The Impact of Adherence to Sustainable Development, as Defined by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI-G4), on the Financial Performance Indicators of Banks: A Comparative Study of the UAE and Iraq

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The paper represents an original study devoted to the analysis of the impact of adherence to sustainable development on the financial performance of banks.

However, some issues should be addressed.

The selected study period is from 2019 to 2021. Please justify that the data of three years is sufficient to make generalized conclusions regarding the impact of sustainable development on the financial performance of banks. Besides, this period includes the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, please verify your conclusions, taking into account the extraordinary conditions of Covid-19 pandemic.

Please substantiate the choice of methodology.

Moreover, please, indicate the sources of all tables.

Author Response

Reviewer 1

The paper represents an original study devoted to the analysis of the impact of adherence to sustainable development on the financial performance of banks. However, some issues should be addressed.

The selected study period is from 2019 to 2021. Please justify that the data of three years is sufficient to make generalized conclusions regarding the impact of sustainable development on the financial performance of banks. Besides, this period includes the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, please verify your conclusions, taking into account the extraordinary conditions of Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, please, indicate the sources of all tables.

• Thank you very much for the valuable feedback and suggestions from the esteemed reviewers. Details about the selected course were provided in Section 3, Data Collection and Sampling, highlighted, and all requested explanations in the article text were added and highlighted. The latest version of the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines (GRI G4) was released in 2016. The data for this study was collected from 2018 to 2021, with the year 2022 designated as the study and data collection year. We believe that this three-year period reflects a sufficient and robust sample size to present an overview of the financial performance of banks, providing insights into short-term fluctuations and medium-term trends. Considering that many sustainability studies traditionally rely on annual data, but may have limitations in sample size, selecting a three-year period for evaluating the impact of sustainable development initiatives reported in this timeframe is appropriate.

• All sources for the tables were cited and highlighted in the text.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

I have given my comments in the comments box of the PDF file

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

I have given my comments in the comments box of the PDF file

Author Response

Reviewer 2

With gratitude for the suggestions and feedback from the esteemed reviewer,

all requested explanations and revisions have been implemented, and any content that was added or modified in the text has been highlighted.

• what is the understudied literature written in the abstract ? kindly resolve

Thank you; it has been revised.

• how come soc is social dimension of sustainability? what type of levels ?

SOC: refers to the first letters of the word social . There are several studies that use the acronym SOC for social dimension, to name a few (Impact of Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability Reporting on Financial Performance of UAE Banks) AND (The effect of sustainability accounting disclosures on financial performance: an empirical study on the Jordanian banking sector ) AND (Corporate Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability Performance Transformation through ESG Disclosure).

The various levels of text have been mentioned.

• acronym , if writing for the first time guidelines are OK but what is the operational definition of self direct learning , also give. acronym for the first time.

The mentioned items have been revised.

• same issue regarding under studied literature. another thing I am not satisfied here with the research gap .

The research gap and innovation exploration have been reconsidered, and additional content has been incorporated into the text and highlighted.

• add more literature support particularly from banking industry which is missing based on the hypothesis framed.

Additional content regarding the banking industry has been added.

• please clear the gap , you have only highlight the reason behind gap , but where is the gap ? what is the basis of this coding particularly soc .

SOC: refers to the first letters of the word social . There are several studies that use the acronym SOC for social dimension, to name a few (Impact of Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability Reporting on Financial Performance of UAE Banks) AND (The effect of sustainability accounting disclosures on financial performance: an empirical study on the Jordanian banking sector ) AND (Corporate Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability Performance Transformation through ESG Disclosure). The requested revisions have been made.

• kindly provide some dimensions for Economic , social and Environmental as well and also provide the relevant literature support from developed as well as from developing countries. - I am not satisfied whit the dimensions used for measuring economic aspect of sustainability can I have some definition here .- I have heard of social sustainability SS but SOS (Social dimension of sustainability ) I doubt , it doesn go well .

All requested items have been revised and highlighted in the text. Definitions of sustainability dimensions have also been added to the text.

• I am noticing that the authors using the word " company" it can be a banking company or banks only throughout the paper . kindly resolve . -international efforts ?

      The mentioned content has been revised.

• SOC is not the correct abbreviat ?

Corrected.

• I am not satisfying with the sample size, moreover what is the criteria behind selection of banks from UAE as well as from IRAQ. the Time period of study is an abnormal period of covid ?

The latest version of the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines (GRI G4) was released in 2016. The data for this study was collected from 2018 to 2021, with the year 2022 designated as the study and data collection year. We believe that this three-year period reflects a sufficient and robust sample size to present an overview of the financial performance of banks, providing insights into short-term fluctuations and medium-term trends. Considering that many sustainability studies traditionally rely on annual data, but may have limitations in sample size, selecting a three-year period for evaluating the impact of sustainable development initiatives reported in this timeframe is appropriate.

• explain all the variables in the context of sustainability of banks and their financial performance, which is missing .

All explanations related to hypotheses have been added to the text and highlighted.

• consistency Iraqui and EUA. -banking , kindly maintain uniformity. -in the abstract I had noticed UAE and Iraqi , so kindly bring uniformity across the paper . -now the authors have started using banks in the end of the paper .

The mentioned content has been revised.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Rationale, aim and methot seem enough. Literature review can be extended, Findings have been compare to literature, Authors should improve the policy implications.

Author Response

Reviewer 3

Rationale, aim and methot seem enough. Literature review can be extended, Findings have been compare to literature, Authors should improve the policy implications.

With gratitude for the suggestions and feedback from the esteemed reviewer, all requested explanations and revisions have been implemented, and any content that was added or modified in the text has been highlighted.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 4 Report

This research aims to investigate the impact of adherence to sustainable development, as defined by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI-G4), on the financial performance indicators of banks. The paper is a fine piece of document. However, following are my concerns about the paper. The incorporation of these comments can enhance the quality of paper.

1.      The novelty of study is not well explained in the abstract. Please discuss what is the addition in the literature irrespective of and general disclosure.

2.      There is no JEL code that help in understanding the area of research.

3.      I recommend to focus on introduction. Add the significance, problem statement of study in introduction.

4.      Plan of study is missing at the end of introduction. In fact, author should badly need to focus on enhancing the quality of introduction that motivates the readers for further study of paper.

5.      Please summarize your problem statement and merge it in introduction part.

6.      Please ensure that you have added atleast 35% references from last 5 years. I recommend adding the hypothesis based on the literature review.

7.      Please add the justification of adopted span and methodology. How author treat the covid effect?

8.      Add more discussion on adopted methodology and references who utilized it earlier.

9.      Please support your discussion of results by recent references.

10.  Add a new section of policy recommendations. Add more definite policy recommendations.

11.  Each table should be self-explanatory and should contain a bottom detail that guides about the table. Please add the footer in all tables, explaining the acronyms, source, and a brief description of table.

Please proofread the paper and enhance the quality of communication. 

Author Response

Reviewer 4

This research aims to investigate the impact of adherence to sustainable development, as defined by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI-G4), on the financial performance indicators of banks. The paper is a fine piece of document. However, following are my concerns about the paper. The incorporation of these comments can enhance the quality of paper.

1- The impact of adherence to sustainable development, as defined by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI-G4), on the financial performance indicators of banks.

Thank you; it has been revised.

2. The novelty of study is not well explained in the abstract. Please discuss what is the addition in the literature irrespective of and general disclosure.

The mentioned items in the abstract have been stated and highlighted.

2- There is no JEL code that help in understanding the area of research.

Thank you; the requested item has been added.

3- I recommend to focus on introduction. Add the significance, problem statement of study in introduction.

With gratitude to the esteemed reviewer, significance and innovation have been added to the introduction section, and all the added content has been highlighted.

4. Plan of study is missing at the end of introduction. In fact, author should badly need to focus on enhancing the quality of introduction that motivates the readers for further study of paper.

Relevant and impactful content has been added to the introduction section and highlighted. Additionally, the research design has been outlined at the end of the introduction section.

5. Please summarize your problem statement and merge it in introduction part.

The requested item has been added to the introduction section and highlighted.

6. Please ensure that you have added at least 35% references from last 5 years.

Certainly. With thanks to the esteemed reviewer, considering the references in the final section of the text, approximately 60% of the sources used in the text are from the last 5 years.

7- I recommend adding the hypothesis based on the literature review.

With gratitude, all hypotheses have been formulated based on the existing literature.

8. Please add the justification of adopted span and methodology. How author treat the covid effect?

Explanations have been added to the text.

9. Add more discussion on adopted methodology and references who utilized it earlier.
10. Please support your discussion of results by recent references.

Recent references have been added, and they have been compared with the research results.

11. 11. Add a new section of policy recommendations. Add more definite policy recommendations.

Thank you; the requested item has been added.

12. Each table should be self-explanatory and should contain a bottom detail that guides about the table. Please add the footer in all tables, explaining the acronyms, source, and a brief description of table.

With thanks to the esteemed reviewer, all requested items have been revised. Footnotes have been added for all tables, explanations have been provided for each variable, and all added content has been highlighted.

13- Please proofread the paper and enhance the quality of communication.

With thanks to the esteemed reviewer,  the proofreading has been completed.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Clarity and Conciseness: Keep it clear, concise, and to the point. Avoid unnecessary details or complex language.

Structure: Follow a structured format, typically including the purpose, methodology, results, and conclusion of your study.

Length: Abstracts are generally brief, typically ranging from 150 to 250 words.

Language and Style: Use clear and straightforward language. Avoid jargon or overly technical terms that may be unfamiliar to a general audience.

Content: Include essential information about your research, such as the research question, methods, key findings, and conclusions. Ensure that the abstract accurately reflects the content of the full paper.

Consider your audience. Tailor the abstract to be accessible to readers who may not be experts in your field.

I am dissatisfied with the overall English quality of this paper and require extensive proofreading.

Clarity and Conciseness: Keep it clear, concise, and to the point. Avoid unnecessary details or complex language.

Structure: Follow a structured format, typically including the purpose, methodology, results, and conclusion of your study.

Length: Abstracts are generally brief, typically ranging from 150 to 250 words.

Language and Style: Use clear and straightforward language. Avoid jargon or overly technical terms that may be unfamiliar to a general audience.

Content: Include essential information about your research, such as the research question, methods, key findings, and conclusions. Ensure that the abstract accurately reflects the content of the full paper.

Consider your audience. Tailor the abstract to be accessible to readers who may not be experts in your field.

I am dissatisfied with the overall English quality of this paper and require extensive proofreading.

Author Response

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 4 Report

Thank you for addressing my points.

Minor corrections needed. 

Author Response

Author Response File: Author Response.docx