Imen Ayadi

This study examines the relationship between environmental performance, digital integration, information asymmetry, and default risk among European firms. It seeks to understand how sustainability and digitalization jointly enhance corporate financial stability. The sample comprises 1303 non-financial firms from 20 European countries over the period 2016–2023. This study uses a Thomson Reuters sample composed of European publicly listed companies with ESG (environmental, social, and governance) ratings. Europe represents an ideal setting for this analysis due to its dual green and digital transition, supported by some of the most advanced regulatory policies in the world. Methodologically, the analysis employs a dynamic panel model estimated using the two-step system GMM approach, complemented by a robustness check based on 2SLS-IV estimation to address potential endogeneity concerns. The empirical findings reveal that both environmental performance and digital integration significantly reduce default risk whereas information asymmetry increases it. Moreover, sustainability and digital transformation attenuate the adverse effect of information asymmetry on financial stability, confirming their complementary role as resilience-enhancing mechanisms. These results underscore the critical importance of transparency, innovation, and organizational capabilities in mitigating financial risk. Overall, the study makes an original contribution to the literature on sustainable governance by demonstrating that environmental performance and digital integration are not merely regulatory requirements but constitute strategic intangible assets that strengthen financial soundness and reduce default risk within the European context.

This study examines how corporate governance mechanisms—board oversight, external audit quality and stakeholder engagement—jointly influence the disclosure of anti-corruption information. Drawing on the stakeholder–agency theory, signalling theory and legitimacy theory, it proposes an integrated framework in which the internal, external and societal spheres of governance interact to promote ethical transparency. The analysis is based on an international sample of 157 multinational companies identified through Transparency International’s anti-corruption reporting assessments, combined with anti-corruption disclosure data from annual reports and financial and non-financial information from Refinitiv Datastream ASSET4 for the period 2010–2024. The anti-corruption disclosure index was manually constructed through a content analysis of companies’ annual reports, using 11 items inspired by OECD and UNODC guidelines. Dynamic estimations based on the two-step GMM model and 2SLS-IV regression reveal that board effectiveness, audit quality and stakeholder engagement significantly enhance both the depth and credibility of anti-corruption disclosure. The findings also indicate a persistence effect over time, suggesting that transparent firms sustain their ethical disclosure practices in the long run. Overall, the study concludes that anti-corruption transparency emerges from an integrated and complementary governance system. It provides an important theoretical and empirical contribution to understanding the interplay between governance, ethics and organizational sustainability.

European companies face a pressing challenge: reconciling the growing demands for environmental sustainability with increased economic uncertainty stemming from the COVID‐19 crisis and geopolitical tensions. This study investigates the impact of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on the ecological performance of publicly traded European companies, considering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. Additionally, we explore the moderating role of the board of directors (BoD) in this complex relationship. Employing a system generalized method of moments (GMM) regression analysis on a sample of 1738 firms across 22 European countries during the period 2017–2023, our study reveals a negative effect of EPU on ecological performance, with the BoD acting as a crucial moderator. Companies with independent, diverse, and experienced BoD in ESG matters exhibit greater resilience to economic uncertainty. This research contributes both theoretically and practically to understanding firms' environmental decision‐making during uncertain times, providing valuable recommendations for executives, and informing policymakers in sustainable policy formulation.