المستخلص: |
The absence of any consensus regarding the economic implications of social, environmental and governance (ESG) practices as well as the introduction of a new index in Egypt with regard to ESG activities provides the initial impetus for the current paper. The purpose of the current study is to examine the association between ESG performance, financial performance and firm value after taking account of control variables using data for a sample of Egyptian listed firms. The sample consists of all companies listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX). Univariate and multivariate analyses have been employed to examine the impact of ESG activities on firm performance and firm value. The results of the multivariate analysis were consistent with the findings of the univariate analysis, which reported a significant positive association between ESG and firm value, while a negative association was revealed concerning firm performance, but no statistical significance was resulted. With respect to control variables, the findings revealed a positive association concerning company size and leverage, while a negative relationship was reported in the case of growth and liquidity. The results of the current study highlighted the impact of ESG on firm's financial performance, which in turn could affect company's decision whether or not to engage in ESG practices. The findings have implications for regulators and standards setters tasked with developing accounting standards to control ESG practices in a developing country, such as Egypt.
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