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This study analyzed the impact of organizational reform on the operational performance of commercial banks. Furthermore, it examined the long-term effectiveness of the organizational reforms carried out by financial holding companies in their commercial banks from the perspective of individual enterprises. A case study examines the results of organizational change driven by the Commercial Bank, the first listed financial holding company in Taiwan, since 2006 to strengthen organizational execution. The study period is from the first quarter of 2000 to the first quarter of 2024, for a total of 97 quarters. The CAMELS Rating System evaluated banks’ operating performance, considering the board size factor, the stability of key insider positions, the asset size, and the impact of major infectious disease events (SARS and COVID-19). Modeling analysis was performed via stepwise regression. The empirical results show that organizational reforms can have a significant effect on banks’ capital adequacy, asset quality, management quality, liquidity, and sensitivity to market risk. Therefore, it is believed that organizational reform has the effects of sound assets, management quality, and reduced operational risk for banks. Major infectious disease events have a significant and prioritized impact on banks’ capital adequacy and sensitivity. Additionally, banks’ operational performance has asset- and board-size effects. Finally, the results of this study can provide a reference for the internal organizational reform of financial institutions after mergers and acquisitions in the future.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the effect of volatility in prices of internationally traded commodities (the backbone of most economies) on the stability of the banking industry from three main perspectives; bank liquidity reserves, overall bank risk and bank capital adequacy.Design/methodology/approachData were compiled from various sources for 30 emerging economies from 2002 to 2018 and were analyzed using the two-step system generalized method of moments estimation technique.FindingsThe study finds that all things being equal, the magnitude and direction of impact of commodity price volatility on bank stability among economies in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) depend on the type and nature of the commodity in question; and the bank stability proxy used. For instance, an increase in crude oil prices is found to foster stability in the banking industry (proxied by bank liquid reserves) but insignificant when stability in the banking industry is proxied using other banking sector parameters. Additionally, government effectiveness and corruption control have varying moderating influences on how volatility associated with prices of internationally traded commodities influence various proxies for banking industry stability.Originality/valueThis study highlights the effect of fluctuations in prices of key internationally traded commodities (adjusted for foreign exchange impact) that are important sources of revenue among economies in SSA on banking sector stability from liquidity, overall risk and capital adequacy perspectives. The influential role of governance in the relationship between volatility in the price of commodities and bank stability is also revealed by the study.

The Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) brings together the world's finest development thinkers to present their perspectives and ideas. In recent years, a parallel, second conference has been held in Europe with the same goal of expanding the flow of ideas between thinkers, practitioners, and policymakers in the field of international development. ABCDE—Europe 2003 presents selected papers from the fourth annual ABCDE—Europe meetings, held June 24-26, 2002, in Oslo, Norway. Hosted by the World Bank and the Chr. Michelsen Institute, more than 350 eminent scholars and practitioners from 50 countries met to deliberate on the theme 'Towards Pro-Poor Policies'. The papers from sessions on aid, institutions, and globalization provide both a general overview of links between poverty, inequality, and growth, and address specific topics such as the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative for debt reduction. All consider the role of policies and institutions in development and poverty reduction. IN THIS VOLUME: An overview by Bertil Tungodden, Ivar Kolstad, and Nicholas Stern; papers on aid by Nicholas Stern, David Roland-Holst and Finn Tarp, Stephan Klasen, Lisa Chauvet and Patrick Guillaumont, and Jean-Pierre Cling, Mireille Razafindrakoto, and François Roubaud; papers on institutions by Mariano Tommasi, Mushtaq Khan, David Dunham, Stanley Engerman and Kenneth Sokoloff, Karla Hoff and Joseph Stiglitz; and papers on globalization by Jomo Sundaram, John Dunning, Antonio Spilimbergo, Juan Luis Londoño, and Miguel Székely, Andrés Solimano, and Oded Stark.

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Stationary Points and Potential Energy Hypersurfaces Calculation of Reaction and Activation Energies: Levels of Theory and Solvent Effects Estimate of Relative Free Energies: Standard States Theoretical Approximate Kinetic Constants and Treatment of Data Selected Examples Conclusions and Outlook References

Purpose Sustainability reporting has been widely adopted by firms worldwide given the need of stakeholders for more transparency on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between ESG and bank’s operational (Return on Assets), financial (Return on Equity) and market performance (Tobin’s Q). Design/methodology/approach This study examined 235 banks for ten years (2007-2016) to ends up with 2,350 observations. The independent variable is the ESG disclosure; the dependent variables are performance indicators (return on assets, return on equity and Tobin’s Q). Two type of control variables are utilized in this study: bank specific and macroeconomic. Findings The findings deduced from the empirical results demonstrate that there is significant positive impact of ESG on the performance. However, the relationship between ESG disclosures is vary if measured individually; the environmental disclosure found positively affect the ROA and TQ. Whereas, the corporate social responsibility disclosure is negatively affect the three models. However, the corporate governance disclosure found negatively affects the ROA, ROE and positively affects the Tobin’s Q. Originality/value The results of this study can be used to present a successful model for worldwide banks to concentrate on the role of ESG disclosure in performance.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to concentrate on environmental, social and governance performance (ESGP) in total and divided in each component and evaluate their impact on financial performance (FINP). Design/methodology/approach The study covers a sample selection of companies listed on the German Prime Standard (DAX30, TecDAX, MDAX) for the business years 2010-2014 (412 firm-year observations). A correlation and regression analysis was carried out to evaluate possible links between ESGP as determined by the Asset4 database of Thomson Reuters and accounting and market-based measures of FINP (Return on Assets [ROA] and Tobin’s Q). Findings ESGP has a positive impact on ROA but no impact on Tobin’s Q. Furthermore, by analyzing the three different components of ESGP, governance performance has the strongest impact on FINP in comparison to environmental and social performance. Originality/value The analysis makes a key contribution to the empirical corporate social responsibility (CSR) research as the author breaks down ESGP into their three components and include both accounting-based and market-based FINP measures for the German setting for the first time. Not only companies but also regulators and researchers are affected by the notion that CSR and FINP are close together and should be lead to a successful stakeholder management.

Power dynamics are widely recognized as key contributors to poor outcomes of environmental governance broadly and specifically for adaptive water governance. Water governance processes are shifting, with increased emphasis on collaboration and learning. Understanding how power dynamics impact these processes in adaptive governance is hence critical to improve governance outcomes. Power dynamics in the context of adaptive water governance are complex and highly variable and so are power theories that offer potential explanations for poor governance outcomes. This study aimed to build an understanding of the use of power theory in water and environmental governance and establish a foundation for future research by identifying power foci and variables that are used by researchers in this regard. We conducted a systematic literature review using the Web of Science Core Collection and the ProQuest Political Science databases to understand how power is studied (foci, variables of interest, and methods) and which theories are being applied in the water governance field and in the environmental governance field more broadly. The resulting review can serve as a practical reference for (adaptive) water governance inquiries that seek to study power in depth or intend to integrate power considerations into their research. The identified power variables add to a much needed groundwork for research that investigates the role of power dynamics in collaboration and learning processes. Furthermore, they offer a substantive base for empirical research on power dynamics in adaptive water governance.

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the role of the country's institutional quality on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of its companies.Design/methodology/approachOver a four-year period (2016–2019), the study examined the ESG performance of 412 organizations situated in 19 countries. ESG performance was the dependent variable, and the independent variables were rule of law, economic freedom, education index and international trade freedom. These factors described the institutional quality of countries in the authors’ study.FindingsThe findings reveal that institutional quality has a major impact on ESG performance. Companies engage in more ESG practices when they operate in countries with greater economic freedom and international trade freedom. The authors corroborated the core assumption of institutional theory (IT), which argues that organizational behavior is determined by the country's institutional setting.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings, like all research, should be interpreted with caution. The authors’ research focused solely on large energy corporations. As a result, the conclusions cannot be applied to small companies or other industries. ESG performance can also be measured using different datasets.Practical implicationsIf managers want their companies to perform better in terms of ESG, the authors recommend that they form a CSR committee and sign the Global Compact. This study may be valuable to international policymakers because they can underline that greater economic freedom, better education and greater international trade freedom all promote higher ESG performance.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, nearly all of research explores the relationship between ESG and financial performance. As a result, this study built on past research by investigating how national aspects affect corporate ESG performance.

In recent years, several countries have enacted guidelines and/or mandatory laws to increase the presence of women on the boards of companies. Through these regulatory interventions, the aim is to eradicate the social and labor grievances that women have traditionally experienced and which has relegated them to smaller-scale jobs. Nevertheless, and despite the advances achieved, the female representation in the boardroom remains far from the desired levels. In this context, it is now necessary to enhance the advantages of board gender diversity from both ethical and economic points of view. This article examines the relation between board gender diversity and economic results in Spain: the second country in the world to legally require gender quotas in boardrooms and historically characterized by a minimal female participation in the workforce. Based on a sample of 125 non-financial firms listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange from 2005 to 2009, our findings show that in the period analyzed the increase of the number of women on boards was over 98 %. This suggests that compulsory legislation offers an efficient framework to execute the recommendation of Spanish codes of good governance by means of the increase in the number of women in the boards of firms. Furthermore, we find that the increase in the number of women on the boards is positively related to higher economic results. Therefore, both results suggest that gender diversity in boardrooms should be incremented, mandatory laws being a key factor to do so.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the relationship between banks’ board structure and sustainability performance. Design/methodology/approach The empirical quantitative paper covers a sample of 35 European banks that are listed at the EUROSTOXX 600. Regression analysis techniques were used in the analyses. Findings Results indicate that board size, women ratio and independent directors ratio on board are positively and significantly related to environmental social governance (ESG), E and S disclosure scores. Also, we find that ESG disclosure is related to bank profitability. Practical implications Findings have implications for both policymakers and practitioners (bankers and investors). Large bank boards, which have women and independent members, could perform better in terms of ESG disclosure. The results also show that large banks and banks with high borrowing care more about sustainability. For banks to reach resources, they should perform well in terms of sustainability disclosure to their stakeholders. Social implications Banks should observe academic findings on corporate governance (CG) practices, which lead to a better ESG disclosure to structure their CG to improve at the best their disclosure policies: they should prefer larger boards with a high level of women and independence. In addition, we attach importance to the ESG performance of the banking sector due to its fund transfer functions. Banks transfer the deposits they collect to those in need of funds as loans. For this reason, it is important to which sector and which business they give credit. The importance of banks on ESG and their adoption of sustainability dimensions also affect their credit decisions. Originality/value This study examines the relationship between banks’ board structure variables and their effect on ESG, E and S scores separately. This study thinks that the G score can be a handicap for ESG-CG relations. Because chosen CG variables (women ratio, independent ratio, board size) affect G scores positively and can reason for positive ESG-CG relation. The environmental and social impact of women ratio, independent ratio and board size can be seen in this study.