What Really Explains ESG Performance? Disentangling the Asymmetrical Drivers of the Triple Bottom Line
通过方差分解方法，分析CEO、企业、行业、年份和州效应如何解释ESG绩效差异，发现内部因素（CEO和企业）是主要决定因素，但负面ESG指标更受外部环境影响。
Why is there such great heterogeneity in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance between firms? Drawing inspiration from the locus of performance literature, we use variance partitioning methods to analyze the extent to which CEO, firm, industry, year, and state effects explain variation in ESG performance over recent decades. Our findings show that internal effects (i.e., CEO and firm) are the strongest determinants. Yet, disaggregation of the multidimensional ESG construct shifts the salience of the factors significantly, revealing the importance of the external environment (i.e., industry and year) in explaining ESG concerns. Our research extends the locus of performance literature to our understanding of the triple bottom line and contributes to understanding the complex determinants of firm-level ESG performance across an array of positive and negative ESG indicators.