The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on firm performance. The study examines the SDG coverage of international firms in six industries listed in the Corporate Knights’ Index, including banking, insurance, petroleum refineries, real estate investment and services, and investment services. Through a content analysis approach, the annual and sustainable reports of these firms for the year 2020 were used to extract financial and SDG information, respectively. The findings indicate that SDG coverage has no effect on firm performance. The results also show that SDGs 5, 8, and 13 appear to be the most widely adopted SDGs by companies from all industries, while SDGs 2, 6, and 14 tend to be the least focused on of all SDGs. This study can assist regulators and investors in better understanding the role of SDGs in achieving an organization’s success.

This study investigates the relationship between the motives behind CSR and consumer extra-role behavior, as well as green purchase intention, specifically within the hospitality industry of an emerging market. This study uses two scenario-based experiments with high and low CSR fit contexts to examine how ethical corporate identity moderates the relationship. Both studies examine the impact of customers’ perceptions of a company’s CSR motivation (public-serving or firm-serving), on their extra-role behavior towards the company and intention to make green purchases. This influence is particularly relevant when the company actively communicates its ethical identity. The first study is conducted within a high-fit setting where the company’s locus aligns with its CSR program. In contrast, the second study replicates the research in a low-fit situation. The results indicate that CSR activities have a favorable effect on customer extra-role behavior and green purchasing intention, regardless of the CSR fit contexts. This effect is shown when the company’s ethical stance is known before engaging in CSR activities and when the goal is to serve the firm. Nevertheless, these endeavors demonstrate limited efficacy in prompting such conduct when the organization’s ethical identity remains implicit, even within a context driven by a desire to serve the public.

Background: The wave of digital disruption has been experienced across different industries in the fourth industrial revolution, altering processes and procedures as well strategies of many industries. Purpose - As businesses strive to attain supremacy in their respective industries, reliance on technology has become an inevitable tool for sustainability and competitive advantage. Firms are employing novel business strategies and streamlining their operations by adapting to technology in order to transform digitally. Based on the theory of structural empowerment, we assess, from employees' perspective, the efficacy of key employeecentric digital transformation initiatives, namely, digital skills training and access to digital platforms on employees' performance through the mediating role of employee digital empowerment. Design/methodology/approach - Survey data was collected from a sample 214 employees and their 89 direct supervisors across four banking institutions in China for the purpose of this study. Correlation and regression analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses. Findings - The result of the study showed support for the positive impact of both digital skills training and employees' access to digital platforms at the workplace on job performance and also for the mediating role of employee digital empowerment. This study contributes to the empowerment literature by identifying key structural empowerment initiatives in an organization that enhance employee digital empowerment and performance at the workplace as firms transform digitally. Practical implications - The results of the study suggest that firms should view digital transformation as an employee empowerment tool which, when implemented properly, could help enhance employees' performance and the overall organizational goal achievement potentials. Hence, organizations should align their digital transformation strategy with the needs of its human resource in order to ensure overall success of such transformations. Limitations/future research - The study focuses on the banking sector only. Further research could focus on other industries that are equally affected by the waves of digital disruptions.

A perennial question for the pharmaceutical industry has been excessive drug prices. To alleviate patients’ burden of expensive medical bills and increase the affordability of medicines, China adopted the Two-Invoice System (TIS) in drug procurement for public medical institutions in 2017. In this paper, we study the impact of the TIS on pharmaceutical manufacturers’ selling expenses. Using a Difference-in-Differences (DID) methodology and a sample of the A-share pharmaceutical manufacturing firms listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange from the years 2014 to 2020, we find that the TIS leads to a significant increase in pharmaceutical manufacturers’ selling expenses but gradually weakens over time. In addition, we further explore whether the impact of the TIS on pharmaceutical manufacturers’ selling expenses is affected by the pharmaceutical manufacturers’ previous drug circulation mode. The results indicate that the TIS could significantly increase the pharmaceutical manufacturers’ selling expenses in the agency mode group. However, there is no evidence to support the TIS having the same effect in the direct sales office model group.

The present study examines the impact of COVID-19 on Maldivian tourism, highlighting the loss of tourists and tourism earnings for the period 2020Q1 to 2021Q2 and analyses the recovery rate of inbound tourists’ arrivals post border re-opening (i.e., 2020Q3 – 2021Q2). Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model was employed to generate monthly forecasts for 2020 and 2021. The results indicate an estimated loss of 1.9 million tourists between 2020Q1 and 2021Q2. A massive drop in tourist arrivals caused an estimated loss of USD 3.5 billion in tourism earnings by June 2021. Results further indicate that with an average monthly recovery rate of 3%, inbound arrivals have recovered 34% of forecasted levels and 40% of 2019 levels by June 2021. The measures implemented by the government of Maldives played a vital role in the recovery of inbound tourism. However, the rebound of tourists has not reached the desired levels except for the arrivals from Russia. Therefore, additional strategies must be implemented for the quick revival of the Maldivian tourism industry. This study expands and enriches tourism management knowledge in the face of a massive crisis highlighting important managerial and policy implications for reviving the tourism industry of the Maldives.