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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of national culture in terms of power distance and uncertainty avoidance on service provision in terms of information flow and communication policy within the Takaful industry (Islamic insurance) in Kuwait and Egypt. Second, to validate Hofstede's claim regarding the homogeneity of Arab culture which he believes is dominated by the Islamic religion.

The study was undertaken among 462 employees from three Takaful organizations in Kuwait and Egypt. The sample was randomly selected from all levels within Takful companies operating in both countries. The data were analyzed using two different statistical packages. The first tool was SPSS version 17 with which the first hypothesis of the differences between Kuwait and Egypt was tested. Second, the analysis of moments structure was utilized to find the effect of national culture based on two cultural dimensions of power distance and uncertainty avoidance on two service mechanisms of information flow and communication policy within the Takaful industry.

Results demonstrate that: more differences than similarities exist between Kuwait and Egypt in terms of power distance and uncertainty avoidance, which implies that the differences in national culture between the two countries are in contrary to Hofstede's claim of homogeneity of Arab culture, and national culture in terms of power distance and uncertainty avoidance affects service provision in terms of information flow and communication policy, respectively.

The paper contributes to the body of knowledge in service marketing literature at the theoretical and practitioner level. First, it provides empirical investigation to an existing theory that links national culture to service provision through service quality gaps. Second, it provides evidence that disputes Hofestede's claim of homogeneity in Arab culture, as it evidently proves the cultural differences between Kuwait and Egypt. On other hand, practitioners of Takaful may comprehend how power distance and uncertainty avoidance might affect information flow and communication policy for which managers can eliminate their information gap, which in turn will strengthen the Takaful operator service quality in information gathering, sharing and disseminating. Takaful Policy makers and institutions might benefit from this research by understanding the effect of national culture on service provision and taking this as an important factor when designing regulations.

This study aims to increase the understanding of the connection between effective leadership behaviours and information culture in the higher education institution (HEI).

A qualitative case study was conducted at one department of an HEI in Estonia. This study used semi-structured interviews and document analysis for data collection. The hypothesis-generating technique applying grounded theory analysis was used for data analysis.

The information culture of the department was a multiple culture with mixed attributes from the relationship-based culture and the risk-taking culture. Six main effective leadership behaviours within the department were identified, namely, communicating well about the direction the department is going, having a clear sense of direction and strategic vision, providing resources for and adjusting workloads to stimulate scholarship and research, making academic appointments that enhance department’s reputation, allowing the opportunity to participate in key decisions and encouraging open communication and creating a positive and collegial work atmosphere. The main hypotheses that illustrate the influence of effective leadership behaviours on information culture were generated.

The findings of this study can inform the training of future leaders in HEIs.

There is a lack of research in higher education that focuses on the relationship between leadership and information culture, and this research fills this gap.

This study aims to examine the factors that influence the relationship between sustainability and financial performance (FP) of the European listed companies.

This study analyzed data from 795 companies in 21 European countries by applying linear mixed-effects multilevel regressions, a two steps system generalized method of moments and quantile regression models to uncover the links between sustainability and FP.

The past four decades have witnessed abundant research to determine the relationship between corporate sustainability and FP. Thus, conducting further research in 2023 could be seen as “reinventing the wheel.” Yet, earlier research considered firms as isolated entities with sustainability and FP being dependent only on that firm’s actions. By contrast, with the help of network governance theory, this study shows that a firm’s sustainability and FP depend on an interplay among interorganizational actors, such as institutional qualities, macroeconomic factors and an embrace of sustainability. Here, large firms play an essential role. Three significant findings are drawn. First, sustainability performance has a significant impact on FP in the European context. Second, the institutional quality (IQ) of the rule of law and control of corruption plays a crucial role in enhancing sustainability and FP, and finally the interaction of IQ and economic growth helps to increase companies’ market value (Tobin’s Q). The consistent and empirically robust findings offer key lessons to policymakers and practitioners on the interplay among multiple actors in corporate sustainability and FP.

A synergetic multifaced relationship between governmental institutions and corporations is inevitable for ensuring sustainable development. The degree of intimacy in the relationship, of course, will be determined by the macroeconomic environment.

In this research, this study theoretically and empirically identified that corporate sustainability and FP are not solely dependent on corporate operation. Rather, it is transformed, modified and shaped through an interaction of multiple actors’ trajectories in the macro business environment.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of family motivation (FM) on promotive voice behavior (VBPm) and knowledge hiding (KH). The study uses moral disengagement (MD) role as a mediator to see how FM shapes moral engagement leading to participate in promotive voice and knowledge sharing.

The hypothesized model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The authors used convenience sampling and collected data in two phases. The authors have a final sample of 257 faculty members for analysis, with an overall response rate of 42.8%.

Study findings reveal a negative relationship between FM with MD and a positive relationship with VBPm. The relationship between FM and (KHKH results did not show the expected effects. At the same time, mediation of MD between FM and voice behavior and FM and (KHKH show the expected results.

The study finds that family factors have practical consequences for companies in recognizing the value of familial elements in cultivating employee voice and engagement behaviors. Since family is a powerful motivation to work, it provides valuable insights for HRM strategies and organizational studies to encourage employee voice and moral engagement in the workplace. The study is one of the few studies investigating the impact of FM on promotive voice and KH and enhancing the knowledge of mediating role of MD.

The study aims to summarize the 20 years of literature published in takaful between 2000 and 2019 and propose some key areas as the directions for future research.

The present study utilizes the systematic method of reviewing the literature. The SCOPUS database has been accessed, and 96 articles have been accounted for the analysis. The articles are grouped in their exclusive themes, such as consumer behavior, financial and nonfinancial performance, takaful models, human resources and governance.

Takaful research has widely covered marketing, finance, human resource, governance and stresses on its legal issues. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies have been employed. The research gaps have been classified based on the respective areas. Large share of current body of takaful literature consists of the studies related to the application of behavioural theories to examine the behavioural intention to take up takaful services.

The study enriches the literature of takaful by reviewing articles according to their respective themes, thereby contributing to the significant findings missing from existing literature surveys.

This study aims to investigate the impact of environmental performance, social responsibility and corporate governance (ESG) on bank performance (BP) in the Italian banking sector. It analyzes the relationships between 10 dimensions of ESG pillars and BP indicators during the period 2016–2020.

This study examines a sample of 105 Italian banks and develops three econometric models to verify the effect of ESG initiatives on BP indicators. The independent variables are the ESG dimensions collected from the Refinitiv database, whereas the explanatory variables are performance indicators measured through accounting and market variables.

The findings show that ESG policies negatively affect operational and market performance in the banking sector, suggesting that Italian banks have not fully embraced strong sustainability procedures. However, the relationships between ESG dimensions are mixed if measured individually. The results show a significant positive impact of emission and waste reductions on financial and operating performance, but regarding social aspects, it is proved that better product responsibility decreases accounting performance.

This study offers an in-depth examination of ESG practices in relation to current and future performance. In particular, the findings provide practitioners and academics with an actual set of predictors in the ESG area to improve BP.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the only study that has investigated the impact of ESG issues on BP in Italy. Few prior studies have used all dimensions of ESG policies at a disaggregated level to investigate their effect on various performance indicators.

The purpose of this study is to map the intellectual structure of sustainable finance and accounting (SFA) literature by identifying the influential aspects, main research streams and future research directions in SFA.

The results are obtained using bibliometric citation analysis and content analysis to conduct a bibliometric review of the intersection of sustainable finance and sustainable accounting using a sample of 795 articles published between 1991 and November 2023.

The most influential factors in the SFA literature are identified, highlighting three primary areas of research: corporate social responsibility and environmental disclosure; financial and economic performance; and regulations and standards.

SFA has experienced rapid development in recent years. The results identify the current research domain, guide potential future research directions, serve as a reference for SFA and provide inspiration to policymakers.

SFA typically encompasses sustainable corporate business practices and investments. This study contributes to broader social impacts by promoting improved corporate practices and sustainability.

This study expands on previous research on SFA. The authors identify significant aspects of the SFA literature, such as the most studied nations, leading journals, authors and trending publications. In addition, the authors provide an overview of the three major streams of the SFA literature and propose various potential future research directions, inspiring both academic research and policymaking.

This study explored how board diversity affects environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance in the Italian banking sector. Specifically, this study examined whether the presence of specific corporate governance (CG) characteristics (board diversity) in Italian Cooperative Credit banks is related to ESG dimensions.

The authors examined a sample of 247 Italian Cooperative Credit banks for the period 2017–2021 and developed an econometric model by applying unbalanced panel data with firm fixed effects and controls per year. To verify the research hypotheses, the authors analyzed board diversity in terms of board attributes variables (size, gender diversity, age, activity, independence and corporate social responsibility/sustainability committee (CSR) and measured ESG dimensions using the ESG score provided by Refinitiv.

The findings suggest that board size, independence and the existence of a CSR/sustainability committee positively affect banks' ESG performance, while no significant relationship between board average age and ESG performance was found. The study also explored how the critical mass of women on a board affects ESG performance by testing the positive impact of gender diversity on ESG dimensions only up to a certain threshold of female directors.

This study is highly relevant to managers and investors who consider ESG issues in their decision-making processes. The findings support regulators by offering insights into ways to improve ESG performance through the specific design and application of governance mechanisms.

From a practical perspective, this investigation has implications for both practitioners and regulators, suggesting that chief executive officers (CEOs) and managers should pay more attention to CG aspects to improve ESG performance and that policy-makers should give greater consideration to these aspects of CG in their efforts to enhance ESG performance.

This study offers an in-depth analysis of banks' ESG practices and attempts to bridge the gap in the literature on ESG in the Italian banking industry. This study is the first to investigate the relationship between CG variables and ESG dimensions in this context.