones. While environmental factors receive favourable treatment, economic and governance transitions are less prioritized. Lenders tend to form more dispersed syndicates when supporting firms focused on ESG transitions, especially environmental ones. This research highlights the uneven focus within ESG transitions and emphasizes the underexamined area of governance, providing insights into lending relationships.},

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@article{saeed_3402,

title = {Ethical guardians: The multifaceted impact of CSR committee on executives manipulation tendencies},

author = {Asif SAEED and Samreen Hamid and Phassawan Suntraruk and Narjess Toumi},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S105905602400710X?via%3Dihub},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-11-01},

journal = {International Review Of Economics & Finance},

volume = {96},

number = {Part C},

pages = {103718},

abstract = {By acknowledging the crucial role of the CSR committee in shaping ethical practices within organizations, this research aims to uncover potential connections between corporate ethical supervisory and the prevalence of manipulative actions by corporate executives. Using a sample of Us-listed companies, the findings support the notion that robust CSR frameworks such as the presence of a CSR committee reduce the motivations of manipulative tendencies by executives (measured by restatements). Contrary to conventional beliefs, our findings suggest that the size of the CSR committee does not influence the manipulative tendencies, whereas, the strength of female directors and a higher number of independent directors on the CSR committee has a positive and substantial influence on ethical decision-making, reducing the inclination towards manipulative intentions. Supporting the stakeholder theory notion, we suggest firms with CSR committees display a genuine commitment to stakeholder interests, exhibiting better performance in both social and financial activities. Our study contributes to the ongoing discourse on corporate governance, ethical decision-making, and the broader implications for organizational behavior and outcomes.},

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@article{saeed_3025,

title = {Investigating the varying relevance of CSR dimensions on firm leverage: The implications for internationalized firms},

author = {Asif SAEED and Mah Noor and Teerooven Soobaroyen and Ammar Ali Gull},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0275531924002022},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-08-01},

journal = {Research In International Business And Finance},

volume = {71},

pages = {102409},

abstract = {We empirically investigate the varying role of CSR dimensions such as community, diversity, employee relations, environment, human rights, and product on US firms' leverage. Overall CSR performance and dimensions relating to diversity, employee relations and environment are negatively associated to firm leverage, implying easier access to equity financing. Contrastingly, the human rights dimension is positively associated to firm leverage. For internationalized firms, particularly operating in non-environmentally sensitive industries, the relationship is however reversed for overall CSR performance and dimensions related to diversity, employee relations and environment, while community performance is negatively associated to firm leverage. Drawing on the stakeholder theory of capital structure and stakeholder salience, we highlight the heterogeneous consequences of CSR dimensions as channels that both enable and limit access to equity financing. Our results are robust to alternative explanations and proxies and highlight the need for managing specific CSR dimension performance, the more so when operating multi-nationally.},

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@article{benkraiem_3550,

title = {Corporate social responsibility, carbon footprints and stock market valuation},

author = {Ramzi Benkraiem and Maria Qureshi and Asif SAEED and Constantin Zopounidis},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/fmii.12193},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-08-01},

journal = {Financial Markets, Institutions and Instruments},

volume = {33},

number = {3},

pages = {213-237},

abstract = {The emission of greenhouse gases (GHG), particularly carbon

dioxide (CO2), within the atmosphere poses serious

threats to society and the environment. In this paper, we

examine the effect of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions on the

association between corporate social responsibility (CSR)

and stock valuation. Using a sample of listed non-financialUS

firms from 2002 through 2018, we find that CO2 emission

plays a moderating role in reshaping the CSR-stock valuation

nexus. Further analysis showed that our results are robust

for using alternate proxies of CSR, CO2, additional control

and methods to alleviate endogeneity concerns. Additionally,

we explored how increasing carbon footprints reshape

this association only for firms with strong governance structures.

Overall, our results indicate that the positive impact

of CSR on stock valuation is overlaid by corporate CO2 emission.

The practical and theoretical insights of this study were

explored.},

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@article{saeed_3602,

title = {Get advanced or retreat: well-informed board and bank risk-taking},

author = {Asif SAEED and Komal Kamran and Thanarerk Thanakijsombat and Riadh Manita},

url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/RAF-06-2023-0194},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-07-01},

journal = {Review of Accounting and Finance},

volume = {23},

number = {4},

pages = {537-555},

abstract = {Purpose - This paper aims to examine the relationship between board structure and risk-taking, exploring

how this association is influenced by advanced technologies in the banking sector.

Design/methodology/approach - This study uses a panel sample of 22 Pakistani banks from 2011 to

2018. To test the authors' hypothesis, the authors use regression analysis with two-way cluster robust

standard errors. Further, the authors also check the robustness of the authors' findings using alternate

proxies of board structure and bank risk-taking behavior. To address endogeneity concerns, the authors use

the two-stage least square technique.

Findings - In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Pakistani banks' digitalization is modeled by the

presence of Temenos-T24/Oracle as their core banking system (software providing end-to-end operational

integration). Its interactional effect with corporate governance is evaluated to implicate informed risk-taking by

the board as a result of improved information access and analysis. The authors find that board size has a positive

association with risk-taking, and the use ofmodern technology reshapes this association in the banking sector.

Originality/value - The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, the impact of board structure on bank risktaking

has not been extensively researched in Pakistan - a highly volatile and unpredictable economy. Second, the

evaluation of the role of technology on bank risk is being researched for the very first time - a uniqueness of this paper.},

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@article{sarang_3551,

title = {Does a co?opted director affect a firm's financial distress risk?},

author = {Aitzaz Ahsan Alias Sarang and Asad Ali Rind and Riadh Manita and Asif SAEED},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijfe.2959},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-03-01},

journal = {International Journal Of Finance & Economics},

abstract = {This study examines the relationship between co-opted directors (CODIR),

measured as the fraction of directors appointed after the Chief Executive Officer

(CEO) assumes office to board size, and firms' financial distress risk

(FFDR). Understanding the relationship between CODIR and FFDR is imperative

due to the significant impact of high risk-taking on financial crises and the

heightened expectations placed on board members for risk oversight. Despite

growing research on corporate governance and FFDR, little attention has been

paid to the role of CODIRs, presenting a significant gap in the literature. Using

a US sample from 1996 to 2019, covering 13,486 firm-year observations, we

document that CODIR reduces FFDR, supporting the hypothesis that co-opted

directors have a lower financial distress risk-taking propensity than their nonco-

opted counterparts. We also find that a critical mass of at least three

CODIRs and independent CODIRs reduces FFDR. Our results also document

that CEO power in the form of CEO duality and CEO tenure, external monitoring

in the form of the number of analysts following the firm, competition, and

takeover susceptibility do not drive our main conclusions for co-option and

FFDR. Finally, the results show that CODIR reduces FFDR through liquidity

channels. The findings remain robust to various definitions of co-option and

distress risk, and are consistent in both difference-in-differences analysis and propensity score matching.},

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@article{saeed_3552,

title = {Herding behavior in environmental orientation: A tale of emission, innovation and resource handling},

author = {Asif SAEED and Thanarerk Thanakijsombat and Asad Ali Rind and Aitzaz Ahsan Alias Sarang},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095965262400698X?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=8a2707dffa8cf148},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-03-01},

journal = {Journal Of Cleaner Production},

volume = {444},

pages = {141251},

abstract = {This paper is the inaugural attempt to investigate the herding behavior of firms in the context of environmental orientation to achieve the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) in the ASEAN region. Insights from the previous literature infer that peer effect is visibly seen in firms across various fields, especially amongst their CSR and ESG performance. Using data from the Thai listed firms, we document strong evidence of peer effects concerning environmental performance and its dimensions (emission reduction, product innovation, and resource reduction). The targeted time frame for the current study is from 2009 to 2019 for which we analyze the firms listed on the Thailand Stock Exchange (SET). Moreover, the results of our study support the fact that mimicking behavior is one of the common behaviors that is followed by the majority of the firms keeping in view their varied purposes which include enhancing their market reputation, increasing profits, attracting shareholders and investors and most importantly raising their sustainability standing. Thus, overall our study highlights the main perspective that peer effects and herding behavior a common practices amongst firms concerning their environmental policies.},

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@article{saeed_3603,

title = {The role of audit quality in waste management behavior},

author = {Asif SAEED and Muhammad Wasif Zafar and Riadh Manita and Noor Zahid},

url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2023.08.019},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-01-01},

journal = {International Review Of Economics & Finance},

volume = {89},

pages = {1203-1216},

abstract = {The entire world is facing the issue of climate change. Due to rapid industrialization, enormous

waste generation is aggravating the situation. In this study, we investigate the role of audit

quality in promoting sustainable waste management in firms. Using a sample of 8100 firm-year

observations for the period 2002-2017 from 34 countries, we provide novel empirical evidence

that good audit quality significantly reduces total corporate waste production. Further, our results

are robust to alternate proxies of audit quality, and waste management, and only appear with

unqualified audit reports. To alleviate the endogeneity issue, we use two different identification

strategies; namely, PSM and GMM. Altogether, these findings demonstrate that Big4 auditing

firms ensure the credibility and reliability of the non-financial disclosures of their auditees as

apparent by their rigorous auditing processes. Moreover, the main implication of our study is that

firms are subject to a decrease in their overall waste production when their external assurer is one

of the BIG4 auditing firms.},

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@article{saeed_3553,

title = {Spillover of energy commodities and inflation in G7 plus Chinese economies},

author = {Asif SAEED and Sajid M. CHAUDHRY and Ahmed Arif and Rizwan Ahmed},

url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2023.107029},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-11-01},

journal = {Energy Economics},

volume = {127},

number = {Part A},

pages = {107029},

abstract = {We investigate the spillover trends of energy commodities and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the G-7 plus China by using the Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) methodology. Our analysis spans from January 2016 to October 2022, with a division into pre and post-COVID-19 periods to assess the impact of this significant event. The CWT graphs demonstrate distinct levels of inflation across the countries under scrutiny, highlighting remarkable disparities in CPI and energy commodities in both the pre and post-COVID-19 eras, particularly for Canada, China, and the United States. The Wavelet Transform Coherence (WTC) analysis reveals noteworthy relationships across all three energy commodities. These findings hold substantial policy implications for macroeconomic goals and domestic policies such as monetary and fiscal measures. The variations noted in CPI and energy commodities before and after the COVID-19 era emphasize the need for policy discussions to address the implications for macroeconomic stability. Policymakers can leverage our study to gain a better understanding of the relationship between CPI and energy commodities, considering both internal and external macroeconomic conditions.},

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@article{hamouda_3604,

title = {On the short-term persistence of mutual fund performance in Europe},

author = {Amira Hamouda and Asif SAEED and Marta Vidal and Javier Vidal-Garcíae},

url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2023.101963},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-04-01},

journal = {Research In International Business And Finance},

volume = {65},

pages = {101963},

abstract = {In this article, we examine the short-term persistence in mutual fund performance in the main European markets between January 1990 and December 2022. The mutual fund industry in Europe has experienced significant growth in recent years as a consequence of the integration of its markets. However, the European mutual fund industry is still an unexplored area of research with only a small number of significant studies compared to the US industry. Using a sample of daily survivorship bias-free data on the five most important European mutual fund countries, which includes 2734 mutual funds across all countries, we find statistically significant persistence in the post-ranking quarter across different performance models for all countries. This evidence is present across all deciles including the top-decile and bottom-decile mutual funds. Further, we also extend our analysis to high inflation periods.},

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@article{saeed_3605,

title = {Corporate social responsibility, industry concentration, and firm performance: Evidence from emerging Asian economies},

author = {Asif SAEED and Faisal Alnori and Gohar Ayoub},

url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2022.101864},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-01-01},

journal = {Research In International Business And Finance},

volume = {64},

pages = {101864},

abstract = {Social and environmental performance are two pillars of corporate social responsibility that

integrate the desires of firms to enhance their competitive advantages and demonstrate their

commitment to society. Based on a sample of eight emerging Asian markets, this study investigates

the role of firms' social and environmental performance in their financial performance,

and how this may vary under different levels of industry competition. The results show that the

social dimension is more effective in increasing firm performance relative to the environmental

dimension. Further, the performance of socially oriented firms is more stable in highly competitive

industries relative to environmentally oriented firms. Overall, this study supports the view

that socially responsible firms have a competitive edge over their rivals that leads to higher

profitability.},

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@article{zhang_3554,

title = {Environmental impact of information and communication technology: Unveiling the role of education in developing countries},

author = {Chunhong Zhang and Irfan Khan and Vishal Dagar and Asif SAEED and Muhammad Wasif Zafar},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0040162522001020?via%3Dihub},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-05-01},

journal = {Technological Forecasting And Social Change},

volume = {178},

pages = {121570},

abstract = {The penetration of information communication and technology (ICT) has increased in the developing world but there is still a huge gap between the need for ICT infrastructure and its availability. Alongside this, previous literature on ICT and CO2 emissions provides that ICT is a double-edged sword that can increase/decrease emissions. Against this background, this study checks the role of ICT and education with environmental quality by controlling the role of globalization, income, and financial development for developing countries over the period of 1996-2019. For empirical analysis, we use second generation econometric methods which overcome the issue of heterogeneity in the study variables. The Westerlund cointegration test results show the presence of long-run link among the variables. The long-run estimates of Cup-FM and Cup-BC indicate that ICT increases environmental quality by reducing the emissions level while education, income, financial development, and globalization decrease environmental quality by increasing emissions level. Policymakers are suggested to encourage investment building ICT infrastructure, develop and implement modern information systems, use the financial sector to devise policies regarding funding ICT projects at an affordable interest rate, and increase public pressure on political leadership to reduce unsustainable practices improving environmental quality.},

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@article{saeed_2643,

title = {Do socially responsible firms demand high-quality audits? An international evidence},

author = {Asif SAEED and Ammar Ali Gull and Asad Ali Rind and Muhammad Shujaat Mubarik and Muhammad Shahbaz},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ijfe.2270},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-04-01},

journal = {International Journal Of Finance & Economics},

volume = {27},

number = {2},

pages = {2235-2255},

abstract = {This paper investigates whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance influences the demand for high-quality audits in terms of audit effort measured by audit fee. Using a sample of listed firms from 20 developed countries across three regions, namely United States (US), United Kingdom (UK) and Europe (EU) over the period 2002-2016 and different measures of CSR performance (environmental and social), we find that socially responsible firms demand high-quality audits from external auditors. Further analysis shows that this result is robust to the use of alternate samples, country and firm level governance systems, and endogeneity concerns. Taken together, these findings suggest that socially responsible attributes of being ethical, honest, trustworthy, and transparent while reporting financial results motivate firms to demand high-quality audits in order to preserve their reputation or socially responsible image. The main implication of our findings is that the stakeholders may place greater confidence in the financial reports of socially responsible firms as they are likely to demand high-quality audits.},

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@article{chaudhry_3555,

title = {Carbon neutrality: The role of banks in optimal environmental management strategies},

author = {Sajid M. CHAUDHRY and Asif SAEED and Rizwan Ahmed},

url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113545},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-12-01},

journal = {Journal Of Environmental Management},

volume = {299},

pages = {113545},

abstract = {This study explores the ecological ambitions of banks by studying the coincidence of economic realities with environmental management strategies. We address this question by studying the environmental performance of US banks and its impact on their tail risk as US is not committed to carbon neutrality in COP 21. We proxy economic reality with tail risk of banks and employ a novel extreme value theory to measure this. We use Asset4 ESG data for environmental performance score and test our hypothesis with a sample of 256 US banks. The results indicate that the US banks are ecologically ambitious and their environmental strategies are likely to reduce their tail risk. This provides evidence that better environmental strategies do coincide with the economic realities. We test the consistency of our results by using alternate proxies for tail risk and find our results robust. Our results are also not driven by endogeneity concerns. Finally, our additional results show that the nature of relationship differs with corporate governance levels, CSR committee existence, institutional ownership presence and crisis period.},

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@article{boubaker_3556,

title = {Does corporate social responsibility reduce financial distress risk?},

author = {Sabri Boubaker and Alexis Cellier and Riadh Manita and Asif SAEED},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264999319300367?via%3Dihub},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-09-01},

journal = {Economic Modelling},

volume = {91},

pages = {835-851},

abstract = {This paper examines how corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects the level of financial distress risk (FDR). Using a sample of 1201 US-listed firms during 1991-2012, our results indicate that firms with higher CSR levels have lower FDR, suggesting that a better CSR performance makes firms more creditworthy and have better access to financing, which is rewarded with less financial defaults. This finding is robust to using alternative proxies of FDR, to controlling for potential endogeneity, and is mainly driven by the community, diversity, employee relations, and environmental dimensions of CSR. Moreover, this relationship is more prevalent in firms with strong governance mechanisms and high product market competition. It is also more exacerbated for less distressed firms and during non-crisis periods. Overall, our findings suggest that the adoption of CSR practices comes with less distress and default risks, likely leading to a more attractive corporate environment, better financial stability and more crisis-resilient economies.},

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