Alexios Kythreotis

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure plays an increasingly important role in evaluating corporate sustainability performance. However, the agricultural chemicals industry faces unique environmental and social challenges, while existing ESG assessment frameworks remain largely generic and fail to capture industry-specific disclosure requirements. To address this gap, this study develops a multi-level ESG disclosure quality evaluation framework for the agricultural chemicals industry based on the GRI 2021 Standards, China’s regulatory requirements, and sector-specific production characteristics. The framework was developed through targeted qualitative content analysis and text coding of ESG disclosures from ten listed agricultural chemical companies selected from the complete eligible population of 17 Chinese A-share agricultural chemicals enterprises that met the study’s predefined inclusion criteria and had Huazheng ESG ratings. This process resulted in a hierarchical structure comprising three dimensions, 14 first-level indicators, 61 second-level indicators, and 350 third-level observation indicators, with particular emphasis on biodiversity conservation, farmer support, and corporate governance. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was then applied to determine the weights of the first-level and second-level indicators through expert evaluation, while a three-point scoring system (0–2) was established for the third-level indicators to construct the industry-specific ESG disclosure quality evaluation model. The framework was subsequently evaluated using an independent sample of the remaining seven listed agricultural chemical companies. A benchmarking comparison with Huazheng ESG ratings showed broad alignment in overall patterns while also revealing important company-level differences and disclosure-quality gaps not readily captured by the general ESG ratings. Furthermore, multi-level ±20% weight perturbation analyses demonstrated the framework’s stability, discriminative ability, industry suitability, and computational robustness. The proposed framework provides a practical and transparent tool for assessing ESG disclosure quality in the agricultural chemicals industry and offers a methodological foundation for developing sector-specific ESG disclosure evaluation frameworks in other high-impact industries.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) has become a key concept in sustainable development and is receiving growing attention. However, the relationship between ESG performances and corporate green innovation remains insufficiently explored. Guided by sustainable principles, firms are transitioning from profit-oriented models to value-driven strategies. This shift brings fundamental changes to their competitive logic and advantages, necessitating a theoretical re-evaluation of the factors driving corporate innovation. Given the interdisciplinary nature of ESG and GI, traditional literature review methods may fail to offer a comprehensive overview. This study employs bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review to examine the evolution, research trends, and knowledge structure of ESG and GI. Using CiteSpace, this study analysed 792 articles from the Web of Science Core Collection (2008–2024.10), revealing that research in this domain has entered a phase of rapid growth and has attracted considerable attention from international journals. Major contributions come from China, the UK and the US, yet international collaboration needs improvement. Core research themes include “sustainable development” “corporate social responsibility (CSR)” and “firm performance” while emerging trends focus on “Media Attention” “Green Technological Innovation” and “Green Investment.” Subsequently, the systematic literature analysis reveals that the influence of ESG on green innovation constitutes a complex, multi-layered interactive system, shaped primarily by mediating, moderating, and contextual factors. Mediating mechanisms facilitate green innovation by optimizing resource allocation, alleviating financing constraints, and strengthening stakeholder trust. Moderating factors such as environmental policies, executive characteristics, and market competition serve a critical regulatory function within this system. Additionally, contextual factors, including industry and firm characteristics, as well as internal and external environments, further enhance the applicability and relevance of the proposed framework. This study offers a comprehensive and systematic overview of the integration of ESG and GI, which may provide useful insights for future research and potentially contribute to corporate green transformation and the pursuit of sustainability goals.

This study examines the relationship between Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance and financing and pricing outcomes in green and conventional bond markets in China over the period of 2017–2024. Drawing on signaling theory, information asymmetry theory, and market segmentation theory, the study argues that the role of ESG performance differs across bond types because green and conventional bonds operate within different institutional and informational environments. Using a comparative analysis of green and conventional bonds, the findings show that ESG performance is more strongly and consistently associated with conventional bond characteristics, particularly in relation to issuance amount, yield to maturity, and credit spreads. In contrast, ESG effects in green bonds are weaker and less consistent, suggesting that investors place greater emphasis on certification mechanisms, environmental project objectives, and sustainability-related bond characteristics than on broader issuer-level ESG disclosures. The findings also suggest that ESG information does not affect all debt instruments in the same way or always functions as a purely risk-reducing signal. In the Chinese market, stronger ESG exposure may also be associated with transition risks, regulatory pressures, and sector-specific sustainability challenges, particularly in conventional bond markets. Overall, the results indicate that the financial relevance of ESG performance depends not only on firm characteristics but also on the institutional and informational environment of the financial instrument itself. The findings remain robust across alternative model specifications and sensitivity analyses, providing additional confidence in the reported differences between green and conventional bond markets. The study contributes to the sustainable finance literature by showing that the pricing relevance of ESG information is instrument-specific rather than uniform across debt markets. It also provides practical implications for regulators, investors, and issuers by highlighting the importance of disclosure quality, transparency standards, and external verification mechanisms in strengthening investor confidence and reducing potential greenwashing risks in sustainable finance markets.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into education in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is moving rapidly as it becomes increasingly mandatory, yet schools often lack the proper expertise and resources to achieve successful implementation. AI integration is not just about having access to AI large language models and supplying schools with the right machines; it is also about ensuring the right preparation before introducing the tools and connectivity. Existing research has primarily focused on technological capabilities or individual attitudes, offering limited insight into how human, organizational, and well-being factors jointly shape institutional readiness. This study examines the determinants of AI adoption readiness in K–12 education using quantitative survey data collected from 602 teachers across public and private schools in the United Arab Emirates. The study builds on the technology–organization–environment framework and behavioral perception theory to test the influence of multiple factors on perceived usefulness. Professional development availability, school encouragement, access to AI tools, work–life balance, teaching experience, and institutional readiness in schools were examined. The findings of this study suggest that cultural readiness is as important as technical readiness. In addition, it underscores the primacy of perception, leadership support, and infrastructure alignment in shaping the transformation. This study presents an empirically tested explanatory framework that may inform policymakers and school leaders seeking to conduct AI transformation. It also offers practical implications for designing professional development, leadership strategy, and implementation models to support sustainable AI integration.

This article explores two primary questions: first, whether the issuance of green bonds contributes to environmental protection, particularly regarding their performance after the adoption of net-zero emission policies; and second, whether issuers of green bonds can have economic benefits. Using the Difference-in-Differences (DID) model to analyze green and conventional bonds issued from 2013 to 2023, the study finds no significant correlation between green bond issuance and CO₂ emissions following net-zero adoption. Nevertheless, our findings are important and deserve attention as they indicate that the carbon reduction policies have not exerted sufficient pressure on bond issuers to reduce emissions. At the same time, however, a closer examination of issuing entities reveals that those issuing only green bonds tend to have higher ESG ratings, lower CO2 emissions, and lower financing costs. This suggests that such issuers achieve substantial environmental benefits and economic advantages. In contrast, entities issuing both conventional and green bonds do not demonstrate the same environmental benefits. This finding raises concerns about potential greenwashing, suggesting that entities issuing both green and conventional bonds may engage in practices that contradict environmental protection while presenting their activities as environmentally friendly through green bonds. The study also highlights that the impact of bond features on ESG scores and CO₂ emissions varies significantly across different types of issuers. Finally, the paper recommends that policymakers strengthen carbon reduction policies, establish mechanisms to prevent greenwashing, and integrate CO₂ emissions and ESG factors into assessment systems. Additionally, it calls for special attention to the carbon emissions of entities in low- and middle-income countries, as well as those in the manufacturing sector, to support the healthy development of green finance.

1. In today’s turbulence environment, globalization is gaining the momentum and creates integrated markets across the globe. A major dimension of globalization is the integration of capital or in o...

The IASB generates the International Accounting Standards and the Conceptual Framework in an attempt to create higher quality financial statements. Through this article, the extent to which this objective has been achieved is examined. Specifically, one fundamental (relevance) and one enhancing (timeliness) qualitative characteristic, as set by the IAS Committee through the conceptual framework, are under study. The sample consists of listed companies of 15 European countries that have adopted IAS mandatorily. Generally, the obtained findings support an increase in the quality of the financial statements and indicate a positive relationship between relevance and earnings timeliness.