IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jmgtgv/v29y2025i1d10.1007_s10997-023-09692-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comparative analysis of environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings: do sectors and regions differ?

Author

Listed:
  • Rekha Pillai

    (British University in Dubai)

  • Md. Aminul Islam

    (Universiti Malaysia Perlis)

  • S. Sreejith

    (Cochin University of Science and Technology)

  • Husam Aldin Al-Malkawi

    (British University in Dubai)

Abstract

Sustainable and holistic investment philosophy such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) concepts have now emerged as the subtle, comprehensive and concrete response to the unprecedented surge in environmental, social and financial market sustainable development problems. The main aim of this paper is to perform an in-depth study on ESG ratings world-wide and to granularly analyse how and why they differ within industries and regions as reported by Sustainalytics on 13,589 companies as of December 2022. Perceiving ESG ratings from dual dimensions, we introduce the ‘push–pull effect’ where we identify the rationale pushing corporates for providing their ESG engagements to ESG rating providers and the justification for stakeholders pulling information from these rating providers. Correspondence analysis, nonparametric independent sample Kruskal–Wallis test and Mann–Whitney test are performed as tools of inference. Results reveal that Asia and America are regions demonstrating high ESG risks with European corporates exhibiting low ESG risks. In terms of industry, transportation infrastructure and media, both categorized under low ESG risk, portray a statistically significant difference from other industries. Finally, the sector wise reports clearly evince an overall statistically significant difference between financial and non-financial sector in all regions, the former presenting high risk ESG scores in Asia and North America. Policy implications are set as ESG is a concept which has stepped out of the “awareness creation” stage to an implementation state, imploring policy makers to embark on stringent measures of ensuring ESG compliance to reap stakeholder confidence and ensure sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Rekha Pillai & Md. Aminul Islam & S. Sreejith & Husam Aldin Al-Malkawi, 2025. "Comparative analysis of environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings: do sectors and regions differ?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 29(1), pages 69-109, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jmgtgv:v:29:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10997-023-09692-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10997-023-09692-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10997-023-09692-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10997-023-09692-7?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ester Clementino & Richard Perkins, 2021. "How Do Companies Respond to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings? Evidence from Italy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(2), pages 379-397, June.
    2. Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph, 2020. "Stepping Up and Stepping Out of COVID-19: New Challenges for Environmental Sustainability Policies in the Global Airline Industry," MPRA Paper 101491, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. 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.
    4. Monica Billio & Michele Costola & Iva Hristova & Carmelo Latino & Loriana Pelizzon, 2021. "Inside the ESG ratings: (Dis)agreement and performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(5), pages 1426-1445, September.
    5. Miriam Breitenstein & Duc Khuong Nguyen & Thomas Walther, 2021. "Environmental Hazards And Risk Management In The Financial Sector: A Systematic Literature Review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 512-538, April.
    6. Noël Albert & Dwight Merunka & Pierre Valette-Florence, 2008. "When consumers love their brands: Exploring the concept and its dimensions," Post-Print hal-01822299, HAL.
    7. Amir Amel-Zadeh & George Serafeim, 2018. "Why and How Investors Use ESG Information: Evidence from a Global Survey," Financial Analysts Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 74(3), pages 87-103, July.
    8. 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.
    9. Albert, Noël & Merunka, Dwight & Valette-Florence, Pierre, 2008. "When consumers love their brands: Exploring the concept and its dimensions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(10), pages 1062-1075, October.
    10. A. G. Constantine & J. C. Gower, 1978. "Graphical Representation of Asymmetric Matrices," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series C, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 27(3), pages 297-304, November.
    11. Florian Berg & Julian F Kölbel & Roberto Rigobon, 2022. "Aggregate Confusion: The Divergence of ESG Ratings [Corporate social responsibility and firm risk: theory and empirical evidence]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(6), pages 1315-1344.
    12. Rajna Gibson Brandon & Philipp Krueger & Peter Steffen Schmidt, 2021. "ESG Rating Disagreement and Stock Returns," Financial Analysts Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 77(4), pages 104-127, October.
    13. C. F. Banfield & J. C. Gower, 1980. "A Note on the Graphical Representation of Multivariate Binary Data," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series C, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 29(3), pages 238-245, November.
    14. Ting-Ting Li & Kai Wang & Toshiyuki Sueyoshi & Derek D. Wang, 2021. "ESG: Research Progress and Future Prospects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-28, October.
    15. Bradford Cornell & Alan C. Shapiro, 2021. "Corporate stakeholders, corporate valuation and ESG," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 27(2), pages 196-207, March.
    16. Marius Banke & Stephanie Lenger & Christiane Pott, 2022. "ESG Ratings in the Corporate Reporting of DAX40 Companies in Germany: Effects on Market Participants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-21, August.
    17. Mozaffar Khan, 2019. "Corporate Governance, ESG, and Stock Returns around the World," Financial Analysts Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 75(4), pages 103-123, October.
    18. Fabrizio Crespi & Milena Migliavacca, 2020. "The Determinants of ESG Rating in the Financial Industry: The Same Old Story or a Different Tale?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-20, August.
    19. Philipp Krueger & Zacharias Sautner & Laura T Starks, 2020. "The Importance of Climate Risks for Institutional Investors," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1067-1111.
    20. Elena Escrig-Olmedo & María Ángeles Fernández-Izquierdo & Idoya Ferrero-Ferrero & Juana María Rivera-Lirio & María Jesús Muñoz-Torres, 2019. "Rating the Raters: Evaluating how ESG Rating Agencies Integrate Sustainability Principles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-16, February.
    21. Aaron K. Chatterji & Rodolphe Durand & David I. Levine & Samuel Touboul, 2016. "Do ratings of firms converge? Implications for managers, investors and strategy researchers," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(8), pages 1597-1614, August.
    22. Michael Spence, 1973. "Job Market Signaling," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 87(3), pages 355-374.
    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. Andrea Melis, 2025. "Beyond methodological monism: embracing pluralism in governance research," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 29(1), pages 1-9, 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. Horn, Matthias & Oehler, Andreas, 2024. "Constructing stock portfolios by sorting on ESG ratings: Does the rating provider matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).
    2. Cini, Federico & Ferrari, Annalisa, 2025. "Towards the estimation of ESG ratings: A machine learning approach using balance sheet ratios," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PB).
    3. Liu, Xiangqiang & Yang, Qingqing & Wei, Kai & Dai, Peng-Fei, 2024. "ESG rating disagreement and idiosyncratic return volatility: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PB).
    4. Ajithakumari Vijayappan Nair Biju & Snehith Jacob Kodiyatt & P. P. Nithi Krishna & Geetha Sreelekshmi, 2023. "ESG sentiments and divergent ESG scores: suggesting a framework for ESG rating," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(12), pages 1-21, December.
    5. Muck, Matthias & Schmidl, Thomas, 2024. "Comparing ESG score weighting approaches and stock performance differentiation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 67(PB).
    6. Kevin Birk & Stefan Jacob & Marco Wilkens, 2025. "What attracts sustainable fund flows? Prospectus versus ratings," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 26(2), pages 216-237, March.
    7. Cheng, Louis T.W. & Cheong, Tsun Se & Wojewodzki, Michal & Chui, David, 2025. "The effect of ESG divergence on the financial performance of Hong Kong-listed firms: An artificial neural network approach," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PA).
    8. Rabab Abouarab & Tapas Mishra & Simon Wolfe, 2025. "Spotting Portfolio Greenwashing in Environmental Funds," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 197(4), pages 811-839, April.
    9. Tristan Jourde & Arthur Stalla-Bourdillon, 2024. "Environmental preferences and sector valuations," Post-Print halshs-04948464, HAL.
    10. Roman Kräussl & Tobi Oladiran & Denitsa Stefanova, 2024. "A review on ESG investing: Investors’ expectations, beliefs and perceptions," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 476-502, April.
    11. Tsang, Albert & Wang, Yujie & Xiang, Yi & Yu, Li, 2024. "The rise of ESG rating agencies and management of corporate ESG violations," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    12. Ferriani, Fabrizio, 2023. "Issuing bonds during the Covid-19 pandemic: Was there an ESG premium?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    13. Dunbar, Kwamie & Treku, Daniel & Sarnie, Robert & Hoover, Jack, 2023. "What does ESG risk premia tell us about mutual fund sustainability levels: A difference-in-differences analysis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    14. Marius Banke & Stephanie Lenger & Christiane Pott, 2022. "ESG Ratings in the Corporate Reporting of DAX40 Companies in Germany: Effects on Market Participants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-21, August.
    15. Zou, Jin & Yan, Jingzhou & Deng, Guoying, 2023. "ESG rating confusion and bond spreads," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    16. Francesco Cesarone & Lorenzo Lampariello & Davide Merolla & Jacopo Maria Ricci & Simone Sagratella & Valerio Giuseppe Sasso, 2023. "A bilevel approach to ESG multi-portfolio selection," Computational Management Science, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 1-23, December.
    17. Fiordelisi, Franco & Ricci, Ornella & Santilli, Gianluca, 2023. "Environmental engagement and stock price crash risk: Evidence from the European banking industry," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    18. Rzeznik, Aleksandra & Weiss-Hanley, Kathleen, 2021. "The Salience of ESG Ratings for Stock Pricing: Evidence From (Potentially) Confused Investors," CEPR Discussion Papers 16334, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Billio, Monica & Costola, Michele & Hristova, Iva & Latino, Carmelo & Pelizzon, Loriana, 2022. "Sustainable finance: A journey toward ESG and climate risk," SAFE Working Paper Series 349, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    20. Caterina Lucarelli & Sabrina Severini, 2024. "Anatomy of the chimera: Environmental, Social, and Governance ratings beyond the myth," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 4198-4217, July.

    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:kap:jmgtgv:v:29:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10997-023-09692-7. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.