Impact of environmental, social and governance disclosures on market reaction: an evidence of Top50 companies listed from Thailand

Purpose - This study aims to survey the extent, level and trend of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures of top50 listed companies from Thailand, to test the different level of ESG disclosures of the companies between high profile industry and low profile industries and to examine the impact of ESG disclosures on the market reaction of top50 listed companies in Thailand. Design/methodology/approach - Population and sample were top50 listed companies from the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Using corporate annual reports from 2015 to 2019, content analysis by word counting was used to quantify the extent, level and trend of ESG disclosures, while the market reaction was collected by the average stock price. Descriptive analysis, independent sample t-test, correlation matrix and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. Findings - There was an increased level of ESG disclosures during the period being study. The most common ESG disclosures were social disclosure following by governance and environmental disclosures. Moreover, there were different levels of environmental disclosure of top50 listed companies between high and low profile industries, while no different levels of social and governance disclosures between high and low profile industries were found. Finally, the study found that environmental and social disclosures had a positive impact on market reaction, while there was a negative impact of governance disclosure on market reaction. Originality/value - Thai investors can use ESG disclosures for their decision-making on investment.