IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/pacfin/v92y2025ics0927538x25001568.html

The impact of ESG ratings on firm risks in Taiwan's market

Author

Listed:
  • Chang, Shun-Fen
  • Chen, Bai-Sian
  • Chen, Hong-Yi
  • Chen, Hsiao-Yin

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of a firm's ESG achievements on various dimensions of firm risk, including financial risks, stock price crash risks, and financial constraints. Empirical evidence reveals a negative association between ESG scores and financial risks, as well as financial constraints, indicating that higher ESG performance contributes to lower overall firm risk. The reduction in crash risks becomes particularly evident during the COVID-19 crisis, highlighting the protective role of ESG engagement in times of market stress. These findings suggest that strategic investment in ESG activities enhances a firm's resilience and stability during both normal and adverse conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Chang, Shun-Fen & Chen, Bai-Sian & Chen, Hong-Yi & Chen, Hsiao-Yin, 2025. "The impact of ESG ratings on firm risks in Taiwan's market," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:92:y:2025:i:c:s0927538x25001568
    DOI: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2025.102819
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927538X25001568
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.pacfin.2025.102819?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Feng, Jingwen & Goodell, John W. & Shen, Dehua, 2022. "ESG rating and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    2. 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.
    3. Chen, Joseph & Hong, Harrison & Stein, Jeremy C., 2001. "Forecasting crashes: trading volume, past returns, and conditional skewness in stock prices," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 345-381, September.
    4. Abagail McWilliams & Donald S. Siegel & Patrick M. Wright, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility: Strategic Implications," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 1-18, January.
    5. Darren D. Lee & Robert W. Faff, 2009. "Corporate Sustainability Performance and Idiosyncratic Risk: A Global Perspective," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 44(2), pages 213-237, May.
    6. Kais Bouslah & Lawrence Kryzanowski & Bouchra M’Zali, 2018. "Social Performance and Firm Risk: Impact of the Financial Crisis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 643-669, May.
    7. Mohammed Benlemlih & Amama Shaukat & Yan Qiu & Grzegorz Trojanowski, 2018. "Environmental and Social Disclosures and Firm Risk," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 613-626, October.
    8. Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2013. "The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Firm Value: The Role of Customer Awareness," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(5), pages 1045-1061, May.
    9. Geoffrey Heal, 2005. "Corporate Social Responsibility: An Economic and Financial Framework," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 30(3), pages 387-409, July.
    10. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 2015. "A five-factor asset pricing model," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(1), pages 1-22.
    11. Kim, Yongtae & Li, Haidan & Li, Siqi, 2014. "Corporate social responsibility and stock price crash risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1-13.
    12. Samuel M. Hartzmark & Abigail B. Sussman, 2019. "Do Investors Value Sustainability? A Natural Experiment Examining Ranking and Fund Flows," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 74(6), pages 2789-2837, December.
    13. Mark P. Sharfman & Chitru S. Fernando, 2008. "Environmental risk management and the cost of capital," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 569-592, June.
    14. Andrew Ang & Robert J. Hodrick & Yuhang Xing & Xiaoyan Zhang, 2006. "The Cross‐Section of Volatility and Expected Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(1), pages 259-299, February.
    15. Goss, Allen & Roberts, Gordon S., 2011. "The impact of corporate social responsibility on the cost of bank loans," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1794-1810, July.
    16. 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.
    17. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February.
    18. William F. Sharpe, 1964. "Capital Asset Prices: A Theory Of Market Equilibrium Under Conditions Of Risk," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 19(3), pages 425-442, September.
    19. Ioannis Oikonomou & Chris Brooks & Stephen Pavelin, 2012. "The Impact of Corporate Social Performance on Financial Risk and Utility: A Longitudinal Analysis," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 41(2), pages 483-515, June.
    20. Malcolm Baker & Jeremy C. Stein & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2003. "When Does the Market Matter? Stock Prices and the Investment of Equity-Dependent Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(3), pages 969-1005.
    21. Broadstock, David C. & Chan, Kalok & Cheng, Louis T.W. & Wang, Xiaowei, 2021. "The role of ESG performance during times of financial crisis: Evidence from COVID-19 in China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    22. Diamond, Douglas W & Verrecchia, Robert E, 1991. "Disclosure, Liquidity, and the Cost of Capital," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(4), pages 1325-1359, September.
    23. Laura Chiaramonte & Alberto Dreassi & Claudia Girardone & Stefano Piserà, 2022. "Do ESG strategies enhance bank stability during financial turmoil? Evidence from Europe," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(12), pages 1173-1211, August.
    24. Toni M. Whited & Guojun Wu, 2006. "Financial Constraints Risk," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 19(2), pages 531-559.
    25. Carhart, Mark M, 1997. "On Persistence in Mutual Fund Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 57-82, March.
    26. Humphrey, Jacquelyn E. & Lee, Darren D. & Shen, Yaokan, 2012. "Does it cost to be sustainable?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 626-639.
    27. Chan, Chia-Ying & Chou, De-Wai & Lo, Huai-Chun, 2017. "Do financial constraints matter when firms engage in CSR?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 241-259.
    28. Kim, Kenneth & Rhee, S Ghon, 1997. "Price Limit Performance: Evidence from the Tokyo Stock Exchange," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(2), pages 885-899, June.
    29. Becchetti, Leonardo & Ciciretti, Rocco & Hasan, Iftekhar, 2015. "Corporate social responsibility, stakeholder risk, and idiosyncratic volatility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 297-309.
    30. Dyck, Alexander & Lins, Karl V. & Roth, Lukas & Wagner, Hannes F., 2019. "Do institutional investors drive corporate social responsibility? International evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(3), pages 693-714.
    31. Sudheer Chava, 2014. "Environmental Externalities and Cost of Capital," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(9), pages 2223-2247, September.
    32. Bouslah, Kais & Kryzanowski, Lawrence & M’Zali, Bouchra, 2013. "The impact of the dimensions of social performance on firm risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 1258-1273.
    33. Hong, Harrison & Kacperczyk, Marcin, 2009. "The price of sin: The effects of social norms on markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 15-36, July.
    34. Raf Orens & Walter Aerts & Denis Cormier, 2010. "Web‐Based Non‐Financial Disclosure and Cost of Finance," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(9‐10), pages 1057-1093, November.
    35. Rim Makni & Claude Francoeur & François Bellavance, 2009. "Causality Between Corporate Social Performance and Financial Performance: Evidence from Canadian Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 89(3), pages 409-422, October.
    36. Charles J. Hadlock & Joshua R. Pierce, 2010. "New Evidence on Measuring Financial Constraints: Moving Beyond the KZ Index," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(5), pages 1909-1940.
    37. Sam Ronald & Suwandi Ng & Fransiskus Eduardus Daromes, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility as Economic Mechanism for Creating Firm Value," Indonesian Journal of Sustainability Accounting and Management, Asian Online Journal Publishing Group, vol. 3(1), pages 22-36.
    38. Li Cai & Jinhua Cui & Hoje Jo, 2016. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Firm Risk," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(3), pages 563-594, December.
    39. Yu, Haixu & Liang, Chuanyu & Liu, Zhaohua & Wang, He, 2023. "News-based ESG sentiment and stock price crash risk," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    40. Ben-Nasr, Hamdi & Ghouma, Hatem, 2018. "Employee welfare and stock price crash risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 700-725.
    41. Rui Albuquerque & Yrjö Koskinen & Chendi Zhang, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Risk: Theory and Empirical Evidence," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(10), pages 4451-4469, October.
    42. Ng, Anthony C. & Rezaee, Zabihollah, 2020. "Business sustainability factors and stock price informativeness," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    43. Hoje Jo & Haejung Na, 2012. "Does CSR Reduce Firm Risk? Evidence from Controversial Industry Sectors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(4), pages 441-456, November.
    44. 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.
    45. 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.
    46. Steven N. Kaplan & Luigi Zingales, 1997. "Do Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivities Provide Useful Measures of Financing Constraints?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(1), pages 169-215.
    47. Andreas G F Hoepner & Ioannis Oikonomou & Zacharias Sautner & Laura T Starks & Xiao Y Zhou, 2024. "ESG shareholder engagement and downside risk," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 28(2), pages 483-510.
    48. Tokhir Gaybiddinovich Khorilov & Jungmu Kim, 2024. "ESG and Firm Risk: Evidence in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-18, June.
    49. Wintoki, M. Babajide & Linck, James S. & Netter, Jeffry M., 2012. "Endogeneity and the dynamics of internal corporate governance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(3), pages 581-606.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ching-Feng Chen & Yuan Chang, 2026. "Does the COVID-19 Pandemic Highlights the Value of Firm’s ESG Performance?," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 18(3), pages 1-54, March.

    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. Chaudhry, Neeru & Dhawan, Priya, 2025. "Does firms' commitment towards CSR influence idiosyncratic volatility? Evidence from India," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    2. Fafaliou, Irene & Giaka, Maria & Konstantios, Dimitrios & Polemis, Michael, 2022. "Firms’ ESG reputational risk and market longevity: A firm-level analysis for the United States," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 161-177.
    3. Matthias Horn, 2023. "The Influence of ESG Ratings On Idiosyncratic Stock Risk: The Unrated, the Good, the Bad, and the Sinners," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 75(3), pages 415-442, September.
    4. Champagne, Claudia & Coggins, Frank & Sodjahin, Amos, 2022. "Can extra-financial ratings serve as an indicator of ESG risk?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    5. 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.
    6. Paola Brighi & Antonio Carlo Francesco Della Bina & Valeria Venturelli, 2022. "Do ESG Investments Mitigate ESG Controversies? Evidence From International Data," Centro Studi di Banca e Finanza (CEFIN) (Center for Studies in Banking and Finance) 0084, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Economia "Marco Biagi".
    7. Tzouvanas, Panagiotis & Mamatzakis, Emmanuel C., 2021. "Does it pay to invest in environmental stocks?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    8. Hassan, M. Kabir & Chiaramonte, Laura & Dreassi, Alberto & Paltrinieri, Andrea & Piserà, Stefano, 2023. "Equity costs and risks in emerging markets: Are ESG and Sharia principles complementary?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    9. Al-Fakir Al Rabab’a, Eltayyeb & Rashid, Afzalur & Shams, Syed & Bose, Sudipta, 2024. "Corporate carbon performance and firm risk: Evidence from Asia-Pacific countries," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(2).
    10. 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).
    11. Megumi Suto & Hitoshi Takehara, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility intensity, management earnings forecast accuracy, and investor trust: Evidence from Japan," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 3047-3059, November.
    12. Li, Chengcheng & Wang, Xiaoqiong, 2022. "Local peer effects of corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    13. Giovanni Catello Landi & Francesca Iandolo & Antonio Renzi & Andrea Rey, 2022. "Embedding sustainability in risk management: The impact of environmental, social, and governance ratings on corporate financial risk," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 1096-1107, July.
    14. Dunbar, Craig & Li, Zhichuan (Frank) & Shi, Yaqi, 2020. "CEO risk-taking incentives and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    15. Remmer Sassen & Anne-Kathrin Hinze & Inga Hardeck, 2016. "Impact of ESG factors on firm risk in Europe," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 86(8), pages 867-904, November.
    16. Ayton, Julie & Krasnikova, Natalia & Malki, Issam, 2022. "Corporate social performance and financial risk: Further empirical evidence using higher frequency data," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    17. Kais Bouslah & Lawrence Kryzanowski & Bouchra M’Zali, 2018. "Social Performance and Firm Risk: Impact of the Financial Crisis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 643-669, May.
    18. Bai Xue & Zhuang Zhang & Pingli Li, 2020. "Corporate environmental performance, environmental management and firm risk," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1074-1096, March.
    19. Ho, Ly & Bai, Min & Lu, Yue & Qin, Yafeng, 2021. "The effect of corporate sustainability performance on leverage adjustments," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(5).
    20. Raymond Kwong & Man Lung Jonathan Kwok & Helen S. M. Wong, 2023. "Green FinTech Innovation as a Future Research Direction: A Bibliometric Analysis on Green Finance and FinTech," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-27, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:eee:pacfin:v:92:y:2025:i:c:s0927538x25001568. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/pacfin .

    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.