Industry conditions and the market value of ESG communication

This study examines when ESG communication enhances firm value and when its valuation effect weakens under different industry conditions. We use textual analysis of 50,563 quarterly earnings call transcripts from 1,577 US firms to measure ESG communication and estimate fixed-effects models with industry competition, growth and turbulence as moderators. ESG communication is positively associated with firm value on average, but this relationship weakens in highly competitive and high-growth industries, with heterogeneous effects across ESG dimensions. This study extends prior ESG–firm value research by showing how investors interpret ESG communication and that its valuation consequences depend on industry competition, growth and turbulence.