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This study aims to explore the relationship between firm risk, capital structure, cost of equity capital and social and environmental sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic for companies listed on Tehran Stock Exchange.

To this aim, the information about 190 companies in 2014–2020 was retrieved to be analyzed. The total risk and systematic risk were used as the indicators of company risk; the industry-adjusted earnings price ratio (IndEP) and GORDON were used for the cost of equity capital. To measure social sustainability and environmental sustainability, the procedure suggested by Arianpoor and Salehi (2020) was used.

Underleveraged firms have had a lower total risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, while overleveraged firms have not had a higher risk during this time. In overleveraged firms, using systematic risk has a negative impact on social sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic. In overleveraged firms, using total risk and systematic risk has a significant negative impact on environmental sustainability in the pandemic. Besides, overleveraged firms have a lower cost of equity capital (IndEP) during COVID-19.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no similar study has so far examined the joint impact of COVID-19 and corporate risk on social and environmental sustainability and also the joint impact of COVID-19 and capital structure on the cost of equity. This study contributes to the related literature by providing corporations with insightful post-pandemic directions on capital structure decisions and social and environmental activities. Furthermore, this research and the relevant findings can help understand and develop social responsibility in Iran as a developing country.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence that technological, environmental and organizational factors have on the rate of Internet of Things (IoT) adoption within the logistics industry. In addition, the moderating effect that the risk factor has on the technological, environmental and organizational factors regarding the implementation of IoT in logistics.

For the purpose of testing the models and hypotheses, a survey was carried out in order to collect the responses from currently employed individuals at various companies working in the field of logistics or IoT. For the purpose of analysis, the authors made use of the partial least squares structure equation model (PLS-SEM) technique.

Findings of this study concluded that technology- and environmental-related factors significantly affect the adoption of IoT in logistics, while risk acts as a moderator for the technological-related factor only in the adoption of IoT in logistics.

The relevance of the authors' study lies in the growing importance of IoT in logistics and the need for logistics companies to understand the factors that impact the adoption of IoT in their operations. By identifying and analyzing the factors that influence IoT adoption in logistics, the authors' study provides valuable insights that can help logistics companies make informed decisions about whether and how to adopt IoT.

The research will help organizations make strategies for the successful adoption of IoT and ease the lives of all the stakeholders.

In this research, the authors attempted to find the factors that influence the adoption of IoT in logistics management. The influence of the technological, environmental, organizational and risk-related factors on the adoption of IoT in logistics management was studied. The moderating effect of risk over these factors on the adoption of IoT in logistics was also analyzed. This is original work and has never been done earlier.

This work analyzes, through social-environmental reports, whether banks with higher transparency in social-environmental policies better safeguard financial stability in Brazil.

The analysis is carried out through a panel database analysis of the 42 largest Brazilian banks, representing 98% of the Brazilian financial system. Seeking to avoid spurious results, we followed rigorous methodological standards. Hence, we conducted an empirical analysis using a dynamic panel data model, we used the difference generalized method of moments (D-GMM) and the system generalized method of moments (S-GMM).

The results show that the higher the transparency of social-environmental policies, the lower the chance of possible stress on the financial stability of Brazilian banks. In sum, this study builds evidence that disclosing risks related to policies about sustainability can enhance financial stability. It is essential to highlight that social-environmental transparency does not have as direct objective financial stability.

The manuscript submitted represents an original work that analyzes whether banks with higher transparency in social-environmental policies better safeguard financial stability. Some countries, such as Brazil, have their potential for sustainable policies spotlighted due to their green territory and diverse natural ecosystems. Besides having green potential, Brazil is a developing country with a well-developed financial system. These characteristics make Brazil one of the best laboratories for studying the relationship between transparency in social-environmental policies and financial stability.

The primary objective of this research is to conceptualize the integration of enterprise risk management (ERM) as a mechanism to enhance the connection between corporate sustainability (CS) reporting and financial performance. This study suggests that future researchers should validate the proposed conceptualization by conducting a comprehensive content analysis of sustainability reports of Malaysian oil and gas companies. This analysis will allow for the collection of pertinent data regarding CS reporting and ERM implementation. The present study takes a comprehensive approach by integrating legitimacy, stakeholder, and resource-based view (RBV) theories, proposing a robust conceptual design that emphasizes the role of ERM in the connection between CS reporting and firm performance. Drawing on theoretical foundations, this study proposes that CS reporting will have a direct effect on financial performance. Moreover, the integration of ERM serves to strengthen the nexus between CS reporting and financial performance. This study offers valuable insights for stakeholders in the oil and gas sector by providing strategic guidance to enhance financial performance not only through CS reporting but also by implementing ERM. Moreover, the framework proposed in this study is expected to bring tangible and intangible benefits to corporations, including reducing information asymmetry, improving the quality of disclosure, and creating value within the field of CS. The proposed conceptual framework holds great significance as it enhances the applicability of legitimacy, stakeholder, and RBV theories, while also creating value for stakeholders through CS reporting and the adoption of risk management practices to enhance financial performance.

Many environmental problems are due to the unfavorable environmental intentions and cultural–behavioral weaknesses in the relationship between man and nature. This study aims to adopt an environmental psychological perspective to green intention (GI) and green behavior (GB) of agricultural students; to this end, protection motivation theory (PMT) was used as the core of the theoretical base.

This research method was based on descriptive–correlational and causal–relational analyses. The statistical population included agricultural students of Iranian universities with green university standards (N = 5,582). Out of the total population, 384 students were selected as the study sample. The research instrument was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed using a panel of experts and the average variance extracted. Also, its reliability was verified by Cronbach’s alpha coefficients (0.61 ≤ α ≤ 0.92), principal component analysis and composite reliability index.

The results of structural equation modeling showed that the obtained model is able to explain 36.3% and 5.56% of GB and GI variance changes, respectively. In addition, the results revealed that GI has the greatest effect on GB (β = 0.362).

It is worth to mention that according to the results, most of the independent variables, besides the direct effects they have on students’ GB, also indirectly affect this variable. This effect was performed through the key variable – GI. In other words, it can be concluded that the GI variable successfully mediates the effects of variables such as response efficacy (RE), self-efficacy (SE) and environmental norms (EN). Therefore, it is suggested that in the behavioral changes interventions in GB of agricultural studies, it should be considered that the presence or absence of GI can affect the actual behavior of individuals. In other words, it is recommended that to accelerate actual behavioral changes, behavioral interventionists should first focus on encouraging people’s GI.

It can be said that the conclusion of this research can provide a basis for the successful encouragement of students to GB. First, GI, as a key element, can mediate the impacts of variables such as RE, SE and EN on students’ GB. Second, PS only directly affects students’ GB. Third, RE has no significant impact on GB, but its effect on GI is significant. Fourth, RC affects students’ GI directly, without mediation. Fifth, SE and EN constructs affect students both directly and indirectly GB of students through GI. Knowing the location of the effect of these variables on each other and the role they have in explaining GI and GB of agricultural students presented some suggestions that can prepare the ground for further development of GB. Hence, managers, students, agricultural educators and other users can use these results to accelerate GB changes.

The conclusion of this research might provide a basis for the successful encouragement of students to GB. In interventions to change GB, it would be essential to pay enough attention to the fact that the presence or absence of GI might affect the actual behavior. It is suggested that behavioral interventionists focus on encouraging people’s GI so as to be able to accelerate the actual behavioral changes.

The social acceptance of wind energy is increasingly conditioning the Italian Government and regions to authorize the construction of these plants. The proposal of offshore wind farm in the south-west of Sardinia has raised many perplexities both from the marine environmental point of view and from concern about increasing the electricity production in a region that already exports electricity to the peninsula. The purpose of this study is to evaluate what are the factors that most affect the coastal residents’ acceptability of an offshore wind farm.

The data is based on a Sardinia-wide in-person survey with about 512 participants in the period between May and June 2023. Respondents were selected randomly from five different locations in Carloforte region. Multiple regression analysis investigates the factors that influenced acceptability to construction and development of offshore wind power plant. Four independent variables were selected in the regression models such as (i) interest towards wind energy, (ii) attitude towards renewable energy production, (iii) perceived regional energy policy and (iv) attitude towards offshore wind farm. The dependent variables are the rates of coastal local residents’ acceptance of offshore wind farm for respondents in five coastal towns.

Fishermen and summer tourism operators’ respondents expressed significant reluctance to accept the new project because they perceive a strong risk of environmental impact on both tuna fishing and marine recreational activities in the vicinity. The distance between the turbines at sea and local residents along the coast and surrounding small islands does not have an influence to accept wind energy. The energy policy of the Region of Sardinia, which is perceived by respondents as an expansive energy policy in the production of electricity that exceeds their needs, not being accompanied by a scenario of reducing that from fossil fuels, is the variable that led about 70% of respondents to express a negative opinion towards this project.

A potential problem associated with the survey is that local response produced sample selection bias. The proportion of respondents with secondary education and no school certificate is quite high. It is possible that respondents who provided valid questionnaires were more low-educated and therefore, the sample may be biased towards lower-educated people. While this does not invalidate the results of this study, it is important to note that the sample was on average less educated than the overall population in Italy. In addition, people with lower incomes were more likely to complete the questionnaires; the results are more representative of a portion of the population with incomes below the national average.

Results showed how coastal communities are in favour of wind energy within their island, but not within a marine protected area that is considered unique for its beauty and marine ecosystem. Wind energy developers should, before submitting a proposal for an offshore wind farm project, consider among other things the long approval time and understand the activities carried out by local communities and their attachment to those places. Politicians and developers should develop a coherent energy transition policy based on a long-term vision of zero emissions, because according to the findings of this study, it was the regional energy policy that is the most controversial reason for residents to reject the project.

The contribution of this study is to fill a part of the research gap linking to ongoing energy transitions. In particular, this study analysed for the first time in Italy the acceptability level of an offshore renewable energy project considering the environmental implications and risks in the fragile marine ecosystem of Carloforte waters. This study also made it possible to analyse the impact of the regional energy policy on the acceptability of residents towards the development of offshore wind farms, which is scarcely discussed in the literature.

Purpose: This research discusses the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its link to a financial performance metric called net interest margin (NIM) in the context of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). CSR initiatives can lead to long-term sustainability and improved financial performance, attracting investors seeking to align their investments with their values.

Need for the Study: The research composes portfolios based on financial companies’ CSR performance and NIM ratios to help investors understand the difference between CSR and financial performance, making investment decisions based on their portfolio goals and values. Striking a balance between sustainability and the financial performance of financial companies, will help investors find a suitable balance between portfolios for investment purposes.

Methodology: The authors used data from 55 financial companies for daily returns from 2014–2015 to 2021–2022 and used descriptive statistics to measure the performance of portfolios.

Findings: The findings suggest that financial companies in India have improved their CSR scores over time, indicating an increased focus on integrating socially responsible practices into their operations. The data also show that NBFCs are catching up with banks regarding CSR scores, and some NBFC portfolios even outperform banks regarding returns. However, the study also highlights the need for some companies to focus more on CSR and business operations.

Practical Implications: The results serve as a benchmark for financial companies to assess their relative CSR performance, highlighting the need for companies to focus on integrating socially responsible practices into their operations and guiding areas where companies can improve.

This study aims to investigate the impact of board skill diversity (BSD) on corporate environmental responsibility (CER). In addition, this study explores the moderating effects of formal regulatory pressure and informal media pressure.

This study uses Chinese high polluting companies as the sample and uses regression analysis. Robustness checks, including instrumental variable regression, Heckman two-stage model and propensity score matching method, are performed to test the robustness of the results.

The findings suggest that BSD significantly improves CER performance. Both formal regulatory pressure and informal media pressure strengthen the positive impact of BSD on CER. Further channel analyses reveal that BSD improves CER performance by promoting corporate proenvironmental behaviors rather than by restricting environmental violations; skill diversity of executive directors has a more significant effect on CER than that of independent directors. Finally, the moderating effect of regulatory pressure is only significant after the implementation of the Environmental Protection Law, and the moderating effect of media pressure mainly concentrates on negative media coverage.

The involvement of directors with more diverse skills is essential to improve corporate proenvironmental behaviors. Companies should select qualified directors with different skills to further improve their performance on environmental protection and sustainable development.

Regulators and standard-setters should develop efficient guidelines on corporate board governance to enhance the positive role of companies in environmental and sustainable development.

This study broadens the research on the determinants of CER by examining the influence of BSD on CER and the moderating roles of various stakeholder pressures, thereby providing a deeper understanding of corporate environmental performance and sustainable development.

Institutional pressure and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are gaining increasing recognition in scholarly works; however, there is an apparent and unsettled relationship between these concepts and the concept of green marketing adoption (GMA) that influences efforts to gain a relative competitive advantage (RCA). This study is aimed at examining the roles of institutional pressure and CSR on GMA and RCA and proposes recommendations for promoting green marketing management and CSC in the banking industry in Vietnam.

In this study, partial least squares structural equation modeling is utilized to investigate the evolution of the structural model, while the hypotheses are evaluated using structural equation modeling (SEM). The data are scrutinized from 288 banking employees through an online survey.

The results show that the components of institutional pressure exert a significant impact on GMA and RCA, but the level and type of this impact differ. Additionally, the mediating role of the CSR variable in this relationship is revealed. Under the influence of institutional pressure, companies tend to increase their implementation of CSR activities, thereby promoting their GMA and RCA.

This study offers both theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, this study adds to the extant evidence concerning the significance of CSR integration and institutional pressure to the advancement of GMA. In addition, maintaining a focus on fostering holistic GMA practices has enabled the banking industry in Vietnam to achieve an RCA.

Acknowledging, on the one hand, the increasing fragility of supply chains and the number of risks involved in supply chain operations and, on the other hand, the role of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in supply chains and the high exposure of these firms to risks of different types, this study aims to examine the relationship between supply chain risk management (SCRM) and innovation performance in SMEs. Furthermore, the impact of technological turbulence on this relationship was studied to take into account recent technological changes.

Structural equation modelling was carried out on a sample of Turkish SMEs to test the hypotheses developed.

The findings presented allow the authors to better understand the link between SCRM and innovation performance in SMEs. More precisely, empirical evidence is provided about the impact of SCRM components such as maturity and ability on innovation performance. Furthermore, the findings show the impact of technological turbulence on both SCRM and innovation performance.

By focusing on SCRM in SMEs, this paper contributes to the body of knowledge with regard to SCRM in general and with regard to SMEs in particular; research on the latter has only started recently. Moreover, by having studied SMEs from a developing country (other than China), this paper helps to develop a broader and more diverse perspective of SCRM.