The aim of this study is to investigate the key factors influencing the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines and develop a model based on the theory of reasoned action, belief in conspiracy theory, awareness, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use. The authors created and distributed a self-administered online questionnaire using Google Forms. Data were collected from 351 respondents ranging in age from 19 to 30 years, studying at the graduate and postgraduate levels at various public universities in Bangladesh. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method was used to analyze the data. The results indicate that belief in conspiracy theory undermines COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, thereby negatively impacting the individual attitudes, subjective norms, and acceptance. Individual awareness, on the other hand, has a strong positive influence on the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Furthermore, the perceived usefulness of vaccination and the perceived ease of obtaining the vaccine positively impact attitude and the acceptance of immunization. Individuals’ positive attitudes toward immunization and constructive subjective norms have a positive impact on vaccine acceptance. This study contributes to the literature by combining the theory of reasoned action with conspiracy theory, awareness, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use to understand vaccine acceptance behavior. Authorities should focus on campaigns that could reduce misinformation and conspiracy surrounding COVID-19 vaccination. The perceived usefulness of vaccination to prevent pandemics and continue normal education will lead to vaccination success. Furthermore, the ease with which people can obtain the vaccine and that it is free of cost will encourage students to get vaccinated to protect themselves, their families, and society.

This paper empirically emphasizes the existence of the audit expectation gap and its impact on stakeholders’ confidence, moderated by the active role of the financial reporting council. As a maiden attempt to portray the relationship, a higher-order model has been constituted and assessed with the pragmatic exploration, smearing the partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM). The data contains 174 respondents as auditors, investors, investment and credit analysts, and regulatory agencies in Bangladesh. The study explores audit expectation gap from diverse aspects, such as auditors responsibility for fraud detection, meaning, and usefulness of the audit report, auditors providing the non-audit services, auditors’ responsibility for going concern reporting, and also an unmet expectation for the other assurance services, such as assurance on the other parts of the annual report beyond the financial statements, like management discussion and analysis and corporate social and environmental disclosure. The findings suggest that the audit expectation gap is negatively related to stakeholders’ confidence and the greater the audit expectation gap is, the lower stakeholders’ confidence is in the audit. Auditors maintaining perceived independence and improving the level of communication with users will diminish the audit expectation gap and induce stakeholders’ confidence simultaneously. Moreover, the active role of the financial reporting council acts as a moderator to ensure the auditors’ perceived independence. The result of the study motivates the policymakers to concentrate on the users’ audit-related expectations and also intends the importance of independent audit oversight.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the factors that enhance the credibility of and confidence in audit value.Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 254 institutional investors through a questionnaire survey and were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).Findings: The findings reveal that the two influential predictors of enhanced credibility and confidence are perceived auditor independence and improved auditor communication. Factors related to auditor–client affiliation, such as restrictions on providing non-audit services, mandatory auditor rotation and the presence of effective audit committees, are identified as creating the perceived independence. Improved auditor communication is linked with improving the audit report and ensuring audit education, thus creating more sophisticated users who better understand the scope and purpose of an audit. Furthermore, independent audit oversight acts as a moderator in the relationship between perceived auditor independence, improved auditor communication and enhanced credibility. Enhanced credibility can lead to greater confidence in audit value.Originality/value: In the wake of the global financial crisis and loss of confidence in the role of auditors, this study investigates the factors that can enhance the credibility of and confidence in audit value, especially in a non-Anglo-American setting. This study is unique in terms of methodological development, as it uses a higher-order Type II reflective–formative model using PLS-SEM.

The aim of this study is to empirically explore the existence of the audit expectation gap and its impact on investors’ confidence. As a maiden attempt to assess these relationships, we developed a model with higher order constructs using a partial least-squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM). Based on a questionnaire survey with auditors and institutional investors, as one of the main users of audited financial statements, this study explored investors’ perceptions of both unreasonable and sensible audit expectation gaps from diverse aspects. The findings of this study revealed that the existence of an audit expectation gap was negatively related to investors’ confidence, and the greater the audit expectation gap was, the lower the investors’ confidence on audit. It was also found that auditors’ perceived independence and improved level of communication were negatively related with the audit expectation gap but positively related with investors’ confidence. Moreover, the monitoring role of independent audit oversight acts as a moderator among auditors’ perceived independence, auditors’ improved level of communication, audit expectation gap, and investors’ confidence. As the innate characteristic of an audit is to resolve conflict between owners and management of the organization, this study provides insight about what the investors (owners) expect from the audit and how to mitigate those expectation gaps.

Capital enrichment (CE) results from capital flows, which reflect the capital distribution among different regions and industries. This paper constructs the evaluation model of resource allocation efficiency from the perspective of capital and innovation resources. It expounds on CE’s theoretical mechanism by using the panel data from 2011 to 2018 for system GMM estimation. It finds that the manufacturing capital allocation efficiency (CAE) and innovation resource allocation efficiency (IRAE) show a volatile development trend. Both static and dynamic panel models show that there is a significant U-shaped curvilinear relationship between CE and CAE, CE and IRAE. CE’s inhibitory effect on CAE and IRAE decreases with the improvement of CE until it exceeds the critical value of 8.27 and 8.93. After that, its impact on CAE and IRAE changes from negative to positive.