IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i23p15841-d986723.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Companies’ ESG Performance Make a Difference for New Zealand’s Stock Market Investors during the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Author

Listed:
  • Jędrzej Białkowski

    (Department of Economics and Finance, UC Business School, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand)

  • Anna Sławik

    (Institute of Economics, Finance and Management, Jagiellonian University, 30-348 Kraków, Poland)

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate whether the environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) score of New Zealand-listed companies is associated with their stock performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea of socially responsible investing is commonly accepted in New Zealand, and past academic literature has argued for the positive (though often weak) relationship between companies’ stock returns and their ESG profile. The methodology of the research is threefold. First, the average daily return for 11 New Zealand Exchange (NZX) market sectors and the S&P/NZX50 index during the COVID-19 panic and rebound periods are compared. Then, the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the average daily return of 11 broad NZX sectors in relation to the average ESG score for a given sector is checked. Finally, the relationship between the daily average performance of 56 NZX-listed companies and their ESG scores proxied by Refinitiv’s ESG Combined Score is determined. The analysis reveals no support for the idea that the returns of firms with higher ESG scores are greater than those with a low ESG ranking during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show a negative, though statistically insignificant, correlation between the ESG score and annualized stock return both on the sector and individual company levels. Even though our reported findings do not confirm the believed positive correlation of the analyzed measures (based on previous studies), they clearly show that high ESG performance does not harm financial performance even in the context of crises.

Suggested Citation

  • Jędrzej Białkowski & Anna Sławik, 2022. "Does Companies’ ESG Performance Make a Difference for New Zealand’s Stock Market Investors during the COVID-19 Pandemic?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-12, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:23:p:15841-:d:986723
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/23/15841/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/23/15841/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hoje Jo & Maretno Harjoto, 2011. "Corporate Governance and Firm Value: The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(3), pages 351-383, October.
    2. Noy, Ilan, 2009. "The macroeconomic consequences of disasters," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 221-231, March.
    3. Roland Bénabou & Jean Tirole, 2010. "Individual and Corporate Social Responsibility," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 77(305), pages 1-19, January.
    4. Zachary Sheaffer & Rita Mano‐Negrin, 2003. "Executives’ Orientations as Indicators of Crisis Management Policies and Practices," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(2), pages 573-606, March.
    5. Karl V. Lins & Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2019. "Social Capital, Trust, and Corporate Performance: How CSR Helped Companies During the Financial Crisis (and Why It Can Keep Helping Them)," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 31(2), pages 59-71, June.
    6. John Gerard Ruggie & Emily K. Middleton, 2019. "Money, Millennials and Human Rights: Sustaining ‘Sustainable Investing’," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 10(1), pages 144-150, February.
    7. Rui Albuquerque & Yrjo Koskinen & Shuai Yang & Chendi Zhang, 2020. "Resiliency of Environmental and Social Stocks: An Analysis of the Exogenous COVID-19 Market Crash," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 9(3), pages 593-621.
    8. Edward Freeman, R. & Evan, William M., 1990. "Corporate governance: A stakeholder interpretation," Journal of Behavioral Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 337-359.
    9. Ding, Wenzhi & Levine, Ross & Lin, Chen & Xie, Wensi, 2021. "Corporate immunity to the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(2), pages 802-830.
    10. Renneboog, Luc & Ter Horst, Jenke & Zhang, Chendi, 2008. "Socially responsible investments: Institutional aspects, performance, and investor behavior," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1723-1742, September.
    11. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck C.Y. & Mishra, Dev R., 2011. "Does corporate social responsibility affect the cost of capital?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 2388-2406, September.
    12. Eduardo Cavallo & Sebastian Galiani & Ilan Noy & Juan Pantano, 2013. "Catastrophic Natural Disasters and Economic Growth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(5), pages 1549-1561, December.
    13. Karl V. Lins & Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2017. "Social Capital, Trust, and Firm Performance: The Value of Corporate Social Responsibility during the Financial Crisis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(4), pages 1785-1824, August.
    14. John M. Stevens & H. Kevin Steensma & David A. Harrison & Philip L. Cochran, 2005. "Symbolic or substantive document? The influence of ethics codes on financial executives' decisions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 181-195, February.
    15. He Huang & Ye Ye, 2021. "Rethinking capital structure decision and corporate social responsibility in response to COVID‐19," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(3), pages 4757-4788, September.
    16. Ping-Sheng Koh & Cuili Qian & Heli Wang, 2014. "Firm litigation risk and the insurance value of corporate social performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(10), pages 1464-1482, October.
    17. Paul C. Godfrey & Craig B. Merrill & Jared M. Hansen, 2009. "The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: an empirical test of the risk management hypothesis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 425-445, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    2. Buchanan, Bonnie G. & Cao, Cathy Xuying & Wang, Shuhui, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and inside debt: The long game," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Bai, Min & Ho, Ly, 2022. "Corporate social performance and firm debt levels: Impacts of the covid-19 pandemic and institutional environments," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    4. Yi, Yuyang & Zhang, Zongyi & Xiang, Cheng, 2022. "The value of CSR during the COVID-19 crisis: Evidence from Chinese firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    5. Tsang, Albert & Frost, Tracie & Cao, Huijuan, 2023. "Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure: A literature review," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    6. Hossain, Ashrafee Tanvir & Kryzanowski, Lawrence, 2021. "Political corruption and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    7. Eisenkopf, Jana & Juranek, Steffen & Walz, Uwe, 2021. "Responsible investment and stock market shocks: Short-term insurance and persistent outperformance post-crisis?," SAFE Working Paper Series 329, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    8. Rudkin, Wanling & Cai, Charlie X., 2023. "Information content of sustainability index recomposition: A synthetic portfolio approach," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    9. Nils Engelhardt & Jens Ekkenga & Peter Posch, 2021. "ESG Ratings and Stock Performance during the COVID-19 Crisis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-15, June.
    10. Hui-Ju Tsai & Yangru Wu, 2022. "Changes in Corporate Social Responsibility and Stock Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(3), pages 735-755, July.
    11. Alexandridis, George & Hoepner, Andreas G.F. & Huang, Zhenyi & Oikonomou, Ioannis, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility culture and international M&As," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    12. Malik, Ihtisham A. & Chowdhury, Hasibul & Alam, Md Samsul, 2023. "Equity market response to natural disasters: Does firm's corporate social responsibility make difference?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    13. Shackleton, Mark & Yan, Jiali & Yao, Yaqiong, 2022. "What drives a firm's ES performance? Evidence from stock returns," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    14. Liu, Xianda & Hou, Wenxuan & Main, Brian G.M., 2022. "Anti-market sentiment and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from anti-Jewish pogroms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    15. Gillan, Stuart L. & Koch, Andrew & Starks, Laura T., 2021. "Firms and social responsibility: A review of ESG and CSR research in corporate finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    16. Ved Dilip Beloskar & S. V. D. Nageswara Rao, 2023. "Did ESG Save the Day? Evidence From India During the COVID-19 Crisis," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 30(1), pages 73-107, March.
    17. Xu, Nana & Chen, Jiaqi & Zhou, Fangzhao & Dong, Qing & He, Zhifang, 2023. "Corporate ESG and resilience of stock prices in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    18. Rui Coelho & Shital Jayantilal & Joao J. Ferreira, 2023. "The impact of social responsibility on corporate financial performance: A systematic literature review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1535-1560, July.
    19. Wang, Kai & Li, Tingting & San, Ziyao & Gao, Hao, 2023. "How does corporate ESG performance affect stock liquidity? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    20. Ruixi Long & Shuyang Jia, 2023. "Foreground or background my social responsibility: impact of the trade war on the readability of corporate social responsibility disclosures," Information Technology and Management, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 79-97, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:23:p:15841-:d:986723. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.