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This study primarily examines the link between carbon and financial performance in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, the study also explores how the economic impact of carbon performance varies in carbon-intensive and non-carbon-intensive industries.

This study takes a sample of 1,539 non-financial firms from 13 Asia-Pacific countries from 2014 to 2021. It employs a firm-fixed effect panel regression model to examine the objective.

The findings indicate that carbon performance improvement enhances accounting-based and market-based financial performance. The positive impact of carbon abatement stems from increased operational efficiency, energy efficiency and lower production costs. Further, the stock market participants also reward the firm for carbon efficiency. However, the carbon intensity of industrial sectors presents a conflicting picture for this association.

This study adds insights to the literature by providing a contemporary reflection on the nexus between carbon emissions and economic outcomes in the understudied Asia-Pacific region. It also unveils the nuanced difference in the carbon-financial performance relationship attributed to industries' carbon sensitivity.

This study aims to determine the association between the companies’ financial indicators and the Dow Jones Sustainability MILA Pacific Alliance Index (DJSMPAUP Index).

The study adopted a quantitative, explanatory level approach, based on measuring the interactions between the financial performance ratios of these companies (return on assets, return on equity, EBITDA margin and net margin) and sustainability index of MILA member countries. The study used a non-experimental, retrospective, cross-sectional design, using observed data from the annual period spanning 2017 to 2022 for MILA companies and includes analyses before and after COVID-19.

The estimates show a positive and statistically significant relationship between each company’s financial indicator and the DJSMPAUP index for the period 2017 to 2022.

The primary limitation of the study was the availability of data, which restricted the use of more advanced statistical analyses, and the inclusion of many factors that can be associated with DJSMPAUP. This constraint arose since the index was introduced only from the 2017 annual period, resulting in a limited dataset.

The study sheds light on MILA’s companies and their characteristics and specific conditions, which can help to improve sustainability strategies with an impact on financial performance, primarily due to the significance of MILA in the world economy and the GDP of Latin America. It focuses on an emerging market with a few years of applying sustainability policies.

This study contributes to revealing the progress in sustainability for member companies in MILA.

The study connects the financial performance and the sustainability of organizations oriented to the emerging significance of MILA in the world economy.

Given the growing emphasis among scholars, practitioners and policymakers on financial sustainability, this study aims to explore the applicability of machine learning techniques in predicting the financial performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs).

This study gathered 9,059 firm-year observations spanning from 2003 to 2018 from the World Bank's Mix Market database. To predict the financial performance of MFIs, the authors applied a range of machine learning regression approaches to both training and testing data sets. These included linear regression, partial least squares, linear regression with stepwise selection, elastic net, random forest, quantile random forest, Bayesian ridge regression, K-Nearest Neighbors and support vector regression. All models were implemented using Python.

The findings revealed the random forest model as the most suitable choice, outperforming the other models considered. The effectiveness of the random forest model varied depending on specific scenarios, particularly the balance between training and testing data set proportions. More importantly, the results identified operational self-sufficiency as the most critical factor influencing the financial performance of MFIs.

This study leveraged machine learning on a well-defined data set to identify the factors predicting the financial performance of MFIs. These insights offer valuable guidance for MFIs aiming to predict their long-term financial sustainability. Investors and donors can also use these findings to make informed decisions when selecting their potential recipients. Furthermore, practitioners and policymakers can use these findings to identify potential financial performance vulnerabilities.

This study stands out by using a global data set to investigate the best model for predicting the financial performance of MFIs, a relatively scarce subject in the existing microfinance literature. Moreover, it uses advanced machine learning techniques to gain a deeper understanding of the factors affecting the financial performance of MFIs.

Recognizing economic literacy as a vital form of intellectual capital provides essential tools to mitigate the adverse impact of risk factors on business organizations' performance. This recognition serves as a strong rationale for prioritizing economic literacy as a strategic asset in navigating the complexities of risk factors for sustained organizational performance. To bridge this gap, this study examines the role of risk factors in the economic literacy of an organization and how they affect organizational performance.

This exploratory study employed a qualitative research method, utilizing a systematic review with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach to identify gaps. A comprehensive search across databases was conducted using keywords related to risks, economic literacy and organizational performance. In total, 32 articles were meticulously analyzed, focusing on methodology, results and discussion sections to address research questions.

This study highlights the impact of risk factors on economic literacy and organizational performance, focusing on risk-taking, attitude, enterprise risk management (ERM), financial literacy and organizational performance. It reveals that possessing economic literacy can mitigate financial risks in corporations by helping entrepreneurs identify business opportunities and pitfalls, enabling informed and prudent financial decision-making. Conflicting findings challenge existing knowledge on the link between risk factors and financial literacy, particularly in new product development decisions, highlighting the need for further investigation into environmental factors shaping this connection.

The study developed a conceptual model that explains the interaction among economic literacy, risk factor and organization performance, which has implications for the development of the required intellectual capital to mitigate the impact of risk factors. Also, the study identified diverse conceptual, methodological and geographical gaps that will provide direction for future studies. Future research could delve into firm-level or cross-country data via surveys, interviews or focus groups, enriching the research's robustness and depth for nuanced insights into the investigated relationships.

This article aims to examine the direct and indirect effect among total quality management (TQM), corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial and non-financial performance.

The empirical data were collected from a survey of 120 Tunisian certified firms using questionnaires. Structural equation path modeling PLS-SEM) was performed to test the research hypotheses.

The results indicate that TQM has no direct effect on financial performance (FP), while they positively impact non-financial performance (NFP) and CSR. The study also shows that CSR positively and significantly influences FP and NFP. In addition, it reveals the positive impact of FP on NFP. Furthermore, the results reveal an indirect effect of TQM on financial and non-financial performance through CSR.

The empirical study bridges the gap in the literature by analyzing the direct and indirect effect between TQM, CSR and performance in a single model. It also highlights the important role of CSR between TQM and financial and non-financial performance in the context of emerging countries.

The purpose of this research is to undertake a bibliometric analysis of financial performance research in of higher education sector. The study examines papers over the last 2 decades and performed performance analysis, co-citation analysis, bibliographic coupling and scientific mapping.

The study examines 616 documents retrieved from the Scopus database using bibliometric analysis, performance analysis and thematic clustering. The study looked at the scientific productivity of papers, prolific authors, most influencing papers, institutions and nations, keyword cooccurrence, thematic mapping, co-citations and authorship and country collaborations. VOS viewer was employed as a tool in the research to conduct the performance analysis and thematic clustering.

This study delves into the recent advancements in financial performance research within higher education, focusing particularly on the year 2023, characterized by a peak of productivity with 46 significant articles. Notable institutions contributing substantially to this discourse include the University of Sussex (UK), and Ratio Institute Stockholm (Sweden), each referenced 227 times. The United Kingdom has emerged as a leader in financial performance research, amassing 3,850 citations from 92 publications. Key journals driving this conversation include “Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice” and “The British Journal of Political Science.” The most cited study examines the impact of business-university partnerships on innovation and financial outcomes.”

This is the first study that provides a performance analysis and scientific mapping of the financial performance literature in the higher education sector. In addition, this study is the initial one to do a thorough analysis and organized representation of financial performance in the higher education sector, providing an unparalleled understanding of a hitherto uninvestigated area of academic research.

This examine the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance on financial reporting quality (FRQ) before and during COVID-19 in the Egyptian market.

This study uses quarterly data from 2017 to 2021 to draw conclusions, with a sample consisting of 486 firm-year observations for 27 Egyptian companies listed on the Standard and Poor’s/Egyptian Stock Exchange ESG index. This study uses both firms’ ESG scores and the Beneish Model, an earnings detection model, as proxies for FRQ. COVID-19 effects on ESG performance and FRQ were examined by using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and two-stage least squares.

COVID-19 has a significant impact on the link between ESG and FRQ. This implies that corporations with high ESG performance are less likely to manipulate earnings (having a low M-score) and thus provide high FRQ during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, there is a significant positive relationship between firm size, leverage and M-Score, indicating that large firms typically present a high FRQ.

The sample size and data availability are the main research limitations. Additionally, this study only considers the effects of firms’ ESG performance on FRQ during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, future research should consider other factors associated with investors’ corporate social responsibility (CSR).

This research has practical implications for market regulators seeking to establish a legislative framework and enhance guidance to mandate managers to provide ESG data and CSR reports appropriate for Egypt and other developing economies in times of crisis.

Promoting the adoption of ESG practices in business, particularly during crises, has the potential to effectively provide high-quality and reliable financial reporting required for investment.

This study aspires to address notable deficiencies in the pertinent literature concerning the relationship between ESG performance and FRQ during COVID-19. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, little is known about how ESG performance changes in response to pandemics in emerging markets. To address this gap, this study examines the effects of COVID-19 on the relationship between ESG performance and FRQ in Egyptian-listed firms from 2017 to 2021.

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between corporate tax avoidance and environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and the moderating effect of financial constraints on the relationship between corporate tax avoidance and ESG performance.

The sample consists of a global data set involving 24,259 firm-year observations from 49 countries for the years 2011–2020. Corporate ESG performance was extracted from the Thomson Reuters database. The book-tax difference model was used for measuring corporate tax avoidance, while financially constrained firms were identified using the Kaplan and Zingales (1997) index.

The results show that firms with higher tax avoidance are associated with higher ESG performance, but lower ESG performance is shown for firms with higher financial constraints. The results further indicate that the positive impact of corporate tax avoidance on ESG performance becomes weaker for firms with higher financial constraints.

The findings imply that policymakers and regulators should focus on mechanisms to promote more internal funds to assist firms in pursuing ESG-related initiatives, such as through tax incentives. Investors should understand the “smokescreen” effect of corporate tax avoidance on ESG performance, especially for firms with financial constraints.

This analysis provides international evidence on the link between tax avoidance and ESG and considers the joint effect of pressures for internal funds, through tax and financing constraints, on corporate ESG performance.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether audit committee characteristics, in particular audit committee size, audit committee activity and audit committee gender diversity, are associated with financial performance in Egyptian banks. The second purpose of this paper is to explore the moderating role of board gender diversity on the relationship between audit committee characteristics and financial performance.

A multiple regression analysis is used to estimate the moderating role of board gender diversity on the relationship between audit committee characteristics and financial performance of a sample of Egyptian banks during the period between 2018 and 2022.

The results indicate that audit committee size has a negative and insignificant effect impact on return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE), respectively. The results also indicate that the audit committee gender diversity has a significant positive impact on ROA and ROE, respectively. Regarding audit committee activity, the number of board meetings has a negative and insignificant effect on ROA and ROE, respectively. Regarding gender diversity as a moderating variable, in general there is a positive effect of gender diversity on the relationship between audit committee characteristics and financial performance.

The study was limited to 20 banks in one country, but it sets the tone for future empirical research on this subject matter. The study also relied on one moderating variable, which is board gender diversity. This study provides an avenue for future research in the area of corporate governance and financial performance in other emerging countries, especially other African countries.

This study provides useful insights for managers and policymakers to better understand which audit committee characteristics can best encourage a company to improve financial performance. Furthermore, regulators should ensure that banks strictly adhere to corporate governance principles to build a strong banking industry capable of achieving economic development.

Banks will benefit equally from valuable qualities across demographic groupings in society by having females on the audit committee and appropriate audit committee meetings. Additionally, if audit committee members are correctly selected, banks with more females in audit committee and suitable audit committee meetings can successfully contribute to strengthening financial performance and social welfare of diverse segments of society. A culture of good banking governance must emerge to improve bank financial stability and, as a result, greater stability and economic growth.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is, perhaps, the first to examine the moderating role of board gender diversity on the relationship between audit committee characteristics and financial performance in Egyptian banks. This study adds to the literature by investigating such an issue in a developing economy that operates in a different context than those in developed countries.

This study examines the evidence of the impact of climate change on the financial performance of basic materials companies in Vietnam.

The research sample includes eighty-two basic materials companies listed on the Vietnamese stock market from 2003 to 2022. This study used one-way and two-way fixed-effects feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) estimation methods.

Climate change, measured through variables including changes in temperature, average rainfall, greenhouse gas emissions and rising sea levels, has a negative impact on the financial performance of companies in this industry. The study also found that, with rising temperatures, the financial performance of steel manufacturing companies decreased less than that of coal mining and forestry companies, but increasing greenhouse gases and rising sea levels reduced the financial performance of steel companies. We did not find evidence of any difference in the impact of climate change on the financial performance of basic materials companies before and after the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 21). This is a new finding, which is consistent with empirical studies in Vietnam and different from previous studies in that it provides new evidence on the impact of climate change on the financial performance of basic materials companies in the Vietnamese market and cross-checks the impact of climate change by sector and over time.

To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first articles on climate change and the financial performance of basic materials companies.