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This paper explores which fundamental aspects of US insurance firms are significant factors in determining whether a firm will be a target or acquirer firm.

By focusing on 251 mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals (119 target firms and 132 acquirer firms) over the period between 1990 and 2019, multinomial logistic regression results identify the determinants associated with becoming targets or acquirers.

US insurance firms are more likely to become targets if they are smaller, have lower cash holdings, are non-life, and do not have environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores. Insurance firms are more likely to be acquirers if they have higher profitability, higher cash flow and higher intangibles, and if they are non-life and do not have ESG scores. Moreover, the likelihood of becoming an acquirer decreases in times of global financial crises (GFCs) as compared to non-GFC times.

This paper is the first to utilize multi-period multinomial logistic regression analysis to investigate the determinants of selection decisions of M&A targets and acquirers in the US insurance industry.

This study investigates the mechanism through which banks employ corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment to engage in employees. The values of different types of CSR engagement (i.e. philanthropic CSR vs ethical and legal CSR) are distinguished and their influences on employee identification are analyzed. The moderation effect of CSR communication through corporate social media is examined in this context.

A sample of 254 respondents was collected through surveying the employees of one of the largest banks in Turkey.

Findings suggest that ethical and legal CSR is perceived more importantly than philanthropic CSR by employees in the banking industry. In addition, the level of transparency and frequency of CSR communication through corporate social media moderates the CSR types–employee identification relationship distinctively.

Special attention should be paid to the conditions under which CSR communication takes place effectively, as skeptics toward certain types of CSR initiatives may occur along with the disclosure of information about them.

If organizations use social media communication in a way that would bring the CSR interests of their employees to light, it is likely that CSR initiatives will become more meaningful and have a greater societal impact.

This study contributes to the CSR literature through identifying the value of different types of CSR initiative and confirming the importance of transparent and proactive CSR communication on employee identification in the banking sector.

Small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) are typically reported to have a limited interest in broader societal concerns across the world. As a result, the purpose of this study is to develop a model of SME’s strategic philanthropic performance in light of the societal reactions to the COVID-19 issue, particularly in terms of the intervention of corporate spirituality and the solid regulatory motive behind these.

A systematic mixed review analysis has been executed to analyze the strategic philanthropic performance configuration triggered by the recent COVID-19 crisis, in which over 369 publications are read and reviewed by the authors. It has also established the reliability and validity of literature analysis. Also besides, a short form of qualitative investigation has been used to support the direction of the study.

Through regulatory adjustments, the study's findings effectively developed a strategic philanthropic performance configuration for SMEs. In this case, the strategic philanthropic convergence of corporate giving, corporate volunteering, corporate foundation and food bank has the potential to help SMEs thrive in the long run. The study also discovers that corporate spirituality might potentially mediate between appropriate regulations and strategic philanthropic performance of SMEs in the context of a supportive external environment.

Prior empirical attempts are subsequently required to inquiry about the proposed conceptualization from different perspectives.

The decision-makers of SMEs, with the efficient implementation of the proposed outline, will use the understanding given for their required actions to develop the competitive advantage in terms of social concerns. On this note, the outcomes of the study can also enhance business differentiation and competitiveness. It can also serve as a strategic guideline for firms to develop organizational values for long-term survival.

In the COVID-19 reality, SMEs will contribute to the concerns through philanthropy activities that are better suited for both enhanced social good and greater corporate advantages. The idea can also serve as a basis for SMEs to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first research that conceptualizes the influence of government regulation on the strategic philanthropic performance of SMEs while taking corporate spirituality into account in order to survive the COVID-19 crisis.

Congruent with the world-wide call to combat global warming concerns and advance intellectual capital (IC), organisations are being pressured to ensure that IC is managed effectively to encourage green initiatives. In this regard, green entrepreneurial orientation (GEO) is emerged as a relevant IC. GEO is recognised as a mitigating factor of environmental degradation in the literature. Although prior literature has observed the nexus between GEO and firm performance, the role of GEO in leveraging sustainable performance has been limitedly explored. This study explored the relationship between IC as a GEO and enterprises' sustainable performance through the moderating roles of environmental consciousness and green technology dynamism (GTD) in the context of two developing countries (Pakistan and Malaysia).

Data provided by 296 respondents from 264 manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan and Malaysia were analysed through a three-wave research design. AMOS 23 software was used to perform covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM), while hierarchical regression analysis was applied using the SPSS 25 software to examine the causal relationships in the model.

IC as a GEO significantly influences sustainable performance, akin to environmental consciousness and GTD. Besides, GTD has a significant moderating effect between GEO and financial and environmental performance in Pakistan and Malaysia but not between GEO and social performance. Environmental consciousness has a significant moderating role in the impact of GEO on financial performance in Pakistan and Malaysia, but not on social and environmental performance.

The study's findings are useful for managers of Pakistani and Malaysian manufacturing SMEs to identify ways to encourage GEO to improve sustainable performance in their firms. The findings suggest that managers should effectively implement GTD and environmental consciousness to strengthen the GEO and sustainable performance relationship. Managers can use GEO concretely as a reference for the companies that intend to support the United Nation SDG-2030 agenda and to find new business opportunities for the implementation of sustainable development.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to examine the link between GEO and sustainable performance in developing countries such as Pakistan and Malaysia. Although the influence of various intangible assets or IC on sustainable performance has been widely examined in the literature, the role of GEO as IC has been limitedly explored. This study extends the literature by adding to the knowledge of GEO as a form of firms' IC that enhances boundary conditions in developing countries.

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and stock prices during the period from March 2003 to March 2021.

The study uses asymmetric and symmetric frequency domain causality tests and focuses on BRIC countries, namely, Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The findings of the symmetric causality test confirm unidirectional permanent causality from EPU to stock prices for Brazil and India and bidirectional causality for China. However, according to the asymmetric causality test, the findings for China show that there is no causality between the variables. The results for Brazil and India indicate that there is unidirectional permanent causality from positive components of EPU to positive components of stock prices. Moreover, for Brazil, there is unidirectional temporary causality from the negative components of EPU to the negative components of stock prices. For India, there is temporary causality in the opposite direction.

The reactions of financial markets to positive and negative shocks differ. In this context, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt to examine the causal relationships between stock prices and uncertainty using an asymmetric frequency domain approach. Thus, the study enables the analysis of the effects of positive and negative shocks in the stock market separately.