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Based on stakeholder theory, disclosing sustainable development information is fundamental to achieving a competitive advantage and improving a company’s financial performance. There has been a notable absence of studies examining the degree of adherence to sustainability based on the latest indicators from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI-G4) Guidelines and its impact on financial performance, specifically within the banking sector in emerging Arab economies. Consequently, this study explores the correlation between the degree of adherence to sustainability and its dimensions (economic, social, and environmental) as defined by GRI-G4 and financial performance within a sample of banks in Arab nations (the United Arab Emirates “UAE” and Iraq) from 2019 to 2021. The research hypotheses were examined using a multiple linear regression model. The empirical findings reveal that, on average, UAE banks exhibit a sustainability adherence level of 57% according to GRI-G4, while their Iraqi counterparts demonstrate a significantly lower adherence of 17%. Notably, the degree of sustainability adherence substantially impacts the financial performance of banks in both countries. Furthermore, the results also indicated that the economic dimension of sustainability has a positive impact, while the environmental dimension has a negative impact, and in contrast, the social dimension does not significantly affect the financial performance of banks in both countries. This study provides insights for banks and policymakers to enhance their sustainability practices and elevate the level of disclosure, especially within Arab nations. This, in turn, can lead to greater compliance with sustainability standards, improved transparency, and reduced information asymmetry. Full article

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has developed rapidly into one of the highest per capita income nations globally. The travel and tourism sector is a central contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment, foreign exchange earnings, and the country’s economic diversification strategy. However, the rapid growth of the sector and increase in international tourist arrivals are also major contributors to carbon emissions and long-term environmental challenges. In this context, we employed a tourism-induced Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) model for the UAE from 1984 to 2019. The study applied an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model to determine the marginal impact of tourist arrivals and related variables, namely, bank credits to the private sector, urbanization, and energy use, on CO₂ emissions. The Pesaran bounds test indicated redundancy of short run estimates. The long-run coefficients confirmed the EKC hypothesis of inverted U-shape for carbon emissions and per capita income, along with environmental degradation due to tourist arrivals and financial development. Notably, urbanization and energy use highlighted the positive steps taken by the government. Granger causality tests indicated a unidirectional association from GDP, bank credits, and energy consumption to carbon emissions. Importantly, tourist arrivals and urbanization had bidirectional causality with carbon dioxide levels. This study is the first to apply the tourism-induced EKC model to the UAE, and the findings have important implications for policymakers and practitioners. The causality results highlight the need to balance tourism targets and sustainable economic growth through the adoption of ‘green’ standards. The results also indicate the potential importance of financial sector efforts to boost green investments and implement clean energy-related technologies. Full article

Purpose—The purpose of this research is to explore the direct relationship between the emotional intelligence of top management and the quality of strategic decisions they take for their companies. This relationship is further examined by the mediating role of open innovation in the context of intelligent information systems that can impact the way top managers take decisions. This research adopted a survey design as cross-sectional data were taken through questionnaires from top management of the UAE national banks. A final sample size of 213 questionnaires completed by managers was obtained and analyzed. As predicted, there was a strong, positive relationship between managers’ emotional intelligence and the quality of their strategic decisions. Open innovation has revolutionized the way top managers of banks take decisions that are later transformed into policies. Decision-makers are required to possess the skill of decision-making by being vigilant of their surroundings. Hence, they have emotional intelligence and intelligent information systems (IIS) only enhances the trait. IIS is the glorified version of open innovation that further contributes to the decision-making process and the quality of decisions. This research is one of a kind as no one has explored these dimensions of emotional intelligence in the UAE. Full article