Business Strategy and Development最新文献

The main goal of this study is to explore the moderating role of board gender diversity on the relationship between CEO duality, board size, board meetings, and firm performance in sustainable companies. This study examines the 120 most sustainable European firms listed in the EuroNext Vigeo Europe 120 Index from 2012 to 2021, with the findings showing that board gender diversity negatively moderates the relationship between CEO duality and firm performance, while positively moderating board meetings' impact. Furthermore, in banking-oriented countries, board gender diversity positively moderates the relationship between board meetings and firm performance, while these effects are not significant in market-oriented countries. The paper highlights that despite progress in increasing representation, mechanisms to ensure effective female participation in board decision-making are required. This study is the first to examine how board gender diversity moderates the impact of board characteristics and CEO duality on sustainable firm performance in different financial orientations.

The study is set against the backdrop of rapid technological advancements in the banking sector, specifically in the adoption of mobile banking. Over the last three decades, the banking industry in Ghana, like many others in emerging economies, has transitioned from traditional, branch-based banking services to more automated and digital solutions. This transformation has been largely driven by increasing internet penetration, mobile phone adoption, and the need to reach underserved populations. Despite these advances, a significant proportion of the population remains financially excluded, with limited access to formal financial services. Thus, mobile banking offers an opportunity to enhance financial inclusion, particularly for marginalised communities in Ghana. The study aims to investigate the factors influencing mobile banking services and assess how they impact financial inclusion among customers of commercial banks in an emerging economy. The study through the use of a structured questionnaire gathered 65 primary data from managers and supervisors within 13 commercial banks in Ghana. The study employed a purposive sampling technique to select the 13 commercial banks whilst using convenience sampling to gather data from managers and supervisors within these banks. The results show that mobile banking transfer has a significant negative relationship with financial inclusion, but mobile account management has a significant positive relationship with financial inclusion. Furthermore, the results depict that Mobile banking payment and financial inclusion have no significant relationship. Policy development should focus on increasing financial inclusion among unbanked individuals, enabling access to banking services. Commercial banks should innovate mobile money connections and expand motivation for technical financial inclusion to provide value-added services and improve access to financial services, ultimately promoting financial inclusion. The study shed light on the impact of mobile banking transfer, mobile banking payment, and mobile account management on financial inclusion in Ghana. The study further provides implications for commercial banks and policymakers in sub-Saharan Africa.

This research investigates the influence of perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) on employee environmental stewardship actions (ESA) by drawing upon social exchange theory (SET) and social identity theory (SIT). The mediating role of environmental consciousness (ECS) and commitment (ECM) within this relationship is also examined. The empirical research builds on a sample survey involving 392 participants from various mechanical manufacturing firms in Hanoi, Vietnam. The proposed model was analyzed using a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach. We find that (i) perceived CSR positively impacts employees' ESA, and (ii) both ECS and ECM mediate the relationship between perceived CSR and ESA. These results suggest that CSR fosters ESA through direct and indirect pathways (via ECS or ECM). This research offers valuable insights for businesses in the manufacturing industry, informing the development of effective CSR strategies that promote environmental sustainability among employees.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming entire industries at an unprecedented pace. Yet, established technology adoption theories offer limited tools for characterizing business AI integration and analyzing its effects. These primarily focus on the factors facilitating or hindering adoption, rather than on adoption patterns and impacts. This paper introduces a novel conceptual framework to address this key gap and applies it to the case of the ESG rating industry. ESG raters play a pivotal role in sustainable finance, providing metrics that guide investment decisions globally. However, little is known about the extent and nature of their AI usage and its implications. Through a mixed-methods approach combining the analysis of job postings, patent filings, research publications, and corporate websites, we examine AI adoption among major ESG raters. Our investigation explores the specific AI technologies employed, their functional applications, the innovations developed, the intensity of AI integration, and the potential impacts of raters' AI adoption. Our results reveal widespread and growing AI adoption across the industry. Our findings show that raters extensively leverage Natural Language Processing to streamline data collection, processing, and analysis. Furthermore, they have pioneered Machine Learning innovations that significantly expand their sustainability assessment capabilities in various domains. These findings mark a considerable departure from prior academic and gray literature that characterized major ESG raters as having minimal AI use, prompting critical questions regarding the implications of this technological transformation for ESG ratings' reliability, transparency, and potential biases.

Employee churn or attrition presents significant challenges, especially in emerging markets, where it can disrupt business operations and inflate recruitment costs. This research leverages machine learning techniques to predict employee churn, focusing on developing sustainable and inclusive retention strategies that enhance business competitiveness. By analyzing a range of predictive algorithms and key variables associated with churn, the study identifies the most effective models for predicting attrition. A comprehensive exploratory data analysis was conducted using an indigenous machine learning model, offering practical insights for human resource management in emerging markets. The findings align with the sustainable development goals (SDGs), promoting decent work, and economic growth. This study contributes to business strategy by proposing data-driven solutions for workforce stability and sustainable development.

This study examines the effects of corporate sustainability factors (CSFs)—specifically gender diversity, energy practices, and environmental practices—on innovation and their subsequent impact on firm performance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. By integrating Absorptive Capacity Theory, we explore how these CSFs drive innovation, contributing to broader sustainable development goals. We analyze the impact of innovation on firm performance using the resource-based view (RBV). Utilizing secondary data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES), we employ a two-stage instrumental variable regression (IV-2SLS) to address endogeneity and establish causal relationships. Our findings reveal that stakeholder engagement through gender diversity, energy practices, and environmental practices significantly enhances innovation, which, in turn, drives firm performance. Diverse leadership fosters creativity and innovation, while energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable practices reduce costs, improve brand reputation, and align with sustainable development goals. These insights underscore essential policy implications for promoting environmental policy, clean production, and sustainable innovation ecosystems. Encouraging MENA firms to engage stakeholders and adopt sustainable practices can drive economic prosperity and contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Coffee consumption is becoming increasingly prevalent among a growing number of consumers worldwide. Despite ranking seventh in coffee consumption, Italy is the global coffee export leader, with almost 1000 coffee roasting companies across the country. As a product subject to increasing interest in sustainability, numerous studies address the economic, social and environmental challenges affecting coffee production. However, only a few evaluate the sustainability performance of roasting companies in consuming countries. This study examines the integration of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in business strategy to provide an overview of sustainability performance among Italian roasting companies. The analysis encompasses 78 sustainability practices across 49 businesses and assesses their communication to stakeholders. Furthermore, factors such as company size and specialty coffee sale were investigated for their influence on sustainability performance. The findings reveal a low commitment to sustainability within the Italian coffee sector, with 83.7% of companies in the first two stages of the five-stage CSR assessment model. Although there is an interest in addressing product safety, quality, and consumer relations, responsible sourcing is often relegated to suppliers or voluntary sustainability standards. Communication is not effective, as more than half of the companies did not provide sustainability information on their websites. In this sample, the commitment to sustainability was directly related to the size of the business, and the same relationship was observed for roasters selling specialty coffees.