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The development in information communication and technology (ICT) has led to many changes such as reorganization of economics, globalization and trade. With more innovation processes being organized and adopted across technologies, trade, etc., these are getting more closely related and needs fresh research perspective. This study aims to empirically investigate the interrelationship between ICT penetration, innovation, trade and economic growth in 20 developed and developing nations from 1995 to 2018.

The present paper examines both long-run and short-run relationships between the four variables, namely, innovation, ICT penetration, trade and economic growth, by applying panel estimation techniques of regression and vector error correction model. ICT penetration and innovation indices are constructed using principle component analysis technique.

The findings of the study highlight that for developed nations, growth, trade and innovation are significantly interlinked with no significant role of ICT penetration While for developing nations, significant relationship is present between growth and trade, ICT penetration and innovation. With respect to trade, in case of developed nations, significant relationship is present with ICT penetration. While for developing nations there is no significant result for trade promotion. On further employing the vector error correction model, the presence of short run causality between growth, trade and innovation in case of developed nations is established but no such causality between variables for developing nations is seen.

The present paper adds to the existing strand of literature examining interlinkage between innovation and growth by introducing new variables of ICT penetration and innovation.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

This paper aims to investigate and compare the sustainability reporting practices of companies in developing nations (BRIC) with those in the developed economies (the UK and USA) as per GRI framework.

Content analysis has been applied on a sample of 232 companies listed on the Stock Exchanges of developing and developed countries (Brazil – BOVESPA index, 39 companies; Russia – RTS index, 21 companies; India – SENSEX, 17 companies; China – SSE 50, 19 companies; the USA – NASDAQ 100 and Amex major market index, 58 companies and the UK – FTSE100, 78 companies). It uses descriptive statistics and independent sample t-test to identify significant comparisons.

The findings of this paper suggest that developing nations are providing more information on sustainability practices as compared to the companies in the developed nations. Overall mean disclosure score of developing countries is 59.04 per cent followed by that of the developed countries at 36.47 per cent. The result of independent sample t-test shows these differences significant at 1 per cent level.

The results of the current paper implicate that the corporate managers of the developing nations should prefer rational and purposive reporting. They should work on the quality of reporting rather than just filling pages because social and environmental issues are more gross in the developing nations as compared to the developed countries.

Developing and developed nations jointly use the scarce resources and provide output to the world, thereby raising sustenance issues. However, not even a single study was found while reviewing the literature that studied and compared the sustainability reporting practices of these countries.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of various determinants at the country level, the industry level, the firm level and the corporate governance (CG) level on the extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in the group of developing and developed nations.

The data set comprises 310 companies listed on stock exchanges of developing and developed markets (Brazil – IBrX 100, 42 companies; Russia – Broad Market Index; 48 companies; India – Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 100, 50 companies; China – Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) 180, 27 companies; South Africa – The Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE)/Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) All Share index, 49 companies; the USA – New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) 100, 47 companies; and the UK – London Stock Exchange (LSE) 100, 47 companies). CSR disclosure is measured through CSR disclosure index. Five separate regression models are run to investigate the impact of the factors that affect the extent of CSR disclosure.

The findings reveal that CSR disclosure is influenced by factors both at micro and macro levels. Governance environment, globalization and income inequality are found to be significant determinants of CSR disclosure for developing countries. International listing significantly influences CSR disclosure in the developed countries. The results also exhibit that board with large proportion of independent directors, high presence of CSR committee and environmental sensitive industries are more likely to engage in CSR disclosure practices in developing as well as in developed nations.

This study implicates that varied factors – at country level, industry level, firm level and CG level – need assessment to know their impact differently in countries at different stages of economic development. However, longitudinal study covering longer period would lead to better generalization of results.

The findings of this present study implicate that managers must evaluate country’s political, social and economic forces and not just rely on company-level indicators affecting disclosure. Policymakers in emerging nations must emphasize on improving country governance features to enhance CSR disclosure of companies. Developing countries must respect and conform to rules and regulations while going global. More endeavors should be made to raise awareness about the benefits of CSR disclosure on reducing income inequality among companies listed on stock exchanges of developing countries. Emerging nations should follow developed nations in assuming responsibility toward stakeholders in foreign markets. This study also recommends regulatory bodies in both developing and developed countries to frame stringent policies regarding CG for improving CSR disclosure by companies.

This study overcomes the limitations of prior literature by considering both country- and company-specific determinants in prominent group of developing (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and developed (the USA and the UK) countries.

Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.

This paper aims to examine and compare the nature and extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practices of companies in developing (BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa]) and developed (the USA and the UK) countries.

Content analysis is conducted on the annual reports and websites of 325 companies listed on stock exchanges of developing markets and of developed markets (Brazil – IBrX 100, 46 companies; Russia – Broad Market Index, 50 companies; India – BSE 100, 50 companies; China – SSE 180, 29 companies; South Africa – FTSE/JSE All Share index, 50 companies; the USA – NYSE 100, 50 companies; the UK – FTSE 100, 50 companies). Descriptives are used to calculate company wise and item wise scores. T-test analysis is applied to check for significant differences between mean scores of developing and developed countries.

The findings of the study reflect that developed countries have higher CSR disclosure scores than developing countries. Overall, mean CSR disclosure score of developed countries is 53.5%, followed by that of the developing countries at 49.4%. Developed countries take lead in CSR disclosure for all the five categories, namely, human resources, community, environment, customer and product and others. The results of independent sample T-test suggest that mean disclosure score of developing nations is significantly different from developed nations.

As suggested by the results, the gap in the CSR disclosure scores between developing and developed group of countries is not an alarming one. However, developing countries should practice CSR in spirit and not just in letter. Focus should not be on just filling the pages in black and white, rather the essence of CSR should be attained for balanced development of the country. For instance, though developing country like India has high score of CSR disclosure in contrast to each of the developed country taken in the sample, yet the country is still battling with several issues such as poverty, over-population, corruption, poor standard of working conditions for the employees and environmental conservation. Sustenance should focus upon renewable sources of energy; efforts of employees should be acknowledged offering flexible working hours; consumer trust should be built by communicating authentic and accurate information about the product. As developing countries encounter several social and environmental problems, companies must endeavor to build a healthy nation keeping in mind the welfare of all stakeholders by practicing CSR.

This study overcomes the limitations of prior cross-country studies by taking a better representative sample with greater number of countries belonging to identifiable group of “developing” and “developed” nations and thus attempts to improve generalization and authenticity of results.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of diffusional pressures as they relate to organizational performance (OP) across public, private, and not-for-profit sectors in two different national contexts.

A review is conducted of institutional forces in the environment of two nations; one highly developed and the other developing to identify isomorphic pressures in each of the countries. An organizational performance assessment (OPA) tool is used to analyze the differences in the performance of the three sectors in the two national contexts identified. The research relies on Pearson correlation, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and MANCOVA statistical applications to validate the assessment instrument and shed light on differences across nations and sectors that can be attributed to organizational diffusion as a result of institutional pressures that exist in the countries in which the organizations are embedded.

The findings indicate there is greater need to adapt to local ways of doing things when working cross-nationally within developing countries than with those that are developed where management practices are more alike than dissimilar. The results of the study suggest that when managing organizations cross-nationally, in the more developed nations organizations will perform more effectively and more alike than when working with organizations in less developed countries where the conditions for the diffusion of organizational practices are weaker.

The research focussed on two countries for comparative purposes. Due to sampling limitations, the findings are more relevant to the sectors the authors studied within countries than between the countries per se. It is recommended further research be conducted using larger samples across many national cultures. While relying on broad societal institutional dynamics, the study design does not permit the analysis of the effects of specific contextual characteristics on OP. Such an undertaking is undoubtedly a “next step” that the authors recommend.

The extant literature finds that managing systems cross-nationally requires adaptation to local national contexts. Where there is less economic and technological development, less opportunity for free market competition (capitalism), educational opportunities, and shared standards from which the performance of organizations are judged, the more unlikely organizations will employ commonly applied management practices. A new tool is introduced that can be used to further research on OP cross-nationally.

The study provides empirical evidence to demonstrate that in nations where stronger diffusional pressures exist, fewer differences will be found among the performance of the three sectors. Additionally, the effectiveness of organizations in these national contexts will be greater. While research among the three sectors has identified performance differences, such differences are less likely to be discernible in developed nations due to isomorphic pressures. The study is especially relevant to those who manage global organizations cross-nationally. It introduces a new tool to measure OP across national boundaries.

The global energy sector draws significant stakeholder attention due to never-ending controversies surrounding its environmental impacts. Investors’ response to such controversies causes direct financial implications for these firms. Furthermore, environmental, social and governance (ESG) sensitivity, which is likely to safeguard the energy sector firms from such controversies, is itself conditional to the development stage of a country and its regulatory environment. Therefore, this study aims to investigate if the influence of ESG on the share price volatility (SPV) of energy sector firms is subject to the development stage of the countries.

The study investigates nine years of panel data of 93 global energy sector firms from developing and developed nations. Using dynamic two-way fixed effects estimation and computing robust standard errors to obtain the econometric results.

The main finding reveals that the impact of ESG on SPV is, indeed, subject to the development stage of the nations. Similar results are observed for the effects of the social dimension of ESG on SPV. While ESG impacts the SPV negatively for firms in developing economies, the impact is the opposite for firms in developed nations. In other words, strong ESG propositions induce share price stability for developing countries while destabilizing the firms in developed nations.

The policymakers should further streamline the regulations and policies related to ESG adoption and adherence. In practice, the energy sectors should streamline their operations. Firm managers, especially in the energy sector, should devise strategies with ESG as an essential component to safeguard their firms against environmental and market volatility and adversatives. The firms in developing nations should further strengthen their social dimension of ESG to foster social equity and harmony.

The study contributes through its niche investigations on the energy sector, which is very important for the world economy. The study is relevant in the current scenario when the world faces a severe energy crisis due to global supply chain issues.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether sustainable and responsible investing (SRI) outperforms the benchmark index investing across different time frames globally.

Based on the systematic weighted environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings compiled by Thomson Reuters Asset4, the authors assess the stock market performance and risk of highly compliant firms portfolio in seven different countries; grouped as developed and developing nations over different time frames by adopting the Jensen’s alpha model (CAPM) and the Fama and French three-factor model.

The study finds that SRI portfolios significantly underperform their benchmark index, in case of, the developing nations, however, enjoy a significantly lower risk. This is contrary to the findings in case of developed nations, where the US SRI portfolio has significantly outperformed the benchmark index and the UK and Australia SRI portfolios have performed in line with the benchmark index. Finally, the study discusses results and implications for regulators, practitioners and investors’ who believe in the SRI investing.

This study provides empirical support for the practitioners, policymakers and investors emphasizing that in the case of developed nations SRI investments generate a significant excess return or at the best perform in line with the broader market index. However, in the case of developing nations, very few firms are consistently rated on ESG parameters. This provides lesser options for investors in developing nations to apply the “impact first” philosophy of investment. The investor’s community and regulators need to make a serious effort in promoting firms to take up sustainability effort seriously.

The unique contribution of this study is that it considers a wider definition of the term “sustainability” and examines the performance of SRI investment in developed vs developing countries. This is one of the few studies at the global level, which highlights whether sustainable investing generates abnormal risk-adjusted returns for the investors.

This paper aims to explore the trends, distribution and pattern of Indian bilateral cross-border joint venture (CBJV) activity with advanced developed nations (G7 nations) which include the USA, the UK, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Canada over the 2001-2010 period.

Longitudinal data on the population of 201 CBJVs are analyzed using Securities Data Company (SDC) platinum database. Chi-square test of independence is conducted on the parameters for CBJVs collected over a span of 10 years to test interrelations between them.

The results of explorative trend analysis and test of interdependence are significantly different from developed countries in terms of interrelation between parent’s nationality, industry classification, broad purpose, period of formation and the equity owned.

Future work may explore the strategic motivation of both developed and developing nation firms, given the dynamics of CBJVs explored in this paper. The study could also be extended to other developed and developing nation firms CBJVs with Indian firms.

This study provides a broad-based objective exploratory study of trends and distribution of CBJVs from the standpoint of the developing nations. This helps managers to identify the dynamic industries of CBJVs in India as far as G7 nations are concerned.

The possibility of asymmetric motives of partners in CBJV could not be negated. The role of Indian policymakers also becomes much larger to regulate the monopolistic and anti-competitive practices.

The longitudinal study serves to present first of its kind systematic analysis of detailed activity of Indian firms in bilateral CBJV formation.