Purpose The purpose of this study is to review the literature on corporate governance (CG); environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and corporate social responsibility (CSR) during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and addresses three research questions: What are the characteristics of the literature on CG and COVID-19? What are the themes in CG in the COVID-19 era? and What are key areas of future research on CG and COVID-19? Design/methodology/approach The authors attempted a systematic literature review of 62 studies published in 2020. The authors used four criteria to identify characteristics of the literature on CG and COVID-19 and three criteria to identify key themes in the literature addressing CG and the pandemic. The authors analyzed answers to the above research questions and proposals from studies reviewed to guide future research. Findings CG in the context of COVID-19 has been studied mostly in developed countries and within a theoretical framework. As accounting data are insufficient, more research is required in all countries (developed, emerging and other). Further, there are no conclusive results regarding the relevance of ESG and CSR to financial performance. Future research should use additional methodologies and data sources to fully explain the impact of COVID-19 on CG. Practical implications Practitioners and policymakers could benefit from the study, as the authors present key challenges to CG for the present and the future. Originality/value This study is the first to provide a systematic literature review on CG during the COVID-19 pandemic and presents current trends, challenges and avenues for future research.

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Empirical research identifies whistleblowing as one of the most effective internal antifraud controls. Very recently, Directive 1937/2019 became effective in the EU, aiming to deal with the defragmentation of whistleblowing legislation among the member states and provide common minimum accepted standards. The present article aims to provide a verified, weighted comparative maturity model. The suggested model has been constructed based on the methodology for constructing comparative maturity models and validated based on the Delphi method. The weights on each validated component have been calculated based on the summing of votes method. The study resulted in eight main components «scope», «corporate governance», «reporting mechanisms», «protection», «tone at the top», «organizational and human resource practices», «investigations» and «monitor and review» divided further into 18 elements. The suggested maturity model may provide a pathway for organizations to develop and maintain a robust whistleblowing maturity framework that will benefit both the organizations and the public welfare.

The recent pandemic of the SARS-CoV-2 virus highlighted the urgent need for social cohesion among Governments, companies, and organizations. The pandemic also raised the demand for companies to act as good corporate citizens. However, frequently applying ESG considerations may be proven challenging in practice. The objective of this study is to provide a theoretical framework that will allow companies and organizations to incorporate sustainability criteria into the project management process following a conceptual approach, using the guidelines of the Project Management Institute and qualitative methods such as "text analysis" and "content analysis". Particular attention was placed on the benefits that businesses receive from implementing sustainability methods in their decision-making in order to act responsibly and have a beneficial impact on the environment in which they operate as well as on the people who are affected directly or indirectly.

The study examines the impact of mergers on stock market and performance of companies which were involved at mergers in Greece. Thus, the study, by using a sample of twenty-three listed companies which executed at least one merger (as acquirers) during the period of economic crisis, analyses nine stock market measures and ratios using simultaneously accounting measures extracted from corresponding financial statements. More specifically, we test a company’s performance by comparing a two-year span period before and after of all the merger events that took place within the period 2011-2015 (with data analysis from 2009 to 2017). The results of the study indicated that there is no statistically significant improvement or worsening for none of the examined variables in the post-merger period. In addition, we examined further merger characteristics, such as the method of payment and industry relatedness (qualitative variables). We observed statistically significant changes of a variable, in relation with the payment method, and in particular improvement of a variable when the exchange of shares is used as a payment method of a merger, instead of cash exchange.