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This study aims to discuss the European Commission’s proposal for a pilot regime for market infrastructures to experiment with the distributed ledger technology (DLT). In this respect, the study comments on the purpose, scope, requirements and attention points for market operators, investment firms and central securities depositories (CSDs) that are considering using this technology.

This paper focuses on the proposed rules surrounding the DLT pilot regime. The study is based on an analysis of the proposal, compares it with existing literature and presents the purpose and scope of the regime, followed by a detailed analysis of the proposed requirements.

The proposed requirements aim to provide legal certainty, ensure investor protection, support innovation and protect financial stability. The European Commission attempts to reach these goals by establishing uniform requirements for the DLT market infrastructures by means of a European sandbox approach. This study stresses that a level playing field between the various market participants using the technology should be warranted and provides arguments for why the proposal is incomplete in this respect.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, there are no other articles that provide a holistic overview of the proposed regulation and describe the choices that legislators have made so far. This paper will be of interest to all market operators, investment firms and CSDs that have interest in DLT. The study is also of value to their stakeholders, such as their regulators, market participants and their clients, as well as to other linked financial market infrastructures.

This paper aims to discuss the European Commission’s proposal for a central counterparty (CCP) recovery and resolution regulation. In this respect, the paper comments the consequences, risks and attention points for CCPs and their authorities.

This paper focuses on the proposed rules surrounding CCP recovery and resolution. The paper first familiarizes the reader with the risk management procedures currently obliged before discussing the resolution and recovery provisions foreseen in the proposal.

The proposed regulation commands significant requirements for CCPs and for their regulators. Not only will CCPs have to draft a recovery plan but also a resolution authority will need to be assigned. The latter will have the task, in consultation with a resolution college, to draft a resolution plan. When a resolution is inevitable, authorities will need to assure the continuation of the CCP’s critical functions, thereby warranting financial stability and investor protection.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, there are no other papers that provide a holistic overview of the newly proposed regulation and describe the choices to be made during a CCP’s resolution. This paper will be of interest to all CCPs and their stakeholders, such as their regulators, clearing members and their clients and other linked financial market infrastructures.

This article aims to analyse the relationship between the environmental, social and governance (ESG) score and the cost of capital of 600 large, mid and small capitalization companies across 17 countries that are component of the EURO STOXX 600 Index. By examining whether ESG has an impact on the cost of capital, this article contributes to the solutions to improve the impact of organizations and societies on sustainable development. The article further examines whether the effect is because of the environmental, social and/or governance components. In addition, the article analyses which WACC component (i.e. the cost of equity, the cost of debt, the beta or the leverage ratio) is affected. Furthermore, this article analyses whether a high ESG score can substitute for a weaker legal environment.

The results were obtained by using ordinary least squares panel data modelling to analyse the relationship between the ESG score and the cost of capital. The sample consists of companies that are part of the STOXX Europe 600 Index over the period 2018–2021, which is composed of 600 companies, including large, mid and small capitalization firms listed across 17 countries. The sample finally includes 1,960 firm-year observations.

Companies with a higher ESG score tend to have a lower cost of capital, but this relationship holds only for firms domiciled in countries with a weaker legal environment. In addition, these firms should not only increase their ESG score to create a more sustainable environment but also to reduce their cost of debt. Environmental and social factors have a significantly negative impact on the cost of capital only in countries with a weaker legal environment, while the governance component positively impacts the cost of capital by allowing firms to borrow more.

There is not yet a standardized taxonomy to define ESG, making the study dependent on commercial data providers.

The new insights can be used by companies domiciled in countries with weaker legal environments to reduce their cost of capital. The results also allow us to know on which components of the ESG score to focus. It can also help policymakers, specifically those in countries with a weaker legal environment, to provide incentives to further stimulate ESG investments and disclosure, thereby contributing to a more sustainable society.

To achieve the sustainable development goals put forward by the United Nations, it is important for firms to invest in ESG projects. It is nevertheless insightful to know whether these ESG investments, which are currently observed as a cost, also provide benefits to firms and in which countries. If firms clearly see the advantages of investing in ESG projects, they are likely to proactively engage in them.

This article is the first, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to focus on 17 European countries, thereby capturing divergent legal environments. This setting allows us to answer the main novel research question, namely, whether the ESG score can act as a substitute for the legal environment in which the company is domiciled. The article also goes further than previous articles by examining whether the effect is because of the environmental, social and/or governance component and whether these impact the components of the weighted cost of capital, namely, the cost of equity, the cost of debt, the beta or the leverage ratio of the companies.

While mainstream theories in international business and management are foundedeither explicitly or implicitly on studies of manufacturing firms, prior attempts to develop theoryon the internationalization of service firms are sparse and have yet to establish solid andcomprehensive frameworks. The thrust of this study is that value creation logics, a constructoriginally developed by Stabell and Fjeldstad (1998) can assist us in better understanding why and how service firms internationalize. The authors extend this construct and propose that the internationalization of service firms must be based on a thorough understanding of the fundamental nature of these firms.

Theoretical study.

The authors put forward propositions concerning the pace of internationalization and the default foreign operation modes in service firms.

The use of value creation logics can be a useful complement to the conventional approaches to the study of service firms’ internationalization. However, the fact that most firms encompass more than one value creation logic complicates the use of firm databases and industry statistics.

The authors suggest that managers in service firms should consider primarily the nature of the value creation logic(s) in their firms when deciding and designing an internationalization strategy.

The study presents a novel theoretical approach and a set of propositions on service firm internationalization founded on the specific characteristics of the service activities.