This research investigates how female CEOs and board gender composition (BGC) influence environmental innovation. Using a panel dataset of 237 energy companies, the study reveals that female CEOs are more committed to the environment than males. Interestingly, the findings also show that the BGC positively moderates the female CEO and environmental innovation nexus. Additionally, it reveals that female CEOs have a more significant influence on promoting environmentally friendly innovation in profitable energy companies than males. The findings remain strong after various robustness tests, contributing to the ongoing debate on gender equality and offering novel insights into the green footprint.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the impact of capital structure decisions on firm performance in Jordan (2010–2018), as well as the extent to which firm size matters in the capital structure-performance relationship. The dependent variable was market share. The main independent variables were the book value of total debt ratios, and firm-specific factors such as firm size, firm age, firm growth, and market-to-book value of equity served as control variables. This study used a quantitative research method using panel data analysis of 830 firm-year observations. Random effects model was employed to analyze the capital structure-performance nexus. To infer correctly, the main analysis was re-examined using the generalized method of moment estimator to overcome possible endogeneity concerns. After controlling for endogeneity and firm heterogeneity, this study finds that the book value of capital structure has a significantly positive relation to a firm’s market share. Hence, every one unit increase in the book value of total debt ratios will increase market share by 4.77%. The firm size, sales growth, and market-to-book value of equity had a significantly positive association with market share. Hence, every one unit increase in firm size, growth and market-to-book equity ratio will increase a firm’s market share by 8.84%, 2.06%, and 2.15%, respectively, but surprisingly, firm age did not meaningfully contribute to operating performance. Another important finding was that the strength of a positive relationship between the book value of total debt ratios and market share depends on the size of a firm and is mostly higher for larger-sized firms. Hence, every one unit increased in the book value of total debt ratios for large firms will increase market share by 10.58%.

Emerging economies confront the dual challenge of accelerating digital transformation while simultaneously mitigating environmental degradation under conditions of institutional and governance heterogeneity. In this context, this study examines how artificial intelligence (AI) capability influences green innovation efficiency (GIE) in emerging Asian economies and investigates whether environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance conditions this relationship. Using an unbalanced panel of 59,112 firm-year observations from 4926 publicly listed firms across 15 emerging Asian economies over the period 2011–2022, we employ a comprehensive panel-data econometric framework that accounts for unobserved heterogeneity, dynamic effects, endogeneity, and potential self-selection bias. The empirical results indicate that AI capability is positively and significantly associated with higher green innovation efficiency. More importantly, ESG performance strengthens this relationship, suggesting that robust governance frameworks enhance firms’ ability to translate digital intelligence into environmentally efficient innovation outcomes. These findings underscore that AI adoption alone is insufficient to generate sustainable value; rather, its environmental effectiveness depends critically on complementary governance structures that promote transparency, accountability, and responsible risk management. The results remain robust after correcting for endogeneity concerns, alternative model specifications, and extensive sensitivity and heterogeneity analyses. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on digital transformation and sustainability by providing large-scale, multi-country evidence that highlights the pivotal role of ESG in shaping the sustainability returns to AI adoption in emerging economies.