What does this research mean for the field?

In the emerging market context of Tunisia, corporate governance and social practices are more advanced than environmental initiatives, with higher overall ESG performance driven by firm size, age, public listing, and group affiliation. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.NOVEL_FINDING. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

Examine the firm-level determinants of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices to understand how corporate characteristics drive sustainability engagement in emerging economies.

September 2, 2026International Journal of Development Issues

Towards the establishment of an ESG rating in emergent markets: firm-level evidence from Tunisia

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Authors

SBSina Belkhiria IBImen Bouchmel ALAzhaar Lajmi

Discussion

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Overview

Survey analysis demonstrates firm-level drivers of environmental, social, and governance ratings in emerging-market firms, indicating organizational scale dictates sustainability adoption.

Key Points

Examine the firm-level determinants of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices to understand how corporate characteristics drive sustainability engagement in emerging economies.
Surveyed 55 firms across industrial, financial, and consulting sectors in Tunisia.
Constructed a composite ESG index using principal component analysis (PCA) aligned with the Tunis Stock Exchange framework to evaluate environmental, social, and governance dimensions.
Social and governance practices are moderately advanced across surveyed firms, whereas environmental initiatives remain substantially limited.
Firm size, age, public listing status, and business-group affiliation positively influence ESG performance, reflecting the impact of resource availability and institutional pressures.

Cite This Study

Belkhiria et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a97e2eac562ede874ec7437 https://doi.org/10.1108/ijdi-10-2025-0255

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September 2, 2026International Journal of Development Issues

Towards the establishment of an ESG rating in emergent markets: firm-level evidence from Tunisia

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

SBSina Belkhiria IBImen Bouchmel ALAzhaar Lajmi

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Survey analysis demonstrates firm-level drivers of environmental, social, and governance ratings in emerging-market firms, indicating organizational scale dictates sustainability adoption.

Key Points

Examine the firm-level determinants of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices to understand how corporate characteristics drive sustainability engagement in emerging economies.
Surveyed 55 firms across industrial, financial, and consulting sectors in Tunisia.
Constructed a composite ESG index using principal component analysis (PCA) aligned with the Tunis Stock Exchange framework to evaluate environmental, social, and governance dimensions.
Social and governance practices are moderately advanced across surveyed firms, whereas environmental initiatives remain substantially limited.
Firm size, age, public listing status, and business-group affiliation positively influence ESG performance, reflecting the impact of resource availability and institutional pressures.

Cite This Study

Belkhiria et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a97e2eac562ede874ec7437 https://doi.org/10.1108/ijdi-10-2025-0255

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark