Driving Financial Performance: Exploring the Impact of ESG Policies in Telecommunication Companies Within the CIS Region

The purpose of this chapter is to determine whether the macroeconomic and firm-specific factors of a country had effects on telecom companies’ profitability in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) during 2010–2021. Methodology: For our empirical analysis, 18 firms were selected for data observations. After correlation, regression, multicollinearity, and Hausman tests, we decided to apply the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) method. Originality: This study is a response to the huge growth in fintech technologies in the CIS region and their implementation in the telecom industry. As of this writing, only a few studies have been conducted on this topic for CIS-region countries. Furthermore, the research in this chapter was conducted to determine and understand the variables that have impacted profitability. Findings: This study shows that a negative impact on profitability comes from leverage, while a positive effect has been achieved via liquidity, and both are significant to the profitability of a firm. GDP has a significant negative effect; on the other hand, size has a positive but not significant effect on profitability. Overall, companies should maintain their leverage and liquidity and not forget about macroeconomic factors when budgeting and planning their financial performance.