How ESG shapes firm value: The mediating role of customer satisfaction

Junhee Seok, Yanghee Kim and Yun Kyung Oh

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2024, vol. 208, issue C

Abstract: In contemporary business landscapes, concerns about environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues are increasingly prominent. Despite the rising public interest in ESG, empirical research assessing its efficacy remains sparse. This research investigates the subtle connection between ESG initiatives and firm value, highlighting the mediating role of customer satisfaction. Utilizing an industry-fixed effects model, our research analyzes an unbalanced panel dataset comprising 168 firms over five years. We make three conclusions based on empirical analyses of a comprehensive secondary dataset. First, ESG performance improves a firm's value. Second, customer satisfaction positively mediates this relationship. Third, this relationship is noticeable in firms in environmentally sensitive industries. By distinctively focusing on ESG performance rather than broader CSR concepts, this research underscores the importance of customer satisfaction in determining how ESG performance influences firm value.

Keywords: ESG; Corporate social responsibility; Sustainability; Firm value; Customer satisfaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 G32 M30 M31 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162524005122
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:208:y:2024:i:c:s0040162524005122

DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2024.123714

Access Statistics for this article

Technological Forecasting and Social Change is currently edited by Fred Phillips

More articles in Technological Forecasting and Social Change from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().