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Corporate Social Responsibility: the institutionalization of ESG

Anderson, Erika (2023) Corporate Social Responsibility: the institutionalization of ESG. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.


Understanding the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on firm performance as it relates to industries reliant on technological innovation is a complex and perpetually evolving challenge. To thoroughly investigate this topic, this dissertation will adopt an economics-based structure to address three primary hypotheses. This structure allows for each hypothesis to essentially be a standalone empirical paper, unified by an overall analysis of the nature of impact that ESG has on firm performance. The first hypothesis explores the evolution of CSR to the modern quantified iteration of ESG has led to the institutionalization and standardization of the CSR concept. The second hypothesis fills gaps in existing literature testing the relationship between firm performance and ESG by finding that the relationship is significantly positive in long-term, strategic metrics (ROA and ROIC) and that there is no correlation in short-term metrics (ROE and ROS). Finally, the third hypothesis states that if a firm has a long-term strategic ESG plan, as proxied by the publication of CSR reports, then it is more resilience to damage from controversies. This is supported by the finding that pro-ESG firms consistently fared better than their counterparts in both financial and ESG performance, even in the event of a controversy. However, firms with consistent reporting are also held to a higher standard than their nonreporting peers, suggesting a higher risk and higher reward dynamic. These findings support the theory of good management, in that long-term strategic planning is both immediately economically beneficial and serves as a means of risk management and social impact mitigation. Overall, this contributes to the literature by fillings gaps in the nature of impact that ESG has on firm performance, particularly from a management perspective.

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Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
Qualification Level: Doctoral
Subjects: >
Colleges/Schools: > >
Supervisor's Name: Fear, Professor Jeffrey and Koutmeridis, Dr. Theodore
Date of Award: 2023
Depositing User:
Unique ID: glathesis:2023-83538
Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
Date Deposited: 18 Apr 2023 10:28
Last Modified: 18 Apr 2023 12:25
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The University of Glasgow is a registered Scottish charity: Registration Number SC004401

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Empirical Analysis of ESG and Financial Performance

Student thesis : Master thesis

Globally, investors and financial markets are directing increasingly more attention towards responsible investments. The term “responsible investing” is often interpreted as environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns for investment decisions with a long-term perspective. The concept has become increasingly more relevant among consumers, government, investors and stakeholders. The increased focus is not based on empirically superior relationships between risk and return, but rather on a shift in demand for responsible investments with a more long-term perspective. Previous studies focusing on the relationship between ESG and financial performance are split into three distinctions; positive, neutral and a negative relationship. These three counterparts find theoretical arguments and statistical evidence supporting their results, and a clear conclusion regarding the relationship is yet to be made. This thesis examines the relationship that has puzzled the academia, with a thorough and critical review of existing literature on ESG investing. The empirical analysis examines portfolios with varying degrees of ESG performance, where the performance has been identified by the companies’ respective ESG and controversy score. These numbers are provided by Refinitiv, which is the successor of Asset 4, and are collected through Thomson Reuters Datastream. By application of traditional asset pricing models, namely the CAPM, Fama & French three-factor, Carhart four-factor and Fama & French five-factor model, the return on various portfolios has been controlled against known risk factors. Moreover, both ESG and controversy factors have been developed to study the relationships in greater depth. The results find evidence that implies a negative relationship between high ESG scores and excess returns. However, this result is not evident in the robustness tests, where the portfolios are divided into sub-periods and classified into different portfolio sizes. In contrary to previous findings, the analysis finds evidence that the companies with the absolute lowest ESG scores have a negative excess return. Nevertheless, the negative alpha is not substantially different from zero. There is no evidence in the analysis that can provide an answer to the question of whether or not controversies have any effect on the excess return. The results are more supportive of the literature that implies a negative correlation between increased ESG initiatives and financial performance measured by excess returns. However, the question of whether ESG is priced in by the financial market remains open for further investigation.

EducationsMSc in Finance and Strategic Management, (Graduate Programme) Final Thesis
LanguageEnglish
Publication date2020
Number of pages126

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Sustainable Finance: ESG performance and disclosure in the capital market context

Research output : Thesis › Doctoral Thesis › Internal

Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
Supervisors/Advisors , Supervisor , Supervisor , Supervisor, External person , Co-Supervisor
Award date12 Oct 2017
Place of PublicationMaastricht
Publisher
Print ISBNs978 94 6159 755 7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017
  • capital market
  • sustainability

Access to Document

  • 10.26481/dis.20171012ch
  • Full text Final published version, 2.06 MB
  • Cover Final published version, 452 KB
  • Propositions Final published version, 25.5 KB
  • Valorisation Final published version, 106 KB

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  • Market Context Keyphrases 100%
  • ESG Disclosure Keyphrases 100%
  • Sustainable Finance Keyphrases 100%
  • ESG Performance Keyphrases 100%
  • Capital Markets Keyphrases 100%
  • performance INIS 100%
  • market INIS 100%
  • capital INIS 100%

T1 - Sustainable Finance

T2 - ESG performance and disclosure in the capital market context

AU - Hauptmann, Clarissa V.

N2 - This dissertation examines the dynamics between corporate sustainability and capital market outcomes. It uncovers the role and impact of financial institutions on fostering sustainability, addresses the value-relevance of sustainability disclosures, and examines the effects of leadership diversity on capital market outcomes.The research shows that weak corporate sustainability performance results in higher bank loan costs when the lending bank has strong performance. It was also shown that companies run by female top executives have better access to bank loan capital, but that this advantage is conditional on the cultural environment. Furthermore, she shows that sustainability disclosure reduces stock price co-movements with the industry and market, reflecting valuable firm-specific information.

AB - This dissertation examines the dynamics between corporate sustainability and capital market outcomes. It uncovers the role and impact of financial institutions on fostering sustainability, addresses the value-relevance of sustainability disclosures, and examines the effects of leadership diversity on capital market outcomes.The research shows that weak corporate sustainability performance results in higher bank loan costs when the lending bank has strong performance. It was also shown that companies run by female top executives have better access to bank loan capital, but that this advantage is conditional on the cultural environment. Furthermore, she shows that sustainability disclosure reduces stock price co-movements with the industry and market, reflecting valuable firm-specific information.

KW - capital market

KW - sustainability

U2 - 10.26481/dis.20171012ch

DO - 10.26481/dis.20171012ch

M3 - Doctoral Thesis

SN - 978 94 6159 755 7

PB - Datawyse / Universitaire Pers Maastricht

CY - Maastricht

  • Oxford Thesis Collection
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Responsible investment and ESG: an economic geography

There is a growing awareness of, and commitment to, Responsible Investment (RI) in the institutional investment markets internationally. RI is defined as the consideration of environmental, social and/or governance (ESG) issues in long-term oriented investment decision-making. As the role of ESG in determining investment risk and opportunity becomes more evident, and as ESG data becomes more available, RI is increasingly seen as an area of potential investment innovation. This thesis appli...

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Mapping ESG Content and the SDGs to PhD Programs

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  • National and international sustainability targets, such as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, provide benchmarks to help us achieve community transformation.
  • Embedding environmental, social, and governance concerns and SDG content in educational programs remains an ongoing challenge for universities, given the need to address discipline-specific perspectives.
  • By providing appropriate case studies that align with the SDGs, we can help our graduate students build their problem-solving capability.

Among the many challenges facing business schools today is how to appropriately embed environmental, social, and governance (ESG) content in their undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Achieving this goal is a critical component of helping communities and nations meet broader social and environmental goals, such as the Sustainable Development Goals proposed by the United Nations.

In fact, in its 2022 report on the SDGs, the U.N. highlights the “need (for) urgent action in order to rescue the SDGs and deliver meaningful progress for people and the planet by 2030.” As educators, we must do more than simply inform our communities. We also must help them build their problem-solving capacity and direct this capacity toward identifying and solving the problems the world now faces.

How can universities best accomplish this goal from a teaching perspective? What processes can we follow to facilitate ESG adoption and provide our communities with the skills necessary to meet the SDGs? One answer is relatively straightforward: We must reference ESG content and provide relevant examples in our courses. By providing unbiased information in these subject areas, we can inspire meaningful changes in human behavior .

But what more can we accomplish through research-based graduate education, where there is typically a significant theoretical and empirical component?

Here, the answer is more complicated and might require universities to reform the traditional discipline-based graduate programs they offer. For example, in the doctoral program at the College of Business and Law (CBL) at Australia’s Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT University), we take a three-step approach.

First, we align doctoral program content with relevant ESG and SDG criteria. Second, we carefully map ESG content to relevant SDGs and courses. Finally, we align specific ESG course content with discipline-specific interpretations.

Through this comprehensive approach, our objective is to educate students and scholars who will keep ESG and the SDGs in mind in their research and their teaching.

Mapping the SDGs to ESG

The 17 UN SDGs provide appropriate strategic benchmarks that schools can use to achieve social, environmental, and community transformation. As educators embed ESG content in their graduate programs, they can consider each SDG in terms of its underlying ESG components.

For example, for the environmental component, educators can incorporate case studies and other content related to issues such as sustainability in our built environments, access to fresh water and sanitation, creation of the infrastructure necessary to support and sustain communities, management and restoration of our land and water-based ecosystems, and the environmental challenges associated with climate change.

To address social concerns, schools can ensure access to inclusive, equitable, and lifelong education, while integrating content related to issues such as poverty alleviation, diversity, and access to healthcare.

To address social concerns, schools can ensure access to inclusive, equitable, and lifelong education , while integrating content related to issues such as food and energy security, poverty alleviation, diversity and gender equality , and access to education and healthcare. To address governance , faculty can include content related to individual and corporate responsibility, especially in terms of promoting policies and regulations that support sustainable production and resource consumption.

How can schools map these strategic benchmarks to doctoral education in business? We share our approach below.

Mapping ESG and SDGs to Doctoral Courses

In 2022, RMIT University undertook a significant reform of its doctoral programs that provide multidisciplinary training to individuals pursuing careers in business, technology, economics, and law. The program’s coursework translates current academic research at both theoretical and empirical levels in ways that link to ESG and the SDGs.

In the CBL, for example, our doctoral program now has five key courses. Each of these courses, described below, is designed to accommodate content related to ESG and societal impact and position students to produce high-quality research projects that have social and community impact:

  • Research Philosophy and Design provides students with an understanding of ontology and epistemology and requires them to explore how these two areas of study inform discipline-specific intellectual traditions and research design.
  • Research Methods and Impact provides insights into alternative research methodologies and impact frameworks necessary to study issues in business and law.
  • Higher Degree Research Practice enables students to develop high-quality research project proposals, as well as to translate their work for, and engage with, multiple audiences as part of their research design.
  • Applied Research Analytics helps students learn qualitative and quantitative data analytic techniques to effectively analyze, present, and interpret research data, while adhering to underlying assumptions and principles of ethics and integrity.
  • Advanced Seminars in Global Business and Law Research (ASGBLR) provides an understanding of how business and law theories have solved global problems and realized benefits for society. This course helps students build SDG problem-solving capability, identify appropriate research problems, and establish a foundation for contributing knowledge at the doctoral level.

Let’s look at the design of ASGBLR, as just one example. The course comprises six seminars, each two weeks long, on the following topics:

  • International capital flows.
  • Insider trading and market manipulation in financial markets.
  • The measurement of ESG criteria.
  • The role of socially responsible investment.
  • The relevance of portfolio diversification.
  • The response of organizations and governments to climate change.

In the first week of each seminar, students complete reading assignments and analyze economic data linked to relevant international and domestic ESG content. This phase of the seminar is designed to help them understand theory, identify empirical context, and use relevant data. In the second week of each seminar, students apply that data to solving a unique research problem that is linked to key ESG criteria and relevant to their disciplinary perspectives.

All content and case studies for these topics address specific ESG criteria, while allowing for individual discipline interpretation. For example, in our seminar on international capital flows, we look at the impact of war on communities, including its effect on economic growth more broadly ( SDG 8 ) and poverty in particular ( SDG 1 ). For insider trading, we discuss the role of whistleblowers in over-the-counter markets , where securities laws often ignore whistleblower protections ( SDG 16 ).

We look at the measurement of ESG criteria in the context of using smart technology and blockchain to determine the “greenness” of international bond or security issues that help finance infrastructure ( SDG 9 ) and build sustainable cities and communities ( SDG 11 ). As we explore the role of socially responsible investment, we also look at the legal and human rights implications of the trade of blood (or conflict) diamonds and the procurement of precious metals and stones ( SDG 12 ).

The seminar on portfolio diversification presents issues related to the role of ESG stocks and cryptocurrencies in investment portfolios. Students examine how investments in both areas may facilitate the development of better energy ( SDG 7 ) and other public infrastructure ( SDG 6 ).

Finally, the seminar on climate change ( SDG 13 ) looks at tourism’s wider impacts in the South Pacific. Case studies focus on programs that support agricultural and aquacultural development ( SDG 2 ) while minimizing tourism’s impact on water ( SDG 14 ) and land-based ecosystems ( SDG 15 ). This seminar also addresses SDG 1 by exploring ways that tourism can alleviate poverty and hunger, support health and well-being, and promote economic growth in indigenous communities.

At every stage, we recognize that each student’s problem-solving perspective depends on a specific disciplinary focus, whether it’s finance, law, marketing, or another area. We expose students to perspectives from other disciplines through team-building exercises that are designed also to improve their communication, trust-building, and decision-making skills. For example, student teams might compete to build the best-performing asset portfolios comprising “sin” stocks versus “SDG” stocks, or they might work to find tourism destinations that best comply with SDG criteria.

Throughout these seminars, we facilitate discussions of critical developments in ESG at a national and international level. In these ways, we work to promote a holistic approach to learning.

Mapping ESG Criteria to Seminar Outcomes

Let’s now look at how we map ESG criteria to the topic of our first seminar, which investigates the impact of economic, financial, and political crisis on international capital flows.

In the first week, students discuss how capital flows are measured, what data is available, and what empirical and theoretical methods are used in existing studies. In the second week, students investigate the impact Russia’s war in the Ukraine is having on the global flow of capital.

Throughout the seminar, students are invited to map the war’s impact on ESG issues in a range of disciplines—including international law, international business, marketing, economics, and finance.

We want to raise students’ awareness of how issues negatively affect environments, ecosystems, individuals, communities, and societies, so they can work to devise solutions.

For instance, they might discuss how sanctions on capital movements affect the building of necessary infrastructure in remote and regional communities, or how the exit from Russian markets of multinational firms committed to diversity and equality might affect social progress in destination countries. Or, they might look at how the war has increased the cost of food and energy, which likely will increase global poverty and inequity.

By taking this systematic approach in our seminars, we hope to achieve several outcomes. First, doctoral students should learn to map and identify the link between observed facts (such as changes in international capital flow) and specific issues or problems (such as how to finance infrastructure development when foreign capital inflow decreases). They should learn methods to solve problems (such as statistical analysis or models) and arrive at specific solutions (such as channeling domestic savings, approaching the World Bank for financial support, or calling on governments to provide financial assistance to households).

What is most important is that students view every issue not only from economic, financial, management, or legal perspectives, but also in very real-world terms. We want to raise their awareness of how environments, ecosystems, individuals, communities, and societies are negatively affected, so they can work to devise solutions.

Embracing Program Reform

Those of us who teach at universities have a responsibility to improve the human condition through what we learn, what we teach, and how we build a base of knowledge. We are in positions to prepare individuals and organizations to solve problems identified by the SDGs.

To accomplish these goals, we might need to reform the coursework in our graduate programs. To truly develop students’ problem-solving capabilities in ways that address large global challenges, we must systematically map our course content to ESG and SDG criteria.

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The ten most downloaded academic ESG papers of all time

phd thesis on esg

#1 The Consequences of Mandatory Corporate Sustainability Reporting

Authors : Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim

Year Published: 2017

Journal: Harvard Business School Research Working Paper No. 11-100

Number of Downloads (as of October 2020): 15,113

Summary: More and more governments are making corporate sustainability reporting mandatory. This paper looks at the effect of sustainability disclosure regulations on firm valuation and disclosure practices. The paper explores ESG reporting mandates in China, Denmark, Malaysia and South Africa. The authors compare data from periods prior to the mandated regulation to the period after the enforcement.

The authors find that following the regulations, the treated firms significantly increased their sustainability disclosure. They also find that treated firms are more likely to volunteer to receive assurance in order to enhance the credibility of their disclosure, even if assurance is not mandatory. The increased sustainability disclosures also seem to be linked to an increase in the firm’s valuations. All in all, this paper points towards the effectiveness of ESG disclosure mandates in increasing the quality and quantity of reporting as well as creating value for participating firms.

Link to paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1799589  

#2 Aggregate Confusion: The Divergence of ESG Ratings

Authors : Florian Berg, Julian F Kölbel and Roberto Rigobon

Year Published: 2019

Journal: MIT Sustainable Initiative

Number of Downloads (as of October 2020): 8,547

Summary: As investors commit to integrating ESG information into their investment decisions, ESG rating agencies are emerging as prominent institutions. Such third-party assessments are becoming key financial determinants, however, there is a strong disagreement between the ratings provided by the different agencies. The divergence of ESG ratings has major consequences such as diluting the impact of ESG ratings, hampering an organisation’s motivation to improve their ratings, and leading to a lack of clear data for empirical research purposes. 

This paper aims to investigate the divergence in ESG ratings. It compared data from six prominent rating agencies. The authors find that measurement divergence, i.e. which indicators are used to measure the same attributes, is the key driver of the rating divergence. For example, some agencies measure the attribute of gender equality by % of women on the board, while others measure it by the gender pay gap. Unfortunately, weights divergence plays only a minor role. This refers to how much weighting the raters assign to each attribute. Hence, investors cannot consolidate the disagreement between the ratings by readjusting the weightages.

Link to paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3438533  

#3 Corporate Social Responsibility and Access to Finance

Authors : Beiting Cheng, Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim

Year Published: 2011  

Journal: Strategic Management Journal

Number of Downloads (as of October 2020): 6,477

Summary: According to UNGC, a large share of companies have declared CSR to be an important factor for their organisation. However, it is unclear whether CSR leads to value creation. This paper investigates whether a better performance on corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies leads to better access to finance for companies. The authors evaluate 7 years of data for nearly 2500 publicly listed companies.

The findings suggest that firms who have a better CSR performance face significantly lower capital constraints. Capital constraints refer to the restrictions on the amount of investments that a firm may be able to obtain. The authors hypothesize and provide evidence for two mechanisms that may be at play in driving this correlation - 1. Reduced agency costs due to better stakeholder engagement and 2. Increased transparency, which leads to lower information asymmetry between the firm and investors. 

Link to paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1847085  

#4 Active Ownership

Authors : Elroy Dimson, Oğuzhan Karakaş and Xi Li

Year Published: 2015

Journal: Review of Financial Studies

Number of Downloads (as of October 2020): 5,516

Summary: Investors and other shareholders are increasing their engagement with business on ESG issues. This paper refers to the engagement for ESG-related issues between shareholders and business as ‘Active ownership’ or ‘ESG activism’, and explores how active ownership impacts the firm. The authors analyse corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagements in American public companies from 1999 to 2009, and suggest that successful engagements are followed by positive returns to the company. 

The authors find that successful engagements are more likely when the firms are large, mature and have reputational concerns. This trend is specifically relevant in consumer-facing industries. Overall, the paper highlights the key influence of reputational threats, emphasizing the importance of stakeholders, customer opinion and loyalty.

Link to paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2154724  

#5 From the Stockholder to the Stakeholder: How Sustainability Can Drive Financial Outperformance

Authors : Gordon L. Clark, Andreas Feiner and Michael Viehs

Journal: A report by University of Oxford and Arabesque Asset Management

Number of Downloads (as of October 2020): 4,824

Summary: This report aims to settle the debate whether responsibility and profitability can go hand-in-hand. The findings create a business case for corporate sustainability. The authors claim that contrary to what many believe, responsibility and profitability are complementary to one another. By conducting a meta-study of over 200 sources, the report finds that 88% of sources suggest that companies with better sustainability practices also have better operational performance and lower risk. Ultimately translating to higher cash flows. 

Furthermore, better sustainability practices also translate into positive outcomes for investors. The results suggest that investment strategies that incorporate ESG issues outperform comparable non-ESG strategies. This report encourages companies to adopt sustainability practices and pushes investors to integrate ESG strategies into their investment decisions.

Link to paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2508281  

#6 Why and How Investors Use ESG Information: Evidence from a Global Survey

Authors : Amir Amel-Zadeh and George Serafeim

Journal: Financial Analysts Journal

Number of Downloads (as of October 2020): 4,800

Summary: With a sharp rise in companies adopting better governance practices and sustainability trends, investors are presented with an influx of ESG information. This paper surveys senior investment professions at mainstream investment organisations to explore why and how investors use ESG information. The authors evaluate survey responses from over 400 investors.

The results show that the ESG data’s ‘relevance to investments performance’ is the most cited motivation (82%) for the use of ESG information. This highlights the importance of financial materiality. This is followed by a motivation based on client-demand. At the same time, a significant share of respondents also believe in ‘active ownership’ - the use of ESG information to address climate and social issues. However, these trends are more prominent in the US than in Europe. In terms of how the ESG data is used, strategies of negative screening, investor engagement and ESG integration are all equally used. However, the lack of reporting standards and the divergence amongst ESG ratings are reported as major hindrances for investors.

Link to paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2925310  

#7 ESG and Financial Performance: Aggregated Evidence from More than 2000 Empirical Studies

Authors : Gunnar Friede, Timo Busch and Alexander Bassen

Journal: Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment

Number of Downloads (as of October 2020): 4,512

Summary: To conclude whether there is a relation between ESG and financial performance, this paper conducts an extensive review of over 2000 empirical studies. This correlation has been debated since the 1970’s. This paper claims that around 90% of all the studies find a positive ESG and financial performance relationship. They also find that this relationship appears to be stable over time.

The review explores studies from several different contexts including emerging markets and varying regions around the world. The large-scale nature of this review allows the authors to make generalised statements. The evidence makes a strong case for a positive relation between ESG and financial performance. 

Link to paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2699610  

#8 Environmental, Social and Governance Key Performance Indicators from a Capital Market Perspective

Authors : Alexander Bassen and Ana Maria Masha Kovacs

Year Published: 2008

Journal: Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Unternehmensethik

Number of Downloads (as of October 2020): 4,373

Summary: While ESG reporting is becoming increasingly popular and important for obscuring investments. ESG is non-financial information and hence, the data is largely qualitative in nature, scattered between various reporting styles and difficult to quantify. This poses a problem for investors. They cannot easily judge the relevance of the information, nor use it for comparisons between companies. 

This paper examines an attempt by the German Society of Investment Professionals to create a standardised reporting framework for ESG key performance indicators (KPI). The framework defines 12 general and 18 sector-specific KPIs. The methodology emphasizes on measuring and reporting key ESG indicators such as energy efficiency, Carbon emissions and diversity metrics.

Link to paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1307091  

#9 Responsible Investing: The ESG-Efficient Frontier

Authors : Lasse Heje Pedersen, Shaun Fitzgibbons and Lukasz Pomorski

Year Published: 2019  

Journal: NYU Stern School of Business

Number of Downloads (as of October 2020): 4,351

Summary: Investors have little guidance on how to meaningfully integrate ESG ratings into their investment decisions. Moreover, the opinions on whether ESG integration will reap financial benefits vary dramatically amongst academics and ESG professionals. To address this debate, the authors develop a theory that shows both - the potential costs as well as benefits of ESG integrated investing. 

The results are extremely interesting. In their model, the measure of governance - the ‘G’ of ESG -  predicts positive returns for investors. Better governance is linked to profitability. In contrast, the social or ‘S’ measure predicts negative returns. The ‘S’ measure includes “sin-stocks” such as alcohol and tobacco, which while harmful for the people and the planet, lead to positive returns. The evidence on ‘E’ and overall ‘ESG’ measures is mixed and insignificant. 

Link to paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3466417  

#10 Sustainable Investing: Establishing Long-Term Value and Performance

Authors : Mark Fulton, Bruce Kahn and Camilla Sharples

Year Published: 2012

Journal: A report by Deutsche Bank Group

Number of Downloads (as of October 2020): 3,813

Summary: While there is evidence that shows that sustainable investing can be financially beneficial to investors and companies, many SRI fund managers have not managed to capture these returns. Hence, sustainable investing is often believed to yield “mixed-results” by many. This report challenges this. 

The report reviews over 100 academic studies on sustainable investing from around the world. It breaks down the analysis into three different categories - SRI, CSR and ESG. The findings show that SRI tends to rely heavily on negative screening which adds little value to the investors. On the contrary, CSR and ESG factors are highly correlated to lower cost of capital and hence, greater financial returns. Companies with CSR or ESG integration are lower risk and hence outperform the market. 

Link to paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2222740

Julianne Flesher

We dug into the 10 most downloaded ESG academic papers of all time.

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  1. PDF Anderson, Erika (2023) Corporate Social Responsibility: the

    institutionalization of ESG. PhD thesis. https://theses.gla.ac.uk/83538/ ... dissertation will adopt an economics-based structure to address three primary hypotheses. This structure allows for each hypothesis to essentially be a standalone empirical paper, unified by an overall analysis of the nature of impact that ESG has on ...

  2. PDF The Relationship Between Corporate Environmental, Social, and

    leaders. In addition, ESG leaders are more likely to have lower Tobin's Q, whereas the decrease in Tobin's Q associated with financial crisis is lower for ESG leaders than ESG laggers. This thesis does not find a significant relationship between ESG performance and net margin before or after the financial crisis.

  3. PDF ESG and Financial Performance of Firms

    The purpose of this doctoral dissertation is to examine the relationship between ESG and firm financial performance as well as the role of investors in it. The inte-gration of ESG criteria into corporate practices serves as a scope for aligning invest-ment decisions with sustainable goals and mitigating potential environmental and social risks.

  4. PDF An investigation of the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility: a

    A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the University's ... and its ESG (Economic, Social and Governance) rating for CSR conformity. 5 ... me throughout the PhD process. I sincerely appreciate his patience, fatherly inspiration and his extensive mentorship, which help me to brush up my research skills and without ...

  5. PDF The relationship between the ESG criteria and the financial performance

    The purpose of this dissertation is to identify if there is a positive, negative, or no relationship between the ESG criteria and the financial performance of the large-capitalization companies which operate in the S&P500. 1.4 Structure of the thesis The part of the theoretical framework provides the reader with significant information for the

  6. Corporate Social Responsibility: the institutionalization of ESG

    Understanding the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on firm performance as it relates to industries reliant on technological innovation is a complex and perpetually evolving challenge. To thoroughly investigate this topic, this dissertation will adopt an economics-based structure to address three primary hypotheses. This structure allows for each hypothesis to essentially be a ...

  7. Empirical Analysis of ESG and Financial Performance

    This thesis examines the relationship that has puzzled the academia, with a thorough and critical review of existing literature on ESG investing. The empirical analysis examines portfolios with varying degrees of ESG performance, where the performance has been identified by the companies' respective ESG and controversy score.

  8. ESG Investing: From Fad to Force

    ESG Investing is the application of environmental, social, and governance factors to identify. material investment risks and growth opportunities. Though traditionally viewed as non-financial. factors, this paper asserts that ESG factors are indeed financially material. This work first.

  9. PDF Amina Mohamed Buallay

    A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of ... negative a firm's operational performance (ROA). However, when the components of ESG are considered separately it has a positive effect on a firms operational performance (ROA). ... Other Publications during the PhD Journey • Buallay, A., Cummings, R., & Hamdan, A ...

  10. Sustainable Finance: ESG performance and disclosure in the capital

    abstract = "This dissertation examines the dynamics between corporate sustainability and capital market outcomes. It uncovers the role and impact of financial institutions on fostering sustainability, addresses the value-relevance of sustainability disclosures, and examines the effects of leadership diversity on capital market outcomes.The research shows that weak corporate sustainability ...

  11. PDF ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) performance and its impact

    influence credit risk, and how ESG factors can be integrated. In the penultimate content chapter, the results are explained and analysed in the Findings & discussions section. The chapter will cover the impact of ESG on lending, partly on the capital market, and will also address rating. In the last part, this thesis finishes with a conclusion.

  12. The development of research on environmental, social, and governance

    ESG is a new concept that has evolved in the twenty-first century. It deals with the three pillars of environmental, social, and governance ... Ms. Sachini Supunsala Senadheera is a PhD scholar at the department of Environmental and Ecological Engineering at Korea University. She received her bachelor's degree in chemical and Process ...

  13. PDF M.Sc. Thesis Title: The impact of ESG sustainability scores on the

    amount lent to the company increases by 4.25% as the Environmental Score increases by 1 unit. This finding confirms the initial hypothesis of this paper, an. hus illustrates that the higher Environmental score affects the bank's lending decisions. The 3rd and 4th models as shown in Table.

  14. The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Ratings Industry

    The lack of standardization raises questions about the validity of rating agencies and what. information ESG scores signal to consumers. This research represents one of the first empirical studies utilizing a comprehensive. database to investigate the effects of disclosure scores on overall ESG scores.

  15. Responsible investment and ESG: an economic geography

    Responsible investment and ESG: an economic geography. There is a growing awareness of, and commitment to, Responsible Investment (RI) in the institutional investment markets internationally. RI is defined as the consideration of environmental, social and/or governance (ESG) issues in long-term oriented investment decision-making.

  16. Research Topics for Environment Sustainability and Governance (ESG

    The objective of this note is to help PhD students, master's students, undergraduate students in ESG to get some ideas for their research topics. GUIDELINES TO USE THIS BOOK

  17. PDF A study of ESG's contribution to firm performance

    any of the ESG-rating, indicates an often-negative relationship between ESG and financial performance. Conclusion This thesis contributes as an ongoing analysis in the field of ESG and financial performance. The understanding from this and future studies assist customers, investors and corporate leaders when

  18. esg PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

    Kingston University Faculty of Business and Social Sciences. This PhD project aims to explore the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in reshaping financial decision-making, processes, and services. Read more. Supervisors: Dr E Fitkov-Norris, Dr M Nurullah, Ms N Kocheva. Year round applications PhD Research Project Self ...

  19. Mapping ESG Content and the SDGs to PhD Programs

    For example, in the doctoral program at the College of Business and Law (CBL) at Australia's Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT University), we take a three-step approach. First, we align doctoral program content with relevant ESG and SDG criteria. Second, we carefully map ESG content to relevant SDGs and courses.

  20. PDF The relationship between ESG-factors and the corporate financial

    it is important to determine if ESG and which specific drivers have both a positive impact on the financial results and contribute to a better society. Since the positive impact of ESG on society is a point without discussing this study focusses on the effect of an increase in ESG performance on the corporate financial performance of a firm.

  21. ESG impact on firm profitability, valuation and cost of debt

    The aim of this thesis is to examine this uncertainty. More explicitly, the research focuses on how corporate responsibility influence firm's profitability, valuation and cost of debt. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings have become typical indication of firm's non-financial health and is utilized among professional investors.

  22. The ten most downloaded academic ESG papers of all time

    Harvard Business School Research Working Paper No. 11-100. More and more governments are making corporate sustainability reporting mandatory. This paper looks at the effect of sustainability disclosure regulations on firm valuation and disclosure practices. The paper explores ESG reporting mandates in China, Denmark, Malaysia and South Africa.

  23. Alternative approaches in ESG investing : four essays on investment

    Abstract. ESG (Environmental, social, and governance) investing is an investment philosophy to inform holistic and sound decision-making of investors for the purposes of both, nourishing a stable economy with acceptable rates of return while at the same time addressing stakeholders' non-financial concerns to preserve an inhabitable planet.