This study examines how carbon pricing and key macroeconomic factors influence the stock performance of energy firms, with a comparative focus on renewable versus traditional energy sectors. The analysis contrasts the European Renewable Energy Index (ERIX) with traditional energy stocks included in the MSCI index to evaluate differential impacts. A dataset of 1,279 daily observations is utilized, and a sequential econometric methodology—comprising OLS, GLS, WLS, and final GLSAR regression—is employed to control for non-stationarity and multicollinearity, thereby ensuring robust inference. The findings reveal that carbon pricing – proxied by EU carbon futures – is a significant driver of renewable energy stock performance, while its effect on traditional energy firms is positive but markedly smaller. In contrast, macroeconomic variables (interest rates, inflation, GDP) and even EU carbon allowance volumes exhibit limited or no statistically significant impact on either sector’s returns. These results suggest that renewable energy stocks are more sensitive to carbon market expectations than their conventional counterparts. The study offers important implications for both policymakers and investors: it underscores the policy relevance of carbon markets in incentivizing clean energy (supporting decarbonization goals) and informs investment strategies by highlighting that portfolio exposure to renewables versus traditional energy should be calibrated considering carbon price dynamics. This comparative evidence contributes to sustainable finance literature and can guide sector-specific portfolio management under evolving carbon pricing regimes.

The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) dimensions have become critical parameters for assessing corporate sustainability and ethical responsibility. As organisations face increasing pressure to align their operations with global sustainability goals, the complexity of ESG issues demands innovative research approaches. This study explores the application of mixed-methods research (MMR) in ESG investigations, emphasizing its strengths in combining quantitative precision with qualitative depth. By gathering numerical data alongside contextual insights, MMR offers a robust framework for examining how ESG practices shape organisational performance. Drawing on case studies from emerging markets, this study illustrates how methodological triangulation helps navigate regulatory uncertainty, data gaps, and cultural variability. While quantitative analyses reveal patterns in profitability and governance, qualitative approaches provide a window into the stakeholder dynamics and organisational tensions underlying ESG outcomes. The findings highlight how mixed-methods research can be a tool that generates actionable insights that inform business policy and strategy. However, the study also highlights several challenges, including resource intensity, the need for interdisciplinary expertise, and the absence of standardized ESG metrics. These limitations underscore the importance of refining mixed-methods frameworks to maximize their potential in ESG research. This article contributes to the growing discourse on sustainability by offering practical recommendations for leveraging mixed methods to navigate the complexities of ESG integration.

This study investigates the impact of governance quality on the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal One (SDG1 – No Poverty) across 45 African countries between 2015 and 2021. The analysis addresses a critical gap in existing literature by assessing how three dimensions of governance—political, economic, and institutional—affect distinct SDG1 sub-indicators: poverty incidence (SDG1.1.1), access to basic services (SDG1.4.1), and dependence on official development assistance (SDG1.a.1). A panel dataset was constructed using indicators from the World Governance Indicators and the World Development Indicators. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to synthesize governance metrics, while a two-step System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) was employed to estimate dynamic relationships, controlling for endogeneity and serial correlation. Findings reveal that improvements in political and economic governance significantly reduce poverty rates and enhance employment above the poverty line. Institutional governance, while less impactful on direct poverty indicators, significantly lowers reliance on foreign aid. Government effectiveness and political stability positively influence access to drinking water, whereas better governance overall corresponds to reduced levels of official development assistance for poverty alleviation. Control variables such as GDP per capita and infant mortality rates exhibit strong associations with poverty outcomes, reinforcing the multidimensional nature of SDG1 determinants. The study underscores the centrality of governance reform in advancing poverty eradication in Africa. It provides empirical evidence to guide policymakers in designing governance-centered poverty reduction strategies, while highlighting the potential of robust institutions and accountable governance to reduce aid dependency and foster sustainable, inclusive development.

This study analyzes the managerial impact and challenges generated by the COVID-19 pandemic on the organizational environment, with a specific focus on “the renowned international company operating on the Romanian market” (The Company). The research examines the influence of teleworking, organizational culture changes, and crisis management strategies on employee performance and well-being. Data were collected through a questionnaire applied to a sample of 72 employees and statistically analyzed. The results show a significant increase in work schedule flexibility and productivity during and after the pandemic, supporting the long-term adoption of hybrid work models. Communication and collaboration were negatively affected during the pandemic but later recovered through the implementation of digital solutions and adaptive leadership measures. Although stress levels slightly increased in the post-pandemic period, job satisfaction and employee commitment reached higher levels than before the pandemic. The study highlights the essential role of effective management in enhancing employee adaptability and strengthening organizational resilience. The conclusions emphasize the need for sustainable strategies that include work flexibility, employee support, and ongoing digitalization as key factors for long-term performance and development in an unpredictable organizational environment.

Indonesia's economic prosperity is measured by its growth, a key United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 8). Despite funding increases, education and healthcare gaps impede workforce development and economic progress. Inadequate social infrastructure reduces production efficiency. Limited research exists on the impact of human capital, physical capital, and social infrastructure on Indonesia's growth. This research examines these factors and technological progress on GDP using an endogenous growth framework. The study examines physical capital's contribution, assesses human capital's impact, analyzes social infrastructure's effect, and explores their interplay in growth. It analyzed 54 years of data from 1970 to 2023, focusing on GDP per capita, physical capital, labor, human capital, technological progress, and social infrastructure. Data came from World Bank Development Indicators and Penn World Table 10.1. Researchers converted data to logarithmic scales and analyzed them using EViews 12. Ordinary least squares estimation examined macroeconomic indicators. Augmented Dickey-Fuller and Philips-Perron tests checked variable stationarity. Johansen cointegration results showed cointegration between variables, with lag order 2 as optimal. Findings revealed that physical capital, labor, and human capital positively affected output, while social infrastructure negatively impacted output due to resource misallocation. Technological advancement has no effect. The Theil coefficient of 0.003355 indicated outstanding performance, while SMAPE showed 49.35% average prediction error. The study concluded that capital, labor, human capital, and social infrastructure influence growth. Addressing corruption, disparities, and infrastructure gaps between rural and urban regions is essential. Implementing governance reform, fair investment, innovative financing, and community involvement will help realize the social infrastructure's potential for growth.

The study focuses on the social dimension of farm sustainability in Switzerland. The degree to which existing farm sustainability assessment tools captured what farmers perceived as important regarding farm social sustainability was investigated. First, a systematic literature review was conducted to identify themes that farmers are concerned with. Then, “sub-themes” of relevant social sustainability themes were further deduced. Six farm sustainability assessment tools (SALCAsustain, SMART, RISE, IDEA4, MOTIFS, and PGTool) were screened and categorised according to whether they (a) fully or partly included each identified sub-theme or (b) included a sub-theme explicitly or by a related aspect. It was found that among the selected tools, SMART covered the most sub-themes fully and explicitly (11 out of 19). SALCAsustain, RISE, and IDEA4 ranked similar with 8, 7, and 7 sub-themes addressed fully and explicitly. MOTIFS and PGTool captured fully and explicitly only 1 sub-theme each. Hence, it was concluded that the farm sustainability assessment tools available to Swiss farmers reflect the concerns of farmers to different degrees.

Creating a favorable and robust national financial ecosystem represents a pivotal objective for China during its new phase of development. This article employs principal component analysis to quantify trends in financial vulnerability, condition, stability, pressure, and development, collectively serving as indicators of financial market performance. Following this, the article delves deeper into the influence of uncertainty in economic policy on financial market operations by leveraging the SVAR model. The research concludes that an increase in economic policy uncertainty (EPU) initially exacerbates the fragility of the financial market, causing significant volatility and impacting its stability negatively. However, China’s financial market possesses a self-regulation mechanism that gradually mitigates and transforms this impact over time. Notably, a positive shock to EPU can alleviate financial pressure in the short term by temporarily suppressing the vitality of the market. In addition, the overall rise in EPU hinders financial development. In summary, despite the market’s self-regulatory capacity, heightened EPU still hinders financial sustainability in China. Based on this research, it is recommended that China should strengthen policy coordination and predictability to promote financial sustainability.

This article presents a literature review and bibliometric analysis of research on the integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) in music, also known as the Internet of Musical Things (IoMusT) – from a sustainability perspective. The review identifies key themes including smart instruments, networked performance, music education and real-time interactive systems. Findings highlight the interdisciplinary nature of the field, bridging musicology, computer science and human-computer interaction. A bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer reveals global collaboration patterns across 76 countries. The United States, China, the United Kingdom and India emerge as leading contributors, while Romania plays a strategic bridging role. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identifies three thematic clusters: technical infrastructure, creative applications and computational approaches. Additionally, recent literature increasingly addresses the environmental and social sustainability of IoMusT systems, focusing on low-power devices, ethical data use, the reduction of CO2 emissions, changing the traditional methods of stocking music of all kinds and inclusive design. These findings underscore the potential of IoMusT to support multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 4, 9, 11 and 12). These results underscore the growth of IoMusT as a distinct academic subfield and point to future research opportunities in personalization, sustainability, ethical data use and responsible innovation.

This research examines the correlation between the implementation of EMA and the operating performance of Nigerian oil companies on the stock exchange for the year 2014-2023. The study assesses the level of implementation of the EMA practices in these companies and analyses the changes in its financial and non-financial performance measures. This study employed longitudinal and ex-post facto research designs, secondary data were collected from the annual reports and financial statements of the listed oil companies in Nigeria. Data collected were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics, which include panel data regression analysis to measure the significance and direction of the relationship among these variables. We employed both fixed and random effects models to determine the relationship between EMA, LEV, SIZE, and performance indicators. The results show that, although awareness exists on the role of environmental management accounting for the Nigerian oil industry, there is still limited application and implementation in corporate strategies. Further, the results show that EMA does not exert immediate significant impact of financial performance of Nigerian firms, especially in sectors like oil where traditional operations are deeply embedded. The concluded that while EMA practices are essential for long-term sustainability, their immediate financial benefits may be limited, especially in the context of the Nigerian oil industry. As the Nigerian oil sector continues to evolve, future studies could explore the longer-term effects of EMA adoption and the changing role of market forces in driving sustainability efforts.