Sustainability performance (SP) has emerged as a central topic on both corporate and political agendas worldwide. This study investigated the relationship between SP and financial distress risk (FDR) among European listed firms, addressing the growing importance of SP in financial decision-making. Utilising a panel dataset from LSEG Data & Analytics (formerly Refinitiv) for STOXX Europe 600 firms between 2016 and 2022, we performed regression analyses to examine the impact of SP on FDR, measured through alternating scores. In contrast to most existing research, we found SP to increase FDR for most analyses performed, with the effect varying by SP dimension. Because we found environmental and governance SP to increase FDR, we did not find an association between social SP and FDR in most analyses performed. Our findings provide practical and theoretical implications for firms, investors and policymakers concerning the influence of SP investments on FDR and potential SP overinvestments in Europe's latest sustainability regulatory setting.

Purpose This study explores the negotiation behaviors and strategies employed by experienced entrepreneurs to secure venture capital (VC) funding. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative approach, we conducted interviews with 32 accomplished founders with track records in securing VC funding. Our conceptual underpinning rests upon an existing negotiation competency model. This study employed a systematic and iterative data analysis method, following an inductive approach grounded in Gioia et al.’s (2013) methodology to conceptualize the unprocessed interview data. Findings We identified three dimensions characterizing entrepreneurial negotiation behavior in VC negotiations: negotiation competencies, power tactics, and negotiation style. Furthermore, we identified specific behaviors in these dimensions and explored how entrepreneurs apply these skills in the VC context. Research limitations/implications This study contributes a nuanced understanding of entrepreneurs’ negotiation behaviors, opening avenues for further research on effective strategies in entrepreneurial finance. Practical implications Entrepreneurs can leverage the identified negotiation strategies to enhance their skills and navigate VC negotiations more effectively, potentially leading to better funding outcomes. Furthermore, training programs can be crafted to encourage the cultivation of these behaviors. Originality/value This study is the first to systematically examine the negotiation behaviors and strategies employed by experienced entrepreneurs in VC negotiations, revealing entrepreneurs’ specific behaviors and elucidating how these behaviors are employed within negotiations to provide practical insights.

In today's data-driven era, ubiquitous concern about environmental issues pushes more startups to engage in business model innovation that promotes environmentally friendly technologies. The goal of these startups is to create technology-based products and services that enhance environmental sustainability. In this context, artificial intelligence promises to be a key instrument to create, capture, and deliver value. However, the existing literature lacks a deep understanding of how startups using AI innovate their business models to achieve a positive environmental impact. Therefore, this paper investigates how green technology startups utilize AI from a business model innovation perspective for environmental sustainability. We conduct a qualitative, exploratory multiple-case study using the Eisenhardt methodology, based on interview data analyzed using qualitative content analysis. We derive five predominant manifestations for AI-driven business model innovation and identify archetypical connections between business model dimensions. Further, we establish three overarching archetypical associations among the cases. In doing so, we contribute to theory and practice by providing a deeper account of how green technology startups attempt to maximize their positive environmental impact through AI. The results of this study also highlight how business model innovation driven by AI can support society in securing a more environmentally sustainable future.

The recent surge in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has garnered significant research attention. However, the existing literature reveals a fragmented landscape that hinders our understanding and application of insights about AI use in SMEs. We address this through a systematic literature review, wherein we analyze 102 peer-reviewed articles on AI adoption in SMEs and categorize states and trends into eight clusters—(1) compatibility, (2) AI readiness, (3) knowledge, (4) resources, (5) culture, (6) competition, (7) regulation, and (8) ecosystem—according to the technology–organization–environment model. Our research reveals valuable insights but also identifies significant gaps in existing literature, notably the oversight of trends identification as a pivotal driver and the neglect of legal requirements. Our study clarifies the AI implementation within SMEs, offering a holistic and theoretically grounded perspective to empower researchers and practitioners to facilitate more effective AI adoption and application within the SME sector.

Climate-related issues have become increasingly relevant, as reflected in current political and academic discourse. This development is also reflected in investors' capital allocation decisions and their demand for climate-related information. Considering the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), we first investigate the climate-related disclosure quality of listed German firms. We use self-constructed scoring models based on the TCFD recommendations to measure disclosure quality. Second, we use regression analysis to investigate whether corporate governance can explain climate-related disclosure quality. The results indicate that disclosure quality is heavily dispersed across firms, with risk disclosure being better than disclosure of opportunities. Corporate governance factors exert distinct but mostly weak influence on climate-related disclosure quality and that institutional ownership promotes climate-related disclosure quality. We show several implications for research and practice and highlight the relevance for firms to implement a comprehensive approach to communicating climate-related issues.