Today it is obvious that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is more than just a volunteer activity, it is also related to the operation of the firms and to competitive advantages. Many factors influence CSR and CSR-competitiveness relations; firm size could be the most crucial one. Originally CSR is related to large companies, although smaller firms can be active in CSR mainly in different ways with different background. Based on this idea the paper aims to explore the correlation between small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) corporate social responsibility (CSR) and competitive advantages. An interview research was conducted among thirty SMEs in a Hungarian city of Győr in 2021/22 to reveal how owner-managers interpret CSR, competitiveness and their relations. As SMEs cannot provide exact data on this topic the personal perception method was used to explore the CSR-competitiveness relation. A moderate relation was observed between CSR and competitiveness and the research revealed that different methodologies have to be applied for SMEs than large companies which results from the fact that SMEs’ CSR is less formal and lacks exact data.

This study aims to investigate what influences local workers over the age of 40 to work and stay employed in oil palm plantations. 414 individuals participated in a face-to-face interview that provided the study’s primary source of data. Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to analyse the given data. The study revealed that factors influencing local workers over the age of 40 years to leave or continue working in oil palm plantations can be classified as income factors, internal factors and external factors. The income factor was the most significant factor as the percentage variance explained by the factor was 26.792% and Cronbach Alpha was high at 0.870. Therefore, the study suggested that the oil palm plantation managements pay more attention to income elements such as basic salary, wage rate paid to the workers and allowance given to the workers since these elements contribute to the monthly total income received by the workers and in turn be able to attract more local workers to work and remain in the plantations.

This study aims to examine and analyze financial statement fraud from the perspective of the hexagon theory using secondary data. The research sample was selected through purposive sampling, consisting of Ministries and Agencies in Indonesia. The research method employing the OLS (ordinary least squares) approach involves testing the model’s suitability through the F-statistical test, evaluating the coefficient of determination by examining, and conducting hypothesis testing using EViews. The findings of this study suggest that pressure and sscapability do not significantly influence financial reporting fraud. In contrast, opportunity, rationalization, arrogance, and collusion positively and significantly impact financial fraud reports. Implementing a whistleblowing system is crucial for ensuring that e-procurement encompasses all elements of government organizations, serving as a means of transparency and accountability to mitigate the occurrence of fraudulent financial reports within government entities, particularly in Ministries and Agencies in Indonesia. The financial audit opinion is not intended to detect fraud but to assess conformity with government accounting standards, the extent of disclosure, compliance with legislation, and the effectiveness of the government's internal control system. This can encourage institutions in other countries to strengthen the financial security of their organizations.

This study replicates and extends Corbett and Kirsch (2001) and Vastag (2004) using a new data set to investigate the drivers of ISO 14000 certification diffusions using decision tree analysis. The findings indicate that at the national level, ISO 14000 certification diffusions are influenced by factors other than ISO 9000 certification diffusions, such as the number of environmental treaties signed and ratified, industrial activities as a percentage of GDP, and GDP per capita, thus provides a range of managerial insights and enhances scholarly understanding of sustainability beyond the influence of ISO 9000. Future studies might extend the countries included in this study to see if the results are the same. Future research may include other factors like a country’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) indicators to better understand its commitment to sustainability, including environmental sustainability. The country’s culture may influence customers, investors, and other stakeholders’ knowledge and desire for sustainable practices and inspire firms to obtain ISO 14000 certifications. Since larger firms may seek ISO 14000 certification, future studies may evaluate the influence of the number of large firms in various countries as drivers of ISO certification diffusions.

The initiation of tapering, sparked by heightened inflation in the United States, reverberates across global markets, with notable implications for Indonesia. This study delved into the nuanced impact of tapering on Sharia-compliant stocks in both Indonesia and Malaysia. The rationale behind selecting Sharia stocks for analysis lies in their composition, featuring companies boasting low debt-to-asset and equity ratios, thereby positing robust resilience in the face of the Federal Reserve’s implementation of tapering. Employing a time series dataset with a weekly sampling period spanning from January to September 2022, the analysis adopted the Error Correction Model (ECM) within a multiple regression framework to circumvent potential spurious regression pitfalls. The results of this study indicate that the impact of tapering off policy in Indonesia has a positive impact in the short term and long term, while in Malaysia it tends to be insignificant in the short term and has a positive impact from the US 10-year bond yield variable and a negative impact from US 1-Year Treasury Bills. This result is interesting because it differs from the general theory. The causal factors include the agility of the Indonesian central bank in maintaining the benchmark interest rate spread with the Fed, the economic stability of both countries, and the increasing trend of coal, with Indonesia being one of the largest producers of the commodity. Investors, in navigating these intricate dynamics, may find strategic insights derived from this research invaluable for shaping their investment decisions. while government policymakers may use them as a reference for shaping policies related to Sharia stock investments, including the incorporation of artificial intelligence.

The question of whether legal gun ownership is a positive security factor in the Czech Republic is subject to expert debate and depends on several factors, including available crime data, public attitudes, and the legal framework. Some argue that legal gun ownership can dissuade criminals because they know victims may be armed. Many advocates argue that the right to own guns is a fundamental right that should be protected. Sometimes, it is difficult to clearly demonstrate that legal gun ownership directly contributes to crime reduction. Statistical data can be interpreted in different ways. In contrast, the presence of guns can in some situations escalate conflicts that could otherwise be resolved nonviolently. In the Czech Republic, legal gun ownership is relatively strictly regulated. Citizens must meet the conditions established by law, including criminal integrity and passing a theoretical-practical examination of professional competence. This regulation aims to ensure that only responsible and qualified individuals own guns. Therefore, the presented article discusses legal gun ownership as an internal factor of state security. Using statistical data, it analyses the amount of violent crime committed with firearms in relation to the possibility of holding and carrying a gun in the conditions of the Czech Republic and in selected EU countries. Furthermore, with the help of a questionnaire survey, it identifies that legal gun ownership can be considered a positive safety factor in certain situations, if it is associated with strict regulation and a responsible attitude of gun owners. The resulting effect on security depends on a combination of legal frameworks, gun culture, and effective law enforcement.