Preface to the Special Issue on “Recent Advances in Business and Industry: Mathematical Analysis, Sustainability Assessment Instruments and Methods”

Recently, it has become pivotal to include mathematics in all domains and crucial to offer a better and more in-depth understanding of mathematics in the forms in which it has been associated with all fields [1]. On the one hand, mathematical analysis offers specialists and profound insights in business and industry concerning the difference between mathematical models and their possible interpretation [2]. On the other hand, sustainability assessment instruments and methods provide specialists in business and industry with evaluation frameworks, as well as the useful tools for identifying major aspects of sustainable development in order to help decision-makers and policy-makers address actions that ought to be taken to make society more sustainable [3].

Moreover, sustainability risk management as a business strategy, these days, takes into consideration the best way in which the profit aims of the companies could be aligned with the environmental, social, and governance policies. As scholars and practitioners have proven on far too many occasions, managing sustainability risks can be successfully achieved by identifying, with the help of mathematical analysis and complex sustainability assessment instruments and methods, the key dimensions that can guide business executives and governance leaders to make an impact that will really make a difference.

Interestingly, theoretical mathematics, also known as research in pure mathematics, is intimately and organically connected with the advancements and developments embodied by applied mathematics.

The Special Issue on “Recent Advances in Business and Industry: Mathematical Analysis, Sustainability Assessment Instruments and Methods” has the immense power to address numerous hot topics of today, among which the following impressive ones could be mentioned: sustainability; green finance; digitalization; digital economy; entrepreneurship; risk management; uncertainty; complex decision processes; finance and financial markets; business processes; Industry 4.0; recession; and, crises, among others.

The paper by Luque González et al. (2021) [4] sheds a new light on sustainability and the way in which it is defined and regarded in different contexts, focusing on creating a highly interesting analysis of 100 theoretical approximations. The authors highlight the construction, evolution, and deployment of the sustainability processes, while displaying the facets of sustainability and their dynamics in ethical, social, and political contexts.

The work of Cai and Guo (2021) [5] addresses finance for the environment, while performing a well-designed scientometrics analysis of green finance. The study brings very important contributions in terms of addressing green finance developments and trends that could motivate both researchers and professionals to have a better view of future studies on making the business process more green.

The focal point of Raut et al. (2021) [6] is on the instruments and methods used to identify indicators of a digital entrepreneurial system. First, the research provides tremendous insights into the positive implications of supporting digital entrepreneurial ecosystems. Second, the work highlights the characteristics of the digital entrepreneurial system of the Republic of Serbia, while making crucial connections with the European Union member states’ digital entrepreneurial system and identifies indicators that set back the development of this system, while using appropriate instruments and methods in the process.

The paper authored by Giacomelli et al. (2021) [7] emphasizes the implications of the unsustainability risk of bid bonds in public tenders. The authors present the implications of a forward-looking risk appetite framework, taking into account the case of Italy, while examining the ways in which it “may prevent the demand for unsustainable performance bonds instead of addressing it by rejecting the bidders’ requests” [7].

In the paper by Padhi et al. (2021) [8], the authors create a fusion framework for forecasting financial market direction, while using enhanced ensemble models and technical indicators. It is essential to remark on the fact that forecasting the financial market’s direction is highly important when aiming to achieve successful trading, yet it is very difficult to understand, in logical terms, all the factors that influence financial markets; it is very challenging to recognize and be able to prevent the responses to market fluctuations and, also, it is overwhelming to design successful trading systems or investment processes.

The research by Pérez-Lechuga et al. (2021) [9] offers a better insight into the area of manufacturing engineering and plant engineering, using the Markov chain theory to model a manufacturing system by process. To illustrate the results derived from their research, the authors provide a numerical example of a real case obtained from a refrigerator factory established in Mexico.

Herman (2022) [10] tackles the challenges as well as the changes in the European Union economy and society in terms of achieving both digital and green transitions. Numerous vital connections are made, in this regard, between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and digital entrepreneurship.

Nagy and Lăzăroiu (2022) [11] address the Industry 4.0 manufacturing systems, while centering on the implications of globalization, innovation, and digitalization. Likewise, the paper focuses on the integration of computer vision algorithms, remote sensing data fusion techniques, and mapping and navigation tools in the Slovak automotive sector, which provide an interesting and novel approach to the general theme.

The paper by the authors Giacomelli and Passalacqua (2024) [12] aims to bring to light a new internal model approach to measure the Catastrophe Recession Risk, while having central key concepts, such a: credit risk and credit risk models, the European Supervisory Authority, recession, and risk management.

Today, theoretical and applied mathematics in industry and business have not only been a continuous source of motivation for specialists worldwide, but have also been a major source of development in all areas, out of which could be mentioned general management, supply chain management, finance, sales, and marketing, among others [13].

As a Guest Editor of the Special Issue, I am very grateful to all the authors who contributed their articles since, with their effort and work, they created new connections and provided novel insights on vital and pressing issues of today. In line with the aforementioned ideas, I would like to express my gratitude to the reviewers for their precious comments and noteworthy suggestions, which targeted the improvement of the submitted manuscripts, and motivated the authors to bring more arguments to support their work. I strongly believe that this Special Issue had great relevancy and success due to Ms. Krystal Wang, the Section Managing Editor, to whom I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude for the on-going collaboration. The goal of the Special Issue on “Recent Advances in Business and Industry: Mathematical Analysis, Sustainability Assessment Instruments and Methods” was to stress the characteristics, importance, and implications of “Dynamical Systems”. In addition, the conceptual, theoretical, methodological, empirical, and systematic review studies had, as their ultimate aim, to address the following: the implications of recent advances in business and industry; mathematical analysis; sustainability assessment instruments and methods; inclusive and innovative businesses; numerical and probabilistic techniques applied in sustainability and sustainable economic development and growth; new trends in challenging times (today’s pandemic context) and the path to practical statistics in performance and excellence; entrepreneurship; small and medium-sized enterprises; successful business process management; and quality management. Besides the previously mentioned ideas, I hope that all the selected papers for the Special Issue will prove to be impactful for the international scientific community, especially in today’s interdisciplinary environment in which it has become a necessity to address solving complex problems with creativity, innovation, and dedicated knowledge in various disciplines and application fields. When closely analyzing the published papers, it is clear that, due to their theoretical and practical features, they are ideal for academics, researchers, scholars, specialists, corporate professionals, and managers.