A Study on Sustainability and ESG in the Service Sector in India: Benefits, Challenges, and Future Implications

Leonidas Efthymiou (), Ambika Kulshrestha and Sandeep Kulshrestha
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Leonidas Efthymiou: School of Business, Department of Management, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 1700, Cyprus
Ambika Kulshrestha: Rectangle Consulting, Hyderabad 500016, India
Sandeep Kulshrestha: Rectangle Consulting, Hyderabad 500016, India

Administrative Sciences, 2023, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: At the intersection of digitization and sustainability, the current article explores the application of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) in the service sector in India. The analysis draws on findings collected through questionnaires and interviews (mixed methods) with managers at middle, senior, and top levels of the hierarchy. The findings suggest that technology can both facilitate and hinder the sustainability effort; therefore, the implications on internal stakeholders, such as workers and managers, can be both positive and negative. Additionally, technologies that are taken for granted in certain parts of the world may be inappropriate in the Indian context. As a result, sustainability frameworks are implemented selectively rather than holistically. The adoption of an ESG framework has a largely positive impact on investors. While companies do not place much emphasis on employees’ wellbeing and ‘human rights’, they still link ESG to ‘Supply Chain Sustainability’. Contributing to the signaling theory, there is also evidence of firms’ motivation to adopt ESG practices for the purposes of legitimacy and forming external stakeholders’ perceptions. The current study is both timely and important due to the high interest in the application of tools facilitating sustainability performance. The study contributes to both the literature and practice, since it adds to our understanding concerning the challenges faced by firms in implementing ESG practices, whereas it also enables administrators to identify areas for the further development of sustainable practices.

Keywords: sustainability; sustainable development goals (SDGs); environmental social and corporate governance (ESG); socially responsible investment (SRI); service sector; corporate social responsibility; green technological innovation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L M M0 M1 M10 M11 M12 M14 M15 M16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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