Environmental, Social, and Governance Practices and Corporate Financial Performance: Investigating the Mediating Role of Green Innovation and Corporate Reputation in Emerging Markets
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65310/qxa8w150Keywords:
Corporate Financial Performance, Corporate Reputation, Emerging Markets, ESG Practices, Green Innovation.Abstract
Research concerning environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices and corporate financial performance frequently examines green innovation and corporate reputation through separate models, while adjacent constructs such as corporate social responsibility and corporate image complicate evidence integration. This study synthesizes evidence on innovation-based and reputation-based pathways associated with ESG-related corporate outcomes, with particular attention to emerging-market settings. A structured, non-empirical qualitative review examined 20 purposively selected scholarly publications from 2022 to 2026. Studies were assessed for conceptual relevance, methodological interpretability, and reported relationships and compared using thematic coding of research settings, focal constructs, mechanisms, and performance measures. Evidence was differentiated into directly examined relationships, indirect support from related constructs, and conceptual inferences. The synthesis identifies recurring associations between ESG-related practices and green innovation, including the relevance of financing conditions, organizational capabilities, and environmental performance. Reputation-oriented findings link credible sustainability conduct with stakeholder perceptions and selected corporate outcomes, although corporate image and financial performance measures differ across studies. These two pathways offer a complementary conceptual interpretation of ESG-related value creation; their simultaneous mediation has not been established by this review. Variation in institutional conditions, research designs, and outcome definitions limits generalization. The proposed framework clarifies the evidentiary status of each pathway and provides a basis for empirical testing of direct effects, mediation, interaction, and contextual moderation.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Maryam Maryam, Fitrahtul Saahira Khairunnisa, Khodijah Asshofiah, Humairourrohmah binti Mastor (Author)
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