The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) within the decision-making processes of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) presents both significant opportunities and substantial ethical challenges. The aim of this paper is to provide a theoretical model depicting the interdependence of organisational decision-making levels and decision-making styles, with an emphasis on exploring the role of AI in organisations’ decision making, based on selected process dimension of the MER model of integral governance and management, particularly in relation to routine, analytical, and intuitive decision-making capabilities. The research methodology employs a comprehensive qualitative analysis of the scientific literature published between 2010 and 2024, focusing on AI implementation in SMEs, ethical decision making in integral management, and regulatory frameworks governing AI use in business contexts. The findings reveal that AI technologies influence decision making across business policy, strategic, tactical, and operative management levels, with distinct implications for intuitive, analytical, and routine decision-making approaches. The analysis demonstrates that while AI can enhance data processing capabilities and reduce human biases, it presents significant challenges for normative–ethical decision making, requiring human judgment and stakeholder consideration. We conclude that effective AI integration in SMEs requires a balanced approach where AI primarily serves as a tool for data collection and analysis rather than as an autonomous decision maker. These insights contribute to the discourse on responsible AI implementation in SMEs and provide practical guidance for leaders navigating the complex interplay between (non)technological capabilities, ethical considerations, and regulatory requirements in the evolving business landscape.

As the importance of the transition to sustainable development is increasingly recognised by individuals, organisations, and society as a whole, there is a growing need to examine its impact at micro-, meso-, and macro-levels. There is an urgent imperative to ensure the sustainability of growing economic inequalities, a degraded environment, and people living in uneven conditions in different societies. The authors, therefore, highlight the strategic role and essential contribution of organisations, and universities/higher education institutions in particular, in achieving sustainable development and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Universities/higher education institutions play a key role in fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, and they form the crucial architecture of contemporary practices in national economies and beyond. Policy makers, university/higher education institution governors, managers, and professors shape students and create new social contexts, and these must be oriented towards sustainability. This paper aims to explore the strategic role of organisations, in particular, universities/higher education institutions, as a key link between personal and social responsibility and, thus, as a powerful enabler of sustainable development. The authors examine the strategic transition to sustainability of two higher education institutions, the University of Maribor and the University of Economics—Varna, and conduct a qualitative case study research to develop a cybernetic model of the university’s/higher education institution’s transition to sustainability, which reflects the organisation’s growing commitment to achieving the Sustainability Development Goals. The model includes seven successive stages: pre-awareness, awareness, focusing, implementation, reaching out, transparency and disclosure, and continuous improvement. The study shows that sustainable development, i.e., sustainability governance, management, and operations, are indispensable for implementing the strategic concept of sustainability in an organisation and for achieving the strategic transition to sustainability as explained in the proposed cybernetic model.

In the context of the growing prominence of socially responsible investment, the debate over whether sustainable corporate practices translate into sustained shareholder value has intensified. As a key tool for aligning their investment portfolios with responsible/sustainable corporate practices, investors rely on listed companies’ Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings. This study aims to investigate the long-term impact of ESG practices on the stock performance of listed companies. We perform a Q1 2000 – Q1 2025 backtest to analyse the comparative performance of a Best-in-Class ESG portfolio, constructed by the top 30 listed companies with market capitalisations above USD 2 billion ranked by Morningstar Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Ratings as of 31 March 2025 against the S&P 500 Total Return index. We found that ESG leaders exhibited superior risk-adjusted performance, outperforming the S&P 500 Total Return Index. The Best-in-Class portfolios achieved a substantially higher CAGR and Sharpe ratio, while maintaining maximum drawdowns that remained comparable to the benchmark S&P 500 Total Return index. We also found that ESG advantages were more pronounced in market downturns, with the Best-in-Class ESG portfolio showing better CAGR and Sortino ratios. The findings of this study demonstrate that responsible governance and management create benefits for all stakeholders, including investors, society and nature, in the broadest sense of these terms.

In recent years, the notion that business has a broad responsibility to society as a whole has gained significant momentum and is reflected in various academic theories, business practices and regulations. The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been interwoven with various academic fields, including strategic management and corporate culture. In order to establish a reputation as a socially responsible business entity, it is necessary for companies to adequately disclose CSR activities and events in the virtual space. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to examine the scope of CSR disclosure on the Internet by organisations from different sectors of the Bulgarian economy and its role in the portfolio of publicised corporate culture. The research methods used to achieve this aim include establishing relative values, comparative analysis and content analysis. The findings of the study demonstrate that there is an ambiguous attitude towards CSR in the companies surveyed, as in certain sectors it has a high degree of disclosure and is leading in rank, while in others it is present on the web pages of a small number of companies and has a rather peripheral role among the other elements in the portfolio of publicised corporate culture. To improve the communication effectiveness of the CSR component within the publicised corporate culture, it is essential that the information, initiatives, and priorities disclosed on the company web page are relevant and consistent with the fundamental aspects of the culture, specifically the mission, vision and values/principles.

In the context of the growing prominence of socially responsible investment, the debate over whether sustainable corporate practices translate into sustained shareholder value has intensified. As a key tool for aligning their investment portfolios with responsible/sustainable corporate practices, investors rely on listed companies’ Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings. This study aims to investigate the long-term impact of ESG practices on the stock performance of listed companies. We perform a Q1 2000–Q1 2025 backtest to analyse the comparative performance of a Best-in-Class ESG portfolio, constructed by the top 30 listed companies with market capitalisations above USD 2 billion ranked by Morningstar Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Ratings as of 31 March 2025 against the S&P 500 Total Return index. We found that ESG leaders exhibited superior risk-adjusted performance, outperforming the S&P 500 Total Return Index. The BiC portfolios achieved a substantially higher CAGR and Sharpe ratio, while maintaining maximum drawdowns that remained comparable to the benchmark S&P 500 Total Return index. We also found that ESG advantages were more pronounced in market downturns, with the Best-in-Class ESG portfolio showing better CAGR and Sortino ratios. The findings of this study demonstrate that responsible governance and management create benefits for all stakeholders, including investors, society and nature, in the broadest sense of these terms.