Search Results (1,941)

Internal accounting control personnel constitute the operational foundation through which firms ensure the accuracy and reliability of financial reporting, yet their relevance to capital market outcomes remains insufficiently documented. This study evaluates whether investment in internal accounting control personnel is incorporated into corporate bond pricing by considering both the quantitative dimension of staffing levels and the qualitative dimension of personnel expertise. Corporate bond issuance data are merged with mandatory disclosures on internal accounting control personnel for manufacturing firms listed on the Korea Exchange between 2011 and 2021. The analysis shows a significantly negative association between internal accounting control personnel and corporate bond yield spreads, with personnel expertise further reinforcing this relationship. These patterns are consistent with the view that enhanced monitoring capacity and stronger reporting credibility reduce information asymmetry and perceived default risk among bond investors. The evidence positions internal accounting control personnel as an operational and signaling indicator of internal control effectiveness reflected in debt market pricing and suggests that investment in internal control staff extends beyond compliance to produce measurable financial benefits through lower borrowing costs. Full article

Over the past decades, the tourism sector has grown into one of the rapidly expanding sectors in the global economy, becoming an important source of income generation and distribution. Even though tourism development is associated with economic growth and increased employment, its impact on income inequality remains ambiguous and depends on economic, institutional and social conditions. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of international tourism receipts on income inequality in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the period of 2004–2024. This study employed a comparative analysis of scientific literature and a multiple regression model based on macroeconomic indicators. The results showed that international tourism receipts did not have a statistically significant impact on income inequality in any of the Baltic countries. However, the robust model analysis confirmed and strengthened the main model results: international tourism in Latvia reduced income inequality but increased it in Estonia. In Lithuania, the impact remained insignificant. Foreign direct investment in Lithuania and GDP per capita in Latvia were statistically significant in explaining income inequality. The findings highlight that the determinants of inequality vary across the Baltic States. Full article

This study aimed to determine the degree of diversification in exports of fresh/chilled salmon and the level of international competitiveness of Norway, Sweden, Chile, and the United Kingdom over 2020–2024, using the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI) and the normalized revealed comparative advantage (NRCA). A quantitative, descriptive approach was adopted, drawing on annual Trade Map data for HS subheading 030214. HHI series were constructed by country–destination and NRCA series by country–market, and both were examined through univariate analysis. The findings showed that Norway exhibited low concentration levels and strong, stable advantages in Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Russia, whereas Sweden displayed moderate but rising concentration, supported by high advantages in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy. In contrast, Chile and the United Kingdom recorded persistently high HHI values, with pronounced advantages concentrated in a limited number of markets (Brazil in Chile’s case; France and Chinese Taipei in the UK’s) and intra-product positions or comparative disadvantages in China, the United States, and Mexico. The study concludes that the combination of geographic diversification and positive NRCA enhances export resilience, while extreme specialization increases vulnerability to demand and regulatory shocks. It is recommended that Chile and the United Kingdom further develop diversification strategies toward markets where NRCA is neutral or negative, and that Norway and Sweden consolidate their advantages through investments in sustainability, traceability, and logistics. Further multivariate research incorporating macroeconomic and firm-level variables is also suggested. Full article

Yellow fever, a mosquito-borne viral hemorrhagic disease, remains a significant public health concern in endemic regions of Africa and South America. The development of the yellow fever vaccine marked a milestone in virology and immunization. In the 1930s, Max Theiler created the 17D live-attenuated vaccine, a breakthrough that has achieved global recognition and continues to underpin prevention strategies. This review outlines the historical evolution of the yellow fever vaccine, highlighting pivotal scientific advances, technological innovations, and global eradication initiatives. It examines the current landscape of immunization, focusing on the World Health Organization’s Eliminate Yellow Fever Epidemics (EYE) strategy, ongoing efforts to address vaccine supply constraints, and persistent surveillance gaps. Future directions in vaccine development, including next-generation platforms and improved delivery systems, are also discussed, alongside the need for sustained research investment and international collaboration. As yellow fever emerges in previously non-endemic areas due to climate change and globalization, strengthening vaccination programs remains critical to preventing outbreaks and ensuring effective disease control. Full article

Electromobility provides an effective solution for developing countries to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, enhance energy security, and increase environmental sustainability. The current study evaluates the feasibility of implementing electric vehicles (EVs) powered by renewable energy in developing countries. Based on qualitative methods, including expert interviews, it discusses existing transportation systems, the benefits of EVs, and significant constraints such as poor infrastructure, high initial investment, and ineffective policy structures. Evidence further suggests that EV adoption is likely to bring considerable benefits, particularly in cities with high population densities, adequate infrastructure, and supportive regulations that facilitate rapid adoption. Countries like India and Kenya have reduced their fuel import bills and created new jobs. At the same time, cities such as Bogota and Nairobi have seen improved air quality through the adoption of electric public transit. However, the transition requires investments in charging infrastructures and improvements in power grids. Central to this is government backing, whether through subsidy or partnership. Programs like India’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) initiative and China’s subsidy program are prime examples of such support. The study draws on expert interviews to provide context-specific insights that are often absent in global EV discussions, while acknowledging the limitations of a small, regionally concentrated sample. These qualitative findings complement international data and offer grounded implications for electromobility planning in developing contexts. It concludes that while challenges remain, tailored interventions and multi-party public–private partnerships can make the economic and environmental promise of electromobility in emerging markets a reality. Full article

Cyprus launched its Competitive Electricity Market on 1 October 2025, marking a historic transition from monopolistic to liberalized electricity trading. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the market’s first month of operation, evaluating technical performance, price dynamics, market structure, and identifying critical barriers to achieving competitive benefits. Analysis reveals technically successful operation of clearing mechanisms and settlement processes, but economically constrained performance driven by persistent structural limitations. The market exhibits extreme price volatility characteristic of isolated systems, ranging from zero to 500 EUR/MWh, with pronounced diurnal patterns reflecting solar generation dynamics. The monthly wholesale price averaged at 167.78 EUR/MWh. The market remains highly concentrated with only 17 participants, shallow liquidity, and heavy reliance on conventional generation (86%) despite installed renewable capacity exceeding 1000 MW. Critical infrastructure deficits including absent natural gas infrastructure, lack of utility-scale storage, electrical isolation, and incomplete smart metering deployment represent fundamental barriers to achieving EU Target Model objectives. Based on infrastructure deployment scenarios and international benchmarking, we suggest potential reductions in the wholesale price of 12.5% (base scenario) to 15% (optimistic scenario) by the end of 2027, dependent on timely natural gas commissioning, storage deployment, and regulatory reform. Policy recommendations address immediate regulatory actions, medium-term market development priorities, and critical infrastructure investments essential for transitioning from technically operational to economically beneficial market operation. This analysis contributes to understanding the challenges that small, isolated electricity markets face when implementing EU liberalization frameworks while highlighting policy interventions required for successful market maturation. Full article

In the face of increasingly severe global environmental challenges, corporate environmental information disclosure (CEID) has become a critical link connecting national ecological governance goals with firms’ green development practices. From the perspective of green signaling, this study examines whether government environmental concerns (GEC) in China incentivize CEID and the mechanisms underlying this effect. We theoretically elaborate the transmission pathways and moderating effects of GEC, and measure GEC and CEID indicators using text analysis of local government work reports and corporate annual reports. Based on a series of empirical tests on Chinese A-share listed firms from 2008 to 2023, we find that: (1) GEC can significantly enhance CEID by attracting green investors and fostering greater media scrutiny. (2) Green technological innovation exhibits a masking effect, which reveals a counterintuitive mechanism whereby stringent environmental regulation may divert innovation resources toward pollution control investments. (3) The impact of GEC is positively moderated by external volatility such as climate policy and market uncertainty and internal capabilities such as firms’ digital transformation. (4) Further heterogeneity analysis shows that GEC has a more significant impact on non-state-owned enterprises, enterprises in heavily polluting industries, and those in the mature or declining stage. This study provides a new theoretical lens for understanding the dynamic interplay between institutional pressure and corporate behavioral responses, and offers empirical insights for calibrating the intensity of GEC to maximize incentives for firms to engage in sustainable practices. Full article

This study develops a carbon emissions reduction strategy for solar-powered coffee machines in Taiwanese convenience stores, aiming to strike a balance between profitability and decarbonization. An integrated framework of the fuzzy nonlinear multi-objective programming (FNMOP) model, Sobol sensitivity analysis, and Monte Carlo simulation was applied to quantify uncertainties in electricity supply, consumer demand, and investment costs. Solar-powered machines reduce annual CO₂ emissions by 172–215 kg per store. Allocating 0.49–0.61% of coffee profits as subsidies shortens payback to [6.5, 9.375] years. Monte Carlo simulation confirms robustness with a 95% confidence interval of [5.8, 11.2] years, while urban stores achieve payback 18–25% faster. Sobol analysis identifies annual savings and net profit margins as key drivers. The framework demonstrates scalability and international applicability, providing empirical evidence for policymakers and retailers to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy in consumer-facing operations. Its methodological integration and consumer-side focus offer a replicable model for convenience store chains in high-density retail markets worldwide, with potential multiplier effects across sectors and supply chains. Full article

Existing research suggests that information asymmetry remains a core barrier to entrepreneurial firms’ external financing. Drawing on signaling theory and a signal cost perspective, this study examines how two key entrepreneurial signals—high-cost patent signals and low-cost international market orientation (IMO) signals—shape the scale of firms’ external financing in Korea. We argue that although both signals are positively associated with financing scale, their effectiveness is differentially conditioned by investment discourse sentiment. Specifically, positive discourse sentiment amplifies the financing effects of both signals, whereas negative discourse sentiment attenuates the effect of IMO but strengthens the impact of patent signals, indicating that in pessimistic contexts investors rely more heavily on high-cost, externally verifiable signals when valuing and allocating capital. Using data from the Korean Venture Business Survey (2021–2023) and investment discourse sentiment measures constructed via LDA topic modeling and dictionary-based sentiment extraction, our empirical analyses support these hypotheses. Full article

Eco-cities have become global initiatives in recent years. This paper aims to discuss the construction, evolution and future of eco-city movements in China, especially in areas with abundant ecological resources. Extant literature emphasizes that sustainable development is the purpose of an eco-city. However, in the spatial practice of ecological modernization, many European and American countries develop ecological construction at a slower pace, resulting in sustainable ecological outcomes. Those countries developed ecological practices at a smaller scale, aiming to achieve green towns with zero carbon emission. In contrast, the construction of China’s eco-cities typically involves building new cities in outer suburbs with a larger scale and faster speed. This has led to the rapid construction of so-called ecological cities without sustainable development. In this context, this paper starts from the perspective of political economy and conducts qualitative research on the Shanghai Dongtan Eco-city as a case study. It analyzes the motivation and practical measures of different actors by examining the planning, design and construction process of Dongtan Eco-city during 1998–2024. The results suggest that gaining national political priority through the intervention of international actors and foreign investment is the key to the local pilot ecological city project. This paper further analyzes the differences between the planning concept and the actual practice of Dongtan Eco-city, critically discussing the “Eco-city as the enclave of ecological technology.” This is driven by the integration of eco-city construction and the local government performance appraisal system. Consequently, the pursuit of economic returns redirected Dongtan’s sustainability experiment into a form of green-branded retirement real-estate development between 1998 and 2012. From 2012 to 2024, Chongming’s development model continued to evolve, as the project was reframed from a real-estate-led eco-city paradigm toward an “ecological island” agenda articulated in the language of sustainable development. Full article

Laos, a resource-rich and politically stable country in Southeast Asia, has experienced rapid economic expansion driven by foreign investments in hydropower, mining, and industrial park development. While these sectors have contributed substantially to national growth, they have also intensified environmental degradation and social pressures. This study critically evaluates the effectiveness of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) system in Laos within the broader framework of environmental governance and sustainable development. A qualitative research design was employed, combining legal and policy document analysis, review of secondary literature, and case studies of three representative projects. The findings reveal that, although Laos has established a comprehensive ESIA regulatory framework, its implementation remains constrained by weak institutional capacity, overlapping administrative mandates, and limited technical resources. Furthermore, low levels of public participation and transparency reduce the inclusiveness and credibility of ESIA processes. Despite these challenges, recent legal reforms and growing international cooperation demonstrate gradual progress toward more accountable and integrated environmental governance. Strengthening institutional capacity, enhancing inter-ministerial coordination, and incorporating social considerations into project evaluations are essential steps to transform the ESIA framework from a procedural obligation into a robust tool for promoting sustainable and responsible investment in Laos. Full article

The recent rise of trade protectionism has complicated the relationship between trade and innovation in some countries. This paper evaluates the impact of U.S. export control on the innovation performance of Chinese manufacturing listed firms. Based on firm-level invention patent data from 2015 to 2023, we find that firms subject to export control substantially expand their patent application activities. However, the quantitative expansion coincides with a deterioration in patent quality, as evidenced by the fast-track granted rate. Further analysis suggests that the divergence between firms’ internal innovation preferences, as reflected in management’s innovation awareness, knowledge width and technological trajectory, and their external R&D investment, underlies the innovation quantity–quality tension. Moreover, the decline in innovation quality is primarily concentrated in technological fields not favored by Chinese industrial policy and among state-owned enterprises, suggesting strategic balancing of innovation decisions in response to government intervention. This study provides further insights into the comprehensive impact of trade shock on innovation and contributes to the literature on the potential technological externalities of the U.S.–China trade conflict. Full article

This study examines the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic growth in Romania during 2003–2023, by distinguishing the effects of FDI stock and FDI flow, with a focus on sustainable development. Because the variables have different integration orders, we used the ARDL model and the bounds test to check the long-run relationship between real GDP per capita and FDI stock, FDI inflows, exports, and labor productivity growth. The refined ARDL model (adjusted for multicollinearity) confirms a stable long-run equilibrium relationship among the variables, with all coefficients statistically significant at the 5% level. Long-run elasticities indicate that economic growth is primarily driven by FDI stock (0.23) and exports (0.24), validating the “export–investment nexus” hypothesis. Also, FDI inflows contribute positively (0.09), while labor productivity remains a critical internal determinant (0.03). Short-run dynamics, captured through the ARDL-ECM specification, reveal that only labor productivity exerts an immediate effect, whereas foreign capital plays a structural stabilizing role. The error correction term (–0.279) suggests an adjustment speed of approximately 27.9% annually, reflecting strong economic resilience across EU ascension (2007), financial crisis (2008–2009), and COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2021). Our study contributes to the literature regarding the effects of FDI in Romania, by simultaneously including FDI stock and flow and considering the pandemic period. Also, our study employs dynamic productivity specification and provides transparent model selection procedures within a sustainable framework. The results in this study are of interest for policymakers, emphasizing the need to focus on attracting quality FDI (green and high-tech investments, investor retention, and human capital development) which can facilitate sustainability-oriented strategies that could lead to sustainable economic growth. Full article

Construction firms struggle to implement sustainable practices, delivering triple bottom line benefits despite growing environmental pressures. While research examines isolated sustainability drivers, the understanding of how organizational factors integrate to enable successful implementation remains fragmented. This systematic literature review synthesizes 249 articles (2010–2025) to develop an integrated framework explaining how internal capabilities drive sustainable innovation and performance in construction. This thematic synthesis reveals three critical insights. First, successful sustainability requires integrated configuration across green innovation capabilities, organizational learning, environmental governance responses, and performance measurement, not isolated initiatives. Second, construction’s project-based discontinuity, fragmented supply chains, and regulatory heterogeneity require capability configurations absent from manufacturing-focused sustainability theories. Third, cross-domain synergies create reinforcing feedback loops where capabilities enable compliance, measurement accelerates innovation, and governance catalyses development. This research provides practitioners an actionable framework identifying critical capability investments and interdependencies for sustainability implementation. Theoretically, we extend the Natural Resource-Based View and the Dynamic Capability View through three construction-specific mechanisms: temporal knowledge discontinuity paradox, distributed capability configuration, and regulatory complexity multipliers. These extensions advance sustainability theory beyond manufacturing, providing a foundation for understanding sustainable competitive advantage in project-based, fragmented industries. Full article

This study is dedicated to analysing Ukraine’s transition to utilising renewable energy sources within the broader context of European integration, the decarbonization process, and the challenges significantly intensified by the full-scale Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. The objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of managing Ukraine’s energy transition compared with selected European Union countries and to identify governance-related determinants of transition performance. The energy transition process is viewed as a cornerstone for ensuring national resilience, food security, and strategic post-war recovery planning. Despite significant growth rates in installed capacity, stimulated primarily by the implementation of green tariffs and foreign investments, Ukraine faces a range of systemic barriers. These include regulatory uncertainty, war-related infrastructure damage, and institutional fragility. To comprehensively assess managerial effectiveness, a comparative approach is employed, integrating data from the Energy Transition Index, the Worldwide Governance Indicators, and the Bertelsmann Transformation Index for the period 2015–2023. Within the scope of this research, a comparative analysis is conducted of Ukraine with Poland, Romania, and Slovakia, countries that share a post-socialist legacy and experience in European integration. The obtained results demonstrate that, although Ukraine exhibits a relatively high growth index for renewable energy development, at 54.56%, it significantly lags behind its regional partners in the parameters of quality of state governance, policy implementation consistency, and strategic coordination. It is concluded that managerial effectiveness, defined as the complex interplay between institutional capacity, policy stability, and implementation efficiency, is a decisive factor for the success of the energy transition. The research recommendations encompass enhancing regulatory transparency, strengthening strategic planning, and intensifying the attraction of international investments. Full article