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Sustainable Development and CSR – Perfect Match?

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A special issue of Journal of Risk and Financial Management (ISSN 1911-8074). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability and Finance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 40974

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Prof. Dr. Maria Palazzo

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School of Management, Universitas Mercatorum, Rome, Italy
Interests: CSR; ethics;stakeholder engagement; marketing; communication; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Mirela Panait

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Faculty of Economic Sciences, Petroleum-Gas University of Ploieşti, 100680 Ploieşti, Romania
Interests: energy transition; corporate social responsibility; sustainable development; international finance
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Prof. Dr. Alfonso Siano

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Department of Political and Communication Sciences, University of Salerno, Fisciano (SA), Italy
Interests: corporate communication, marketing, branding, management, arts and heritage marketing, CSR, sustainable development

Dr. Eglantina Hysa

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Department of Economics, Epoka University, Tirana 1032, Albania
Interests: growth economics; economic theory; economic development; poverty analysis; economic analysis; economics of education; foreign direct investment; income inequality; sustainable development strategies; economic growth; regional economics; quality evaluation; higher education quality; economic policy analysis; economics analysis; applied macroeconomics; academic development; sustainable development education
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Dr. Marian Catalin Voica

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Faculty of Economic Sciences, Petroleum - Gas University of Ploiesti – Romania, Blvd, Bucuresti No 39, Ploiesti, Romania
Interests: foreign direct investment; capital markets; sustainable development; corporate social responsibility

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The challenges posed by climate change and the international financial crisis have demonstrated the importance of rethinking companies' behavior. More and more companies have integrated corporate social responsibility into their business strategy, which is no longer seen as an accessory but as a recognition of the role that economic agents have in promoting sustainable development (Moon, 2007, İyigün, 2015). The launch of the Sustainable Development Goals United Nations is helping to reshape the role that companies play in the global economy. Sustainable development is not just a desire, but a way of doing business that can even generate opportunities for the emergence or development of businesses such as waste recycling or renewable energy production (ElAlfy et al., 2020). Socially responsible companies are more attractive both to investors and to customers or other categories of stakeholders, which contributes to improving their financial performance. Substantial contributions to achieving sustainable development goals can have both companies as producers of goods and services and portfolio investors who more recently base their decisions on the financial market based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Securities are bought or sold depending on the social involvement of the issuing companies. Financial institutions are also involved in these efforts to promote sustainable development, not only by developing principles but also by launching specific financial products such as green bonds (Aureli et al., 2016, Siminica et al., 2019, Izzo et al., 2020).

The aim of this Special Issue is to present the latest theoretical and empirical advances in research on sustainable development and CSR and to stimulate and foster discussions on these topics.

References

Aureli, S., Medei, R., Supino, E., & Travaglini, C. (2016). Sustainability disclosure after a crisis: a text mining approach. International Journal of Social Ecology and Sustainable Development (IJSESD), 7(1), 35-49.

ElAlfy, A., Palaschuk, N., El-Bassiouny, D., Wilson, J., & Weber, O. (2020). Scoping the Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Research in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Era. Sustainability, 12(14), 5544.

İyigün, N. Ö. (2015). Corporate social responsibility and ethics in management in light of sustainable development. In Handbook of research on developing sustainable value in economics, finance, and marketing (pp. 239-258). IGI Global.

Izzo, M. F., Ciaburri, M., & Tiscini, R. (2020). The Challenge of Sustainable Development Goal Reporting: The First Evidence from Italian Listed Companies. Sustainability, 12(8), 3494.

Moon, J. (2007). The contribution of corporate social responsibility to sustainable development. Sustainable development, 15(5), 296-306.

Siminica, M., Cristea, M., Sichigea, M., Noja, G. G., & Anghel, I. (2019). Well-Governed Sustainability and Financial Performance: A New Integrative Approach. Sustainability, 11(17), 4562.

Dr. Maria Palazzo
Dr. Mirela Panait
Prof. Dr. Alfonso Siano
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eglantina Hysa
Dr. Marian Catalin Voica
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Risk and Financial Management is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

corporate social responsibility
sustainable development
climate change
international financial crisis
environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues
value creation
technological innovation
sustainable finance

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 386 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Board Characteristics, Social Trust and ESG Performance in the European Banking Sector

by Bruna Miranda, Catarina Delgado and Manuel Castelo Branco

J. Risk Financial Manag. 2023, 16(4), 244; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm16040244 - 17 Apr 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2283

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the impacts of board size, gender diversity and independence on ESG performance whilst also examining the impact of country-level social trust on such performance. We perform a panel data analysis and the least squares method for a sample of 75 European banks and a time span of 4 years from 2016 to 2019. We find that ESG performance is positively associated with board gender diversity and independence, and negatively associated with board size. Surprisingly, we find a negative relationship between country-level social trust and ESG performance. This is an important finding that we interpret as being related to the loss of confidence in the banking sector in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. To regain such trust, the banking sector is likely to have suffered higher social pressure to engage in ESG activities in countries where social trust is lower. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development and CSR – Perfect Match?)

14 pages, 2984 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Global Social Sustainability and Inclusion: The “Voice” of Social and Environmental Imbalances

by Andriy Krysovatyy, Iryna Zvarych, Oksana Brodovska and Roman Zvarych

J. Risk Financial Manag. 2022, 15(12), 599; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm15120599 - 12 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1945

Abstract

Background: Global environmental and social research strengthens the protection of people and the environment, develops national capacity for social and environmental management and enables significant progress in terms of transparency, accountability, nondiscrimination and public participation. The support of the general public plays a key role, as it contributes to making public institutions more transparent, accountable and efficient and promotes ground-breaking solutions to complex development challenges. Citizen engagement seems particularly vital throughout the crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, as the efficiency of response efforts may frequently depend upon micro-level behavioral changes. The objective of this paper is to provide a complex evaluation and rating of countries based on the social component of the global inclusive circular economy, taking into account the shocks and reverberations experienced by the economy as a whole caused by the COVID-19 and war in Ukraine. The results are presented as a global ranking of countries based on the social component of the global inclusive circular economy. They confirm the high value of this component in the integrated indicator, which validates the hypothesis that inclusiveness is a necessary aspect of the global circular economy. The research results identify the countries capable of offering the best management solutions to social disbalances and other weaknesses, as well as the countries in need of model examples to tackle these issues. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development and CSR – Perfect Match?)

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17 pages, 650 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Supplier’s Competitive Factors on Relationship Performance and Product Recommendation in Crop Protection Retail Sector

by Byungok Ahn, Boyoung Kim and Jongpil Yu

J. Risk Financial Manag. 2022, 15(11), 540; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm15110540 - 20 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1808

Abstract

The changes in distribution channels of the crop protection industry are accelerating the influence of crop protection retailers on farmers’ product purchase decisions. This study aims to identify the critical competitive factors; ‘product quality’, ‘supply price’, ‘brand awareness’, ‘flexibility’, and ‘promotion support’; of crop protection manufacturers. And it empirically analyzes effects of the critical factors on relationship performance and product recommendation of crop protection retailers. This research also examined the difference among these major factors according to the level of trust of crop protection companies as suppliers. Survey data were collected from 660 retailers by the crop protection distribution market in South Korea. As for the results, the five factors were defined as the crop protection suppliers’ competitive factors. Supply price, promotion support, brand awareness, and flexibility had a positive (+) effect on relationship performance. Brand awareness, promotion support, product quality, and flexibility had a positive (+) effect on customer recommendation. Furthermore, supply price significantly affected relationship performance in a group with high trust, and promotion support significantly affected a group with low trust. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development and CSR – Perfect Match?)

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17 pages, 501 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Correlations of Taxation and Macroeconomic Indicators in the OECD Member Countries from 2014 to the First Year of the Crisis Caused by COVID-19

by Csaba Lentner, Szilárd Hegedűs and Vitéz Nagy

J. Risk Financial Manag. 2022, 15(10), 464; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm15100464 - 17 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1878

Abstract

This paper explores the characteristics and inter-relationships of tax systems in the OECD countries over the period 2014–2020, i.e., from a relatively consolidated economic period until the end of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A predictable tax system is essential for the proper functioning of the economy. One of our two main research objectives was to develop a composite indicator for taxation, consisting of tax rates and tax administration time. This composite indicator was then tested using multivariate statistical methods. Our second research objective was to explore the correlation between tax rates, tax burden indicators and macroeconomic indicators over the period 2014–2020, focusing on three years, 2014, 2019 and 2020. An important criterion for the choice of the study years was that 2014 was considered the first overall year of recovery from the crisis, 2019 the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2020 the first year affected by the pandemic. We investigated the significant differences between the composite indicator categories and the tax burden macroeconomic indicators, and examined and tested correlations between the variables under study (tax rates, tax burden and macroeconomic variables). We found that the amount of working time spent on tax administration is decreasing, presumably due to the increasingly digitalised environment, but this trend has been slightly interrupted by the pandemic. Furthermore, we found that countries with more complex tax systems with a high tax burden perform worse on certain macroeconomic indicators, mainly in southern Europe from a geographical perspective; however, these potentially more burdensome, higher-rate tax systems of more developed countries do not put these countries at a competitive disadvantage. This reflects on the fact that these countries rely on the monetarist school rather than the Keynesian school, a fact which was also compared and considered in our paper. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development and CSR – Perfect Match?)

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18 pages, 1270 KiB

Open AccessArticle

COVID-19’s Impact on Fintech Adoption: Behavioral Intention to Use the Financial Portal

by Arfan Shahzad, Nurhana Zahrullail, Ahsan Akbar, Hana Mohelska and Arsalan Hussain

J. Risk Financial Manag. 2022, 15(10), 428; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm15100428 - 26 Sep 2022

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4904

Abstract

As Fintech has grown exponentially in recent years, several researchers have examined how information technology is applied in the financial services sector, with a focus on the extended practice of its application. However, fewer studies have investigated the factors influencing the acceptance of Fintech services. In order to examine how consumers adopt Fintech services, this research presents an enhanced technology acceptance model (TAM) that integrates perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, user innovativeness, and trust as factors of attitude towards using Fintech platforms and behavioral intention to use Fintech platforms. The questionnaires were sent to 867 of Portal MyAzZahra’s customers, and 273 complete questionnaires were received. The data were then analyzed to comprehend whether the proposed hypotheses were accepted or rejected. The findings depict that consumers’ trust, perceived ease of use, and customer innovation in Fintech services substantially impact the attitude towards adoption and behavioral intention to use the Fintech online platform. However, perceived usefulness does not significantly influence the attitude towards adoption and the behavioral intention to use the online loan aggregator. By integrating these factors into Fintech services with TAM, this study adds to the literature on adopting Fintech services by offering a more holistic perspective of the factors affecting consumers’ attitudes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development and CSR – Perfect Match?)

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14 pages, 321 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Framework for Short- vs. Long-Term Risk Indicators for Outsourcing Potential for Enterprises Participating in Global Value Chains: Evidence from Western Balkan Countries

by Jolta Kacani, Lindita Mukli and Eglantina Hysa

J. Risk Financial Manag. 2022, 15(9), 401; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm15090401 - 09 Sep 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1739

Abstract

This paper aims to present a benchmarking framework for short- and long-term risk of enterprises in emerging markets that seek integration in global value chains. The benchmark instrument aims in particular to assess short- and long-term risk based on accounting data and estimations of key financial ratios for enterprises located in the Western Balkan region and operating in the materials, industrials, and customer-discretionary industries. In total, the paper considers 310 enterprises. Given the geographical proximity of the region, the benchmark instrument for short- and long-term risks serves to assess the outsourcing potential these enterprises have toward foreign enterprises dominating larger markets such as the European value chain. The framework is applicable to a large-scale annual data series collected on subindustry level in order to obtain a more granular analysis of a particular industry and its respective value chain. The benchmarking instrument indicates that those subindustries performing better both at short- and long-term risk display a higher outsourcing potential and more opportunities for integration in global value chains. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development and CSR – Perfect Match?)

18 pages, 762 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Digitalization in Supporting the Performance of Circular Economy: A Case Study of Greece

by Stavros Kalogiannidis, Dimitrios Kalfas, Fotios Chatzitheodoridis and Stamatis Kontsas

J. Risk Financial Manag. 2022, 15(8), 349; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm15080349 - 07 Aug 2022

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 4532

Abstract

Digitalization has the potential to hasten the economic transition towards a more resource-efficient as well as robust circular production system. However, there is a paucity of empirical research on the influence that digitalization has on the ability of a circular economy to function effectively. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect that digitalization has on the performance of the circular economy. The research was based on an empirical analysis of quantitative data obtained from a sample size of 200 investors and entrepreneurs in the financial sector of Kozani, Greece. Regression results showed that there is a positive relationship between digital practices and performance of a circular economy, and that digital business innovations have a positive effect on performance of a circular economy. Even while a sizeable proportion of Greek companies apply new business innovations to support the strategy of resource efficiency, it is abundantly obvious that this percentage is far higher among industrial organizations that place a heavy focus on digitalization. According to the findings of the research, there is a favorable correlation between the adoption of digital business practices and innovations and the success of circular economies. This demonstrates very clearly that digitalization has the potential to function as a driving force behind the development of circular business models. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development and CSR – Perfect Match?)

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18 pages, 654 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects of ESG Activity Recognition of Corporate Employees on Job Performance: The Case of South Korea

by Minsuck Jin and Boyoung Kim

J. Risk Financial Manag. 2022, 15(7), 316; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm15070316 - 21 Jul 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5273

Abstract

Corporate environment, society, and governance (ESG) management activities have recently been consolidated in the business ecosystem, and many firms are considering their employees’ recognition and job changes according to organizational ESG strategy. This study aims to verify the effects of ESG activity recognition of corporate employees on job performance by mediating change support behavior, innovative organization culture, and job crafting. This study designs a structural equation model with a hypotheses based on previous studies. A questionnaire survey was carried out targeting large Korean manufacturing companies, and an analysis of 329 response copies was performed. As a result, ESG activity recognition did not directly affect job crafting, but it affected job crafting with the mediation of innovative organizational culture and change support behavior. ESG activity recognition also positively affected job crafting and job performance by mediating change support behavior and an innovative organization culture. Hence, the research shows that an innovative culture and change support behavior within an organization should be considered to improve ESG management performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development and CSR – Perfect Match?)

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21 pages, 3006 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Senior Executives Characteristics on Corporate Environmental Disclosures: A Bibliometric Analysis

by Hafiz Muhammad Arslan, Ye Chengang, Bilal, Muhammad Siddique and Yusra Yahya

J. Risk Financial Manag. 2022, 15(3), 136; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm15030136 - 11 Mar 2022

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3918

Abstract

This study aims to synthesize the literature on the top management team (TMT) characteristics influence on environmental disclosures of public organizations and identify recent trends, key themes, influential journals, and authors. Our study recruited 88 research articles on the relationship of TMT characteristics and environmental disclosures from 54 academic journals published from 2010 to 2021 for bibliometric analysis. Our study has identified three influential streams: (1) Role of Politically connections of TMT, good governance in environmental disclosures; (2) Significance of environmental disclosures and performance; and (3) institutional investors and environmental disclosures. Thematic map classifies the TMT characteristics and environmental disclosures relationship themes into four categories: Niche theme (e.g., financial expertise, CFO characteristics, CEO tenure, and board backgrounds); motor themes (e.g., environmental sustainability and climate change); emerging/declining themes (e.g., Environmental disclosure, managerial ownership, and CEO tenure); and basic/transversal themes (e.g., CEO characteristics, upper echelon theory, corporate governance). This study assists academicians, policymakers, managers, and consultants in the corporate sector to understand the role of different dimensions of TMT characteristics regarding environmental disclosures. Our study concludes with important practical implications and future research directions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development and CSR – Perfect Match?)

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14 pages, 330 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Bucharest Stock Exchange: A Starting Point in Structuring a Valuable CSR Index

by Mirela Clementina Panait, Marian Catalin Voica, Eglantina Hysa, Alfonso Siano and Maria Palazzo

J. Risk Financial Manag. 2022, 15(2), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm15020094 - 21 Feb 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2820

Abstract

The aim of this article was to identify the role and specific mechanisms of the stock exchange in promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR) and CSR communications among companies listed on the Romanian capital market given country membership of the European Union. Taking into account the quality of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) as a member of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges, as well as BSE’s concerns about promoting CSR, a CSR index was built to capture the specific actions of companies listed on this market. The public companies were considered representative for the promotion of CSR based on their size and other relevant features. The index can be seen by companies that can further develop it, test its validity, and employ it as a tool to reassure investors who will decide to spend their money to buy shares and stocks of organizations ranked in the BSE. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development and CSR – Perfect Match?)

20 pages, 408 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of Female Directors and Institutional Pressures on Corporate Social Responsibility in Family Firms in Latin America

by Isabel-María García-Sánchez, Lázaro Rodríguez-Ariza and María-del-Carmen Granada-Abarzuza

J. Risk Financial Manag. 2021, 14(1), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm14010028 - 08 Jan 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3068

Abstract

This paper has two main aims. Firstly, we examine whether, given a critical mass of female board members, their presence has a different effect on the firm’s CSR practices according to its family or non-family nature. We then consider whether the moderating role of the institutional environment in Latin America enhances the role of female directors in influencing the board’s attitude towards CSR strategies. The results obtained—from a sample of 22,958 observations, corresponding to an unbalanced data panel of 5124 companies for the period 2010–2016—confirm our hypothesis and also highlight the existence of type I (organisational) and type II (institutional) compensation effects, which reduce or eliminate differences between family and non-family firms, whether or not they are located in Latin American countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development and CSR – Perfect Match?)

19 pages, 477 KiB

Open AccessArticle

When Does Earnings Management Matter? Evidence across the Corporate Life Cycle for Non-Financial Chinese Listed Companies

by Ammar Hussain, Minhas Akbar, Muhammad Kaleem Khan, Ahsan Akbar, Mirela Panait and Marian Catalin Voica

J. Risk Financial Manag. 2020, 13(12), 313; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm13120313 - 08 Dec 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4733

Abstract

Information availability, firm performance, idiosyncratic volatility and bankruptcy-risk vary across the Corporate Life Cycle (CLC) stages. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether CLC stages explain firm’s propensity to engage in both accrual base and real earning management practices in the context of China. Panel data of 3250 non-financial Chinese listed firms spanning from 2009 to 2018 is used to investigate the proposed relationship. CLC stages were captured through Dickinson’s model, while earnings management is measured by employing both techniques, i.e., accruals-base earnings management and real earnings management. The data were analyzed through Panel data fixed-effects and random-effects techniques. Results reveal that, when compared to shakeout phase, managers’ response to use both earnings management practices is significantly higher during introduction and decline phases, and lower during growth and mature stages of CLC. It suggests that introductory and later-staged firms distort their factual financial information from creditors to obtain loans without strict debt covenants. Our results are robust to alternate measures and specifications. The core contribution of this research is to add a fresh perspective to the CLC research by uncovering its imperative role in influencing the earning management behavior of corporate managers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development and CSR – Perfect Match?)

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