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Sustainable Financial and Business Performance: Perspectives for Sustainable Development Goals

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 17710

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Brunel Business School, Brunel University London, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, London UB8 3PH, UK
Interests: accounting and governance; accountability and ethics (corporate social responsibility—social and environmental accounting); sustainability; integrated reporting; market-based accounting research
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Bangor Business School, Bangor University, Hen Goleg, College Rd, Bangor LL57 2DG, UK
Interests: corporate narrative reporting; international financial reporting standards (IFRS); Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI); extensible business reporting language (XBRL); market-based accounting research; auditing; corporate governance; earnings management; corporate investment efficiency; corporate finance; Islamic accounting and finance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Accounting and MIS, Gulf University for Science & Technology, Block 5, Building 1, Mubarak Al-Abdullah Area/West Mishref, Kuwait
Interests: research informativeness of narrative reporting; risk governance; international financial reporting standards (IFRS); corporate governance mechanisms

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Companies’ interventions have significant impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and societal well-being from national and international governments, organizations, and policymakers to local communities, individuals, and employers. These interventions have encouraged much more sustainable financial and business approaches (e.g., sustainable finance, green supply chains, green marketing, carbon taxes, and sustainability reporting) for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) over the last few decades (Cohen, 2020; Fatemi and Fooladi, 2013; Gerstlberger et al., 2014; Hafezalkotob, 2017; Hassan et al., 2019). Thus, firms are increasingly engaging in innovative financial and business practices for sustainable development in order to corroborate their reputation and to generate positive impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems (Suriyankietkaew and Avery, 2016; Xu and Wang, 2018; Zhang and Chen, 2017).

Despite extensive research on sustainable behavior and companies’ financial and business performance in recent years (Alshbili et al., 2019; Alshbili and Elamer, 2020; Elmagrhi et al., 2018), more research is called for on how to utilize sustainable financial and business practices to advance the Sustainable Development Goals in general from the viewpoints of governments, firms, and customers. Specifically, given the current COVID-19 pandemic crisis, both firms and policymakers are calling for strong, sustained, cutting-edge research on sustainable financial and business practices for future biodiversity and ecosystems that improve the SDGs (Cohen, 2020; Hassan et al., 2020; Leal Filho et al., 2020; Sarkis et al., 2020).

Furthermore, in recognition of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030, businesses and investors must make conscious efforts toward achieving transformational change through the SDGs. The “Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact” guides companies wanting to advance the SDG agenda by incorporating them widely into strategies and operations. The SDGs and the accompanying principles also require businesses to explore new business models in line with the supranational, regional, and national regulatory reforms in response to the SDGs.

The aim of this Special Issue is to discuss sustainable financial and business performance from a sustainable development perspective. It will set an agenda for future research and inform policymakers and managers about the opportunities and challenges that arise from sustainable financial and business performance and Sustainable Development Goals. We invite you to contribute to this Special Issue by submitting comprehensive reviews, case studies, or empirical (qualitative and quantitative) articles. Papers selected for this Special Issue are subject to a rigorous peer-review procedure with the aim of the rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications.

The Guest Editors of this Special Issue welcome submissions that address issues including but not limited to the following:

  • Sustainability and financial and business performance;
  • Global reporting initiatives and corporate sustainability;
  • Sustainable Development Goals;
  • Sustainability and corporate governance issues and challenges;
  • Financial and business practices to reduce climate change;
  • Education on sustainable financial and business performance and sustainable finance;
  • Sustainability reporting;
  • Sustainable finance;
  • Digital divide and the sustainability challenges facing businesses;
  • Distributional consequences of piece-meal sustainability reforms;
  • Taxation dimension to sustainable business models: tax considerations, initiatives, and challenges.

These issues are meant to be illustrative. Submissions from a wide range of disciplines, theoretical perspectives, organizational contexts, and regions on any topic that relates to the Special Issue theme are encouraged.

Dr. Ahmed Elamer
Prof. Dr. Khaled Hussainey
Dr. Ahmed Hassanein
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainability and financial and business performance
  • global reporting initiatives and corporate sustainability
  • Sustainable Development Goals

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 426 KiB  
Article
Climate Change Exposure and Firm Performance: Does Managerial Ability Matter?
by Khadija S. Almaghrabi
Sustainability 2023, 15(17), 12878; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712878 - 25 Aug 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2099
Abstract
Using a firm-level measure of climate change exposure, this study examines the role of managerial ability in the association between climate change exposure and corporate performance. Based on a sample of 43,620 firm-year observations over the period between 2001 and 2021, the study [...] Read more.
Using a firm-level measure of climate change exposure, this study examines the role of managerial ability in the association between climate change exposure and corporate performance. Based on a sample of 43,620 firm-year observations over the period between 2001 and 2021, the study documents that although increased climate change exposure reduces corporate performance, managerial ability moderates this relationship. Specifically, this study shows that higher managerial ability mitigates the negative effect of climate change risk on financial performance and cash flow volatility reported by prior studies. These results hold across different specifications and when addressing the potential endogeneity issue concerning managerial ability. The findings of this study are essential to build a complete picture of the effect of climate change exposure on corporate performance. A key implication of the findings is that firms exposed to climate change risk are encouraged to enhance their managerial ability to overcome the negative impact of climate change exposure on corporate performance. Full article
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20 pages, 3348 KiB  
Article
Leadership and Group Management: Key Success Factors for Microfinance Institutions in Chaiyaphum Province, Thailand
by Umawadee Detthamrong, Lan Thi Nguyen and Wirapong Chansanam
Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 11192; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411192 - 18 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2802
Abstract
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are critical in promoting financial inclusion and socio-economic development, particularly in marginalized regions. The success and effectiveness of these institutions heavily rely on leadership and group management. This study examines the relationship between leadership, participation, group management, morals, and key [...] Read more.
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are critical in promoting financial inclusion and socio-economic development, particularly in marginalized regions. The success and effectiveness of these institutions heavily rely on leadership and group management. This study examines the relationship between leadership, participation, group management, morals, and key success factors for MFIs in Chaiyaphum, Thailand. A quantitative study used a questionnaire to collect data from 396 MFIs. The study revealed a substantial positive correlation between leadership and group management and key success factors. Notably, leadership exhibited the strongest correlation among the variables analyzed. This implies that effective leadership practices and efficient group management significantly contribute to achieving key success factors in microfinance institutions. This study also developed a predictive equation that demonstrated a remarkable level of accuracy in predicting key success factors for MFIs. The equation accurately captured and predicted the interplay between the identified factors and the key success factors for microfinance institutions. The findings highlight the critical importance of leadership and group management in driving the key success factors for MFIs in Chaiyaphum. It underscores the significance of strong leadership capabilities and the implementation of effective group management strategies to enhance the overall performance and sustainability of MFIs. This study also has practical implications for developing and managing MFIs in Chaiyaphum and beyond. By leveraging the findings of this study, policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders can gain valuable insights into the factors that contribute to the success of microfinance institutions and make informed decisions to support their growth and impact. Full article
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18 pages, 643 KiB  
Article
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Disclosure and the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Sustainability Performance
by Hebah Shalhoob and Khaled Hussainey
Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 200; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010200 - 23 Dec 2022
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 11710
Abstract
This paper aims to evaluate the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure practices on the sustainability performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia. It adopts qualitative research methods to answer the research questions through interviews, using a sample [...] Read more.
This paper aims to evaluate the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure practices on the sustainability performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia. It adopts qualitative research methods to answer the research questions through interviews, using a sample of 30 interviewees, to direct and moderate the relationship between SMEs’ sustainability performance and their disclosure of ESG practices. The results indicated that SMEs in Saudi Arabia lack awareness of ESG practices and disclosures and, therefore, the extent of their importance to sustainability performance. The findings of this research have several practical implications for different stakeholders, internally and externally, such as managers, consultants, investors, credit agencies, lenders, policymakers, government, and the overall community in the context of the potential effects of ESG disclosure practices on SMEs. Full article
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