New challenges and perspectives to improve non-financial reporting and the disclosure of environmental, social, and governance indicators have been launched towards the development horizon of Romanian public interest entities, implementing the provisions of Directive 2014/95/EU in the local regulatory framework. In this context, our approach focused on the content analysis of the non-financial information reported by listed companies, for the period 2017–2019, and the measure of the average disclosure degree on environmental, social, economic, and governance (ESEG) indicators. To measure the average degree of disclosure, a composite index was constructed through the main component analysis for categorical data that allowed the classification of sampled companies by sustainable performance. The results showed a slight increase in the ESEG disclosure index at the level of the sampled companies, from 47 units in 2017 to 52 units in 2019, several companies “went ahead” and others “recovered over the period”. Cross-sectional analysis revealed differences in the average non-financial disclosure index, and also in the disclosure index of ESEG indicators. The non-parametric correlation analysis highlighted the existence of a statistically significant positive correlation of medium intensity between the disclosure index of non-financial information and the publication of the non-financial statement or report.

Board gender diversity literature has demonstrated the positive influence of female leaders’ traits, such as openness to negotiation and collaboration, greater flexibility in approaching professional tasks, and improved quality of life, on the business development strategy and consequently on the performance of the companies. This study aims to investigate gender diversity’s link to business performance through bibliometric network analysis, highlighting the scientific literature dynamics through a scientific mapping of the existing knowledge. The temporal evolution of the gender diversity and business performance nexus in the scientific publications selected from Web of Science was examined for 1996–2021, investigating more than 2000 documents and focusing on author, keyword, paper, journal, and topic analysis. The statistical processing of publications was performed in R using Bibliometrix and Biblioshiny software, revealing the most influential and prolific authors and also the most representative journals. Results of the panoramic synopsis analysis revealed outstanding research trends, topics related to women and business performance including women directors, firm performance, issues of board diversity including size, structure, board gender diversity, and independence of members, and issues connected to leadership and gender with items such as gender equality, diversity management, women on boards, and culture.

Purpose: The purpose of this work is twofold. First, looks to identify the main homogenous groups of companies after environmental, social, economic and governance (ESEG) disclosures, non-financial statement and earnings per share (EPS), and second investigates the connection between variables.Design/methodology/approach: Using financial and non-financial information from annual reports of private listed companies, the authors performed two-step cluster analysis (TSCA) in the first stage of the research, followed by parametric, nonparametric correlation analysis, as well as regression analysis based on panel data, in the second stage.Findings: Results of TSCA revealed a cluster of companies with good financial and non-financial outcomes and a cluster of companies with poor performance. The performance dynamics showed a slight improvement during the period for few companies and composition analysis of clusters by industries through Kruskal–Wallis test highlighted differences between clusters, only for 2017. The main findings confirm a direct, although weak in intensity but statistically significant correlation between ESEG disclosure index, its sustainability component and financial performance (FP), valid for the entire period. Also, the results showed a direct link of low intensity to average, but statistically significant between the non-financial statement and EPS, valid only for 2017 and 2018.Research limitations/implications: The results indicate mixed findings which invites further in-depth research. Limits of the study can be found in selected indicators and the short period of time analyzed. However, the practical implications are worth considering from the perspective of finding new managerial tools that can better shape the relationship between ESEG disclosures and FP.Practical implications: ESEG Dindx can be an instrument for managers that can optimize the link between the FP of companies and its sustainable development.Social implications: ESEG Dindx measures the disclosure degree of ESEG information by the companies listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE). The main findings of the work confirm a direct, although weak in intensity but statistically significant correlation between ESEG disclosure index, its sustainability component and FP, valid for the entire period.Originality/value: This study adds value to the existing literature by the proposed research framework, design of ESEG Dindx and the way correlations between variables were investigated.

This study examined the influence of the executive board of directors’ gender diversity on the financial performance of listed companies on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, for the period 2011 to 2019. The analysis of the composition and different characteristics of the board and the executive directors proved to be effective tools for corporate governance in countries with an emerging capital market. Therefore, a disclosure index on directors’ characteristics was used to moderate the interaction between gender diversity and financial performance, based on the theoretical framework provided by upper echelon theory. The study contributes to the enrichment of the literature both by using the composite indicator built by applying the multiway PCA method on panel data to express financial performance and by designing the ten EGLS panel models involving five financial indicators and two proxies for gender diversity. The results showed that there is a positive impact of the proportion of women on the executive board of directors on financial performance, measured through the composite index, ROA, ROE, and SOL. A statistically significant impact of gender diversity on financial performance was found only for SOL, in the case of the Blau index. Also, using the random‐effects model to perform the panel data analysis, the results showed that a higher executive board size can be associated with better financial performance measured through the composite index, ROA, ROE, and EPS. Practical implications are significant for the board of executives’ composition, the complexity of the relationship with the board, and reshaping governance practices.

The current challenges of a circular economy exert a high pressure on manufacturing companies that generate waste to track and implement policies to reduce them and eliminate the toxicity of residues. Hence, the purpose of this study is to analyze the waste management information disclosure linked to the financial performance of companies and test the moderating effect of internal and external variables. The average waste management information disclosure index shows a poor disclosure score for the analyzed period, however, the waste disclosure index after reaching a minimum threshold in 2019 recorded an encouraging increase at the end of 2021. Applying the fixed effects model, ordinary least squares, and two-stage least squares method, the results revealed a positive and statistically significant relationship between management information disclosure and the return on assets, while for the current ratio the connection has been invalidated. A statistically significant influence of the environmental-sensitive industry status, board size, and productivity on the moderating variables was found for the return on assets, while for current ratio, there was none. As for the alternative metrics of financial performance, the results showed that a higher degree of management information disclosure will increase the return on equity and earnings per share, while in the case of liquidity, the results are not conclusive.

This study aims to explore the moderating role of corporate governance disclosures on the link between executive board gender diversity and financial performance. Governance disclosures were assessed based on executive managers’ information presented in the companies’ annual reports. The analysis was conducted on Romanian-listed companies from eight industries, covering a time range of ten years. Various robustness tests were used and examined the Blau index apart of the proportion of women managers, as well as different measures for financial performance. The endogeneity issue was solved by the Two-Stage Least Square method and the Generalized Method of Moments. The results revealed that a higher governance disclosure level on executive managers’ characteristics is reflected in increased financial performance. A positive influence was found for the composite financial performance indicator, return on assets, return on equity, and global solvency. Our findings led to the conclusion that the governance disclosure index moderates the relationship between board gender diversity and corporate business performance, and the effect of gender diversity on financial performance will be less positive with a higher level of disclosures on board characteristics. Therefore, managers can filter the quantity and quality of governance disclosure and can monitor the influence of the board’s composition on performance.