Sectoral and Institutional Heterogeneity in Corporate Finance, Corporate Governance and Risk Management

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to advance research in the areas of financial analysis, corporate finance, and risk management, taking into account the importance of sector-specific dynamics and institutional environments.

In recent years, there has been growing amounts of attention paid to the heterogeneity of financial behaviors and governance practices across different industries and countries. Emerging sectors such as sports companies, music and entertainment, digital and green industries, and the space economy often operate in rapidly evolving environments where conventional financial models may be ineffective. At the same time, institutional differences—such as legal frameworks, investor protection systems, and cultural norms—create further variation in how firms assess and respond to risks.

This Special Issue welcomes theoretical and empirical contributions that address the interactions between financial strategy, governance models, and risk management practices across different sectors and institutional contexts. Studies adopting comparative and interdisciplinary approaches are particularly encouraged.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Comparative risk management practices across sectors or countries;
• Corporate governance in sports, music, and entertainment firms;
• Financial planning and capital structure in context-specific settings;
• Institutional determinants of governance and disclosure practices;
• ESG risks and sustainability integration in creative and high-growth sectors;
• The role of culture and informal institutions in financial behavior;
• Sectoral and geographic variation in investor expectations and firm valuations.

Dr. Gianluca Gucciardi
Dr. Massimo Ruberti
Guest Editors

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Risks 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 1800 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.