Purpose: This research proposes analytical valuation models throughout football players' life cycles based on crowd valuations from social media to produce dynamic sporting human capital disclosures, and therefore, supplying further useful information to capture the intellectual capital (IC) of football clubs.Design/methodology/approach: This work is carried out using an econometric model that includes 658 observations of crowd judgments versus their transfer fees, for the best footballers of the three major European Leagues between 2006 and 2018. To make the model more parsimonious, the set of independent variables that really add value has been found across the stepwise methodology.Findings: The significant differences between both models are analyzed, integrating previous academic literature based on the existence of negotiation elements in prices, and in the capacity of crowdsourcing to explain assessments of football players, from a dynamic perspective, alongside a new variable: injuries, which has not been explained before.Originality/value: The broader assessments from crowdsourcing should be integrated in intellectual capital disclosures (ICD), from a critical, novel and dynamic perspective, creating a virtuous cycle between managers and fans, to increase transparency of financial information for stakeholders and society.

Purpose: The aim of this work is to explain the final negotiated prices for some of the most famous transfers of football players over the last twelve years (2007–2018).Design/methodology/approach: The article analyses different values for forwards taken from the sports website Transfermarkt, developing a statistical model based on personal, performance, risk, environmental and popularity variables. From those values, the article finds an explanation for the final prices paid for 20 superstar players based on a combination of real option valuations, incorporating the players' life cycles and game theory.Findings: The authors find that in a large percentage (70%) of the analysed cases, the price paid was higher than the intrinsic market value resulting from Transfermarkt, implying the existence of monopolistic rents, paid as “growth options” on prices from different negotiating conditions. On occasions, the final prices also exceed the value of the growth option, calculated under neutral bargaining conditions, highlighting the lack of economic viability of important transfers, leading to financial difficulties for the clubs involved.Originality/value: The algorithm provides more flexibility and realism than previous proposals, based on the life cycle of football players, introducing the uncertainty and volatility of projections through Monte Carlo simulation, the capacity of clubs to bargain a price at any point of the contract and finally, the buyer's ability to transfer the player if his subsequent performance is not as expected.

The financial implications of corporate environmental responsibility (CER) remain a subject of considerable debate, with empirical evidence often yielding mixed results. This ambiguity suggests that the relationship is contingent upon broader contextual factors, particularly the institutional environment. Grounded in a dual framework of stakeholder theory and institutional theory, this article investigates the joint effect of firm‐level CER and country‐level environmental policy stringency (EPS) on the cost of debt for European firms. Using a sample of 2025 listed firms from 18 European countries from 2017 to 2021, our analysis employs fixed effects, structural equation, and multilevel models. The findings reveal that higher CER significantly reduces a firm's cost of debt. More importantly, national environmental policy serves as a critical mechanism that both directly lowers debt costs and indirectly amplifies the financial benefits of CER by encouraging firms to improve their environmental performance. This research contributes by demonstrating the synergistic interplay between micro‐level corporate actions and macro‐level regulatory pressures, offering robust evidence that cohesive environmental strategies at both corporate and governmental levels yield tangible financial advantages.

This research aims to analyze the variables that may have a significant relationship in relation to the level of transparency in municipal waste management, measured through the Municipal Transparency Index in Waste Management, proposed in the research carried out by Rodríguez- Martin et.al. (2020), applied to a sample of 96 Spanish city councils examining the information published on their transparency websites, relative to the year 2017. The independent variables have been chosen, spanning from demographic, political, management and budgetary fields. The results obtained from the Multiple Linear Regression Model, confirm that the municipalities with the highest level of transparency in Municipal Management of Urban Solid Waste are those with the largest population, with the largest levels of average gross income, those that have the so-called fifth container and, although with less incidence, those that show higher tax revenues.

This study examines whether environmental assurance and environmental management certifications are associated with subsequent environmental performance and reputational exposure in European Union listed firms. Using Refinitiv Eikon panel data for 441 firms (1773 firm-year observations) from 2017–2023, we analyze environmental pillar sub-scores (Emissions, Resource Use, and Innovation) and three intensity indicators (energy, pollution, and recycled waste intensity). We estimate firm fixed-effects models for performance outcomes and Firth’s logistic regression models for media-reported environmental controversies, using lagged assurance/certification indicators. Environmental assurance is consistently associated with higher environmental sub-scores and with lower energy and pollution intensity, alongside higher recycled waste intensity. In contrast, certification effects are weaker and more heterogeneous across intensity-based indicators. Regarding reputational exposure, assured firms show a higher likelihood of subsequent media-reported environmental controversies, which is consistent with heightened scrutiny and visibility rather than evidence of intent. These findings inform boards, assurance providers, investors, and policymakers seeking to strengthen the credibility and use of corporate environmental information.

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate whether crowd valuations have become a good estimator of public information for transfer fees (TF) in line with an active and efficient market. Design/methodology/approach: To do this, we explain market values (MVs) and TF of football players from five major leagues over 5 years (2020–2024), including personal characteristics, performance and popularity variables and bargaining power when transferring football players. Findings: The article shows that negotiation variables significantly influence the final transfer fee during the bargaining process and are also collected by crowd valuations after the transfer. We also found that MVs at the beginning of the year, in which a football player is transferred, are a better indicator of the TF finally paid than the previous TF. Originality/value: This study marks a pioneering effort in presenting evidence on how crowd valuations capture the bargaining process of prices, aligning with the theory of market efficiency. These findings hold significant importance for accounting regulators, the Union of European Football Associations and football club managers. They shed light on the potential and challenges associated with utilizing football player crowd valuations as a complementary source of information in regular financial reports of football clubs regarding player transfer prices.