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2. Corporate social responsibility practices, managerial attitudes toward artificial intelligence, and AI adoption in micro and small restaurant SMEsMarko Kukanja, Tanja Planinc, 2026, original scientific article Abstract: In hospitality SMEs, digital transformation is increasingly linked to sustainability goals. However, evidence on how corporate social responsibility (CSR) relates to the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in owner-managed firms remains limited. This study ex- amines CSR practices, managerial attitudes toward AI, and AI adoption in micro and small restaurant SMEs in a small European Union (EU) economy. Using survey data from 157 Slovenian restaurant SMEs and structural equation modelling, CSR is conceptualised as an enacted, practice-based orientation. At the same time, managerial attitudes toward AI are modelled as the key mechanism preceding adoption. Results reveal an asymmet- ric relationship between CSR and AI. Employee-related CSR practices, which are mainly institutionalised, do not significantly influence managerial AI attitudes. In contrast, en- vironmental CSR practices are negatively associated with AI attitudes, indicating more cautious evaluations among environmentally responsible managers. Managerial attitudes toward AI are positively and significantly associated with AI adoption, confirming their central role in adoption decisions. Financial performance, measured by objective revenue data, does not emerge as a direct outcome of AI adoption but rather operates as a contex- tual condition shaping how CSR practices relate to managerial attitudes and how those attitudes translate into adoption decisions. Overall, the findings indicate that CSR does not uniformly translate into managerial attitudes toward AI and subsequent AI adoption in restaurant SMEs.
Keywords: corporate social responsibility, artificial intelligence adoption, managerial attitudes, restaurant SMEs, sustainability, financial performance
Published in RUP: 23.03.2026; Views: 474; Downloads: 13
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3. From Pitch to Profit : Exploring the Relationship between Sports Performance and Financial Success in Italian FootballSamantha Barresi, 2025, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: Football has evolved from a recreational activity into a global industry where economic and sporting objectives are increasingly intertwined. In recent years, the Italian Serie A has faced a dual challenge: maintaining competitiveness on the pitch while ensuring financial sustainability. This study explores the relationship between sporting performance and profitability among Serie A football clubs, considering both domestic league results and participation in European competitions. Drawing on a panel of 167 team-season observations from 2014/2015 to 2022/2023, we employ multivariate regression analysis using three key profitability indicators: return on assets (ROA), EBIT Margin, and Net Profit Margin. Our findings reveal a positive and statistically significant relationship between on-field success and financial performance, particularly in terms of operating and net margins. Moreover, participation in the UEFA Champions League emerges as a relevant factor in increasing club profitability. However, structural inefficiencies such as high wage expenditures and excessive leverage still pose substantial threats to financial health. These insights contribute to the growing body of literature on football finance, offering strategic guidance for club managers seeking to balance sporting ambition with long-term financial performance.
Keywords: financial performance, sport performance, football, UEFA
Published in RUP: 04.03.2026; Views: 523; Downloads: 49
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4. Information and Communications Technology and Financial Development as Catalysts for Gender Equality in Brazil’s Agricultural SectorFreiderick Yohanna Letong, Mehdi Seraj, Fatma Türüç Seraj, Huseyin Ozdeser, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: In this study, we examined the effects of information and communications technology (ICT) and financial development on mitigating gender inequality in Brazil, using autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approaches, between 1991 and 2022. The ARDL bounds test was employed to find the presence of co-integration within the series of data. Both in the short run and the long run, financial development has a significant negative impact on gender disparity; this means that policies aimed at enhancing women’s financial and consumption services should be promoted in the short run. In the long run, we can conclude that ICT developments lead to a decreasein gender inequalities, which may imply the need for strategic, long-term planning to increase ICT infrastructure, especially in deprived areas. This includes subsidising affordable internet, skills training for women in the ICT field, and promoting women’s participation in the technology industry. In addition, the impact of optimal financial development varies over time; hence, there is a need for flexibility and sustainability in financial development. Policy makers should therefore continue to strengthen and enhance financial inclusion initiatives, as well as regularly follow up on the impact of these initiatives on gender equality.
Keywords: gender inequality, information and communications technology, financial development, human capital index, agriculture
Published in RUP: 16.01.2026; Views: 397; Downloads: 0
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5. Shaping Stability : Can the Finance-Growth Nexus Achieve It?Ahmed Mahmoudi, Mohamed Torra, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: This paper assesses the tripartite link between a country’s financial (in) stability, its level of financial development, and economic growth. Using a panel of 21 countries over the period 2001–2020 and using the IMF Financial Market Index to proxy financial development, we find (i) that financial stability varies positively with the development of the financial system, and (ii) that the relationship between financial stability and economic growth depends critically on the level of financial development of each country. These results show that in the absence of financial development, the impact of economic growth on financial (in)stability will havedifferent effects. In addition, we performed a subsample analysis by dividing the overall sample into two subsamples based on stability levels. We find that financial development enhances stability more in the more stable subsample, while growth does so in the less stable subsample.
Keywords: financial (in)stability, financial development, economic growth, financial market index, emerging and developing markets
Published in RUP: 16.01.2026; Views: 405; Downloads: 0
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6. Analysis of the Effect of Eco-Efficiency on Asset Return in Food and Beverage Manufacturing Companies Listed at the Johannesburg Stock ExchangeDimakatso Hellen Malapa, Collins C. Ngwakwe, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: This article examines the effect of eco-efficiency on corporate return on assets (ROA). The paper aimed to analyse whether corporate eco-efficiency performance (represented by energy consumption, water consumption, carbon emission and waste generation) affects the performance of ROA. Data on the eco-efficiency and ROA was collected from fourteen food and beverage companies listed in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange for a period of ten years (2012 to 2021). Using the STATA Software, the data was analysed by applying the Generalised Method of Moment (GMM) statistical technique, which enhanced the statistical analysis robustness. Findings from the GMM analysis showed different results. On the one hand, the results indicate that energy and water consumption in the food and beverage companies have a positive (but insignificant) effect on ROA. On the other hand, the results show that waste generation has a negative (but insignificant) effect on ROA; and that carbon emission has a negative and significant effect on ROA.
Keywords: environmental accounting, return on assets, financial performance, eco-efficiency, energy consumption, water consumption, carbon
emission, waste generation, sales revenue
Published in RUP: 18.12.2025; Views: 504; Downloads: 1
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7. Does Financial Development Drive Entrepreneurship in Africa? A Panel Data AnalysisAfees Oluwashina Noah, David Oladipo Olalekan, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Entrepreneurship in Africa faces a multitude of challenges, with financial issues being prominently discussed in scholarly literature. Thus, this study explores how financial development plays a crucial role in encouraging entrepreneurship in Africa, analysing both short- and long-term impacts alongside the direction of causality within the continent. The study utilises panel data regression techniques to analyse data from 28 African countries, spanning from 2006 to 2020. The analysis reveals that financial development, alongside the growth of financial institutions and markets, consistently boosts entrepreneurship development in both time frames. Even though this is more pronounced in the long run, this suggests that the influence of financial development and its components is uniformly positive, with no significant differential impacts observed in either the short or long run. Causality results establish unidirectional causality between entrepreneurship, financial development, and its components, flowing from financial development and its components to entrepreneurship development. Given these insights, the study underscores the necessity for policymakers to focus on sustainable financial development strategies that enhance stability and inclusivity within financial markets.
Keywords: Africa, entrepreneurship, financial development, panel regression
Published in RUP: 18.12.2025; Views: 447; Downloads: 0
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