Purpose: The ESG factor, which consists of environmental, social, and governance factors, represents the non-financial performance of a company. United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment invites investors to consider ESG issues when evaluating the performance of any company. Moreover, nowadays, the contribution of corporations towards sustainable development is a major concern of investors, creditors, government, and other environmental agencies. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of ESG factors on the performance of Malaysian public-limited companies (PLC) in terms of profitability, firm value, and cost of capital.Design/methodology/approach: A total of 54 companies are selected from Bloomberg’s ESG database that has complete ESG and financial data from 2010 to 2013. This study conducted panel data regressions such as the pooled OLS, fixed effect, and random effect.Findings: Based on the regression results, there is no significant relationship between individual and combined factors of ESG and firm profitability (i.e. ROE) as well as firm value (i.e. Tobin’sQ). Moreover, individually, none of the factors of ESG is significant with the cost of capital (weighted average cost of capital, WACC), but the combined score of ESG positively and significantly influences the cost of capital (WACC) of a company.Practical implications: As this is a new study on Malaysia, the findings of this study will be useful to investors, SRI analysts, policy makers, and other related agencies.Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first empirical study to examine the impact of ESG factors on the performance of Malaysian PLC in terms of profitability, firm value, and cost of capital.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to conduct an empirical analysis of the factors that determine the occupational fraud behavior.Design/methodology/approach: This study utilizes primary data collected by a questionnaire-based survey on 186 police officials of Malaysia including Sabah and Sarawak. Data are analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and cross-sectional regression.Findings: The results derived in the study showed a statistically significant positive relationship between three basic variables of the fraud theory – pressure, opportunity, and rationalization with asset misappropriation. Moreover, this study revealed that religiosity is statistically significantly and negatively correlated to asset misappropriation. Therefore, the higher religiosity of an individual correlates with the lower probability involve in asset misappropriation.Practical implications: The findings will help Anti-Corruption Commission, Enforcement Agency of Integrity Commission, Police Department, and relevant agencies from Malaysia and other countries to design policies for reducing cases of fraudulent behavior.Originality/value: This study is an original work based on the primary data collection.

Purpose: The paper aims at examining the influences of the elements of fraud diamond on the asset misappropriation within the banking industry of Iran. Primary data were collected through 191 survey questionnaires administered among employees of the top three banks in Iran, which own above 60 per cent of market shares in the banking industry of the country.Design/methodology/approach: Primary data were collected through 191 survey questionnaires administered among employees of the top three banks in Iran, which own above 60 per cent of market shares in the banking industry of the country.Findings: Results strongly supported that all four elements of fraud risk significantly influence bank employee asset misappropriation in Iran. To minimize employee fraud, the banking industry should reduce opportunities and employee negative rationalization through strong internal control.Research limitations/implications: The findings of this study are useful for policymakers, bank managers, industry practitioners and academics to understand and subsequently implement strategies to mitigate asset misappropriation.Practical implications: Managerial implications, limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are also included in this paper.Originality/value: The main value of this paper is the determination of the key variables that constitute the fraud diamond theory and its dimensions on the asset misappropriation within the banking industry in Iran.