Scholarlink

<p>This research examines the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure and firm performance, with particular emphasis on the moderating role of audit quality. It analyses both the combined ESG score and individual ESG pillars to assess their impact on financial performance, measured using return on assets (ROA) and Tobin’s Q (TOBQ), across developed and developing economies. The study employs a balanced panel dataset comprising 2,220 non-financial firms from 23 developed and 24 developing countries over the period 2011 to 2023. A two-step system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator is applied to address potential endogeneity concerns. The findings indicate that overall ESG disclosure positively influences firm performance in both economic contexts. While individual environmental and social scores exhibit mixed effects in developing economies, governance performance remains consistently positive. Furthermore, audit quality significantly strengthens the ESG and firm performance relationship, highlighting the importance of credible external assurance. This study contributes to the ESG literature by providing comparative evidence across economies and by demonstrating how audit quality enhances the value relevance of sustainability disclosures.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Does audit quality moderate the relationship between ESG disclosure and firm performance? Empirical evidence from developed and developing nations

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月21日

查看全文
  • Pruthiranjan Dwibedi,
  • Debasis Pahi

摘要

This research examines the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure and firm performance, with particular emphasis on the moderating role of audit quality. It analyses both the combined ESG score and individual ESG pillars to assess their impact on financial performance, measured using return on assets (ROA) and Tobin’s Q (TOBQ), across developed and developing economies. The study employs a balanced panel dataset comprising 2,220 non-financial firms from 23 developed and 24 developing countries over the period 2011 to 2023. A two-step system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator is applied to address potential endogeneity concerns. The findings indicate that overall ESG disclosure positively influences firm performance in both economic contexts. While individual environmental and social scores exhibit mixed effects in developing economies, governance performance remains consistently positive. Furthermore, audit quality significantly strengthens the ESG and firm performance relationship, highlighting the importance of credible external assurance. This study contributes to the ESG literature by providing comparative evidence across economies and by demonstrating how audit quality enhances the value relevance of sustainability disclosures.