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As of now, the digitization of corporate finance presents a paradigm shift in business strategy, innovation, financing and managerial capability around the globe. However, the prevailing finance scholarly works hardly document the impact of the digitalization of corporate finance on firm performance with global evidence and analysis. Hence, the contemporary debate on whether firm performance is genuinely stimulated because of the digitalization of corporate finance or not has been a pressing issue in the relevant literature. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify a data-driven, concise response to an unaddressed finance issue if the performance of high-digitalized firms (HDFs) outperforms that of their counterpart peers for wealth maximization.

The first stage test models examine the firm performance of relatively high-digitalized firms as opposed to low-digitalized firms based on the system GMM. The second stage test of the probabilistic (logit) model infers that the probability of being HDFs explores because of better performance. Then, the authors execute robust checks based on the different quantile regressions and Z-score-based system GMM. In addition, the authors recheck and present the test results of the fixed effect and random effect to capture time-invariant individual heterogeneity. Finally, the supplementary test findings of firms’ credit strength by using Altman five- and four-factor Z-score models are presented.

By using cross-country panel analysis as 15 years’ test bed for HDFs and low digitalized firms (LDFs), the test results indicate that the overall firm performance of a digitalized firm is significantly better than that of a non-digitalized firm. The global evidence documents that HDFs are exposed to higher values and are financially more persistent as compared to their counterparts. The finding is remarkably concomitant across several possible subsample analysis, such as country–industry–size–period analysis.

This study can be remarkably effective in encouraging managers, policymakers and investors to acknowledge the need for adopting the required digitalization. Overall, this original study addresses a core research gap in the corporate finance literature and remarkably provides further direction to rethink the assumptions of firm digitalization on additive value and thereby identify optimal decisions for wealth maximization. The findings also imply that investors require an additional risk premium if they invest in relatively LDFs, which have relatively lower market value and weaker firm performance.

From an investors point of view, the academic novelty contributes to an innovative and unsettled issue on the impact of digitization of corporate finance on firm performance because there is a new question of high or low digitization of corporate finance in the global market. Hence, this academic novelty contributes to sharing global evidence of the digitalization of corporate finance and its effect on firm performances. In addition, an intensive critical review analysis is conducted based on the most recent and relevant scholarly works published in the top-tier journals of finance and business stream to fix the hypothesis. Overall, this study addresses a core research gap in the corporate finance literature; notably provides further direction to rethink firm digitalization; and thereby identifies optimal decisions for shareholders’ wealth maximization.

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between corporate tax avoidance and environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and the moderating effect of financial constraints on the relationship between corporate tax avoidance and ESG performance.

The sample consists of a global data set involving 24,259 firm-year observations from 49 countries for the years 2011–2020. Corporate ESG performance was extracted from the Thomson Reuters database. The book-tax difference model was used for measuring corporate tax avoidance, while financially constrained firms were identified using the Kaplan and Zingales (1997) index.

The results show that firms with higher tax avoidance are associated with higher ESG performance, but lower ESG performance is shown for firms with higher financial constraints. The results further indicate that the positive impact of corporate tax avoidance on ESG performance becomes weaker for firms with higher financial constraints.

The findings imply that policymakers and regulators should focus on mechanisms to promote more internal funds to assist firms in pursuing ESG-related initiatives, such as through tax incentives. Investors should understand the “smokescreen” effect of corporate tax avoidance on ESG performance, especially for firms with financial constraints.

This analysis provides international evidence on the link between tax avoidance and ESG and considers the joint effect of pressures for internal funds, through tax and financing constraints, on corporate ESG performance.

This study investigates the relationship between female CEOs and SMEs’ financing decisions. The study also examined the moderating role of ownership structure (female, foreign, and state ownership) in female CEO-SMEs’ financing decisions.

The study has applied Generalized Least Square (GLS) and Binomial Logistic Regression. The study has used firm-level data from 2,700 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Chinese economy.

The results suggest that female CEOs use debt financing. However, the financing decision of female CEOs varies if we account for female ownership, foreign ownership, state ownership, firm association with big firms, and the industry in which the firm operates. This study also provides robust evidence that female CEOs utilize debt financing under certain conditions and that female CEOs prefer long-term debt financing to short-term debt financing when considering debt maturity choices.

Recent studies report a negative relationship between female CEOs and financing decisions based on the rationale that females are risk-averse and choose less risky financing compared to their male counterparts. This study posits new evidence that female CEO financing decisions are not always risk averse if we consider female ownership, foreign ownership, state ownership, firm association with big firms, and the industry in which the firm operates. Thus, we contribute to the corporate governance literature, and this study implies a corporate financing policy.

This study aims to investigate climate finance literature to understand whether and how research in this area is explored from an accounting perspective.

This study conducts a meta-analysis and narrative review of climate finance.

The issue of climate finance has received increasing attention in recent years because of international negotiations on climate change. The volume of literature examining climate finance has grown, particularly from a finance perspective. The literature analysed is diverse, using unique methodological and theoretical differences and providing insights into the effectiveness of policies and the impact of climate finance on capital markets, economic growth and the green economy. However, in spite of growing concerns regarding the accounting and reporting issues in climate finance, little attention has been paid to this topic from an accounting, accountability, audit or corporate disclosure perspective.

This study contributes to climate finance research by integrating insights from a dispersed and emerging body of literature by conducting meta-analysis and narrative review. Meta-analysis enables us to map the development of this specific literature and how it has changed over the years, whereas a narrative review serves as a basis for identifying research gaps and developing avenues for future research in accounting, accountability, audit and corporate disclosure.

Excessive borrowing significantly contributes to pushing businesses towards default and their transition into zombie enterprises. Despite government efforts to implement deleveraging policies and guide bank credit flows, it’s essential to delve into the internal dynamics that steer the borrowing behavior of these zombie enterprises at a micro level. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the issue, this study focuses on examining the incentives that drive corporate executives of zombie enterprises to consistently engage in large-scale borrowing from banks.

In this study, panel data analysis is utilized, incorporating firm-, industry- and year-fixed effects. Drawing from data pertaining to listed companies in China spanning from 2007 to 2020, we employ a one-by-one identification method to pinpoint zombie enterprises. Ultimately, a total of 2,533 samples of zombie enterprises were obtained.

The results indicate that as bank loans to zombie enterprises increase, executive monetary compensation decreases, while on-the-job consumption by executives increases, and they are less likely to be forced into rotation. Mechanism testing reveals that corporate performance partially mediates the relationship between bank loans and executive monetary compensation, but this mediation is ineffective for on-the-job consumption and job rotation. Further investigation suggests that the property rights nature of central enterprises and modified audit opinions can exacerbate the adverse impact of bank loans on the monetary compensation of zombie corporate executives, without significantly affecting on-the-job consumption or job rotation. Conversely, executive power does not enhance the positive effects of bank loans on monetary compensation or on-the-job consumption, but it diminishes the negative impact of bank loans on the forced rotation of zombie executives.

These results indicate that while bank loans may have a negative impact on corporate value, they function as safeguards for the positions and interests of executives. As a result, bank loans serve as incentives for executives of zombie enterprises.

This study holds theoretical significance as it explores the motivations behind non-performing loans in high-borrowing enterprises, sheds light on corporate governance challenges encountered by zombie enterprises and provides policy insights aimed at addressing the underlying causes of persistent non-performing loans in high-borrowing enterprises, including zombie enterprises.

The global economy is growing very fast, and it is also facing environmental challenges. Due to increased economic activities, global warming is rising as a result of greenhouse gas emissions. Concepts like green finance and green investments are emerging to battle climate issues. The present study empirically examines the impact of green bonds on carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in developing countries, as these countries are producing 63% of CO₂ emissions around the globe.

To check this impact, pooled ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed effect and generalized method of moments (GMM) techniques are applied using the annual data of 65 developing countries from 2008 through 2021.

The results indicate that the overall effect of green bonds on CO₂ emissions is negative, as more issuance of green bonds reduces CO₂ emissions, confirming results from the existing empirical literature. The study found that more foreign direct investment (FDI) and urbanization lead to more CO₂ emissions, while increase in trade openness helps reduce CO₂ emissions. It was found that promoting green bonds will help to promote environmentally friendly projects that will help to reduce CO₂ emissions. Rapid urbanization has led to more energy demand for various industries like manufacturing, transportation and residential sectors, which leads to more CO₂ emissions.

The policymakers in these countries should make policies that help in reducing carbon emission by increasing green bonds and FDI in supporting projects that are environmentally friendly. Therefore, to mitigate such current and future issues, policymakers in developing countries need to give serious attention to this area to fulfill sustainable development goals.

This study presents a pioneering examination of green bonds and CO₂ emissions in 65 lower- and middle-income countries (developing countries). We have tried to cover all developing countries that are causing more greenhouse gas emissions and need to shift to green finance strategies. It will be a contribution to the body of knowledge regarding the role of green bonds in reducing CO₂ emissions. The present study will help in assessing the importance of green bonds in bringing low-carbon economies.

Lack of access to finance is a major constraint to the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurship in developing countries. The recent proliferation of mobile phone services, access to the internet and emerging technologies has led to a surge in the use of FinTech in Africa and is transforming the financial sector. This paper aims to examine whether FinTech developments heterogeneously contribute to the growth of digital finance for SMEs and entrepreneurship in 47 African countries from 2013 to 2020.

The paper uses a novel method of moments quantile regression, which deals with heterogeneity and endogeneity in diverse conditions for asymmetric and nonlinear models.

The empirical results reveal that the rise of FinTech companies offering services in Africa heterogeneously increases digital finance for SMEs and entrepreneurship in their different stages of growth. FinTech developments have a strong and positive impact in countries with higher levels of digital finance than those with lower levels. FinTech developments and digital finance positively and significantly influence entrepreneurship in Africa, particularly in the nascent and transitional development stages of entrepreneurship. Institutional quality has a considerable positive moderating effect when used as a control rather than an interaction variable.

The results suggest the need to promote FinTech developments in Africa: to provide a wide range of alternative digital finance schemes to SMEs and to promote entrepreneurship, especially in countries where entrepreneurship is in the nascent and transitional development stages. The results also underscore the need to promote FinTech development through supportive regulations and institutional quality to reduce risks related to FinTech and digital financing schemes.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first attempts to account for the often overlooked heterogeneity effects and show that the influence of FinTech developments is not homogenous across the varying development stages of digital finance and entrepreneurship.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether audit committee characteristics, in particular audit committee size, audit committee activity and audit committee gender diversity, are associated with financial performance in Egyptian banks. The second purpose of this paper is to explore the moderating role of board gender diversity on the relationship between audit committee characteristics and financial performance.

A multiple regression analysis is used to estimate the moderating role of board gender diversity on the relationship between audit committee characteristics and financial performance of a sample of Egyptian banks during the period between 2018 and 2022.

The results indicate that audit committee size has a negative and insignificant effect impact on return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE), respectively. The results also indicate that the audit committee gender diversity has a significant positive impact on ROA and ROE, respectively. Regarding audit committee activity, the number of board meetings has a negative and insignificant effect on ROA and ROE, respectively. Regarding gender diversity as a moderating variable, in general there is a positive effect of gender diversity on the relationship between audit committee characteristics and financial performance.

The study was limited to 20 banks in one country, but it sets the tone for future empirical research on this subject matter. The study also relied on one moderating variable, which is board gender diversity. This study provides an avenue for future research in the area of corporate governance and financial performance in other emerging countries, especially other African countries.

This study provides useful insights for managers and policymakers to better understand which audit committee characteristics can best encourage a company to improve financial performance. Furthermore, regulators should ensure that banks strictly adhere to corporate governance principles to build a strong banking industry capable of achieving economic development.

Banks will benefit equally from valuable qualities across demographic groupings in society by having females on the audit committee and appropriate audit committee meetings. Additionally, if audit committee members are correctly selected, banks with more females in audit committee and suitable audit committee meetings can successfully contribute to strengthening financial performance and social welfare of diverse segments of society. A culture of good banking governance must emerge to improve bank financial stability and, as a result, greater stability and economic growth.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is, perhaps, the first to examine the moderating role of board gender diversity on the relationship between audit committee characteristics and financial performance in Egyptian banks. This study adds to the literature by investigating such an issue in a developing economy that operates in a different context than those in developed countries.

The purpose of this paper is to systematically analyze the literature around regulatory compliance and market manipulation in capital markets through the use of bibliometrics and propose future research directions. Under the domain of capital markets, this theme is a niche area of research where greater academic investigations are required. Most of the research is fragmented and limited to a few conventional aspects only. To address this gap, this study engages in a large-scale systematic literature review approach to collect and analyze the research corpus in the post-2000 era.

The big data corpus comprising research articles has been extracted from the scientific Scopus database and analyzed using the VoSviewer application. The literature around the subject has been presented using bibliometrics to give useful insights on the most popular research work and articles, top contributing journals, authors, institutions and countries leading to identification of gaps and potential research areas.

Based on the review, this study concludes that, even in an era of global market integration and disruptive technological advancements, many important aspects of this subject remain significantly underexplored. Over the past two decades, research has lagged behind the evolution of capital market crime and market regulations. Finally, based on the findings, the study suggests important future research directions as well as a few research questions. This includes market manipulation, market regulations and new-age technologies, all of which could be very useful to researchers in this field and generate key inputs for stock market regulators.

The limitation of this research is that it is based on Scopus database so the possibility of omission of some literature cannot be completely ruled out. More advanced machine learning techniques could be applied to decode the finer aspects of the studies undertaken so far.

Increased integration among global markets, fast-paced technological disruptions and complexity of financial crimes in stock markets have put immense pressure on market regulators. As economies and equity markets evolve, good research investigations can aid in a better understanding of market manipulation and regulatory compliance. The proposed research directions will be very useful to researchers in this field as well as generate key inputs for stock market regulators to deal with market misbehavior.

This study has adopted a period-wise broad-based scientific approach to identify some of the most pertinent gaps in the subject and has proposed practical areas of study to strengthen the literature in the said field.

Liquidity is a primary concern for businesses. The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of the collaborative liquidity management within the supply chain. Larger firms prescribe favorable trade terms in the transactions and do not engage in value chain vision sharing with their smaller counterparts. Smaller firms encounter challenges with liquidity and often face the risk of bankruptcy. Such practice can threaten the entire supply chain. Instead, collaborative liquidity management can offer a win–win scenario to both parties. In that case, what are the benefits of implementing a collaborative liquidity management approach across the value chain, and what is the reward?

The authors selected key liquidity metrics that matter most to the organizations from a cohort of 307 firms from the Indian automobile industry for 10 years (2012–2021). The authors classified the businesses into five distinct revenue-based categories. They emphasized the importance of expanded supply chain finance adoption and demonstrated how collaborative liquidity management strategies boosted return on assets.

The research confirms the tangible benefits of greater adoption of supply chain finance in realizing supply chain members’ shared vision. The authors challenged the age-old practice of power-based relationships in the supply chain. They recommended a win–win scenario through practical cooperation and increased adoption of SCF by value chain members.

Existing research predominantly focuses on dyadic relationships and is restricted to Europe and China. According to the authors, no comprehensive investigation has been conducted in India. This application of simulation techniques to improve the liquidity performance of companies in developing economies is innovative.