Human capital and sustainable procurement as determinants of financial performance? Testing a serial mediation effect’s application to European listed companies
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the serial mediation effect of human capital on sustainable procurement, and financial performance. The empirical study was conducted over the period 2016-2020, using a sample of 240 listed European companies, socially assessed by the extra-financial rating agency Vigeo-Eiris. A serial mediation is validated by using market to book (MTB) as the financial performance variable. However, it is not confirmed with regard to return on assets (ROA). These results thus attest to the importance of investors’ perceptions of the expected long-term effects of such policies.