The growing interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues is the result of a cultural path that sees banks react to market changes and become protagonists of an increasingly sustainable future. Based on these considerations, this paper intends to investigate the level of integration of sustainability issues in banks’ corporate governance systems. We carry out an exploratory analysis on all European systematically important banks during the period 2015–2019. By adopting the content analysis approach, we develop a novel governance score based on a research model made up of 40 items. We name the score: “Bank’s governance ESG (Environmental Social Governance) integrated index”. The main results of our study reveal not only growing awareness of banks to integrate sustainability in their corporate governance, but also a strong heterogeneity in their corporate behaviours and large rooms for improvement. Indeed, we find that just over half of the surveyed banks pay really attention to the integration of sustainability issues in their business and governance processes. This contribution is especially driven by the banks’ boards of directors, whose size and composition contribute positively to overall sustainable performance. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study that investigates the level of integration of ESG factors in the banking sector, developing a quantitative score ranging from 0 to 100%. This study differs from previous studies in that it develops an “Bank’s governance ESG integrated index”, which considers the areas of corporate governance that have the greatest impact on the implementation of sustainable practices in banks. Our research is limited to investigating the level of integration of ESG factors for listed banks over a 5-year period. In fact, our time horizon is represented by the four-year period 2015–2019. This research has practical implications. First, investors more attentive on sustainability issues could identify and select the banks that best implement ESG criteria in their corporate governance systems. Second, our research model could be adopted by banks as a “diagnostic tool” to carry out a self-assessment process and identify possible room for improvement.

Purpose: Transformational entrepreneurship (TE) is a concept referring to the ability of entrepreneurs to face global challenges, such as the economic crisis, to improve the well-being of the community. Considering the current scenario of COVID-19, the way digital platforms support TE in overcoming a crisis, specifically the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, was analysed.Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the goal, the authors used the case study methodology. The interview was compared for the company analysed stands out due to its use of digital platforms as a tool to increase brand value. The authors conducted a semi-structured, open-ended interview with the entrepreneur and founder of Yamamay, a company operating in the retail sector. The results obtained from validity using the open coding method.Findings: The main findings show that the implementation of digital platforms supported the entrepreneur in formulating strategic choices that allowed the company to continue offering its services despite the store closures imposed by the pandemic. The whole concept of traditional retail has been and continues to be revised, rationalising it and integrating it with a more omnichannel logic in which digital platforms play a fundamental role.Practical implications: This paper provides market participants with useful information regarding the ability of this form of technology to support entrepreneurs in a crisis context. The results could also serve as an example for other retail companies regarding how to manage the consequences of the pandemic.Originality/value: This contribution represents an extension of the existing literature that deepens the understanding of the relationship between digital platforms and TE in a particular scenario, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The effect of business decisions on the adoption of digital platforms to meet increasing and changing customer needs has been examined.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent the most widespread business model so their environmental impact cannot be overlooked. The topic of sustainability in SMEs, current and well-debated in literature, has been investigated from different perspectives. Some studies have looked at the benefits and barriers related to the adoption of sustainable production policies, others the relationship with corporate performance, and still others the drivers of sustainability. The latter studies find founders/chief executive officer’s (CEO) proactivity and sensitivity to environmental issues as important drivers of the business sustainable development process. However, limited are the studies that analyze the role and potential of the whole board of directors on SMEs’ not only financial but also sustainable performance. This study provides a systematic literature review (SLR) to understand the main strands of research that investigated the relationship between board diversity and financial and sustainable performance. The results show that several studies have found a relationship between board diversity and financial performance, while there are still limited studies that analyze the relationship between board diversity and sustainable performance. This study not only provides a valuable knowledge base for the academic community on what has been addressed on the topic to date but also provides important new research directions, stimulating scientific contributions that analyze diversity on Boards in its several forms (ethnicity, gender, age, culture, religion) to understand which of these most stimulates SME sustainability.

In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, banks are in the spotlight. On the one hand, they suffer from the inevitable negative repercussions on their performances (McKinsey, 2020); on the other hand, they are called upon to support the entire economy with timely interventions (EBA, 2020a). Within this scenario, the attention to the remuneration of top managers grows even more than in the past. Banks are expected to review their top management compensations, to make them financially and ethically compatible with the general situation (Camuffo, 2009). This study aims to investigate whether the COVID-19 pandemic incentivized changes in policies adopted by banks. In detail, we verify whether European significant banks, induced by the pandemic crisis, 1) introduced changes to remuneration policies and/or 2) adopted other measures – different from the remuneration ones. To that end, we analysed all official bank press releases published on websites during the first wave of the pandemic, using content analysis methodology. The results of our analysis show a wide spread of interventions carried out by banks to face global pandemic not so much concerning remuneration policies, but rather related to other areas, such as supporting the real economy, through donations to hospitals, volunteering associations or businesses in difficulty. Our paper contributes to the existing literature by providing a truly an up-to-date overview of bank reactions in times of crisis.

European health systems face important challenges related to the sustainability of health care, both from an economic point of view and in relation to the quality of health services provided in terms of continuous improvement of effectiveness, safety, clinical and organisational appropriateness. The ability of EU Member States to continue to provide high quality care to all, whatever their biological and socio-cultural characteristics, depends on their health systems becoming more sustainable. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen health promotion and disease prevention, to invest in primary care systems, to move health care out of the hospital and into more accessible ambulatory and domestic care, and to develop integrated care practices. Starting from these premises, the aim of this paper is to present a narrative overview of the main aspects related to Gender Medicine and its evolution over time. Our critical overview is, therefore, aimed at providing a general picture of what has been developed by health systems on Gender Medicine, with a particular focus on the relationship between social sustainability and Gender Medicine. To achieve our goal, we carry out a systematic literature review in order to understand what has been developed so far in the area and to highlight the possible evolution of studies in the field and to strengthen the awareness of the importance of encouraging prevention, training and information programs shared with hospitals, institutions, health professionals and patient associations. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is among the first studies that investigate through a systematic literature review the phenomenon of gender medicine, especially with reference to the sustainability of the health care system. Although our analysis needs further investigation, due to the fact that the topic is not yet fully mature, our initial and preliminary results underline the importance of further investigating gender diversity and assessing the possibility of promoting a clinical pathway to personalised treatment. In fact, only through a “gender medicine” approach it is possible to guarantee a real right to health and an effective personalisation of treatments, thus reinforcing the concept of patient focussed care and contributing to the sustainability of the whole health system.