How environmental, social, and governance implementation and structure impact sustainable development goals
Journal
Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management
Journal Volume
31
Journal Issue
4
Start Page
3235
End Page
3250
ISSN
1535-3958
1535-3966
Date Issued
2024-07
Author(s)
Abstract
This study investigates how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy and implementation, along with governance structure, influence sustainable development goals (SDGs). In recognizing the SDG gap between intent and implementation, our study places a special focus on the mediating role of ESG implementation, the moderating role of governance structure, and the pivotal concept of embeddedness of strategy in shaping SDG impact. To test the hypotheses, we analyze firm‐level data from 552 Taiwanese listed companies. The results suggest that ESG implementation mediates the relationship between a firm's ESG strategy and SDG impact. The governance structure plays a moderating role on the relationship between ESG implementation and SDG impact. Furthermore, the embeddedness of strategy shows a positive effect on SDG impact. The empirical findings contribute substantially to the theoretical landscape of ESG studies. The findings offer practical implications for business leaders striving to elevate their firms' SDG impacts.
Subjects
embeddedness
ESG
governance structure
SDG impact
SDGs
Taiwan
Publisher
Wiley
Type
journal article