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This study, with its practical implications, is a valuable resource for organisations. It examines the impact of Sustainable Management Accounting (SMA) practices on the implementation and effectiveness of Sustainable Corporate Governance (SCG) within organisations. It also investigates the various dimensions of SMA and explores the mediating roles of the Internal Control System (ICS) in the relationships between SMA and SCG. The empirical data, collected from 512 individuals across India using a purposive sampling technique, represent a diverse cross-section of the population, including shareholders, investors, finance officers, executives, and professionals such as chartered accountants, lawyers, bankers, and company secretaries. The findings of this study are actionable, indicating that SMA has a positive and significant impact on SCG. Furthermore, it was found that SMA is influenced by factors such as the accounting system, reporting method, transparency policy, and stakeholder involvement. Moreover, the results suggest that companies with well-developed sustainable accounting systems have enhanced ICS and corporate governance metrics, which in turn result in improved board oversight and stakeholder engagement. Finally, the outcome of this study not only assists in developing sustainable corporate governance through sustainable accounting management but also contributes to the UN's sustainable goals through accounting and governance in the corporate culture and approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author’s understanding of the terms “corporate governance”, “corporate management” and “communication management” in the context of the concept of sustainable development, the ESG agenda and sustainable corporate governance, as well as their relationship. The role of the stakeholder approach in bringing together the content of the concepts of “corporate governance” and “integrated communications” is shown. Some features of communications management in Russia, including in the context of ESG, are examined in detail. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that many Russian companies and organizations are extremely slow to implement the principles and methods of integrated communications and sustainable corporate governance, although they determine the effectiveness of theiractivities. The subject of the study is the system of sustainable corporate governance as part of the implementation of ESG principles in Russia. The purpose of the article is to show Russian stakeholders the role of integrated communications in the development of sustainable corporate governance and ESG policies using research methods such as analysis of scientific papers on the research topic, comparison, generalization, systemic and logical analysis. The scientific novelty of the publication is justified by the author’s interpretation of the variants of understanding the terms, for example, the authors of the article consider the organizational and/or functional division of communications into internal and external to be unproductive. In addition, in order to modernize the methodology for rating and auditing companies and organizations for compliance of their activities with ESG principles, the authors propose to increase the number of management criteria of block “G”, using metrics for assessing the effectiveness of integrated communications management, taken from the “corporate management” and “communications” systems management». The practical significance of the work lies in the possibility of its use in the development of integrated communications systems within the framework of sustainable corporate governance, as well as in the course of modernizing the methodology for rating and auditing ESG policies in Russian companies and organizations. A further direction of research may be related to the development of criteria and indicators of the quality of integrated communications systems and sustainable corporate governance, as well as consideration of the characteristics of Russian communications practices in the business environment.

Sustainable corporate governance increasingly influences corporate strategy considerations. Effective governance ensures organizational sustainability, with ESG being a crucial component. Large shareholders, as direct stakeholders, have a key role in developing and implementing corporate ESG strategies. Using data on Chinese listed firms over the 2011–2022 period, we find that multiple large shareholders (MLS) depress company ESG performance, suggesting that MLS may lead to friction and high coordination costs. Interestingly, stronger controlling shareholders mitigate this negative impact, particularly when they are state-owned. Our analysis shows that relatively equal power among MLS exacerbates friction, resulting in unstable executive teams and higher internal pay gaps, which lower governance (G) and social (S) scores. However, the presence of foreign and institutional investors among the large shareholders can alleviate these issues. The negative effect of MLS on ESG is significant in firms operating in clean industries, those with low analyst attention, or those not part of the "Stock Connect Scheme". This study highlights the drawbacks of MLS in sustainable corporate governance from an ESG perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses a pragmatic and well-articulated qualitative methodology for the identification, prioritization, and consultation of stakeholder groups for a higher education institution as a key element for the organization in the context of digital transformation and Industry 5.0. First, the identification phase required technological surveillance and competitive intelligence, which allowed for defining the organization's stakeholders and their characteristics. Then, the prioritization phase was performed to determine the stakeholders that potentially will have the greatest impact on achieving the institution's strategic objectives to the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals prioritized by the institution, and those who will be most affected (positively or negatively) by the HEI activities. Finally, different methods and technological tools were used for consulting internal and external stakeholders, according to the type of relationship with each group, which allowed the understanding of the perceptions of different stakeholder groups on issues such as gender equity, mental health, regenerative economy, and diversity training. The results are then presented in terms of organizational context, where the concept of stakeholder group was defined by the dynamics of the selected HEI; the prioritized stakeholders include students, employees, academic and research sector, public sector, business sector, social sector, community, archdiocese and diocese, alumni, donors, and benefactors. This approach enabled the identification of issues that became a priority in the university's actions towards the future. Although the presented methodology is mainly qualitative, which can represent a high degree of subjectivity, the stakeholder prioritization exercise provides organizations with inputs for decision making aligned with their needs and expectations. Using such a methodology can help the organization to experience structural changes reflected in improved strategic alignment, understanding, and satisfaction of stakeholders' expectations and needs, enhancement of reputation, risk and conflict mitigation, and the consolidation of long-term healthy and trustworthy relationships, in the context of Society 5.0, where human-centered solutions are expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate whether reform of EU company law is needed to make corporate governance more sustainable. We also consider some issues to which the EU proposals on company law and sustainability paid scant attention, such as the role of corporate governance codes and other types of soft law, mainly of international origin, in promoting sustainable governance. In addition, we underline that in recent years the EU has adopted several measures which offer better prospects for sustainable governance than the reform of directors' duties the EU is currently debating. We conclude that the failure to take corporate governance codes and the existing regulatory framework into account could seriously impair pending reforms of directors' duties and their link to sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ambitious EU Green Deal project is linked to extensive regulations on sustainability reporting, sustainable finance, and sustainable corporate governance. With increasing awareness of the impact of sustainable board governance on corporate environmental performance, our paper includes an innovative sustainable board governance score, reflecting significant board attributes. The question arises whether the combined effect of sustainable board measures, based on (1) sustainability board committees, (2) a critical mass of female board members, and (3) sustainability‐related executive compensation, influences environmental performance and its main sub‐pillars according to the EU Taxonomy Regulation. Based on stakeholder and critical mass theories, our study empirically addresses the impact of sustainable board governance on environmental performance and five sub‐pillars (carbon, emissions, biodiversity, resource use, and water performance). Using a sample of 2630 firm‐year observations from 2014 to 21, we find that sustainable board governance significantly improves environmental performance and the related sub‐pillars, except for biodiversity and water performance. Our findings are robust to robustness analyses and endogeneity checks. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to rely on the combined effect of sustainable board attributes and its impact of environmental performance and its major sub‐pillars. Thus, this study provides new insight into the relationship between corporate governance and environmental performance in the EU capital market to guide researchers, business practice, and regulatory bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the impact of sustainable board governance, based on (1) sustainability board committees, (2) critical mass of female board members and (3) sustainability-related executive compensation, on sustainable supply chain reporting (SSCR). Design/methodology/approach: Based on stakeholder and critical mass theories, a sample of 1,577 firm-year observations for firms listed at the EuroSTOXX600 for the period 2017–2021 is used. Sustainable board governance and SSCR proxies are collected from the Refinitiv database. Correlation and logit regression analyses are conducted to measure the impact of sustainable board governance on SSCR. Findings: Sustainable board governance significantly improves SSCR. The findings are robust to various robustness checks, based on the modification of dependent and independent variables. Research limitations/implications: Due to massive regulations on sustainability reporting, finance and corporate governance, firms listed on the EuroSTOXX 600 are focused in this analysis. The European capital market represents a unique setting for archival research. Practical implications: European standard setters should connect the relationship between sustainable board governance and SSCR in future regulations, for example, due to the recent corporate sustainability reporting directive (CSRD) and corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD). Originality/value: To the best of the author's knowledge, this paper provides the first analysis on the impact of sustainable board governance on SSCR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the impact of business communications on the performance of companies and organizations and briefly outlines the history of the formation of the conceptual apparatus in the process of integrating integrated communications. Their role in corporate governance, as well as in the implementation of the ESG agenda in Russia, is considered. The relevance of the study is determined by the accelerated changes in the concepts of communication integration, the constant updating of forms, methods, tools and technologies, as well as the ambiguity of interpretations and the insufficient development of methodological approaches, which requires a new understanding of their content and implementation possibilities. The similarities and differences between integrated marketing communications and integrated communications are analyzed, the uncertainty in the use of these concepts is shown, as well as the distinctive features of the latter, which interact with all groups of stakeholders. The subject of the study is the system of relations in the process of interaction of companies and organizations with all groups of stakeholders. The purpose of the article is to show the advantages and possibilities of practical application of integrated communications, as well as new approaches to management strategizing. The article uses such research methods as content analysis of scientific periodicals, comparative analysis of semantic constructions of terms, study of practical experience in managing communications of companies and organizations, criteria and indicators for assessing their quality. The current trends in the development of integrated communications and their growing influence on the performance of companies and organizations are shown. The scientific novelty of the publication is justified by the author’s interpretation of the process of communication integration. The analysis showed that in the methods for compiling ESG ratings, the set of criteria for assessing the quality of block “G” is limited to the indicators of corporate governance codes. Therefore, the authors propose to expand this set using metrics for assessing the effectiveness of integrated communications management taken from the “corporate management” and “communications management” systems. The practical significance of the work is the opportunity to attract the attention of stakeholders to the problem of integrated communications and expand the horizon of their perception in theory and practice. Further directions of research may be related to the consideration of the characteristics of Russian communications practices in the business environment. Effective integrated communications can play a key role in the development of sustainable corporate governance in Russia.

In the sustainable economy, consumer preferences are gradually beginning to prioritize environmentally friendly products and services. A sustainable economy is directly linked to the growth of consumer welfare and the environmental culture. The success of environmental projects is largely determined by approaches to the management of complex interconnected objects, which operate in developed industrial regions. In this regard, we formulate the purpose of this study, which is to generalize approaches to and to improve the mechanisms of the ecological branding of the industrial complex of a region through conscious ESG transformation. For this purpose, we have studied the statistics and principles of the management systems of Kazakhstani companies and their stakeholders. The focus was on the Pavlodar industrial region, where metallurgical production, petrochemicals, the agro-industrial sector, the banking sector, and logistics hubs are developed. The vision and the mechanisms that can influence the development of the export potential of products with an "ecological brand" were studied. A survey of export-oriented organizations helped to identify the behavioral attributes of the "new generation eco-consumer", namely, a conscious desire to reduce the negative impact of production and economic activities on the environment. The theoretical significance of this study helps to reveal the influence of the ecological principles of the organization of modern production on the speed of transition to green technologies. Its practical significance is seen in the formation of a system for measuring the level of readiness of companies to promote the ecological branding of a region's industry outside its country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of sustainable institutional investors (SIIs), based on their signatory status to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), on corporate biodiversity disclosure (BD). Moreover, the moderating influence of sustainable board governance (critical mass of female directors, sustainability committees, and sustainability‐related executive compensation) as a possible channel of the link between SIIs and BD is analyzed. The study is based on a European sample consisting of 2319 firm‐year observations between 2014 and 2020 (EUROSTOXX 600) and embedded in a stakeholder agency theoretical framework. The results are in line with prior research on sustainable corporate governance and indicate that SIIs have a positive impact on BD and that the included sustainability board governance index strengthens this link. Our results are robust to a battery of sensitivity analyses. This study makes a major contribution to prior analyses, as it appears to be the first study on the link between SIIs and BD and the moderating impact of sustainable board governance. The study has major implications for business practice, regulators and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the influence of sustainable institutional investors (SII), based on the signatory status of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), on corporate tax avoidance. Moreover, the moderating influence of corporate sustainability performance (CSP) is analyzed. The analyses concentrate on a European sample consisting of 1689 firm‐year observations between 2014 and 2020 (EUROSTOXX 600) embedded in a stakeholder agency theoretical framework. Correlation, regression, and robustness analyses are conducted. The results are in line with prior studies on equity ownership and tax avoidance and indicate that SII have a negative impact on tax avoidance and that CSP strengthens this negative effect. These results are robust to a battery of sensitivity analyses. SII represent a major monitoring mechanism in promoting responsible tax behavior, which is in line with other stakeholders' interests. Tax avoidance should be integrated into overall sustainability management to realize an increased firm reputation. As the European Commission initiated several regulations on sustainable finance, sustainability reporting, and tax disclosure, the empirical results stress the interdependencies between ownership structure, CSP, and tax avoidance. The study makes a major contribution to prior analyses, as this study is the first to assess the link between SII and tax avoidance and the moderating impact of CSP to urge top management to increase sustainability efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to provide a systematic literature review of sustainable corporate governance to prevent fraud through the tone at the top perspective. In recent years, studies on corporate governance and sustainability have considerably increased. The main aspects of the intersection of these fields were analyzed, especially considering the role of fraud and risk management. Indeed, corporate fraud can hinder corporate sustainability goals. However, to remove fraudulent behavior, rules of conduct, formal recommendations, or the implementation of business ethics programs are often insufficient. In this sense, corporate ethics linked to governance has been referred to as "tone at the top". Given the significant progress in this area and the lack of a generally accepted theory, an exhaustive organization of the research is needed. Based on these assumptions, this study employed text network analysis to systematically analyze the research contributions collected from the Scopus database for the period 1990–2021. This study establishes networks using the main information of scientific contributions, such as "Abstract", "Title", and "Keywords", and performs analyses, such as co-occurrence and content analyses. The main findings highlight the growing importance of corporate governance in sustainability and propose the emerging role of tone at the top as one of the main drivers of corporate governance sustainability to prevent fraud. We conclude by suggesting some insights derived from the study. The results could be useful for both the academic and professional communities, offering an opportunity for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the influence of sustainable corporate governance on the materiality disclosure quality (MDQ) in integrated reporting in an international setting. Referring to stakeholder theory, we focus on gender diversity, sustainability committees, and sustainability‐related executive compensation. Based on European and South African firms (672 firm‐year observations) between 2014 and 2019, we found that board gender diversity and sustainability‐related executive compensation were significantly positively linked to MDQ. However, the implementation of sustainability committees does not affect the MDQ. Thus, only specific sustainable corporate governance variables in concrete contexts may be related to integrated reporting decisions. We also included Chief Executive Officer (CEO) power (pay slice, ownership, and tenure) as a moderator variable due to the strategic impact of CEOs, based on upper echelons theory, and found that the link between our included sustainable corporate governance variables and MDQ was weakened. Our results are robust to several variations and provide valuable insights for research, business practice and future regulations on integrated reporting. In view of massive regulatory reform initiatives on sustainable corporate governance and integrated reporting, sustainability expertise (also with regard to CEOs) should be better addressed in boards of directors during the next years to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unprecedented challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a need to re-examine sustainable corporate governance practices. Within this context, the current study investigates the moderated effect of gender-diverse corporate boards on sustainable corporate governance practices in Malaysian financial and non-financial firms during the period 2011–2020, employing the dynamic estimator (S-GMM). During the COVID-19 pandemic, a negative relationship between ownership constructs and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicators is observed in non-financial firms, whereas the opposite is reported for financial firms. Moreover, the moderated effect of gender-diverse boards is only substantiated in financial firms. The findings reveal that sustainable corporate governance is practised in financial firms but not in non-financial firms. Particularly, we draw significant implications for policymakers and regulatory bodies of Malaysia to carefully monitor the implementation of sustainable corporate governance given uncertain circumstances of COVID-19 pandemic. Further, our study is beneficial for academics, practitioners, and research scholars for their future research endeavours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section describes the significant political initiatives and acts of legislation in the environmental field adopted in the period from February 2022 until September 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the application of the agency theory and institutional theory, this study is intended towards the measurement of sustainable corporate governance (SCG) impact on internal audit function (IA) within Omani public listed companies. This study will also theoretically consider the Chinese investment in Oman and its potential impact on Oman's corporate governance. For this study, SCG is an independent variable and IA is the dependent variable. This study used a descriptive cross-sectional survey design. Data is collected by an internet-based tool and analyzed via PLS-SEM and SPSS. Result suggests that SCG has a significant and direct relationship with IA. In order to attract and sustain Chinese investment and to achieve SCG, this study can assist regulators, professional bodies, and organizations in amending their codes of corporate governance and organizational policies by introducing SCG clauses into their policies and codes with emphasis on the protection of foreign investors. To the best of the knowledge of the researcher, this study is unique, as previous studies demonstrate the IA on SCG, whereas this study emphasizes that SCG can impact the control functions within organizations that also include IA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Board members' attitudes towards environmental protection are an important antecedent of how companies define and implement sustainability initiatives, but little is known about directors' attitudes and the factors associated with these. Using survey data on Italian board members, the research sought to explore the relationships between these individual's personal attributes, especially those related to their roles on boards, and their attitudes towards environmental protection. The findings suggest that female directors, directors with financial background, and independent directors are positively related to attitudes towards environmental protection. In the financial sector, younger board members and risk committee members show stronger environmental attitudes. The results could be of interest to policymakers because the board member attributes identified may require a stronger regulatory focus in order to achieve public policy's environmental protection objectives and to governance bodies in terms of defining board committees' composition and selecting "green directors" oriented towards environmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU-funded project Sustainable Market Actors for Responsible Trade (SMART, 2016-2020), undertook an interdisciplinary and multilevel regulatory analysis of the barriers and possibilities for securing the contribution of private and public market actors to a sustainable future. Jurisdiction-specific contributions were an essential part of this broad regulatory analysis. This afterword reflects on the Dutch contributions included in this Special Issue, emphasising the urgency of securing policy coherence for sustainable business. The afterword highlights how individual initiatives by national legislators such as those of the Netherlands can be inspiring examples, while they also bring with them challenges including questions of scope and of legal certainty for businesses, specifically with regard to cross-border operations and activities. This leaves business with the difficult task of figuring out the various requirements and expectations and may lead to regulatory competition between EU member states. The afterword therefore concludes with a call for EU harmonisation, to give sustainability-oriented business a level playing field and provide legal certainty both for decision-makers in business and for those affected by the conduct of business across global value chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between the percentage of women on audit committees (WOAC) in UK firms and auditors' disclosures on key audit matters (KAM) from 2014 to 2015. The results show that firms with a higher percentage of WOAC have higher readability of KAM disclosures as measured by the Flesch reading ease index. By modifying our dependent and independent variables, sensitivity tests (Blau index and Fog readability index) also corroborate the expectation that WOAC will lead to greater readability of KAM disclosures, with stricter monitoring activities and greater risk avoidance in the audit committee. We provide a useful contribution to recent empirical sustainable corporate governance literature for practices, researchers, and regulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to current economic and political changes the demands on managers are increasing rapidly. Thus leadership is more important than ever. Therefore this paper will focus on value based leadership which can function as an appropriate leadership concept in order to face current challenges and to meet the requirements of several stakeholders. In this context newest research insights will be considered which show that a change in leadership is necessary due to the fact that there is a great discrepancy between theory and practice in terms of desirable and actual organizational values. On the basis of these insights a concept of silent leadership will be provided. It will be shown that especially today a new kind of leadership is necessary which can enhance the engagement of employees and consequently the value of companies in general. However this requires an incremental change in leadership towards a silent and sensemaking manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]