This study analyzes the relationship between Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) scores and bond returns using the corporate bond data in Korea during the period of 2010 to 2015. We find that ESG scores include valuable information about the downside risk of firms. This effect is particularly salient for the firms with high information asymmetry such as small firms. Interestingly, of the three ESG criteria, only environmental scores show a significant impact on bond returns when interacted with the firm size, suggesting that high environmental scores lower the cost of debt financing for small firms. Finally, ESG is complementary to credit ratings in assessing credit quality as credit ratings cannot explain away ESG effects in predicting future bond returns. This result suggests that credit rating agencies should either integrate ESG scores into their current rating process or produce separate ESG scores which bond investors integrate with the existing credit ratings by themselves.

This study investigated the application of a blockchain for promoting the sustainable development of non-profit organizations (NPOs). Transparency and good governance are important for operating NPOs in addition to building trust with relevant stakeholders. NPOs consume a large amount of resources (including funds) to monitor their operations and present their transparency and soundness of governance to interested stakeholders. Blockchain technology can fulfill an NPO’s requirements at a lower cost and with a higher efficiency. We reviewed the existing research on NPO governance and blockchain applications. In addition, through case studies, we identified sustainable development strategies for NPOs involving blockchain technologies to increase donation, reduce cost, enhance transparency, and improve governance structure.

This study introduces the transformation process of a company's non-market strategy from corporate social responsibility to creating shared value (CSV). The proposed framework depicts supplier relationship management (SRM) activity, through the case of a Korean bakery franchise, using non-market strategies as a tool for SRM. The analysis explains the backgrounds of the transformation and the ramifications of the changes on SRM actions, such as mutual firm foundations, long-term contracts, and temporal relations. A mutual firm is suggested as the representative form of CSV activity within a triple helix innovation that would create business and social value, ultimately achieving regional resilience.

Korea is recognized as one of the most advanced countries in terms of informatization. The development of informatization has impacted all sectors of Korean society, including agriculture, and agricultural informatization has played an important role in bridging of the digital gap between rural and urban areas. The issue of agricultural/rural informatization development has conventionally been examined under the rubric of the digital divide, which generally encompasses two seemingly distinct categories—access (first order) and inequalities in the ability to use digital technology (second order). Further, consumers' recent concerns over food safety have helped to put agricultural informatization back on the national agenda. This study discusses the challenges inherent in agricultural informatization by analyzing both the first-order and second-order effects of the digital divide at the regional level and then addresses the role of the government in narrowing the regional digital divide. The results indicate that Korea has achieved success in terms of access (first-order) but that the second-order effects of this achievement remain in an intermediate stage, particularly in terms of agricultural informatization, thereby creating new challenges for policymakers. The results offer a better understanding of the type and amount of effort required to raise the level of agricultural informatization to bridge the digital divide and provide researchers with some guidelines for examining the digital divide and determining how it influences farmers, villagers, managers, and economies.