The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of financial inclusion in the least developed countries in Asia and Africa. We used World Bank data to estimate the probit econometric technique in the studied countries. The results show that young people and women are groups excluded from financial inclusion and that education and income are two of the key pillars for increasing financial inclusion. Furthermore, the results reveal that a higher level of financial inclusion increases the level of official savings in countries, which in turn promotes their development. The findings of this study are beneficial for policymakers in the least developed countries to promote innovative approaches to enhance the involvement of excluded people in formal finance.

Despite the progressive shift towards the capital-intensive paradigm, the human factor is still considered as one of most valuable assets in the port domain. Port labour from ship-to-shore and yard crane drivers to harbour pilots may lead to the success in port competition, affecting the quality, reliability and flexibility of port service. Several scholars started to address the major drivers shaping the causal relation between port labour and competitiveness. While some individual determinants have been already discussed, including port governance settings, innovation and technology, shifts in the demand needs, etc., extant literature fails to provide a multidimensional conceptual framework. The article addresses this literature gap by proposing an ad hoc theoretical model that identifies valuable drivers of change, which shape the relationship between port labour and competitiveness in the Mediterranean port systems. Grounded on two case studies in the Mediterranean Sea, i.e. the Port of Genoa and the Port of Marseille, the conceptual framework is tested and empirically validated. Managerial and organizational implications for port competitiveness are discussed, providing useful insights for both academics and practitioners.

This paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of transition drivers by reviewing four major strands of inquiry in transition studies: Multi Level Perspective (MLP); Strategic Niche Management (SNM); Transition Management (TM); Technological Innovation Systems (TIS). To the best of our knowledge, none of these contributions have so far provided a clear-cut classification of main drivers of transitions, as evidenced by the difficulty of practitioners in reaching goals as entrepreneurs, or policy makers in supporting economic growth. We believe that these theoretical streams share views relating the origin and drivers of transitions and that the analysis of the multi-level developments and systemic sub-processes by using the Integrative Propositional Analysis (IPA) allows for a more comprehensive identification of transition drivers. By mapping causal relationships within each perspective and by developing an integrative framework that takes in due account of overlaps between theories, we derived a new conceptual structure for the identification of transitions’ drivers.

This study aims to investigate the key company characteristics which influence the adoption of sustainability reporting practices. The study uses a Logit model based on a sample of 366 large Asian and African companies which have addressed the SDGs in their sustainability reports published in 2017. The results suggest that large companies in the low- and middle-income countries which used SDGs have specific characteristics such as a higher market-to-book value (Tobin’s q) and higher adoption of external assurance for their reports. The results also show that having women and younger directors in the company’s management structure is positively related to the adoption of the SDG reporting. Contrarily from previous studies, the industry sector does not have strong influences on the use of sustainability reporting. The paper provides support to the challenges faced by the boards of directors of large Asian and African companies in ensuring their increasing engagement in sustainability initiatives while acting in the best interest of the company and its stakeholders.