I measure the influence of ESG activities on Free Cash flow to the Firm and Free Cash Flow to Equity. I find that ESG activities primarily benefit the cash flows to creditors of firms in developed markets. The ESG effect predominantly comes from the excess spending of the firm on communicating how it integrates the economic (financial), social and environmental dimensions into its day-to-day decision-making processes. For developed market firms, the additional factor of excess spending on conditions for the workforce plays a role in boosting Free Cash Flow to the Firm.

Mergers and acquisitions are one of the most researched topics in the financial literature and many research has been done. This thesis aims to analyse the impact of mergers and acquisitions on firms’ performance for the acquired firms and uses the difference-in-differences  (DID) estimation method with variation in treatment timing to achieve the objective. The dataused in this thesis are collected from database of Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances (IMAA) for 25 companies that merged between 2005 and 2019 and from the database of Indonesia Stock Exchange for 25 firms that did not undertake the mergers and acquisitions in the same period. The findings of this study indicate that there are statistically not significant effects on Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE). This suggests that the mergers and acquisitions do not affect the company's financial performance in terms of profitability.

Virginia dairy producers are considering intensive grazing as a profitable and ecologically viable alternative to confinement dairy production. The objective of this study is to compare financial performance for pasture-based dairy farms relative to similar resourced-based confinement farms. Comparisons are based on the recommended financial and profitability measures of performance provided by the Farm Financial Standards Council. Primary and secondary data plus simulation of daily pasture supply and animal demands are used to develop 100 and 200-cow farms with a land base representative of the Ridge and Valley regions of Virginia. Representative farms were developed to explore financial performance based on the intensity of pasture use, from total confinement to seasonal farms using intensive grazing (in which pasture, hay, and energy supplements are the only sources of nutrients for all dairy animals on the farm). Results of the analysis demonstrate that pasture-based seasonal production is more profitable and has a higher level of repayment capacity and financial efficiency than all other production systems in this study. Greater financial performance by the seasonal farms is obtained even though such farms obtain lower average annual milk prices and 10 percent less milk sold per cow than the similar confinement farms. Pasture-based farms that feed a partial total mixed ration during the summer (25 percent of ration dry matter and 45 percent of ration dry matter from pasture) have fewer financial advantages than the seasonal farms. However, their performance exceeds that of the confinement farms and intensive pasture-based farms milking year round. The intensive pasture-based farms milking year round are the poorest financial performers. Additional conclusions for this study are: 1) the 100-cow farms exhibit insufficient financial performance to provide for family living, debt service (at 40 percent debt to equity ratio), and a cushion for events such as droughts or declines in milk prices; and 2) financial performance of the 200-cow dairies is better, yet the added income from a member of the farm having off-farm income will provide a cushion against unforeseen production and financial risks. Follow up research should address the interface of three issues; stocking rates, farm profitability, and environmental compliance. / Ph. D.

Due to widespread bank scandals and failures around the world, there has been renewed interest in the effect of corporate governance on bank performance. The majority of research concerning corporate governance and its effect on bank performance has been undertaken in developed countries and markets, particularly the USA and European Union but relatively little evidence is provided in Sub Saharan Africa, specifically, Ghana. This study investigates the effects of corporate governance on financial performance of Ghanaian universal banking companies during the period 2006- 2014. This study primarily employs relevant governance theories to investigate the relationship between corporate governance and bank performance. Multiple regression panel data analysis and other appropriate methods are the main tools of analysis in this study. The empirical investigation revealed a mixed set of results. The findings showed that board size, board composition, bank size and foreign ownership are positively but insignificantly related to profitability in terms of return on asset and return on equity, while board committees have a positive and statistically significant impact on financial performance which is consistent with the monitoring hypothesis of agency theory which argues that board committees are an important mechanism of corporate governance in Ghana which impact on bank performance. This study contributes to the increasing number of research studies on the link between bank performance and corporate governance. The lacked of clarity, mixed and permanent relationships provided, show that the association the association between bank performance and different corporate governance mechanisms is complex and dynamic optimal governance arrangements may differ from bank to bank in relation to governance characteristics.

This study aims to investigate whether sectorial free allowances and sector emissions have any effect on a firm's stock return under the newly introduced EU ETS (Emission trading system). In doing so, the data have been structured as panel data and are gathered for a sample period of 10 years measuring from 2012-2021, looking at 6 sectors (Aviation, Combustion of fuels, refining of mineral oil, production of cardboard/ paper, production of pig iron and steel and production of bulk chemicals). The main empirical results indicate that free allowances have a positive effect on stock returns while sector emissions are insignificant. When categorizing the firms into low, medium and high emitters the results indicate that the medium category follows the main results, while low emitters are negatively affected by sector emissions with free allowances being non-significant. We observe no effect on either free allowance or sector emissions on firms’ stock returns within the high emitting category. To conclude, we find evidence indicating that free allowances have a positive effect on stock return while sector emissions do not.

The objective of this three-essay dissertation are to develop a weighted cash conversion cycle (CCC_EVA) and empirically investigate its commensurability of corporate financial performance. Essay 1, titled "Supply Chain Finance: Developing a Weighted Cash Conversion Cycle to Proxy Operations Liquidity", presents the development and supporting empirical evidence of CCC_EVA measurability of operations liquidity. This essay shows the processes of scaling capital intensity and financing cost into time intervals captured by the traditional metric. Specifically, this essay investigates how accurately CCC_EVA indexes operations liquidity captured working capital, operational cash flow-to-modified working capital ratio, and quick ratio. The sample used in this essay consists of 4,333 firm-year observations of publicly traded industry classified firms listed on the U.S. exchange markets. The results of the empirical testing have statistically supported the essay hypotheses, that is CCC_EVA is a more accurate proxy of operations liquidity in comparison to the traditional metric (CCC_D). Essay 2, titled "Supply Chain Finance: Weighted Cash Conversion Cycle and Corporate Finance", expands the first essay findings by accounting for well-known financial measurements. Specifically, this essay examines the relations between CCC_EVA and operations liquidity and leverage, Market value, operating profitably and growth, and long-term asset management efficiency. This essay paper has used a sample of 24,127 firm-year observations of publicly traded firms listed on U.S. exchange markets from 1994 to 2016. The results support and extend the previous findings, that is CCC_EVA is a robust proxy of operations liquidity and can enhance its resiliency; maximize market value of corporate equity and debt; identify strategies to improve corporate profitability and credibility. Essay 3, titled "Supply Chain Finance: An Advanced Weighted Cash Conversion Cycle", advances the accuracy of CCC_EVA by differentiating between cash and credit forms of corporate sales and purchase transactions, and introducing operational cash flow into CCC_EVA. The advanced metric allows differences in inventory carrying cost and capital costs to be sources of the economic value added (EVA). Within a longitudinal case-based approach, the results show that the advanced metric is a potential decision tool to leverage on supply chain diversity and capitalize on its relation dynamics. Specifically, the implantation of the advanced metric can minimize the overall SC weighted average cost of capital (WACC) and its inventory carry cost (ICC); boost EVA of SC activities; and hedge liquidity risk. This three-essay dissertation has addressed the academic skepticism about CCC_D‘s commensurability by developing an advanced weighted metric (CCC_EVA) that accounts for capital intensity and financing cost. The three essays provide evidence of CCC_EVA testability and its adequacy of presenting corporate financial performance. The findings of this dissertation contribute to both industry and academia. Industry practitioners can implement CCC_EVA as a strategic decision instrument to balance SC liquidity distribution and resilience; hedge default risk of hidden deep-tier SC partners; increase overall SC profitability and creditability; boost equity value; and reveal existing opportunities of SC's EVA sources. Academically, these three essays initiate a fundamental and much-needed step for scholars to advance a systematically published metric, which can contribute to the implications, innovations, and knowledge of the SCF domain.

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Given that Sweden is one of the most sustainable countries in the world (RobecoSAM, 2018), with a big number of its companies as active participants in CSR, we investigate the impact that these CSR activities could have on CFP with a focus on the Financial sector, using in 26 listed Financial Institutions. As we will find out from the existing literature, the CSR-CFP relationship is neither strictly negative nor positive. If it is positive, then the firm will allocate more resources to CSR to achieve better financial performance, and the firm may fore-go or approach CSR initiatives with caution if they affect CFP negatively. Past researchers have studied this relationship before and found that the reason why financial institutions get involved in socially responsible activities is to gain public trust and justification usually after a public financial scandal. So, we explore this further expecting that if it is indeed a matter of fact that these institutions gain the justification from the public that they so desire when they choose to get involved in socially responsible activities, then it should be that the public trust and justification would translate into improved financial performance. Therefore, the research question that we seek to answer is “Does Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have an Impact on Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) in the Listed Swedish Financial Institutions” We examined the relationship between CSR and CFP using 26 Swedish financial institutions that are listed on Nasdaq Nordic stock exchange market (Stockholm) for the period between 2015 and 2019. The Fixed Effects Model regression analysis for panel data was used to test this relationship and we found that when Swedish financial institutions get involved in CSR, their financial performance is neither worsened or improved because of the insignificant ESG coefficients that we found.  Swedish financial institutions' engagement in socially responsible activities does not guarantee an impact on their financial performance.

This study aims to provide insights into the interplay between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores and financial outcomes by investigating whether it leads to enhanced financial performance and firm value, partly during the economic crisis constituted by the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and COVID-19 pandemic. The study uses the theoretical frameworks stakeholder theory, resource-based view (RBV) theory, as well as customer and investor preference theory as an explanatory model for the results conducted by the panel data regression on a dataset of 248 companies derived from the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 index from 2006 to 2023. The study found that ESG performance significantly enhances both return on capital employed (ROCE) and Tobin's Q. A one-unit increase in ESG score leads to a 0.59860 percentage increase in ROCE and a 0.5329 percentage increase in Tobin's Q. It can be established that larger companies exhibit lower financial performance and market valuations, while companies in the lowest ESG score quartile benefit more from ESG improvements. The impact of ESG scores on firm value is more pronounced during the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. The empirical findings from this study provide robust evidence supporting the theoretical framework and the growing body of literature suggesting a positive relationship between ESG performance and corporate financial outcomes. The findings offer valuable insights for business leaders, policymakers, and investors on the strategic importance of sustainability initiatives in today's complex business environment.

This study investigates the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings on the risk-adjusted returns of fintech firms across different segments, including fintech banks, paytech, wealth tech, fintech infrastructure, and cryptocurrency firms. Using a sample dataset comprising 104 worldwide fintech firms spanning the period from 2012 to 2022, we employ regression analysis to assess the relationship between ESG ratings and stock returns, considering both overall ESG scores and individual pillar ratings. Our findings reveal unique associations between ESG ratings and risk-adjusted returns, varying across different segments of the fintech industry. While high ESG-rated fintech firms exhibit a negative impact on stock returns, low ESG-rated firms show no significant association. Moreover, the environmental pillar rating demonstrates a negative correlation with risk-adjusted returns, whereas social and governance pillar ratings display a positive relationship. Furthermore, infrastructure fintech firms exhibit adistinct pattern, with overall ESG, social and governance ratings positively associated with stock returns. These results highlight the importance of considering ESG factors in evaluating the financial performance of fintech firms, with implications for investors, policymakers and industry practitioners. The study contributes to the existing literature by providing insights into how ESG considerations influence the risk-return profile of fintech firms, offering valuable guidance for sustainable investment strategies in the rapidly evolving fintech landscape.