Does Sustainability translate into superior share price performance? A comparative study of American, British, and German stock markets

Authors

Jochlik, Lars

Issue Date

2022-01

Degree

Publisher

Dublin Business School

Rights

Abstract

This study aims to find a correlation between 242 stock performances on the company level in historically grown SRI markets in the USA, Germany, and Britain and their respective ESG scores of domestic rating agencies, as previous studies focused on SR funds and their performance. Professional input from 5 experts to gain insight into current investment behaviours and strategies and future outlooks. This was accomplished by using a risk reduced Pearson correlation for the stock correlation analysis and a scaled-down Braun and Clarke (2006) framework for the expert survey. The survey showed a substantial shift towards SRI due to rising client demand while not sacrificing returns. Correlation performance varied from industry to industry and might not be solely explained by ESG ratings. It can be expected that customer demand will increase over time and thus naturally lead to the better stock performance of SRI.