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Business politics and social and economic policies in the past decades brought us to the inevitability of change. Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays a vital role in this change as it is a tool for international business management in a global world. The relationship between FDI and sustainability in sub-Saharan countries with lower incomes has not yet been sufficiently studied, so this study aims to bring some more conclusions to the discussion. Thus, the main objective is to understand if FDI effectively influences the so-called triple bottom line (TBL) pillars of sustainability.

With data from the World Bank regarding 20 sub-Saharan countries gathered between 2010 and 2018, this study analysed 34 indicators composing 11 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Afterwards, the authors grouped them by the TBL pillars and evaluated the influence of FDI inflows on their scores using panel data models.

The results show a positive and significant correlation between the TBL pillars, with the highest correlation being between the environmental and economic pillars. On the other hand, FDI has no significant influence on the TBL pillars.

This study could improve foreign investment legislation/regulation in sub-Saharan African countries, potentially impacting the sustainability these investments should generate.

This study contributes to understanding how FDI implies sustainability. The results suggest that governments, non-governmental organisations and other competent entities need to adjust their actions in these countries so that foreign companies sustainably exploit the resources.

This study brings to the current arena an emerging theme: FDI and sustainability in African countries, particularly in sub-Saharan countries. This subject in developing countries is still under-researched.

This paper aims to analyse the characteristics of Chinese multinational corporations in other emerging economies using evidence from Latin America (LA) vis-à-vis the features found in previous studies of Chinese companies operating in developed countries.

It does this by studying the fit of theoretical frameworks recently developed for Chinese firms, the support from the government and the strength of their capabilities in relation to those of local competitors. The analysis is based on case studies with data collected from a theoretical sample of Chinese companies operating in LA.

The results show that these companies seem to be following a pattern similar to that described by Mathews’s (2006) Linkage–Leverage–Learning, that the support from the government does not seem to play an important role in their internationalisation process, that they appear to have developed a set of capabilities strong enough to compete in the host market (in particular how to combine their strengths with those of local partners) and that they are engaged in a positive cycle of development that helps them to overcome some of the challenges and barriers of operating in Latin American emerging markets by complementing/leveraging their strengths with those of local firms.

The findings indicate that Chinese companies are following patterns in their internationalisation to Latin American emerging markets that seems to be a combination of conventional theories (including previous studies on emerging markets-based firms) with idiosyncratic elements.

This study aims to investigate the association between the presence of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) disclosure, as well as the moderating role of gender diversity in this relation.

The sample consists of 897 annual observations from 238 firms from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru for 2018–2020. The data were collected from the Refinitiv database. The proposed model and hypotheses were tested using the feasible generalized least squares estimation technique with heteroscedasticity and panel-specific AR1 autocorrelation.

The results reveal that the presence of CSR committees positively influences the SDGs. Gender diversity positively moderates the relationship between CSR committees and SDGs. Leverage and firm size also positively impact the SDGs. On the other hand, board size and CEO duality negatively affect SDGs disclosure.

This study extends the scope of stakeholder theory by suggesting that CSR committees and gender diversity enable a better relationship for the firm with its stakeholders.

The findings support policymakers and managers in improving sustainability disclosure. In addition, the results demonstrate the importance of CSR committees and gender diversity to meet the stakeholders' demands.

This study demonstrates how firms can improve sustainability issues through gender diversity and CSR committees.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study complements previous literature by being the first to examine the moderating effect of gender diversity on the association between CSR committees and SDGs disclosure in the Latin American context.

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.

Many organizations are facing competitive challenges due to the rapid pace of technological changes. Both quality management (QM) and innovation are the competitive factors that are intensely embedded into organizational products, services and processes. In order to achieve higher firm performance, manufacturing firms are needed to adopt QM practices as well as develop innovation capability. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship among QM, innovation capability (IC) and firm performance under both mediation and moderation models using structural equation modeling.

The approach of this study is quantitative. The data used to test the hypotheses were gathered from Indian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) interviewing senior managers with a structured questionnaire. These hypothesized relationships are tested with data collected from 134 Indian manufacturing firms by using SPSS and AMOS statistical software.

Overall, the findings clearly show that QM through the firm’s IC is indirectly associated with a firm’s business performance. It supported the notion that QM practices encourage the definition of innovation strategies of products and processes within a manufacturing setup, which positively affected different aspects of firm performance. More importantly, this study supports the findings of past studies that questioned the role of QM practices in improving a firm’s IC.

Some limitations of this study include: although a cross-sectional survey has been applied, the research does not permit us to account for the lag between implementation and performance. It also brings the opinion of a limited number of senior managers of Indian manufacturing SMEs, and hence both the sample size could be increased and the nationality of the respondent/responding firms could be expanded for future research.

In light of the obtained results, several recommendations were introduced to assist decision makers in manufacturing companies. The paper contains suggestions for improving manufacturing firm’s performance through developing IC and adopting QM practices.

This paper extends theoretical contribution in production and operations management literature, highlighting how QM practices and firm’s IC have to interact in determining an organization’s success and sustaining its global competitiveness.

Social factors can shape economic decisions. Corporate governance (CG) studies and guidelines usually neglect that the chief executive officer (CEO) and board members may be socially tied. This study investigates the effects of social ties between the CEO and board members on earnings management (EM).

The authors run a series of regressions using a sample of Brazilian companies listed on the Brazilian Stock Exchange [B]³ between 2011 and 2017 to assess the effect of the social ties between the CEO and board members on EM using a social ties index. The authors also employ five robustness tests to verify the consistency of results, including alternative proxies of EM and social ties and an estimation using fixed effects.

After developing and computing a social ties index between the CEOs and members of the board of directors (BD) and the fiscal council (FC), the study’s findings indicate that a significant level of social ties between the CEO and BD has a negative impact on EM. However, for FC members, the authors found non-significant results.

Unlike previous studies, the authors built a social tie index (STI) from five elements of social ties assessed in an environment with a two-tier board system. Results show that elements of social interactions and personal relationships can benefit the company, as a CEO's level of social ties with the BD reduces EM practices.

Given that several publicly announced international merger and acquisition deals have been abandoned in recent years, the purpose of this paper is to present a synthesis of influential articles that examine organizational characteristics of cross-border acquisition transactions. The synthesis is framed through general traits and resources, learning and prior acquisition experience, and top-level management and governance attributes. Specifically, the paper conceptualizes key organizational attributes influencing the propensity of cross-border negotiations, and the most common characteristics and post-deal effects by illustrating several case examples from around the world.

Owing to fairness and integrity principles of the literature survey studies, the paper adopts an exploratory review design to present a synthesis of several influential articles published in strategy, international business and corporate finance journals. Since case method and storytelling are the best qualitative approaches to conceptualizing extant theoretical contributions, a number of case examples—successful, delayed and abandoned—from around the world have been discussed by leveraging the case information from archival sources.

Drawing on resource-based view, organizational learning, upper echelons and agency theory perspectives, the paper underscores three observations. First, organizational characteristics such as firm age, firm size, ownership structure, slack resources, marketing resources, technological intensity, export intensity and business group affiliation have different impacts on the propensity of publicly announced cross-border deals. Second, firm’s prior acquisition experience and firm’s acquisition experience in the target country have positive or moderating effects on the success of a cross-border merger. Third, top-level management characteristics such as CEO foreign nationality and CEO international career experience, and governance characteristics such as board size, the number of independent directors and directors with overseas experience, have mixed effects on the incidence of cross-border acquisitions.

The paper puts forth several recommendations for top-level managers participating in cross-border acquisition negotiations, such as learning from peers in the same industry, learning from predecessors in the target country and learning from failure negotiations in the same industry and other industries.

Nested within the organizational, international business strategy and corporate finance literature, the paper presents a synthesis of influential publications that study organizational characteristics affecting the propensity of cross-border acquisitions. The cases discussed in this paper are unique examples from around the world.

Innovation is considered an important stage in the process of competitiveness of companies. While there is an extensive literature in the management and innovation field that shows the characteristics that enhance a firm's ability to innovate, there is still no consensus on its determinants and nature. This study aims to advance the understanding of innovation capability (IC) by conducting a systematic review of relevant literature at the firm level.

The study reviews the literature by applying the categorization and contextualization of qualitative strategies. The study gathered 137 peer-reviewed papers from Scopus and Web of Science databases.

The papers were analysed and synthesized into an integrated framework that links IC with its internal and external determinants, and its consequences. In doing this, this study proposes directions for future investigations that might enlighten a better understanding of IC.

The study provides elements that can be useful during the design and implementation of innovative initiatives in a firm.

The paper jointly examines in the same model the nature, antecedents and consequences of IC. In the same vein, the framework provides the little-researched links between those themes in the IC literature.