The impact mechanism of ESG ratings on firm value: An empirical study based on the multi-period difference-in-differences approach

This article analyzes the theoretical and practical aspects of digital governance formation in joint-stock companies based on the experience of developed countries. The study substantiates that digital governance is not limited to the implementation of information technologies, but represents a comprehensive economic management model that enhances the quality of decision-making, corporate control, accountability, and institutional stability. A comparative analysis of the experiences of the United States, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore identifies universal factors of digital governance and the patterns of phased transformation. The findings have significant scientific and practical value for adapting digital governance in joint-stock companies in Uzbekistan in accordance with the national institutional environment.

ABSTRACT Through a survey of 2,627 media fans about generative AI, I find overwhelmingly negative sentiment despite nuanced distinctions across different AI applications and differences by demographic factors. Fans expressed substantial concern about social effects of generative AI like copyright infringement, environmental impact, corporate control, and threats to creator livelihoods. Qualitative analysis revealed that fans frame generative AI through moral discourse centered on labor, effort, and authenticity, frequently invoking concepts of “laziness” and “theft” while demanding clear disclosure through labeling. Respondents indicated willingness to enforce anti-AI norms through blocking, warning others, and, occasionally, public shaming, though many also asserted fandom values of community inclusivity and avoiding harassment. The findings demonstrate that fan communities are negotiating generative AI through frameworks of consent, credit, and creative labor that have long governed fan production, while grappling with tensions between individual autonomy and collective norm enforcement.

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the role of Venture Capital (VC) in the likelihood of delisting via mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for European companies listed in the 2004–2014 period, till 2020. Takeovers of listed companies are generally associated with underperformance, suggesting a need for a change in corporate control. In contrast, we show that VC-backed listed companies are more likely to be acquired when they exhibit higher growth rates compared to their peers. Moreover, this effect is driven by companies backed by low-reputation VCs. These VCs are known to rush their portfolio ventures to IPO and to have a limited post-IPO involvement. These conditions, combined with strong growth, may attract acquirers who perceive a need for change in corporate control. Conversely, we find no evidence of an increased likelihood of delisting by M&A in companies backed by highly reputed VCs, which tend to remain independent.

The recent issue of the journal Corporate Ownership and Control is devoted to the issues of environmental, social, and governance (ESG), board practices, chief executive officer (CEO) practices, internal control, accountability, auditing, earnings management, etc.

ABSTRACT PeaceTech, the use of AI and other digital technologies in peacebuilding, is often praised as a transformative approach to conflict prevention and dialogue. Yet the field remains conceptually vague and ethically fraught. Tools meant to empower communities can also enable surveillance when crowdsourced data exposes vulnerable groups. Innovation is often constrained by legacy institutions that collect data but lack the capacity to interpret or act on it. AI powered platforms may increase visibility, but early warning alerts frequently fail to produce effective responses. At the same time, corporate control over infrastructures such as cloud services and satellite internet raises concerns about the public good, while globally designed systems often clash with local realities and reinforce digital colonialism. Drawing on scholarship and practitioner insights, this article argues that these are structural rather than accidental problems. It calls for guardrails including service continuity, community data ownership, algorithmic accountability, and response protocols tied to funding, solidarity, and justice.

Introduction Food Security in the Global South is typically measured through caloric intake or economic indicators, neglecting the structural, cultural, and historical forces that shape access. This study critiques neoliberal food security metrics by co-developing, with agrarian communities, a sociological index that quantifies colonial legacies, corporate control, and gendered deprivation. Methods Using a participatory approach, deliberative workshops ( n = 98 stakeholders) and a household survey ( n = 379) were conducted. The study operationalized four dimensions historical context, cultural entitlement, structural barriers, and critical consciousness into 20 Likert-scale items. The index was developed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and relationships between variables were analyzed using a generalized linear model path analysis. Results The EFA yielded a preliminary 6-factor structure (e.g., “cultural sovereignty”, “structural deprivation”) with strong reliability (α = 0.720.84). The path analysis revealed a pattern where education appeared to mediate 94% of income's statistical association with the Sociological Food Security Index (SFSI) (β = 0.094, p < 0.001). Patriarchal family structures were associated with direct negative impacts (β = −0.210, p < 0.001), while age emerged as the strongest positive predictor (β = 0.319, p < 0.001), underscoring the protective role of intergenerational knowledge. Strikingly, income showed no significant direct association with food security (β = 0.002, p = 0.981), challenging economic reductionism. Discussion and conclusion The SFSI represents advancement in food security scholarship by attempting to quantify asymmetries (e.g., “Ration shops cheat us”) and cultural erosion (e.g., “Youth reject traditional foods”). For Pakistan and similar contexts, findings advocate for education-linked agrarian reform, gender-transformative food programs, and policies curbing corporate control. This research suggests a paradigm shift from calorie counting to entitlement-based solutions.

Several intellectuals and activists have been consistently warning about the harmful effects of contamination of air, water and land. The climate change and biodiversity deterioration that we face today is largely the result of our own behavior. Efficient waste management strategies are required to minimize the impact on environment. Several waste management technologies have evolved in the recent years. The integration of technology and robotics to handle the ‘dirty’ task can significantly lower the risk of harm to workers involved in this dangerous profession. The present study is based on 2008 American animated romantic science fiction film WALL-E directed by Andrew Stanton. The film discusses several themes including human environmental impact and concern, consumerism, corporate control, technology, hope, renewal, love, emotional connection and waste management. The story is set on a deserted Earth in 2805 where a solitary robot named WALL-E is left to clean up the garbage. He falls in love with another robot EVE, sent from the starship Axiom to detect life. The study examines the way by which love and care function as catalyst for ecological restoration. The paper aims to analyze the representation of environmental degradation and the possibility of renewal in a technologically mediated future in WALL-E.

Beyond metrics: Corporate governance and the reordering of rural power in regenerative agriculture

The authors of the presented work investigate a complex of legal and procedural issues that arise in the process of using electronic data as evidence during various disciplinary offenses. The main focus is on two critical aspects: authentication (establishing authorship of the digital footprint) and legitimizing the procedure of including electronic information in case materials. It is noted that, in the context of the mass transition to remote work and the digitalization of personnel processes, the traditional norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation face challenges of anonymity and the ease of modifying digital information. The authors analyze the risks of recognizing electronic evidence as inadmissible and consider the balance between the employer's disciplinary authority and the employee's constitutional right to the confidentiality of correspondence. The work contains practical recommendations for improving local regulation acts, implementing algorithms for commission data recording, and using technical means of identification to ensure the employer's position is resilient in judicial instances. The methodological framework of the research is based on the dialectical method of cognition, combined with formal-legal and comparative-legal analysis. The authors apply a systematic approach to the study of digital data, integrating technical verification algorithms into the procedural environment of labor law, and also use the method of judicial interpretation when analyzing current practices of the courts of the Russian Federation. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the theoretical justification of the concept of "presumption of authorship" in labor relations when using individual authentication means. The authors propose a multi-level model for verifying the employee's digital profile, integrating technical data (logs and IP addresses) into the regulatory framework of labor relations, implemented through local regulation mechanisms. One of the key conclusions of the research is the proof of the necessity to legalize messengers as official communication channels in the Internal Labor Regulations to simplify judicial evidence. It is also established that an internal commission act, when complying with recording standards (for example, screenshots with metadata), is a sufficient procedural tool. A key condition for the admissibility of electronic data is the prior notification of the employee about the boundaries of corporate control.

Introduction: An article published in JAMA in August 2023 highlighted a list of 15,438 nursing homes analyzed by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Of that total list, 5,705 were “never used facilities,” which refers to nursing homes identified in a recent JAMA Network Research Letter * as not having oral antiviral or monoclonal antibody use. Methods: During seven weeks from October 1 to November 17, 2023, a five-member team from HHS Coordination and Operations Response Element (H-CORE) Operations Technical Assistance (OpTA) Division – including three nurses, one science analyst, and one physician assistant – surveyed all 5,705 “never used facilities ”. They gathered information on knowledge of the COVID-19 therapeutics Paxlovid and Lagevrio, accessibility in obtaining Paxlovid and Lagevrio from pharmacies or other entities, and hesitation from residents or providers/clinical staff in the use of Paxlovid and Lagevrio. Results: Four primary barriers to accessing Paxlovid and Lagevrio were identified: (1) pharmacy distribution issues, (2) staffing issues, (3) corporate control setbacks, and (4) mis/disinformation among residents living in long-term care facilities. Four primary barriers to accessing Paxlovid and Lagevrio were identified: (1) pharmacy distribution issues, (2) staffing issues, (3) corporate control setbacks, and (4) mis/disinformation among residents living in long-term care facilities. Four primary barriers to accessing Paxlovid and Lagevrio were identified: (1) pharmacy distribution issues, (2) staffing issues, (3) corporate control setbacks, and (4) mis/disinformation among residents living in long-term care facilities. Conclusion: Supporting outreach initiatives by continuing collaboration with local/state health departments to vulnerable populations by disseminating specifically targeted information will help contribute to equitable access to care.

This study examines whether the doctrine governing third-party allotments of new shares under Article 418(2) of the Korean Commercial Act adequately reflects ‘the shareholder equality principle’. Preemptive rights are a core shareholder right that preserves shareholders’ proportional economic value and collective control, and thus constitute a concrete expression of shareholder equality. However, Korean courts have assessed the legality of third-party allotments primarily based on abstract managerial necessity or significant effects on corporate control, without sufficiently considering the infringement of shareholders’ proportional interests caused by the exclusion of preemptive rights. This approach tends to focus on whether the allotment was motivated by an improper purpose, such as entrenchment in the context of control disputes, rather than on whether the resulting dilution disproportionately harms existing shareholders. By contrast, German stock law and case law treat the exclusion of preemptive rights as a serious restriction on shareholder rights and subject it to substantive judicial review based on the principle of proportionality, balancing objective corporate interests against shareholders’ disadvantages. In light of the 2025 amendment to the Korean Commercial Act, which extends directors’ duty of loyalty to shareholders, this study argues that the interpretation of third-party allotments should be restructured to require a proportional balancing of corporate interests and shareholders’ disadvantages.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the evolving jurisprudence on unfair prejudice claims under Section 236 of the Companies Act [Cap 212R.E 2023] in Tanzania. It assesses legislative efficiency and judicial perspectives in relation to the protection of minority shareholders. The study evaluates whether the statutory framework and its judicial application adequately respond to oppressive corporate conducts. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a doctrinal research design based on black letter analysis. It includes a review of case law. The primary source of judgments is the Tanzania Legal Information Institute. Findings The study notes a rise in judicial engagement with unfair prejudice claims since 2020, with courts granting remedies such as reinstatement, injunctions, declarations and share buyouts. Despite this growing judicial activity, the legislative framework remains weak, marked by the vagueness of the term “unfair prejudice,” restricted locus standi, lack of guidance on joinder of respondents and absence of codified procedures for fair share valuation. Originality/value This study addresses a sustained theoretical gap in the literature by moving beyond descriptive accounts of unfair prejudice toward a normatively grounded understanding of the doctrine. It provides the examination of Tanzanian unfair prejudice jurisprudence across time and places judicial reasoning within a coherent governance framework. The research reconceptualizes unfair prejudice as a tool for accountable corporate control rather than a discretionary fairness label. It also proposes targeted statutory reforms to clarify the doctrine, expand access to relief, enhance remedies and establish structured valuation procedures.

“Death becomes her”: Market reaction to the death of controlling inside blockholders

China’s evolving takeover regime represents a significant move toward a shareholderoriented, rule-based corporate governance framework essential for the continued growth of its capital markets. However, the practical application of these rules remains largely untested due to the rarity of hostile takeovers in China. The Vanke-Baoneng takeover battle offers a valuable case study to examine how China’s regulatory framework governs directors’ conduct in contested control transactions.This paper analyses the Vanke-Baoneng case to identify key challenges within China’s corporate governance system, focusing on ambiguities and gaps in directors’ duties and the permissibility of defensive measures. It identifies previously unexplored issues, such as vague terminology in Article 8 of the Takeover Measures governing anti-takeover actions, the uncertain scope of directors’ duty of loyalty, and the lack of clear criteria for assessing duty breaches. These gaps allow directors considerable, and potentially unintended, discretion in takeover decision-making.The research contributes to a deeper understanding of China’s corporate governance, demonstrating how transplanted legal norms can produce inconsistency and unpredictability in practice. The paper offers recommendations, which would clarify fiduciary duties and takeover defences through targeted guidelines or guiding cases, to promote a more coherent, reliable and effective legal framework for corporate control.

Research protocol development represents a fundamental cornerstone of scientific inquiry, yet traditional approaches relying on domain expertise and manual literature reviews are increasingly inadequate for addressing contemporary research complexity and exponential scientific data growth. The integration of artificial intelligence into this process occurs within contested political, economic, and epistemological contexts that shape what research becomes possible or prioritized. This narrative review systematically examines AI technologies applicable to protocol development, analyses real-world case studies across diverse research domains, identifies benefits and limitations of AI integration, critically evaluates political-economic contexts shaping AI deployment, and proposes recommendations acknowledging power asymmetries and epistemological constraints. A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, Web of Science, and Google Scholar (2015-2025). Inclusion criteria encompassed peer-reviewed articles, conference proceedings, technical reports, and case studies addressing AI applications in research protocol development. AI applications suggest emerging potential across natural language processing for literature synthesis, machine learning for study design optimisation, and automated ethical compliance checking. However, challenges persist including data quality issues, algorithmic transparency concerns, corporate control of AI systems, political restrictions on certain research domains, and systematic bias toward methodologically conservative designs that may disadvantage novel, theoretically complex, or population-heterogeneous research. Critical examination reveals AI optimization encodes particular values about what constitutes "good science," potentially foreclosing paradigm-challenging research and methodologically innovative approaches. Independent peer-reviewed validation remains limited for many claimed benefits, with substantial evidence deriving from corporate sources rather than independent evaluation. AI offers reported potential for research protocol development. However, realization occurs within power structures shaped by corporate ownership, political constraints, and epistemological biases. Future success requires collaborative human-AI frameworks maintaining critical awareness of how efficiency metrics may systematically disadvantage certain knowledge production forms, supported by independent evaluation rather than corporate claims. • AI technologies reduce protocol development time in major initiatives • NLP systems automate literature synthesis for comprehensive protocol reviews • Machine learning optimises study design through predictive modelling • AI-assisted protocols show improved efficiency across biomedical research • Human-AI collaboration essential for maintaining research quality and ethics

Abstract In Germany, whistleblowing was only regulated and institutionalized after a long, tough political debate. This transpired solely due to the country’s obligation to comply with EU law and its legal obligation to implement EU Directive 2019/1937. As a result, structures were created to stimulate external whistleblowing and to use these new mechanisms as a central instrument of corporate control. The extent to which this concept is being realized in practice is the subject of the present article. A thorough examination of the reports received by the central German reporting body shows that only few corporate crimes have been detected and sanctioned through external whistleblowing so far. Limited willingness to report, competition with internal reporting systems, as well as intensive protection of the confidentiality of whistleblowers, are some of the main reasons for this situation as suggested by the present study. Consequently, legal policy expectations towards external whistleblowing should be adapted.

Abstract We investigate mechanisms of institutional stability under profound environmental change, using corporate control in Japan as a critical case. Building on the concept of dualization in the comparative institutions literature, we theorize how dualized power relations at the top of the firm sustain insider control. Using data on executive board members of all non-financial firms listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange from 1993 to 2016, we show that “lifetimers”—employees who spend their entire careers with a single company—continue to enjoy substantial advantages in CEO succession. They maintain their dominance by promoting fellow lifetimers and constraining the prospects of other candidates. At the same time, “external appointees”—organizational outsiders who join the firm directly as executive board members—also benefit from their institutional ties and boundary-spanning roles. Yet, unlike lifetimers, their relative advantages are fragile, as they lack durable intra-firm power bases and are more exposed to shifting external conditions and internal politics. Our findings suggest that resistance by organizational insiders, combined with the selective co-optation of outsiders, can help preserve institutional arrangements in a changing environment.

<p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 宋体; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Amidst the rise of Web3, a technology transforming user interactions and challenging corporate control, this study uses a hybrid model of appreciative inquiry that matches the remote and decentralized nature of Web3 communities, to investigate the formation of a blockchain startup and its emergent culture and values. Despite limited resources, the company has built a diverse, global community via digital platforms, exceeding stakeholder expectations. This appreciative inquiry uncovers a community manifesting five core values: excellence, sustainable innovation, inclusivity, continuous learning, and creativity, challenging stereotypes often associated with the Web3 industry. This work advances participative research by introducing a hybrid model of appreciative inquiry tailored for remote and decentralized Web3 communities. By adapting appreciative inquiry to the unique dynamics of blockchain-dependent organizations, this study extends the methodology’s applicability and demonstrates its effectiveness in uncovering and fostering core communal values within cutting-edge technological contexts.</span></p>

Super apps, integrating diverse digital functions into single platforms, have reshaped mobile ecosystems, drawing scholarly attention beyond Silicon Valley models. While research has focused on Asian cases like WeChat and Alipay, East Africa’s super apps, such as Kenya’s M-Pesa and Ethiopia’s Telebirr, remain underexplored despite their rapid rise. M-Pesa, operated by Safaricom, serves over 30 million users, while Telebirr, under Ethio Telecom, has reached 36 million in two years. Both, supported by Huawei, dominate nearly 50% of mobile connections in their countries and evolve through third-party integrations, mirroring Asian super apps. This study investigates: (a) M-Pesa and Telebirr’s data collection, storage, and usage strategies, and their impact on state and corporate control over personal information; (b) how Kenya’s market-driven and Ethiopia’s state-led regulatory environments shape these platforms compared to Asian counterparts; and (c) whether power dynamics among states, corporations, and users reinforce or challenge data colonialism in the Global South’s digital infrastructures. Employing postcolonial computing and platform and infrastructure studies, the research combines case study and comparative methods, using desk research, online fieldwork, and document analysis to examine policy environments, data practices, and platform functionalities. Preliminary findings reveal Kenya’s competitive fintech landscape fosters M-Pesa’s corporate expansion, while Ethiopia’s statism embeds Telebirr in governance, enhancing surveillance. Both platforms’ reliance on Huawei raises data sovereignty concerns. These dynamics suggest data colonialism, as unchecked data extraction risks exploitation. This study enriches postcolonial and infrastructural theories, deepening insights into East African platformization.