Promoting corporate financial sustainability through ESG practices: An employee-centric perspective and the moderating role of Asian values

Abstract

This study empirically examines the impacts of firms’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices on key organizational variables that bear significant corporate financial implications, namely employees’ organizational engagement, intention to stay, and organizational citizenship behavior. To this end, it also explores how their Asian value adherence would further moderate these impacts. Utilizing structural equation modeling analysis on survey data from 300 Hong Kong employees, the research reveals the significant direct and positive effects of social and governance practices on employees’ organizational engagement, and ultimately on their intention to stay and organizational citizenship behavior. The subsequent moderation analysis further reveals how Asian value adherence attenuates some of these influences. This study advances academic understanding of how ESG practices can be translated into favorable work-related outcomes pertinent to firms’ long-term financial sustainability. Moreover, the study provides managers operating in Asia with useful insights into devising effective strategies for implementing ESG practices to bolster their performance metrics and productivity.