Deterioration in the environmental quality is a major threat to the sustainable development of an economy as it results in serious economic problems and the researchers are conscious about the environment sustainability. They have identified several factors including financial development, inflow of foreign aid, and openness of trade to promote environmental sustainability. Unfortunately, their findings remain inconclusive as they have imperfectly measured environmental sustainability. This study, thus, aims to contribute to the ongoing debate of environmental sustainability by testing the role of financial development, trade openness, and foreign direct investment (FDI) in promoting environmental sustainability by using adjusted net savings as a measure of environmental sustainability. To do this, the study collects data from 1996 to 2019. The study uses financial development, trade openness, and FDI as predictors and environmental sustainability as an outcome variable. The study applies Auto Regressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) methodology to analyze the impact. The findings show positive contributions of financial development, trade openness, and foreign direct investment in promoting environment sustainability. We suggest encouraging trade through lower-taxation programs and increasing competition in the financial markets through privatization and domestic and international liberalization to stimulate environmental sustainability. We also recommend imposing high taxes and penalties on such activities that damage the quality of the environment.

The lack of women’s presence in firms’ top management positions reflects gender equity problems, especially in South Asia, including Pakistan, and contours a firm’s financial behavior. Based on the underpinning of the conceptual framework developed by a combination of fourteen femininity theories, the current study investigates women’s induction in top management and its impact on a firm’s financial behavior. We collected data from annual reports of 60 non-financial firms listed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) for 2013–2019. The study uses the return of assets (ROA), firm’s stability (FSTB), and risk-taking behavior (RTB) as dependent variables. Meanwhile, board gender diversity (BGD), female CEO (FCEO), female director-general (FDG), and female in audit committee (FIAC) are taken as independent variables. A multiple regression diagnostics approach is applied to analyze the data. The study reveals the positive impact of BGD on ROA and FSTB. However, this effect is adverse to RTB. The FIAC shows a positive (negative) impact on ROA (RTB). It also finds a negative impact of FCEO and FDG on ROA and FSTB.

Purpose: With 1.7bn people globally excluded from essential financial services, universal financial inclusion remains a critical challenge, impeding progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 8 on inclusive growth. Despite advances, Fintech’s potential is underutilized, particularly for small businesses in Pakistan’s informal sector that struggle to access formal financial services. This study investigates how Fintech solutions can help overcome these barriers, aiming to promote financial inclusion and support sustainable economic growth in underserved sectors. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs a deductive approach, collecting data through questionnaires from 389 respondents and utilizing partial least squares-structural equation modeling to empirically evaluate the proposed model. Findings: The study finds that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, perceived trust, price value and interface design quality positively influence the behavioral intention to use Fintech. Effort expectancy and price value also impact the actual use of Fintech. Behavioral intentions mediate the relationship between Fintech variables and actual use. The moderating effects of information quality, service quality and system quality are significant. Behavioral intention’s influence on actual adoption is strongest at high service quality levels, significant at high or moderate system quality levels, and only significant at moderate information quality levels. Originality/value: The study integrates “UTAUT2 and Delone and McLean IS Success Models” to propose a novel research framework, contributing to the debate in two ways. It introduces an unknown dimension, namely interface design quality. The research unveils the previously unexplored influence of perceived Fintech quality (information quality, service quality and system quality) as a variable that moderates the relationship between behavioral intention and actual adoption of Fintech services.