內部與外部利害關係人對財務績效之影響：環境永續發展之中介效果

Abstract

本研究旨在探討企業面對日益嚴峻的環境風險與相關法規要求下，如何回應利害關係人對環境責任之期待，並分析企業是否能透過落實環境永續發展影響財務績效。本研究以2019至2023年臺灣上市櫃企業為研究樣本，檢驗內部利害關係人（董事會、高階管理人員與員工）與外部利害關係人（機構投資人、媒體與債權人）對財務績效之影響，並納入環境永續發展作為中介變數進行實證分析。本研究採用逐步因果分析檢驗變數關係，並以Sobel test檢驗環境永續發展之中介效果，另使用SEM拔靴法驗證中介效果之穩健性。實證結果顯示，機構投資人與債權人能透過資金監督促使企業落實環境永續發展，進而提升財務績效；媒體負面報導則使企業面臨聲譽風險，導致企業以象徵性回應環境議題，反而降低財務績效。內部利害關係人中，董事會規模與教育程度可強化決策品質與專業能力，促使企業有效推動環境永續發展，進而增加財務績效。然而，高階主管因持股比率高而產生自利行為，使企業無法有效實踐環境永續發展，進而損及財務績效，顯示環境永續發展為企業回應利害關係人期待與創造財務價值之關鍵因素。This study aims to examine how firms respond to face of increasingly severe environmental risks and regulatory requirements while addressing stakeholder expectations regarding environmental responsibility. Additionally, it analyzes whether firms can enhance their financial performance through the implementation of environmentally sustainable development. This study uses listed companies in Taiwan from 2019 to 2023 as the research sample to investigate the impact of internal stakeholders (board of directors, senior executives, and employees) and external stakeholders (institutional investors, media, and creditors) on financial performance, while incorporating environmentally sustainable development as a mediating variable for empirical analysis. The research uses a causal steps approach to examine the relationships among the variables. Subsequently, the Sobel test is applied to assess the mediating effect of environmentally sustainable development, with bootstrapping via Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) used to verify the robustness of the mediation results. The empirical results show that institutional investors and creditors can promote environmentally sustainable development through financial oversight, thereby enhancing financial performance. In contrast, negative media coverage increases reputational risk, leading firms to adopt symbolic responses to environmental issues, which may reduce financial performance. Among internal stakeholders, a larger and more educated board improves decision-making quality and professional capacity, thus promoting environmentally sustainable development and improving financial performance. However, a high ownership ratio by senior executives may lead to self-serving behavior, hindering the implementation of environmentally sustainable development and diminishing financial performance. These findings highlight that environmentally sustainable development is a key factor for firms in responding to stakeholder expectations and creating financial value.