NEXUS BETWEEN ESG RATINGS AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

Authors

  • Jakhongir Yakubov Assistant teacher at Tashkent State University of Economics Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15629012

Keywords:

Tobin’s Q (TQ), Corporate Financial Performance (CFP), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE).

Abstract

The objective of this article is to establish a connection between a company's financial success and its efforts in environmental, social, and governance matters. The examination takes into account both the collective and individual aspects of ESG to evaluate how they impact the financial performance of corporations. The study used data from S&P 1500 index firms spanning from 2010 to 2021. To assess the correlation between ESG scores and financial performance metrics (Tobin’s and ROA), a fixed-effect regression model estimator was employed based on information from the Thompson Reuters Refinitiv database. The findings of the study indicate a considerable beneficial correlation between ESG rating and Tobin’s Q, an indicator of financial performance based on market value. When examined separately, the social pillar score had a significant positive influence on financial performance, whereas the environmental and governance pillars demonstrated moderate and negligible relationships. The research findings will contribute to improving understanding of the effects of investments in corporate sustainability. It provides valuable analysis for corporate and government bodies in optimizing the effects of their sustainability efforts. The results of the study will aid in enhancing comprehension of the impact of investments in corporate sustainability, delivering valuable insights for corporate and governmental organizations to enhance the effectiveness of their sustainability initiatives.

References

1. ABEBE, M. A. & ACHARYA, K. 2022. Founder CEOs and corporate environmental violations: Evidence from S&P 1500 firms. Business Strategy and the Environment, 31, 1204-1219.

2. ADEGBITE, E., GUNEY, Y., KWABI, F. & TAHIR, S. 2019. Financial and corporate social performance in the UK listed firms: the relevance of non-linearity and lag effects. Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, 52, 105-158.

3. AL ANSARI, R. & ALANZAROUTI, F. 2020. ESG and Islamic Finance: An Ethical Bridge Built on Shared Values. Journal of Islamic Financial Studies, 6.

4. ALKARAAN, F., ALBITAR, K., HUSSAINEY, K. & VENKATESH, V. G. 2022. Corporate transformation toward Industry 4.0 and financial performance: The influence of environmental, social, and governance (ESG). Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 175, 121423.

5. BEHL, A., KUMARI, P. S. R., MAKHIJA, H. & SHARMA, D. 2022. Exploring the relationship of ESG score and firm value using cross-lagged panel analyses: case of the Indian energy sector. Annals of Operations Research, 313, 231-256.

6. BHASKARAN, R. K., TING, I. W. K., SUKUMARAN, S. K. & SUMOD, S. D. 2020. Environmental, social and governance initiatives and wealth creation for firms: An empirical examination. Managerial and Decision Economics, 41, 710-729.

7. BRUNA, M. G., LOPREVITE, S., RAUCCI, D., RICCA, B. & RUPO, D. 2022. Investigating the marginal impact of ESG results on corporate financial performance. Finance Research Letters, 47, 102828.

8. DREMPETIC, S., KLEIN, C. & ZWERGEL, B. 2020. The Influence of Firm Size on the ESG Score: Corporate Sustainability Ratings Under Review. Journal of Business Ethics, 167, 333-360.

9. ECCLES, N. & VIVIERS, S. 2011. The origins and meanings of names describing investment practices that integrate a consideration of ESG issues in the academic literature. Journal of business ethics, 104, 389-402.

10. ENALPE, M. Corporate Social Responsibility Activities and Impact on Firm Value: The Case of the Technology Company Group. In: BEM, A., DASZYNSKA-ZYGADLO, K., HAJDÍKOVÁ, T., JÁKI, E. & RYSZAWSKA, B., eds. Sustainable Finance in the Green Economy, 2022// 2022 Cham. Springer International Publishing, 19-46.

11. ENDRIKAT, J., GUENTHER, E. & HOPPE, H. 2014. Making sense of conflicting empirical findings: A meta-analytic review of the relationship between corporate environmental and financial performance. European Management Journal, 32, 735-751.

12. FABOZZI, F. J., NG, P. W. & TUNARU, D. E. 2021. The impact of corporate social responsibility on corporate financial performance and credit ratings in Japan. Journal of Asset Management, 22, 79-95.

13. FARAG, H., MENG, Q. & MALLIN, C. 2015. The social, environmental and ethical performance of Chinese companies: Evidence from the Shanghai Stock Exchange. International Review of Financial Analysis, 42, 53-63.

14. FATEMI, A., GLAUM, M. & KAISER, S. 2018. ESG performance and firm value: The moderating role of disclosure. Global Finance Journal, 38, 45-64.

15. FRIEDE, G., BUSCH, T. & BASSEN, A. 2015. ESG and financial performance: aggregated evidence from more than 2000 empirical studies. Journal of sustainable finance & investment, 5, 210-233.

16. HARJOTO, M. & LAKSMANA, I. 2018. The impact of corporate social responsibility on risk taking and firm value. Journal of Business Ethics, 151, 353-373.

17. HORVÁTHOVÁ, E. 2010. Does environmental performance affect financial performance? A meta-analysis. Ecological economics, 70, 52-59.

18. HUANG, K., SIM, N. & ZHAO, H. 2020. Corporate social responsibility, corporate financial performance and the confounding effects of economic fluctuations: A meta-analysis. International Review of Financial Analysis, 70, 101504.

19. HUSSAIN, N., RIGONI, U. & CAVEZZALI, E. 2018. Does it pay to be sustainable? Looking inside the black box of the relationship between sustainability performance and financial performance. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 25, 1198-1211.

20. KUMAR, P. & FIROZ, M. 2022. Does Accounting-based Financial Performance Value Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Disclosures? A detailed note on a corporate sustainability perspective. Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal, 16, 1-33.

21. LISIN, A., KUSHNIR, A., KORYAKOV, A. G., FOMENKO, N. & SHCHUKINA, T. 2022. Financial Stability in Companies with High ESG Scores: Evidence from North America Using the Ohlson O-Score. Sustainability, 14, 479.

22. LIU, Y., SALEEM, S., SHABBIR, R., SHABBIR, M. S., IRSHAD, A. & KHAN, S. 2021. The relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance: A moderate role of fintech technology. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28, 20174-20187.

23. LU, W., CHAU, K., WANG, H. & PAN, W. 2014. A decade's debate on the nexus between corporate social and corporate financial performance: a critical review of empirical studies 2002–2011. Journal of cleaner production, 79, 195-206.

24. NOLLET, J., FILIS, G. & MITROKOSTAS, E. 2016. Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: A non-linear and disaggregated approach. Economic Modelling, 52, 400-407.

25. NUBER, C., VELTE, P. & HÖRISCH, J. 2020. The curvilinear and time‐lagging impact of sustainability performance on financial performance: Evidence from Germany. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27, 232-243.

26. QURESHI, M. A., AKBAR, M., AKBAR, A. & POULOVA, P. 2021. Do ESG endeavors assist firms in achieving superior financial performance? A case of 100 best corporate citizens. Sage Open, 11, 21582440211021598.

27. SCATIGNA, M., XIA, D., ZABAI, A. & ZULAICA, O. 2021. Achievements and challenges in ESG markets.

28. SHABBIR, M. S., ASLAM, E., IRSHAD, A., BILAL, K., AZIZ, S., ABBASI, B. A. & ZIA, S. 2020. Nexus between corporate social responsibility and financial and non-financial sectors’ performance: a non-linear and disaggregated approach. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27, 39164-39179.

29. SINGH, A., SINGH, P. & SHOME, S. 2022. ESG–CFP Linkages: A Review of Its Antecedents and Scope for Future Research. Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, 09746862221089062.

30. STEVENS, P. 2019. Your complete guide to investing with a conscience, a $30 trillion market just getting started. CNBC, December, 16, 2019.

31. TRUMPP, C. & GUENTHER, T. 2017. Too little or too much? Exploring U‐shaped relationships between corporate environmental performance and corporate financial performance. Business Strategy and the Environment, 26, 49-68.

32. UN, C. 2019. The decade to deliver a call to business action. The. VELTE, P. 2017. Does ESG performance have an impact on financial performance? Evidence from Germany. Journal of Global Responsibility, 8, 169-178.

33. WANG, Z. & SARKIS, J. 2017. Corporate social responsibility governance, outcomes, and financial performance. Journal of cleaner production, 162, 1607-1616.

34. WONG, W. C., BATTEN, J. A., AHMAD, A. H., MOHAMED-ARSHAD, S. B., NORDIN, S. & ADZIS, A. A. 2021. Does ESG certification add firm value? Finance Research Letters, 39, 101593.

35. XIE, J., NOZAWA, W., YAGI, M., FUJII, H. & MANAGI, S. 2019. Do environmental, social, and governance activities improve corporate financial performance? Business Strategy and the Environment, 28, 286-300.

Downloads

Published

2025-06-09