Does Family Ownership Influence ESG Performance? Analyzing the Impact of Family Firms on ESG Ratings
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Date
2025
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Accountancy Business and the Public Interest
Abstract
This study examines the relationship between family ownership and ESG performance, analyzing a dataset of Nifty 500 companies from 2022 to 2024 to understand how ownership structures influence ESG performance. Using a fixed effects regression model, the study reveals that family ownership negatively impacts overall ESG scores, with the strongest effects seen in governance, followed by social and environmental performance. While firm size positively influences ESG adoption and liquidity constraints may hinder sustainability investments, these financial factors do not fully account for the ESG performance gap between family and non-family firms. While family firms often emphasize long-term value creation and stakeholder relationships, they tend to underperform in ESG compared to non-family firms, with the most significant shortcomings observed in governance. The findings suggest that concentrated ownership, financial conservatism, and a reluctance to cede control contribute to weaker governance mechanisms, lower ESG disclosure, and limited adoption of sustainability initiatives.
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Keywords
ESG Performance, ESG Scores, Family Ownership, ESG Ratings, ESG Disclosure