A central and contentious debate in many literatures concerns the relationship between financial and social performance. We advance this debate by measuring the financial-social performance link within mutual funds that practice socially responsible investing (SRI). SRI fund managers have an array of social screening strategies from which to choose. Prior studies have not addressed this heterogeneity within SRI funds. Combining modern portfolio and stakeholder theories, we hypothesize that the financial loss borne by an SRI fund due to poor diversification is offset as social screening intensifies because better managed and more stable firms are selected into its portfolio. We find support for this hypothesis through an empirical test on a panel of 61 SRI funds from 1972-2000. The results show that as the number of social screens used by an SRI fund increases, financial returns decline at first, but then rebound as the number of screens reaches a maximum. That is, we find a curvilinear relationship, suggesting that two long-competing viewpoints may be complementary. Furthermore, we find that financial performance varies with the types of social screens used. Community relations screening increased financial performance, but environmental and labor relations screening decreased financial performance. Based on our results, we suggest that literatures addressing the link between financial and social performance move toward in-depth examination of the merits of different social screening strategies, and away from the continuing debate on the financial merits of either being socially responsible or not.

Beyond dichotomy: the curvilinear relationship between social responsibility and financial performance

The Price of Sin: The Effects of Social Norms on Markets

Reviving tourism industry post-COVID-19: A resilience-based framework

Financial literacy: A systematic review and bibliometric analysis

The organizational literature on emerging industries has emphasized the need for institutional entrepreneurs - actors who give the new activity legitimacy and determine its patterns of behaviour. However, little empirical research has been carried out on the strategies that institutional entrepreneurs employ in order to achieve legitimacy for their activity. In this article, we suggest that an institutional entrepreneur can use the development of measurement tools as a strategy to develop its own legitimacy and power. By looking at a French entrepreneurial company’s development of tools to measure corporate social performance, we analyse how measurement tools influence the legitimacy of an industry and the systemic power within it. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings for research into measurement tools in the areas of management or business and society.

Measuring the unmeasured: An institutional entrepreneur strategy in an emerging industry

This paper conducts a systematic review of the research work in the field of sustainable investment for identifying research gaps and laying down research agenda for the future. Articles on sustainable investment published in journals indexed at the Web of Science during 1989 and 2018 (so far) are reviewed for the purpose of this research. A total of 225 papers were found through the search criteria, out of which 213 papers were selected for review. The paper identifies gaps in the literature that can be considered as opportunities for future study. The analysis of these articles led us to note the need for an agenda that can present a holistic framework of sustainable investment with lesser variations and increased acceptability. The research agenda proposed by the paper may help researchers in framing their research problems around the gaps identified. Sustainable investment is a potential solution to social and ecological issues by transforming the financial markets to have more accountability for their impacts. Therefore, it is important to carry out extensive research in this field so as to develop it as an applied field of investment. There has so far been no attempt to perform a systematic review in the field of sustainable investment for a period of 20 years, as has been made in this paper.

Doing Well by Doing Good: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda for Sustainable Investment

Revisiting the sustainable versus conventional investment dilemma in COVID-19 times

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has not only resulted in the loss of human lives but also distressed economies The impact of this crisis is even higher in emerging economies like India due to already slowing growth rates, poor health infrastructure, and a significant population living in extreme poverty While the government is taking measures to handle this crisis, nobody can be sure if these measures are adequate, as this will depend on how soon the spread of the virus is contained in the country However, understanding the depth of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the Indian economy is vital to formulate the policy and measures to contain this economic impact This paper attempts to understand the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the Indian economy by employing a qualitative research design, based on sentiment analysis to understand 15 industry experts' opinion concerning the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 The study makes a theoretical as well as applied contribution to the field of study While theoretically, it contributes to the field of pandemic research, public health management, and disaster management;in an applied sense, we propose a set of measures for the policymakers based out in India, as well as in other emerging nations of the world

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/pa.2206

Policy response to the economic challenge from COVID-19 in India: A qualitative enquiry

The Covid-19 epidemic is a public health emergency of international concern. It poses a massive risk for the human race across the planet, calling for the need to take measures at the local, regional, national, and global levels. South Asian countries stand more vulnerable to the pandemic due to their dense population, poor infrastructure, and low surveillance system. This paper aims to understand the challenges from the Covid-19 pandemic for South Asia; and investigates the strategic and operational responses to this pandemic by policymakers and healthcare professionals, respectively, in South Asia. The study uses interviews and opinions of policymakers and doctors, from the South Asian region, involved in tackling the Covid-19 crisis. The qualitative analysis is performed on these interviews and opinions by using NVivo 12 software. The findings indicate that policymakers and healthcare providers across South Asia have been showing efficient teamwork while dealing with this pandemic. The healthcare administrators being at the operational level, convey the challenges they face to the policymakers who then respond to them at a strategic level.

Gaurav Talan

Papers

Doing Well by Doing Good: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda for Sustainable Investment

Revisiting the sustainable versus conventional investment dilemma in COVID-19 times

Policy response to the economic challenge from COVID-19 in India: A qualitative enquiry

A qualitative enquiry into strategic and operational responses to Covid-19 challenges in South Asia.

Revisting conventional and green finance spillover in post-COVID world: Evidence from robust econometric models