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This study aims to examine the relationship between female directors and bank risk. In particular, whether such a relationship varies across sound or unsound banks and with or without a critical mass of female directors is tested.

Using a sample of 215 listed banks from 40 countries over the period 2008–2016, this study carries out panel data analyses and tests all the model specifications on four different measures of risk (common equity ratio, leverage, NPLs ratio and price volatility).

The findings show that increasing the number of female directors does not reduce bank risk when banks are unsound. When banks are sound, female directors have a significant and positive role in reducing risk, only until reaching a critical mass of women.

This study provides useful corporate governance indications for policymakers and practitioners. Advantages of gender diversity on boards are recognized especially in sound banks, but increasing the number of women directors beyond the critical mass may not lead to lower risk. In fact, ethical or legal pressures aimed at increasing gender diversity on boards (i.e. soft or hard gender quotas) may cause undesired effects on bank risk, especially if female directors are not chosen on merit and skills. Moreover, gender-balanced boards, namely, with a “dual critical mass,” seem to assure more effective decision-making processes.

This study provides empirical evidence on female board members and risk minimization, differentiating between sound or unsound banks. Furthermore, this study contributes to the literature on the critical mass of women on the board of directors by testing this theory for these two categories of banks.

This paper aims to present a comprehensive theoretical framework that seeks to explore the impact of cultural, legal and social factors within the external environment on the relationship between women on corporate boards and firm performance. By investigating these boundary conditions, the paper aims to shed light on how these pressures influence the aforementioned relationship.

To build the sample of companies, the authors selected companies listed on the stock exchanges of countries that represent a diverse range of institutional contexts. These contexts encompass countries with individualistic cultures, collectivist cultures, environments with mandatory gender quotas, environments without gender quotas, contexts with substantial progress toward gender equality and contexts with limited progress in achieving gender equality. To test the hypotheses, the authors used linear regression analysis as a primary analytical approach. Furthermore, they used the propensity score matching technique to address potential issues of reverse causality and unobserved heterogeneity.

The findings indicate that the positive influence of a critical mass of women on corporate boards on firm performance is contingent upon the institutional context. Specifically, the authors observed that this relationship is strengthened in institutional contexts characterized by an individualistic culture, whereas it is not as pronounced in collectivist cultural contexts. Furthermore, this research provides compelling evidence that the presence of a critical mass of women on boards leads to enhanced firm performance in institutional settings where gender quotas are not binding, as opposed to settings where such quotas are enforced. Lastly, the results demonstrate that the presence of a critical mass of women on boards is associated with improved firm performance in institutional settings characterized by low progress in achieving gender equality. However, the authors did not observe the same effect in institutional contexts that have made significant strides toward gender equality.

This research offers a unique perspective by investigating the relationship between women’s presence on corporate boards and firm performance across different institutional contexts. In this investigation, the authors recognize that gender diversity on corporate boards is not a one-size-fits-all solution and that its effects can be shaped by the unique institutional contexts in which companies operate.

The scarcity of women in advertising creative departments has been reported globally, particularly in creative managerial roles. This study goes a step beyond this evidence since this paper aims to test whether having at least one token woman in creative managerial positions (token+) may be associated with a larger presence of females in low-level creative jobs compared to creative departments led only by male creative managers.

A content analysis of the credit forms of 839 Spanish campaigns released in 2019 was conducted to determine the gender composition of 116 creative departments with more than three professionals.

Generalized Poisson Regressions indicated that when at least a token woman is present in a creative management role within agency networks, the number of females in low-level positions doubles with respect to creative departments led only by male managers. This relation was not found for independent agencies, though. The results are discussed under the lens of critical mass theory, attraction paradigm and homophily theory.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first time in the literature that the relation among the number of token+ advertising female creative managers and the amount of females in lower-level creative positions is tested. This research is also original because the sample is from a non-Anglo-Saxon country. Moreover, the use of the Generalized Poisson Regressions technique is another novelty of this paper.

This study explored how board diversity affects environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance in the Italian banking sector. Specifically, this study examined whether the presence of specific corporate governance (CG) characteristics (board diversity) in Italian Cooperative Credit banks is related to ESG dimensions.

The authors examined a sample of 247 Italian Cooperative Credit banks for the period 2017–2021 and developed an econometric model by applying unbalanced panel data with firm fixed effects and controls per year. To verify the research hypotheses, the authors analyzed board diversity in terms of board attributes variables (size, gender diversity, age, activity, independence and corporate social responsibility/sustainability committee (CSR) and measured ESG dimensions using the ESG score provided by Refinitiv.

The findings suggest that board size, independence and the existence of a CSR/sustainability committee positively affect banks' ESG performance, while no significant relationship between board average age and ESG performance was found. The study also explored how the critical mass of women on a board affects ESG performance by testing the positive impact of gender diversity on ESG dimensions only up to a certain threshold of female directors.

This study is highly relevant to managers and investors who consider ESG issues in their decision-making processes. The findings support regulators by offering insights into ways to improve ESG performance through the specific design and application of governance mechanisms.

From a practical perspective, this investigation has implications for both practitioners and regulators, suggesting that chief executive officers (CEOs) and managers should pay more attention to CG aspects to improve ESG performance and that policy-makers should give greater consideration to these aspects of CG in their efforts to enhance ESG performance.

This study offers an in-depth analysis of banks' ESG practices and attempts to bridge the gap in the literature on ESG in the Italian banking industry. This study is the first to investigate the relationship between CG variables and ESG dimensions in this context.

This study aims to explore the impact of board size, board gender diversity and federation age on the likelihood of having a female chair in National Sports Federations (NSF).

A quantitative methodology compares 300 sports boards in five countries (Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the UK), using data collected from NSF’s websites.

The board size and federation age have no significant impact on having a female board chair when the countries and the percentage of female directors are included in the model. When the number of women is measured in absolute value rather than in relative terms, the only variable that predicts a woman chair is the country. When the model does not include country differences, the percentage of female directors is key in predicting a chairwoman, and when the number of women is used as a variable instead of the percentage, a board’s smaller size increases the odds of having a chairwoman.

There are some limitations to this study which we believe provide useful directions for future research. Firstly, the authors have not considered the role of gender typing in sports activities which explains the extent that women participate in specific sports (Sobal and Milgrim, 2019) and the related perception of such sports in society. The social representation of sports activities classified as masculine, feminine or gender-neutral can hypothetically influence women’s access to that specific federations’s leadership. The authors included the country factor only partially, as a control variable, as the social representation of sports usually goes beyond national boundaries.

This study has implications for sport policymakers and stakeholders, and for institutions such as the IOC or the European Union that implement equality policies. If the aim is to increase female presence in the highest position of a sports board and to achieve gender equality more generally, other policies need to be implemented alongside gender quotas for the sports boards, namely, those specifically related to the recruitment and selection of the sports board chairs (Mikkonen et al., 2021). For example, given the implications of critical mass and its ability to increase more female’s engagement then the role of existing chairs acting as mentors and taking initiative in this objective may be warranted. Furthermore, attention should be paid to the existing gender portfolio of each board and its subsequent influence on recruiting a female chair, regardless of the organization’s age. Knoppers et al. (2021) concluded that resistance to gender balance by board members is often related to discriminatory discourses against women. The normalization of the discourses of meritocracy, neoliberalism, silence/passivity about the responsibility of structures and an artificial defence of diversity emphasise that equality should not only be determined by women (Knoppers et al., 2021).

When countries are included in the model, the results suggest that the social representation of a female board member is different from that of a female board chair.

The originality of the study is that it shows the factors that constrain women taking up a chair position on NSFs. Theoretically, it contributes to existing literature by demonstrating how a critical mass of females on boards may also extend to the higher and most powerful position of chair.

This study provides the critical masses (thresholds) at which the positive incidence of finance and economic growth will be dampened by the negative effects of income inequality and poverty on energy consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa for policy direction.

The study employed the two steps systems GMM estimator for 41 countries in Africa from 2005–2020.

The study found that for finance to maintain a positive effect on energy consumption per capita, the critical thresholds for the income inequality indicators (Atkinson coefficient, Gini index and the Palma ratio) should not exceed 0.681, 0.582 and 5.991, respectively. Similarly, for economic growth (GDP per capita growth) to maintain a positive effect on energy consumption per capita, the critical thresholds for the income inequality indicators (Atkinson coefficient, Gini index and the Palma ratio) should not exceed 0.669, 0.568 and 6.110, respectively. On the poverty level in Sub-Saharan Africa, the study reports that the poverty headcount ratios (hc$144ppp2011, hc$186ppp2011 and hc$250ppp2005) should not exceed 7.342, 28.278 and 129.332, respectively for financial development to maintain a positive effect on energy consumption per capita. The study also confirms the positive nexus between access to finance (financial development) and energy consumption per capita, with the attending adverse effect on CO₂ emissions inescapable. The findings of this study make it evidently clear, for policy recommendation that finance is at the micro-foundation of economic growth, income inequality and poverty alleviation. However, a maximum threshold of income inequality and poverty headcount ratios as indicated in this study must be maintained to attain the full positive ramifications of financial development and economic growth on energy consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The originality of this study is found in the computation of the threshold and net effects of poverty and income inequality in economic growth through the conditional and unconditional effects of finance.

The ODL system is holistic as it can incorporate multiple learners from various locations compared to conventional education system. In India, the first Asian Noble laureate poet and humanist Rabindranath had a unique idea of mass education long before the establishment of open institutions around the world. He pointed out two directions of education: education of pleasure and education of need. These complex relations have been immensely propagated through the formation of Visva-Bharati University (1916) and Sriniketan. Rabindranath's ideas of education focused on self-respect and self-reliance or 'Palli-punargathan' (resurrection of villages) as well as social ethics.

He proposed a unique education policy to incorporate aged and female learners of remote villages of Bengal in 1936. This was implemented in Visva-Bharati through the newly formed 'Lokshikkha Samsad' (Mass Education Council, 1937). This idea is similar to the open edu-cation system today. According to an advertisement published in Visva Bharati University Bulletin (August, 1937), there was a plan for an examination system to accredit knowledge of the margin . The concept of study centre, customisation of exam rules for learners, plan for home-assignment, through postage, were also introduced. The centre targeted aged females who faced difficulties obtaining proper education. Records of who have enrolled and passed show us that this attempt had gained popularity initially. Local Bengali language was used as the medium of instruction. Rabindranath believed that the university is not only a centre for knowledge distribution but also a centre of new knowledge generation. "Lokshikkha Granthamala" (Mass Education Publication Series) was another attempt to expand open learning through Open Education Repository. This publication series was content oriented, well-written and low-priced. It also served as an example of open book system as well as re-pository of knowledge for a university that thought of open learning long before the establishment of open universities around the world.

This study aims to examine whether and how gender diversity on corporate boards is associated with voluntary nonfinancial disclosures, particularly water disclosures.

This study uses corporate water information disclosure data from Chinese listed firms between 2010 and 2018 to conduct regression analyses to examine the association between female directors and water information disclosure.

Empirical results show that female directors have a significantly positive association with corporate water information disclosure. Additionally, internal industry water sensitivity of firms moderates this significant relationship.

This study determined that female directors can promote not only water disclosure but also positive corporate water performance, reflecting the consistency of words and deeds of female directors in voluntary nonfinancial disclosures.

While companies in developed countries are increasingly turning to indigenous employees, integration measures have met with mixed results. Low integration can lead to breach of the psychological contract, i.e. perceived mutual obligations between employee and employer. The purpose of this paper is to identify how leadership and organizational integration measures can be implemented to promote the perceived insider status (PIS) of indigenous employees, thereby fostering fulfillment of the psychological contract.

A search for relevant literature yielded 128 texts used to identify integration measures at the level of employee–supervisor relationships (leader-member exchanges, inclusive leadership) and at the level of employee–organization relationships (perceived organizational support, pro-diversity practices).

Measures related to leadership included recruiting qualified leaders, understanding cultural particularities, integrating diverse contributions and welcoming questions and challenges. Organizational measures included reaching a critical mass of indigenous employees, promoting equity and participation, developing skills, assigning meaningful tasks, maintaining good work relationships, facilitating work-life balance, providing employment security, fostering support from communities and monitoring practices.

While PIS has been studied in western and culturally diverse contexts, it has received less attention in indigenous contexts. Yet, some indigenous cultural values are incompatible with the basic assumptions of mainstream theories. Furthermore, colonial policies and capitalist development have severely impacted traditional indigenous economic systems. Consequently, indigenous people are facing many barriers to employment in ways that often differ from the experiences of other minority groups.

The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual model of business development that provides operational ways to increase the competitive presence of more micro and small ventures (both actual and new) in enlarged markets, including international ones.

The paper develops a conceptual model starting from the identification of the most usual constraints limiting the SMEs and entrepreneurship development and success. After this stage, the model was built with the help of selected concepts, which represent a theoretical framework of support.

Regarding the universe of SME and entrepreneurship, the authors usually find some weaknesses: markets mainly local/regional, absence of growth, cooperative networks and/or international operations, because of several usual constraints: limited competences and resources, absence of critical mass on buying/selling and difficulty to cooperate. These shortcomings represent an economic waste when there are competitive offers and/or endogenous resources.

The model will be applied in a Portuguese county, in this way the authors expect to make an empirical research in the near future.

The model surpasses the, usual, limited skills of people and organisations betting in their competitive specialisation, with the assumptions that few people can be successful entrepreneurs/managers, but quite everyone can perform something competitively. The organisation/structure – Local Development Platform (LDP) – has the responsibility to assure the competitiveness of value chains built over networks of these agents. Additionally, the LDP should provide collective resources to lower the investments and operational needs of the agents involved, provide the added value services necessary for offers and agents’ competitiveness, achieve critical mass on buying and selling and enlarge/open new markets. These resources are organised in up to five specialised platforms, to service a strategy structured along five axes of development.

With this model, it is possible to increase the levels of employment and welfare.

A practical/operational integrated model able to be applied in different contexts will help private and public agents to define and implement strategies of development to enable the growth and success of SMEs and entrepreneurial initiatives in the international markets context.