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The purpose of this paper is to understand the perception of the bankers towards an integrated approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in a strategic way of achieving sustainable growth of the banking sector. The paper additionally provides insights into different CSR initiatives and their implementation process in the context of scheduled commercial banks (SCB) of India.

The study is exploratory and endorses the qualitative approach of primary research methodology by adopting a non-random stratified sampling method. The localist approach of the face-to-face interview has been applied to collect the data from 26 elite class respondents from 13 SCBs. The interview method was semi-structured and open-ended. The conformity, trustworthiness, credibility, transferability, dependability test of the study have ensured the quality of the data.

The study reveals that the bankers perceive CSR as a moral obligation for the benefit of the society, beyond the regular banking operations. Further, the study comprehends that the CSR initiatives play a vital role in establishing the bank's image, brand and reputation, as well as, building a strong bond of trust among the employees and the bank management. Besides, CSR activities facilitate to cultivate a better culture by improvising in the quality of customer service for achieving competitive advantages.

The findings of the study represent a significant contribution to CSR theory from the interface of banking and society. Significantly, the results confirm that CSR initiatives play a vital role in building trust and minimise the gap between the employees and the management of the bank. The banks can increase its acceptance in the society and achieve competitive advantage by integrating CSR objectives with the business objectives to strengthen the corporate personality and brand.

The study will help practitioners to develop the social identity of their firm to achieve competitive advantages in long-run. The bankers can channelise their limited resources while planning, designing and the implementation of different CSR activities with the overall goal of the bank in a cost-effective way. The study is confined only to public and private SCBs and limited to the geographical scope of one state in India. Therefore, further exploration may be carried out by considering other banks and geographic regions in India and different cross-cultural settings.

The originality of the study lies with the in-depth analysis and quality check of the data. The results can contribute significant value to the qualitative method of conducting research.

The paper aims to examine how Indian non-financial service sector companies’ financial performance is influenced by their corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditures. The paper also analyses whether family ownership has a moderating role in the CSR expenditure–financial performance association.

The study includes 288 non-financial service sector companies listed in India with 3,456 firm-year observations. Panel data regression analysis using data for 12 years, starting from 2010 to 2021, is carried out.

The study reveals a positive influence of CSR spending on financial performance measures (Tobin’s Q and return on assets). Mandatory CSR policies also influence the company’s performance. Additionally, family ownership has a positive moderating effect on CSR expenditure–financial performance (Tobin’s Q).

The study gives insights to the managers on how CSR expenditures can be used to maximise their benefits by supporting social causes, particularly in the case of firms with ownership structures where family involvement is there.

The prior studies analysing family ownership effect on the CSR–financial performance relationship are fewer, and in a country like India, where corporate philanthropy is a part of the family business culture, there is a need to understand how CSR spending influences firm performance.

This paper aims to examine how the governance structure incorporates corporate social responsibility (CSR) into corporate behaviour in the perspective of the external environment within emerging countries.

The paper reviews the various CSR legislations enacted in the global context and in particular reference to the Indian Companies Act 2013.

The embedded relationship between CSR and corporate governance (CG) is an outcome of extensive dimensions such as ownership structure, stakeholder approach and other external environmental factors such as the government regulations and legislation, legal enforcement and corporate disclosure culture.

The enactment of the Companies Act 2013 in India has infused a new direction for the corporations in implementing CSR and CG practices. This paper throws light on the coverage of the Companies Act 2013 and various challenges faced by the companies in the applicability of the CSR and CG framework in the Indian context.

The study aims to examine the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on corporate branding (CB) and brand loyalty (BL) in the Indian Banking industry. The study further intends to examine the direct and indirect effect of CSR on BL when CSR becomes an integral part of CB.

A structured questionnaire using seven-point Likert’s scale is the instrument for data collection. Stratified random sampling is used to collect the cross-sectional data from 430 savings bank customers in India. A new scale is developed and used to measure the CB as a single construct. A multi-model path using structural equation modelling is used to test the hypotheses. Direct and indirect model path analysis is used to examine the integrated effect of CSR and CB on BL.

The results of the study show that there is a significant impact of CSR components (economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic) on CB to enhance customer BL. The study offers new insight into the relationship between CSR and BL by introducing CB as the mediating factor. However, the relationship between “legal responsibility to CB” and “philanthropy responsibility to BL” demonstrate a negative coefficient in the path analysis. Further, the result of the direct and indirect model path analysis confirms that customers’ BL can be enhanced more efficiently when CSR becomes an integral part of CB.

The strategic incorporation of CSR tools as an integral part of CB strategy can help the managers in the banking industry to enhance their customers’ BL. Besides economic and legal responsibilities, managers need to give more emphasis on the ethical and philanthropic responsibilities as critical positioning tools to develop firm’s corporate brand followed by enhancing BL.

Scale development and validation of CB as a single construct is an original move in this study. Additionally, the study is a pioneer to examine the direct and indirect effect of CSR on customers’ BL using CB as a key mediating factor.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the increasing demand for corporate liquidity and examines the various factors influencing the cash position of firms in India. The financial policy to hold cash gained impetus after the financial crisis when the companies faced a severe cash crunch. However, the firms operating in emerging nations have an imperfect market mechanism with stringent regulatory norms. Thus, this paper attempts to examine the determinants of corporate cash holdings in an emerging country like India.

The paper focuses on the impact of various factors (leverage, firm size, profitability, growth along with other variables), on the cash structure of all the manufacturing companies listed on the Bombay stock exchange. The study employs panel data methodologies over a sample of 323 firms over a period of eight years from 2010 to 2017.

Significant estimators affecting cash holdings of a firm are the size of a firm, debt levels, tangibility, sales growth and research and development expense. Overall, the study finds evidence on the existence of Pecking Order theory in explaining the determinants of cash holdings in the Indian market.

The study attempts to explore the critical determinants of cash in the Indian context which can be useful for managers and academicians to understand how the key theories of cash holdings operate in an emerging economy like India.

India is an emerging economy and has recently gained global attention and has become a hotspot for foreign investments. Thus, this paper explores pieces of evidence on the critical factors affecting cash holdings in India. The study would provide an understanding of the existing cash policy in the Indian context and attempts to find the changes in the financing structure adopted by the manufacturing industry in the given period.

The present paper attempts to explain the impact of debt diversification and various debt financing sources on firm value. The paper also aims to address the long-run causality of various factors affecting firm value.

The study employs a dynamic panel data model for a sample of 233 listed firms from 2010 to 2019. Two-step generalized method of moments (GMM) is devised to study the impact of firm-specific factors on firm value.

The study establishes a negative impact of debt diversification on firm value. Further, the results also signal how the choice of debt instruments has a heterogeneous effect on firm value. Non-bank debt leads to a discount in firm value, while bank debt has no effect on firm value. The long-run determinants of firm value are debt ratio, tangibility and liquidity.

The findings of the study would aid the mangers in making informed decisions regarding the debt financing structure. Too much reliance on non-bank debt instruments leads to a negative impact on firm value. Therefore careful evaluation is necessary before accessing multiple debt sources.

Debt heterogeneity is globally established; however, its presence in the Indian context has not been validated extensively. The study not only validates the existence of debt diversification but also investigates how individual debt instruments affect firm value that is yet to be examined in the Indian context.

The purpose of the paper is to examine the impact of infrastructure investment and development on economic growth in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) countries. The effect is examined for each country separately and also collectively by combining each country.

Ordinary least square regression method is applied to examine the effects of infrastructure investment and development on economic growth for each country. Panel data techniques such as panel least square method, panel least square fixed-effect model and panel least square random effect model are used to examine the collective impact by combining all countries in BRICS. The dynamic panel model is also incorporated for analysis in the study.

The results of the study are mixed. The association between infrastructure investment and development and economic growth for countries within BRICS is not robust. There is an insignificant relationship between infrastructure investment and development and economic growth in Brazil and South Africa. Energy and transportation infrastructure investment and development lead to economic growth in Russia. Telecommunication infrastructure investment and development and economic growth have a negative relationship in India, whereas there is a negative association between transport infrastructure investment and development and economic growth in China. Panel data results conclude that energy infrastructure investment and development lead to economic growth, whereas telecommunication infrastructure investment and development are significant and negatively linked with economic growth.

The study is novel as time series analysis and panel data analysis are used, taking the time span for 38 years (1980–2017) to investigate the influence of infrastructure investment and development on economic growth in BRICS Countries. Time-series regression analysis is used to test the impact for individual countries separately, whereas panel data regression analysis is used to examine the impact collectively for all countries in BRICS.

This paper aims to study from three perspectives: the developed countries corporate governance (CG) practices, the role of OECD in the global convergence of CG standards and India as an emerging country.

The paper reviews the various CG codes and regulations enacted in the Indian paradigm with special reference to the Indian Companies Act 2013 (cited as Act 2013).

The Act 2013 endeavours to provide a governance landscape in India with reforms. The new CG codes comprehensively introduce more accountability, transparency and stringent disclosure requirements. However, these changes are affected by the ownership structure, the level of enforcement and regulatory compliance of CG disclosure practices imposed on companies.

Further research can be carried out in three domains in emerging countries: ownership structure, the effect of legal and regulatory environment and impact of mandatory compliance.

Legal and regulatory environment are notable extent that can effectively govern the CG codes. An increase in the board size, investor protection and gender diversity, with strong governance structure, can enhance the transparency of companies.

The paper examines the prominence of CG norms with the ratification of the Indian Companies Act 2013, which is analogous with global CG policies and regulations.

The paper aims to build a greater understanding of countries transitioning from local generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Second, the study assembles prior literature and examines the issues raised during the convergence. Finally, the paper recognises the implications of successful convergence practices that may be useful to other emerging markets and particular reference to India which is transitioning from local GAAP to IFRS-based principles.

The present study is a qualitative analysis that explores the Cost-benefit outcome carried by developed nations. The paper segregates the literature into three segments: developed nations, East Asian countries and the Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) nations.

There are numerous issues and implications divulged from studies pertaining to the adoption of IFRS, i.e. corporate governance, fair value accounting and other environmental concerns. The paper further illustrates instances of dissimilarity of the Indian Accounting Standards to the IFRS.

It is evident from the literature that limited studies have been carried out in the context of East Asian countries and BRIC nations in comparison to the developed nations. Further research should provide more comprehensive empirical evidence on the outcome of mandatory adoption of IFRS on firms in emerging countries.

The paradigm practice of mandatory adoption of IFRS by developed nations can be an insight for emerging countries that participate in the capital markets and for companies in compliance with the IFRS.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the prioritisation of different corporate social identities (CSIs) by the banking sectors in India to endorse the corporate branding process. To substantiate the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on banks’ profitability, the paper establishes a causal relationship between CSI scores and banks’ profitability. The study defines the CSI scores as measures of different CSR initiatives available on the websites and annual reports of leading public and private schedule commercial banks in India.

The study discusses the key role that CSR plays in building the corporate personality of a firm, which is a key ingredient of a corporate brand. Therefore, the main dimensions and sub-dimensions of CSR are analysed by using content analysis method. The data undergo multiple experiments such as “Percentage of Agreement”, “Scott’s π”, “Cohen’s κ”, and “Krippendorff’s α” to check the validity and the inter-coder reliability of the content. Furthermore, the quartile approach of statistical data analysis, weighted average method of prioritisation and simple linear regression methods are used to examine and discuss the study objectives.

There were three major outcomes from this study. First, Indian banks institutionalise their credibility of corporate personality by maintaining the CSR principles and goals as the core elements of their corporate statements. Second, the CSI scores of different CSR initiatives indicate variations in the stakeholder prioritisation among different banks. The result shows that the public sector banks give the highest priority to the community-related CSR initiatives followed by environment and customer among others, whereas the private sector banks emphasise on customers as their top priority followed by environment and community. The overall score depicts the environment-related initiatives to be the highest priority, which follows customer, employees, community and suppliers. Third, the research indicates that the relationship between CSI disclosures and profitability is significant in India.

The social aspect of building corporate identity will help in the decision-making process for developing a strong social image through their websites. However, the results suggest that the banking sector should adopt a global standard of CSR reporting and strategic positioning of the social identities among the stakeholders in the value chain. The results are limited to only the Indian banking sector and can be validated and applied to other industries and cross-cultural contexts.

This study is one of the pioneering attempts to focus on the role of CSR in the stakeholder-company relationship through the mean-end approach in the development of CSI.