Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to incorporate risk in technical efficiency of ASEAN banks in a panel data framework for the period 2000 to 2015. Design/methodology/approach – The directional distance function and semi-parametric framework are employed to estimate efficiency scores for two scenarios, one with only good outputs and the other with a combination of good and bad outputs. Findings – The findings show there is no evidence of technological progress for banks in ASEAN and concerns about the outperformance of Vietnam’s banks. In addition, performance of Vietnam’s banks tends to be distorted by low level of loan loss reserves. Practical implications – To reflect the true performance and shorten the period of removing bad assets, the State Bank of Vietnam can request banks in Vietnam to book more loan loss reserves. Originality/value – By examining such a new approach, this study makes an early attempt to incorporate credit risk into the banking efficiency in ASEAN region.

Purpose This study revisits the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities and firm performance. More importantly, it tests whether this relationship is moderated by critical yet underexplored factors such as stakeholder engagement, financial constraints, and religiosity. Design/methodology/approach A wide range of estimation techniques, including pooled ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed effects, system generalized method of moments (GMM) and propensity score matching-difference-in-differences (PSM-DiD), are employed to investigate such issues in a large sample of firms from 31 countries. Findings ESG performance has a positive and significant impact on firm performance. While stakeholder engagement positively moderates this relationship, financial constraints and religiosity negatively moderate it. Interestingly, this positive linkage is driven by environmental and social performance rather than governance performance. Practical implications Firms should proactively engage in ESG initiatives and consider the intervening influences of stakeholder engagement, financial constraints and religiosity in making decisions to invest in ESG activities. Furthermore, our findings can help policymakers understand the financial consequences of ESG practices, which can be helpful in designing new policies to further promote corporate engagement in ESG practices. Originality/value First, our research findings help reconcile the long-standing debate about the value impact of ESG. Second, our paper investigates relatively new aspects of the ESG-firm performance relationship. Third, our study offers more insight into the ESG literature by showing that not all ESG dimensions equally impact firm performance.

Purpose Examining the role of women on board (WoB) toward corporate sustainable growth (CSG) through leverage policy (LP). This research also investigates the interaction effect of WoB and LP on improving CSG. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a moderated mediation model to examine the impact of WoB on CSG, mediated by LP. Data from 48 KEHATI IDX ESG Sector Leaders Index companies observed from 2015 to 2021 were analyzed using the structural equation model partial least square (SEM-PLS) Warp.PLS 8.0. The research applies instrumental variables (IV) to test and control endogeneity due to nonrandom sample selection. Findings We found evidence that LP acts as a full mediator between the presence of WoB and CSG. The presence of WoB plays a moderate role by slightly weakening the influence of LP on CSG. Furthermore, we obtained evidence showing that the relationship between WoB and CSG is J-curve-shaped, a nonlinear relationship related to critical mass. Where the WoB ratio is at least 8.35% or higher, it will increase CSG in companies that have implemented the concept of environment social governance (ESG) in Indonesia. Originality/value This model uses a moderated mediation model and J-curve analysis; there is an interaction between WoB and LP on different paths of the mediator to CSG. This model examines the role of WoB as a moderator of the effect of LP on CSG. A nonlinear J-curve test was conducted to determine the minimum level of WoB that can influence the increase of CSG.

Purpose This study explores the variance in investor responses to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance of firms, as influenced by information sources and investor types. Design/methodology/approach This study applies a short-term event study and cross-sectional analysis with unique CSR datasets obtained from newspaper articles and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Findings Investor reactions are significantly shaped by their sources of information. Individual investors are found to predominantly respond to accessible news announcements, whereas institutional investors show heightened sensitivity to adverse news from both scrutinized sources. Foreign investors, mirroring institutional investors' patterns, uniquely react positively to index additions. Research limitations/implications Investors’ assessment of CSR activities varies due to the differing sources of information obtained; further, it is affected by the type of investor. Practical implications The findings guide public relation managers in strategizing CSR communication toward diverse investor types. This includes recommending targeted approaches for Japanese individual investors through newspapers and TV, exercising caution in disseminating adverse news to Japanese institutions, and promoting and justifying CSR actions to foreign investors. It underscores the need for a strategic investor relations frameworks that considers accessibility, literacy, and investors' interests. Originality/value This study examines the relationship between sources of information for CSR activities and investors’ responses, an area under-represented in the literature. The author uses CSR announcement data, collected from newspapers to make the results more accurate and relevant.

Purpose To enhance the loan repayment performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Pakistan, this study aims to analyze the direct impact of social capital and loan credit terms on loan repayment performance and microenterprises’ business performance while considering the mediating role of microenterprises’ business performance on the relationship between social capital, loan credit terms and loan repayment performance. Design/methodology/approach The analysis was conducted based on the data gathered via a questionnaire distributed to 316 microenterprises owners. The respondents were selected using the stratified sampling technique by dividing the target population into three influential groups of manufacturing, trading and services microenterprises. The reliability and validity of the constructs were established using (1) factor loading, (2) Cronbach’s alpha, (3) composite reliability, (4) average variance extracted, (5) the variance inflation factor, (6) the Fornell–Larcker criterion and (7) the heterotrait–monotrait ratio. The structural equation modeling technique was then applied, and the hypotheses were tested based on the structure model generated through bootstrapping by using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings The results confirm the direct impact of social capital and loan credit terms on microenterprises’ business performance and loan repayment performance. It also supports the mediating role of microenterprises’ business performance toward the relationship between social capital, loan credit terms and loan repayment performance while considering the direct impact of microenterprises’ business performance on loan repayment performance. Originality/value To date, the direct impact of social capital and loan credit terms on microenterprises’ business performance and loan repayment performance has been hardly investigated in the context of Pakistan. This study also examines the mediating role of microenterprises’ business performance toward social capital, loan credit terms and loan repayment performance. The findings will enable both MFIs and microenterprises to improve their business performance and loan repayment performance through enhanced social ties and the development of more flexible credit products that protect the borrowers’ interests and the interest of lenders.