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ESG impact on performance of US S&P 500-listed firms

Article  in  Corporate Governance International Journal of Business in Society · October 2020

DOI: 10.1108/CG-06-2020-0258

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ESG impact on performance of US S&P
500-listed firms
Bahaaeddin Ahmed Alareeni and Allam Hamdan

Abstract Bahaaeddin Ahmed

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate whether there are relationships among corporate disclosure of Alareeni is based at
environmental, social and governance (ESG) and firms’ operational (ROA), financial (ROE) and market Business Administration
performance (Tobin’s Q), and if these relationships are positives or negatives or even neutral. Program, Middle East
Design/methodology/approach – The study sample covers US S&P 500-listed companies during the Technical University,
period 2009 to 2018. Panel regression analysis was used to examine the study hypotheses and achieve Northern Cyprus Campus,
the study aims.
Kalkanli, Mersin, Turkey.
Findings – The results showed that ESG disclosure positively affects a firms’ performance measures.
Allam Hamdan is based at
However, measuring ESG sub-components separately showed that environmental (EVN) and corporate
the College of Business
social responsibility (CSR) disclosure is negatively associated with ROA and ROE. EVN and CSR
disclosure is positively related to Tobin’s Q. Further, corporate governance (CG) disclosure is positively and Finance, Ahlia
related to ROA and Tobin’s Q, and negatively related to ROE. More importantly, ESG, CSR, EVN and CG University, Manama,
tend to be higher with firms that have high assets and high financial leverage. Furthermore, the higher Bahrain.
level of ESG, EVN, CSR and CG disclosure, the higher the ROA and ROE.
Originality/value – The study limns a vision of the role of ESG on firm performance. This study tries to
determine whether there are relationships among all ESG disclosure and FP, and if they are positive,
negative or even neutral.
Keywords Governance, Social, Performance, Environmental, ESG disclosure, US S&P 500
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
Early in the 21st century, well-known cases of financial failures in the USA had a severe
negative impact on the US and global economy, raising the emergence of the 2008 global
financial crisis. The global financial crisis shook markets international causing an economic
problems requiring a high level of intervention by authorities and causing a wide range of
social concerns (Nicholson et al., 2011). The financial crisis raised concern regarding farms’
ethical behaviour, accountability risk oversight and capability to strategically attract a wide
range of investors (Galbreath, 2013). In addition, it cast doubt on corporate reporting and
disclosure as a credible source of information on firms’ going-concern (Alqallaf and
Alareeni, 2018).
Issues of disclosure have long been an inherent part of the life of firms. Disclosure is a
crucial link in our economies, and the availability of information about companies is
essential for investors and other stakeholders to make proper capital allocation choices and
avoid any imminent danger. A higher level of disclosure can help attract capital and
maintain confidence in stock markets. In contrast, a lower level of disclosure and an unclear
picture of firms can lead to manipulation, unethical behaviour and damage of market
integrity at a high cost to firms, stakeholders and the economy (OECD, 2004). Received 20 June 2020
Revised 13 September 2020
2 October 2020
Given frequent financial scandals, as part of firms’ strategy and in response to pressure 2 October 2020
from authorities, NGOs and stakeholders, more firms now strictly comply with Accepted 6 October 2020

DOI 10.1108/CG-06-2020-0258 © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1472-0701 j CORPORATE GOVERNANCE j

 environmental, social and other local regulations. Firms want to provide all stakeholders with
a clear picture of their corporate responsibility practices and efforts. Consequently,
corporate disclosure of environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects has
developed in a variety of dimensions over more than two decades. In addition, a growing
number of firms are now engaged in a broad set of ESG disclosure activities, and this
important issue has become a topic of much attention.
Meanwhile, the crucial question firms and shareholders must answer is whether ESG
disclosure practices can be turned into positive firm performance (FP). Prior research has
tried to test the effect of ESG disclosure practices on FP. Most of these studies focus on a
single dimension of ESG such as environmental or social disclosure (Smith et al., 2007;
Ponnu, 2008; Barnett and Salomon, 2012a, 2012b; Han et al., 2016a, 2016b). However,
ESG disclosure issues are interconnected; therefore, considering only one dimension could
be problematic. A limited number of ESG studies focus on all three dimensions of ESG and
their impact on FP in a single setting (Gillan et al., 2011; Yeom, 2012; Balatbat et al., 2012;
Galbreath, 2013; Pasquini-Descomps and Sahut, 2014a, 2014b; Sahut and Pasquini-
Descomps, 2015; Sharma and Thukral, 2015; Tarmuji et al., 2016a, 2016b; Nollet et al.,
2016b). More important, the findings of these studies include conflicting perspectives and
inconclusive findings on whether ESG and its dimensions have a positive, negative or
neutral impact on FP. Therefore, it is essential to focus on all dimensions of ESG when
testing their impact on FP. Further, research beyond ESG’s direct link to FP is desired.
The study contributes to ESG prior literature in six different dimensions. First, we selected
data from a large time span, the period from 2009 to 2018. To the best of our knowledge,
this is the first study to examine the impact of all ESG Bloomberg scores on FP for S&P 500
firms from 2008 until 2017. Second, a small number of studies systemically tested changes
over time within and among all Bloomberg ESG scores of S&P 500 firms. Thus, this study is
interested in exploring improvements and developments in ESG disclosure practices by
S&P 500 companies. This is a crucial point of investigation, as de Lange et al. (2012)
reported that tangible improvements could be observed in corporate ESG performance
over time. Third, we tested the impact of the ESG score and its three sub-components
(EVN, CSR and CG scores) on FP to identify the main driver affecting S&P 500 firms’
performance. Many research studies consider only a single subcomponent of ESG, not all.
Fourth, the study evaluated firms’ performance based on three dimensions: the firm’s
financial, operational and market performance indicators [return on equity (ROE), return on
assets (ROA) and Tobin’s Q] and robustness purposes. Also, the study incorporated firm
size, financial leverage, assets turnover and assets growth as essential control variables.
Fifth, the results are expected to be generalized to other developed countries, such as in
the EU. Lastly, the outcomes will help scholars, firms’ shareholders, decision makers,
regulators, policymakers improve their consciousness of ESG disclosure scores and the
significance of incorporating ESG disclosure scores in all aspects.
With the first section being an introduction, the remainder of the paper is divided into six
sections. Section 2 argues the literature review and overview of ESG scores. Section 3
shows the data description and methodology. Section 4 shows the study results. Section 5
presents the study’s conclusion, limitations and the scope for further research.

2. Literature review and overview of environmental, social and governance scores

Prior studies have examined the association between ESG practices and FP. Most studies
focus on a single dimension/subcomponent of ESG (Smith et al., 2007; Ponnu, 2008;
Barnett and Salomon, 2012; Kim et al., 2013; Han et al., 2016a, 2016b). As discussed
above, ESG issues are interconnected; therefore, concentrating on a single dimension
could be problematical (Galbreath, 2013). Some studies have argued that focusing on the
association between ESG dimensions and FP could weaken the moral aspects necessary
for society and future investments needed to maintain social and environmental practices

j CORPORATE GOVERNANCE j
(Richardson, 2009; Hahn et al., 2010). Therefore, it is important to focus on all ESG
dimensions when testing their impact on FP.
However, a limited number of ESG studies focus on all three dimensions of ESG and their
impact on firms’ performance in a single setting (Gillan et al., 2011; Yeom, 2012; Balatbat
et al., 2012; Galbreath, 2013; Pasquini-Descomps and Sahut, 2014a, 2014b; Sahut and
Pasquini-Descomps, 2015; Sharma and Thukral, 2015; Tarmuji et al., 2016a, 2016b;
Nassar, 2018; Ali et al., 2018). The findings of these studies include conflicting perspectives
and inconclusive findings as to whether ESG and their dimensions have a positive, negative
or neutral association with FP.
This section divides ESG studies, FP-related, into four categories:

1. studies focusing on environmental disclosure (EVN);

2. studies addressing corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSR);

3. studies exploring the relationship between the corporate governance disclosure (CG);
and
4. studies focusing on the overall ESG.

2.1 Environmental disclosure and firms’ performance

There is debate regarding the relationship between environmental problems and FP (Elsayed
and Paton, 2005). For example, the environmental problem of climate change and global
warming is one of the most challenging problems in the world. This problem may influence
firms’ future performance, even the planet as a whole. Public awareness of this global issue
has required firms to establish environmental regulations and disclose information regarding
their commitments towards this vital issue (Nor et al., 2016; Buallay et al., 2020a, 2020b).
The literature has discussed environmental problem impacts from different aspects. For
example, Al-Tuwaijri et al. (2004) analysed impact of environmental problems such as
hazardous wastes, recycled toxic release. Wagner and Schaltegger (2004) discussed the
moderating role of corporate environmental strategy choice on the relationship between
environmental and economic performance in the European industrial companies. They
concluded that for firms with shareholders’ value-oriented strategies, the association
between the environmental and economic performance is more positive than for firms
without such a strategy.
Another line of research has considered the relationship between environmental regulations
and disclosure and FP, with contradictory results. One line of research, Porter and Van der
Linde (1995) debate that severe environmental regulations can often give a long-run
improvement to companies’ revenue by encouraging them to concentration on decreasing
cost of production and increasing consumer satisfaction and sales. Accordingly, firms’
environmental regulations may be a “win-win” solution for both firms and society. Studies
have shown that strict environmental regulations result in more competition and motivate
efficiency and innovation. Through its environmental regulations and commitments to
environmental problems, a firm can enhance its profitability (Hart, 1995; Karagozoglu and
Lindell, 2000). In addition, Majumdar and Marcus (2001) argued that environmental
regulations can drive increases in productivity. It is a defensive technique to protect firms
from international competition (Cairncross, 1994). In a similar vein, Dowell et al. (2000)
found that the association between commitment to stringent environmental disclosure and
FP is positive. This is in line with Saleh et al. (2011), who have shown a positive relationship
between EVN and FP.
A magnitude of prior studies has supported the win-win argument and found indication that
the association between firms’ financial performance and firm environmental performance is
positive (Murray et al., 2006; San Ong et al., 2014).

j CORPORATE GOVERNANCE j
 In the second line of studies, Chiong (2010) provided evidence that association between
the environmental disclosure level and FP measured by ROE, growth of revenue and debt
to equity is negative. This follows Smith et al. (2007), who found that EVN is negatively
related with FP. A significant negative relationship among the EVN level and ROA is evident.
Other lines of study have showed evidence that the relationship between EVN and
regulations and FP is low in practice. For example, Elsayed and Paton (2005) measured FP
using ROA, return on sales and Tobin’s Q. They evidenced that environmental disclosure
and regulations had less impact on FP; this evidence is weak.
On top of that, other studies have shown a neutral relationship between FP and
environmental disclosures that do not seem to be connected to profitability (Cowen et al.,
1987; Sarumpaet, 2006; bin Abd. Rahman et al., 2009). Accordingly, we can suggest the
following hypothesis:
H1. EVN affects firms’ performance.

2.2 Corporate social responsibility disclosure and firms’ performance

Turban and Greening (1997) defined CSR as a construct that emphasizes a company’s
responsibilities to shareholders such as employees and society as a whole. Accordingly,
firms with high levels of social responsibility have an easier time attracting qualified
employees. Therefore, to increase trust and expectations of related parties and society,
firms should be socially responsible. In this regard, Carroll (1979) reported some indicators
of adapting socially responsible practices such as a product responsibility, employment
quality, diversity and opportunity, community, human rights, health and safety and training
and development.
CSR has been a subject of great interest in prior studies worldwide and from multiple
perspectives, including cost perspectives, agency theory and other fields (Friedman, 1970;
Bragdon and Marlin, 1972; Margolis et al., 2003; Godfrey et al., 2009). Some studies have
concentrated attention on the relationship between CSR and FP. This research gap has
long been a source of debate in the literature.
Studies addressing this vital relationship have provided contradictory or inconclusive
results in answering the question as to whether FP, regarding its CSR, can be considered
as positive FP. One line of studies has suggested that being socially responsible increases
FP, suggesting a positive impact of CSR on FP (Edward, 1984; Freedman and Jaggi, 1988;
Donaldson and Preston, 1995; Verrecchia, 2001; Lev et al., 2010; Surroca et al., 2010;
Dhaliwal et al., 2011; Kim et al., 2013). With increased social spending comes developed
stakeholder relationships that reduce firms’ activities costs and increase market
opportunities (Jones, 1995; Fombrun et al., 2000), resulting in higher FP. In the same vein,
Taneja et al. (2011) found that CSR practices can be used as corporate strategies to
enhance FP. They reported that CSR practices can provide various benefits to firms. For
example, CSR can impact firm reputation, customer satisfaction and then FP. In addition, a
firm can raise its value by practicing CSR (Donaldson and Preston, 1995). These results are
consistent with Kim et al. (2013), who investigated the association between CSR of Korean
firms and their FP. They proved that CSR increases firms’ values in the Korean stock market.
Verrecchia (2001) and Dhaliwal et al. (2011) found that greater disclosure of firms’ CSR
practices increases their value and then FP.
Several CSR studies have found that CSR practices enhance FP in the debt market (Menz,
2010); and socially responsible firms work better in emerging markets (Zhang and Rezaee,
2009), and CSR decreases firms’ risk (Kim et al., 2013). Adopting socially responsible
activities is one of the main techniques through which a firm may raise and sustain
stakeholders’ trust and confidence (Barnett and Salomon, 2012a). Moreover, socially
responsible behaviours can be transformed into profit. Hence, Barnett and Salomon (2012a,

j CORPORATE GOVERNANCE j
2012b) found that companies with higher CSR have the highest FP. Margolis et al. (2007)
showed that CSR practices help firms earn and increase competitive advantage. They
confirmed a positive relationship between CSR and FP. This is supported by Baird et al.
(2012), who showed that the relationship between firms’ CSR and FP is a significant positive
relationship.
Many other CSR studies have supported this positive relationship (Barnett and Salomon,
2006, 2012b; Margolis et al., 2007; Wu, 2006).
On the contrary, other lines of studies, for example, Fisher-Vanden and Thorburn (2011),
have provided evidence that CSR and FP have a negative relationship. When the expected
relationship among CSR and FP is U-shaped, the negative relationship could be detected at
an earlier stage of CSR practices, as CSR cost caused the initial downward slope of the U-
curve.
Other lines of studies have shown that the relationship between CSR and FP will be neutral;
firms that do have social responsibility practices will have lower cost and then lower price,
while those firms take into consideration social responsibility practices in their production
will suffer from higher costs and, as a result, their prices will be higher (McWilliams and
Siegel, 2001). Accordingly, studies have suggested that CSR does not have an impact on
FP (Patten, 1991; Waddock and Graves, 2000).
To conclude, the above discussion shows that studies’ conclusions have been mixed.
Therefore, the results should be examined from time to time, and further research is
needed. In addition, limitations in these studies open a research gap to be considered,
especially for S&P 500-listed firms. Hence, the following hypothesis is proposed to test the
impact of CSR disclosure on firms’ performance:
H2. CSR disclosure affects firms’ performance.

2.3 Corporate governance disclosure and firms’ performance

Due to the financial crisis of 2007–2009, most companies sought to strengthen their CG,
transparency and disclosure levels. Governance’s role has become an important issue, and
poor CG is significantly regarded as one of the main sources of the financial crisis (Nollet
et al., 2016c). Therefore, good CG is a significant factor in improving FP in the best interests
of stockholders and other interested parties, limiting agency costs and enabling firms to
continue as a going-concern (Fama and Jensen, 1983). Firms which adapt good CG
mechanisms provide more useful information to investors and other financial statement
users to decrease information asymmetry and help firms enhance operations (Ponnu, 2008;
Merza Radhi and Sarea, 2019).
However, CG is concerned with methods of bringing managers’ and investors’ interests into
line and making sure that firms’ activities are carried out for investors’ interests (Ponnu,
2008). CG is procedures used to coordinate firms’ activities towards improving business
and corporate responsibility to acknowledge long-term shareholder value while considering
other stakeholders’ interests (Tarmuji et al., 2016b).
Many studies have looked at the implications of CG structures on FP. So far, studies on the
relationship between CG mechanisms and FP have mixed results. For example, Weisbach
(1988) reported on the relationship between CEO turnover and CG structure, such as inside
or outside executives and resulting FP. Klapper and Love (2004) concluded that good CG
increases FP. Bauer et al. (2010) also found that CG positively impacts FP of real estate
investment trust firms in the USA. Hussein and Kamardin (2016) examined the impact of CG
practices on the FP of Fortune 500 global companies (US and non-US) and concluded a
strong positive relationship between CG and FP. Smaller board sizes generate better FP in
Fortune Global 500 companies. The number of board meetings and CEO compensation
have also been concluded to have a negative relationship with FP.

j CORPORATE GOVERNANCE j
 Other studies such as Bhagat and Bolton (2009) investigated pre-SOX (Sarbanes–Oxley
Act, 2002) and post-SOX relationships among CG and FP. A negative relation was shown
between both variables in the period pre-2002, when SOX was not prevalent and a positive
relationship among both variables in the period post-2002, when SOX was launched. In
Ireland, O’connell and Cramer (2010) deduced that board size has a significant negative
impact on FP. In addition, they found less negative relationship for smaller firms between
board size and FP and a significant positive relationship between FP and the ratio of non-
executives on the board. To test the relationship between CG and FP, we formulate the
following hypothesis:
H3. CG disclosure affects firms’ performance.

2.4 Overall environmental, social and governance disclosure and firms’

performance
ESG has become more accessible and standardized, and effective methods have been
identified. Consequently, many prior studies, mainly focused on the USA, were conducted,
offering a sound theoretical framework. Most of these studies focused on a single
dimension of ESG, and a limited number considered all three dimensions, environmental,
social and governance, in a single setting.
However, Bassen and Kova
cs (2008) argued that ESG indicators aim to capture additional
scopes of FP not raised in accounting data. They reported that firms’ financial reports do not
provide information on firms’ reputation, quality, brand equity and safety. Thus, ESG
measures include an extensive scope of information on environmental social performance
and CG. Therefore, the overall ESG disclosure information is essential, mainly for
management purposes and other interested parties.
There are substantial differences in prior results on the relationship between ESG and FP.
Studies showed there is no definite evidence on the relationship between ESG and FP
(Eccles et al., 2012; Orlitzky, 2013).
A line of studies has found positive relationships between ESG and FP. The higher the level
of ESG, the higher FP (Tarmuji et al., 2016). For example, Pasquini-Descomps and Sahut
(2013) investigated how news-based ESG scores influence yearly FP as measured by ROA.
They showed that the yearly variation of ESG activities enhances a firm’s image and then
FP. In addition, Waddock and Graves (1997) proved a strong association between a firm’s
reputation and its ratings in social responsibility. Moreover, the impact of ESG disclosure
appears more significant for firms in which customers are individuals, rather than firms.
Furthermore, Albuquerque et al. (2012) confirmed that ESG is a strategic product sold to
customers by a firm, and this product brings more positive revenues. This viewpoint is
supported by Sharfman and Fernando (2008), who argued that a firm’s ratings on non-
accounting indicators such as ESG provide a clear picture of how the firm controls risks it
faces.
The other line of studies has found that the relationship between ESG and FP is negative.
High ESG practices could negatively affect FP. As the purpose of a business is solely to
increase shareholders’ wealth (Friedman, 2009), any other purpose turning the firm from its
purpose will minimize its effectiveness.
Finally, Han et al. (2016a, 2016b) found that ESG disclosure in Korean firms showed
different results. EVN presented a negative/U-curve relationship with FP, whereas CG
presented a positive or inverse U-curve relationship with FP. The authors did not show any
significant relationship between CSR and FP. Then, we posit the following hypothesis:
H4. Overall ESG disclosure affects firms’ performance.

j CORPORATE GOVERNANCE j
2.5 Overview of environmental, social and governance scores
The term “environmental, social and governance” first emerged in the United Nations
Principles of Responsible Investment and then in a number of firms’ CSR reports (Davis and
Stephenson, 2006). Then, it appeared as a result of collaboration among the United Nations
Environmental Program, and the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies,
Global Reporting Initiative was established in 2001 (Galbreath, 2013).
The ESG scores rating market has developed considerably in recent years and is used by
major business consulting firms worldwide. ESG scores are used as major indexes and
overall indicators to identify EVN, CSR and CG practices. Bassen and Kova
cs (2008)
argued that ESG scores are significant in delivering ESG information used by investors and
other interested parties in evaluating a corporation’s risks and opportunities. Han et al.
(2016b) reported that scoring indicators of the environment activity, social responsibility and
governance mechanisms are crucial for business and interested parties (Abughniem et al.,
2019).
Today, there are three leading international providers of financial and non-financial data
services: Bloomberg, MSCI and Thomson Reuters. Bloomberg is progressively developing
in-house ESG expertise. It enables investors to access raw data and link easily to financial
data.
This study uses data from ESG scores provided by Bloomberg, that collects accurate data
and cares about its reputation for accumulating. The Bloomberg ESG valuation tool rates
and classifies companies’ performance or portfolios. It materializes ESG performance and
categorizes the best and worst companies’ reactions regarding these issues (Han et al.,
2016b).
However, the Environmental Score (EVN) addresses many issues related to the business
environment and the association between business and society (e.g. CO2 emissions,
energy consumption, energy efficiency policy, total waste and emissions reduction policy).
The Social Score (CSR) measures the firm’s social disclosure information (e.g. fair-trade
principles, gender equality, number of employees, employee turnover ratio, human rights,
product safety, ratio of women in management, ratio of women employees). The CG score
reflects issues related to the CG structure (e.g. board independence, corruption, bribery,
reporting and disclosure, shareholder protection).
As we presented in the literature review, the results are inconsistent regarding the
relationship between ESG practices and FP. We suppose that using the overall ESG score
only may lead to mixed results. Thus, this study considers the impacts of the three ESG
scores (CSR, EVN and CG) on FP individually as well as the overall ESG score.

3. Study methodology
3.1 Study sample
The study sample comprises annual data for all firms listed in the S&P 500 during the period
2009 to 2018. This selection resulted in 4,869 observations derived from 505 listed firms. All
the data used were collected from the Bloomberg. Bloomberg’s ESG disclosure scores are
considered major indices to identify EVN, CSR and CG disclosures S&P 500-listed firms.
Bloomberg’s scoring scale ranges from null disclosure with a score of zero to full disclosure
with a score of 100.

3.2 Study variables

Given that an ESG score is a multidimensional index built on the outputs of environmental,
social and governance disclosures, and the impact of one dimension may sometimes
eliminate opposing effects of another dimension, it is useful to have separate data available

j CORPORATE GOVERNANCE j
 (Brammer et al., 2009; Margolis et al., 2009; Buallay et al., 2020c). Thus, we considered the
overall ESG score in addition to the three separate sub-ESG scores: ENV, CSR and CG.
This classification enabled us to assess which dimension of the ESG score is the key driver
for increasing FP and what variable is most influential on FP.
The study evaluated firms’ performance based on three dimensions, namely, the firm’s
operational, financial and market performance, using ROA, ROE and Tobin’s Q,
respectively. These dimensions were used as dependent variables to state the best
regression model in evaluating the relationship between the study variables.
We also considered firm size, financial leverage, assets turnovers and assets growth as
control variables. The choice of these control variables can be justified by studies that found
firm size, financial leverage, assets turnover and assets growth to be essential control
variables when testing the impact of ESG scores on FP (Andersen and Dejoy, 2011; Han
et al., 2016b; Margolis et al., 2009; Pasquini-Descomps and Sahut, 2014a; Hamdan et al.,
2017; Hamdan, 2018).

3.3 Study model

To measure ESG impact on FP, the study estimates a linear regression model as follows:

Perfit ¼ b 0 þ b 1 ESGit þ b 2 EVNit þ b 3 CSRit þ b 4 CGit þ b 5 FSit þ b 6 FLit þ b 7 ATit

þ b 8 AGit þ « it

The variables of the study model are measured as shown in Table 1.

4. Analysis and results

4.1 Descriptive analysis
In this section, we present the means, standard deviation, maximum and minimum of the
variables used in this study. In addition, skewness to assess the lack of symmetry and
kurtosis and Jarque–Bera tests are presented to assess whether the data are normally
distributed. As shown in Table 2, the data is not normally distributed; Jarque–Bera was
lower than (0.05) for all study variables; Skewness is not around (0), and kurtosis is not

Table 1 Description of the study variables

Variable Definition Description

Perf Firm’s performance Measured by ROA, ROE and Tobin’s Q

ROA equals net income divided by total assets (TA) of the firm (i), in the period (t)
ROE equals net income divided by equity of firm (i), in the period (t)
Tobin’s Q equals current liabilities plus the market value of share capital divided by
TA of the firm (i), in the period (t)
ESG Firm disclosure of its environmental, The ESG Bloomberg index includes all the disclosure of EVN, CSR, CG indices of
social and governance firm (i), in the period(t)
EVN Environmental disclosure The EVN Bloomberg index measures the disclosure of energy use, waste, pollution,
natural resource conservation and animal treatment of firm (i), in the period (t)
CSR Social responsibility disclosure The CSR Bloomberg index measures disclosure of business relationships, donation,
volunteer work, employees’ health and safety of firm (i), in the period (t)
CG Governance disclosure The CG Bloomberg index measures the disclosure of corporate governance code of
firm (i), in the period (t)
FS Firm size A control variable measured by the total assets of the firm (i), in the period (t)
FL Financial leverage A control variable measured by total debt to total assets of the firm (i), in the period (t)
(Hamdan, 2020)
AT Asset turnover Measured by net sales as a percentage of total assets
AG Assets growth Measured by the annual change in total assets

j CORPORATE GOVERNANCE j
 Table 2 Descriptive statistics and normality tests of the study variables
Descriptive statistics Normality tests
Variables Mean SD Max Min Skewness Kurtosis Jarque–Bera

Independent variables:
ESG Index 33.166 13.415 76.349 12.397 0.507 2.494 0.000
EVN Index 24.784 17.507 82.171 0.775 0.517 2.419 0.000
CSR Index 27.440 16.631 86.667 3.125 0.586 2.667 0.000
CG Index 57.921 6.619 85.714 21.429 0.778 3.676 0.000
Dependent variables:
ROA 6.523 6.561 46.841 47.240 0.066 10.983 0.000
ROE 18.816 28.160 527.885 221.090 6.223 98.625 0.000
Tobin’s Q 1.900 1.060 9.697 0.615 2.479 11.937 0.000
Control variables:
Firm size (million $) 74,887 236,102 2,572,274 1,012 6.890 56.006 0.000
Financial leverage 3.994 4.370 79.422 1.046 6.636 85.761 0.000
Assets turnover 0.783 0.677 4.792 0.029 2.002 8.291 0.000
Growth 8.489 25.740 654.406 60.660 9.134 164.566 0.000
Source: Bloomberg

around (2) for all variables. To overcome this problem, we took the natural algorithm for all
study variables. Table 2 shows that the mean of ESG disclosure of US companies is
33.166%. In Table 3, we observe that during the study period (2008–2017), an upward
trend is observed in the ESG score (improving from 25.412 to 31.019%) and in all its sub-
components. This showed that the companies tried to increase ESG disclosure and all its
sub-components, but it still needs to be enhanced, and the companies should take actions
to increase this level. Furthermore, in Table 2, the results reveal that the ESG sub-
components have some distinction. The mean of GC disclosure has the highest value
(57.921%) followed by CSR disclosure (27.440%), while EVN disclosure has the lowest
disclosure among the companies (24.784%). This indicates again that US companies
positively practiced CG disclosure and sought to increase this level of disclosure due to its
impact on companies in many aspects. For the EVN and CSR disclosures, the means are
slightly weak, so there is still a gap to be filled to gain the benefits of EVN and CSR
disclosures. This weakness is also supported by the results presented in Table 3, as EVN
and CSR indices did not exceed more than 28.154 and 28.030%, respectively, through the
study period. It is worth mentioning that although the ESG score and the ENV and CSR sub-
components showed a relatively high variance as presented by the standard deviation, this
does not hold for the CG disclosure. This may be because firms differ in their priorities to
commit to EVN and CSR disclosures, while sharing similar governance performance. For
the performance measures, the mean average of ROA has a positive value within the

Table 3 ESG and Performance through the years 2009–2018

Years
Mean of variables 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Independent variables:
ESG Index 25.412 22.078 23.222 25.075 26.676 28.211 29.654 31.223 31.232 31.019
EVN Index 19.808 19.727 21.060 23.188 23.674 25.084 25.725 26.991 27.211 28.154
CSR Index 19.250 15.221 16.432 18.259 20.764 22.587 24.858 26.956 27.350 28.030
CG Index 55.099 53.889 54.298 54.897 55.923 56.298 56.326 57.432 57.139 57.121
Dependent variables:
ROA 7.334 6.990 4.481 5.306 6.919 6.960 6.657 6.922 6.832 5.782
ROE 19.009 17.942 10.834 12.382 17.927 19.700 17.493 19.647 19.455 19.722
Tobin’s Q 2.320 2.224 1.639 1.827 1.967 1.907 1.978 2.222 2.325 2.268

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 sample used in the analysis (mean = 6.523) (Table 2). A similar positive pattern was
observed for Tobin’s Q and ROE (mean = 1.90%; 18.816%, respectively). Note: ROA, ROE
and Tobin’s Q were not changed significantly during the study period (Table 3). In addition,
during the study period, ROA, ROE and Tobin’s Q reached their lowest values from 2007 to
2009, and lowest values were in the year 2008, 4.481, 10.834 and 1.639%, respectively.
This is due Great Recession period (i.e. 2007–2009).

4.2 Path analysis

In this section, path analysis is used to identify the variance between the means of the sub-
samples. We used t-test and z-test to assess significance of differences in mean values.
Table 4 shows the ESG disclosure divided into two sub-samples, one with high ESG, EVN,
CSR, CG indices and the second with low ESG, EVN, CSR, CG indices. The difference
between the two sub-samples was highly significant according to both the t-test and z-test
for ESG, EVN, CSR, CG indices. Therefore, it can be concluded that companies with high
ESG, EVN and CSR, CG have higher operational and financial performance (ROA and
ROE). However, the results detected that companies with low ESG, EVN, CSR, CG have
higher market performance (Tobin’s Q), as the p-values were significant at 5%.
Table 5 shows the study sample is divided into large firms and small firms according to the
median. The difference between big and small firms was highly significant based on both
the t-test and z-test. One can infer that larger firms had better ESG, CG, EVN, CSR
disclosure than did small firms, with a high statistical significance level at 5%. Also, path
analysis was used based on the financial leverage; findings showed that firms with higher
financial leverage had better ESG, CG, EVN, CSR than did firms with lower financial
leverage with high statistical significance as well at 5%.
To summarize, it can be concluded that for big firms, the higher ESG disclosure, the higher
operational and financial performance (ROA and ROE). Further, companies with a high level
of financial leverage have higher ESG disclosure and then higher operational and financial
performance.

Table 4 Path analysis for ESG, EVN, CSR and CG levels and performance
ESG Index EVN Index CSR Index CG Index
Performance and
difference tests High ESG Low ESG High EVN Low EVN High CSR Low CSR High CG Low CG

ROA 6.624 6.211 6.598 6.423 6.759 6.078 6.824 6.707

   
t-statistic 1.777 0.711 2.993 2.416
p-value (0.076) (0.047) (0.003) (0.016)
   
z-statistic 2.501 2.135 4.609 2.571
p-value (0.012) (0.033) (0.000) (0.010)
ROE 20.089 14.665 20.013 17.014 20.017 14.688 18.773 15.957
   
t-statistic 6.355 2.926 6.124 3.287
p-value (0.000) (0.003) (0.000) (0.001)
   
z-statistic 7.176 3.573 7.033 2.702
p-value (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) (0.007)
Tobin’s Q 1.891 2.199 1.888 1.938 1.984 2.014 1.845 2.252
 
t-statistic 7.406 1.320 0.791 9.826
p-value (0.000) (0.187) (0.429) (0.000)
  
z-statistic 2.824 1.216 2.604 7.399
p-value (0.005) (0.224) (0.009) (0.000)
Note: The difference significance at: *10%; **5% and ***1% levels
Source: Bloomberg

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 Table 5 Path analysis for ESG based on firm size and financial leverage
Firm size Firm financial leverage
Variables Mean difference by firm size Difference tests Mean difference by firm FL Difference tests
Big firms Small firms t-Statistic Z-statistic High FL Low FL t-Statistic Z-statistic
   
ESG 32.209 22.711 23.280 23.431 28.860 26.605 5.183 5.369
Obs. 2,281 2,092 (0.000) (0.000) 2,157 2,125 (0.000) (0.000)
   
CG 57.860 53.863 20.972 21.084 56.686 55.334 6.705 7.039
Obs. 2,281 2,092 (0.000) (0.000) 2,157 2,125 (0.000) (0.000)
   
EVN 27.862 19.759 13.268 13.085 25.686 23.554 3.393 3.857

Obs. 1,929 1,205 (0.000) (0.000) 1,613 1,481 (0.000) (0.000)
  
CSR 26.223 17.882 16.937 15.311 23.294 21.353 3.750 2.388
Obs. 2,271 1,992 (0.000) (0.000) 2,119 2,063 (0.000) (0.017)
Note: The difference significance at: *10%; **5% and ***1% levels
Source: Bloomberg

5. Empirical analysis
5.1 Pearson correlation analysis
Table 6 presents the correlation outputs, with a focus on testing the relationships between
the study variables (dependent and independent variables) and among the independent
variables. The results show that there is a significant positive relationship between ESG
index as well as its components (EVN, CSR and CG) indices and ROA, ROE and a negative
relationship with Tobin’s Q. This indicates that firms with high level of ESG have a high level
of operational and financial performance and lower market performance. However, CG is
negatively correlated with Tobin’s Q and positively correlated with ROE. This means that the
higher level of CG, the lower the market and financial performance. Also, EVN and CSR
have a positive correlation with ROA and ROE, which indicates that the higher level of the
EVN disclosure, the higher the operational and financial performance.
To summarize, ESG and its sub-components are highly associated with the study
dependent variables, which could support our study’s hypothesis. The result indicates that
firms with higher level of ESG disclosure have better performance.

5.2 Regression findings

After conducting the descriptive analysis of the variables and testing the regression
analysis assumptions, we apply regression analysis to test the impact of ESG and its sub-
components [CG, EVN and CSR (independent variables)] on firms’ performance measures
[ROA, ROE and Tobin’s Q (dependent variables)]. The Hausman test was used to select

Table 6 Correlations matrix

ESG CG EVN CSR ROA ROE TQ Size FL Turnover Growth

ESG 0.784 0.966 0.882 0.026 0.091 0.108 0.204 0.020 0.040 0.108
CG 0.786 0.652 0.674 0.006 0.083 0.126 0.257 0.028 0.099 0.093
EVN 0.967 0.667 0.696 0.024 0.068 0.022 0.182 0.037 0.035 0.086
CSR 0.883 0.665 0.704 0.018 0.082 0.065 0.100 0.021 0.001 0.088
ROA 0.037 0.015 0.060 0.070 0.604 0.450 0.127 0.050 0.319 0.039
ROE 0.097 0.047 0.083 0.115 0.819 0.268 0.061 0.138 0.196 0.001
TQ 0.056 0.100 0.025 0.030 0.714 0.572 0.156 0.021 0.257 0.074
Size 0.424 0.393 0.273 0.271 0.354 0.163 0.534 0.071 0.179 0.026
FL 0.107 0.140 0.064 0.049 0.492 0.013 0.424 0.424 0.035 0.010
Turnover 0.037 0.057 0.024 0.117 0.574 0.496 0.501 0.396 0.317 0.018
Growth 0.158 0.159 0.118 0.114 0.235 0.158 0.224 0.155 0.191 0.079
Note: The difference significance at: *10%; **5%; ***1% levels
Source: Bloomberg

j CORPORATE GOVERNANCE j
 between the fixed effects model and the random effects model. Results obtained from the
Hausman test (p-value = 0.178, 0.457 and 0.157, respectively) led to choosing random
effects model (REM) instead of the fixed effects model (FEM). In other words, the fixed
effects model is inconsistent and that the random effects model is more suitable for this
study. Therefore, this research applied the random effects model, which allows for
controlling unobserved heterogeneity across countries that is fixed over time.
We developed three models to determine whether there are relationships among ESG and
its sub-components’ disclosure and firms’ operational, financial and market performance
and if they are positive, negative or even neutral. Therefore, to test the study hypotheses
and achieve the study aims, Table 7 shows the results of the regression analysis using
panel data. The relationships between the dependent variables and independent and
control variables are shown.
The regression analysis results showed that ROA, ROE and Tobin’s Q models are
statistically significant. Table 7 shows that the p-values of the F-test of all the three models
are less than 5% (0.000), which evidences that the explanatory power of the ROA, ROE and
Tobin’s Q models is high. As shown in Table 7, the results show that the ESG index has a
significant positive relationship with ROA, ROE and Tobin’s Q, as p-values of all the three
models are less than 5% (0.000). This indicates that the impact of ESG is significant and
has a positive impact on the firm’s ROA, ROE and Tobin’s Q. Thus, H4 that suggests that
overall ESG disclosure affects firms’ performance is supported. This reflects that a greater
level of ESG disclosure has a positive impact on the firm’s operational, financial and market
performance. The higher disclosure of ESG enhances the firm’s operational, financial and
market performance. This may be because the yearly variation of the ESG disclosure
enhances the positive image of firms and then performance. This result is in line with some
prior research showing that ESG disclosure is positively related to companies’ performance
(Waddock and Graves, 1997; Sharfman and Fernando, 2008; Albuquerque et al., 2012;
Pasquini-Descomps and Sahut, 2013). This result contradicts other studies suggesting that
there is no conclusive evidence on the relationship between ESG and performance (Eccles
et al., 2012; Orlitzky, 2013; Alareeni, 2018a, 2018b).

Table 7 Panel regression models

ROA model ROE model Tobin’s Q model
Variables b t-Statistic b t-Statistic b t-Statistic

Constant 3.009 2.420*** (0.016) 2.130 13.997*** (0.000) 1.760 8.681*** (0.000)
Independent variables
ESG Index 1.137 4.551*** (0.000) 0.067 2.274** (0.023) 0.245 6.203*** (0.000)
EVN Index 0.560 4.271*** (0.000) 0.030 1.945* (0.0518) 0.124 5.978*** (0.000)
CSR Index 0.292 4.787*** (0.000) 0.015 2.160** (0.0308) 0.063 6.558*** (0.000)
CG Index 0.252 4.002*** (0.000) 0.015 2.024** (0.0430) 0.059 5.925*** (0.000)
Control variables
Firm size 0.003 6.583*** (0.000) 0.070 11.49*** (0.000) 0.001 8.099*** (0.000)
Leverage 0.009 1.482 (0.138) 0.045 12.373*** (0.000) 0.002 0.237 (0.813)
Assets turnover 2.937 16.459*** (0.000) 0.384 17.982*** (0.000) 0.348 12.315*** (0.000)
Growth 0.030 7.167*** (0.000) 0.003 0.503 (0.6147) 0.003 4.911*** (0.000)
R2 0.140 0.179 0.112
Adjusted R2 0.138 0.176 0.110
F-Statistic 62.707*** 78.130*** 48.344***
Hausman test
Chi-Sq. 1.062 0.765 1.109
p-value 0.178 0.457 0.157
Note: Symbols mean significance at: *10%; **5% and ***1% levels
Source: Bloomberg

j CORPORATE GOVERNANCE j
Notably, although the results of testing the impact of ESG on firm’s performance showed a
significant positive impact on the firm’s operational, financial and market performance,
dividing the ESG index provided different results in the relationship with the firm’s
operational, financial and market performance. First, regression analysis found that EVN
disclosure is negatively associated with the firm’s operational and financial performance
(ROE and ROE). A significant inverse relationship among the EVN disclosure level and ROA
and ROE is evident for US S&P 500 companies. These results are in line with Chiong (2010),
who provided evidence that the association between EVN disclosure and firms’ financial
performance measured by ROE is negative. This also follows Smith et al. (2007), who found
that EVN disclosure is negatively related to performance measured by ROA. However, this
result contradicts many other studies suggesting that the relationship between EVN
disclosure, ROA and ROE is positive (Karagozoglu and Lindell, 2000; Majumdar and
Marcus, 2001; Saleh et al., 2011).
It is worthy to note that this result may be because, firms with EVN disclosure practices will
incur higher costs followed by higher prices. This indicates that firm operational and
financial performance has been affected more by EVN disclosure. Also, the results
indicated that EVN disclosure is positively related to firm market performance measured by
Tobin’s Q. This indicates that EVN disclosure is significant for firms listed in US S&P 500
market performance.
Second, the result indicated a significant negative relationship between CSR disclosure and firm
operational and financial performance (ROA and ROE). This may be because firms engaged in
socially responsible practices suffer from more financial costs and have lower operational and
financial performance. This result is in line with studies done by Friedman (1970), Nollet et al.
(2016a) and Buallay (2018), who provided evidence that CSR and firms’ operational and
financial performance have a negative relationship. However, the results showed that the
relationship between CSR and firms’ market performance measured by Tobin’s Q is a significant
positive relationship. This indicates that S&P 500 firms are aware of and consider CSR practices
a main driver for market performance. Accordingly, it can be said that CSR disclosure has a
significance and usefulness for market value of S&P 500-listed firms.
Third, CG disclosure was found to positively affect ROA and Tobin’s Q. A higher level of CG
disclosure practices improves and positively affects operational and market performance.
This means that CG disclosure increases asset efficiency (ROA) and firms’ assets market
value (Tobin’s Q). Of course, this may be due to the fact that a good level of CG is a
significant factor in improving FP in the best interests of stockholders and other interested
parties, limiting agency costs and enabling firms to continue as going-concerns (Fama and
Jensen, 1983). In addition, firms that adapt good CG mechanisms provide more useful
information to investors and other financial statement users to decrease information
asymmetry and help firms enhance operations. This result is in line with some studies
suggesting a positive relationship between CG disclosure and firms’ performance (Bauer
et al., 2010; Hussein and Kamardin, 2016). This result is also supported by Bhagat and
Bolton (2009), who investigated pre-SOX and post-SOX relationships among CG practices
and FP. A negative relation was shown between both variables pre-2002 when SOX was not
prevalent, and a positive relationship was found among both variables in post-2002, when
SOX was launched.
Regarding the relationship between CG practices and ROE, the results showed a
significant negative relationship. This means that CG disclosure decreases financial
performance (ROE). This may be due to the cost of practising and publishing CG
disclosure. This result is in consistent with another study done by Core et al. (2006).
Finally, when it comes to control variables, firm size was found to be positively significant
with ROA, ROE and Tobin’s Q. Large firms have more assets, high-qualified employees and
higher efficiency. Therefore, it is expected their performance will be higher.

j CORPORATE GOVERNANCE j
 For financial leverage, it has a positive and significant relationship with the firm’s financial
performance (ROE). However, the other measures of performance (ROE and Tobin’s Q)
were not found to be significantly associated with financial leverage. This indicates that the
more financial leverage, the higher level of financial performance. This result is in line with
Popli et al. (2017), who reported that leverage can be used as an indication to gain higher
long-term performance.
The results showed that assets turnover is significantly correlated positively with all
performance measures (ROA, ROE and Tobin’s Q). This means the higher assets turnover
in firms, the higher market value of assets (Tobin’s Q), the higher asset efficiency (ROA) and
the higher return on equity (ROE). Moreover, growth was found to be positively significant
with ROA and Tobin’s Q, and not significant with ROE. This means that growth enhances
firms’ operational performance and market value. The results failed to find any relationship
between growth and firms’ ROE.

6. Conclusion
This study aims to determine the impact of ESG on firm performance using data of US S&P
500-listed firms over the period that extends from 2009 to 2018. The study sample includes
4869 observations derived from 505 listed firms.
The independent variables used are the overall ESG, CSR, EVN and GC indices. The
dependent variables are the firms’ operational, financial, performance and market
performance measures (ROA, ROE and Tobin’s Q). The study also used four control
variables such as firm size, leverage, growth and assets turnover.
The descriptive analysis results show that the overall ESG, CSR, EVN and CG tend to be
higher with firms that have high assets and high financial leverage. Further, results showed
that firms with high disclosure levels of ESG, EVN and CSR have higher operational and
financial performance (ROA and ROE). A low level of GC disclosure has a higher level of
operational performance (ROA). However, firms’ market performance (Tobin’s Q) is better in
firms that have a low level of ESG, CSR, EVN and CG disclosure.
Results from the regression models suggest that ESG disclosure had a significant positive
impact on the all firms’ operational, financial, market performance (ROA, ROE and Tobin’s
Q). Considering the sub-components of ESG (e.g. CSR, EVN, CR) provided us different
directions. EVN and CSR disclosure were found to be negatively associated with firms’
operational, financial performance (ROE and ROA) for S&P 500 firms. This may be because
firms engaged in more socially responsible practices suffer from more financial costs and
thus have lower operational and financial performance. However, EVN and CSR disclosure
are positively related to firms’ market performance measured by Tobin’s Q. This evidences
that EVN and CSR disclosure has a significance and usefulness for market performance of
S&P 500-listed firms. Companies use EVN and CSR disclosure as a part of their strategic
planning to create additional value for their product. Effective EVN and CSR disclosure can
attract investors, to increase their willingness to buy and invest, respectively.
Further, CG disclosure was found to positively affect firms’ operational and market
performance (ROA and Tobin’s Q). This indicates that CG disclosure increases the asset
efficiency (ROA) and the firm’s assets market value (Tobin’s Q). This suggests that a higher
level of CG is an important factor in enhancing firms’ performance in the best interests of
stockholders and other interested parties and to enable firms to continue as a going-
concern. Finally, the results show a significant negative relationship between CG practices
and firms’ financial performance (ROE).
The study’s results have important implications for researchers and regulators in the USA
and other developed countries. ESG serves shareholders’ interests in long-run planning,
and considerable resources should be dedicated in this direction, given that ESG

j CORPORATE GOVERNANCE j
expenditure does not pay off immediately but after a threshold of ESG has been achieved.
Further, it is suggested that regulators such as central banks, auditors and stock market
organizers consider ESG to provide reliable financial information. Added to that, the
stakeholders such as investors recommended increasing their knowledge about the term of
ESG and its importance in the business to make better investment choices (Alareeni, 2019).
Regulators of CG codes can use this study’s results as empirical support for developing
new regulations and amendments and implementing necessary corrective decisions
regarding the effectiveness of applying CG codes in the USA and other developed
countries.
One of the key study limitations is that the ESG scores do not consider the kinds of ESG
disclosure a firm uses. Hillman and Keim (2001) showed that different types of ESG can
have different effects on firms’ performance. Further, when different kinds of ESG disclosure
are combined into only one score, the related effects might cancel each other out by
determining the real effect.
It is suggested that further research examine the effects of ESG disclosure for other listed firms,
such those listed in developing countries or for different industries in the USA, which will provide
productive and fruitful comparisons. Further, it would be interesting to examine the moderating
role of some factors on the relationship between ESG and firms’ performance.

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Corresponding authors
Bahaaeddin Ahmed Alareeni can be contacted at: alareeni@metu.edu.tr and Allam
Hamdan can be contacted at: allamh3@hotmail.com

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