The financial crisis has heightened awareness of ethical and legal issues in the business context. Corporate ethical behaviour is increasingly measured through sustainability ratings. Since 2012, in Italy, the introduction of a sustainability rating, namely the legality rating (LR), has served as an innovative ‘label’ for socially responsible companies from both legal and ethical standpoints. This study employs a unique dataset of 3905 private Italian firms and the Propensity Matching Score to investigate differences in debt costs and corporate financing between companies holding LR and those not. The findings confirm that LR positively influences debt cost and corporate financing by facilitating access to external financing and supporting the risk mitigation perspective. This analysis enriches the literature on the relationship between sustainability ratings and financial impacts by demonstrating the tangible benefits of LR. Regarding managerial implications, this study offers valuable insights into the advantages of a reward system that promotes ‘honest’ behaviour in corporate practices.

The European Union introduced the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) with the aim of aligning the “walk”—the implementation of substantive sustainability practices—and the “talk”—their representation in sustainability reporting. This study assesses whether expectations surrounding the CSRD's approval were associated with changes in the number of agrifood companies disclosing sustainability reports (SRs). Because increased institutional pressure does not necessarily coincide with higher reporting quality, and given that the CSRD introduces provisions on external assurance, we also examine the financial characteristics of firms that voluntarily obtained external assurance prior to the directive's full implementation. Focusing on the Italian agrifood industry—where the “walk”-“talk” gap is viewed as particularly salient due to greenhushing propensity and supply-chain fragmentation—we analyse a panel of 1235 firms from 2013 to 2021. The analysis reveals a statistically significant increase in SR publication in 2021 and indicates that obtaining external assurance is positively associated with revenue and negatively associated with leverage. These patterns point to an acceleration in sustainability disclosure and offer evidence relevant to managerial practice and policy design under the expected CSRD approval in 2021.

Although Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices are often linked to large corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly expected to embed ESG into their strategies. Yet many SMEs remain uncertain about whether ESG adoption delivers tangible performance benefits, and empirical evidence remains limited. Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV), institutional theory and legitimacy theory, this study examines how organisational resources and capabilities relate to ESG strategy and how ESG adoption is linked to firm performance through organisational resilience. Using a three-wave time-lagged design, data were collected from 119 Malaysian SMEs and analysed using partial least squares path modelling. Findings indicate that both resources and capabilities are positively associated with ESG strategy, with capabilities exhibiting the stronger relationship. ESG strategy is positively related to organisational resilience, which in turn is linked to higher firm performance. Moreover, regulatory pressure strengthens the relationship between capabilities and ESG strategy but not that of resources, suggesting that external coercive pressures are more salient when firms possess stronger internal capabilities. The study contributes by integrating RBV, institutional and legitimacy perspectives to explain the antecedents and outcomes of ESG strategy, while offering practical insights for SMEs and policymakers on capability development, resilience building and performance improvement aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Public organisations often experience a discrepancy between improvements in technical efficiency and stakeholders' perceptions of integrity and performance. This study analyses the mechanisms that may underlie this efficiency–perception discrepancy in Spanish Defence Delegations during 2020–2023. An integrated methodological protocol combines bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis, Malmquist productivity indices, fixed-effects panel models, double-bootstrap inference, double machine learning, and SHAP interpretability. The analysis focuses on contextual factors linked to governance and stakeholder experience, including perceived corruption, digitalisation, and citizen satisfaction. The results show that higher perceived corruption is robustly associated with lower efficiency, while digitalisation and citizen satisfaction are positively associated with efficiency gains, suggesting that they operate as key levers for aligning operational performance with stakeholders' perceptions. The protocol yields territorially differentiated action guidelines, supporting the design of CSR-oriented public policies that simultaneously enhance efficiency, transparency, and citizen experience in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

This study investigates the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) committees and CSR-focused employee training on environmental decoupling. Using panel data of 2489 firm-year observations from S&P 500 firms between 2009 and 2022, we employ fixed-effects models to examine how CSR governance mechanisms influence the alignment between firms' environmental disclosures and their actual environmental performance. Our findings show that firms with CSR committees, as well as those with larger CSR committees, experience significantly lower levels of environmental decoupling. In addition, CSR employee training is associated with a reduction in under-reporting, indicating improved disclosure among firms with relatively strong environmental performance. However, CSR training is also positively related to over-reporting, suggesting that such initiatives may strengthen firms' disclosure practices without necessarily leading to parallel improvements in underlying environmental performance. Taken together, these results highlight the differentiated roles of CSR governance mechanisms in shaping environmental disclosure–performance alignment. While CSR committees appear to support substantive reductions in environmental decoupling, CSR training may operate more strongly through disclosure-oriented channels, underscoring the importance of complementing training initiatives with mechanisms that promote tangible environmental performance improvements.

In response to escalating environmental challenges and the growing demand for sustainable energy solutions, the agri-food sector is increasingly exploring business models grounded in circular economy (CE) principles based on the production of biogas and biomethane. This study conducts a bibliometric-systematic literature review (B-SLR) to examine how organisations in this sector integrate CE and sustainability into their operations. The main objective is to assess the state of the art in the literature regarding the integration of CE strategies and sustainability dimensions—economic, environmental and social—into the business practices of biogas or biomethane producers. The analysis identifies three main thematic clusters: (i) sustainability and biogas, (ii) renewable energy and (iii) business models and CE. Findings reveal a predominant emphasis on economic and environmental aspects—such as cost-efficiency, profitability and energy self-sufficiency—while social dimensions, including community acceptance, remain under-researched. Furthermore, business model innovation and stakeholder networks emerge as crucial enablers for overcoming financial, technical and social barriers. Notably, collaboration at the network level allows small and medium-sized enterprises to access knowledge, resources and economies of scale otherwise unattainable individually. This paper provides a structured synthesis of the emerging management literature on renewable energy within agriculture, offering insights into how circular and sustainable business practices are conceptualised, implemented and assessed. It also highlights gaps in current research, particularly the lack of social impact evaluation and the need for clearer policy frameworks. Future studies should explore strategies for community engagement and improved public-private coordination to ensure socially inclusive bioenergy transitions.

This paper examines the impact of M&A activities on Indian firms' sustainability performance, considering the triple bottom line approach grounded in Agency Theory and Resource-Based View (RBV). To achieve this objective, the large panel data of 342 NSE-listed M&A firms from the period 2014 to 2023 is considered, with the event window of (−1, +3). The empirical results provide evidence that corporate governance variables and the ESG score of M&A firms are positively correlated; however, some variation exists. Promoter ownership, institutional ownership, and FII positively impact performance post-M&A, with FII showing improved sustainability performance, especially when considering overall ESG. Board size and CEO duality negatively affect ESG post-M&A, while board diversity, especially female representation, has a stronger positive impact on sustainability performance after M&A. However, when each of the three components of sustainability, that is, E (environmental), S (social), and G (governance), is examined, it is found that different ESG parameters are affected differently. The research explores a new subject, which links Mergers and Acquisitions to sustainability, to expand knowledge in these two fields. The research draws its theoretical foundation from Agency Theory and Resource-Based View (RBV) to show that corporate governance systems function as valuable, rare, and inimitable resources, which lead to better sustainable performance for firms. The research applies theoretical frameworks to establish relationships between post-acquisition governance systems and ESG performance, which enables a better understanding of governance integration approaches that lead to sustainable long-term results in Indian emerging markets.

Climate change poses increasing transition risks for the banking sector, as financial institutions remain exposed to fossil fuel activities despite growing sustainability commitments. This study examines whether corporate governance influences banks' decisions to adopt fossil fuel divestment policies. Using a global panel of banks observed between 2014 and 2023, the analysis investigates the relationship between governance quality and the probability of adopting divestment commitments. The results show that stronger corporate governance is positively associated with fossil fuel divestment. In particular, higher scores in overall governance quality, management practices, shareholder protection, and CSR strategy are linked to a greater likelihood of adopting divestment policies. Financial strength also plays a role, as larger and better capitalized banks are more likely to commit to divestment. By contrast, a negative relationship between ESG controversies and divestment suggests that divestment commitments may, in some cases, reflect reputational considerations rather than purely sustainability-driven decisions. These findings highlight the importance of governance structures in shaping banks' strategic responses to climate-related risks and contribute to the literature on sustainable finance by identifying governance as a key driver of fossil fuel divestment decisions in the banking sector.

Climate change is causing significant disruptions to the socio-ecological systems in which organizations operate, presenting unprecedented challenges for businesses across sectors in adapting to shifting environmental conditions and building resilience to extreme weather events. This Systematic Literature Review synthesizes the evolution of theoretical and empirical research on business climate adaptation and resilience from 2013 to 2023, accounting for both sector-specific dynamics and cross-sectoral patterns that shape effective organizational responses. The study employs an integrated methodological framework that combines bibliometric analysis, topic modeling, and expert-driven qualitative validation. The findings reveal a central structural tension within the literature between firm-centric perspectives and system-oriented approaches. This divide reflects contrasting conceptualizations of firm embeddedness within social–ecological systems, alongside enduring challenges in bridging management scholarship with environmental sciences. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of the field, identifies emerging themes and persistent research gaps, whereas informing strategies for improving business responses to accelerating climate challenges.

This study explores the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related compensation or CSR contracting where executive compensation is tied to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) targets on waste management strategies. It also investigates the role of eco-innovation in shaping CSR contracting-waste management relationships. Using an international panel of 10,886 firm-year observations across 43 countries from 2011 to 2022, we show that CSR contracting is associated with decreased waste generation and increased waste recycling. By tying executive compensation to sustainability metrics, firms create stronger incentives for managers to prioritize resource efficiency and circular economy practices. This effect is accentuated in environmentally innovative firms indicating that CSR contracting is particularly effective when embedded within a broader organizational commitment to innovation strategies. Further analyses show that the effect is also stronger for hazardous waste, in firms with CSR committees and following the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in 2015. This study provides insights into CSR contracting effectiveness and highlights its potential to complement regulatory policies. The results have implications for corporate boards, policymakers, and stakeholders aiming to embed sustainability into strategic and managerial systems.

This study explores the influence of adopting Green AI on the quality of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure, paying particular attention to the moderating role of gender diversity in audit committees. The findings indicate that firms integrating Green AI achieve higher-quality ESG disclosures, both in aggregate and across individual dimensions. Moreover, the presence of gender-diverse audit committees strengthens the positive link between Green AI adoption and ESG reporting outcomes. By framing the analysis within a dynamic capability perspective, the study underscores how technological innovation interacts with governance mechanisms to shape disclosure practices. From a practical standpoint, the results suggest that organizations can improve the credibility and depth of ESG reporting by combining investments in Green AI with efforts to ensure diversity within audit oversight. For policymakers, the evidence highlights the value of creating regulatory frameworks that encourage gender-diverse governance while fostering the responsible use of AI, thereby advancing the twin transitions of digitalization and sustainability.

The findings highlight the urgent need for Bangladesh to reform its outdated company law, drafted based on its 1913 colonial company legislation. Proposed changes include modernising the definition of “directors,” introducing IT regulation provisions, and clarifying critical terms such as “debts” and “incurring debts.” The article also explores civil and criminal breaches of directors’ duties to prevent IT from occurring, detailing their liabilities, remedies, and defences. However, it excludes a discussion of Australia’s recent “safe harbour” provisions, recommending a separate investigation into that area.

The submitted recommendations aim to guide Bangladesh in updating its company legislation to curb unfair financial practices and strengthen economic integrity. Additionally, these reforms could serve as a reference for other jurisdictions lacking robust IT provisions, encouraging broader legal modernisation and fostering corporate accountability.

This study examines the links between Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting, innovation intensity, and investment efficiency. The analysis uses 21,068 firm-year observations from 48 countries from 2011 to 2020. Corporate ESG reporting is the ESG score from Refinitiv, innovation intensity is based on corporate intangible intensity, and investment efficiency is based on the McNichols and Stubben (2008) model. In line with the views of the agency theory, the findings indicate that firms with greater ESG reporting have higher investment efficiency and the positive impact of ESG reporting on investment efficiency becomes stronger for firms with higher innovation intensity. The findings identify mechanisms to improve investment efficiency in the form of two corporate strategies: engaging in ESG reporting and innovation. Support should be given, in terms of incentives and policy improvements, to enable firms to strategize for ESG reporting and innovation for better resource allocation in the capital market.

The significance of fostering an internal corporate social responsibility (ICSR) plan to advance employee well-being is not fully understood. This article explores employee well-being from a positive balance perspective, combining the strategic approach to Internal Corporate Social Responsibility with the Theory of subjective well-being. Drawing on Sirgy's hierarchical model of well-being and the Job Demands-Resources. Framework, the study positions well-being as a multidimensional construct shaped by both organizational practices and individual experiences across various life domains. The main goal is to identify and model the factors that determine employee well-being within the organizational environment. The empirical analysis uses data from the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey 2021 (EWCTS 2021) (Eurofound 2022), covering a representative sample of 11,221 employed individuals across EU countries and the UK. Sets of variables structured in three blocks (traditional factors, organizational factors, and personal conditions) were tested. For estimation, the weighted logistic regression, multinomial regression, and Tobit models are used. For capturing cognitive, emotional, and eudaimonic aspects of well-being, subjective well-being is analyzed as a binary outcome (high vs. low well-being), as a trichotomous variable (low, medium, and high levels), and as a continuous index. The results show that employee well-being is associated with ICSR practices through a structural mechanism, which connects with the job demands–resources framework and the Positive Balance perspective, integrating different dimensions and levels of well-being. The modeling strategy identifies a nonlinear pattern in which the intermediate level of well-being emerges as a transitional zone between low and high well-being. At this level, ICSR-related factors exhibit weaker associations, and the overall configuration of well-being determinants becomes less uniform. More institutional ICSR practices, including organizational participation, are less popular, which may indicate that positive balance mechanisms are not completely engaged. The consistency of the results across alternative model specifications reinforces the view of internal corporate social responsibility not only as an ethical commitment but as a strategic enabler of organizational sustainability and resilience, through a differentiated, employee well-being–centered approach. These findings suggest that ICSR policies should be designed in a differentiated manner, combining managerial strategies aimed at activating employee well-being across different states with broader social objectives related to sustainable work, quality of working life, and social well-being.

Based on the construal level theory, we proposed a conceptual model linking the relationships between perceived symbols in CSR communication, consumer-brand identification, brand trust, and brand evangelism. We collected the data from the U.S. national population and employed an experimental design. The participants were randomly assigned to one of the experimental stimuli depicting symbols of ethicality and environmental sustainability in the CSR activities of selected Fortune 500 companies. Based on structural equation modeling (n = 302), we found that concrete details and facts and figures in CSR communications positively influenced consumer-brand identification, which in turn evoked brand trust and brand evangelism. Brands engaged in CSR activities are recommended to incorporate detailed information in their CSR communications, which can reflect the underlying symbols of ethicality and environmental sustainability in their CSR activities. This can help in building long-term relationships with consumers by making the brand more relatable and humane.

Based on the moral hazard theory, this study analyzes the impact of green finance development and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance on the too-big-to-fail (TBTF) problem by using a sample of 51 commercial banks in six ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) from 2017 to 2024 and employs a two- and three-way interaction analysis approach. The study found that TBTF is a persistent issue among ASEAN banks. Additionally, it found that improvements in green finance development and ESG performance can help mitigate the TBTF problem. Finally, beyond these direct effects, the study also showed that green finance amplifies the negative impact of ESG performance on the TBTF problem. The findings were validated through multiple methods, including fixed-effects and system GMM estimations. The results provide important policy implications for addressing the TBTF problem in the banking systems of ASEAN countries.

We examine whether national culture conditions the capacity of financial development to improve country-level ESG performance. Using a panel of 46 developed and emerging market economies over 2002–2021 and the Lewbel (2012) heteroskedasticity-based instrumental variables estimator to address endogeneity, we find that financial development significantly enhances ESG performance. The positive effect, however, masks substantial cross-cultural variation: individualism and masculinity amplify the finance–ESG relationship, while power distance and uncertainty avoidance systematically suppress it. We further show that cultural constraints are most binding in emerging markets, where uncertainty avoidance exerts a considerably stronger attenuation effect than in developed economies. These results are robust to LIML estimation, Driscoll–Kraay corrections for cross-sectional dependence, and GLOBE-based cultural measurement. Taken together, our findings carry three implications: (i) the returns to financial development for sustainability are real but culturally contingent, meaning that financial deepening alone is insufficient without cultural alignment; (ii) policymakers in high power distance and uncertainty avoidance contexts require culturally sensitive institutional reforms alongside financial sector development; and (iii) multinational firms and global investors must account for cultural moderators when assessing country-level ESG risk and opportunity across institutionally heterogeneous settings.

Blockchain-enabled organic agricultural supply chains enhance the product validation, transparency, and traceability using the shared, immutable ledger. However, many traditional methods struggle to handle uncertainty in decision-making, struggling with a lack of trust and a lack of transparency in certification and provenance verification, and being adapted to static stakeholder needs. To overcome these issues, this research proposes an Adaptive Co-Creation Blockchain for the organic agricultural supply chains framework. A Hybrid Delphi–Fuzzy Trust-Weighted Analytic Hierarchy Process (HDFT-AHP) method is employed to identify, validate, and prioritize 15 critical value co-creation factors over three domains. To assign factor weights, this method integrates iterative fuzzy Delphi consensus with fuzzy AHP pairwise comparisons. Based on the prioritization, the Trust-Centric Blockchain-Embedded E-Commerce (TC-BEE) is employed to transform the stakeholder expectations into a blockchain-enabled digital marketplace, incorporating governance smart contracts with certification and hybrid on-chain and off-chain data storage, multiple-layer blockchain validation, and stakeholder-facing dashboards to illustrate the combination of representative governance, integrated supply chain management, and real-time monitoring. The stakeholder input is collected and analyzed by the Adaptive Trust-Weighted Feedback Loop (ATWFL) to provide consistent improvement. This mechanism authorizes the operation to learn from the stakeholder participation, adjust regulatory criteria, and enhance the collaboration over time. Experimental evaluation demonstrates the framework's robustness, achieving higher Precision (98.32%), Decision-Validation Accuracy (98.98%), F1-Score (97.98%), Recall (97.65%), R ² (0.98), and a lower MSE (1.76) and RMSE (1.33), confirming the effectiveness in building trust, strengthening collaboration, and encouraging environmental policy-making in organic agricultural supply chains.

This research investigates how Green Transformational Leadership (GTL) influences Employee green behavior (GEB), with Green Psychological Ownership (GPO) as a mediator and Green Identity (GI) as a moderator, thereby aligning the study with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 12 and SDG 13. Using a quantitative, cross-sectional design, data were collected from 347 employees and managers of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in India via structured questionnaires and analyzed through PLS-SEM. Results revealed that GTL significantly predicts EGB. while GI strengthens this relationship. GPO partially mediated the GTL-EGB link while GI strengthens the GPO-EGB relationship. This study highlights how green transformational leadership fosters employee green behavior through psychological ownership, offering managers a roadmap to design eco-focused leadership and participative practices. By nurturing employees' green identity, organizations can ensure consistent pro-environmental actions, thereby enhancing performance, reducing resource waste, and embedding sustainability into daily operations.

Social responsibility-based practices have become crucial for the long-term growth of organizations. Empirical studies show that socially responsible human resource management (HRM) positively influences individual behavior; however, limited research investigates its role in mitigating negative employee attitudes and behaviors. Drawing on social exchange theory and self-determination theory, we investigate how and when socially responsible HRM affects knowledge sabotage among employees in the hospitality and tourism industry. We obtained 150 valid surveys from five-star hotel employees in Kyrgyzstan and 240 from hotel employees in Türkiye and tested the hypotheses using PLS-SEM. The results show that socially responsible HRM reduces knowledge sabotage and increases workplace belongingness. Workplace belongingness is found to negatively affect knowledge sabotage. Our findings reveal that work belongingness mediates the influences of socially responsible human resource management on knowledge sabotage. More importantly, corporate ethical values strengthen the negative effect of socially responsible HRM on knowledge sabotage via work belongingness, thereby amplifying this impact further in the hospitality and tourism industry. This paper provides theoretical and practical implications for hospitality and tourism researchers and practitioners by demonstrating how socially responsible HRM reduces employee knowledge sabotage through psychological mechanisms and corporate values.

This study examines the relationship between sustainability expenditures and Environmental, Social, and Governance performance, emphasizing the moderating role of Financial Reporting Quality, proxied by value relevance and income smoothing. Using a panel of 1770 firm-year observations from 177 industrial, energy, and basic materials firms in the United Kingdom over the period 2014–2023, the study employs Fixed Effects regressions as the main estimation strategy, complemented by Heckman correction for sample selection bias and GMM to address potential endogeneity. The results indicate that Environmental Expenditure, Environmental Expenditure Investments, and Research and Development expenditures have a positive and significant impact on ESG performance. This effect is significantly moderated by FRQ; value relevance amplifies the impact of sustainability expenditures, while income smoothing supports long-term strategic consistency. These findings highlight the importance of transparent, informative reporting to enhance the effectiveness of sustainability investments. The study contributes to the ESG literature by showing that sustainability expenditures function as strategic investments rather than mere costs. From a practical perspective, the results suggest that managers should align sustainability strategies with high-quality financial reporting practices, while policymakers should promote clearer disclosure standards to improve ESG outcomes.

Organisations increasingly frame the circular economy as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies, yet the meaning of circularity remains fluid and contested. While prior research has emphasised the technical and operational dimensions of circular economy practices, less is known about how organisations use circularity narratives to manage identity and legitimacy in sustainability transitions. This article develops a conceptual framework that theorises circular economy narratives as strategic CSR resources and explains how organisations mobilise authentic, strategic, and defensive narratives in response to stakeholder expectations and institutional pressures. Drawing on illustrative secondary material from the energy, fashion, and packaging sectors, the framework shows how different narrative approaches are associated with distinct legitimacy outcomes and greenwashing risks. By linking circular economy narratives to CSR strategy, organisational identity, and legitimacy management, this article contributes to research on CSR and environmental management and provides a foundation for future empirical research on CSR communication, legitimacy management, and environmental governance.

As global financial markets increasingly integrate non-financial criteria, companies are reinforcing the strategic role of sustainability and its impact on market value, although this cannot overlook how different institutional structures shape investor perceptions. This study examines (i) whether firms with higher environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance are perceived by markets as having greater future growth opportunities, and (ii) how institutional environments, measured through the dimensions of the Quintuple Helix Model (QHM), namely the economic, educational, political–legal, cultural and environmental systems, condition this relationship. Based on a panel of European listed companies over the 2013–2023 period, we find that companies with stronger sustainability performance are generally associated with higher growth potential, suggesting that ESG engagement is recognized by investors as a relevant dimension of organizations' expectations. The analysis also reveals cross-country differences in this association, consistent with the idea that markets interpret sustainability through their own institutional contexts.

The present study investigates the relationship between corporate environmental disclosure and dividend policy. The study also examines the moderating role of environmental controversies in the relationship between corporate environmental disclosure and dividend policy. A sample of 2579 listed firms from European countries was selected, and fixed-effect, GMM, and quantile regression methodologies were employed. The result suggests that corporate environmental disclosure reflects the importance of environmental practices in shaping payout policies. The result also suggests that firms become more effective at enhancing dividend outcomes when they actively manage controversies. The findings are robust with GMM and quantile regression. This study is the first to combine various measures of corporate environmental disclosure, including CSR strategy scores, Environmental Pillar Scores, ESG Scores, Green Building Scores, and Emissions Scores. It also incorporates financial metrics such as cash dividends paid, net common stock buybacks, dividend payout ratio, dividend yield, and common stock dividends. The aim is to thoroughly examine the relationship between these factors and dividend policy in European countries.

Mitigating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) decoupling is essential to advancing reliable sustainability disclosure and ensuring that ESG reporting fulfills its intended purpose. This study aims to provide critical insights into the organizational and contextual elements that could intensify or diminish ESG decoupling. Using a multi-theoretical framework, this study examines the impact of firm value and institutional pressures from the European Union's sustainability reporting directives on ESG decoupling. The empirical findings, based on a random-effects panel regression analysis of data from 3465 large companies from 2009 to 2023 (13,488 firm-year observations), indicate that firms with higher financial performance and market value are more likely to engage in ESG decoupling. Conversely, the results demonstrate that normative and coercive pressures from the European Union's sustainability reporting directives result in greater alignment between ESG disclosures and performance. These findings offer researchers, regulators, investors, stakeholders, and ESG rating agencies additional insight into ESG decoupling and carry significant policy implications.

Grounded in agency theory, this article examines the relationship between family ownership concentration and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, and analyzes the moderating role of sustainable governance mechanisms. Specifically, it assesses whether sustainability committees and ESG-linked executive compensation moderate the relationship between family ownership concentration and ESG performance. The empirical setting comprises 150 publicly listed European family firms observed over the period 2010–2021. Using panel data regressions with multiple fixed effects to control for unobserved heterogeneity, the results show that higher levels of family ownership are negatively associated with ESG performance. However, this effect is significantly weakened in firms that adopt sustainability committees and ESG-linked executive compensation schemes. These findings indicate that the impact of family ownership on sustainability is contingent upon the governance architecture that shapes the exercise of ownership power. From a theoretical perspective, the results contribute to agency theory by demonstrating that monitoring and incentive alignment mechanisms can mitigate Type II agency tensions between controlling families and minority shareholders in ESG-related domains. From a practical standpoint, the findings suggest that in contexts of highly concentrated family ownership, the introduction of formal ESG-oriented monitoring and incentive mechanisms can reduce discretionary decision-making in ESG-related domains and foster greater alignment between family objectives and broader stakeholder expectations, thereby supporting a more balanced and long-term sustainability orientation.

This study aims to investigate the impact of chief executive officer (CEO) power on green innovation (GI) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and examines whether board gender diversity (BGD) strengthens this relationship. The study uses a sample of 3015 firm-year observations from listed companies in 11 MENA countries over the period 2016–2024. The research findings demonstrate that CEO incentives and CEO duality lead to better GI outcomes, but CEO tenure has negative effects on GI. The research findings also show that the proportion and number of female directors on the board of directors have a positive effect on the relationship between CEO power and GI, resulting in a stronger focus on environmental priority and monitoring effectiveness. Overall, the study provides novel evidence from an underexplored institutional setting, demonstrating that CEO power can serve as a catalyst for green innovation when supported by inclusive governance structures.

ESG practices offer various benefits for family firms; however, there has been limited focus on how these practices can specifically advantage the owning family. To address this gap, we conduct a multiple-case study of six Italian family firms. Responding to recent calls for research (Stock et al., 2024) and building on the growing literature on ESG in family business, we adopt the family as the primary unit of analysis and investigate the outcomes that the owning family derives from the firm's ESG practices. Our findings reveal that engagement in ESG fosters a set of interrelated, family-level outcomes. We conceptualize these outcomes as Continuity, Alignment, Relationships, and Ethics (summarized as C.A.R.E.), four concepts that are reinforced, nurtured, and developed through sustained ESG engagement. These concepts together function as key intangible resources that contribute to the long-term success of family businesses.

This study investigates how internal governance design supports credible ESG performance by distinguishing between Incentive and Oversight Architectures. Using 13,993 firm-year observations of US nonfinancial firms from 2018 to 2024, we estimate fixed effects and two-step system GMM models. Results indicate sustainability-linked incentives, CSR committees, committee independence, and board gender diversity are positively associated with ESG performance, whereas CEO duality is negatively related. Pillar-level analyses show governance scores reflect structural compliance, while environmental and social scores depend on combined incentives and resource-rich oversight. Industry analyses validate incentives and independence as consistent drivers. Carbon intensity moderates the relationship between committee independence and ESG performance. Restricted stock units specifically improve ESG outcomes. Overall, stronger sustainability outcomes are more likely when Incentive and Oversight Architectures operate as a bundle. Credible ESG performance requires aligning incentive structures with independent oversight, offering insights for policymakers seeking to foster substantive sustainability.

Extant literature assumes that powerful executives can wield their influence with minimal opposition from lower-power actors. We reconsider this assumption by incorporating the coalitional view in which lower-power actors can mobilize coalitions to resist. We investigate this dynamic through the case of chief sustainability officers (CSOs), a role characterized by persistent internal tensions, thereby creating conditions necessary for coalition-building. We hypothesize that CSOs' structural power positively influences CSR performance, as it enables them to secure essential resources. However, top management team (TMT) size and TMT tenure weaken this relationship, as they affect the pool of potential coalition partners and the accessibility to these partners. Using a generalized estimating equation model on a sample of 292 non-financial and non-utility firms with CSOs from 2009 to 2020, we find empirical support for these predictions. We contribute to research on power in TMT, the coalitional view of the firm, and CSR performance.

This study examines how ESG engagement influences corporate value using large firm-level data through 2024. A framework integrates mediation by green innovation and financing frictions, moderation by governance quality and digital transformation, and heterogeneity from industry materiality and controversies. Panel estimations with fixed effects, mediation decomposition, interaction tests, and instrumental/dynamic corrections show ESG raises valuation partly via innovation and lower capital costs; stronger governance and digital capabilities amplify effects; alignment with industry materiality enhances returns, while ESG controversies attenuate them. Results guide managers to embed ESG in innovation and financing strategy and suggest investors assess contextual credibility effectively and sustainably.

This study explores how the green backgrounds of female executives (GFEMs) influence corporate climate targets disclosure (CTD). Using a panel dataset comprising China's A-share nonfinancial listed companies (2010–2022) and rigorous methodologies, the findings confirm that GFEMs promote CTD. We find a nonlinear correlation with CTD rising with GFEM representation to an optimal point, but again weakening due to over-concentration of GFEM presence, an inverted U-shaped association reminiscent of critical mass dynamics. Moreover, mediation analysis revealed that GFEMs influence corporate CTD by adopting a low-carbon strategy and management green attention, influencing corporate strategic and cognitive responses to climate change commitments. The additional results indicate that the impact of GFEMs on CTD depends on the gender alignment of the executive teams and transpires under the leadership of male CEOs. This study offers comprehensive insights into the interrelationships among individual executive traits, leadership structures, and climate accountability.

This study examined whether the quality of environmental and social disclosures influences the financial performance of listed Indonesian companies. Using panel data from 101 firms for 2020–2022 (303 observations), we assess disclosure quality based on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards across eight dimensions. Fixed-effects panel regression demonstrates that environmental disclosure quality significantly enhances Return on Assets (β = 0.495, p < 0.001), remaining robust across alternative estimators, standard error corrections, and temporal periods. Social disclosure shows no significant effect (β = −0.187, p = 0.317). We attribute this difference to symbolic reporting practices, investment time lags, stakeholder prioritization of environmental issues, and measurement challenges. Average disclosure quality remains low (19.7% environmental; 13.8% social). The results support legitimacy theory for environmental disclosure but reveal stakeholder theory limitations in Indonesia's emerging market context, where institutional infrastructure is still developing. The findings inform the implementation of Peraturan Otoritas Jasa Keuangan 51/2017 and the phase-out of the mandatory disclosure policy.

Despite the widespread adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices, existing research offers conflicting evidence regarding their impact on firm performance, highlighting the importance of investigating the underlying mechanisms that allow firms to fully capture the value of such investments. Moreover, prior studies have largely overlooked the influence of GSCM practices on employee work engagement, which may serve as critical mechanisms through which these practices translate into improved firm performance. To address this, this study examines the relationships between internal (i.e., internal environment management, eco-design, and investment recovery) and external (i.e., green purchasing and customer collaboration) GSCM practices and firm operational performance and the mediating role of employees' work engagement. To this end, we employed a multi-informant data collection design in which GSCM practices and firm operational performance were assessed by managers, while work engagement was captured directly from employees from the 121 surveyed manufacturing firms, thereby enhancing measurement accuracy and the overall roundness of the results. The analysis revealed that internal GSCM practices have a positive impact on firm operational performance, while external GSCM practices do not. Unexpectedly, we found that internal GSCM practices do not increase employees' work engagement, whilst external GSCM practices do. However, employees' work engagement fully mediates the relationship between external GSCM practices and firm operational performance. This study advances the literature by exploring the impact of GSCM on employee-level outcome and explaining how it influences performance through driving employees' work engagement.

Board diversity has been linked to corporate sustainability performance (CSP), yet empirical research cannot explain how diversity operates within governance systems. Unlike prior studies treating diversity as static demographics, this study introduces Diversity Activation Capacity (DAC)—the first processual framework explaining why identical board structures produce divergent sustainability outcomes. DAC theorises ownership logic as an institutional filter determining which diversity dimensions matter and how they translate into action, revealing activation mechanisms overlooked by Western-centric theories in concentrated ownership environments. This study investigates how ownership logics—state, family, and hybrid—shape board diversity's relationship with CSP in Hong Kong's real-estate sector. Through comparative case analysis of three property developers, we triangulate 32 interviews with longitudinal ESG performance (2019–2023). Findings reveal deep-level diversity (functional expertise, international experience, ESG literacy) outperforms demographic variety in driving CSP, but only when activated through ownership-appropriate mechanisms. State-controlled firms activate through bureaucratic alignment; family-controlled firms filter through socio-emotional wealth priorities; hybrid firms leverage market accountability. The findings challenge Hong Kong's regulatory emphasis on gender quotas, suggesting mandatory ESG training would more effectively enhance governance. This demonstrates ownership logic as an institutional filter with critical implications for Asian markets where concentrated ownership predominates.

The European Union (EU), recognizing the limitations of conventional positions, developed the concept of collective dominance to capture anti-competitive outcomes in oligopolistic settings without requiring proof of express concert. While the jurisprudence, beginning with the Italian Flat Glass case and clarified in Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB) and perfected in Airtours, firmly established collective dominance within EU law, its practical enforcement has remained lacklustre. Conversely, the United States has categorically rejected the doctrine, upholding freedom of businesses and reiterating strict requirement of concert under the Sherman Act, thereby sacrificing its ability to regulate tacitly coordinated conduct in concentrated markets.

India now faces a critical conundrum. Although its Competition Act is structurally modern, the persistent refusal to recognize collective dominance creates a significant enforcement gap in an economy where digital transparency and algorithmic facilitation of parallel conduct are becoming prevalent. As India aspires toward becoming the world’s third largest economy, it must confront a pivotal question: where should it draw the line between preserving the freedom of trade and preventing the abuse of unbridled market power? This paper examines the global evolution of collective dominance and argues for a calibrated doctrinal and policy response in the Indian competition framework to address emerging structural threats.

This study examines the relationship between artificial intelligence and both environmental and social sustainability practices in small and medium-sized enterprises, with a specific focus on the moderating effects of implementation barriers relating to sustainability, digitalization, and innovation. Drawing on resource-based view and contingency theory, the relationship and moderating effects are analyzed empirically utilizing data from the Flash Eurobarometer 486 survey, covering 12,632 small and medium-sized enterprises across 39 countries. Employing ordinary least squares regression with interaction terms, the findings reveal a significant positive relationship between artificial intelligence adoption and both environmental and social sustainability practices in small and medium-sized enterprises. However, this relationship is moderated by the implementation barriers, with higher barriers weakening the positive relationship between artificial intelligence and both environmental and social sustainability practices. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on artificial intelligence and sustainability in small and medium-sized enterprises by providing novel empirical evidence on their relationship and, uniquely, on the moderating role of implementation barriers related to sustainability, digitalization, and innovation, an aspect previously unexplored. The results offer important implications for small and medium-sized enterprise managers, policymakers, and researchers, highlighting the need for tailored strategies to overcome barriers and effectively implement artificial intelligence for enhanced environmental and social sustainability practices.

As artificial intelligence transforms corporate operations globally, organizations face mounting pressure to integrate ethical AI practices within their corporate social responsibility (CSR) frameworks. This study investigates how corporate artificial intelligence ethics influences sustainable development outcomes, examining the critical role of international innovation as a moderator. Drawing on digital responsibility theory and technological ethical risk management frameworks, we analyze survey data from 449 corporations across China and Europe—two regions with distinct CSR regulatory environments and sustainability approaches. Our findings reveal that corporate AI ethics significantly enhances sustainable development performance, with this relationship strengthened by international innovation capabilities. While direct effects on innovation remain non-significant, international innovation amplifies the sustainability benefits of ethical AI practices, particularly in European firms where stringent ESG regulations prevail. Regional analysis uncovers that Chinese firms leverage innovation more effectively for sustainability outcomes, whereas European firms demonstrate stronger moderation effects. These results provide actionable insights for organizations seeking to align AI deployment with ESG objectives and offer practical guidance for developing accountability mechanisms in digital transformation. The study contributes to CSR literature by demonstrating how ethical technology governance creates value for multiple stakeholders while advancing environmental and social sustainability goals.

This study examines the influence of board characteristics on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure on social media, particularly on Twitter (X), in the US information and communication technology (ICT) industry. While prior research has focused on ESG reporting in traditional channels, little is known about how governance structures shape disclosure on social media. Drawing on legitimacy and media richness theories, the analysis investigates the impact of five board attributes (meeting frequency, size, women representation, tenure, and independence) on ESG disclosure on Twitter (X) using an unbalanced panel of 60 US ICT firms from the list Fortune Global 500 over 2016–2022. An automated content analysis of more than 147,000 corporate tweets was employed to measure the extent of ESG reporting. ESG disclosure was measured through keyword-based content analysis of tweets, based on the Bloomberg ESG Index. Results indicate that women board representation and independence significantly enhance ESG disclosure on Twitter (X), while frequent board meetings are associated with lower levels of disclosure. Board size and tenure show no consistent effects.

This study examines the relationship between ESG performance and corporate financial performance (CFP), investigating the moderating roles of financing constraints and ownership structure. Using fixed-effects models and instrumental variable analysis on 200 U.S. listed firms (2010–2020), we find a significant positive ESG-CFP linkage: one standard deviation ESG increase boosts ROA by 13.5% and ROE by 15.6%. Financing constraints negatively moderate this relationship, with the positive impact of ESG on CFP being reduced by 38.7% in high-leverage firms (calculated as the percentage difference in the ESG-CFP slope coefficient between firms with leverage ratios above the 75th percentile and those below the 25th percentile); conversely, strong liquidity enhances the strength of the ESG-CFP association. Ownership concentration strengthens ESG-CFP effects, with 25% equity concentration increasing ESG impact by 43.1%. Heterogeneity analysis reveals stronger ESG effects in high-tech firms and large enterprises, with ESG investments peaking in the second lag period. Findings underscore the necessity for context-specific ESG strategies that explicitly integrate firms' financing conditions (operationalized as leverage ratio and current ratio) and governance features (operationalized as ownership concentration). For policymakers, the results provide empirical foundations for differentiated regulatory frameworks, including tiered ESG disclosure requirements based on firm size and leverage levels, targeted green financial incentives for low-liquidity enterprises, and governance-aligned ESG guidance for firms with concentrated versus dispersed ownership structures. Practically, policymakers can implement these frameworks by calibrating compliance thresholds for ESG reporting to firms' financial capacity and designing incentive mechanisms that account for ownership-driven differences in ESG implementation efficiency.

This paper examines the influence of different measures of the board gender diversity (BGD) on the Environmental, Social, and Governance disclosure quality of 253 firms from 10 sectors in 10 European countries (EC) during the 2011–2021 period to check which pillar of the ESG receives more favorable attention from gender diversity (GD) and to research if this relationship holds similarly across countries and sectors. A multiple 2-way firm and year effects static panel model with different proxies of GD was used. Ordinary least squares as a baseline technique was applied. For robustness check, one-step system GMM was applied on the dynamic version of the considered models. Drawing on resource dependency theory, agency theory, and legitimacy theory, this study finds that GD influences ESG performance. At the country and sector level, the results are either insignificant or mixed. The governance dimension consistently shows a positive effect across both countries and sectors side.