The paper's aim is to analyse the interdependency between the intellectual capital and the financial performance of biotechnological (biotech) companies in the pharmaceutical industry. The analysis was performed for 24 biotech companies in this branch considered during 2002-2014, based on several indicators available on the Thomson Reuters database. The financial performance was measured through the return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE) and the debt-to-equity ratio (DE). In order to capture the intellectual capital, the focus was on a designing a new indicator, proposed by the authors, respectively the efficiency of research and development expenditures (ECD), along with another proxy, previously attested by the literature and reflected through the market to-book ratio (MTB). The research methodology resides on applying the correlation method, robust regression, and structural equations modelling (SEM). The results reveal a significant negative relationship between ROA, ROE and MTB, which contradicts the literature and suggests that, for this particular type of companies, MTB isn't relevant to express the intellectual capital. MTB was positively correlated with DE. When we used the ECD, the results attested a strongly positive and significant relation with ROA and ROE, and a negative one with DE. Therefore, the applied tests confirm ECD as the most suitable indicator to appreciate the intellectual capital for the biotech companies in the pharmaceutical industry.

This study investigates the interlinkages between the dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR-economic, environmental, social), financial performance (ROA, ROE), and corporate governance (CG), by applying the structural equation modeling technique (SEM). It is based on a sample of 614 large companies from the European Economic Area, covering specific indicators published by the Thomson Reuters database, for the years 2013–2017. The equation models are structured starting from isolated dependencies between variables, up to the global ones (direct, indirect, and total dependencies). The mixed results obtained imply that the nature and heterogenous content of CSR lead to different statistical dependencies for each of the two financial performance indicators. ROA is positively influenced by the economic dimension of CSR, but, the level of this rate does not necessarily contribute to an increase in the involvement of the company in this type of CSR actions. At the same time, ROA is influenced and affects in a negative way the environmental and social dimensions of CSR. In the case of ROE, it is influenced and impacts the economic and social dimensions in a positive way. The environmental dimension of CSR influences ROE positively, but it is negatively affected by this profitability rate. Corporate governance exerts a positive impact on all of the model’s variables, both as a direct and indirect factor of influence.

Acknowledging the importance of the bioeconomy as an important dimension of sustainable economic development, and particularly for E.U. strategies, this paper aims to identify and assess several bioeconomy modellers under the compelling effects of education and research-development-innovation activities. Within this frame of reference, the authors have assessed the role of intellectual capital in shaping bioeconomy outcomes, distinct for the new E.U.-13 and E.U.-15. A complex set of methods and macro-econometric models was applied on two balanced panels, compiled during 1995-2016, that bind random effects models with panel-corrected standard errors, spatial analysis and structural equation modelling. Overall, the importance of research, development, innovation and specific skills acquired in the field of bioeconomy is outlined, as key elements of E.U. economic strategies, being essential for all Member States.

The recovery after the unprecedented pandemic crisis that Europe has currently been facing is strengthening the strong dependence between social, economic, and environmental fields, maintaining green investments and innovation at the core of the European strategies. Shifting to clean industries is a challenging mission that a complex network of stakeholders and their different interests must take into account. Within this network, the interplay between environmental and financial performance of a company represents a common point with a growing emphasis on the transparency and the materiality capacity of the disclosed information. This paper uses the Structural Equation Modeling and the Gaussian Graphical Models as graphical analysis approaches and offers a first insight about the interaction between environmental materiality measures and financial performance. A preliminary step of the scientific research consisted of a hand-mapping investigation about materiality conditions. Starting from the Materiality Map developed by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), this paper extends the main concept about materiality and investigates it on three different content ranges, which focus on the general environmental policy of the company, the targets set, and its concrete footprint. The methodology approaches were grounded on a newly compiled dataset provided by the Thomson Reuters database for 194 Economic European Area (EEA) oil and gas companies. The results provide significant evidences for the manifestation of materiality and emphasize the informational content of the individual environmental measures as an important condition for its financial impact. Adding to the environmental-financial performance relationship, our findings have both practical and academic relevance for the economic field and sustainable growth goals.

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