The impact of sustainable investment on firm performance in South Africa

Vongani V. Masongweni & Beatrice D. Simo‐Kengne

South African Journal of Accounting Research2024https://doi.org/10.1080/10291954.2024.2306701article
AJG 1ABDC C
Weight
0.78

What the paper says

Purpose: This study investigates the influence of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores on the financial performance of firms in South Africa across industries.Motivation: In the context of the growing importance of sustainability reporting, understanding the link between ESG and firm performance is critical for informed and sustainable corporate strategies.Design/Methodology/Approach: The study employs panel data regression techniques on secondary data from 120 Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed firms between 2015 and 2020.Main Findings: Overall, the composite ESG scores do not significantly affect the financial performance of South African companies. However, scores from social and governance pillars show a positive association with firm performance, while environmental scores have a limited effect.Practical Implications/Managerial Impact: These findings suggest that not all ESG activities are equally relevant for firm profitability. Corporate managers should prioritise industry-relevant ESG pillars to enhance firm profitability.Novelty/Contribution: The study expands empirical evidence in an emerging market context, analysing the impact of disaggregated ESG scores and providing comparative industry-specific analysis. This contributes to a nuanced understanding of the ESG-performance nexus.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/10291954.2024.2306701

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@article{vongani2024,
  title        = {{The impact of sustainable investment on firm performance in South Africa}},
  author       = {Vongani V. Masongweni & Beatrice D. Simo‐Kengne},
  journal      = {South African Journal of Accounting Research},
  year         = {2024},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/10291954.2024.2306701},
}

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Evidence weight

0.78

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact1.00 × 0.4 = 0.40
M · momentum1.00 × 0.15 = 0.15
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.