Recalibrating Environmental Social Governance (ESG)

Ferdinand Schwarzer

doi:10.5771/9783828851832

Summary

ESG swiftly transitioned from a financial niche to a topic of public discourse, but recent disillusionment has challenged its transformative potential for developing sustainable societies. This thesis seeks to recalibrate ESG in terms of its effectiveness over its efficiency. Exploring ESG's history, ecosystem and diverse perspectives, the study conceptually expands each pillar through Gen Z's societal roles and both Peter Drucker's and Peter Paschek's insights into the social responsibility of businesses and the requirements for a ‘bearable society’. The author’s quantitative and qualitative analysis reveals that expanding ESG could be promising for every company, with the caveat that it will also lead to (only initial) discomfort for society’s major leadership groups.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2024
ISBN-Print: 978-3-8288-5182-5
ISBN-Online: 978-3-8288-5183-2
Publisher: Tectum, Baden-Baden
Series: Young Academics: Betriebswirtschaftslehre
Volume: 6
Language: English
Pages: 182
Product type: Book Titles

Titelei/InhaltsverzeichnisPages I - XII Download chapter (PDF)
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1. 1.1 What Is ESG and How Is Peter Drucker Related to It?
2. 1.2 Scientific Relevance & Research Goals
3. 1.3 Thesis Structure
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1. 1. 2.1.2 The Emergence and Development of the Term ESG
  2. 2.1.3 More Definitions Than Letters: Flexibility, Ambiguity and Confusion Around ESG
  3. 2.1.4 The Different ‘Kinds of ESG’
  4. 2.1.5 The ESG Ecosystem
  5. 2.1.6 Who Is in the Business of ESG?
2. 1. 1. ESG is Distraction
    2. ESG is Impossible
    3. ESG is Box-Ticking
    4. ESG Can’t Be Measured
    5. There Is No ESG Alpha
    6. Notes on the Opposing Views
  2. 1. Done Is Better Than Perfect – Also in ESG
    2. Climate Crisis Demands the Shift to Long-Term Thinking
    3. Accounting Profit for the “Cost of What”
    4. Diversified Standardization Is Valuable for ESG
    5. The ‘Big Tent Approach’ Covers Many Interest Groups
    6. Social License is Corporate Oxygen
  3. 2.2.3 Long-Term Value for Who?
3. 1. 2.3.1 Consumer Demands
  2. 2.3.2 (Corporate) Political Demands
  3. 2.3.3 Employee Demands
4. 2.4 Legitimacy Under Threat – Survey Hypotheses
5. 1. The 50-Year-Old New Responsibility of Businesses
  2. Application to ESG
6. 2.6 What Makes a Society Bearable?
7. 1. 2.7.1 Environmental: From Primum Non Nocere to Tertium Sanare
  2. 2.7.2 Social: Providing for Competence
  3. 2.7.3 Governance: Politics and Pay
8. 2.8 Reflection and Interview Research Questions
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1. 3.1 Overview and Reasoning for the Methodological Approach
2. 1. 3.2.1 Recruiting of Survey Respondents
  2. 3.2.2 Survey Construction and Procedure
  3. 3.2.3 Quantitative Survey: Analysis Strategy
3. 1. 3.3.1 Advantages of Qualitative In-depth Interviews
  2. 3.3.2 Recruiting of Interviewees
  3. 3.3.3 Development of Interview Guidelines and Interview Procedure
  4. 3.3.4 Qualitative Interviews: Analysis Strategy
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1. 1. 4.1.1 General Findings: Opinions on Friedman, Drucker & Social Legitimacy
  2. 4.1.2 Perceived Relevance of ‘Environmental’, ‘Social’ & ‘Governance’
  3. 4.1.3 Additional Data Examination: Gender and Nationality
2. 4.2 Discussion and Summary of the Survey Results
3. 1. 4.3.1 Reflection on and of Participants
  2. 1. Emergence of ESG
    2. Purpose and Mission of ESG
    3. Perceived Impact of ESG
    4. Shortcomings and Obstacles of ESG Adoption
  3. 1. Drivers of ESG
    2. Beneficiaries of ESG
    3. Young People and ESG
  4. 1. Role & Social Responsibility of the Business Enterprise in our Society
    2. Special Role of Elites
4. 1. 4.4.1 Perceived Effectiveness of ‘E’
  2. 4.4.2 Perceived Effectiveness of ‘S’
  3. 4.4.3 Perceived Effectiveness of ‘G’
5. 4.5 Synthesis of Results: Can ESG Be a Vehicle Towards a Bearable Society?
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1. 5.1 Limitations of the Study
2. 1. 5.2.1 Research Implications
  2. 1. 1. Embracing Regulatory Evolution
    2. 2. Vigilance Against Greenwashing
    3. 3. Extending the Understanding of ESG’s Purpose and Mission
    4. 4. Integrating ESG into Corporate Strategy: A Competitive Imperative
6 Summary and ConclusionPages 151 - 154 Download chapter (PDF)
7 Personal EpiloguePages 155 - 156 Download chapter (PDF)
8 ReferencesPages 157 - 180 Download chapter (PDF)
AppendixPages 181 - 182 Download chapter (PDF)