Environmental, Social, and Governance Practices and Competitive Advantage: Evidence from Listed Firms in Nigeria

Authors

  • Adams Bello Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Delta, Agbor. Delta State.
  • Henrietta Chinasa Uzozie Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Delta, Agbor. Delta State.

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the influence of environmental, social, and governance practices on the
competitive advantage of listed firms in Nigeria. An ex-post facto study design was used, employing
secondary data collected from the audited annual reports of 76 firms to generate 760 firm-years
observations between 2015 and 2024. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a fixed-effects
panel regression model using Stata 18. The results revealed that all ESG practices significantly and
positively influenced the firms’ competitive advantage in Nigeria. The influence of environmental practices
was the highest (β = 0.482, t = 5.60, p < 0.001), followed by governance (β = 0.401, t = 4.41, p < 0.001)
and social practices (β = 0.315, t = 4.26, p < 0.001). This study concluded that ESG disclosure significantly
enhanced firms’ value and recommended that listed firms should focus more on ESG practices to improve
their competitive advantage.

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Published

2026-07-29

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 2 (2026): Iyamho Journal of Management and Social Sciences, Volume2 Issue2

Section

Articles