Nguyen-Quynh-Nhu Ngo

This paper follows the development of sustainable finance from a values-based approach to a mechanism-oriented field concerned with how sustainability is transmitted through standard monetary systems. We analyze 742 peer-reviewed articles published in Scopus and Web of Science between 2000 and 2025 using systematic literature review, bibliometric analysis, science mapping, thematic evolution analysis, and qualitative synthesis. The results show three stages of development: normative foundations (2000-2010), institutionalization and market development (2011-2017), and integration and financial transmission (2018-2025).

This study investigates the conditionality of short-run competitiveness effects of FinTech investment by economic policy uncertainty. The study uses a balanced panel of 26 Indian commercial banks during the period 2010-2024. The results indicate that the FinTech expenditure is negatively associated with subsequent competitiveness based on a competitiveness index constructed from PCA and two-way fixed-effects estimation. The association is more adverse economically with policy uncertainty though the interaction is sensitive to conservative inference. The negative association of FinTech is concentrated in financial intermediation and credit growth, and is stronger for private-sector banks. The paper contributes to the literature on uncertainty by stressing the role of prior technological commitment as a source of heterogeneity in bank responses to a common policy environment. It shows that policy uncertainty may widen the short-run gap between technology investment and competitive returns by separating expenditure from realized digital capability.

In this research, the effect of firms' strategic focus on artificial intelligence (AI) on subsequent workforce productivity and the role of workforce learning capacity (WLC) as a factor enabling companies to transfer AI knowledge into practice are studied. Design/methodology/approach: Textual variables collected from the Business and Management's Discussion and Analysis sections of Form 10-K filings are combined with financial and workforce variables for 414 publicly traded US-listed firms. The total number of firm-year observations used for empirical tests amounts to 2,688 during the period of 2017-2023. To test the hypotheses formulated, lagged firm fixed-effects models, along with two-step system generalized method of moments estimations, are applied. Findings: It is found out that the relationship between the strategic attention to AI and workforce productivity is negative, while the WLC alleviates the adverse impact of the former on the latter. It is also revealed that the above-mentioned facilitating effect is mainly explained by the support of commercial output rather than reduction of workforce size. Value/originality: As opposed to examining the question of whether AI-based strategic attention influences productivity, this research focuses on the capability that moderates this association. WLC, which entails not only training expenditure but also learning systems, is conceived and empirically assessed as a capability that can help firms convert their technological knowledge into practice. In this way, workforce learning becomes a boundary condition for the examined associations.

Industrial pollution creates upstream exposure pathways potentially relevant to genetic and public-health outcomes, but whether corporate environmental spending mitigates these risks remains unclear. This study examines whether green investment orientation changes the association between environmental expenditure engagement and pollution-related potential genotoxic risk. The analysis uses 4,396 firm-year observations from 744 listed firms in the United States during 2010-2023 and constructs multidimensional risk indices from hazardous waste and air, water, and chemical pollution indicators. Firm fixed-effects estimates are complemented by alternative outcome measures, reverse-direction tests, and two-step system generalized method of moments estimation. Environmental expenditure engagement is positively associated with subsequent pollution-related risk, consistent with a reactive response to existing environmental pressures. Green investment orientation significantly weakens this association, with stronger evidence in pollution-intensive industries. The findings distinguish reactive environmental spending from preventive capital allocation and show that expenditure is more likely to support pollution mitigation when integrated with longer-term green investment. The indices capture relative firm-level pollution intensity rather than individual exposure or realized genomic damage. The study connects corporate capital allocation with upstream environmental conditions relevant to genetic and public health.

This study investigates the relationship between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and corporate financialization among Canadian listed firms from 2010 to 2023. Using panel regression models, the results show that ESG performance is negatively associated with corporate financialization, indicating that firms with stronger ESG engagement allocate fewer resources to financial assets. The findings further reveal that enterprise risk management and firm value significantly moderate this relationship. These results suggest that the effect of ESG on financialization depends on firms’ risk-management capability and value-creation capacity. The research broadens the existing literature on ESG and corporate financial conduct by presenting evidence from Canada and suggests ramifications for sustainable corporate governance and investment strategies.

Whether large-scale bank consolidation can improve asset quality remains an important yet unresolved question, particularly in emerging banking systems where non-performing assets pose persistent challenges to financial stability. This study examines the asset-quality effects of India's 2020 public sector bank consolidation, one of the country's most significant stateled banking restructuring initiatives. Using panel data from 24 listed commercial banks over 2016-2024, we exploit the reform as a quasi-natural experiment and employ a difference-indifferences framework to compare changes in asset quality between affected and unaffected banks. The results show that banks exposed to the consolidation experienced a significant improvement in asset quality relative to their unaffected counterparts following the reform. These findings provide evidence that bank consolidation can facilitate balance-sheet repair by reducing asset-quality deterioration in a banking system characterized by persistent nonperforming assets.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance has emerged as one of the critical factors that have influenced the sustainability and long-term value creation of firms. Although previous research works were focused on the link between ESG and financial performance, the influence of ESG criteria on intangible assets remains unclear. This paper examines the link between ESG performance and intangible assets that have been recorded in balance sheets of the firms. For this purpose, an unbalanced panel data sample of 623 publicly traded firms based in the United States is used. The time interval includes 2010 to 2023. To account for the potential endogeneity and the dynamic persistence of intangible assets, two-step System Generalized Method of Moments is applied. It is found that the ESG performance is positively associated with the recorded intangible assets, which implies that more sustainable firms are better at accumulating strategic intangible assets. The findings in this paper confirm the stakeholder theory and the resource-based view. They further demonstrate the strategic nature of the ESG criteria as the determinant of long-term value creation of the firm. The contribution of the work is related to providing robust evidence on the relationship between ESG criteria and intangible assets.

Amidst increasing global pressure for environmental sustainability, many businesses engage in greenwashing-exaggerating or misrepresenting their environmental performance to meet stakeholder expectations. This study investigates whether green innovation can effectively prevent greenwashing behavior by businesses in the United States, using an unbalanced panel dataset of 1,598 U.S. listed firms over the period from 2010 to 2023. Employing multiple panel data estimation techniques, the results consistently show a significant negative relationship between green innovation and greenwashing. The findings offer important implications for business managers, investors, ESG rating agencies, and policymakers in promoting genuine sustainability practices and mitigating the risks of greenwashing.

This study examines how consumers transition from being brand admirers to developing strong, enduring commitment toward fashion brands in the context of Kazakhstan's fashion market. Using survey data collected from fashion consumers, the results show that self-brand connection and relationship investment are significant drivers of brand commitment. Materialism and brand consciousness do not exert direct effects, but materialism influences commitment indirectly through self-brand connection, indicating that value orientations translate into commitment only when integrated into consumers' self-concepts. Brand commitment strongly predicts both behavioral loyalty and willingness to pay a premium. The study contributes to the literature by extending commitment-based frameworks to an underexplored emerging market and clarifying the identity-driven processes underlying brand relationships in fashion consumption.

This study examines how consumers transition from being brand admirers to developing strong, enduring commitment toward fashion brands in the context of Kazakhstan's fashion market. Using survey data collected from fashion consumers, the results show that self-brand connection and relationship investment are significant drivers of brand commitment. Materialism and brand consciousness do not exert direct effects, but materialism influences commitment indirectly through self-brand connection, indicating that value orientations translate into commitment only when integrated into consumers' self-concepts. Brand commitment strongly predicts both behavioral loyalty and willingness to pay a premium. The study contributes to the literature by extending commitment-based frameworks to an underexplored emerging market and clarifying the identity-driven processes underlying brand relationships in fashion consumption.