Bankers, Markets and Investors

Social and Green Innovation in Sustainable Finance: Rethinking the Future of Investment

Guest Editors

Dr. Souad BRINETTE, OCRE Research Lab, EDC Paris Business School, France,

souad.brinette@edcparis.edu

Dr. Slimane ED-DAFALI, ENCG, Chouaib Doukkali University, El Jadida, Morocco,

ed-dafali.s@ucd.ac.ma

Dr. Marinette KAMAHA, OCRE Research Lab, EDC Paris Business School, France, mkamaha@edcparis.edu

Financial approaches have undergone multiple changes over the decades. From classical to sustainable finance models, financial instruments and their determinants have considerably evolved. Recently, social innovation and green innovation have become two essential elements of the sustainable finance puzzle, influencing both investing strategies and funding channels. Social innovation covers both corporate social responsibility, which includes a range of actions that firms are required to implement in order to enhance the well-being of society and the community, and innovation efforts that firms need to pursue to maintain their competitive position in the market. Social innovation, therefore, refers to the innovative practices and tools designed to solve a problem of public interest, where the value generated is distributed in society and empowers (Cobo-Gómez, 2024; Lakhal et al., 2021; Solis-Navarrete et al., 2021). It includes investing in research and development to invent new innovative tools or products, or adopting new technologies or creative services and models in their operational activities (Moussavou, 2022). Social innovation fosters instruments like green bonds and Sharia-compliant green bonds (Narayan et al., 2025), which are tailored to cultural contexts and specific sustainability goals. Similarly, green innovation plays a central role in a country’s sustainable development by protecting the environment(Sova et al., 2024) via new ecological solutions, such as energy-efficient technologies, pollution reduction tools and sustainable production processes. This shift towards sustainable innovation is increasingly supported by research on climate consciousness integration that embeds environmental strategy, carbon management, and sustainable innovation into core organizational models (Guizani et al., 2025a,b; Slama et al., 2025).

At this stage, the literature clearly indicates that an effective investment strategy, including social and green innovation investments, requires the integration of these innovations into corporate governance policies, This is because properly structured boards have great potential to promote innovation (Almaqtari et al., 2025), as strong governance attributes provide companies with sufficient tools, expertise, and resources to enable them to restructure their financial approach towards sustainable development goals, create sustainable value, and leverage sustainable growth opportunities. Therefore, banks and financial institutions should ensure that firms adopt ESG factors and establish good governance attributes (Galeone et al., 2024). However, research into social and environmental innovation remains in its early stages, and its implications for financial and banking strategy have yet to be discussed.

The crucial point here is securing sufficient funding sources to finance such innovation investments. The rise of sustainable finance has enabled the mobilisation of funds to support these initiatives, particularly in renewable energy, sanitation, agriculture and education(Gonzalez‐Ruiz et al., 2024). Social and environmental innovation leads sustainable finance to properly direct funds and capital towards measurable social and environmental objectives(Carè, 2025; Galeone et al., 2024). However, the allocation of capital to these initiatives requires more than funds; it requires new operational infrastructure. Indeed, Fintech tools can contribute to accelerating finance and redefining its social function. These innovations serve as the driving force enabling businesses to achieve SDGs (Carè, 2025; Gangi et al., 2021). Given that transparency is fundamental for credible ESG investing, Fintech innovations could help to eliminate information barriers and increase the traceability of supply chains (Dadabada, 2024; Yalcin et al., 2026), reduce green bond fraud risks(Narayan et al., 2025) and mitigate greenwashing by improving data accessibility and transparency (Trinh et al., 2024). Therefore, fintech, social and environmental innovation are emerging as a new paradigm that is redefining contemporary approaches to finance.

This special issue mainly explores how social innovation and green innovation can accelerate sustainable finance practices and instruments. It focuses particularly on the influence these innovations may exert on firms’ financing policies, business models, and governance structures, thereby contributing to rethinking the foundations of the corporate sustainability governance framework. To support the implementation of such practices, new financial initiatives have emerged (Gressieux & Meunier, 2024). Among them is crowdfunding, a new innovative mechanism for social impact investing (Lehner & Nicholls, 2014) that enables entrepreneurs to finance their ventures by drawing on relatively small contributions from a large number of individuals (Ed-Dafali et al., 2025; Vismara & Wirtz, 2025). Other investing structures are also attracting attention when it comes to funding start-ups with high potential of sustainability and technological growth, like impact investment funds and corporate venture capital(Benkraiem et al., 2021; Shan, 2025; Wang et al., 2022). Particularly, venture capital is a crucial financing source for new ideas and technologies(Howell & Nanda, 2024). It holds a big potential to foster the development of startups with high technological capabilities that are essential for a sustainable economy. However, despite existing research on the structure of crowdfunding, the performance of impact funds and venture capital, only a few analyses exist on how these financial innovations interact and combine to build the best sustainable finance practices.

In this special issue, we are interested in research exploring investing mechanisms (e.g., venture capital, crowdfunding, etc.), their integration into traditional financial systems, and their impact on the expansion of sustainable practices, green innovation, social innovation and the achievement of sustainable development goals.

Our topics of interest include but are not limited to:

1. Sustainable Corporate Governance and Shareholder Engagement.
2. Innovative Financing Models for Green and Social Startups.
3. Sustainable Finance for Sustainability-Driven Strategies.
4. ESG Integration in Entrepreneurial Finance Decision-Making.
5. Public Policy and Regulation Supporting Social Innovation.
6. Social Innovation Ecosystems and Impact Investing.
7. Innovative Finance for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
8. Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investment
9. Social Finance and Entrepreneurship
10. Social Finance in the Sustainable Development Context.
11. FinTech and Digital Platforms for Social and Sustainable Finance
12. Climate Consciousness Integration in Financial Decision-Making

References:

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Benkraiem, R., Boubaker, S., Brinette, S., & Khemiri, S. (2021). Board feminization and innovation through corporate venture capital investments : The moderating effects of independence and management skills. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 163, 120467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120467

Carè, R. (2025). The Evolution of Social Finance : From Social Impact Bonds to Technological Innovation for Social Good. In R. Carè (Éd.), Social and Sustainable Finance for Social Innovation and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (p. 149‑168). IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-9551-6.ch005

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Souad BRINETTE is a full professor of Finance at EDC Paris Business School, France. She holds a PhD in Management Sciences, specializing in Finance, from the IAE d'Aix-en-Provence, Université Aix-Marseille, and holds an HDR for supervising doctorates in Management from the University of Rennes, IGR-IAE.

Her research focuses on corporate finance and entrepreneurial finance, with particular interest in capital structure, corporate governance, innovation financing, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. She has published several papers in national and international peer-reviewed journals, including International Journal of Finance & Economics, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Annals of Operations Research, Management International, Technological Forecasting and Social Change.

Slimane ED-DAFALI, PhD is an Associate Professor of Management at the National School of Commerce and Management (ENCG), Chouaib Doukkali University, Morocco. His current research is focused on Entrepreneurial Finance, Business ethics, Corporate responsibility, Family business, Corporate governance, Ssustainable entrepreneurship, ESG practices, Knowledge management strategy, Fintech, and Emerging Markets. Dr. ED-DAFALI is also a member of the International Academic Association of Governance (AAIG), the Innovation Research Network(RNI), and the Family Business Center. Moreover, he is serving as a reviewer, Guest Editor, and editorial member of several reputed scientific journals. He has published his research work in high impact factor journals namely, International Journal of Finance & Economics, Journal of Economic Surveys, Research in International Business and Finance, Journal of Knowledge Management, Journal of Global Information Management, and Business Strategy and the Environment.

Marinette Kamaha is an Associate Professor of Management of Finance at EDC Paris Business School, France. She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Bordeaux. Her research focuses on corporate finance and entrepreneurial finance, with particular interest in green innovation, environmental practices, microcredit effectiveness. She has published several papers in national and international peer-reviewed journals, including Journal of Business Research, International Small Business Journal, and various conference proceedings on sustainable finance and entrepreneurship.