Search Results (630)

To remain competitive in the decarbonization process of the economy worldwide, energy companies must preserve their market value to attract new investors and remain resilient throughout the transition to net zero. This article examines the market value of US energy companies during the period 2012–2024 in relation to their power generation mix. Panel regression analyses reveal that Tobin’s q and price-to-book ratios increase significantly for solar and wind power, while they experience moderate increases for natural gas power. In contrast, Tobin’s q and price-to-book ratios decline for nuclear and coal power. Furthermore, accounting-based profitability, measured by the return on assets (ROA), does not show significant variation with any type of power generation. The findings suggest that market investors prefer solar, wind, and natural gas power generation, thereby attributing greater value (that is, demanding lower risk compensation) to green companies compared to traditional ones. These insights provide guidance to executives, investors, and policy makers on how the power generation mix can influence strategic decisions in the energy sector. Full article

This study evaluates the risk-adjusted performance of Hospitality REITs using multi-factor asset pricing models and downside risk measures with the aim of assessing their diversification potential and crisis sensitivity. Unlike prior studies that examine REITs in aggregate, this study isolates Hospitality REITs to explore their unique cyclical and macroeconomic sensitivities. This study looks at the risk-adjusted performance of Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in relation to more general REIT indexes and the S&P 500 Index. The study reveals that monthly returns of Hospitality REITs increasingly move in tandem with the stock markets during financial crises, which reduces their historical function as portfolio diversifiers. Investing in Hospitality REITs exposes one to the hospitality sector; however, these investments carry notable risks and provide little protection, particularly during economic upheavals. Furthermore, the study reveals that Hospitality REITs underperform on a risk-adjusted basis relative to benchmark indexes. The monthly returns of REITs show significant volatility during the post-COVID-19 era, which causes return-to-risk ratios to be below those of benchmark indexes. Estimates from multi-factor models indicate negative alpha values across conditional models, indicating that macroeconomic variables cause unremunerated risks. This industry shows great sensitivity to market beta and size and value determinants. Hospitality REITs’ susceptibility comes from their showing the most possibility for exceptional losses across asset classes under Value at Risk (VaR) and Conditional Value at Risk (CvaR) downside risk assessments. The findings have implications for investors and portfolio managers, suggesting that Hospitality REITs may not offer consistent diversification benefits during downturns but can serve a tactical role in procyclical investment strategies. Full article

In the past decade, agricultural biogas plants have become one of the key tools driving the energy transition in rural areas. Nevertheless, their development in Poland still lags behind that in Western European countries, suggesting the existence of barriers that go beyond technological or regulatory issues. This study aims to examine how Polish farmers perceive the risks and expected benefits associated with investing in biogas plants and which of these perceptions influence their willingness to invest. The research was conducted in the second quarter of 2025 among farmers planning to build micro biogas plants as well as owners of existing biogas facilities. Geographic Information System (GIS) tools were also used in selecting respondents and identifying potential investment sites, helping to pinpoint areas with favorable spatial and environmental conditions. The findings show that both current and prospective biogas plant operators view complex legal requirements, social risk, and financial uncertainty as the main obstacles. However, both groups are primarily motivated by the desire for on-farm energy self-sufficiency and the environmental benefits of improved agricultural waste management. Owners of operational installations—particularly small and medium-sized ones—tend to rate all categories of risk significantly lower than prospective investors, suggesting that practical experience and knowledge-sharing can effectively alleviate perceived risks related to renewable energy investments. Full article

This study examines the influence of ethical leadership on corporate sustainability and financial performance, highlighting the moderating effect of firms’ commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Utilizing panel data from 420 automotive companies spanning 2015 to 2024, the analysis applies the System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) to control for endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity. All data were gathered from the Refinitiv Eikon Platform (LSEG) and annual reports. Panel GMM regression is used to estimate the relationship to deal with the endogeneity problem. The results reveal that ethical leadership significantly improves corporate sustainability performance—measured by ESG scores from Refinitiv Eikon and Bloomberg—as well as financial indicators like Return on Assets (ROA) and Tobin’s Q. Additionally, firms that demonstrate breadth (the range of SDG-related themes addressed), concentration (the distribution of non-financial disclosures across SDGs), and depth (the overall volume of SDG-related information) in their SDG disclosures gain greater advantages from ethical leadership, resulting in enhanced ESG performance and higher market valuation. This study offers valuable insights for corporate leaders, policymakers, and investors on how integrating ethical leadership with SDG alignment can drive sustainable and financial growth. Full article

This study explores the relationship between institutional shareholders and climate-related disclosure (CRD) and how sustainability committees influence this relationship among publicly listed Malaysian firms. For the analysis, 990 firm-year observations were studied from 198 highly polluting firms from 2021 to 2024. A strong CRD index was designed using the recognized climate reporting frameworks and well-grounded literature to assess the level of climate-related disclosure. Fixed-effects and hierarchical panel regression models show that CRD increases when institutional investor ownership increases, meaning firms with more institutional investors disclose more information on climate-related topics. In addition, a sustainability committee at the board level greatly improves this relationship by highlighting the positive impact of strong internal governance. As a result, such committees establish climate management and improve communication with investors, making the firm’s actions more transparent. The findings of this study are consistent with agency and legitimacy theories because institutional investors assist in monitoring firms’ environmental performance, and sustainability committees help the company maintain these standards internally. Further, this study helps grow the understanding of corporate governance (CG) and sustainability by pointing out that the presence of institutional owners and sustainability committees can promote openness about climate matters. Accordingly, these findings can guide policymakers, investors, and business leaders in boosting responsible environmental reporting and sustainable business practices in developing countries. Full article

Human Factors and Ergonomics (HF/E) play an essential role in the development of sustainable manufacturing systems. By prioritizing worker wellbeing through the mitigation of occupational hazards and the enhancement of workplace health, HF/E contributes significantly to improved system performance. In accordance with the principles of Industry 5.0 and Society 5.0, which emphasize human-centered design and wellbeing, organizations that effectively integrate HF/E principles can achieve a competitive advantage on the market. Based on a globally recognized ranking system utilized by investors in making informed decisions, the study focuses on manufacturing companies ranked by their occupational health and safety (OHS) scores, a key criterion for assessing the social dimension of company performance. This research aims to identify and analyze top-ranked companies that explicitly highlight HF/E-related benefits within their public documents and sustainability reports. The paper investigates aspects related to the integration of AI and digital technologies to enhance safety and health in manufacturing systems, with a specific focus on human presence detection in hazardous zones, improvements in machines and equipment design, occupational risk assessments, and initiatives for enhancing worker wellbeing. The findings are expected to provide compelling evidence for companies to prioritize HF/E consideration during the design and redesign phases of sustainable manufacturing systems. The paper provides significant value to non-indexed companies by offering a dual approach for improving OHS performance, based on an empirical evaluation assessment method and practical strategies for effective OHS implementation in different manufacturing industries and countries. Full article

The impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) scores on financial performance remains a subject of debate, as the literature reports mixed evidence regarding their effect on stock returns. This research aims to examine the relationship between ESG ratings and the change in ESG scores, or ESG Momentum, concerning both returns and risk of a large sample of stocks traded on U.S. exchanges. The study examined a sample of 3856 stocks traded on U.S. exchanges, considering 20 years of quarterly data from December 2002 to December 2022. We applied multi-factor models and tested them through pooled ordinary, fixed effects, and random effects panel regression methods. Our results show negative relationships between ESG scores and stock returns and between ESG Momentum and volatility. Contrarily, we find positive associations between ESG Momentum and returns and between ESG scores and volatility. Although high ESG scores are generally associated with lower long-term stock returns, an increase in a company’s ESG rating tends to translate into immediate positive returns and reduced risk. Accordingly, investors may benefit from strategies that focus on companies actively improving their ESG performance, while firms themselves stand to gain by signaling continuous advancement in ESG-related areas. Full article

This study investigates the relationship between overconfidence and meme stock valuation, drawing on panel data from 28 meme stocks listed from 2019 to 2024. The analysis incorporates key financial indicators, including Tobin’s Q ratio, market capitalization, return on assets, leverage, and volatility. A range of overconfidence proxies is employed, including changes in trading volume, turnover rate, changes in outstanding shares, and alternative measures of excessive trading. We observe a significant positive relationship between overconfidence (as measured by changes in trading volume) and firm valuation, suggesting that investor biases contribute to notable pricing distortions. Leverage has a significant negative relationship with firm valuation. In contrast, market capitalization has a significant positive relationship with firm valuation, implying that meme stock investors respond to both speculative sentiment and traditional firm fundamentals. Robustness checks using alternative proxies reveal that turnover rate and changes in the number of shares are negatively related to valuation. This shows the complex dynamics of meme stocks, where psychological factors intersect with firm-specific indicators. However, results from a dynamic panel model estimated using the Dynamic System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) show that the turnover rate has a significantly positive relationship with firm valuation. These results offer valuable insights into the pricing behavior of meme stocks, revealing how investor sentiment impacts periodic valuation adjustments in speculative markets. Full article

This study investigates how consumers respond to firm communications emphasizing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) dimensions. Through experimental design, how consumers distinguish among ESG components and how each affects behavioral finance outcomes, including purchase intentions, willingness to buy and brand trust is assessed. Results confirm that consumers perceive the ESG dimensions as distinct from a non-ESG control message. However, the Social and Governance dimensions are perceived as closely related. Importantly, all three dimensions—Environmental, Social, and Governance—significantly improved behavioral outcomes, supporting the persuasive power of ESG messaging. Mediation analyses reveal that perceived ethicality drives these effects across all dimensions, while perceived authenticity plays a stronger mediating role for social messaging. These findings contribute to finance literature by illuminating the consumer-level mechanisms through which ESG communication influences firm value and offer strategic insights for both practitioners and investors seeking to leverage ESG as a market signal. Full article

Accurately predicting the success of startup financing is critical for strategic business planning and informed investor decision-making. Traditional financing prediction models typically focus on a company’s financial indicators to explore the impact of factors such as resource allocation and strategic choices on financing success, yet they often overlook the important role of social media as an external source of information in influencing financing performance. To address this gap, this paper focuses on the role of social media sentiment in predicting startup financing success and proposes a decision support system (DSS) framework that integrates multi-source data. Specifically, this study combines financial data from the Crunchbase platform with company-related social media news data from Twitter. The BERTweet model is used to perform sentiment analysis on the social media texts, extracting sentiment features such as polarity and intensity to capture public attitudes and expectations toward the company. Subsequently, financial indicators, social media numerical features, and sentiment features are combined to construct a decision support system for predicting financing success using a deep neural network (DNN). Experimental results show that the decision support system incorporating social media data significantly outperforms traditional decision support systems in prediction accuracy, with sentiment features further enhancing the model’s ability to identify a company’s financing performance. Our study provides strong support for understanding the profound influence of public sentiment, offering practical guidance for startups to optimize financing strategies and for investors to make informed decisions. Full article

With increasing global climate change, carbon neutrality has emerged as a common goal among the international community. In this study, we assessed the current status, development potential, and cost of carbon sequestration technology, proposing recommendations for strategic development. We adopted a comprehensive multi-method research strategy, including systematic literature analysis, case studies, and Bayesian fuzzy assessment, to analyze 13 large-scale carbon capture, utilization, and storage demonstration projects in China that include carbon sequestration segments. In addition, we conducted a comprehensive assessment of seven major carbon sequestration technologies. Hydrate-based carbon sequestration technology showed the highest overall carbon sequestration potential among the technologies. Although still in the initial research stage, this technology has significant sequestration and utilization potential, positioning it as a key focus for future development. Accordingly, we recommend increasing R&D investments to accelerate technology maturation. In terms of cost optimization, we highlight the need to focus on site costs, as well as injection and production, and to reduce related costs through technological innovation. Additionally, we explore the conceptual meaning of carbon sequestration and clarify the involved pathways. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers and investors seeking to promote the development of carbon sequestration technology in China. Full article

Crude oil is a widely recognized, indispensable global and national economic resource. It is significantly susceptible to the boundless fluctuations attributed to various variables. Despite its capacity to sustain the global economic framework, the embedded uncertainties correlated with the crude oil markets present formidable challenges that investors must diligently navigate. In this research, we propose a hybrid machine learning model based on random forest (RF), gated recurrent unit (GRU), conventional neural network (CNN), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), functional partial least squares (FPLS), and stacking. This hybrid model facilitates the decision-making process related to the import and export of crude oil in India. The precision and reliability of the different machine learning models utilized in this study were validated through rigorous evaluation using various error metrics, ensuring a thorough assessment of their forecasting capabilities. The conclusive results revealed that the proposed hybrid ensemble model consistently delivered effective and robust predictions compared to the individual models. Full article

This study adopted the event study method to explore the effect of the Hualien earthquake on the performance of tourism stocks in Taiwan. This earthquake occurred on 3 April 2024 and affected Hualien and Taitung. The present study examined the short-term (10 trading days), medium-term (12 weeks), and long-term (5 months) performance of all listed tourism companies in Taiwan (overall sample) and six listed tourism companies with a branch in Hualien or Taitung (six-company sample). The results indicated that the stocks of the overall sample rebounded soon after the earthquake but declined over the long-term period. By contrast, the stocks of the six-company sample exhibited a persistent negative return immediately after the earthquake and gradually recovered in the long term. The findings of this study enhance theoretical understanding regarding the effects of a disaster on the stock market. Moreover, they serve as a reference for practical decision-making related to government risk response, investor behavior, and corporate crisis management in high-risk industries, such as tourism. Strengthening disaster preparedness and corporate branding after a disaster is critical for stabilizing market sentiment and industry resilience. Full article

Focusing on issues related to SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), this study aligns with the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This study explores the barriers unique to the industry that obstruct the adoption of low-carbon emission solutions in Jordan’s multi-family residential buildings. Multi-family apartments constitute 73% of the total housing stock and account for over 80% of all residential structures. A total of eight main barriers that are preventing the implementation of low-carbon emission techniques were evaluated. The Fuzzy Delphi Method was utilized to gather insights from the Consultancy Council members of the Jordan Housing Investors Association. The results suggest that a major obstacle is the insufficient knowledge among end-users regarding environmental concerns, along with financial limitations, resulting in a lack of enthusiasm for low-carbon multi-family apartments. Moreover, insufficient cooperation between consultants and contractors leads to subpar constructability, which is worsened by the prevailing conventional procurement method that prioritizes cost and schedule above environmental consequences. To further investigate, it is advisable to examine the utilization of contemporary procurement methods, such as Design–Build and Construction Management and modern family contracts such as NEC4 in the housing industry of Jordan. These alternative methods have the potential to solve the current difficulties by promoting more effective and environmentally friendly building practices. Full article

This research investigates the spillover effects between assets of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), focusing on the role of climate policy uncertainty in shaping these interactions. Using a time-varying parameter vector autoregressive (TVP-VAR) approach and a joint connectedness method, the analysis incorporates five global indices representing key 4IR domains: the internet, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and robotics, fintech, and blockchain. The findings reveal significant interdependencies among 4IR assets and evaluate the effect of risk factors, including climate policy uncertainty, as a critical driver of the determinants of returns. The results indicate the growing impact of climate-related risks on the structure of connectedness between 4IR assets, highlighting their implications for portfolio diversification and risk management. These insights are vital for investors and policymakers navigating the intersection of technological innovation and environmental challenges in a rapidly changing global economy. Full article