The Relationship between the Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance and the Firm Value of Thai Listed Companies during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

          The purpose of this study was to empirically investigate the relationship between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, and the firm value of Thai listed companies during the Covid-19 pandemic. The sample group consisted of the Thai listed companies in the period of 2020 to 2021, totaling 810 observations. The instruments used for data collection were the 2020 - 2021 annual financial statements of the companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, annual registration statement (Form 56-1 One Report), annual report (Form 56-2) and sustainability reporting. A fixed-effects panel of the data regression model was applied for statistical data analysis. The empirical results revealed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, ESG performance had a positive relationship with the firm value, with the statistical significance level of 0.01. These findings are supporting the stakeholder theory.