Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship

PurposeThis study aims to document and theoretically interpret the near-universal practice of appointing the incumbent financial auditor(s) to also provide mandatory assurance for sustainability reports under the European Union Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).Design/methodology/approachBased on observations from a sample of 268 EURO STOXX 600 companies, this research documents the frequency of alignment between financial and sustainability assurance providers. The central observed pattern is analyzed using established theoretical frameworks.FindingsThe study reveals near-universal alignment (263 out of 268 firms), where firms bundle CSRD sustainability assurance with their incumbent financial auditor(s). Furthermore, analysis shows engagements involving Big 4 firms accounted for 97% of companies, indicating extreme market concentration. This alignment suggests efficiency and institutional drivers. No accredited Independent Assurance Service Providers (IASPs) were identified.Practical implicationsThe findings inform stakeholders about extreme market concentration and the current lack of provider alternatives, with implications for assurance quality, provider choice and independence. Regulators, standard-setters and companies need this evidence to develop a more competitive assurance market aligned with CSRD's objectives.Social implicationsCredible, independent assurance enables capital to flow toward activities that drive genuine sustainable development, funding the physical, technological and social transitions required for progress on goals such as climate action, clean energy and responsible consumption.Originality/valueProviding baseline documentation of CSRD assurance market structure, this research applies theoretical lenses to interpret this extreme market convergence and service consolidation under incumbents.

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are increasingly recognized as a sustainable alternative to conventional transportation, offering significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuels. Despite their growing prominence, the rate of EV adoption varies across regions due to a range of influencing factors. This study aims to understand the influencing factors which enable consumers to form an attitude about EVs and thereby their purchase intention. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire from respondents across eight cities in South India, to explore the key factors shaping consumer intentions to purchase EVs. The study considered variables such as utility, cost, environmental impact, perceived risks, and social influence. The study shows that that the perceived utility of EVs is the most significant factors that influences adoption of EV, followed by environmental concerns and social influence. Understanding these factors would help companies to develop their products and strategies to suit the consumers expectations and thereby contributing to sustainable future.

This research aims to understand the influence of different dimensions of organizational culture on the effectiveness of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices in the Indian IT sector. It examines how these cultural frameworks shape and implement corporate social responsibility practices, such as health and safety programs, work-life balance, community involvement, and environmental sustainability programs to promote employee well-being and happiness. The data was collected using questionnaires which is distributed amongst the IT sector employees in India. The analysis is done through structural equation modeling to understand the influence of various types of organizational culture, such as clan, adhocracy, market, and hierarchy, on CSR and its impact on employee happiness. The findings reveal that internal CSR programs significantly boost employee happiness within clan and hierarchy cultures. External CSR practices do not have a direct impact on employee happiness; thus, the employee-oriented CSR strategy must be developed in specific cultural contexts.

Family firms largely rely on the idea of the adoption of artificial intelligence trust (AI) aiming at developing trust in the technology and their organizational culture, family firms have a higher chance of successfully managing the challenges of AI implementation and increase their performance optimized performance and still maintained their most important values. The family firm culture tends to be dominated by the culture within family firms puts emphasis on people and traditional ways rather than on technological innovation. This resistance to adopting AI solutions can be produced by culture inclination since family members will be afraid becoming out of control or values. The review is a synthesis of the available studies on trust in AI, explaining the ways family firms can use the trust premium inherent to them to support technology adoption. Consequently, family firms' extractive economies are unable to experience sustained value knowledge creation through competitiveness. Enabling environments work within which knowledge creation ensues, leading to the achievement of the development agency goals and the enhancement of the bilateral/unilateral strategic alliance relationship.

Purpose This study aims to examine how sustainability assurance (SA) fee structures under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) reflect market power, regulatory differentiation and institutional fragmentation. While prior research documents auditor concentration and widespread bundling of SA with financial audits, little is known about the pricing mechanisms through which professional dominance emerges during the early implementation of mandatory SA. Design/methodology/approach The authors analyse hand-collected audit and SA fee data from 263 Euro Stoxx 600 companies reporting for the 2024 financial year, the first year of CSRD application. Of these firms, 93 provide separate disclosure of SA fees, enabling descriptive analysis of fee magnitudes, ratios, sectoral concentration and cross-country disclosure practices. Findings Three patterns emerge. First, fee disclosure is institutionally fragmented: 73.8% of French firms disclose separate SA fees, compared with only 13.0% of German firms, reflecting national corporate law differences that systematically constrain transparency. Second, financial institutions account for a disproportionate share of absolute SA spending, paying mean fees of €2.63m versus €0.69m for non-financial firms, consistent with sector-specific regulatory demands interacting with CSRD requirements. Third, SA pricing is regressive: smaller firms incur SA fees equivalent to 30–43% of audit fees, while large firms pay 1–5%, alongside near-universal bundling and strong provider concentration. Practical implications Findings suggest mandatory granular fee disclosure standardisation at EU level, scrutiny of how prudential frameworks create sector-specific demand benefiting incumbents and interventions addressing regressive pricing. Recognition that Omnibus scope reduction may intensify concentration among remaining large-cap filers makes market-structure interventions more urgent. Originality/value The study provides the first large-sample evidence on CSRD SA fees and suggests how pricing structures reinforce professional dominance through transparency fragmentation, regulatory stratification and regressive pricing. By documenting baseline outcomes prior to the CSRD scope reduction, the paper contributes to important accounting debates on accountability, regulation and the political economy of mandatory SA.