Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices disclosure and firm value in the Egyptian context. This is done through investigating the influence of being listed and ranked in the Egyptian Corporate Responsibility Index on firm value during the period starting from 2007 to 2016. Design/methodology/approach Using univariate and multivariate analyses, the findings support the economic benefits of ESG disclosures. Findings The authors find that firms listed in the ESG index have higher firm value, and that there is a positive association between firms’ higher rankings in the index and firm value, as measured by Tobin’s q. Research limitations/implications The findings provide feedback to regulators and standard-setters in the developing countries, and more specifically the Egyptian regulators, on the benefits associated with the introduction of the sustainability index (Standard & Poor’s (S&P)/EGX ESG index). This, in turn, clarifies how the government’s efforts to promote ESG provide benefits to publicly traded firms. Practical implications By linking ESG to firm value, the ESG index will enable investors to take a leading role in inducing firms to enhance transparency and disclosure, and hence, improving their reporting standards. This, in turn, will ultimately result in improving sustainability and governance practices in Egypt. Social implications The reported positive market reactions to social and governance practices disclosures can motivate firms to improve their social and governance performance. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature by addressing the combined economic effects of social and governance disclosures on firm value, and by investigating the economic effects of such disclosures on firm value in an emerging market.

Purpose This study aims to examine the combined impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings on the market and financial performance of Egyptian companies during the period from 2007 to 2016 and, thereby, determines the influence of the recent political revolutions –that broke out in the MENA region in early 2011 – on the association between ESG practices and corporate performance. Design/methodology/approach The present work uses data from the S&P/EGX ESG index, which is the first of its kind in the MENA region. The ESG index is designed to increase the profile of companies listed on the Egyptian Exchange and is expected to boost the level and quality of ESG practices in the Egyptian context. The sample includes the 100 most active Egyptian companies in the Egyptian Stock Exchange as measured by the EGX 100 index in the financial year that ended in 2016. The sample begins in 2007, concurrent with the start of the ESG index, and ends in 2016. The period from 2007 to 2010 represents the pre-revolution period, and the period from 2012 to 2016 is the post-revolution period. Findings Firms with high ESG ratings are found to enjoy a better financial and market performance. The authors found some evidence that the influence of ESG ratings on financial performance is more obvious after the revolutions than before the revolutions. Practical implications This study provides insights regarding the impact of political events on the market in the Middle East region. Despite its increasing economic and political importance, this region still suffers from inadequate attention in the literature. The present work investigates the variances that evolved out of the events that started in early 2011 and the implications of these events on the market. The results of this study have implications for regulators and investors in the Egyptian stock market. The authors believe that the relatively new S&P/EGX ESG index provides a way to enhance ESG ratings in Egypt. Social implications The results of the present study provide insights for policymakers regarding the usefulness of the sustainability indices. Originality/value The present results contribute to the growing literature on the economic consequences of ESG ratings, especially in relation to a context characterized by intense political/revolutionary changes. In particular, this study contributes to the few works that have addressed the economic implications of ESG ratings in emerging markets.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of competing logics on the implementation of risk-based management controls (RBMC) by providing evidence of resistance due to competing logics. Moreover, the study proposes solutions to logic contestation. These solutions may help the company override logic complexity. Design/methodology/approach This study draws upon the theory of institutional logics. It adopts an interpretative qualitative research approach and uses the case study method. Data were collected from one of the biggest private sector insurance companies in Egypt through a triangulation of interviews, observations and documents. Findings We found that internalised and institutionalised roles and structures – represented by the incumbent corporate and community-related sets of logics – compete and disrupt the emerging enterprise risk management and RBMCs. The newly imposed RBMCs produced heterogenic practices that changed the means of controls at the case company. However, this change was faced by resistance from local employees, as it represented a challenge to the prevailing cultural symbols and norms in their traditional work environment. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by offering new evidence on resistance to Western risk-based management control projects applied in emerging markets. Moreover, it extends the cultural political economy of management accounting and control by illustrating that management accounting in emerging markets is also an operational manifestation of culture, community and location.

PurposeThe study aims to investigate the appearance of corporate social and environmental responsibility (CSER) practices in a context where economic, communal and political institutions are highly central and competing with each other.Design/methodology/approachTheoretically, the study draws upon the institutional logics perspective and the theoretical concepts of logics centrality and compatibility to understand how higher-order institutions interact with mundane CSER practices observed at the case company's micro level. Empirical data were solicited in an Egyptian village community, where fishing, agriculture and especially salt production constitute the main economic activities underlying its livelihood. A combination of interviews, informal conversations, observations and documents solicits the required data.FindingsThereby, this study presents an inclusive view of CSER as practiced in developing countries, which is based not only on rational economic perspectives – as is the case in developed and stabilised contexts – but also on social, familial and political aspects that are central to the present complex institutional environment.Originality/valueThe reported findings in this study highlight the role of non-economic (societal) logics in understating CSER in African developing nations.