Prelims

EXPLORING ESG CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

CONTEMPORARY STUDIES IN ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

Series Editors: Simon Grima and Robert Thornton

CONTEMPORARY STUDIES IN ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS - VOLUME 116

EXPLORING ESG CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: NAVIGATING TOWARDS A BETTER FUTURE

EDITED BY

SIMON GRIMA

University of Malta, Malta

DIMITRIOS MADITINOS

Democritus University of Thrace, Greece

GRATIELA GEORGIANA NOJA

West University of Timisoara, Romania

JELENA STANKEVIČIENĖ

Vilnius University, Lithuania

MALGORZATA TARCZYNSKA-LUNIEWSKA

University of Szczecin, Poland

and

ELEFTHERIOS THALASSINOS

University of Piraeus, Greece

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL.

First edition 2025

Editorial matter and selection © 2025 Simon Grima, Dimitrios Maditinos, Gratiela Georgiana Noja, Jelena Stankevičienė, Malgorzata Tarczynska-Luniewska, and Eleftherios Thalassinos.

Individual chapters © 2025 The authors.

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ISBN: 978-1-83549-911-5 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83549-910-8 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83549-912-2 (Epub)

ISSN: 1569-3759 (Series)

Simon Grima is the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy, Associate Professor and the Head of the Department of Insurance and Risk Management which he set up in 2015 and started and coordinates the MA and MSc Insurance and Risk Management degrees together with the undergrad degree in Insurance. He is also a Professor at the University of Latvia, Faculty of Business, Management and Economics and a Visiting Professor at UNICATT Milan. He served as the President of the Malta Association of Risk Management and President of the Malta Association of Compliance Officers between 2013 and 2015, and between 2016 and 2018, respectively. Moreover, he is the Chairman of the Scientific Education Committee of the Public Risk Management Organization. His research focus is on governance, regulations and internal controls and has over 30 years of experience varied between financial services, academia and public entities. He has acted as co-chair and is a member of the scientific programme committee on some international conferences and is a chief editor, editor and review editor of some journals and book series. He has been awarded outstanding reviewer for Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance in 2017 and 2022 Emerald Literati Awards. Moreover, he acts as an independent Director for financial services firms, sits on risk, compliance, procurement, investment and audit committees and carries out duties as a compliance officer, internal auditor and risk manager.

Dimitrios Maditinos holds a degree with specialisation in Business Administration and Informatics from Lund University in Sweden and a PhD degree in Finance and Financial Modelling from Greenwich University in London, UK. Currently, he is Professor in Business Administration and Informatics at International Hellenic University. Formerly, starting in 1985, he went through all the academic levels (from Lecturer to Full Professor) working at Technological Educational Institute of Kavala and then at Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology. He has been teaching courses related to business, Informatics and e-business in both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His research interests are in financial modelling, performance measurement, investors behaviour, e-business and e-commerce, applications and internet use, digital business, innovation, management information systems, SCM and business digitalisation, with 4 volumes, 65 papers published in international scientific journals and more than 90 papers presented in international conferences. Moreover, he serves as Scientific Board Member in many international scientific journals like Qualitative Research in Finance Markets, and European Research Studies Journal, among others, and as a Reviewer in international journals, like, Industrial Management & Data System, Management Research Review, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, and Baltic Journal of Management.

Gratiela Georgiana Noja is the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, Romania, in charge of academic and student affairs, and Full Professor, PhD habilitation, at the same faculty, Department of Marketing and International Economic Relations. She is also a PhD Coordinator within the Doctoral School of Economics and Business Administration. She completed her studies with the highest honours at the West University of Timisoara, respectively a PhD habilitation in Economics, PhD in Economics, a Master’s in Management and European Integration and BA in International Economic Relations. She was the Manager of the Erasmus+ project ‘Coordinated higher education institutions responses to digitalization’ (2019-1-RO01-KA203-063214) implemented during 2019–2021 and developed throughout the years other 15 national and international projects as a manager, project assistant, expert, researcher, task responsible and trainer. She has around 35 publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection and a couple dozen of other publications in relevant international journals/volumes/collective volumes. Also, she is an active member of the International Strategic Management Association and has a wide membership in various educational organisations, research networks, scientific and review committees of top-tier journals, and international conferences. Her main research and teaching activities are developed within the framework of economics and international business area, with a keen focus on European economic integration, international migration, digital transformation and sustainable economic development.

Jelena Stankevičienė is a Professor at the Department of Finance at Vilnius University, Lithuania. Her main research topics include sustainable green finance, green economy, circular economy, financial management for value creation, risk management, knowledge transfer, higher education management and multi-criteria decision methods. She is an author of more than 100 scientific publications, most of them indexed in Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCO, Emerald and other databases. She is a co-author of three monographs. Throughout her career, she has been involved in EU development and Lithuanian projects and gained solid knowledge and experience in developing international activities. From her positions as a Dean of the Faculty of Business Management, she shows both academic and practical experiences within the field of management and social responsibilities. Since 2008, she has been editor-in-chief of periodical peer-reviewed scientific journals, abstracted by international databases (including CA WoS Q2 and Scopus) and a chairwoman and a member of scientific and organising committees of different international conferences. Currently she is an Editor-in-Chief of the journal Ekonomika – https://www.journals.vu.lt/ekonomika (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5600-5842).

Malgorzata Tarczynska-Luniewska works at the Department of Econometrics and Statistics at the Institute of Economics and Finance, University of Szczecin. She specialises in quantitative methods, capital markets, finance and economic and financial analysis. Her scientific interests include issues related to sustainable development and environmental social governance problems. She has participated in many scientific and educational projects for over 20 years. She has also been a member of research or expert teams for the economic environment. She is the author of numerous publications, including articles and chapters in monographs of a scientific and didactic nature. She is on behalf of the Ministry and a member of the evaluation team of scientific units. She is the Subject Editor of the journal Wiadomości Statystyczne. The Polish Statistician. She is a member of many professional associations and organisations of national and international scope (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7338-1989).

Eleftherios Thalassinos, PhD (UIC, Chicago, USA, 1983), holds honorary Doctoral degrees in Economics from Danubius University of Galati, Romania (2013), University of Craiova, Romania (2015) and Rostov State University of Economics, Russia (2018). He also earned an MBA from DePaul University, Chicago, USA, in 1979, and a BA from the University of Athens, Greece, in 1976. As a distinguished Jean Monnet Chair Professor specialising in European Economic Integration and International Finance, he has an extensive academic background. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of European Research Studies Journal, International Journal of Economics and Business Administration and International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, and holds the position of Chair at International Conference on Applied Business and Economics. He acts as a Guest Editor for various volumes, including the Volume Series Contemporary Studies in Economic and Financial Analysis by Emerald, Contributions to Management Sciences by Springer, Business, Technology and Finance by Nova and JRFM, RESOURCES, RISKS, and SUSTAINABILITY by MDPI. Additionally, he is a member of the editorial boards of several journals. His professional experience spans diverse areas such as quantitative analysis, technical and financial analysis, banking, business consulting, project evaluations, international business, international finance and maritime economics. With a substantial track record of publications in numerous journals, collective volumes and chapter volumes, he contributed a chapter to the World Scientific Hand Volume in Financial Economics Series, Vol. 5, dedicated to the memory of the late Milton Miller, Nobel Prize winner in Economics in 1990. Parallel to his academic career, he served as a Bank Director for 12 years, Ministerial Advisor for 6 years, Public Servant for 4 years, and worked as an independent consultant for an extended period.

Denisa Abrudan is an Associate Professor at the West University of Timișoara, Romania, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Department of Management. She is a Programme Leader of the Postgraduate Master Study Programme: Human Resource Management, programme ranked for 2022 and 2021 nº8 in Human Resources Management in Eastern Europe according to EDUNIVERSAL Ranking Best Masters in the World. She completed her studies at the West University of Timișoara, respectively PhD in Management, Master in Diagnostic Analysis and Business Evaluation and BA in Management. In addition, she graduated from the Post-Doctoral School at the Romanian Academy in Bucharest with a thesis about Innovation in Education. She is author or co-author of many research papers in the field of human resources management, her particular interest is in the domain of employee development, performance management and leadership. She has experience in business counselling in the domains of leadership, management development and motivation. In 2023, she was the Official Trainer of more than 3,000 volunteers in the Timisoara 2023 European Capital of Culture (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8310-7011).

Oana Bogdan is a graduate of the Accounting and Management Informatics specialisation of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration within the West University of Timisoara and has also two Master degrees in Accounting Expertise and Business Valuation and Audit and Financial Management of European Funds. Between 2013 and 2017, she has studied a Doctoral programme, elaborating the research thesis entitled The Impact of Harmonization and Accounting Compliance on Financial Reporting to Construction Entities. The Doctoral research programme was graduated with the Magna cum laude grade.

She is currently Lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara with seven years of experience in accounting teaching. Her areas of interest are financial accounting, corporate governance and non-financial reporting (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2885-2419).

Victoria Bogdan is currently teaching and conducting research activities within the Finance and Accounting Department, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Oradea, and is PhD Coordinator at West University of Timisoara. Her main interests are in financial and non-financial reporting, accounting judgments and estimates, accounting policies and business performance, corporate governance and board composition analysis, gender diversity, organisation performance and integrated reporting under risks and uncertainties. She authored and co-authored over 70 scientific articles and participated in numerous international conferences. She is an active member of the Body of Expert and Licensed Accountants of Romania and also of the Romanian Chamber of Financial Auditors (ORCID: 0000-0003-2315-0071).

Raul-Constantin Bucurean is a PhD student of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timișoara, Romania having ‘A Study on the Effects of Sustainable Business Development Policies on the Economic and Financial Performance of Economic Entities’ as the main theme of the scientific research. With a diverse background in finance, he offers valuable expertise honed over more than five years in multinational corporations. His professional background includes roles as a financial auditor, followed by positions as a General Ledger Controller and Financial Controller within the automotive industry. Presently, he serves as a Treasury Controller, with his current focus remaining within the automotive sector for the past eight months.

Roxana-Nadina Bucurean (Roiban) is a Lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timișoara, Romania, within the Management and Entrepreneurship Department, where she delivers lectures on management simulations, financial reporting, organisational change management and environment regulations. Her academic pursuits focus on organisational change and entrepreneurship, contributing to numerous international journals with her research findings. With over 15 years of hands-on experience, she also boasts extensive practical experience in the realms of financial management, accounting and the implementation of European funds.

Valentin Burcă, PhD, is Research Assistant at West University of Timisoara. He is a graduate of the Accounting and Management Informatics specialisation, of the Faculty of Economics at the Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, class of 2008. The Master’s courses of Public Budget, Financial Markets and Banks, attended during 2008–2010 period, were made with the purpose of approaching the accounting and financial reporting area from another perspective, which helped him a lot to understand even better the relevance of financial information. He has completed the PhD studies during the period 2012–2016, defending his PhD thesis with the title Quality of Financial Information Disclosed by Financial Statements, in the Context of Harmonization and Globalization of IFRSs, empirical study on the local capital market, at the Doctoral School of Economics, West University of Timișoara. His areas of interest are internal audit and financial accounting.

Udisubakti Ciptomulyono is a Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember in Indonesia, where he has dedicated over 35 years to academia. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering at Institut Teknologi Bandung, followed by a Master of Engineering Science at the University of Melbourne and Doctoral degree at Université d’Aix Marseille-III. He specialises in integrating multi-criteria decision-making techniques to develop green manufacturing systems. These systems are designed to balance efficiency, cost and environmental impact optimally. In addition to his academic work, he has also applied his expertise professionally as a consultant, where he addresses complex industrial challenges, providing sustainable and economically feasible solutions (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6110-8838).

Ovidiu-Constantin Bunget has a degree in Economics and Law and PhD in Accounting. He is Accountant, Financial Auditor, Tax Advisor and member of the Romanian Association of Accounting. He studied in Romania and France, is a graduate of the Institute of Economic and Accounting Techniques in Toulouse, France and some courses on the issue of the International Accounting Standards of Social Sciences at the University of Lille II; he also graduated in Romania postgraduate studies in the field of accounting and assessments.

He is currently Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration within the University of Timisoara – Head of Accounting and Auditing Department, holder of disciplines Accounting, Financial Audit and Financial control with many papers and articles published in these areas and agreed lector within CECCAR (Body of Expert and Licensed Accountants of Romania) and CAFR (Chamber of Financial Auditors of Romania). Now, he is also Managing Partner at ABA Audit. His areas of practice are financial audit, consulting, and accountancy (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9956-0232).

Alin-Constantin Dumitrescu, PhD, Associate Professor at West University of Timisoara, is a graduate of the Finance Department within The Western University of Timisoara and also has a Master degree in Accounting Expertise and Assessments. His qualifications include: Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Audit Partner at ABA. Audit Timisoara, Certified financial auditor (CAFR Member, Member of Council 2020–2023 and Vice-president 2023 – present), member of the Body of Expert and Licensed Accountants of Romania (CECCAR) and courses of Association de Formation en Comptabilite et Audit organised in France. His areas of practice are financial audit, consulting and accountancy.

His multilateral qualifications allowed him a vast area of practice, ranging from being a teacher to financial audit consulting, IFRS, financial audit and Internal audit. He published articles in these areas and is approved teacher within CECCAR and CAFR.

Currently, he has 20 years of experience in accounting teaching, auditing multinational companies and national companies, managing around 60 missions every year in areas like financial audit and financing accounting (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7886-6582).

Lavinia Denisia Cuc, PhD, is Full Professor at Department of Economic Disciplines, Faculty of Economics at Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, Romania. She is the author or co-author of 3 books and has published over 35 articles in scientific journals indexed in international databases or at international conferences. Her main research interests are management, financial accounting, managerial accounting, controlling and financial analysis. She is qualified in coordinating PhD students in Management since 2023, when she was accepted into the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School of Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad. She holds several administrative positions in the department council, the faculty council and various commissions at the Faculty or University level.

Hanna Czaja-Cieszyńska, PhD in Economics, since 2007, she has been an employee of the Accounting Department at the University of Szczecin in Poland. She is author or co-author of over 50 literature items, including scientific articles and teaching textbooks. She is a long-time member of the Association of Accountants in Poland and the International Association of Controllers. She specialises in financial accounting, with particular emphasis on accounting for small and medium-sized enterprises and non-governmental organisations. Currently, her scientific interests concentrate on the idea of sustainable development and environmental social governance reporting. She is expert of the team preparing the draft National Accounting Standard ‘Simplifications Allowed by the Accounting Act’ (ORCID: 0000-0002-6425-9519).

Kinga Flaga-Gieruszyńska is Professor of University of Szczecin; Head of the Research Group for Civil Procedural Law, Medical Law and Informatisation of Justice, Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Szczecin; Legal Counsel; President of the Arbitration Court of Western Pomerania; member of the Scientific Council of the Research and Training Centre of the National Council of Judicial Officers; member of the Scientific Council of the Polish Institute of Notaries; member of the Scientific Council of Research and Academic Computer Network – National Research Institute; and Specialist in civil procedural law, ADR, medical law and informatisation of law (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5177-4450).

Natalia Ioana Foltean is PhD student at the Doctoral School of Economics and Business Administration, in the field Accounting, West University of Timisoara. Her research interest can be found in the financial and non-financial reporting, environmental social governance, corporate governance, perfomance and profitability of the companies. She attended several international conferences and is author and co-author of several scientific publications (ORCID: 0000-0002-1798-5155).

Adelina Fometescu is a third-year Doctoral student at the West University of Timișoara, enrolled in Romania’s Doctoral School of Economics and Business Administration. Her research focusses on non-financial reporting, explicitly exploring the challenges and opportunities inherent in this aspect of corporate governance for value creation within companies. With a profound interest in corporate sustainability and governance practices, her academic pursuits centre on understanding the intricate dynamics between economic theories and practical corporate applications. Her Doctoral thesis titled Non-Financial Reporting – Challenges and Opportunities in Value Creation for Companies’ exemplifies her dedication to advancing knowledge in business administration. Her scholarly endeavours underscore her commitment to rigorous research methodologies and her aspiration to contribute meaningful insights to academia and the broader business community.

Zanete Garanti is a PhD holder and Associate Professor in City Unity College Nicosia, Cyprus. She is lecturing Marketing and Management courses and is actively involved in research. Her main research interests are sustainability and circular economy, and marketing topics of branding, social media marketing and influencer marketing. Her recent studies are on sustainable brand image, sustainable and smart destinations and branding and sustainability in the banking industry. Her work is published in internationally recognised books and journals (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9990-8788).

Neringa Gaubienė, PhD, a Senior Lecturer at Vilnius University Faculty of Law, with a specialisation in digital technologies and their intersection with legal frameworks, and her expertise extends to the realm of sustainability. She obtained her Doctoral degree from Vilnius University Faculty of Law, where she continues to contribute significantly to both research and education. Within the university’s academic landscape, she is a member of the research group ‘Digital Technologies, Cybersecurity, and Law’, where she actively engages in collaborative research initiatives. Beyond her contributions to research, she is deeply involved in the educational process. She imparts her knowledge through lectures, seminars, and supervisory roles for coursework and Master’s theses. She is also recognised as a distinguished speaker at both national and international conferences (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4750-0363).

Camelia-Daniela Hategan is a Doctor in Accounting, with over 30 years of experience in the field of accounting and auditing, being a Teacher, and now a Full Professor at the West University of Timisoara, Romania. She is also PhD Supervisor in the field of Accounting. She has a deep knowledge of accounting information and the analysis of financial indicators reported by companies and has extensive experience as a researcher in publishing articles and participating in academic international conferences. The written articles were published in international journals indexed in several databases, namely Clarivate Web of Science and Scopus. Also professionally, she is a financial auditor with over 20 years of experience and was a trainer within the professional body of auditors in Romania.

Carmen Mihaela Imbrescu is a graduate of the Accounting and Management Informatics specialisation of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration within the West University of Timisoara and has a Master degree in Accounting Expertise and Business Valuation. She has also graduated from the Faculty of Law within The West University of Timisoara. Also, she has studied and graduated a Doctoral programme, elaborating the research thesis entitled: Accounting for the Reorganization and Liquidation of Commercial Companies.

She is currently Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration within the West University of Timisoara with more than 20 years of experience in teaching. Her areas of practice are financial audit, consulting and accountancy (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5872-8913).

Daiva Jurevičienė is the Head, a Full Professor of the Economics Engineering Department and a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Dynamic Management at the Faculty of Business Management, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. She is also a member of the Doctoral Committee in Economics and a Supervisor of PhD students’ thesis. She has participated in many scientific, business and academic projects. She is the author of over 70 scientific articles, including publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus and other international databases, and she is the author and co-author of monographs, studies of science, textbooks, etc. She has 15 years of experience in the banking sector and more than 20 decades of teaching and training experience. She is an expert in the Research Council of Lithuania and an Expert in the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education; she is a member of scientific and review committees of national and international scientific journals and conferences. Her primary research and teaching activities are sustainable economic development, financial systems, financial risk management, banking, and personal and behavioural finances. Her international expertise includes lectures and internships in Spanish, Latvian, Portuguese, German, Italian, French, Uruguayan, South Korean, Check, Turkish, Croatian, Polish, Dutch, Colombian, Lebanese and Peruvian universities, Representation of Lithuania to the European Union, EU Parliament, Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the United Kingdom, and UK companies (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0039-6290).

Greta Keliuotytė-Staniulėnienė holds a PhD in Economics and a Master’s degree in Commercial Law. Currently, she holds the position of Associate Professor and Chief Researcher at Vilnius University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, with expertise in financial markets, financial stability, corporate and public finance, sustainable finance, etc. (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8089-8866).

Blaženka Knežević, PhD, is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, Croatia. Her research interests are retail information systems, economics of electronic commerce, procurement management, supplier relationship management and sustainability in given fields. She participated in various scientific research projects and published numerous papers in conference proceedings, books and academic journals. She is a member of the editorial board in a couple of academic journals and a regular reviewer at several international scientific journals (ORCID: 0000-0003-1509-3126).

Dominika Kordela is currently an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Economics and Finance of University of Sczecin, where she has been a Scientific Council member since 2019. She received her PhD degree in Economics based on a thesis on alternative markets. Her research interests focus on alternative markets, alternative finance, sustainability in the finance area and SME financing. Her recent studies focus on equity crowdfunding and environmental social governance reporting. She has experience teaching various courses in the finance field, as well as at foreign universities (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4826-1352).

Ivana Kovačević is Associate Professor at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, Chair of Human Resource Management, with over 20 years of experience in teaching academic courses in the field of psychology in human resource management (business psychology, interpersonal relations in organisation and leadership and motivation). She finished Psychology and obtained a PhD in Psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy (University of Belgrade). The sphere of scientific interest is in experimental and survey-based research covering cognitive ergonomics (cognitive aspects of human–computer interaction), psychological topics in HRM (assessing individual differences, competencies, interpersonal relations, and implications of digital transformation). She is the author and co-author of numerous research and conference papers, monographs and chapters in monographs covering a wide range of personal side of organisation and management topics. She has experience in business counselling in the domains of employee selection and motivation, as well as in interpersonal conflicts and communication (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7601-1000).

Piotr Krzystek is an Independent Researcher from Poland, Legal Counsel, Local Government Officer, President of City Szczecin (since 2006), and former President of the Association of Polish Municipalities in the Euroregion of Pomerania (https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0475-5387).

Jelena Anđelković Labrović is Associate Professor at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, Department of Human Resources Management. She is a Programme Leader of two Postgraduate Master Study Programmes: Human Resource Management and International Business and Management. She is teaching the following subjects: training and development, e-learning, human resource management, international human resource management, planning and development of employee competencies and human resources and technological entrepreneurship. She is author or co-author of many research papers in the field of human resources, and her particular interest is in the domain of e-learning and employee development. As a researcher, she has participated in the implementation of several academic projects and researches in the field of human resource management. For more than 15 years, she worked as a consultant, trainer, and business coach and mentor in the field of employee development (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6934-1557).

David Charles George Liney is a Manager of the team responsible for validating investment models used in asset management and pension areas at Danske Bank. He has 25+ years of experience working in investment banking in London and New York for institutions such as Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Citibank and others. He holds a Master’s degree in Physical Chemistry from California Institute of Technology.

Joana Mačėnaitė graduated from Vilnius University with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and further pursued a Master’s degree in Finance and Banking. Her scholarly endeavours have extended beyond the confines of academia, actively engaging in collaborative research as preparation of conference material and submission of publication. Scientific activities are carried out to show her interest in the fields of financial markets and sustainable investments. Her accomplished scientific works are aimed at examining the sources of resilience of financial markets, taking into account the conditions of the changing economic environment.

Saule Maciukaite-Zviniene is a Professor of Innovation and Knowledge Transfer at Vilnius University Business School (Lithuania) and the Head of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Development. She holds her PhD in Social Sciences. She is also a Chair of the National Council of Education, a member of the Lithuania Research Council, and Co-chair of the CERN-Lithuania Committee. She worked in leading positions for the last 20 years in academic and governmental sectors and was an Adviser to the President of the Republic of Lithuania. Moreover, since 2014, she has worked as an EC expert for science in society, responsible research and innovation and civil engagement. She authorises dozens of research articles, books and high-level policy papers (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3282-1933).

Ninditya Nareswari is a PhD student in Economics and Finance at the University of Szczecin, Poland, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Business and Management at Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Indonesia. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Financial Management from Universitas Airlangga and a Master of Science in Management from Universitas Gadjah Mada. Her research is focussed on implementing and integrating environmental social governance (ESG) in sustainable finance, focussing on its role in both emerging and developed markets. She has presented her work at international conferences and published in reputable journals, with her latest publication analysing the impact of ESG on corporate performance in Indonesia (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9715-0109).

Iwona Olejnik, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Market Research and Services Department, Poznań University of Economics and Business in Poland. She is the author and co-author of about 100 articles and editor and co-author of an ebook dedicated to market research in sustainable development. Her main area of interest is qualitative and quantitative market research, consumer behaviour and pension system (ORCID: 0000-0002-2019-0580).

Mateusz Piwowarski, PhD Eng, has scientific interests in problems of decision-making, multi-criteria decision-analysis, data processing and the problems of cognition and interpretation of human behaviour, mainly in the context of decision-making. For this purpose, he uses advanced methods of measuring physiological (including neurophysiological) processes occurring in the human body, such as: electroencephalography (EEG), measurement of electrodermal activity, eye tracking, electromyography and facial expression analysis. He has authored and co-authored dozens of articles published in journals, monographs and post-conference materials (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2541-1909).

Ramūnas Pranauskas is a Senior Risk Specialist and Sustainability Enthusiast at Danske Bank working with validations of the bank’s responsible investment, sustainable finance and environmental social governance mathematical models that are being used by portfolio managers and other stakeholders in bank’s asset management branch. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Master’s degree in Climatology from Vilnius University. His Master’s thesis (2023) was written in close collaboration with Lithuania’s Ministry of Environment and focussed on European Union’s climate policy, precisely on European Union’s Emissions Trading System and its further development and socio-economic impacts in Lithuania.

Kristina Pranevičienė, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer at Vilnius University Faculty of Law, with a specialisation in civil procedure law, European and international civil procedure law, digital technologies in civil procedure and other legal spheres. She has obtained her Doctoral degree from Vilnius University Faculty of Law, where she continues to contribute significantly to both research and education. Within the university’s academic landscape, she is a member of the research group ‘Digital Technologies, Cybersecurity, and Law’, where she actively engages in collaborative research initiatives. Also, she gives lectures and seminars to students, presents her scientific research as a speaker in national and international conferences, gives lectures to legal practitioners and supervises students’ Master’s theses (https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9117-635X).

Dominik Rozkrut is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Szczecin, where he received his PhD in Statistics and Econometrics. He is a member of the Main Council of the Polish Statistical Association and also has been the President of Statistics Poland since 2016. He is a member of the European Statistical System Committee. He is the Chair of the European Statistical System Partnership Group (PG) for 2020–2021; he is currently chairing the PG TF on access to privately held data. He is a member of the OECD’s Committee on Statistics and Statistics Policy (CSSP) and serves as CSSP Bureau Vice-Chair since 2020. Moreover, he is a member of the UNECE Conference of European Statisticians (CES) and holds a Conference Bureau Vice-Chair function. At the UN level, he represents Poland in the UN Statistical Commission and the UN Friends of the Chair Group on the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, the UN Global Working Group on Big Data for Official Statistics and UNECE High-Level Group on Modernisation of Official Statistics. In March 2021, he was appointed a member of the European Commission expert group on Facilitating the Use of New Data Sources for Official Statistics. Starting from 2021, he became a member of the ISI-Committee on Agricultural Statistics and a member of UN High-level Group for Partnership, Coordination and Capacity-Building for Statistics for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (HLG-PCCB) (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0949-8605).

Luminița Rus received the PhD as a graduate of the Accountancy field of the Doctoral School of the ‘1 December 1918’ University of Alba Iulia. She is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Finance and Accounting, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Oradea, Romania. Her research areas include financial accounting, public institution accounting, integrated reporting, business performance and risks and solutions in SME business. She is the author and co-author of books, courses and research papers in these fields. In addition, she is a member of the Body of Expert and Licensed Accountants of Romania (ORCID: 0000-0003-4636-0864).

Guru Asish Singh is a Doctoral Researcher at the Institute of Economics and Finance, University of Szczecin. He specialises in the quantitative analysis in the field of finance, AI research and big data analysis. His academic journey is characterised by a fervent curiosity and dedication to unravelling the complexities of artificial intelligence and its applications in today’s data-driven world especially in the field of economics and finance. He is also Co-ordinator at the UNESCO Chair of Social Responsibility. Beyond the confines of academia, his passion for continuous learning extends to mastering languages, reflecting a desire to bridge cultural divides and broaden his perspective. He is driven by a relentless pursuit of excellence and a commitment to contributing meaningfully to the advancement of both science and society (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8174-5703).

Viktorija Skvarciany works as a Vice-Dean for Research at the Faculty of Business Management and as a Professor at the Department of Economics Engineering at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. She is an active researcher and has published more than 60 articles, more than 30 of which are published in the journals indexed in CA WoS and/or Scopus databases. She is an Expert at the Research Council of Lithuania. Moreover, she is an Editor-in-Chief of the VILNIUS TECH journal Business, Management and Economics Engineering (WoS and Scopus) and a member of the editorial board of the following international scientific journals: Prague Economic Papers (WoS), European Journal of International Management (WoS), Oeconomia Copernicana (WoS), Equilibrium: Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy (WoS), International Journal of Learning and Change (Scopus), International Journal of Economics and Business Research (Scopus) and Economics and Culture (Scopus). Her international expertise includes internships in Switzerland (CERN), Italy (University of Foggia), the Czech Republic (Brno University of Technology), Estonia (Tallinn University of Technology) and Portugal (Universidade Aberta). Her main research areas are circular economy, sustainable development and decision-making (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8022-4124).

Magdalena Stefańska, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Head of Strategic Management Department in the Institute of Management at the Poznań University of Economics and Business (PUEB), Poland. Her areas of interest are corporate social responsibility, sustainability and sustainable development. She is an author or co-author of over 100 articles and books: The Role of Social Responsibility in Creating Competitive Advantage of Retail Enterprises, co-author and co-editor of books: Fair Trade in CSR Strategy of Global Retailers, and CSR in Contemporary Poland, Institutional Perspectives and Stakeholders Experiences, and Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability. From Values to Impact, and Sustainability and Sustainable Development – e-book prepared in CENETSIE project. She reviews articles for many journals. She was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Zagreb, the University of Texas at Dallas and Czech University of Life Sciences Prague. She is also a member of the Social Responsibility Rector’s Committee at PUEB and the Committee of Ethical Science Research conducted with the participation of humans at PUEB (ORCID: 0000-0002-2620-9617).

Dovilė Valtoraitė is a Master’s student in Finance and Banking at Vilnius University. In 2021, she completed her Bachelor’s studies in Economics at the same university, specialising in the topic of ‘Peer-to-peer lending: Opportunities and risks’. Since 2020, she has been working in the finance sector, gaining experience from one of the largest banks in the country, an insurance company and an accounting firm. Her interests include sustainable investments, sustainable finance, fintech, technical and fundamental analysis of investments.