Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance and Dividend Payout: Evidence from Thai Listed Firms
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Abstract
This study investigates the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance on dividend payout among Thai listed companies during 2014–2024. Using a sample of 1,573 firm-year observations across three industry groups, including Agro, Industrial and Resources (Industry 1), Consumer, Service and Technology (Industry 2), and Financial, Property and Construction (Industry 3), the study applies a fixed-effects panel regression corrected for heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation through Weighted Least Squares (WLS) and AR(2) specifications. Consistent with international evidence, ESG performance is positively associated with dividend payouts across all industries, with the strongest effect observed in financial and property firms. When ESG is decomposed, environmental performance significantly increases dividends in Industry 2 and 3, while the social pillar shows no significant influence. Governance scores reduce dividend payouts only in Industry 1. Additional findings reveal that profitability and leverage reduce dividends, firm age negatively affects payouts in Industry 2, and Thai firms exhibit strong dividend smoothing behavior. These results highlight the growing importance of sustainability signals in shaping financial policy in an emerging-market context where ESG practices and investor expectations are still evolving.
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เนื้อหาและข้อมูลในบทความที่ลงตีพิมพ์ในวารสารสภาวิชาชีพบัญชี ถือเป็นข้อคิดเห็นและความรับผิดชอบของผู้เขียนบทความโดยตรงซึ่งกองบรรณาธิการวารสารไม่จำเป็นต้องเห็นด้วยหรือร่วมรับผิดชอบใด ๆ
บทความ ข้อมูล เนื้อหา รูปภาพ ฯลฯ ที่ได้รับการตีพิมพ์ในวารสารสภาวิชาชีพบัญชี ถือเป็นลิขสิทธิ์ของวารสารสภาวิชาชีพบัญชี หากบุคคลหรือหน่วยงานใดต้องการนำข้อมูลทั้งหมดหรือบางส่วนไปเผยแพร่ต่อหรือเพื่อกระทำการใดๆ จะต้องได้รับอนุญาตเป็นลายลักษณ์อักษรจากวารสารสภาวิชาชีพบัญชี ก่อนเท่านั้น
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