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India is an emerging economy and one of the preferred investment destinations for environmental, social and governance (ESG) fund issuers. Institutional investors invest retail investors’ money, and hence, it becomes imperative for ESG fund managers to understand the social investment preferences of retail investors. This study aims to compare the Indian socially responsible (SR) investors and conventional investors in terms of their socially responsible investment (SRI) awareness level, opinions about broad and specific ESG issues, investment behavior and demographics. In addition, this paper makes an attempt to have a deeper insight into Indian investors’ behavior toward SRI by segmenting the Indian retail investors based on their SRI awareness level, attitude toward ESG issues and intention to accept lower financial returns, and choices made by them as consumers.

After collecting the data through the survey method an independent t-test is used to compare SR investors with conventional investors. Chi-square has been used to analyze the data related to demographics, and cluster analysis is used to identify segments among Indian retail investors.

The results indicated that Indian SR investors’ SRI awareness level is more, they are more concerned about broad and specific ESG issues, they are more into faith-based investing, and are responsible consumers vis-à-vis conventional investors. As per demographic, SR investors are in the middle age group of 30–40 years, male, hold a postgraduate degree and have an annual income of 10–20 lakhs in comparison to conventional investors. The results of cluster analysis indicated that Indian retail investors can be classified into three groups based on their SRI awareness, intention to sacrifice financial return, attitude toward ESG issues and choices made by them as consumers.

Results have implications for national and international fund managers, policymakers, regulators and society. These results will help mutual fund companies to provide curated SR mutual funds as per the behavior and choice of retail investors and penetrate the Indian investment market more deeply.

This research study contributes to the literature on SRI by identifying the differentiating characteristics of Indian SR and conventional investors and segmenting Indian retail investors on the basis of their SRI awareness, the importance of ESG issues and choices made by them as investors and consumers.

The study intends to evaluate first the performance of Indian institutions ranked in the National Institutional Ranking Framework 2019. Second, it compares the performance of Indian institutions with international rankings. Third, it spotlights a model for predicting the criteria that will improve these institutions' national and international rankings.

The cluster analysis has been undertaken to group the sample of 100 institutions into three groups. Further, discriminant analysis has been performed to uncover the criteria that cause significant variations in the ranking. Third, a comparative study is conducted on the international ranking parameters to explore the factors responsible for their lower rank in the global ranking.

The results reveal that most institutions are low-performing for “research and professional practice” and “peer perception” criteria. Meanwhile, the performance of top-ranked institutions is unsatisfactory on the “outreach and inclusivity” criterion. The study also finds that the national ranking of Indian institutions is significantly affected by the “research and professional practice” and “peer perception” scores, which also results in their low rank in the Times Higher Education (THE) ranking.

This study can be an exemplary model for any developing nation to upgrade its higher education institutions' (HEIs’) performance in international tables

The government can develop policies to better low-performing universities and initiate policy changes in the incapacitated spheres for building a globally distinctive image for the Indian universities. The policymakers can recognise the institutions showcasing excellent research and teaching performance and encourage them accordingly to be the best research or teaching universities as it is not possible for every university to be the best in teaching and research aspect both.

The policymakers can also focus more on developing research collaboration form other countries and industry for research universities and professional staff from leading industries for teaching collaborations for the rest. The HPIs should focus on creating a global image for themselves and MPIs and LPIs should be encouraged to raise their national ranking.

The study is a novel attempt to present the present state of Indian institutions grounded on all the national ranking criteria. It further compares the performance of sample NIRF institutions with international rankings criterion to suggest policy changes for improving their performance at the global level.

This study uses a meta-analysis approach to analyse the impact of applying corporate green accounting practices as vital sustainable development tools on firm performance. This study aims to examine the moderating effects of country-specific variables and characteristics on the association between corporate green accounting and firm performance.

Three databases were used for a meta-analysis of 68 independent studies involving 19,625 subjects conducted over 25 years from 1996 to 2020.

The results show that corporate green accounting positively affects firm performance, but country-specific variables do not moderate this association. The positive association between corporate green accounting and firm performance was enhanced when it was measured in terms of environmental costs. Subgroup analyses revealed that study characteristics are significant source of heterogeneity in the corporate green accounting indicators-firm performance association.

The findings suggest that firms should strategise to integrate environmental costs into their respective financial accounting frameworks, which would help managers justify the contribution of their firms towards environmental protection.

Accessing accurate and timely information on corporate environmental functioning can assist national policymakers in framing appropriate legislation on environmental protection and sustainable development.

Although meta-analysis has been used previously in accounting research (Guthrie and Murthy, 2009; Alcouffe et al., 2019), to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to use a meta-analytical technique to examine the impact of corporate green accounting on firm performance.

Owing to the worldwide outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2, social media conversations have increased. Given the increasing pressure from regulatory authorities and society, green accounting – as a dimension of sustainable development – remains the most discussed topic on most social media platforms. This study aims to incorporate a technological approach to green accounting and sustainability to enhance the innovation process inside and outside organizations.

This study uses the hermeneutic phenomenological technique to investigate Twitter content. Tweets were subjected to a manual coding process to analyze their content, including recent advancements, challenges, cross-country initiatives and promotion strategies in green accounting. Public perception of green accounting and the COP26 climate summit was also studied.

Tweeters view green accounting favorably; however, they are apprehensive about its implementation. Regarding the challenges in green accounting, “corporate green washing” was the most tweeted content. The UK was the top-rated nation with respect to green accounting development. Furthermore, the most discussed breakthrough was the application of artificial intelligence in the domain of green accounting functions. However, Twitter users were observed to have directed heavy criticism at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

This study’s primary innovation is its integration of emerging technologies such as machine learning and data mining with social media platforms such as Twitter. Incorporating manual coding of tweets is a rigorous procedure that amplifies the strength of machine learning software’s auto-coding feature.

This study aims to deepen our understanding of how conventional technologies and robust accounting education standards can impact the effectiveness of green accounting practices in enhancing firm performance. To achieve this, the paper explores the moderating effects of artificial intelligence (AI) and accounting education quality on the relationship between green accounting and firm performance.

Using generalized method of moments estimation, this research uses a comprehensive dataset comprising 32,680 firm-year observations of listed companies from ten prominent countries – Canada, the UK, the USA, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea and Italy – over the period from 2012 to 2022. These countries, selected based on their high gross domestic product rankings as reported by the International Monetary Fund, ensure a diverse representation of economic strengths and capture a wide range of green accounting practices.

The study shows that green accounting practices positively impact current firm performance. Country-level AI positively moderates this relationship, suggesting that advanced AI infrastructure enhances the benefits of green accounting through improved data accuracy and decision-making. However, country-level accountancy education quality negatively moderates the relationship, indicating that stringent implementation of green accounting standards in these regions may introduce complexities and costs that reduce firm performance.

Integrating AI enhances data processing, predictive analytics and decision-making, improving green accounting effectiveness. High-quality accounting education ensures accurate reporting and greater transparency. These insights, when applied, can empower businesses to optimize sustainability strategies, assist policymakers in developing targeted regulations and guide educators in preparing accountants for the evolving demands of green accounting.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore the combined moderating effects of AI and accounting education quality on the relationship between green accounting and firm performance. By highlighting the synergistic role of digital innovation and robust educational standards, this research offers novel insights into how these factors can enhance the effectiveness of green accounting practices and improve financial outcomes.

The present study uses a meta-analysis technique to explore the association between corporate governance and dividend policy. The extant literature delivers inconclusive findings on the relationship between corporate governance and dividend policy. Therefore, this study aims to resolve the issues and deliver comprehensive results.

The study involves a meta-analysis of 53 research studies using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses and population, intervention, comparison, outcome and study design approaches. The paper examines the impact of moderators: corporate governance structure (Anglo-American, communitarian or emerging system) and dividend distribution metrics (dividend over net income, dividend over total assets and absolute amount of dividend/dividend per share). The study involves subgroup analysis and meta-regression analysis to examine the impact of moderators.

The study’s results specify that board size and percentage of female directors significantly impact the dividend decisions of the company. In addition, subgroup analysis and meta-regression results demonstrate that dividend measurement proxy moderates the association between corporate governance and dividend policy.

Based on the existing literature surveyed, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the current study is the first to conduct a meta-analysis on the relationship between corporate governance and dividend policy. This paper is unique and the first one of its kind (to the best of the authors’ knowledge) to cover all these moderating variables under an umbrella and consolidate the results to understand the existing knowledge and direct future research in the area of corporate governance and dividend decisions.

Foreign direct investment in the real estate (FDIRE) sector is required to bridge the gap between investment needed and domestic funds. Further, foreign direct investment is gaining importance because other sources of raising finance such as External Commercial Borrowing and foreign currency convertible bonds have been banned in the Indian real estate sector. Therefore, the objective of the study is to explore the determinants attracting foreign direct investment in real estate and to assess the impact of those variables on foreign direct investments in real estate.

Johansen cointegration test, vector error correction model along with variance decomposition and impulse response function are employed to understand the nexus of the relationship between various macroeconomic variables and foreign direct investment in real estate.

The results indicate that infrastructure, GDP and tourism act as drivers of foreign direct investment in real estate. However, interest rates act as a barrier.

This article aimed at exploring factors attracting FDIRE along with estimating the impact of identified variables on FDI in real estate. Unlike other studies, this study considers FDI in real estate instead of foreign real estate investments.

Socially responsible investment (SRI) is a niche and upcoming investment strategy in India. Very few researches have been conducted on SRI in the Indian context. This study identifies the SRI awareness level, attitude towards the importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, willingness to invest in SRI avenues and obstacles in SRI investment decision-making by Indian retail investors. The second objective was among the awareness, attitude, willingness, obstacle, and demographic constructs to identify the most significant variables that impact an individual investor's SRI decision in India. .

Data for the study have been collected through a self-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics are used to identify the importance of variables for individual investors. This paper used the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to understand the factors impacting individual investors' SRI behavior. Binary logistics regression analysis is used to recognize the variables that affect an individual investor's SRI decision.

The descriptive statistics indicate a low level of SRI awareness; the majority of the investors agreed that ESG issues are significant in investing and showed a willingness to invest in SRI avenues. However, the investors were not willing to accept lower returns from SRI. The majority of investors found, lower returns on SRIs, no tax benefit, lack of information about SRIs, and low liquidity as important obstacles in SRI investing. Binary logistics regression results indicated that awareness about SR/ESG indices, awareness about SR/ESG funds, and willingness to invest in SRI avenues significantly impact investors' SRI decisions but demographic variables have no significant impact on SRI decision-making.

This study has implications for the ethical/SR mutual funds managers, policymakers, government, and international asset management companies. The study finds an urgent need for increasing awareness about SRI among individual investors in India. The study suggests that the issuers must provide adequate information about SRI avenues and probable risk and returns involved in these, while the regulators must make efforts to educate investors in India.

The context of the present study is original because hardly any of the earlier studies conducted in India have tried to find out the individual investors' SRI awareness level, investors' willingness towards SRI, investors' attitude towards ESG issues, and obstacles faced by investors in socially responsible investing.

This case presents the hybrid business model of a social venture Gramshree. It provides arich description of an actual decision situation faced by the board of trustees regarding the selection of marketing channel for Gramshree for bringing sustainability to the business. Gramshree aimed at empowering women artisans by ensuring a steady income for them so that they could become catalyst for sustainable economic development and social change. However, with growing competition and difficulties in selling, to generate market demand was a key challenge for Gramshree. This case illustrates the strategies for development and value creation of a hybrid social business model. It also describes the challenges faced by social organizations. The case provides an opportunity to evaluate the current situation and proposes a decision for sustainability of the organization.

India is one of those countries that are severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the upsurge in the cases, the country recorded high unemployment rates, economic uncertainties and slugging growth rates. This adversely affected the real estate sector in India. As the relation of the housing market with the gross domestic product is quite lasting thus, the decline in housing prices has severely impacted the economic growth of the nation. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to gauge the asymmetric impact of COVID-19 shocks on housing prices in India.

Studies revealed the symmetric impact of macroeconomic variables, and contingencies on housing prices dominate the literature. However, the assumption of linearity fails to apprehend the asymmetric dynamics of the housing sector. Thus, the author uses a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model to address this limitation and test the existence of short- and long-run asymmetry.

The findings revealed the long- and short-run asymmetric impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and the peak of the COVID-19 on housing prices. The results indicate that the peak of COVID-19 had a greater impact on housing prices in comparison to the outbreak of COVID-19. This can be explained as prices will revert to normal at a speed of 0.978% with the decline in the number of COVID-19 cases. Whereas the housing prices rise at a rate of 0.714 as a result of government intervention to deal with the ill effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. Moreover, it can be inferred that both the outbreak and peak of COVID-19 will lead to a minimal decline in housing prices, while with the decline in the number of cases and reduction in the impact of the outbreak of COVID, the housing prices will rise at an increasing rate.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to understand the impact of the outbreak and peak of COVID-19 on the housing prices separately.