IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/agribz/v42y2026i2p516-533.html

Does ESG Matter for Unlisted Companies in the Agri‐Food Industry? Evidence From Japan's Unlisted Agri‐Food Companies

Author

Listed:
  • Ying Wang
  • Satoru Shimokawa

Abstract

While ESG (environmental, social, and governance) is emphasized among listed companies for their stakeholders and ESG disclosures, ESG engagement among unlisted companies has been rarely examined due to data limitations. This is particularly problematic for the agri‐food industry that has significant impacts on the environment and consists mostly of unlisted companies. Thus, by constructing a unique data set of 514 unlisted agri‐food companies in Japan from 2018 to 2024, we investigate the patterns of ESG engagement and its association with economic performance across food supply‐chain sectors and companies' ownership types in the agri‐food industry. We find that ESG practices are more prevalent in the agricultural, food manufacturing, and wholesale sectors than in the retail sector, particularly among independent companies. However, these ESG practices have no influence on total sales in all cases and are negatively associated with net profits in the wholesale sector and among independent companies. These results suggest that ESG implementation may impose economic burdens on unlisted companies, underscoring the need for more effective public support and cross‐sector collaboration.

Suggested Citation

  • Ying Wang & Satoru Shimokawa, 2026. "Does ESG Matter for Unlisted Companies in the Agri‐Food Industry? Evidence From Japan's Unlisted Agri‐Food Companies," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(2), pages 516-533, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:agribz:v:42:y:2026:i:2:p:516-533
    DOI: 10.1002/agr.22067
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.22067
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/agr.22067?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hua Tang, 2022. "The Effect of ESG Performance on Corporate Innovation in China: The Mediating Role of Financial Constraints and Agency Cost," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-21, March.
    2. Fukuda, Shin-ichi & Kasuya, Munehisa & Nakajima, Jouchi, 2018. "The role of corporate governance in Japanese unlisted companies," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 27-39.
    3. Lutfi Abdul Razak & Mansor H. Ibrahim & Adam Ng, 2023. "Environment, social and governance (ESG) performance and CDS spreads: the role of country sustainability," Journal of Risk Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(5), pages 585-613, July.
    4. Gunnar Friede & Timo Busch & Alexander Bassen, 2015. "ESG and financial performance: aggregated evidence from more than 2000 empirical studies," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(4), pages 210-233, October.
    5. Dingzu Zhang & Luqi Liu, 2022. "Does ESG Performance Enhance Financial Flexibility? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-22, September.
    6. Lishi Zeng & Xuemei Jiang, 2023. "ESG and Corporate Performance: Evidence from Agriculture and Forestry Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-18, April.
    7. Abdullah S. Karaman & Nejla Ould Daoud Ellili & Ali Uyar, 2024. "Do sustainable supply chain practices mitigate carbon emissions? The role of supplier environmental, social and governance training," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(8), pages 8126-8148, December.
    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. Yihui Tian & Enyi Lai & Yuxi Fu & Yanchen Li, 2025. "Exploring the Impacts of ESG Disclosure on Corporate Financing Constraints: A Perspective of Classifying Corporate Carbon Emissions," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(6), pages 7630-7647, November.
    2. Taha Almarayeh, 2026. "The Impact of ESG Ratings on Financial Performance: Evidence From Developing Economies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3), pages 4345-4359, March.
    3. Changjun Zheng & Md. Abdul Mannan Khan & Mohammad Morshedur Rahman & Syed Moudud-Ul-Huq & Md. Shahinur Rahman, 2025. "ESG Performance and Financial Stability: A Bibliometric and Meta-Analysis," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(4), pages 21582440251, October.
    4. Xiuzhi Zheng & Qianqian Bu, 2024. "Enterprise ESG Performance, Digital Transformation, and Firm Performance: Evidence from China," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(4), pages 21582440241, October.
    5. Haoming Ding & Wonhee Lee, 2024. "ESG and Financial Performance of China Firms: The Mediating Role of Export Share and Moderating Role of Carbon Intensity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-21, June.
    6. Anrong Gao & Tianren Xiong & Yuxi Luo & Defeng Meng, 2023. "Promote or Crowd Out? The Impact of Environmental Information Disclosure Methods on Enterprise Value," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, February.
    7. Defang Ma & Liangwei Li & Yuxi Song & Mengkai Wang & Qiaowen Han, 2023. "Corporate Sustainability: The Impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance on Corporate Development and Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-16, September.
    8. Ajithakumari Vijayappan Nair Biju & Sreelekshmi Geetha & Salu Prasad & Aghila Sasidharan & Ambili Jayachandran, 2025. "ESG‐Firm Performance Nexus: Evidence From an Emerging Economy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 3469-3496, March.
    9. Ampedu Raphael & Antwi Agyei Bright & Mang'ati Frank Peter & Boadi Joana Ankobea & Boakye Boateng Gifty & Nunoo Linda Ofeibea & Mensah Cornelius Nii Odoi & Mensah Richmond, 2024. "An Empirical Study on the Influence of ESG Ratings on Earnings Management among Listed Companies in China," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(8), pages 3678-3693, August.
    10. Wei Jiang & Xin Wang & Liping Liang & Mingming Leng & Xin Fang, 2025. "ESG Ratings as a Strategic Imperative: Unraveling Their Influence on Corporate Financial Performance in China," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(2), pages 9313-9337, June.
    11. Ya-Lun Chou & Chen-Yueh Chen & Ting-Hsiang Lin & Yi-Wen Zhou & Yuan-Fu Lee, 2024. "The Role of ESG Participation in Sports Sponsorship: Enhancing Consumer Purchase Intention Through Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-18, December.
    12. Heying Liu & Chan Lyu, 2022. "Can ESG Ratings Stimulate Corporate Green Innovation? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-20, September.
    13. Johan Hadisurya & Joni Joni & Tan Kwang En & Sinta Setiana, 2025. "How ESG and Gender Diversity Affect Firm Performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(3), pages 3181-3192, May.
    14. Yang Yang & Jinmian Han, 2023. "Digital transformation, financing constraints, and corporate environmental, social, and governance performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(6), pages 3189-3202, November.
    15. Shuxia Zhang & Xiangyang Yin & Liping Xu & Ziyu Li & Deyue Kong, 2022. "Effect of Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance on Corporate Financialization: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-20, August.
    16. repec:bcp:journl:v:8:y:2024:i:9:p:1240-1257 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Chen, Lifeng & Khurram, Muhammad Usman & Gao, Yuying & Abedin, Mohammad Zoynul & Lucey, Brian, 2023. "ESG disclosure and technological innovation capabilities of the Chinese listed companies," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    18. Guochao Wan & Ahmad Yahya Dawod, 2022. "ESG Rating and Northbound Capital Shareholding Preferences: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-19, July.
    19. Sukanta Goswami & Vidyadhar V. Gedam & Abhinav Katiyar, 2025. "Does Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Matter in Hard‐To‐Abate Sectors: Evidence From Emerging Asian Economies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(6), pages 8642-8660, November.
    20. Ningning Kong & Yu Bao & Yiyuan Sun & Yawen Wang, 2023. "Corporations’ ESG for Sustainable Investment in China: The Moderating Role of Regional Marketization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-22, February.
    21. Shanshan Yue & Saleh F. A. Khatib & Guang Ye & Norkhairul Hafiz B. Bajuri & Farid Ullah, 2026. "Silent No More: How Minority Shareholder and ESG Ratings Propel Environmental Innovation in China," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(2), pages 1305-1331, April.

    More about this item

    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:wly:agribz:v:42:y:2026:i:2:p:516-533. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1520-6297 .

    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.