Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance and Dividend Payout: Evidence from Thai Listed Firms

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Pavinee Manowan

บทคัดย่อ

         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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