Desempenho em ESG e sua relação com ciclo de vida da empresa

Abstract

The performance in the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) pillars has gained prominence in the corporate sphere, being considered a strategic investment for organizations, with impacts on company value. Based on the Life Cycle Theory, this dissertation aimed to identify the association between ESG performance and the corporate life cycle, considering the mediation of a country's level of corruption. The sample comprises 2,206 observations of Latin American companies from 2012 to 2023, with data collected from the Refinitiv Eikon® platform. For analysis, descriptive statistics and regression models such as Generalized Least Squares (GLS) and Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) were applied using unbalanced panel data. The research is classified as descriptive, quantitative in nature, with secondary data collection through document analysis. The results indicate that ESG performance is significantly associated with corporate life cycle stages (CLS), with particular emphasis on the maturity stage, where higher ESG performance was observed. Regarding the mediation of a country’s level of corruption (Corruption Perceptions Index - CPI), no sufficient evidence was found to indicate a significant impact on the relationship between ESG performance and CLS. The findings also demonstrate that ESG performance varies according to the company's country of origin. However, the interaction between industry sector and overall ESG performance did not show a significant impact. When analyzed separately, the ESG pillars revealed different patterns: the Environmental pillar showed a positive association with the maturity stage and variations among countries, suggesting that companies in this stage tend to perform better in environmental aspects, which may differ depending on the home country. The Social pillar displayed an inverse relationship in the decline phase, indicating lower performance in this aspect for companies at this stage. While the industry sector showed low statistical significance in correlation with ESG performance, it influenced the Environmental and Social pillars. In the case of the Governance pillar, no statistical significance was found in interactions with life cycle stages and CPI, suggesting that this pillar is not influenced by these factors. It is concluded that ESG performance and its segregated pillars may be affected by different variables, such as CLS, country, and industry sector, depending on the aspect analyzed. However, the country’s level of corruption did not show a significant influence on ESG performance.