How environmental, social, and governance implementation and structure impact sustainable development goals

Abstract

This study investigates how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy and implementation, along with governance structure, influence sustainable development goals (SDGs). In recognizing the SDG gap between intent and implementation, our study places a special focus on the mediating role of ESG implementation, the moderating role of governance structure, and the pivotal concept of embeddedness of strategy in shaping SDG impact. To test the hypotheses, we analyze firm‐level data from 552 Taiwanese listed companies. The results suggest that ESG implementation mediates the relationship between a firm's ESG strategy and SDG impact. The governance structure plays a moderating role on the relationship between ESG implementation and SDG impact. Furthermore, the embeddedness of strategy shows a positive effect on SDG impact. The empirical findings contribute substantially to the theoretical landscape of ESG studies. The findings offer practical implications for business leaders striving to elevate their firms' SDG impacts.