International Review of Financial Analysis最新文献

{"title":"Retraction notice to “Financing Irish high-tech SMEs: The analysis of capital structure” [FINANA 83 (2022) 102219]","authors":"Conor Neville, Brian M. Lucey","doi":"10.1016/j.irfa.2026.105079","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.irfa.2026.105079","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48226,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Financial Analysis","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 105079"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145957099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Green finance, cultural and tourism consumption, and sustainable development of tourism economy: A quasi-natural experiment based on the “dual pilot” policies","authors":"Zhe Wang ,&nbsp;Jinlong Zhang ,&nbsp;Yanwen Gao","doi":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104855","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104855","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The deep integration of culture and tourism has become an important engine to promote high-quality economic development. Based on the panel data of 300 cities from 2014 to 2023, we take the pilot policy of “Green Finance Reform and Innovation Pilot Area” and “National Cultural and Tourism Consumption Demonstration City” as quasi-natural experiments, and constructs a difference-in-difference model to comprehensively evaluate the impact of green finance and cultural tourism consumption on the sustainable development of tourism economy. The results show that the coordinated implementation of green finance, cultural tourism consumption and “dual pilot” policies has significantly promoted the sustainable development of tourism economy, and this conclusion is still valid after a series of robustness tests. Further analysis shows that cultural tourism consumption only has a significant positive impact on the economic dimension of sustainable development of tourism economy, while green finance has a negative impact on both economic and ecological dimensions, while the “dual pilot” policies can effectively make up for the limitations of a single policy and has a significant positive impact on both dimensions. Mechanism analysis shows that urban innovation is the key intermediary channel for green finance, cultural tourism consumption and “dual pilot” policies to affect the sustainable development of tourism economy. Heterogeneity analysis shows that in the higher level of digital government construction and the developed eastern regions, the promotion effect of green finance, cultural tourism consumption and “dual pilot” policies on the sustainable development of tourism economy is more significant. The research conclusions provide an empirical basis for accurately promoting the sustainable development of tourism economy, and have important guiding significance for promoting the coordinated symbiosis of economic growth and ecological protection in the tourism field.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48226,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Financial Analysis","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 104855"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145704979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Stock returns forecasting via a novel machine learning method","authors":"Xuan Ouyang ,&nbsp;Weiguo Zhang ,&nbsp;Xue Gong","doi":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104829","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104829","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Financial time series are difficult to predict due to their non-stationarity and noise. This paper develops a hybrid machine learning model that combines Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD), Gated Recurrent Units (GRU), and the Informer network. In the task of forecasting S&amp;P 500 index returns with a large set of predictors, we find that the proposed method significantly outperforms thirteen competing models. Compared to traditional recurrent architectures, the proposed model achieves a 61.4 % reduction in root mean square error and a 61 % improvement in mean absolute error and passes statistical tests. The results are robust across various checks. Our findings highlight the value of combining signal decomposition with deep learning, offering practical insights for trading and risk management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48226,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Financial Analysis","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 104829"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145705005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Digital finance as a catalyst for green innovation: Threshold effect of diminishing marginal returns","authors":"Jun Wen ,&nbsp;Hongbo Hai ,&nbsp;Lingxiao Li ,&nbsp;Jie Dou ,&nbsp;Ran Tao","doi":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104840","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104840","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study uses a regional panel covering 2011–2023 to examine how digitally enabled financial services shape eco-innovation, allowing for non-linear responses. The baseline estimations indicate that digital finance acts as a strong driver of environmentally oriented innovation. Threshold diagnostics uncover three cut-off points along the coverage and digitization dimensions: the stimulus strengthens up to midranges and then tapers, consistent with diminishing incremental gains. In contrast, along the depth-of-use margin the relationship is monotonic—greater intensity of use is linked to progressively larger effects, with no observable turning point. Analysis of transmission channels shows that digital finance promotes eco-innovation by concentrating innovation inputs (talent, capital, data) and improving allocative efficiency. Subsample evidence suggests that impacts are larger on the extensive margin (incremental outputs) than on frontier breakthroughs, and they are concentrated in eastern provinces and in cities that are not resource-dependent. The findings expand related theory and offer guidance for aligning finance with green technological progress.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48226,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Financial Analysis","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 104840"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145657244","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development of cross-border E-commerce, digital finance development, and the digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises","authors":"Zhan Cao ,&nbsp;Yi Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104835","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104835","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Based on panel data from non-financial manufacturing firms listed on China's A-share market from 2011 to 2023, this paper systematically examines the intrinsic relationships and mechanisms of action among cross-border e-commerce development (CBEC), digital finance development (DFD), and digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises. The empirical results indicate that: (1) CBEC significantly promotes the digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises; (2) the promotion effect of CBEC on digital transformation is more pronounced in firms with higher levels of marketization, intense industry competition, and greater R&amp;D investment, demonstrating clear heterogeneity; (3) CBEC indirectly enhances the digital transformation of enterprises by fostering DFD; and (4) the mediating role of DFD varies across regions with different levels of digital infrastructure. These findings provide empirical evidence and policy references for promoting high-quality development of the manufacturing industry, accelerating digital transformation, and fostering the coordinated CBEC and digital finance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48226,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Financial Analysis","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 104835"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145619556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The capital allocation effect of green finance: Evidence from corporate technological investment","authors":"Caifeng Zou ,&nbsp;Chuan Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104836","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104836","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Against the backdrop of China's “dual‑carbon” goals and accelerating green transition, how green finance shapes firms' technological investment has become an important research question. Using panel data for Chinese A-share non-financial listed firms from 2003 to 2023, this study examines whether the development of green finance promotes technological investment through capital allocation. Technological investment is assessed from the perspectives of research and development (R&amp;D) personnel, R&amp;D intensity, and innovation output, and a mechanism framework is constructed to explore the roles of external monitoring and information disclosure. The empirical results show that green finance significantly increases firms' R&amp;D staffing, enhances R&amp;D expenditure, and improves patent output. Mechanism analyses indicate that green finance strengthens analyst coverage and enhances information disclosure quality, thereby improving the information environment and governance pressure, ultimately stimulating greater technological investment. Further heterogeneity tests reveal that the promoting effect is more pronounced in pollution-intensive industries and exhibits a clear “bottom-lifting effect” for firms with weak innovation foundations. Multiple robustness checks corroborate these findings. Overall, the study uncovers the internal mechanisms and distributional effects through which green finance drives corporate technological innovation. The results suggest that a well-functioning green finance system not only improves resource allocation efficiency and alleviates financing constraints but also plays a crucial role in supporting green transformation, enhancing innovation capacity, and fostering high-quality economic development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48226,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Financial Analysis","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 104836"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145619558","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Brand culture innovation, digital transformation, and the performance of agribusiness firms","authors":"Juan Tang ,&nbsp;Qiaodan Li","doi":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104825","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104825","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the impact of brand culture innovation on the performance of agribusiness firms, drawing on a sample of Chinese A-share agricultural listed companies from 2014 to 2023. The results demonstrate that brand culture innovation exerts a significantly positive effect on firm performance. Heterogeneity analysis shows that this effect is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises. The moderating effect analysis further reveals that the positive influence of brand culture innovation is amplified by firms' digital transformation. Mechanism analysis indicates that brand culture innovation improves firm performance by increasing media attention and fostering green innovation. Overall, this study provides theoretical support and practical implications for agribusiness firms to adopt brand culture innovation, offering important insights for enhancing performance and promoting sustainable development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48226,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Financial Analysis","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 104825"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145609083","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of public pressure on the operational efficiency of state-owned utilities and its mechanisms: Evidence from China's toll-road industry","authors":"Sheng Cao ,&nbsp;Yingjie Zheng ,&nbsp;Haicheng Xu ,&nbsp;Yuting Li ,&nbsp;Yanling Li ,&nbsp;Yijin Song","doi":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104838","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104838","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As an external environmental factor, public pressure is an important external mechanism of corporate governance. Drawing on theoretical foundations, this paper selects state-owned toll-road operating enterprises (STREs) as the research sample to examine how public pressure influences the operational efficiency of state-owned utilities (SUs) and its underlying mechanisms. The results show that public pressure significantly enhances the operational efficiency of STREs. Notably, this effect operates mainly through improvements in the agent pay distribution system, while internal control quality and excessive perks show no significant mediating role. Additionally, apart from data limitations, the lack of significant mediation through internal control and perks can reflect incomplete reforms of management systems and operating models. These findings enrich research on public pressure within corporate governance and provide reference value for improving social governance and advancing classification reforms of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48226,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Financial Analysis","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 104838"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145685932","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring the impact of blockchain technology on supply chain transparency and corporate financing costs","authors":"Jun Zheng ,&nbsp;Xiao Luo ,&nbsp;Feng Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104895","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104895","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study explores the impact of blockchain technology advancements and supply chain transparency on corporate financing costs, with a focus on the moderating role of supply chain transparency. Using data from Chinese A-share listed companies (2001−2023), the study finds that both blockchain improvements and supply chain transparency significantly reduce financing costs. Additionally, supply chain transparency plays a crucial moderating role in the relationship between blockchain technology and financing costs. Heterogeneity analysis shows that state-owned enterprises experience a stronger moderating effect compared to non-state-owned enterprises. These findings suggest that policymakers should tailor technology adoption strategies based on ownership structure. The results provide theoretical support for enhancing information transparency in digital transformation and offer policy insights for promoting technology adoption and transparency in the global digital economy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48226,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Financial Analysis","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 104895"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145689478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Financial regulation, industrial chain resilience, and coordinated development of regional economies","authors":"Zhuoran Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104926","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104926","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Based on panel data from 31 provincial-level administrative regions in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) from 2011 to 2023, this paper employs a fixed-effects model to examine the relationships among financial regulation, industrial chain resilience, and the coordinated development of regional economies (CDRE). The empirical results confirm that: financial regulation significantly promotes CDRE; industrial chain resilience significantly promotes CDRE; financial regulation can promote CDRE by strengthening industrial chain resilience; the impact of financial regulation on CDRE exhibits heterogeneity between the eastern and the central–western regions; the impact of financial regulation on CDRE exhibits heterogeneity across regions with different levels of income disparity; and the impact of industrial chain resilience on CDRE exhibits heterogeneity between the eastern and the central–western regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48226,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Financial Analysis","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 104926"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145791004","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}