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Chapter 11 can be used as a tool to facilitate the acquisition or sale of a company in bankruptcy. Although a troubled firm may appear tarnished, it can provide a golden opportunity.

This study has two aims. It aims to analyse three essential pre-conditions of an authentic sustainability curriculum (ASC). The theoretical analysis involves the definition of authenticity through the learning outcomes (LOs) framework called authentic minimum (AM). This paper also aims to gauge students’ views on economic growth, sustainability and mindfulness.

The theoretical aim was accomplished by extensive study of and critical reflections on the relevant literature. The empirical research was qualitative using an online questionnaire as survey instrument consisting of predominantly open-ended questions involving students of two economic faculties. Directed content analysis and nonparametric quantitative methods were used to assess the answers.

Viable sustainability goals are in stark contrast with the promotion of sustainable economic growth in sustainable development goals 8 and the reigning neoliberal agenda. The empirical findings provide valuable insights into how undergraduate students view mindfulness, economic growth and aspects of sustainability.

The empirical research has some obvious limitations that warrant caution in generalizing the results. The authors used a sample of convenience and the base population of the survey consisted only in students of economics in two economic faculties of two Hungarian universities.

Practical implications of the present paper are many all sharing; however, the need for existential courage on the part of teachers, students and leaders of higher education institutions. Existential courage is required for profound personal transformation, for going against mainstream ideology and the possible confrontations with colleagues, leaders of institutions, students, friends or family members.

On the theoretical side, the concept of ASC was introduced with AM as its LOs framework. For the first time, an attempt was made to interpret authenticity in sustainability education as an integration of mindfulness, human and environmental ethics and a firm opposition to economic growth and neoliberal ideals. The analysis of qualitative data supported earlier research and also provided unique findings in the examined areas.

The paper aims to provide companies with a better understanding of the needs of institutional investors to improve the disclosure of sustainability information by companies. The study investigates the changed information needs of institutional investors resulting from the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

This study uses an internet-based survey instrument amongst institutional investors to gain insights into their needs regarding sustainability information. The authors received 155 responses in total and use descriptive statistics and t-tests to analyse the survey data.

The results demonstrate that the implementation of the SFDR challenges institutional investors, as it affects their decision process. Additionally, the findings still indicate a lack of available corporate sustainability information, making it even more challenging for institutional investors to make appropriate investment decisions. Respondents suggest that information on climate-related risks is more important than the European Union (EU) Taxonomy metrics for meeting the SFDR requirements.

The findings are mainly restricted to the opinion of European investors. However, the evidence contributes to the existing literature by investigating institutional investors' information needs in the new regulatory landscape.

As the study provides insights into institutional investors' needs, reporting companies recognise the relevance of transparently providing sustainability information to be further considered in the investment process of institutional investors despite the regulation. The findings can help regulators develop uniform and global sustainability reporting standards.

This paper is the first to provide evidence on sustainability information requested on the institutional investors' side. The survey gathers primary data from professional investment members unavailable in databases or reports.

In October we begin our librarianship studies, if we are still students, and never in library history have so many facilities, in whole and in part‐time schools, been available. It still remains for all library authorities to accept the idea that it is a natural and proper thing for every entrant into library work to come into it, either by way of a library school, or with the intention (and the opportunity) of attending a library school, with aid equivalent to that given in the training of the teacher. In October, too, we note that eight meetings of librarians, three of them week‐end conferences, have been arranged. This is indeed activity and we hope that attendances in all cases justify their organizers. At a more general level, the Election of the Library Association Council occurs this month. Here is a real obligation upon librarians—to elect a Council representative of every library interest, general and special, public and otherwise. Next year, the Centenary Year of public libraries, is a great one for them; we want the best Council for it. We want, however, non‐public librarians to participate in its celebrations.

In this chapter, I will present not only an outline of current developments of corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental, social, and governance (ESG), and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to the new EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (European Union, 2024) and the consequences these have for organizations but also the opportunities and risks they provide in relation to the spread of disinformation. I will also discuss the recent court cases against companies and governments regarding greenwashing and discuss opportunities for organizations to position themselves as innovative and attractive for future and current employees with a focus on sustainability in the war for talent.

This study aims to examine the value orientations of New Zealand agribusiness investors and how these orientations influence their reactions to the environmental and social implications of agribusinesses.

In the context of the New Zealand agricultural sector, the views of investors as published in print and broadcast media between 2018 and 2022 are gathered. The study uses qualitative content analysis to analyse the data. The study is based on the value-belief-norm theory.

The study reveals that New Zealand agribusiness investors express concern about the environmental (biospheric) and social (altruistic) impacts of the agribusiness sector, prompting calls for greater transparency, climate adaptation and ethical investment options. Additionally, they actively support local businesses to benefit their communities and preserve cultural heritage. Despite these biospheric and altruistic tendencies, investors also prioritise financial and non-financial interests (egoistic). This highlights a nuanced perspective guiding their investment choices – a balance between self-interest and contributing to the greater good. This signals a shift towards socially and environmentally responsible investment practices driven by multifaceted values.

The findings of this study highlight the role of non-pecuniary motives, like values, in determining the relevance of environmental and social information.

The study’s findings offer insight to agribusinesses on how investors’ value orientations shape their investment decisions. This understanding can guide businesses in framing a reporting strategy that enhances the likelihood of investors perceiving reporting as relevant and persuasive, thereby attracting more investments. In turn, this tailored reporting approach assists investors in making well-informed decisions in assessing the environmental and societal risks of agribusinesses.

The study offers a framework explaining how agribusinesses can increase the likelihood of investors finding firms reporting relevant and persuasive, leading to increased investments in environmentally and socially sustainable practices.

Motivated by recent research on the pivotal role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the interplay of financial activities and ESG issues, we examine ChatGPT’s ability to assist the public, investors, corporate boards, shareholders and companies with ESG-related issues.

We conduct a preliminary test of ChatGPT’s knowledge of ESG by feeding ChatGPT with questions from three sources: Bloomberg, Corporate Finance Institute and Alison.com. We compare ChatGPT-4o mini to random guessing, Google’s Gemini and ChatGPT-4o. We test ChatGPT-4o mini’s familiarity with Bloomberg terminal functions related to ESG.

We find ChatGPT’s accuracy is 100% on Bloomberg questions. We also find that ChatGPT-4o mini’s performance is slightly better than that of Gemini and ChatGPT-4o. However, we document that ChatGPT-4o mini sometimes fabricates non-existing functions, which is evidence of hallucinations, a built-in flaw of ChatGPT. Lastly, we show that ChatGPT-4o mini can analyze Bloomberg terminal screen images, assess companies’ actual ESG reports and draft CEO compensation contracts with integrated ESG metrics.

Our study is the first attempt to test ChatGPT’s knowledge in the domain of ESG. Our findings suggest the potential use of ChatGPT by the public to educate themselves on ESG issues, by investors to integrate ESG in portfolio construction, by corporate boards to incorporate ESG metrics in CEO compensation contracts, by companies to file ESG reports to regulators, by ESG-conscious shareholders to engage the management, etc.

The financial services industry is experiencing rapid consolidation globally. Consolidation has proceeded not only in the same market but also across different market segments and across national boundaries. In this paper, we (a) outline the general trend of the mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and consolidation of the financial service industry in the U.S. and in the global economy; (b) identify and analyze the reasons that contribute to the consolidation of the financial service industry; (c) examine some cases of successful and unsuccessful financial service M&As; and (d) arrive at some strategic implications.

This study aimed to quantify and map academic literature of ESG from a bibliometric perspective and to provide a comprehensive review of the recent literature published in the high-rated journal articles.

The study analyzed 867 and 388 documents from Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) data respectively using bibliometric analysis. Biblioshiny and VOSviewer software was used for performance analysis and science mapping respectively. Further, manual content analysis of the 190 research articles published in the last five years was conducted.

The results demonstrate that ESG is an emerging domain in the field of sustainable finance as the number of publications and total citations are showing an upward trend. The top two journals in terms of productivity are the Journal of Sustainable Finance and Investment and Business Strategy and the Environment. The highest number of publications are from the United States and George Serafeim is the most influential author in the ESG domain. Further, the result of cluster analysis of bibliographic coupling reveals four intellectual themes, (1) ESG investing; (2) ESG disclosures and Integrated Reporting; (3) ESG performance and firm value and (4) Corporate Governance and ESG performance. The content analysis of the 190 high-quality journal articles presents the current 11 areas of research in ESG. The impact of ESG on firm value and ESG investment are the prominent themes, and the effect of ESG on the cost of capital and ESG audit and assurance are the emerging themes in this domain.

The keyword search is solely focusing on the theme of the study. Further, other keywords such as Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate sustainability taken along with ESG may provide distinct results.

The study advances the understanding of the ESG domain by developing new possibilities to discover key research areas.

The present work provides a comprehensive and detailed bibliometric and content analysis of ESG literature. This study delineates the thorough literature review of journal articles published in the recent five years in high-rated journals.