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Emerging Trends and Innovations in Corporate Finance and Governance
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Emerging Trends and Innovations in Corporate Finance and Governance

A special issue of Journal of Risk and Financial Management (ISSN 1911-8074). This special issue belongs to the section "Business and Entrepreneurship".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 3599

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Ştefan Cristian Gherghina

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Finance, Faculty of Finance and Banking, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010552 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: corporate finance; corporate governance; quantitative finance; sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The field of corporate finance and governance is continuously evolving, with emerging trends and innovations reshaping how companies operate and interact with stakeholders. One key trend is the growing importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors in decision making. Investors and consumers are increasingly prioritizing companies that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability, ethical practices, and social responsibility, leading firms to integrate ESG criteria into their financial strategies and corporate governance frameworks. Another significant development is the rise of digital transformation, particularly through the adoption of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and blockchain. These innovations are revolutionizing financial reporting, risk management, and transaction processes, providing more efficiency, transparency, and real-time decision making. Blockchain, in particular, is enhancing security in financial transactions and enabling decentralized finance (DeFi), which is challenging traditional banking systems. In the realm of corporate governance, there is a push towards greater transparency and accountability. Shareholder activism is on the rise, with investors pushing for more influence over company decisions, particularly related to executive compensation, diversity, and long-term strategic direction. This shift is driving companies to adopt more inclusive and responsive governance structures, with an emphasis on board diversity and stakeholder engagement. Furthermore, the rise of remote work and the changing nature of global business have prompted companies to rethink their financial strategies. Digital tools for virtual collaboration and management, coupled with the globalization of markets, are pushing businesses to develop more agile financial models that can adapt to rapidly changing environments. Therefore, the convergence of technological advancements, sustainability concerns, and evolving governance practices is redefining corporate finance, leading to a more transparent, efficient, and socially responsible business landscape. These changes are likely to continue influencing how companies operate and interact with stakeholders in the future.

The topics could cover a broad range of contemporary issues that blend theoretical perspectives and empirical research, not limited to the role of corporate governance in promoting sustainability, FinTech and the disruption of traditional corporate finance, blockchain technology in corporate governance, AI and machine learning in financial decision making, governance structures and CEO pay–performance sensitivity, corporate governance in the wake of financial crises, and behavioral biases in corporate decision making.

Prof. Dr. Ştefan Cristian Gherghina
Guest Editor

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. Journal of Risk and Financial Management is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 1400 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

  • corporate finance
  • financial innovation
  • sustainable finance
  • ESG (environmental, social, and governance)
  • shareholder value
  • corporate social responsibility (CSR)
  • FinTech
  • blockchain in finance
  • digital transformation in governance
  • risk management
  • corporate restructuring
  • investor behavior
  • executive compensation
  • financial regulations
  • debt and equity markets
  • mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
  • corporate transparency
  • ownership structures
  • financial reporting
  • corporate ethics
  • alternative investments
  • behavioral finance
  • innovative financial models
  • impact investing

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 443 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Audit Committee Oversight on Investor Rationality, Price Expectations, Human Capital, and Research and Development Expense
by Rebecca Abraham, Venkata Mrudula Bhimavarapu and Hani El-Chaarani
J. Risk Financial Manag. 2025, 18(6), 321; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm18060321 - 11 Jun 2025
Viewed by 305
Abstract
Audit committees monitor the actions of managers as they pursue the goal of shareholder wealth maximization. The purpose of this study is to measure the impact of audit committee oversight on novel aspects of firm performance, including investor rationality, price expectations, human capital, [...] Read more.
Audit committees monitor the actions of managers as they pursue the goal of shareholder wealth maximization. The purpose of this study is to measure the impact of audit committee oversight on novel aspects of firm performance, including investor rationality, price expectations, human capital, and research and development expenses. It extends the literature to non-financial outcomes of audit committee oversight. The literature thus far has focused on the financial effects of audit committee oversight, such as return on assets, return on equity, risk, debt capacity, and firm value. Data was collected from 588 publicly traded firms in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry and energy industry from 2010 to 2022. Audit oversight was measured by the novel measurement of the frequency of the term ‘audit committee’ in annual reports and Form 10Ks from the SeekEdgar database. COMPUSTAT provided the remainder of the data. Panel Data fixed-effects models were used to analyze the data. Audit committee oversight significantly increased investor rationality, significantly reduced price expectations, and significantly increased human capital investment. An inverted U-shaped relationship occurred for audit committee oversight and research and development expenses, with audit oversight first increasing research and development expenses, then decreasing them. The study makes several contributions. First, the study uses a novel measure of audit oversight. Second, the study predicts the effect of audit committee oversight on unexplored non-financial measures, such as human capital and research and development expense. Third, the study offers a current test of the Miller model, as the last tests were performed over 20 years ago. Fourth, the study examines the impact of auditing on market measures that have not been explored in the literature, such as investor rationality and short selling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends and Innovations in Corporate Finance and Governance)
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17 pages, 4962 KiB  
Article
Examining the Research Taxonomy of Credit Default Swaps Literature Through Bibliographic Network Mapping
by Tabassum, Jasvinder Sidhu and Najul Laskar
J. Risk Financial Manag. 2025, 18(6), 303; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm18060303 - 4 Jun 2025
Viewed by 355
Abstract
This study presents a bibliometric analysis, using spatial approach, of 943 articles from 2003 to March 2025 showing the growing importance of CDSs in the literature and their role in credit risk management. The Web of Science’s Core Collection database was used for [...] Read more.
This study presents a bibliometric analysis, using spatial approach, of 943 articles from 2003 to March 2025 showing the growing importance of CDSs in the literature and their role in credit risk management. The Web of Science’s Core Collection database was used for bibliometric mapping. The bibliographic data were grouped and analyzed using VOSviewer to create network visualization maps that included country-wise, document-wise, and source-wise citations analysis, bibliographic coupling, and the co-occurrence of keywords. Subsequently, significant terms were identified through the analyses where risk assessment, risk management, and credit derivatives were found to be the most used keywords. Further, USA turns out to be the country where the most research was published on CDSs with maximum citations, highlighting the growing popularity of this research topic in this region. In addition, bibliographic coupling appears to capture information from 13 clusters formed during the analysis on bibliographically linked documents with their link strength. The bibliometric analysis of the CDS literature illustrates the intellectual framework of research on this topic, traces the progression of the research topic over time, and identifies the areas where this research field might develop in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends and Innovations in Corporate Finance and Governance)
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19 pages, 308 KiB  
Article
The Impact of CEO and Firm Attributes on ESG Performance: Evidence from an Emerging Market
by Fahad Alrobai and Maged M. Albaz
J. Risk Financial Manag. 2025, 18(5), 268; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm18050268 - 15 May 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 719
Abstract
The research aims to unveil the impact of CEO traits and firm attributes on corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance within the Egyptian context as an emerging market. Using the quantitative research approach, we analyzed a panel of data from 43 listed [...] Read more.
The research aims to unveil the impact of CEO traits and firm attributes on corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance within the Egyptian context as an emerging market. Using the quantitative research approach, we analyzed a panel of data from 43 listed firms in the S&P/EGX ESG index from 2014 to 2022 through three statistical models to examine how CEO power, confidence, and tenure influence corporate sustainability practices. Our findings reveal that CEO power and confidence influence ESG performance and shape the firm’s strategy. However, there is no significant influence related to CEO tenure. Moreover, we found mixed evidence regarding the impact of firm financial attributes, such as the positive impact of firm size and operating cash flow on ESG performance and the negative impact of firm listing tenure. Our findings contribute to the literature by adding new empirical evidence in this arguable area from an emerging market and provide new insights into the significant influence of the firm’s first man (CEO) in shaping its sustainability practices, especially ESG. In addition, it gives professional authorities and policymakers insights into the nexus between the CEO and the firm’s ESG strategies, disclosure, and performance. Moreover, it can motivate future research to re-examine the role of CEO traits in shaping ESG performance in other countries to create a comprehensive understanding of this knowledge field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends and Innovations in Corporate Finance and Governance)
19 pages, 292 KiB  
Article
Voluntary Audits of Nonfinancial Disclosure and Earnings Quality
by Sunita S. Rao, Carlos Ernesto Zambrana Roman and Norma Juma
J. Risk Financial Manag. 2025, 18(5), 256; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm18050256 - 8 May 2025
Viewed by 381
Abstract
We investigate the association between voluntary assurance of a firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) report and earnings management. A concern with CSR reports is they are used to promote a socially responsible image without a meaningful commitment to CSR activities, referred to as [...] Read more.
We investigate the association between voluntary assurance of a firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) report and earnings management. A concern with CSR reports is they are used to promote a socially responsible image without a meaningful commitment to CSR activities, referred to as “greenwashing”. To credibly signal the CSR report is reliable, a firm can incur the additional costs to voluntarily obtain assurance. Our results show that strong corporate governance plays a crucial role in limiting earnings management. The most consistent improvements in earnings quality occur when firms combine strong governance with CSR assurance from a non-accounting provider (NonACCT). The combination of strong governance and NonACCT assurance appears to be mutually reinforcing, suggesting a symbolic legitimacy strategy that is also substantively effective. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends and Innovations in Corporate Finance and Governance)
30 pages, 635 KiB  
Article
Unlock Your Firm Value with ESG Performance? Evidence from ASX-Listed Companies
by Jingyan Zhou, Wen Hua Sharpe, Abdel K. Halabi, Helen Song and Sisira Colombage
J. Risk Financial Manag. 2025, 18(5), 247; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm18050247 - 1 May 2025
Viewed by 1061
Abstract
A research gap exists concerning the moderating roles of corporate governance mechanisms on the nexus of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and firm value. This study aims to address this gap in the Australian corporate context. We examine whether ESG performance can [...] Read more.
A research gap exists concerning the moderating roles of corporate governance mechanisms on the nexus of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and firm value. This study aims to address this gap in the Australian corporate context. We examine whether ESG performance can enhance firm value and whether this relationship is moderated by the corporate governance mechanisms to balance stakeholder interests. Drawing on a sample from the ASX, we find that while high ESG performance can increase firm value, this effect diminishes in the presence of the large number of supply chain contracts. We further discovered a negative moderating effect of board independence and audit quality on ESG performance and firm value. Our findings highlight the contingent nature of ESG value creation, indicating that while ESG activities can enhance firm value, their impact depends on firms’ governance context and contractual arrangements that shape shareholders’ outcomes collectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends and Innovations in Corporate Finance and Governance)
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