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The rise of the metaverse and technology's disruptive visualisation spell a changing landscape for digital banking. As consumers increasingly conduct financial transactions in virtual worlds and immersive digital environments, it is imperative that advanced analysis tools are developed to measure and improve the virtual banking experience with this emerging metaverse. This chapter enriches the new notion of Metalytics and how it can be successfully employed as an approach to quantify and measure customer satisfaction and quality in digital banking services with today's changing scenarios. Now, it is a complex digital world of social engagement, entertainment and commerce. Traditional banking services, in that sense, have even started seeping into the metaverse and offering users a taste of virtual financial institutions (the meta bank), digital currencies as well as other financial products. The use of advanced analytics, tools and metrics designed for the unique features of a multiverse. This chapter goes on to discuss, through some of its key components and methodologies, how this could usher an epochal change in interstellar nodes for evaluating digital banking services. Financial institutions that embrace the peculiarities of the metaverse and leverage data-driven insights can offer comprehensive digital banking solutions. This is necessary for the digital frontier, and Metalytics propulsion fits this part perfectly, managing to keep their services up to date, safe, secure and, most importantly, customer-centred while navigating through the metaverse landscape.

Tolerance to ambiguity (TOLA) is a personal trait influencing one’s comfort and proficiency in navigating uncertain situations. While the concept of role ambiguity is well-established in sales literature, the broader trait of ambiguity has been largely overlooked in this context. In the dynamic landscape of modern business, uncertainty is a regular phenomenon, and navigating ambiguity is an invaluable skill. While salespeople are celebrated for their customer focus, negotiation skills and product knowledge, their capacity to embrace ambiguity-a skill that could be an important contributor to their success in the diverse global market is rarely studied. This study contributes by linking a salesperson’s TOLA and two well-established dimensions of emotional intelligence to adaptive selling behavior. Using responses from a sample of 209 employees of financial institutions in a large metropolitan city in India, this study shows that TOLA, understanding others' emotions and regulation of emotions positively influence a salesperson’s adaptive selling behavior. Further, results also point out that TOLA moderates the relationship between understanding other emotions and adaptive selling. To our knowledge, this is the first study that has explored the link between these two important skills of salespeople, thus extending TOLA as a critical construct to the sales field. Managerial implications and directions for future research are provided.

Using responses from a sample of 209 employees of financial institutions, a model was tested using structural equation modeling. A measurement model was used to assess the validity of the scales used in the study. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted using AMOS 28 with the scale items for understanding other’s emotions (UOE), regulation of emotions (ROE), adaptive selling behavior (ADPS), job performance (JOBP) and three mean-centered dimensions of the TOLA scale. A structural equation model was run using AMOS 28 to test the relationships among variables.

The study results show that TOLA has a strong positive relationship with adaptive selling. Further, results show that TOLA acts as a moderator in the relationship between understanding others’ emotions, a fact of emotional intelligence and adaptive selling behavior.

To our knowledge this is the first study that explored the link between TOLA and adaptive selling, a critical predictor of sales performance. While the concept of role ambiguity is well-established in sales literature, the broader trait of ambiguity has been largely overlooked in this context. By establishing the link between these two important skills of salespeople, this study extends the concept of TOLA as a critical construct to the sales field.

Study results validate the important role of TOLA on salesperson’s ability to use adaptive selling behavior which is critical for sales performance. This study highlights the different ways sales professionals who possess a high TOLA can benefit. Field sales managers can play a crucial role in fostering a TOLA culture in the sale team and help leverage the relationship between TOLA, emotional intelligence and adaptive selling. By integrating qualities of TOLA into recruitment and training, managers can create a sales team that is not only effective in navigating uncertainties and thrive in dynamic and competitive business environments.

In sales settings, the concept of role ambiguity is well-established, but the broader trait of ambiguity has been largely overlooked and has rarely been part of sales research. A recent review of 15 studies on TOLA shows that almost all the studies used student samples and only a handful of them were done in organizational or sales settings. The current study aims to fill the gap in sales research by exploring how TOLA influences adaptive selling, one of the critical constructs in sales research.

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the performance discrepancies between shariah-compliant and non-shariah-compliant exchange-traded funds (ETFs), aiming to enrich the academic and practical understanding of Islamic finance‘s nuances in the ETF sector.

Initiating with a broad literature review to cement a theoretical backdrop on Islamic investment principles and the mechanics of shariah-compliant ETFs, the research progresses to devise a comparative analytical framework. This framework focuses on assessing ETF performance through metrics like net asset value returns and volatility, specifically analyzing Blackrock ETFs to draw distinctions in portfolio outcomes and asset compositions.

The examination highlights discernible variances in portfolio performance between shariah-compliant and their conventional counterparts, presenting instances where shariah-compliant ETFs, such as ISUS from Blackrock, deliver competitive returns despite their generally lower net assets compared to conventional ETFs like VUSA from Vanguard. Moreover, the ISUS ETF‘s holdings investigation revealed discrepancies with AAOIFI standards, questioning its strict Shariah compliance and adding depth to the analysis of Islamic financial instruments‘ integrity.

This paper significantly advances the scholarly dialogue on Islamic financial practices within the ETF landscape, providing empirical evidence of performance differentials and compliance intricacies. While prior research has touched upon Islamic investing, this study pioneers a detailed comparative scrutiny, equipped with a novel methodological approach, to dissect the shariah-compliant ETFs‘ operational and ethical frameworks, offering invaluable insights for investors, financial analysts and Islamic finance scholars.

This study aims to provide an exhaustive review and analysis of accounting research conducted on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

The study combines bibliometric and content analysis techniques to analyze 811 Scopus peer-reviewed research articles from 1998 to 2023, written by 1,195 authors. It quantifies the annual scientific production, examines the main publication venues, visualizes collaboration and various bibliometric networks, identifies thematic research categories and provides a roadmap for future research directions.

The findings reveal phenomenal progress in accounting research on the GCC countries, evidenced by an increased number of peer-reviewed articles, scholars and countries involved. Likewise, a “homophily impact” exists among the productive authors, meaning they share a disciplinary or thematic similarity in their research interests. Besides, there is an apparent weakness in the research collaboration between GCC countries and their global counterparts. Furthermore, four main broad thematic categories of accounting research on the GCC countries were identified: (1) corporate governance, (2) Islamic banks, (3) corporate social responsibility and (4) intellectual capital. Building on the findings, we formulated a comprehensive agenda for guiding future research directions.

This study is the first to thoroughly evaluate accounting research within the GCC countries, utilizing a large sample of 811 peer-reviewed research papers indexed in Scopus from 1998 to 2023. The results are helpful, offer valuable insights and pave the way for future research avenues.

This study aims to argue that responses in economic growth (EG) resulting from positive and negative shocks in energy consumption could be a non-linear phenomenon. Thus, the study aims to investigate the existence of non-linear long-run effects of positive and negative shocks in green and conventional energy consumption on EG for China and India. By decomposing energy consumption in positive and negative shocks, the study seeks to determine the distinct impact of positive and negative shocks in energy (conventional and green) consumption on EG of China and India.

A non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model based on energy-augmented environment Kuznets curve (EKC) framework is used on annual time series covering the period 1965–2021. The study uses a precise econometric methodology, starting with unit root tests to assess stationarity, moving to the estimation of the NARDL model, which resulted in the calculation of long-run coefficients and error correction terms to analyse the rate of adjustment towards equilibrium.

The empirical findings demonstrate that there exists a non-linear cointegrating relationship among EG, carbon emissions and green and conventional energy consumption for both economies. In the long run, a non-linear impact of green energy consumption (GEC) on EG is evident for China only, whereas non-linear impact of conventional energy consumption (CEC) on EG is visible for both countries.

While China and India prioritise energy diversification by embracing green energy to promote energy security and limit rising carbon emissions, it is interesting to investigate how positive and negative shocks in GEC and CEC have affected their EG. Second, this paper examines the trade-offs between EG and GEC/CEC in China and India, two high-carbon emitters. The disparities in trade-offs may indicate how well each country’s energy policies address increased EG with fewer energy-induced carbon emissions.

This study examines non-linear cointegration among the variables of interest, whereas most prior studies have focused on linear cointegration. The existence of non-linear cointegration may suggest that positive and negative shocks in GEC and CEC can result in non-linear reactions in EG. Thus, it establishes a basis for examining the non-linear long-term effects of GEC and CEC on EG. The research findings indicate significant consequences and necessitate prompt intervention to alleviate the detrimental impacts of shocks in GEC and CEC on EG in China and India and provide several important inputs to address the inherent challenges of energy transition goals.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between carbon emission disclosure and earnings management within Indonesian firms. The authors use the stakeholder theory and agency theory frameworks to explain this relationship.

Panel data of Indonesian listed firms between 2016 and 2021 are used in this study. Data are analysed using fixed effects with robust standard errors.

Firms disclosing carbon emission-related information exhibit less absolute discretionary accruals. This finding implies that these firms are less likely to engage in unethical financial reporting practices, such as earnings management. This finding is also confirmed through the robustness check and endogeneity tests.

The findings of this study can be used when formulating policy initiatives and regulations to promote carbon emission disclosure practices within Indonesian firms.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the effect of carbon emission disclosure in sustainability reports on earnings management amid the sustainability reporting requirement period. It provides empirical evidence that carbon emission disclosure is considered an ethical practice in an emerging country.

This study seeks to investigate the impact of board attributes on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, along with exploring the mediating role of carbon emissions in this relationship.

To address this objective, the panel data approach was used to analyze the data were collected from 1,621 European companies from 2017 to 2021.

This study shows that board gender diversity, audit committee independence, expertise and board meeting attendance help enhance ESG performance. On the contrary, board size and composition do not affect ESG performance. The findings also showed that board gender diversity, audit committee independence, expertise and board meeting attendance are negatively related to carbon emissions performance. However, board size is related positively to carbon emissions performance. This indicates that the larger boards of directors may have diverse experiences that enhance the environmental performance of companies. Furthermore, the finding showed companies that contribute to lowering carbon emissions are more willing to improve their ESG performance. Also, carbon emissions mediate the relationship between the board's attributes and ESG performance.

The study's results have significant implications for firm managers in enhancing the efficiency of board decisions in determining environmental practices that matter to various groups of stakeholders. In addition, this study provides valuable input to regulators and policymakers regarding strengthening the regulations and controlling tools that enhance environmental performance.

Companies are increasingly appointing a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) to anchor the need to highlight climate change at the senior management level. This study aims to examine how CSO power and sustainability-based compensation influence climate reporting and carbon performance.

Using one of the largest data sets to date, consisting of 18,834 company years through the author’s observations, spanning an 11-year period (2011–2021) in 33 countries. This paper used quantitative methods – specifically, ordinal logistic regression estimation. This paper measures the level of climate change disclosure based on the carbon disclosure leadership methodology. Carbon performance is based on the intensity of carbon emissions (Scope 1, Scope 2), which is a quantitative and relatively more objective measure.

The results suggest that climate change disclosure continued to increase and the carbon emissions intensity of the companies in this study gradually decreased over the sample period. This paper finds that the presence of the CSO within the top management team has a positive and significant influence on the level of information on climate change of the companies in the sample. This finding confirms the idea that the managerial capacity of CSOs motivates the disclosure of climate change. The empirical results confirm that there are differences in the role that the CSO and sustainability-based compensation play in influencing the quality of climate information disclosure in developed and developing countries.

The recourse on a mixed theoretical framework, which highlights upper echelons theory, argues the understanding of the role of CSOs in explaining the relationship between climate change disclosure–carbon performance relationship. The novelty of the study lies in the approaches adopted to describe the quality of climate change disclosure. To control for endogeneity, this paper uses a difference-in-difference analysis by adding a firm to the Morgan Stanley Capital International index as an exogenous shock.

This study aims to examine the impact of Audit Committee (AC) characteristics on carbon disclosures and performance among companies listed in the STOXX Europe 600 index.

The sample consists of companies listed in the STOXX Europe 600 index over a 11-year period (2012–2022). The study uses panel data regression methods and uses the two-step system generalized method of moments to control for endogeneity.

The results indicate that AC size, independence and financial expertise positively influence carbon disclosure, highlighting the significance of these characteristics in promoting transparency and accountability in reporting carbon emissions. Additionally, these attributes are significantly associated with improved carbon performance, suggesting their potential role in advancing environmental sustainability.

The study provides practical insights for policymakers and regulatory bodies aiming to enhance carbon-related practices through improved corporate governance (CG) structures. By emphasizing the importance of specific AC characteristics, the findings suggest pathways for enhancing the quality of carbon disclosures and performance.

Despite extensive attention on CG in promoting sustainability, the specific influence of AC characteristics on carbon disclosures and performance remains underexplored. This study addresses this significant literature gap and, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, is the first to link AC characteristics with both carbon disclosure and performance. It enriches the current body of knowledge in agency theory and provides critical insights for developing CG and regulatory policies that enhance the quality of carbon disclosures.

This paper aims to investigate the direct and indirect relationship between CEO compensation and earnings management using corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a mediating variable.

This study examines 159 French firms listed on the SBF 250 index, encompassing 1,908 firm-year observations from 2011 to 2022, to investigate the relationship between CEO compensation, CSR and earnings management. We used discretionary accruals as the earnings management measure, under the Kothariet al. model (2005). The direct and indirect effects between CEO compensation and earnings management were tested using structural equation model analysis.

The results reveal that CEO compensation positively influences earnings management. Higher CEO compensation is associated with a greater likelihood of engaging in earnings management practices. CSR was found to partially mediate the relationship between CEO compensation and corporate earnings management. Further analysis indicates that the social and environmental dimensions of CSR contribute significantly to this mediating effect.

The study’s focus on the French institutional context may limit the generalizability of the findings to other regions. In addition, the relatively small sample size, given the limited number of publicly listed firms in France, suggests that extending the study to include other European countries could enhance the robustness of the results.

The findings have practical implications for companies, policymakers and regulators seeking to curb opportunistic managerial behavior. Regulators can develop policies that promote transparency and ethical financial reporting, leveraging CSR as a governance tool to curb earnings manipulation.

This study highlights the ethical concerns of excessive CEO compensation, which may incentivize earnings management and undermine financial transparency. It emphasizes the need for strong CSR practices, particularly in the social and environmental dimensions, to mitigate these issues and align corporate behavior with societal and sustainability goals.

The originality of this paper lies in its exploration of both direct and indirect relationships between CEO compensation and earnings management, with CSR acting as a mediating variable. Unlike previous studies that have primarily focused on the direct link between CEO compensation and earnings management, this research investigates the potential mediating role of CSR in this relationship. In addition, this study distinguishes itself by examining the impact of the structure of CEO compensation on earnings management. While the existing literature has concentrated on total CEO compensation, the effects of its individual components such as fixed and variable compensation remain underexplored.