IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v32y2024i5p5404-5420.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The relative importance of ESG pillars: A two‐step machine learning and analytical framework

Author

Listed:
  • Bita Mashayekhi
  • Kaveh Asiaei
  • Zabihollah Rezaee
  • Amin Jahangard
  • Milad Samavat
  • Saeid Homayoun

Abstract

This study aims to contribute to the ongoing and inconclusive debates regarding the relative significance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) sustainability key performance indicators and their correlation with overall sustainability performance. We present a unique two‐step analytical framework to leverage Thomson Reuters' ESG Score (ASSET4) database to determine the most impactful ESG pillars and their subcomponents at both the firm and industry levels. This framework integrates the Method based on the Removal Effects of Criteria (MEREC) with K‐means cluster analysis. Through the MEREC‐K‐means framework, we determine the two most noteworthy ESG pillars within various industries, subsequently clustering them to form peer groups for comprehensive comparative analysis. We find that while the social and economic pillars are the two fundamental pillars of ESG performance in all industries in general, this prioritization sometimes differs from industry to industry. This research makes theoretical and practical contributions by introducing a novel dimensionality reduction technique in ESG pillars, offering valuable insights for strategic resource allocation in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability initiatives. The implications of our findings extend broadly to investors, policymakers, and practitioners, empowering them to make more informed decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Bita Mashayekhi & Kaveh Asiaei & Zabihollah Rezaee & Amin Jahangard & Milad Samavat & Saeid Homayoun, 2024. "The relative importance of ESG pillars: A two‐step machine learning and analytical framework," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 5404-5420, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:32:y:2024:i:5:p:5404-5420
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.2979
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2979
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.2979?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. Chen, Tao & Dong, Hui & Lin, Chen, 2020. "Institutional shareholders and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(2), pages 483-504.
    2. Alexandre Sanches Garcia & Renato J. Orsato, 2020. "Testing the institutional difference hypothesis: A study about environmental, social, governance, and financial performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3261-3272, December.
    3. repec:eme:jal000:j.acclit.2015.03.001 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Huang, Xiaobei “Beryl†& Watson, Luke, 2015. "Corporate social responsibility research in accounting," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 1-16.
    5. Michelon, Giovanna & Pilonato, Silvia & Ricceri, Federica, 2015. "CSR reporting practices and the quality of disclosure: An empirical analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 59-78.
    6. Jan Diebecker & Friedrich Sommer, 2017. "The impact of corporate sustainability performance on information asymmetry: the role of institutional differences," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 471-517, March.
    7. Irina-Eugenia Iamandi & Laura-Gabriela Constantin & Sebastian Madalin Munteanu & Bogdan Cernat-Gruici, 2019. "Mapping the ESG Behavior of European Companies. A Holistic Kohonen Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-41, June.
    8. Xiaobei ‘‘Beryl’’ Huang & Luke Watson, 2015. "Corporate social responsibility research in accounting," Journal of Accounting Literature, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(1), pages 1-16, March.
    9. 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.
    10. Pornsit Jiraporn & Napatsorn Jiraporn & Adisak Boeprasert & Kiyoung Chang, 2014. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Improve Credit Ratings? Evidence from Geographic Identification," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 43(3), pages 505-531, September.
    11. Iftekhar Hasan & Nada Kobeissi & Liuling Liu & Haizhi Wang, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Financial Performance: The Mediating Role of Productivity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 671-688, May.
    12. Jieun Chung & Charles H. Cho, 2018. "Current Trends within Social and Environmental Accounting Research: A Literature Review," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(2), pages 207-239, June.
    13. Cronqvist, Henrik & Yu, Frank, 2017. "Shaped by their daughters: Executives, female socialization, and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(3), pages 543-562.
    14. repec:eme:mfppss:mf-08-2017-0303 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Tsang, Albert & Frost, Tracie & Cao, Huijuan, 2023. "Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure: A literature review," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    16. Buchanan, Bonnie & Cao, Cathy Xuying & Chen, Chongyang, 2018. "Corporate social responsibility, firm value, and influential institutional ownership," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 73-95.
    17. 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.
    18. 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).
    19. Panagiotis E. Dimitropoulos, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility and earnings management in the EU: a panel data analysis approach," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 18(1), pages 68-84, December.
    20. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Wang, He & Kwok, Chuck C.Y., 2016. "Family control and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 131-146.
    21. Kaveh Asiaei & Nick Bontis & Omid Barani & Ruzita Jusoh, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and sustainability performance measurement systems: implications for organizational performance," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 85-126, March.
    22. Krajnc, Damjan & Glavic, Peter, 2005. "How to compare companies on relevant dimensions of sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(4), pages 551-563, December.
    23. Ronald W. Masulis & Syed Walid Reza, 2015. "Agency Problems of Corporate Philanthropy," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(2), pages 592-636.
    24. Breuer, Wolfgang & Müller, Torbjörn & Rosenbach, David & Salzmann, Astrid, 2018. "Corporate social responsibility, investor protection, and cost of equity: A cross-country comparison," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 34-55.
    25. 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.
    26. Yaghoub Abdi & Xiaoni Li & Xavier Càmara‐Turull, 2022. "How financial performance influences investment in sustainable development initiatives in the airline industry: The moderation role of state‐ownership," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(5), pages 1252-1267, October.
    27. Zerbib, Olivier David, 2019. "The effect of pro-environmental preferences on bond prices: Evidence from green bonds," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 39-60.
    28. Antonio D'Amato & Camilla Falivena, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility and firm value: Do firm size and age matter? Empirical evidence from European listed companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 909-924, March.
    29. Borghesi, Richard & Houston, Joel F. & Naranjo, Andy, 2014. "Corporate socially responsible investments: CEO altruism, reputation, and shareholder interests," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 164-181.
    30. Tang, Dragon Yongjun & Zhang, Yupu, 2020. "Do shareholders benefit from green bonds?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    31. Alexander Dahlsrud, 2008. "How corporate social responsibility is defined: an analysis of 37 definitions," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, January.
    32. Amal Hamrouni & Rim Boussaada & Nadia Ben Farhat Toumi, 2019. "Corporate social responsibility disclosure and debt financing," Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(4), pages 394-415, May.
    33. Guilherme Francisco do Prado & Cassiano Moro Piekarski & Leila Mendes da Luz & Jovani Taveira de Souza & Rodrigo Salvador & Antonio Carlos de Francisco, 2020. "Sustainable development and economic performance: Gaps and trends for future research," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(1), pages 368-384, January.
    34. Charl de Villiers & Jing Jia & Zhongtian Li, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility: A review of empirical research using Thomson Reuters Asset4 data," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(4), pages 4523-4568, December.
    35. Chang, Ching-Hung & Chen, Sheng-Syan & Chen, Yan-Shing & Peng, Shu-Cing, 2019. "Commitment to build trust by socially responsible firms: Evidence from cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 364-387.
    36. So Ra Park & Jae Young Jang, 2021. "The Impact of ESG Management on Investment Decision: Institutional Investors’ Perceptions of Country-Specific ESG Criteria," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-27, September.
    37. Amal Hamrouni & Rim Boussaada & Nadia Ben Farhat Toumi, 2019. "Corporate social responsibility disclosure and debt financing," Post-Print hal-02521353, HAL.
    38. Saeid Homayoun & Bita Mashayekhi & Amin Jahangard & Milad Samavat & Zabihollah Rezaee, 2023. "The Controversial Link between CSR and Financial Performance: The Mediating Role of Green Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-15, July.
    39. 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.
    40. Carmelo Reverte, 2009. "Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure Ratings by Spanish Listed Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(2), pages 351-366, August.
    41. Abeysekera, Amal P. & Fernando, Chitru S., 2020. "Corporate social responsibility versus corporate shareholder responsibility: A family firm perspective," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    42. McGuinness, Paul B. & Vieito, João Paulo & Wang, Mingzhu, 2017. "The role of board gender and foreign ownership in the CSR performance of Chinese listed firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 75-99.
    43. Weiwei Wu & Zhou Liang & Qi Zhang, 2020. "Effects of corporate environmental responsibility strength and concern on innovation performance: The moderating role of firm visibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 1487-1497, May.
    44. Ng, Anthony C. & Rezaee, Zabihollah, 2015. "Business sustainability performance and cost of equity capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 128-149.
    45. Kaveh Asiaei & Neale G. O'Connor & Majid Moghaddam & Nick Bontis & Jasvinder Sidhu, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility and performance measurement systems in Iran: A levers of control perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 574-588, March.
    46. Charrad, Malika & Ghazzali, Nadia & Boiteau, Véronique & Niknafs, Azam, 2014. "NbClust: An R Package for Determining the Relevant Number of Clusters in a Data Set," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 61(i06).
    47. Yamina Chouaibi & Ghazi Zouari, 2022. "The effect of corporate social responsibility practices on real earnings management: evidence from a European ESG data," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(1), pages 11-30, March.
    48. Boubakri, Narjess & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck C.Y. & Wang, He (Helen), 2019. "Is privatization a socially responsible reform?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 129-151.
    49. repec:eme:jaar00:jaar-01-2018-0020 is not listed on IDEAS
    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. 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).
    2. Huang, Wei & Luo, Yan & Wang, Xiaohuan & Xiao, Lifu, 2022. "Controlling shareholder pledging and corporate ESG behavior," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    3. Charl de Villiers & Jing Jia & Zhongtian Li, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility: A review of empirical research using Thomson Reuters Asset4 data," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(4), pages 4523-4568, December.
    4. Qian, Shuitu & Yu, Wenzhe, 2024. "Green finance and environmental, social, and governance performance," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PA), pages 1185-1202.
    5. Goretti Cabaleiro-Cerviño & Pedro Mendi, 2024. "ESG-driven innovation strategy and firm performance," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 14(1), pages 137-185, March.
    6. Alves, Carlos Francisco & Meneses, Lilian Lima, 2024. "ESG scores and debt costs: Exploring indebtedness, agency costs, and financial system impact," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    7. Al-Shaer, Habiba & Uyar, Ali & Kuzey, Cemil & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2023. "Do shareholders punish or reward excessive CSR engagement? Moderating effect of cash flow and firm growth," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    8. Xiangjun Hong & Xian Lin & Laitan Fang & Yuchen Gao & Ruipeng Li, 2022. "Application of Machine Learning Models for Predictions on Cross-Border Merger and Acquisition Decisions with ESG Characteristics from an Ecosystem and Sustainable Development Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-27, February.
    9. Fan, Kwok Yuen & Shen, Jianfu & Hui, Eddie C.M. & Cheng, Louis T.W., 2024. "ESG components and equity returns: Evidence from real estate investment trusts," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    10. Tang, Jinghua & Wang, Xiaoming & Liu, Qigui, 2023. "The spillover effect of customers' ESG to suppliers," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    11. Wang, Xiaolin & Ye, Yingying, 2024. "Environmental protection tax and firms’ ESG investment: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    12. Huarng, Kun-Huang & Yu, Tiffany Hui-Kuang, 2024. "Causal complexity analysis of ESG performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    13. Tsang, Albert & Yan, Shuo & Zheng, Lingyi, 2024. "Can Firms’ ESG initiatives deter hostile Takeovers?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    14. Zhihong Mao & Siyang Wang & Yu‐En Lin, 2024. "ESG, ESG rating divergence and earnings management: Evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3328-3347, July.
    15. Pruthiranjan Dwibedi & Debasis Pahi & Antarjyami Sahu, 2024. "Mapping the landscape of environmental, social and governance research: A bibliometric analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 3745-3767, September.
    16. 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.
    17. Chen, Kan-Xiang & Erzurumlu, Yaman Omer & Gozgor, Giray & Lau, Chi Keung Marco & Turkkan, Melis, 2024. "The impact of economic uncertainty on corporate ESG performance: Global evidence," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(PB).
    18. Malik, Mahfuja & Mamun, Khawaja & Osman, Syed Muhammad Ishraque, 2025. "Does corruption control enhance ESG-induced firm value? Insights from machine learning analysis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    19. Zhao, Panting & Yao, Xin & Shen, Rui, 2024. "Capital market internationalization and firms' ESG performance: Evidence from the inclusion of China A-shares in the MSCI Emerging Market Index," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    20. Dunbar, Craig & Li, Zhichuan (Frank) & Shi, Yaqi, 2020. "CEO risk-taking incentives and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).

    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:sustdv:v:32:y:2024:i:5:p:5404-5420. 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)1099-1719 .

    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.