ǂA ǂlegal origins perspective on ESG rating disagreement

Barbara Kurbus (Author), Vasja Rant (Author)

Abstract

Firms’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores vary significantly across rating pro- viders. This article considers the legal origins theory as a potential factor influencing ESG rating disagreement. By comparing ESG scores from five reputable rating providers – Bloomberg, S&P Global, LSEG, MSCI, and Sustainalytics – for a sample of 2392 public firms incorporated across 53 countries, we find that correlation disagreement between rating providers is lower for civil law firms, while dispersion disagreement across rating providers is lower for common law firms. This suggests, firstly, that civil law firms are influenced more by shared factors such as national pol- icies, regulations and industry practices, leading to higher correlations in ESG scores between rating providers, and secondly, that common law firms engage in more independent and firm- specific ESG efforts, resulting in lower ESG dispersion across rating providers.

Keywords

podjetje;družbena odgovornost;trajnostni razvoj;enterprises;social responsibility;sustainable development;

Data

Language:	English
Year of publishing:	2025
Typology:	1.01 - Original Scientific Article
Organization:	UL EF - Faculty of Economics
UDC:	502.131.1
COBISS:	220978179
ISSN:	0275-5319
Views:	39
Downloads:	24
Average score:	0 (0 votes)
Metadata:

Other data

Secondary language:	Slovenian
Secondary keywords:	podjetje;družbena odgovornost;trajnostni razvoj;
Type (COBISS):	Article
Pages:	22 str.
Volume:	ǂVol. ǂ74
Issue:	ǂarticle no. ǂ 102702
Chronology:	Feb. 2025
DOI:	10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102702
ID:	25646549