Corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance Disclosure and Performance Dynamics : An Empirical Analysis of BRICS Nations

Authors

  •   Pruthiranjan Dwibedi Assistant Professor (Corresponding Author), Biju Patnaik Institute of Information Technology & Management Studies, Bhubaneswar - 751 024, Odisha
  •   Debasis Pahi Assistant Professor, Govt. Model Degree College, Malkangiri - 764 045, Odisha
  •   Anjali Prava Mishra Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce, School of Economics & Commerce, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar - 751 024, Odisha

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17010/ijf/2025/v19i2/174769

Keywords:

environmental

, social, and governance (ESG), financial performance, market performance, BRICS.

JEL Classification Codes

, M41, Q51, Q56

Paper Submission Date

, July 5, 2024, Paper sent back for Revision, January 22, 2025, Paper Acceptance Date, January 30, Paper Published Online, February 15, 2025

Abstract

Purpose : In this rapidly changing business scenario, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors are rapidly used by different stakeholders for decision-making. Investors are attracted to sustainable investing because of the growing adoption of ESG factors in investment decision-making. By elucidating the relationship between ESG disclosure score and firm profitability, this study tried to provide useful insights for investors, policymakers, and corporate barons seeking to enhance long-term financial resilience and societal impact through responsible business practices.

Design/Methodology/Approach : This study consisted of 254 non-financial listed companies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) nations over the period from 2011 to 2023. Data were collected from Thomson Reuters’ Refinitiv Eikon database to analyze the impact of ESG disclosure scores on financial performance and market performance of firms. This was analyzed by applying different GMM methods.

Findings : The research revealed a positively significant impact of ESG disclosure score on financial performance (measured by return on assets and return on equity), whereas there was a negatively significant impact on market performance (measured by closing price and Tobin’s Q).

Originality/Value : Empirical evidence on the nexus between ESG disclosure score and firm performance from an emerging nation context was limited. This research provided firsthand evidence in the area of sustainability performance from BRICS nations, as these five economies represented over 41% of the world’s population, 24% of global gross domestic product (GDP), and 16% of world trade and exhibited impressive economic growth potential.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Published

2025-02-15

How to Cite

Dwibedi, P., Pahi, D., & Mishra, A. P. (2025). Corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance Disclosure and Performance Dynamics : An Empirical Analysis of BRICS Nations. Indian Journal of Finance, 19(2), 27–44. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijf/2025/v19i2/174769

References

Abdallah, W., Goergen, M., & O'Sullivan, N. (2015). Endogeneity: How failure to correct for it can cause wrong inferences and some remedies. British Journal of Management, 26(4), 791–804. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12113

Aboud, A., & Diab, A. (2019). The financial and market consequences of environmental, social and governance ratings: The implications of recent political volatility in Egypt. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 10(3), 498–520. https://doi.org/10.1108/SAMPJ-06-2018-0167

Adeneye, Y. B., Kammoun, I., & Ab Wahab, S. N. (2023). Capital structure and speed of adjustment: The impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 14(5), 945–977. https://doi.org/10.1108/SAMPJ-01-2022-0060

Akhter, W., & Hassan, A. (2024). Does corporate social responsibility mediate the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance? Empirical evidence from BRICS countries. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 31(1), 566–578. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2586

Alarussi, A. S., & Gao, X. (2023). Determinants of profitability in Chinese companies. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 18(10), 4232–4251. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-04-2021-0539

Alsayegh, M. F., Rahman, R. A., & Homayoun, S. (2020). Corporate economic, environmental, and social sustainability performance transformation through ESG disclosure. Sustainability, 12(9), 3910. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093910

Amel-Zadeh, A., & Serafeim, G. (2018). Why and how investors use ESG information: Evidence from a global survey. Financial Analysts Journal, 74(3), 87–103. https://doi.org/10.2469/faj.v74.n3.2

Aras, G., Aybars, A., & Kutlu, O. (2010). Managing corporate performance: Investigating the relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance in emerging markets. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 59(3), 229–254. https://doi.org/10.1108/17410401011023573

Arayssi, M., Dah, M., & Jizi, M. (2016). Women on boards, sustainability reporting and firm performance. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 7(3), 376–401. https://doi.org/10.1108/SAMPJ-07-2015-0055

Arellano, M., & Bond, S. (1991). Some tests of specification for panel data: Monte Carlo evidence and an application to employment equations. The Review of Economic Studies, 58(2), 277–297. https://doi.org/10.2307/2297968

Atan, R., Alam, M. M., Said, J., & Zamri, M. (2018). The impacts of environmental, social, and governance factors on firm performance: Panel study of Malaysian companies. Management of Environmental Quality, 29(2), 182–194. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-03-2017-0033

Atif, M., & Ali, S. (2021). Environmental, social and governance disclosure and default risk. Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(8), 3937–3959. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2850

Aureli, S., Gigli, S., Medei, R., & Supino, E. (2020). The value relevance of environmental, social, and governance disclosure: Evidence from Dow Jones sustainability world index listed companies. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(1), 43–52. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1772

Azmi, W., Hassan, M. K., Houston, R., & Karim, M. S. (2021). ESG activities and banking performance: International evidence from emerging economies. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, 70, Article ID 101277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intfin.2020.101277

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, 33(11), 1304–1320. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.1980

Bhaskaran, R. K., Ting, I. W., 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(5), 710–729. https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.3131

Bodhanwala, S., & Bodhanwala, R. (2018). Does corporate sustainability impact firm profitability? Evidence from India. Management Decision, 56(8), 1734–1747. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-04-2017-0381

Boulhaga, M., Bouri, A., Elamer, A. A., & Ibrahim, B. A. (2023). Environmental, social and governance ratings and firm performance: The moderating role of internal control quality. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 30(1), 134–145. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2343

Brogi, M., & Lagasio, V. (2019). Environmental, social, and governance and company profitability: Are financial intermediaries different? Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 26(3), 576–587. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1704

Brundtland, G. H. (1987). Our common future—Call for action. Environmental Conservation, 14(4), 291–294. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892900016805

Charumathi, B., & Ramesh, L. (2017). Do social and environmental disclosures increase firm value? Evidence from Indian companies. Indian Journal of Finance, 11(4), 23–38. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijf/2017/v11i4/112628

Chelawat, H., & Trivedi, I. V. (2016). The business value of ESG performance: The Indian context. Asian Journal of Business Ethics, 5(1–2), 195–210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13520-016-0064-4

Cheng, B., Ioannou, I., & Serafeim, G. (2014). Corporate social responsibility and access to finance. Strategic Management Journal, 35(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2131

Chetty, S., Naidoo, R., & Seetharam, Y. (2015). The impact of corporate social responsibility on firms' financial performance in South Africa. Available at SSRN. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2656084

Cupertino, S., Consolandi, C., & Vercelli, A. (2019). Corporate social performance, financialization, and real investment in US manufacturing firms. Sustainability, 11(7), 1836. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11071836

Dalal, K. K., & Thaker, N. (2019). ESG and corporate financial performance: A panel study of Indian companies. IUP Journal of Corporate Governance, 18(1), p. 44.

Dayal, S., Soni, T. K., Aggarwal, R., & Hotwani, R. (2024). Linking ESG disclosure to firm performance and risk: An international perspective. Indian Journal of Finance, 18(11), 36–55. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijf/2024/v18i11/174641

Dobers, P., & Halme, M. (2009). Corporate social responsibility and developing countries. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 16(5), 237–249. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.212

Duque-Grisales, E., & Aguilera-Caracuel, J. (2021). Environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores and financial performance of multilatinas: Moderating effects of geographic international diversification and financial slack. Journal of Business Ethics, 168(2), 315–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04177-w

Ferrero-Ferrero, I., Fernández-Izquierdo, M. Ã., & Muñoz-Torres, M. J. (2016). The effect of environmental, social and governance consistency on economic results. Sustainability, 8(10), 1005. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8101005

Freeman, R. E., Wicks, A. C., & Parmar, B. (2004). Stakeholder theory and “the corporate objective revisited.†Organization Science, 15(3), 364–369. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1040.0066

Gerged, A. M. (2021). Factors affecting corporate environmental disclosure in emerging markets: The role of corporate governance structures. Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(1), 609–629. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2642

Gillan, S. L., Koch, A., & Starks, L. T. (2021). Firms and social responsibility: A review of ESG and CSR research in corporate finance. Journal of Corporate Finance, 66, Article ID 101889. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2021.101889

Gong, G., Xu, S., & Gong, X. (2018). On the value of corporate social responsibility disclosure: An empirical investigation of corporate bond issues in China. Journal of Business Ethics, 150, 227–258. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3193-8

Gracia, O., & Siregar, S. V. (2021). Sustainability practices and the cost of debt: Evidence from ASEAN countries. Journal of Cleaner Production, 300, Article ID 126942. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126942

Gull, A. A., Saeed, A., Suleman, M. T., & Mushtaq, R. (2022). Revisiting the association between environmental performance and financial performance: Does the level of environmental orientation matter? Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 29(5), 1647–1662. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2310

Gupta, K., Raman, T. V., Deol, O. S., & Gupta, K. (2022). Environment, social, and governance performance and firm risk: A study of the Indian consumer goods sector. Indian Journal of Finance, 16(8), 29–45. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijf/2022/v16i8/171373

Ha, H. T., Van, V. T., & Hung, D. N. (2019). Impact of social responsibility information disclosure on the financial performance of enterprises in Vietnam. Indian Journal of Finance, 13(1), 20–36. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijf/2019/v13i1/141017

Jensen, M. C. (2001). Value maximisation, stakeholder theory, and the corporate objective function. European Financial Management, 7(3), 297–317. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-036X.00157

Johnson, R., Erasmus, P. D., & Mans-Kemp, N. (2019). Assessing the business case for environmental, social and corporate governance practices in South Africa. South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 22(1), 1–13. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-1cd64ff749

Joshi, B., & Joshi, H. (2024). Do corporate cash holdings matter for ESG performance? Empirical evidence from India. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 17(10), 8–24. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2024/v17i10/173993

Jung, Y. L., & Yoo, H. S. (2023). Environmental, social, and governance activities and firm performance: Global evidence and the moderating effect of market competition. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 30(6), 2830–2839. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2518

Khan, M., Serafeim, G., & Yoon, A. (2016). Corporate sustainability: First evidence on materiality. The Accounting Review, 91(6), 1697–1724. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-51383

Kim, S., & Li, Z. (2021). Understanding the impact of ESG practices in corporate finance. Sustainability, 13(7), 3746. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073746

Lunawat, A., & Lunawat, D. (2022). Do environmental, social, and governance performance impact firm performance? Evidence from Indian firms. Indonesian Journal of Sustainability Accounting and Management, 6(1), 133–146. https://doi.org/10.28992/ijsam.v6i1.519

Maji, S. G., & Lohia, P. (2023). Environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and firm performance in India. Society and Business Review, 18(1), 175–194. https://doi.org/10.1108/SBR-06-2022-0162

Naseem, T., Shahzad, F., Asim, G. A., Rehman, I. U., & Nawaz, F. (2020). Corporate social responsibility engagement and firm performance in Asia Pacific: The role of enterprise risk management. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(2), 501–513. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1815

NI, X., Yuan, F., & Gao, H. (2024). Research on the impact of environment, social and governance performance on corporate valuation: Evidence from China. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 31(2), 948–961. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2612

Nirino, N., Santoro, G., Miglietta, N., & Quaglia, R. (2021). Corporate controversies and company's financial performance: Exploring the moderating role of ESG practices. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 162, Article ID 120341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120341

O'Neill, J. (2001). Building better global economic BRICs. Goldman Sachs. https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/goldman-sachs-research/building-better

O'Neill, D. W. (2012). Measuring progress in the degrowth transition to a steady state economy. Ecological Economics, 84, 221–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2011.05.020

Orsato, R. J., Garcia, A., Mendes-Da-Silva, W., Simonetti, R., & Monzoni, M. (2015). Sustainability indexes: Why join in? A study of the 'Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE)' in Brazil. Journal of Cleaner Production, 96, 161–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.10.071

Patro, B., & Pattanayak, J. K. (2017). Association of CSR disclosure with accounting conservatism: A study of select Indian mining firms. Indian Journal of Finance, 11(3), 7–25. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijf/2017/v11i3/111646

Ray, R. S., & Goel, S. (2023). Impact of ESG score on financial performance of Indian firms: Static and dynamic panel regression analyses. Applied Economics, 55(15), 1742–1755. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2022.2101611

Ruan, L., & Liu, H. (2021). Environmental, social, governance activities and firm performance: Evidence from China. Sustainability, 13(2), 767. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020767

Samo, A. H., & Murad, H. (2019). Impact of liquidity and financial leverage on firm's profitability – An empirical analysis of the textile industry of Pakistan. Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, 23(4), 291–305. https://doi.org/10.1108/RJTA-09-2018-0055

Santhi, P., Sasirekha, P., & Anija, J. (2024). A causal linkage between corporate sustainability performance and financial performance of select IT & ITeS companies in India. Indian Journal of Finance, 18(2), 43–59. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijf/2024/v18i2/173520

Shahbaz, M., Karaman, A. S., Kilic, M., & Uyar, A. (2020). Board attributes, CSR engagement, and corporate performance: What is the nexus in the energy sector? Energy Policy, 143, Article ID 111582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111582

Singh, R. K., Sharma, M., Kumar, A., & Singh, Y. (2022). Corporate governance mechanism – Financial performance nexus: Empirical evidence from Indian banks. Indian Journal of Finance, 16(7), 23–41. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijf/2022/v16i7/170633

Soni, T. K. (2023). ESG score and mutual fund performance: Empirical evidence from India. Indian Journal of Finance, 17(3), 37–49. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijf/2023/v17i3/172671

Suchman, M. C. (1995). Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 571–610. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1995.9508080331

Ting, I. W., Azizan, N. A., Bhaskaran, R. K., & Sukumaran, S. K. (2020). Corporate social performance and firm performance: Comparative study among developed and emerging market firms. Sustainability, 12(1), 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12010026

Usman, A. B., & Amran, N. (2015). Corporate social responsibility practice and corporate financial performance: Evidence from Nigeria companies. Social Responsibility Journal, 11(4), 749–763. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-04-2014-0050

Uyar, A., Kilic, M., Koseoglu, M. A., Kuzey, C., & Karaman, A. S. (2020). The link among board characteristics, corporate social responsibility performance, and financial performance: Evidence from the hospitality and tourism industry. Tourism Management Perspectives, 35, Article ID 100714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100714

Veeravel, V., Sadharma, E. K., & Kamaiah, B. (2024). Do ESG disclosures lead to superior firm performance? A method of moments panel quantile regression approach. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 31(1), 741–754. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2598

Velte, P. (2017). Does ESG performance have an impact on financial performance? Evidence from Germany. Journal of Global Responsibility, 8(2), 169–178. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGR-11-2016-0029

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, Article ID 101593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2020.101593

Xu, J., Liu, F., & Shang, Y. (2021). R&D investment, ESG performance and green innovation performance: Evidence from China. Kybernetes, 50(3), 737–756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2020.101593

Zhou, G., Liu, L., & Luo, S. (2022). Sustainable development, ESG performance and company market value: Mediating effect of financial performance. Business Strategy and the Environment, 31(7), 3371–3387. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3089