The Impact of ESG Practices on the Financial Performance of Publicly Listed Companies in the Philippines
Kyla Henrietta Guillermo
Discipline: Finance
Abstract:
In more established economies, the integration of Environmental,
Social, and Governance (ESG) practices into corporate strategies
has proven beneficial for long-term financial growth and overall
corporate development. However, in developing countries like the
Philippines, the relationship between these ESG practices and financial
performance remains vague. This study examines whether companies in
the Philippines prioritize investing in ESG practices, given the evolving
economic landscape. This study employs panel regression analysis, using
fixed effect models and includes interaction terms to test moderating
variables, and supplemented by descriptive statistics on 200 company-year
observations of publicly listed companies from 2013 to 2022, sourced
from the Philippine Stock Exchange website and the Thomson Reuters
database. The study finds that ESG practices have a positive impact on
financial performance. This relationship is positively influenced by a
company’s visibility and negatively moderated by its organizational
profile. These findings suggest that integrating ESG practices can offer
long-term financial benefits, particularly when supported by strong
visibility strategies and an understanding of organizational profile.
References:
- Achour, Z., & Boukattaya, S. (2021). The Moderating Effect of Firm Visibility on the Corporate Social Responsibility-Firm Financial Performance Relationship: Evidence from France. Corporate Social Responsibility. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95861
- Ali, A., Alim, W., Ahmed, J., & Nisar, S. (2021). Impact of Corporate Governance on Performance: A Study of Listed Firms in Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 12(2), 649-670. Retrieved from https://ssrn.com/abstract=3231703
- Alshehhi, A. et al., (2018). The Impact of Sustainability Practices on Corporate Financial Performance: Literature Trends and Future Research Potential. Sustainability, 10(2), 494. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10020494
- Atan, R., Alam, Md. M., Said, J., & Zamri, M. (2019). The impacts of environmental, social, and governance factors on firm performance: panel study of Malaysian companies. SocArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/ntz52\
- Barnett M. L., & Salomon, R. M. (2012). Does it pay to be really good? Addressing the shape of the relationship between social and financial performance. Strategic Management Journal, vol. 33, no. 11, pp.1304–1320
- Brown, J. A., Spicer, A., Rehbein, K., Higgins, C., de Bakker, F. G. A., & Bapuji, H. (2022). More Than an Umbrella Construct: We Can (and Should) Do Better With CSR by Theorizing Through Context. Business & Society, 61(8), 1965–1976. https://doi.org/10.1177/00076503221126642
- Chen, M.(2022). What Corporate Governance Means for the Bottom Line. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/corporategovernance.asp
- Cherkasova, V., & Nenuzhenko, I. (2022). Investment in ESG Projects and Corporate Performance of Multinational Companies. Journal of Economic Integration, 37(1), 54–92. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27107054
- Code of Corporate Governance for Publicly Listed Companies the Board’s Governance Responsibilities. (2016). https://www.sec.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/2016memo_circular_no.19.pdf
- ECCI. (2022). Sustainability Reporting in PH - Progress Since the SEC Guidelines. ECC International. https://www.eccinternational.com/sustainability-reporting-in-the-philippines-progress-since-the-sec-guidelines/
- Feng, T., & Wang, D. (2016). The Influence of Environmental Management Systems on Financial Performance: A Moderated-Mediation Analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 135(2), 265–278. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24736081
- Galbreath, J. (2013). ESG in focus: 'The Australian evidence'. Journal of Business Ethics,118(3), 529-541. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1595-5
- Goel, P. (2018). Implications of corporate governance on financial performance: an analytical review of governance and social reporting reforms in India. Asian Journal of Sustainability and Social Responsibility, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41180- 018-0020-4
- Grewatsch, S. & Kleindienst, I. (2017) When Does It Pay to be Good? Moderators and Mediators in the Corporate Sustainability–Corporate Financial Performance Relationship: A Critical Review. Journal of Business Ethics, 145, 383–416.
- Guluma, T. F. (2021). The impact of corporate governance measures on firm performance: the influences of managerial overconfidence. International Journal of Managerial Finance, 17(1), 126-141. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMF-01-2020-0001
- Halili, A. (2023). SEC’s ESG policies seen to face challenges as firms limit reports - BusinessWorld Online. BusinessWorld Online. https://www.bworldonline.com/corporate/2023/03/15/510635/secs-esg-policies-seen-to-face-challenges-as-firms-limit-reports/
- Hoepner, A., Majoch, A., & Schroder, P. (2020). ESG and financial performance: Aggregated evidence from more than 2,000 empirical studies. Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 10(4), 295-322. doi:10.1080/20430795.2020.1713269
- Jiang, H., Lu, D., & Zhang, W. (2020). ESG Performance and Firm Failure Risk: Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms. Sustainability, 12(15), 6064. doi:10.3390/su12156064
- Kim, E., & Yi, H. (2018). The effect of firm visibility on information asymmetry: Evidence from analysts' forecast revisions. Journal of Business Research, 92, 424-434. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.06.014
- Koerniadi, M., & Krishnan, W. (2014). Subjective and objective measures of financial performance: An empirical investigation. Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 41(9-10), 1261-1297. doi: 10.1111/jbfa.12108
- Larcker, D. F., Tayan, B., Trivedi, V., & Wurzbacher, O. (2019). Stakeholders and Shareholders: Are Executives Really' Penny Wise and Pound Foolish' About ESG?. Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University Closer Look Series: Topics, Issues and Controversies in Corporate Governance No. CGRP-78.
- Laskar, N. (2018). Impact of corporate sustainability reporting on firm performance: an empirical examination in Asia. Journal of Asia Business Studies.12(3), 1-14.
- Latridis, G. (2013). Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance: An Empirical Analysis on Greek Companies. The Journal of Business Ethics. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-012-1372-6
- Lee, K. et al. (2021). The impact of environmental, social, and governance practices on firm performance: The role of visibility. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 28(1), 26-38.
- Lee, M. T., & Suh, I. (2022). Understanding the effects of Environment, Social, and Governance conduct on financial performance: Arguments for a process and integrated modeling approach. Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship, 1, 100004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stae.2022.100004
- Minutolo, M. C., Kristjanpoller, W. D., & Stakeley, J. (2019). Exploring environmental, social, and governance disclosure effects on the S&P 500 financial performance. Business Strategy and the Environment. doi:10.1002/bse.2303
- Naeem, N., Cankaya, S., (2021). Does ESG performance affect the financial performance of environmentally sensitive industries? A comparison between emerging and developed markets. PressAcademia Procedia, 14, 135-136.
- Ong, T.S., The, B.S., and Ang, Y. (2014). The Impact of environmental improvements on the financial performance of leading companies listed in Bursa Malaysia. International Journal of Trade.
- Peterdy, K. (2022). ESG Integration and Financial Analysis. https://allcoursess.com/product/esg-for-commercial-lenders-by-kyle-peterdy-cfi-education/
- Porter Novelli. (2020). Employee Perspectives on Responsible Leadership During Crisis https://www.porternovelli.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/02_Porter-Novelli-Tracker-Wave-X-Employee-Perspectives-on-Responsible-Leadership-During-Crisis.pdf.
- Raneses, A. (2020). Beyond Firms Doing Good: The Impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors (ESG) on the Financial Performance of Philippine Companies.ALM Sustainability, 2020, Harvard Kennedy School Public Leadership Credential Candidate.
- San Juan-Nable, L. K. & Nogin, B. (2022). The Effect of Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) Ratings on Financial Performance during Voluntary and Compliance Reporting Periods: The Philippine Experience. SMN Digest April 2022, 8(1), 20-33. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dwl94SHe20-yDzWulEMl4WLnuLhTs12k/view
- The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. — PSE. (2021). The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc.— PSE. https://www.pse.com.ph/
- Wang, Z., & Sarkis, J. (2017). Corporate social responsibility governance, outcomes, and financial performance. Journal of Cleaner Production, 162, 1607-1616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.142
- Wu, W., Liang, Z., & Zhang, Q. (2020). Effects of corporate environmental responsibility strength and concern on innovation performance: The moderating role of firm visibility. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, (3), 1487-1497. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1902
- Zhang, B. & Wang, X. (2018). Corporate profitability, state ownership, and employee welfare: Evidence from China. Journal of Business Research, 92, 196-20. https://doi/10.1007/s10551-010-0488-z