In recent years, there has been a notable shift towards incorporating non-fincancial metrics, particularly environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, into the corporate financial performance (CFP) evaluation framework. The primary aim of this research is to explore the impact of ESG practices on corporate financial performance, with a particular focus on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, which is frequently underrepresented in global ESG debates. The study concentrates on the food production sector, a key industry for this region. To achieve this aim, after the theoretical background on the subject, the empirical section examines whether engagement in ESG practices contributes to financial performance, measured primarily by Tobin's Q and alternatively by the market-to-book value ratio. The panel data models are employed for 8-year panel data of 32 publicly traded food producer companies of the SADC region between 2015 and 2022. Additionally, for the robustness test, the analysis is also repeated on a subset of 14 food producers listed in South Africa. According to the analysis results, companies disclosing ESG practices and so having an ESG score operate with higher Tobin Q and market-to-book value ratio, across both the SADC and South Africa samples. The findings suggest that companies actively involved in social, environmental, and governance initiatives, alongside transparent disclosure of their responsible practices, tend to exhibit superior financial performance. This finding is consistent with stakeholder theory, suggesting that firms can only enhance their long-term financial performance by fulfilling their responsibilities to all stakeholders and, ultimately, to society.

Bu çalışmada, kurumsal sürdürülebilirlik performans ölçütü olarak son yıllarda kullanımı yaygınlaşan çevresel, sosyal ve kurumsal yönetim (ESG) uygulamalarının (ESG skorunun) firma düzeyi dinamiklerinin araştırılması amaçlanmıştır. Bu amaç ile Borsa İstanbul’da listelenen finansal olmayan 222 firmanın 2014-2021 dönem verileri panel probit ve panel logit modelleri ile tahmin edilmiştir. Analiz bulguları faaliyet nakit akışı ve nakit dönüşüm süresi bakımında likiditesi yüksek olan ve varlık hacmi açısından nispeten büyük şirketlerin ESG skoruna sahip olma olasılığının daha yüksek olduğunu göstermiştir. ESG raporlama performansının likiditesi daha güçlü ve daha büyük işletmeler ile pozitif ilişkisi meşruiyet teorisi, paydaş teorisi ve atıl kaynaklar teorisi ile uyumludur.

In this study, a financial analysis was conducted on the agricultural sector of Türkiye—which has a disproportionately low share in the real sector and stock market relative to its added value—as well as on a selected listed company within the sector for the period 2016-2022. The findings indicate that the sector’s reliance on short-term borrowing to meet its external financing needs arising from low asset turnover and profitability increases financial risk and weakens both liquidity and profitability. The company chosen for the analysis managed to reduce borrowing costs and improve profitability through a strong financial structure and agricultural incentives. Despite structural and financial challenges, the sector offers growth and profit opportunities for companies with robust financial foundations.

This study examines the impact of sectoral concentration on credit default risk, drawing from economic theory and portfolio management principles, utilizing the Turkish aggregated sector-level data and banking data from 2009 to 2022. The study employs a panel data analysis framework to investigate the relationship between sectoral diversification in loans and credit risk, controlling for sector-specific variables. Unlike previous studies primarily reliant on banking system data, this research broadens the scope by incorporating the real sector credit usage data for the measurement of concentration. Additionally, instead of the commonly used Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, the study employs the Sector Concentration Index as a measure of concentration, allowing for a comparison of sector distribution with an ideal market sector distribution. The analysis considers not only the widely used indicator of credit risk, non-performing loans ratio in the banking system but also bad debt ratios in the real sector, thereby enhancing the understanding of credit risk dynamics. The analysis results, which show a significant positive relationship between sectoral concentration indices and non-performing ratios employed, reveal that sectoral credit concentration has an increasing effect on the credit risk level and offers insights into the optimal diversification strategies for mitigating credit risk in the banking sector.

Ticari alacaklara güvence veren sigorta türü olan kredi sigortasının ticaret ve iktisadi büyümeye olan katkısı uluslararası ve ulusal yazında güncelliğini koruyan bir alandır. Bu çalışmada, Türkiye’de 2001-2018 döneminde kredi sigortasının prim geliri ve hasar ödemelerinin gelişimi ve ekonomik büyüme göstergeleri ile ilişkileri korelasyon analizi ile incelenmiştir. Ekonomik büyümeyi; milli gelir ve ihracat büyüme oranları ile çek, senet ve banka kredisi şeklindeki borçların geri ödenmeme düzeyi temsil etmiştir. İncelenen dönemde küresel sektörel gelişmelere paralel olarak, Türkiye resmi ve özel kredi sigortası piyasasında prim gelirleri azalmış ve hasar ödemeleri artmıştır. Korelasyon analizi sonuçlarına göre; analiz döneminde milli gelir ve ihracat artışı, kredi sigortası prim geliri büyümesi ile pozitif ve kredi sigortası hasar/prim oranı ile negatif ilişkilidir. Ayrıca prim gelirleri değişimi ile geri ödenmeme oranları negatif korelasyona sahiptir. Bu sonuçlar, kredi sigortası prim gelirlerinin artışının ve hasar oranları azalışının ekonomik genişleme dönemleri ile bağlantılı olduğuna işaret etmektedir.

Purpose: The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of dependence on natural resource rents (NRR) and asset use efficiency on firm profitability in a sample that is rich in natural resources.Methodology: A 20-year (2005-2024) panel dataset from 364 publicly traded extractive companies in ten countries with high NRR was analyzed using the System GMM estimator. Additionally, comparative financial ratio analysis was conducted using Kazakhstan as a reference economy due to its rich hydrocarbon and mineral reserves.Findings: According to the panel data analysis results, the effect of asset use efficiency on the return on assets (ROA) of the extractive sector is higher than that of net profit margin. Furthermore, the level of NRR at the country level tends to reduce firm ROA. In addition, comparative analysis has shown that despite Kazakhstan having a high profit margin and high share of fixed assets, its ROA lags behind the sample average due to its weak asset turnover rate. These results provide firm-level evidence for the resource curse theory.Originality: This study contributes to the literature by expanding the resource curse literature from the country level to the firm level, directly measuring natural resource dependency through NRR using a multi-country sample.