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The Readiness for ESG among Retail Investors in Central and Eastern Europe. The Example of Poland

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  • Janina Petelczyc

Abstract

Despite a considerable volume of literature on the environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investments, most studies have focused on the perspective of managers and investors in markets with developed ethical funds. This study complements previous studies by exploring the retail investors’ attitude toward ESG in Poland as a Central and Eastern European country (CEE) with a minor but developing sustainable investment market. While EU ESG regulations focus mostly on disclosure obligations, this study aims to determine whether retail investors in Poland are interested in ESG and identifies the conditions for the investors’ interest. The binomial logistic regression is applied to retail investors based on data from a survey of a representative sample of the Polish population. The results show that Poles consider human-caused climate changes as an important challenge and most of those willing to invest in the capital market want to do so in a sustainable way. However, they are unwilling to sacrifice their profits for the sake of ESG. Only those investors who make investment decisions based on social aspects are more likely to forgo a part of their profits. Women are more willing to engage in responsible investments and forgo higher profits.

Suggested Citation

  • Janina Petelczyc, 2022. "The Readiness for ESG among Retail Investors in Central and Eastern Europe. The Example of Poland," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 23(6), pages 1299-1315, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:globus:v:23:y:2022:i:6:p:1299-1315
    DOI: 10.1177/09721509221114754
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    2. Eduard Madalin Dinu & Cecilia Nicoleta Jurcut & Delia Anca Gabriela Gligor & Irina Daniela Cismasu & Alexandru Buglea, 2025. "Integrating Digital Technologies to Enhance ESG Performance: A Focus on Central and Eastern European Countries," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 27(70), pages 903-903, August.
    3. Murad Harasheh, 2022. "Does it Make You Better Off? Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and Corporate Sustainability Performance: Empirical Evidence," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 23(6), pages 1375-1387, December.

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