This article aims to detect how ESG adds value to the long-term shareholder value creation and to discover whether businesses are aware of positive ESG effects and, therefore, whether they will become more ESG-conscious. By conducting a qualitative content analysis on the academic literature, this article firstly aims to determine if shareholders’ value is positively affected by corporate ESG awareness. Secondly, to test whether companies are becoming more conscious about the importance of ESG, the mission statements of publicly listed Central and Eastern European (CEE) companies are compared to their decade-old versions. This analysis allows us to conclude on whether companies have shifted their attention to the ESG factors as a part of their purpose of existence and, therefore, for long-term shareholder value creation, which is one of the main goals of the exchange-listed enterprises. The content analysis results show that companies with higher sustainability awareness ensure shareholder value creation via improved financial performance, management quality as well as reduced risk metrics. Additionally, qualitative nonfinancial factors such as reputation, stakeholder trust, employee satisfaction and engagement provide an even more significant effect on the long-term value than the pure financial matters. The theoretical trend is found to be supported by the fact that sustainability practice and consumer-oriented keywords dominate the mission statements of CEE companies, while keywords related to shareholders and profit experienced the most significant decrease from 2012 to 2021. The present research is unique as it looks at how companies tend to become more ESG aware, integrating the sustainability perspective into their mission statements in response to the global sustainability trend.

Only a small percentage of startups attract capital from venture capital investors. To determine the factors which owners of startups consider the most important for attracting seed venture investments, the founders of 40 startups in Latvia and Russia were questioned. The researchers compared organizational and financial factors’ importance for two groups of entrepreneurs: those who succeeded and those who failed in attracting funding. The results of the study indicate certain differences between the viewpoints of founders and investors regarding success factors. Based on the factor and regression analysis, the authors developed a model to forecast success in capital attraction.

Enterprise digitalization is a way for companies to make their processes more efficient, to enhance their marketing strategies, and improve their competitive moat within the global competitive landscape. To see how fast Baltic companies are adapting to digitalization trend and, therefore, how good they are at keeping or improving their competitive advantage, we have developed a digital maturity assessment methodology, which was applied to the listed enterprises in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. This methodology allowed us to detect certain digital maturity trends, such as the significant growth of the attention paid towards concepts related to ‘process automation’. Further, it was clear that many companies are concerned with online business, which can be well-seen from the analyzed annual reports. Additionally, we have compared the level and dynamics of the company’s digital maturity to its financial and market performance. We have concluded that, although there is a positive relationship between several financial indicators (e.g., sales growth), it is too early to see the positive effect of digital maturity on a company’s stock performance.

Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues is a peer-reviewed journal which publishes original research papers and case studies

The present paper provides practical implications for the Central and Eastern European equity investors, who seek dividend income in addition to the capital appreciation. The insight into the dividend puzzle in the CEE companies, provided in the research, gives an overview of the dividend yields and payment stability as well as the relationship between the dividend payments and the type of ownership. Main findings of the study prove that the highest yield and the highest payout ratio are obtained in the case of strategic investor acting as a major shareholder (>10% of ownership capital). Binary logistic regression results provide the possibility to forecast whether the company will pay dividends. The typical dividend payer should not have family/management as a major investor, the ownership still should be concentrated and the investor preferably should be of local origin. The present paper provides practical implications for the Central and Eastern European equity investors, who seek dividend income in addition to the capital appreciation. The insight into the dividend puzzle in the CEE companies, provided in the research, gives an overview of the dividend yields and payment stability as well as the relationship between the dividend payments and the type of ownership. Main findings of the study prove that the highest yield and the highest payout ratio are obtained in the case of strategic investor acting as a major shareholder (>10% of ownership capital). Binary logistic regression results provide the possibility to forecast whether the company will pay dividends. The typical dividend payer should not have family/management as a major investor, the ownership still should be concentrated and the investor preferably should be of local origin.

Past events exert significant influence on corporate development and management behavior, thus impacting the financial sustainability of companies. Therefore, the consequences of the 2008 financial crisis and corporate tax reform introduced in Latvia in 2018 are well reflected in the financial conditions of Latvian enterprises. This study, which was conducted based on financial reporting data from 2015–2019 and aimed at the assessment of Latvian companies’ ability to survive during the crisis, revealed a substantial improvement in financial sustainability and in the efficiency of capital management, particularly visible in 2018–2019. On the other hand, the margins, which are a proxy of competitive advantage, remained at a low level, and the operating leverage level indicates the rather high riskiness of Latvian companies, which might be critical in overcoming the crisis triggered by COVID-19. The analysis also revealed that there was a large gap between the best and the worst companies. A significant discrepancy in the quality of the financial conditions was also found based on an analysis by region and industry.