The Impact of ownership concentration & capital structure on firm-level ESG performance in the Finnish cooperate sector
Asuramange, Hansinee (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025053018591
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025053018591
Tiivistelmä
The study analyzes how capital structure and ownership concentration affect ESG performance in Nordic manufacturing companies in Finland. This study investigated the impact of ownership concentration and capital structure over a five-year period in 25 Nordic manufacturing companies in Finland. In a positive, deductive and quantitative approach, the current research focuses on the impact of capital concentration and ownership structure on the ESG performance of 25 Nordic manufacturing companies. Secondary data from annual reports, Nasdaq OMX Nordic 40, Refinitiv and Sustainalytics are analyzed over a five-year period.
The ESG scores, ownership measures (from top individuals to collective ownership measures), capital structure (from debt to equity and from debt to asset measures), and control factors (such as board composition and performance-related compensation) were significant variables. Statistical software was also used to conduct OLS regression analysis, descriptive statistics, and Pearson correlation. Although there were some limitations due to sector relevance and inconsistent secondary data, control variables such as firm size and industry effects were included to improve validity and reliability.
According to this study, social pillar scores showed the highest performance levels, while ESG performance of companies showed significant variations. Capital structure variables revealed mild leverage, while ownership concentration measures showed high variability. The first hypothesis received little support from the correlation analysis, while the second hypothesis received some support. Here, significant ownership and capital structure variables were shown to support the first and second hypotheses, and the overall ESG model showed moderate explanatory power.
Capital structure was found to have a greater impact on ESG than ownership concentration, especially regarding social performance. The study showed that capital structure variables had broad and consistent effects across different ESG components, and ownership concentration had some impact on ESG dimensions. The weak model per-formance for some ESG pillars indicated that regulatory and other external factors could significantly influence these results more than the ownership and capital structure variables tested, but the findings helped to explain the financial determinants of ESG performance in the Nordic manufacturing context.
The ESG scores, ownership measures (from top individuals to collective ownership measures), capital structure (from debt to equity and from debt to asset measures), and control factors (such as board composition and performance-related compensation) were significant variables. Statistical software was also used to conduct OLS regression analysis, descriptive statistics, and Pearson correlation. Although there were some limitations due to sector relevance and inconsistent secondary data, control variables such as firm size and industry effects were included to improve validity and reliability.
According to this study, social pillar scores showed the highest performance levels, while ESG performance of companies showed significant variations. Capital structure variables revealed mild leverage, while ownership concentration measures showed high variability. The first hypothesis received little support from the correlation analysis, while the second hypothesis received some support. Here, significant ownership and capital structure variables were shown to support the first and second hypotheses, and the overall ESG model showed moderate explanatory power.
Capital structure was found to have a greater impact on ESG than ownership concentration, especially regarding social performance. The study showed that capital structure variables had broad and consistent effects across different ESG components, and ownership concentration had some impact on ESG dimensions. The weak model per-formance for some ESG pillars indicated that regulatory and other external factors could significantly influence these results more than the ownership and capital structure variables tested, but the findings helped to explain the financial determinants of ESG performance in the Nordic manufacturing context.