This research study aims to examine the impact of sustainability on firm performance and analyze how vertical integration moderates the connection between performance and sustainability in the oil and gas sector. We analyzed a sample dataset of oil and gas companies from the top ten oil-producing countries spanned over ten years (2011–2020). The pool-fixed regression technique confirms that sustainability and its three components, i.e., social, environmental, and governance, are negatively related to performance. However, vertical integration moderated the connection between sustainability and performance in the case of the oil and gas sector. We have identified firm size, age, and return share price positively related to firm performance in the oil and gas industry. At the same time, the debt ratio negatively impacts the firm’s performance. The findings are significant for the management of oil and gas firms and the policymakers and regulatory authorities of oil-producing and exporting countries.

Digitalization has become an economic force in the modern era, restructuring traditional business models, approaches, and procedures. The embracing of widespread digital technology, along with continuous development of human capital, to promote entrepreneurship is a significant challenge. This paper investigates the effect of digitalization and GDP on entrepreneurship, as well as the moderating effect of human capital. For this purpose, fixed effect estimation technique was used on annual unbalanced panel data of 139 countries collected for a period of 9 years, that is, from 2011 to 2019. The findings show that digitalization has a positive and a statistically significant impact on entrepreneurship in the singleton model, as well as a positive and significant impact in all other models. Similarly, GDP growth also has a positive and significant effect across all the models. Human capital, proxied as tertiary school education, was also found to have a positive and significant impact on entrepreneurship. The analysis shows that the impact of digitalization is more significant in countries where tertiary education fosters the development of human capital, than in those countries that offer primary and secondary education. Furthermore, human capital also moderates the nexus between digital financial inclusion, economic growth, and entrepreneurship. The results of the regional comparison also depict that there is a strong positive and significant impact of all the proxies of digitalization and GDP growth on entrepreneurship in Europe and Central Asia, as compared to East Asia and the Pacific. These results show that the higher the level of digitalization, economic growth, and human capital, the higher the level of entrepreneurship.

Purpose: This research emphasizes exploring the determinants of financial development in the Golden Ring Economic Forum (GREF), including countries such as China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan, before and after the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The GREF bloc is rich in human capital and natural resources. Methodology: Three ARDL models are employed in this study. The first model uses the full sample period (1990–2021) to estimate long-run coefficients. The second model covers the pre–Fourth Industrial Revolution period (1990–2015), while the third model focuses on the post-revolution period (2016–2021) to examine structural changes in the determinants of financial development. Findings: The results reveal that per capita GDP has a positive long-run impact. Globalization exhibits a negative long-run effect but a positive short-run impact. Human capital has a positive effect on financial development. Natural resource rents show a positive and significant impact in the long run, whereas in the short run they have a negative but insignificant effect. Trade is significantly positive in the long run. In contrast, energy consumption and technological innovation are statistically insignificant. Novelty: This study contributes by highlighting the transformative effect of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on the determinants of financial development. The findings reveal a significant change, whereby previously insignificant factors such as globalization, trade openness, human capital, and natural resource rents emerged as vital determinants of financial development after 2016. GREF countries offer distinctive insights into the dynamics of financial development within this region. Limitation: The primary limitation of this study is its temporal scope, as the analysis is restricted to data available up to 2021. Policy Recommendation: The findings suggest that the region should adopt policies that harness globalization as a powerful driver of regional growth. Human capital should be enhanced through advanced technological knowledge, while energy consumption policies should be revisited to ensure more efficient use of resources.