Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

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 May 2021) | Viewed by 46575

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Josep Garcia-Blandon

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

IQS School of Management, Universitat Ramon Llull, 08017 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: corporate governance; social responsibility; audit quality; gender inequality

Ms. Nour Chams

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

1. PhD Candidate, IQS School of Management, Universitat Ramon Llull, 08017 Barcelona, Spain
2. Sustainability Studies, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: sustainability management; green human resources management; corporate governance; societal impact assessment of research and innovation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The subject addressed in this Special Issue has attracted a great deal of attention from scholars and practitioners alike during the last years. However, the very dynamic nature of the two concepts which define the title of this issue: corporate governance and sustainability, stress the importance of developing and improving the conceptual frameworks and, even more clearly, of providing updated empirical evidence. In this context, this Special Issue welcomes high-quality papers investigating the relationship between corporate governance and sustainability performance. Both theoretical and empirical papers are welcome. In the latter case, the studies can be based on qualitative, quantitative, or experimental approaches. Review papers are also welcome. The topics of interest include, but are not limited to the following:

Looking for new conceptual frameworks.
Measurement problems of corporate governance and sustainability performance.
Sustainability performance and financial performance: direct, reverse, or two-way relationship.
The importance of the institutional setting.
The gender component of sustainability performance.
Types of relationships between environmental, social, and governance performance.
Short-term versus long-term relationships.
ESG reporting.
Sustainability reporting and auditing.
Stock market reaction to sustainability performance.
Corporate governance structures that enhance (or deter) sustainability performance.
The view of regulators. Effectiveness of different regulatory approaches.
Differences among governance systems and their implications for sustainability performance.
The role of the code of ethics and the ethics committee.
Sustainable development goals.

Prof. Dr. Josep Garcia-Blandon
Ms. Nour Chams
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 performance
Corporate governance
Sustainability reporting and auditing
Financial performance

Published Papers (10 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Other

20 pages, 319 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects of Legal Origin and Corporate Governance on Financial Firms’ Sustainability Performance

by David Castillo-Merino and Gonzalo Rodríguez-Pérez

Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8233; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13158233 - 23 Jul 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2587

Abstract

This paper examines the determinants of sustainability performance in the financial industry at the firm, country and legal origin levels. Through the analysis of the ESG score in a sample of 64 countries with 982 financial firms during the period between 2002 and 2018, we find that legal origin is a significant explanatory variable. In particular, our findings indicate that companies based in civil-law countries show higher values of ESG performance than their counterparts in common-law countries, suggesting the prevalence of the stakeholder theory in explaining the willingness of financial firms to engage in sustainability practices. Moreover, and following the assumptions of the “good governance” view, we also assess the joint the effect of corporate governance and legal origin ESG scores, finding that corporate governance structures emerge as a substitution mechanism of sustainability enhancement for financial firms based in common-law countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance)

18 pages, 563 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Role Reversal! Financial Performance as an Antecedent of ESG: The Moderating Effect of Total Quality Management

by Nour Chams, Josep García-Blandón and Khaled Hassan

Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7026; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13137026 - 23 Jun 2021

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 6135

Abstract

Shifting from short-term profit maximizing strategies to more sustainable long-term ones, the corporate world has been exerting extra effort to adopt environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performances. However, the loop question remains unsolved: is ESG financially-driven or is financial performance (FIN) ESG-driven? Building on the slack resources theory and bridging three management literatures, this analysis relies on a six-year panel dataset of multinational organizations from different industries. A distributed lag regression model is proposed to empirically investigate the impact of FIN performance on ESG and to test the moderator effect of total quality management (TQM). The findings reveal a stimulus effect between free cash flow (FCF) and ESG scores. While the interaction between TQM and FCF has a negative effect on ESG, the interaction between TQM and Tobin’s Q reveals a positive relationship with ESG. This study sheds further insights for both research and practice towards the operationalization of sustainability management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance)

► Show Figures

Figure A1

28 pages, 3379 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies in Spanish Electric Cooperatives. Analysis of Stakeholder Engagement

by Concepción Campillo-Alhama and Diego Igual-Antón

Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6810; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13126810 - 16 Jun 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3591

Abstract

Cooperative organizations try to balance economic viability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) management through strategic policies that involve dialogue, participation, and engagement with stakeholders. To measure the impact of CSR management, the electricity sector implements monitoring processes and models, such as the sustainability reporting standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which measure contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. This research analyses the strategic management of CSR in the 28 electric cooperatives that market electricity in Spain with the aim of determining their level of commitment to CSR and stakeholder participation in their corporate policies. The analysis is based on the descriptive-exploratory study of the whole population of electric cooperatives. The results indicate that the CSR management of most electric cooperatives is still in an emerging stage within the Value Curve. Importantly, there is a significant percentage of cooperatives that have already advanced towards the consolidating and institutionalized stages. However, most of these social-economy organizations are not developing programs that link their CSR strategies with their priority SDGs and sustainability as a commitment to their community. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 434 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Risk Management in Corporate Governance Framework

by Hania Rehman, Muhammad Ramzan, Muhammad Zia Ul Haq, Jinsoo Hwang and Kyoung-Bae Kim

Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 5015; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13095015 - 29 Apr 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4943

Abstract

There is a scarcity of literature involving studies about the effect of risk management on the relationship between corporate governance and a firm’s financial performance, especially in emerging markets. The study fills this gap and adds to the existing literature by investigating whether risk management acts as a mediator between corporate governance and the firm’s financial performance. This study found that risk management partially mediates the relationship between board size and financial performance. Our results further indicate that risk management acts as a partial mediator between foreign ownership and financial performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 335 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Corporate Governance and Cash Holding: New Insights from Concentrated and Competitive Industries

by Idrees Ali Shah, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah, Muhammad Nouman, Farman Ullah Khan, Daniel Badulescu and Laura-Mariana Cismas

Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 4816; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13094816 - 25 Apr 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2361

Abstract

The present study empirically investigates the effect of corporate governance on the value of cash holding, usage of excess cash, and firm performance in concentrated and competitive industries in the context of less developed countries. The empirical analysis was conducted in the panel data setting using Pakistan as a case study. Our findings suggest a strong relationship between the value of cash holding and corporate governance, and the complementary effect of product market competition for corporate governance. This suggests that the external market discipline is also needed, in addition to good governance, to resolve agency problems in less developed countries. This is because less developed countries are usually characterized by lower competition, poor mechanisms for shareholder protection, and weak legal systems. Consequently, agency problems are greater in less developed countries compared to developed countries. Our findings also indicate that firms with good governance dissipate less excess cash on internal investment, dividends and diversification in competitive industries. Moreover, the significant positive relationship between the lagged excess cash and corporate governance dummy interaction with the dividend supports the dividend outcome model, particularly in the concentrated industries. Finally, our results suggest that the efficient utilization of excess cash, induced by good governance, leads to better corporate performance in less developed countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance)

12 pages, 805 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Economic Activity as a Determinant for Customer Adoption of Social Media Marketing

by František Pollák and Peter Markovič

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3999; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13073999 - 03 Apr 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3279

Abstract

The issue of an effective use of social media as a tool of responsible and sustainable corporate communication policy has been the subject of intensive research for more than a decade. The presented study examines the issue of customer acceptance of communication activities of organizations in the social media environment. The aim of the study is to identify, through an empirical analysis performed on a sample of 1584 Central Europeans, whether the form of economic activity of the customer has an impact on the degree of acceptance of corporate marketing communication on social media. Based on a thorough statistical analysis, it can be stated that the perception of the use of e-marketing on social media is statistically significantly related to the economic activity of the customer. Social media marketing is perceived as rather positive by customers belonging to the category of students and entrepreneurs, while this form of promotion is evaluated neutrally by customers from the category of the unemployed and retirees. Negative acceptance is recorded only insignificantly across all involved groups. Based on the similarity of the behavior of customer groups, it is possible to more precisely target the online activity of organizations, thereby increasing the efficiency of spending business resources and eliminating market risks in terms of reputational issues. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 336 KiB

Open AccessArticle

CSR Disclosure: Effects of Political Ties, Executive Turnover and Shareholder Equity. Evidence from China

by Fawad Rauf, Cosmina L. Voinea, Khwaja Naveed and Cosmin Fratostiteanu

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3623; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13073623 - 24 Mar 2021

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3192

Abstract

The context of China fosters different contextual factors, which influences the quality of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in comparison to firms across the rest of the world. Political ties at a corporate level are one of these vital factors. This paper studies the influence of firm-level political ties (PT) and executive turnover (ET) on the quality of CSR disclosure in the context of shareholding status of departing executive in Chinese listed A-share firms. Stakeholder and Agency theories are applied to the dissemination of CSR disclosures in Chinese firms whereby we used 20,578 firm-years interpretations of Chinese registered companies between 2012 and 2019. The results foster a negative link between executive turnover and quality of CSR disclosures. In addition, a negative relationship has been found between political ties and the quality of CSR disclosure. The findings disclose that the shareholding status of departing executive moderate the relationship between the impact of political ties and executive turnover on firms quality of CSR disclosure, whilst the effect of executive turnover on the quality of CSR disclosure was found more pronounced for firms whose departing executive held larger shareholding (SH). This study contributed to the literature on the quality of CSR disclosure while recognizing the negative effect of executive turnover on a firm’s quality of CSR disclosure for politically tied firms with a reinforcing moderating role of the shareholding status of departing executive. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance)

24 pages, 1485 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance-Influencing Factors and Improvement Paths of Third-Party Governance Service Regarding Environmental Pollution—An Empirical Study of the SEM Based on Shanghai Data

by Liping Cao, Fenqi Zhou and Yuan Zhu

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 2354; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13042354 - 22 Feb 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1884

Abstract

By employing ecological economics involving performance-influencing factors and third-party governance services that have the aim of reducing environmental pollution, a theoretical framework which includes object, subject, process that measures the performance of such services is analyzed on the basis of the idea of sustainability science (2.0). The research hypotheses regarding the relationships among service performance, multi-stakeholder subjects’ satisfaction, and the effect of process management are put forward; then, a three-dimensional performance measurement model, which includes performance, stakeholders, and the process of providing third-party governance services for addressing environmental pollution, is constructed based on the pressure–state–response (PSR) driving force model. At the same time, based on empirical data of the Shanghai municipality, the structural equation model (SEM) is used to empirically test the nine proposed research hypotheses. The empirical test results show that, except for the research hypotheses in regard to regulating variables and controlling variables, all of the research hypotheses passed the test. It means the direct performance, single subjective satisfaction, process management effects are performance-influencing factors. However, the stakeholders’ cooperation satisfaction partially influences the performance of third-party governance services regarding environmental pollution. Finally, through theoretical and empirical research, this paper proposes countermeasures and suggestions for improving the performance of third-party governance services regarding environmental pollution in Shanghai focusing on two aspects: one is the market governance mechanism innovation, and the other is regulations and standards innovation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

31 pages, 2300 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Sustainability Reporting and Inadequate Management of ESG Factors on Corporate Performance and Sustainable Growth

by Camelia Oprean-Stan, Ionica Oncioiu, Iulia Cristina Iuga and Sebastian Stan

Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8536; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12208536 - 15 Oct 2020

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 14452

Abstract

The purpose of this research study is to examine and explain whether there is a positive or negative linear relationship between sustainability reporting, inadequate management of economic, social, and governance (ESG) factors, and corporate performance and sustainable growth. The financial and market performances of companies are both analyzed in this study. Sustainable growth at the company level is introduced as a dimension that depends on sustainability reporting and the management of ESG factors. In order to achieve the main objective of the paper, the methodology here focuses on the construction of multifactorial linear regressions, in which the dependent variables are measurements of financial and market performance and assess corporate sustainable growth. The independent variables of these regressions are the sustainability metrics and the control variables included in the models. Most of the existing literature focuses on the causality between sustainability performance and financial performance. While most impact studies on financial performance are restricted to sustainability performance, this study refers to the degree of risk associated with the inadequate management of economic, social, and governance factors. This work examines the effects of ESG risk management, not only on performance, but also on corporate sustainable growth. It is one of the few studies that addresses the problem of the involvement of companies in controversial events and the way in which such events impact the sustainability and sustainable growth of the company. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Other

Jump to: Research

12 pages, 628 KiB

Open AccessCase Report

Sustainable Corporate Governance: The Impact Factors for Top Consulting Engineering Companies in Taiwan

by Jieh-Haur Chen, Tien-Sheng Chou, Jui-Pin Wang, Hsi-Hsien Wei and Tzu-Han Yang

Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7604; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13147604 - 07 Jul 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2314

Abstract

The objective of this research was to explore the impact factors of sustainable corporate governance for top consulting engineering companies in Taiwan, to facilitate managers in meeting stakeholders’ needs and adapting to the challenges of the global markets. Nine hypotheses derived from a literature review were proposed and used to develop a survey. Based on the concept of structural equation modeling (SEM) and these hypotheses, a questionnaire containing six aspects and comprising 46 stems was developed using the Likert 5-scale format. The survey took around four months to administer with 324 effective returns, with only five hypotheses confirmed. This was followed by factor analysis to determine the weight sequence for the 28 impact factors and four aspects. The contributions of the findings are as follows: (1) the weighted factors provide practitioners with guidelines for the proper order for the implementation of measures to improve corporate governance, and (2) they answer questions about the degree of influence and the relationship among all aspects and factors for sustainable corporate governance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance)

► Show Figures