Ahmad Yuosef Alodat

Research background: The rapid adoption of digital transformation technologies has reshaped corporate operational and governance practices, with important implications for ESG performance, particularly in China. While digital transformation can enhance transparency, efficiency, and sustainability outcomes, its effectiveness largely depends on companies’ innovative capabilities. Green innovation serves as a key moderating mechanism that enables companies to leverage digital technologies to achieve superior ESG performance by supporting environmentally sustainable processes and responsible governance practices. Purpose of the article: This study aims to investigate the moderating role of green innovation in the relationship between digital transformation and ESG performance from the perspectives of stakeholder theory and dynamic capabilities theory in the context of China. Methods: The study utilised data comprising 33,411 observations from non-financial A-share companies listed on the Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges for the period 2013–2023. Findings & value added: The study contributes new insights by examining the moderating role of green innovation in the relationship between digital transformation and ESG performance from the perspectives of stakeholder and dynamic capabilities theories. The results show a positive moderating effect of green innovation on this relationship. This enables a deeper understanding of how companies can leverage green innovation to enhance corporate sustainability and meet stakeholder expectations. Although this study examines firms in China, its findings have significant implications for corporate decision-makers, researchers, and policymakers, both within China and internationally, demonstrating how organisations across different institutional contexts can strategically align digital transformation initiatives with sustainability objectives.

This research aims to examine the moderating role of digital transformation in the link between ESG ratings and financing constraints faced by firms. A sample is a dataset consisting of 4255 listed companies operating in China from 2012 to 2022. The results showed that higher ESG ratings contribute to reducing financing constraints and that digital transformation positively enhances this relationship. In addition, the results also reveal that long-term ESG ratings contribute more effectively to reducing financing constraints. This study provides guidance for managers to practice ESG practices in the long term and insights for firms to find solutions to financing dilemmas. This study’s originality lies in demonstrating that higher ESG ratings alleviate financing constraints, with digital transformation enhancing this effect, providing novel insights into the interplay between sustainability efforts and technological advancement in corporate finance. The findings offer valuable implications for firms integrating ESG practices and digital strategies to optimize financial performance.

This study investigates how the corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee mediates the relationship between board gender diversity (BGD) and environmental innovation in European countries. This research analyzed data from non‐financial companies listed in Europe over a period spanning from 2013 to 2022 in order to investigate the direct influence of BGD on environmental innovation. Moreover, this study also explored an indirect influence in the form of the mediating role of the CSR committee, thus making a noteworthy contribution to the field. Furthermore, by integrating insights from the areas of gender diversity, corporate governance, and sustainability, this research enhances our understanding of the various factors that influence environmental innovation. Indeed, the results indicate a positive and significant relationship between BGD and environmental innovation. Additionally, the findings showed that the CSR committee plays a partially mediating role in this relationship.

Purpose: This paper investigates the moderating role of sustainability committees in the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and environmental innovation within European nonfinancial firms. Design/methodology/approach: The study analyzes data from 691 nonfinancial sector firms operating within EU states from 2013 to 2022. It employs regression analysis to examine the correlation between ESG performance and environmental innovation, considering the moderating effect of sustainability committees. Findings: The research reveals a significant and positive correlation between ESG performance and environmental innovation. Moreover, it demonstrates that sustainability committees play a positive moderating role in this relationship, indicating their importance in fostering environmental innovation within organizations. Research limitations/implications: The study is limited to European nonfinancial companies, potentially limiting the generalizability of findings. Additionally, the research focuses on the moderating role of sustainability committees, leaving room for further exploration of other governance mechanisms. Practical implications: The findings suggest that implementing an ESG performance framework and establishing dedicated sustainability oversight mechanisms, such as sustainability committees, can enhance environmental innovation within organizations. This insight is valuable for strategic decision-making aimed at advancing both sustainability and innovation agendas. Originality/value: This study addresses a gap in the literature by exploring the moderating effect of sustainability committees on the link between ESG performance and environmental innovation from various theoretical viewpoints. It contributes to the understanding of mechanisms that enhance environmental innovation within companies and provides practical implications for corporate reporting accuracy and sustainability initiatives.

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of board of directors characteristics on the cybersecurity disclosure (CSD) of firms listed on the London Stock Exchange. The current study used an empirical approach to data collection and analysis. The independent variable is the boards of directors' characteristics; the dependent variables are the CSD. The study analysed 2250 observation of the UK. listed firms for the period of 2011-2020. The results of the current study show a significant and positive relationship between the extent of CSD and the board size, board independence and board meeting; in terms of board gender diversity yielded an insignificant and positive relationship with the extent of CSD. The findings indicate that firms with more independent and larger board, and high meeting frequency promote cybersecurity transparency and reduce related information asymmetric with stakeholders. The analyses have implications for policymakers, top management, corporate executives and practitioners. Firms are encouraged to restructure their board to enhance its effectiveness to better support and monitor CSD. This is the first study in the UK that examined the determinants of CSD. This adds value to the literature on CSD, in addition to contributing to an understanding of the relationship between board characteristics and CSD.

The primary goal of this study is to investigate the influence of sustainability disclosure (SD) practices on the relationship between audit committee chair characteristics and firms' performance. The current study used an experimental approach to data collection and analysis. The predicted variable is the AC chair characteristics; the predictor variables are the performance indicator's return on equity (ROE). The study investigated the indirect impact of the mediating role in the SD index. We manually analysed 405 annual reports of the companies listed on the ASE from 2014 to 2018. The findings revealed a significant and positive relationship between the accounting expertise, tenure, and monitoring expertise of the AC chairs and the performance of the firm measures tested, namely, ROA and ROE. Meanwhile, AC chair experiential expertise types and firm performance measures

This paper aims to investigate the moderating effect of board gender diversity (BGD) and sustainability committee in the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure and the performance of the firm in European countries. This study encompasses an analysis of data obtained from non‐financial firms listed in European markets spanning the years 2013–2022. The findings indicate that ESG disclosure has a pronounced and statistically significant influence on the performance of the firms. Furthermore, BGD plays a positive moderating role in enhancing the relationship between ESG disclosure and ROA. In addition, the sustainability committee showed a moderate positive relationship. The findings have substantial managerial implications for professionals spanning different sectors, such as practitioners, policymakers, senior executives, and corporate leaders. Firms are advised to strategically consider board restructuring to enhance effectiveness in overseeing and advancing ESG practices. Prioritizing ESG efforts is recommended as it enhances overall performance, with investing in gender diversity on boards further strengthening this relationship. Establishing a dedicated sustainability committee can also positively impact firm outcomes, highlighting the importance of proactive ESG integration within corporate strategies. Analyzing the role of BGD as a moderating factor represents a valuable addition to the current body of research. It enhances our comprehension of how ESG disclosure indirectly influences firm performance.