| dc.description.abstract | The importance of the ESG and firm behavior connection has evolved rapidly in recent years. The introduction of EU’s Green Deal in 2020 la- beled Europe as a particularly interesting area for further research. Prior academic literature argued that ESG performance and financial constraints display a significant negative relation. This thesis investigates the rela- tionship between ESG performance and financial constraints for listed Eu- ropean firms from 2010 to 2019. The investigation was extended by the deconstruction of ESG to each respective E, S and G pillar scores, and eventually to a sub-category component level. We find robust evidence of a time consistent negative relationship between ESG performance and the financial constraints indices, WW, KZ and SA index. Our evidence sup- ports the proposition of high ESG scoring firms suffering less from financial constraints through a superior attraction of external capital. Furthermore, the results suggest Environmental and Social engagements to be the pri- mary enablers of the exhibited superior access, with an especial emphasize on climate and employee enhancing activities.
Key words: Financial Constraints, ESG Performance, Access to Finance, CSR, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Europe | en_US |
