A systematic review of ESG indicators and corporate performance: proposal for a conceptual framework

Unofficial AI-generated summary based on the public title and abstract. Not an official translation.

🔬研究者:Identifies key ESG indicators and their relationships with corporate performance, offering a conceptual framework for future research.

🏢実務担当者:Provides a structured approach to evaluate ESG impacts on financial and non-financial performance for corporate strategy and reporting.

🏛政策担当者:Informs the development of ESG disclosure standards by clarifying the relationships between ESG metrics and corporate outcomes.

Abstract Despite the attention given by global stakeholders to transparency and disclosure of nonfinancial corporate information, there is a lack of consensus regarding the disclosure and analysis of corporate results on ESG. The objective of this study is to identify the main environmental, social, and governance (ESG) indicators from the literature and analyze their impact on corporate company performances, as well as a conceptual structure that supports the understanding of these indicators. A systematic literature review was applied to raise and analyze relevant works in the field, following the guidelines of the Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA). We identified and categorized the main indicators for each of the ESG dimensions, as well as the corporate performance (CP) variables impacted by ESG performance, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of their interrelations. Our results indicate that financial performance indicators must be assessed from a long-term perspective, as short-term analyses may show negative relationships with ESG performance. However, for nonfinancial aspects, the relationship with ESG performance is consistently positive across all time horizons. Additionally, we propose a conceptual framework that advances the ESG literature by establishing explicit connections between ESG dimensions and corporate performance variables. This framework categorizes CP into four key areas—financial performance, market and risk perception, strategic positioning, and capital structure—providing a structured approach for evaluating ESG impacts. Our study contributes to both theory and practice, offering insights that support corporate decision-making and sustainability strategies.