The intersection of investment decisions and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations is important in the finance literature. This paper explores the aggregate value assessment of green stocks listed on Borsa Istanbul Sustainability Index over brown stocks that are not listed, employing the total efficiency loss (TEL) model. Understanding the performance dynamics of ESG-sensitive portfolios becomes imperative as investors increasingly prioritize sustainability. The study covers the data of the BIST-SI and the BIST100 Index between 2015 and 2023. Our findings indicate a consistent outperformance of green portfolios over brown portfolios, except for the years 2016 and 2022, suggesting that during periods of economic and political instability, external factors may influence investor preferences. In particular, the deviation in these years highlights the sensitivity of ESG investments to both domestic and global shocks, highlighting the importance of considering contextual dynamics in portfolio management. This study contributes to the literature on sustainable finance by providing insights into the relative performance of green portfolios and emphasizing the positive association between ESG considerations and financial outcomes. Furthermore, this study offers practical implications for policymakers and institutional investors by showing how ESG integration can reduce risk exposure while enhancing long-term value creation.
This study investigates the multifaceted relationship between corporate sustainability performance (CSP), investor valuation, and accounting-based financial performance within the context of the Turkish market. The methodology employed in this study involves using univariate and multivariate methods to test the hypothesized relationships. The sample includes data from 365 publicly traded firms from March 2016 to September 2021. Building on the resource-based view and stakeholder theory, the research posits a positive relationship between CSP and accounting-based CFP, emphasizing value creation through cost reduction and stakeholder motivation. The findings reveal an intricate relationship, indicating that while high CSP aligns with improved financial performance indicators, such as return on assets and earnings per share, investors exhibit a degree of skepticism, manifested in lower quarterly stock returns in the pre-pandemic period. Moreover, the study introduces a dimension by exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as a notable transformation in investor perception. During the pandemic, investors valued high CSP firms with a premium, signaling a potential shift from a short-term profit maximization focus to a stakeholder-oriented approach.
Organizations are realizing that their employees are the most valuable assets and effectively managing teams is essential for building a successful and competitive business. Existing studies mostly build on frameworks that have been developed in a digitally mature environment and offer little insight into the institutional, organizational, and technological barriers experienced by developing economies. Despite the global recognition of HR analytics as a cornerstone for data-driven decision-making, its integration within emerging economies, such as Pakistan, remains difficult. This study investigates the critical barriers that slow down the adoption of HR analytics within Pakistan’s banking sector, an industry characterized by rapid digital change and significant regulatory evolution. A qualitative study was designed to explore this issue using a constructivist grounded theory. Data were collected from human resources professionals working in 15 banks and examined through in-depth interviews. The analysis identified five interconnected barriers: obsolete technological infrastructure, HR capability gaps, resistance to change, strategic governance weakness, and compliance and ethics concerns. Based on these findings identified five interconnected barriers proposes Five-Pillar Roadmap: Technological modernization, Capability enhancement, Cultural and change management, strategic governance, and compliance localization aligned with the Technology-Organization-Environment framework. This study offers an empirically grounded framework that highlights context-specific barriers to HR analytics adoption in Pakistan’s banking sector and extends perspectives on technology adoption in emerging economies.
This study examines corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies in five international joint ventures (IJVs) in Türkiye, formed through partnerships between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and local firms. Grounded in stakeholder and institutional theories, the research identifies internal governance mechanisms and external pressures shaping CSR in these IJVs. MNEs’ advanced governance and management structures often lead CSR efforts, driving convergence in practices. While MNEs exert strong internal control over CSR strategies, local partners influence stakeholder priorities and the selection of CSR projects, allowing for some local adaptation. The findings highlight an "institutional duality," reinforcing previous studies in similar settings. MNEs’ internal governance structures compensate for weaker external regulatory pressures in the host country. At the local level, IJVs enhance social legitimacy by emphasizing employee health and safety. The need for both social and political legitimacy becomes pronounced when IJVs rely on local resources. By focusing on IJVs, this research extends the discourse on CSR in MNEs, offering a refined understanding of the complexities and strategic implications of CSR within international partnerships in emerging markets.
Dividend decisions are not solely shaped by firm fundamentals; they are also influenced by managers’ behavioral tendencies when making strategic financial choices. Among these tendencies, managerial overconfidence—defined as the overestimation of one’s abilities while downplaying risks—has been increasingly recognized as an important determinant of corporate financial policies. This study examines how managerial overconfidence affects dividend payments by analyzing 108 non-financial firms listed on Borsa Istanbul from 2014 to 2024. Managerial overconfidence was initially evaluated using seven binary indicators reflecting investment behavior, leverage choices, profitability patterns, and dividend practices; however, only the OCI6 (high asset growth combined with no dividend payments) indicator yielded statistically meaningful results. The empirical analysis shows that OCI6, which captures high-growth firms that do not distribute dividends, has a significant negative effect on the likelihood of paying dividends. This finding suggests that overconfident managers may prioritize growth-oriented strategies over shareholder payouts, thereby influencing dividend outcomes independent of firm-level financial conditions. By providing evidence from an emerging market, this study extends the behavioral approach to dividend policy and highlights the importance of managerial traits in financial decision-making. The results offer relevant implications for investors and policymakers concerned with how managerial behavior shapes corporate payout strategies.
