Menakar Ulang Manfaat ESG di Pasar Berkembang: Peran Dominan Financial Slack dalam Meningkatkan Profitabilitas
Abstract
This study examines the relationship between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) pillar scores, financial slack, and return on assets (ROA) in Indonesian non-financial listed firms during 2021–2025. Employing a firm fixed-effects model with a one-year lag, the research analyzes a sample of 44 firms from Refinitiv database, resulting in 220 firm-year observations. The empirical results indicate that the environmental (β = −0.045266; p = 0.3216), social (β = −0.044319; p = 0.3562), and governance (β = 0.060893; p = 0.1284) coefficients are not statistically significant at the 5% level. Conversely, financial slack exhibits a significant and positive association with ROA (β = 13.365410; p = 0.0054), contributing to an adjusted R² of 0.596998. These findings highlight that working-capital flexibility plays a dominant role in driving corporate profitability, while demonstrating that higher sustainability performance across ESG pillars does not necessarily yield immediate financial gains in asset profitability.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDF (Bahasa Indonesia)References
Baltagi, B. H. 2005. Econometric analysis of panel data (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Bourgeois, L. J., III. 1981. On the measurement of organizational slack. Academy of Management Review, 6(1), 29–39. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.1981.4287985
Cheng, B., Ioannou, I., & Serafeim, G. 2014. Corporate social responsibility and access to finance. Strategic Management Journal, 35(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2131
Croissant, Y., & Millo, G. 2008. Panel data econometrics in R: The plm package. Journal of Statistical Software, 27(2), 1–43. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v027.i02
da Cunha, Í. G. F., Policarpo, R. V. S., de Oliveira, P. C. S., Abdala, E. C., & Rebelatto, D. A. N. 2025. A systematic review of ESG indicators and corporate performance: Proposal for a conceptual framework. Future Business Journal, 11, Article 106. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-025-00539-1
Eccles, R. G., Ioannou, I., & Serafeim, G. 2014. The impact of corporate sustainability on organizational processes and performance. Management Science, 60(11), 2835–2857. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1984
Fatemi, A., Glaum, M., & Kaiser, S. 2018. ESG performance and firm value: The moderating role of disclosure. Global Finance Journal, 38, 45–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfj.2017.03.001
Freeman, R. E. 1984. Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Pitman.
Friede, G., Busch, T., & Bassen, A. 2015. ESG and financial performance: Aggregated evidence from more than 2000 empirical studies. Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 5(4), 210–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/20430795.2015.1118917
Jensen, M. C., & Meckling, W. H. 1976. Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3(4), 305–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-405X(76)90026-X
Lin, W. L., Ho, J. A., Ng, S. I., & Lee, C. 2019. Does corporate social responsibility lead to improved firm performance? The hidden role of financial slack. Social Responsibility Journal, 16(7), 957–982. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-10-2018-0259
LSEG. 2024. Refinitiv ESG scores methodology. https://www.lseg.com/content/dam/marketing/en_us/documents/methodology/refinitiv-esg-scores-methodology.pdf
Luthan, E., Zen, S. D., & Dwinanda, V. P. 2025. The influence of environmental factors on firm financial performance. Dinasti International Journal of Economics, Finance & Accounting, 5(6), 6058–6067. https://doi.org/10.38035/dijefa.v5i6.3788
Margaret, I., Verwaal, E., & Schoubben, F. 2026. Financial slack and corporate social performance of Asian multinational corporations: An institutional difference hypothesis perspective. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 43(1), 349–394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-025-10030-8
Minggu, A. M., Aboladaka, J., & Neonufa, G. F. 2023. Environmental, social dan governance (ESG) dan kinerja keuangan perusahaan publik di Indonesia. Owner: Riset dan Jurnal Akuntansi, 7(2), 1186–1195. https://doi.org/10.33395/owner.v7i2.1371
Mishina, Y., Pollock, T. G., & Porac, J. F. 2004. Are more resources always better for growth? Resource stickiness in market and product expansion. Strategic Management Journal, 25(12), 1179–1197. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.424
Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK). 2017. Peraturan Otoritas Jasa Keuangan Nomor 51/POJK.03/2017 tentang Penerapan Keuangan Berkelanjutan bagi Lembaga Jasa Keuangan, Emiten, dan Perusahaan Publik.
Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK). 2021. Roadmap Keuangan Berkelanjutan Tahap II (2021–2025).
Rahman, H. U., Zahid, M., & Al-Faryan, M. A. S. 2023. ESG and firm performance: The rarely explored moderation of sustainability strategy and top management commitment. Journal of Cleaner Production, 404, Article 136859. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136859
Rahman, K., Yurniwati, Komalasari, S. P., & Alqayidi, A. A. 2026. ESG performance and bankruptcy risk in Southeast Asia: Moderating role of board gender diversity. Journal of Economic Cooperation and Development, 47(3), 1–32.
Shin, J., Moon, J. J., & Kang, J. 2023. Where does ESG pay? The role of national culture in moderating the relationship between ESG performance and financial performance. International Business Review, 32(3).
Shrestha, C., Andrikopoulos, P., & Park, J. S. 2025. ESG rating and financial performance in the emerging markets: The moderating effects of cross-listing and industry type. Research in International Business and Finance, 77.
Singhania, M., & Gupta, D. 2024. Impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure on firm risk: A meta-analytical review. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 31(4), 3573–3613.
Spence, M. 1973. Job market signaling. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87(3), 355–374. https://doi.org/10.2307/1882010
Waddock, S. A., & Graves, S. B. 1997. The corporate social performance–financial performance link. Strategic Management Journal, 18(4), 303–319.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24167/jab.v24i2.16117
Print ISSN : 1412-775X | online ISSN : 2541-5204 JAB Stats