New issue of the Journal of Governance and Regulation
The editorial team of Virtus Interpress is honoured to publish the first issue of the Journal of Governance and Regulation in 2026. This issue offers a composite and analytically rich snapshot of how governance scholarship is currently reconfiguring its core questions in response to a world marked by persistent uncertainty, uneven development trajectories, and accelerated institutional change. Taken together, the articles collected here treat governance not as a static set of rules or formal structures, but as a multi-level capacity to design, coordinate, implement, and legitimate decisions under conditions where social expectations, economic constraints, and policy pressures frequently collide. The breadth of contexts and the plurality of methods represented in this issue underscore a crucial point for contemporary research: the most informative governance insights increasingly emerge at the intersections of institutional design and behavioural dynamics, regulatory architecture and technological infrastructures, and macroeconomic policy signals and micro-level organisational responses.
The first line of inquiry running through the issue concerns governance as implementation capacity within contested or fragile environments. The second thematic nucleus revolves around the macro-financial dimension of governance and the transmission of policy signals to corporate behavior. The third cluster of contributions addresses accountability and assurance as the operational backbone of credible governance. Digital transformation provides the fourth, strongly integrative lens of the issue, bringing together the themes of capacity, accountability, and inclusion. In parallel, the issue addresses inclusive development as a core test of governance quality. Climate-related governance and transition risks constitute another cross-cutting dimension of the issue, connecting public policy communication, regulatory action, and financial market dynamics. Finally, this issue also reflects a methodological and intellectual evolution in governance scholarship.
The full issue of the journal is available at the following link.
Beatus Tambaip, Alexander Phuk Tjilen, Pulung Riyanto, and Yosephina Ohoiwutun investigate the ineffective implementation of the Special Autonomy Policy in Papua, driven by organizational behavior, leadership dynamics, and governance challenges within local institutions.
Hua Wang uses data from 1586 listed companies across France and Germany to analyze the impact of monetary policy on debt levels.
Viktoriia Ostapenko, Viktoriia Tyshchenko, and Oleksii Naidenko explore governance tools designed to enhance stakeholder interaction within innovation policy frameworks, particularly in the context of Ukraine’s dynamic and crisis-affected economy.
Eny Haryati, Amirul Mustofa, Solahuddin Ismail, Siti Marwiyah, Suyanto, Alda Raharja, and Litafira Syahadiyanti evaluate how the Index Desa Membangun five-tier classification, ranging from very underdeveloped to independent villages, supports SDG achievement.
Tu Thanh Dam, Thi Thanh Huyen Lam, Thieu Si Nguyen, and Thi Thanh Huyen Dam aim to identify and analyze key challenges faced by employees in SMEs during the national digital transformation toward a digital economy and society.
Lubna Khalaf, Asma’a Al-Amarneh, Rami Abu Wadi, and Naderh Mryan examine the impact of financial inclusion and FinTech on women’s empowerment using panel data from 85 countries over four years.
Mahmoud M. Aleqab, Roaa Qawasmeh, and Anas Al Qudah investigate how informal exchanges between internal audit functions and audit committees develop within firms listed on the Amman Stock Exchange.
Thi Thanh Hoa Nguyen, Duc Cuong Pham, Phuong Linh Nguyen, Thi Kim Yen Pham, and Minh Hanh Do assess the impact of the Global Economic Policy Uncertainty index on the cash holding level of Vietnamese listed companies.
Robert Oguti Etengu, Gwokyalya Sonko, Rockfell Ebwonyu, Peter Paul Opio, Bonny Odongo, and Richard Abongo investigate the effect of corporate governance mechanisms on the financial reporting quality of quoted manufacturing firms at the Uganda Securities Exchange.
Thenjiwe Pretty Kweyama and Celani John Nyide evaluate the effectiveness and best practices of financial management information systems in municipalities within an emerging economy.
Salah-Eddine Labkir, Laila El Loumani, and Nouh El Harmouzi try to find out whether institutional quality and digital governance can effectively promote economic growth in the MENA region, where structural inefficiencies and governance weaknesses have long constrained development.
Nguyen Thi Hong, Doan Thi Yen, Nguyen Thi Cam Nhung, Luong Ngoc Hieu, Tran Thi Minh Phuong, and Tran Thi Thanh Binh study the impact of psychological capital on the work engagement of sales staff in real estate enterprises in Vietnam.
Turebek Zhuntyrbayev and Aliya Massalimova examine the evolution of scholarly research on the role of the ombudsman in governance across various sectors between 2000 and 2025.
Ibrahim Naser Khatatbeh, Jamileh Ali Mustafa, Mohammad Issa Alhusban, Mohammed Nayel Abu Alfoul, and Eyad Shammout analyze the effect of FinTech on financial inclusion and income inequality.
Shun Zhu investigates the changes in cross-border e-commerce in international trade patterns as small and medium-sized enterprises expand into emerging nations.
Tho Do Thi, Hai Nam Nguyen, and Thu Hang Dang examine how the climate policy uncertainty influences exchange rate volatility and cross-currency spillovers by analyzing daily data from 2015 to 2023 on six major currency pairs.
Akhmad Faozan, Toufan Aldian Syah, Bambang Waluyo, Che Adenan Mohammad, and Rini Meliana explore trends and map knowledge on corporate governance in Islamic banking, written by academics worldwide.
Ahmad Abedalqader Al-Majali, Rima Kamel Abu-Safi, and Saleh Yahya Al Freijat examine the issue of inefficiency and overspending in government expenditures, with a focus on how the size and composition of public spending affect economic growth.
Marjel Ann A. Concepion, Sarah C. Alvarez, and Angelo R. Santos assess the level of climate change awareness among residents in the Philippines, with a focus on their understanding of the Local Climate Change Action Plan (2018–2023).
Thi Thu Hien Hoang and Ha Thi Thu Do estimate the impact of mindful leadership on organizational resilience in small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam’s environmental technology sector.
Dedi Rusdi, Mutamimah, and Widiyanto analyze the effect of the number of Sharia Supervisory Boards on the financial performance of Islamic commercial banks in Indonesia.
Sayeed Aboobakr Milanzi seeks to examine the correlation between Malawi’s renewable energy capacity and FDI inflows to stimulate economic growth.
Blerta Dragusha, Emirjeta Bejleri, Sabrid Ulqinaku, and Gentian Memaj study the state-level factors influencing the absorption of FDI and the decision-making of multinational enterprises to invest in foreign markets, with a particular focus on regulatory determinants along the firm life cycle.
Xiaoyin Zhang conducts a thematic analysis with the help of a systematic literature review based on the PRISMA to analyze how purchase restriction policies have been used as governance instruments in Hainan Free Trade Port.
Enkeleda Shehi, Emira Spahaj, Valbona Cinaj, Artur Ribaj, and Samel Kruja explore the main challenges SMEs face in accessing finance and evaluate the effectiveness of public and EU-supported financial instruments, with a particular focus on credit guarantee schemes.
Ahmed Zakaria Zaki Osemy aims to assess the role of forensic accounting in enhancing the quality of financial statement audits in Riyadh.
We sincerely appreciate the scholars who entrusted their work to this issue, as well as the reviewers whose careful evaluations strengthened the clarity and contribution of each manuscript.
