• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.10
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• pp.137-145
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• 2022

This study aims to test the information content of sustainability reports issued by the most significant telecommunications companies operating in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Stc, Zain, and Mobily), and their compatibility with the national sustainability standards issued by the Ministry of Commerce in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in light of the Kingdom's vision 2030, and its impact on the stock exchange indices of these companies. The event study methodology was used to study the impact of publishing sustainability reports on stock prices and the trading volume of these companies' shares in the Saudi stock market during the period from (October 2020 to March 2021). The results indicate a significant impact of the information contained in the sustainability reports on stock prices and trading volume in the stock market, and the importance of directing the company's management towards more disclosure of information about sustainability in its environmental, social, and economic aspects instead of focusing only on information related to the financial performance and economic activity of the company. This encourages the listed companies to disclose the sustainability of the financial reports and standardize the form in which these disclosures are prepared.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.1121-1133
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• 2021

The paper examines the impacts of the various sustainability dimensions on the financial performance of commercial banks in three Arab countries. Three dimensions have been considered as constitutive of the term sustainable development (social, economic, and environmental). The relationship between the sustainability dimensions of companies and accounting indicators was analyzed. The main hypothesis posits that the dimensions of sustainability do not have a significant and positive effect on the financial performance of the commercial banks. The study population consisted of commercial banks operating in three Arab countries (Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Jordan); the period of the study is from 2007 to 2018. The data were collected from the financial reports and sustainability reports of each bank through the Internet. The overall results of the study showed a moderately positive relationship between all sustainability dimensions and the banks' financial performance. The main contribution of the research is to study the dimensions of sustainability reports as contained in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI-G4) and their impacts on the financial performance of commercial banks. Thus, this research will contribute to increasing the interest of the banks in sustainable development in a context where this research in Arab countries is scarce.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.153-171
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• 2022

With the global ESG management craze, domestic and foreign companies voluntarily declare sustainable management and actively respond by establishing strategies. The Financial Services Commission mandates the disclosure of sustainability reports representing ESG management sequentially and will expand to SMEs in the future. Information disclosure of sustainability reports is mainly done through international standards such as GRI, SASB, and TCFD, and many domestic companies use GRI Standards guidelines. This study examines the composition system of sustainability reports and compares public and private companies with GRI Standards to analyze sustainable management by type. This study revealed that public enterprises focused on social and labor, while private enterprises focused on the economy and environment through TF-IDF modeling. In addition, the electronic and information communication industries focused on product responsibility. Unlike previous studies that quantified and analyzed sustainability management according to grade, the current study analyzed sustainability reports, which are unstructured data. Therefore, the results of this study are expected to provide valuable theoretical and practical implications for researchers and supervisors interested in ESG management.

• The Korean Journal of Archival Studies
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• no.48
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• pp.45-92
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• 2016

Corporations report their economical, environmental, social influences and achievements through sustainability reports. Apart from the financial reports, which are subject to legal restrictions, sustainability reports inform non financial achievements of a corporation, thus the reliability of the information is solely dependent on the corporation itself. The current sustainability reports are of types that cannot include proof or source of the index data, thus they are tended to be regarded as means of publicity. The reliability of the reports is often questioned. This research applied the concept of Evidence-Based Accountability, which will allow the confirmation of accountability through records including contents and context of the tasks. Evidence-Based Accountability means producing and accumulating witness records of actions, then managing the records as usable information and use them as accountability information. Index data from sustainability reports of domestic corporations and web based reports of Vodafone was reviewed. Measures to link task records as proof of index data was studied. To make this possible, record production and acquisition system was redesigned in order to secure required records as evidence. Linked build-up of SR system and RMS was proposed. The proposed system will allow collection and management of records as SR accountability information, and provide the data when necessary. Also, corporate infrastructure was proposed. This infrastructure will build a professional records management system in stages, through organizational system and regulations. Cooperation of staff in this infrastructure will support reliable corporate accountability.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.9
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• pp.631-638
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• 2020

The intention of this research is to identify the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure on firm value with profitability as a moderating variable. Data collection is carried out with data documentation that is based on financial reports and sustainability reports. All companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) during the 2013-2017 period are considered as the population of this study. Samples were selected using the purposive sampling method. The following are criteria that would be used in this study: 1) publish a sustainability report using the GRI G4 standard as a reference in preparing reports for 2013-2016, 2) publish a complete financial report for the 2014-2017 observation period, 3) not experience a loss during the 2014-2017 period. The total sample of the study was 109 companies. The study uses path analysis assisted with WarpPLS software version 6.0. The results show that the disclosure of corporate social responsibility has a positive and significant effect on firm value, and profitability moderates the effect of corporate social responsibility disclosure on firm value. The implication of the research is that implementing corporate social responsibility is very important to increase firm's value and firm's sustainability in the future.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.88-107
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• 2023

This study aimed to understand the current status of practice for sustainability in luxury fashion brands. A total of five luxury brands (Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Gucci, Burberry, and Prada) were selected. Each company's official website, sustainability reports, and articles on sustainability practices were compiled. In addition, analysis was performed based on criteria of sustainability such as environmental, social, economical, and cultural dimensions. As a result, the biggest commonality of the five brands was that they promoted the most active change in the environment. These brands tried to reduce energy consumption in materials and production processes. Among them, Burberry, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton had their own departments for sustainability. However, there were differences in strategies of activities between brands for social, economical, and cultural sustainability. Among the five companies, Burberry and Gucci pursued sustainability strategies the most aggressively. They separated their sustainability strategies in terms of environmental, social, economical, and cultural aspects and shared them with consumers. A set of outcomes for the plan were provided as objective data. The sustainable management strategy has become a key strategy for long-term growth of the luxury brand market. To survive in the market, luxury brands should elaborate sustainable management strategies and actively share them with consumers.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.11
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• pp.315-326
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• 2020

This study aims to test empirically whether the ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard (ACGS) has a positive effect on Sustainability Reporting (SR) and whether the ACGS and Sustainability Reporting (SR) have a positive effect on Firm Value (FV). The study was conducted in five ASEAN countries - Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, and Thailand from 2014 - 2017. The research sample was collected from companies with the ACGS data and obtained with the help of 359 company observations. Hypothesis testing was performed using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS). The results of the study do not support all hypotheses. The ACGS has no effect on sustainability reporting. The ACGS has a significant negative effect on firm value, while sustainability reporting has a negative and insignificant effect on firm value. The ACGS and sustainability reporting are not good news for investors. This research's limitation is that companies rarely disclose the final value of the ACGS in their annual reports, so this research uses content analysis. The weakness of content analysis is the researchers' subjectivity so that the point of view between researchers is different. Besides, sustainability reporting for several ASEAN countries is voluntary, so not all companies can be sampled, which ultimately affects interpretation.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.351-363
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• 2020

The objective of this paper is to explore how board gender diversity affects corporate sustainability performance. Therefore, this paper examines the direct association between board gender diversity with corporate sustainability performance and the mediation effect of enterprise risk management (ERM) on this association. The study employed a cross-sectional survey method. Data were collected from annual reports, websites, and through the questionnaires that were distributed to Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of all the listed companies of Dhaka Stock Exchange, Bangladesh. The partial least square technique of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach was employed for data analysis. The result did not find support for the direct association between board gender diversity and sustainability performance in Bangladesh context. This implies that contextual factors, such as, male-dominant board, appointment of female directors based on family ties, lack of education and expertise etc. may discount gender diversity direct influence on sustainability performance. However, the study finds strong support for the mediating role of ERM use within the corporate structure. Further analysis of indirect effect suggests that ERM use mediates the relationship of board gender diversity and sustainability performance in full. This implies that in the Bangladesh context effective use of ERM is highly recommended.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.287-316
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• 2023

As global energy crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have emerged as social issues, there is a growing demand for companies to move away from profit-centric business models and embrace sustainable management that balances environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. ESG activities of companies vary across industries, and industry-specific weights are applied in ESG evaluations. Therefore, it is important to develop strategic management approaches that reflect the characteristics of each industry and the importance of each ESG factor. Additionally, with the stance of strengthened focus on ESG disclosures, specific guidelines are needed to identify and report on sustainable management activities of domestic companies. To understand corporate sustainability strategies, analyzing ESG reports and news articles by industry can help identify strategic characteristics in specific industries. However, each company has its own unique strategies and report structures, making it difficult to grasp detailed trends or action items. In our study, we analyzed ESG reports (2019-2021) and news articles (2019-2022) of six companies in the 'Finance,' 'Manufacturing,' and 'IT' sectors to examine the sustainability strategies of leading domestic ESG companies. Text mining techniques such as keyword frequency analysis and topic modeling were applied to identify industry-specific, ESG element-specific management strategies and issues. The analysis revealed that in the 'Finance' sector, customer-centric management strategies and efforts to promote an inclusive culture within and outside the company were prominent. Strategies addressing climate change, such as carbon neutrality and expanding green finance, were also emphasized. In the 'Manufacturing' sector, the focus was on creating sustainable communities through occupational health and safety issues, sustainable supply chain management, low-carbon technology development, and eco-friendly investments to achieve carbon neutrality. In the 'IT' sector, there was a tendency to focus on technological innovation and digital responsibility to enhance social value through technology. Furthermore, the key issues identified in the ESG factors were as follows: under the 'Environmental' element, issues such as greenhouse gas and carbon emission management, industry-specific eco-friendly activities, and green partnerships were identified. Under the 'Social' element, key issues included social contribution activities through stakeholder engagement, supporting the growth and coexistence of members and partner companies, and enhancing customer value through stable service provision. Under the 'Governance' element, key issues were identified as strengthening board independence through the appointment of outside directors, risk management and communication for sustainable growth, and establishing transparent governance structures. The exploration of the relationship between ESG disclosures in reports and ESG issues in news articles revealed that the sustainability strategies disclosed in reports were aligned with the issues related to ESG disclosed in news articles. However, there was a tendency to strengthen ESG activities for prevention and improvement after negative media coverage that could have a negative impact on corporate image. Additionally, environmental issues were mentioned more frequently in news articles compared to ESG reports, with environmental-related keywords being emphasized in the 'Finance' sector in the reports. Thus, ESG reports and news articles shared some similarities in content due to the sharing of information sources. However, the impact of media coverage influenced the emphasis on specific sustainability strategies, and the extent of mentioning environmental issues varied across documents. Based on our study, the following contributions were derived. From a practical perspective, companies need to consider their characteristics and establish sustainability strategies that align with their capabilities and situations. From an academic perspective, unlike previous studies on ESG strategies, we present a subdivided methodology through analysis considering the industry-specific characteristics of companies.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.11
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• pp.1097-1104
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• 2020

This research seeks to provide evidence about how political connections, proxied by government ownership and the existence of politically connected board members, affect the extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures in Indonesian listed companies. This research uses the legitimacy theory as a basis for explaining management's motivation for disclosing its CSR. The sample consists of 131 firm-year observations from 38 non-financial public companies that published sustainability reports from 2013 to 2017. We measured the CSR disclosures using a disclosure checklist on the sustainability reports. We subsequently processed the data using a random effect (RE) linear regression. The result shows that CSR disclosures were greater in government-owned companies but lower in companies that have politically connected board members. The results support the legitimacy theory that the government intends to demonstrate legitimate national economic and political conditions by showing that government-owned companies are sustainable. However, CSR disclosures seem to have a substitutive relationship with the existence of politically connected board members, since those political connections may protect the company from public pressure and/or the risk of litigation, reducing the need for CSR disclosures. This research provides evidence that different types of political connections may have different impacts on corporate disclosures.