{"title":"Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Practices and Performance in Shariah Firms: Agency or Stakeholder Theory?","authors":"S. Lee, M. Isa","doi":"10.21315/aamjaf2020.16.1.1","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This study examines the impact of ESG (environmental, social and governance) practices on financial performance for a sample of MSCI World Islamic Index firms over the period 2010–2017. We also test whether ESG engagement should be considered an agency or stakeholder issue. Our sample consists of 461 Shariah-compliant firms from 20 countries that are included in the MSCI World Islamic Index. Firms’ involvement in ESG activities is taken from the Thomson Reuters ASSET4 database. The results reveal that ESG aggregate and its individual dimensions are positively related to firm performance, which is consistent with the stakeholder theory. We do not find evidence that ESG is associated with agency problems. The findings suggest that combined ESG and Shariah screenings can increase firm value, enhance more ethical, responsible and transparent practices and thus, create new markets for potential investors.","PeriodicalId":44370,"journal":{"name":"Asian Academy of Management Journal of Accounting and Finance","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7000,"publicationDate":"2020-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"41","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Asian Academy of Management Journal of Accounting and Finance","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.21315/aamjaf2020.16.1.1","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"BUSINESS, FINANCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 41
Abstract
This study examines the impact of ESG (environmental, social and governance) practices on financial performance for a sample of MSCI World Islamic Index firms over the period 2010–2017. We also test whether ESG engagement should be considered an agency or stakeholder issue. Our sample consists of 461 Shariah-compliant firms from 20 countries that are included in the MSCI World Islamic Index. Firms’ involvement in ESG activities is taken from the Thomson Reuters ASSET4 database. The results reveal that ESG aggregate and its individual dimensions are positively related to firm performance, which is consistent with the stakeholder theory. We do not find evidence that ESG is associated with agency problems. The findings suggest that combined ESG and Shariah screenings can increase firm value, enhance more ethical, responsible and transparent practices and thus, create new markets for potential investors.
期刊介绍:
To provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and dissemination of empirical findings and analytical research in the specialized areas of accounting and finance with special emphasis on scholarly works with policy implications for countries in the Asia Pacific. The following are some of the topical subject areas relevant to the journal (but are not limited to): Accounting • Financial reporting and accounting standards • Auditing issues • Value based accounting and its relevance • Theory of accounting firm • Environmental auditing • Corporate governance issues • Public sector accounting Finance • Valuation of financial assets • International capital flows • Ownership and agency theory • Stock market behavior • Investment and portfolio management • Islamic banking and finance • Microstructures of financial markets