International audienceWith its well adapted management and the guidance of the country's central bank, the Lebanese banks managed to cross over the 2008 financial crisis with an insignificant amount of damage. Due to the social, geographic and political environment, financial firms in this country have applied a special understanding of social responsibility that has demonstrated to be of an extreme significance for the society they serve. We will explain the way the Lebanese banking sector is involved in corporate social responsibility taking into consideration the environment it has managed to evolve in and to earn a kind of resiliency versus the crises. Social and positioning effects managed to statistically prove many widely known influencers to have small manipulations over CSR in Lebanon such as gender diversity, foreign nationals and even non-executive directors. Only the biggest Lebanese financial firms appear to take interest in CSR review publications at the momen

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine determinants of profitability of non-financial firms listed small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK from 2012 till 2020. It has been argued that profitability plays a key role in economic development and growth. Despite the important role that SMEs play in developed economies like UK, academic research into SMEs profitability determinants in developed countries is not extensive. Design/methodology/approach The methodologies used include dynamic panel data estimation techniques. Relationship of nine independent variables with profitability was examined. Two models are created using return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) as dependent variables. Size, age, efficiency, working capital, liquidity, leverage and volatility of the firm represent firm-specific independent variables. Two macroeconomic variables, namely, gross domestic product and inflation are also used as independent variables. Data obtained from Thomson Reuters Data Stream for 93 listed SMEs companies in the UK from 2012 to 2020. Fixed effects, random effects and generalized method of moments were used in data analysis. Findings All variables showed significant influence on profitability, except liquidity reflecting insignificant impact on profitability in two regression models conducted for 93 firms under study. Efficiency, liquidity and leverage are the only three independent variables with similar impact on both ROA and ROE. Practical implications Identifying determinants of profitability will help stakeholders and corporate executive make sound decisions to ensure sustainability and stability at the firm level. This is particularly important given the key role played by SMEs in economic development and growth. The findings of this study would help direct financial management practices to ensure a favorable sustainable organizational performance. Originality/value This study differs from previous studies that focused mainly on developing countries; with limited research conducted on profitability of SMEs in developed economies. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to examine factors influencing profitability of SMEs in UK. Previous studies concentrated on service sector like insurance and hotel firms.

In te rn at io na l Bu sin es s an d En tre pr en eu rs hip De ve lo pm en t

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