• Journal of Venture Innovation
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.77-90
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• 2024

While discussions on ESG are actively taking place in Europe and other countries, the number of countries pushing for mandatory ESG information disclosure related to non-financial information of listed companies is rapidly increasing. However, as companies respond to mandatory global ESG information disclosure, problems are emerging such as the stringent requirements of global ESG disclosure standards, the complexity of data management, and a lack of understanding and preparation of the ESG system itself. In addition, it requires a reasonable analysis of how business management opportunities and risk factors due to climate change affect the company's financial impact, so it is expected to be quite difficult to analyze the results that meet the disclosure standards. In order to perform tasks such as ESG management activities and information disclosure, data of various types and sources is required and management through an information system is necessary to measure this transparently, collect it without error, and manage it without omission. Therefore, in this study, we designed an ESG data integrated management model to integrate and manage various related indicators and data in order to transparently and efficiently convey the company's ESG activities to various stakeholders through ESG information disclosure. A framework for implementing an information system to handle management was developed. These research results can help companies facing difficulties in ESG disclosure at a practical level to efficiently manage ESG information disclosure. In addition, the presentation of an integrated data management model through analysis of the ESG disclosure work process and the development of an information system to support ESG information disclosure were significant in the academic aspects needed to study ESG in the future.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.69-78
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• 2024

Recently, consumers have shown an increasing tendency to seek information related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects in order to choose products with higher social value and environmental friendliness. In this paper, we proposes a product recommendation system applying ESG indicators tailored to the recent consumer trend of value-based consumption, utilizing a model called MultiSAGE that combines GraphSAGE and GAT. To achieve this, ESG rating data for 1,033 companies in 2022 collected from the Korea ESG Standard Institute and actual product data from N companies were transformed into a Heterogeneous Graph format through a data processing pipeline. The MultiSAGE model was then applied in machine learning to implement a recommendation system that, given a specific product, suggests eco-friendly alternatives. The implementation results indicate that consumers can easily compare and purchase products with ESG indicators applied, and it is anticipated that this system will be utilized in recommending products with social value and environmental friendliness.

• Proceedings of the Korea Information Processing Society Conference
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• 2021.11a
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• pp.1253-1256
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• 2021

떠오르는 ESG 펀드(ETF·ELF)에 투자하는 서비스로 행동하는 소비자가 적극적인 ESG 펀드 기업의 사회적 변화를 주도록 변화를 만들어갈 수 있도록 핀테크와 ESG 플랫폼 통합서비스를 제시한다. 행동하는 소비자들은 증권사가 투자/운용하는 ESG 펀드(ETF·ELF)에 투자하고, 증권사는 발생하는 이익 일부를 사회 취약계층에 기부하여 사회적 책임을 다하는 기업으로 이미지 제고와 증권사 고객 증가, 펀드 자금 증가, 투자받는 기업들은 ESG 경영을 위한 자금 확보를 통해, 소비자와 증권사 그리고 ESG 경영 기업으로 이루어진 선한 영향력의 사이클을 선순환하는 비즈니스 모델과 아키텍쳐를 제시한다.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.85-100
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• 2023

Corporate ESG performance (environmental, social, and corporate governance) reflecting a company's strategic sustainability has emerged as one of the main factors in today's investment decisions. The traditional ESG performance rating process is largely performed in a qualitative and subjective manner based on the institution-specific criteria, entailing limitations in reliability, predictability, and timeliness when making investment decisions. This study attempted to predict the corporate ESG rating through automated machine learning based on quantitative and disclosed corporate financial information. Using 12 types (21,360 cases) of market-disclosed financial information and 1,780 ESG measures available through the Korea Institute of Corporate Governance and Sustainability during 2019 to 2021, we suggested a deep neural network prediction model. Our model yielded about 86% of accurate classification performance in predicting ESG rating, showing better performance than other comparative models. This study contributed the literature in a way that the model achieved relatively accurate ESG rating predictions through an automated process using quantitative and publicly available corporate financial information. In terms of practical implications, the general investors can benefit from the prediction accuracy and time efficiency of our proposed model with nominal cost. In addition, this study can be expanded by accumulating more Korean and international data and by developing a more robust and complex model in the future.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-25
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• 2023

ESG management is becoming a necessity of the times, but there are about 600 ESG evaluation indicators worldwide, causing confusion in the market as different ESG ratings were assigned to individual companies according to evaluation agencies. In addition, since the method of applying ESG was not disclosed, there were not many ways for companies that wanted to introduce ESG management to get help. Accordingly, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the K-ESG guideline jointly with the ministries. In previous studies, there were few studies on the comparison of evaluation grades by ESG evaluation company or the application of evaluation diagnostic items. Therefore, in this study, the ease of application and improvement of the K-ESG guideline was attempted by applying the K-ESG guideline to companies that already have ESG ratings. The position of the K-ESG guideline is also confirmed by comparing the scores calculated through the K-ESG guideline for companies that have ESG ratings from global ESG evaluation agencies and domestic ESG evaluation agencies. As a result of the analysis, first, the K-ESG guideline provide clear and detailed standards for individual companies to set their own ESG goals and set the direction of ESG practice. Second, the K-ESG guideline is suitable for domestic and global ESG evaluation standards as it has 61 diagnostic items and 12 additional diagnostic items covering the evaluation indicators of global representative ESG evaluation agencies and KCGS in Korea. Third, the ESG rating of the K-ESG guideline was higher than that of a global ESG rating company and lower than or similar to that of a domestic ESG rating company. Fourth, the ease of application of the K-ESG guideline is judged to be high. Fifth, the point to be improved in the K-ESG guideline is that the government needs to compile industry average statistics on diagnostic items in the K-ESG environment area and publish them on the government's ESG-only site. In addition, the applied weights of E, S, and G by industry should be determined and disclosed. This study will help ESG evaluation agencies, corporate management, and ESG managers interested in ESG management in establishing ESG management strategies and contributing to providing improvements to be referenced when revising the K-ESG guideline in the future.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.229-250
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• 2022

This study examines the influence relationship between ESG management and organizational justice, which has become a major issue in Korean society and corporate management, and the effect of organizational justice on organizational trust, and organizational identification. In addition, the mediating effect of organizational justice in the relationship between ESG activity perception, organizational trust, and organizational identification was verified. As a result of the analysis, first, it was confirmed that the employee's perception of the company's ESG activities had a significant effect on the organizational justice. Second, it was confirmed that the employee's perception of organizational justice had a significant effect on the employee's organizational trust and organizational identification. Third, the mediating effect of organizational justice was confirmed in the relationship between employees' perception of ESG activities, organizational trust, and organizational identification. Accordingly, it is necessary to elicit positive attitudes and behaviors from employees to enhance organizational competitiveness by strengthening ESG activities, and enhancing organizational justice through Improvement of the company's institutional practices.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.47-65
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• 2023

As stakeholder demands and sustainable finance grow, ESG management and ESG evaluation are becoming important. SMEs should also prepare for the trends of ESG rating practices that affects supply chain management and financial transactions. However, SMEs have no choice but to focus on survival first, so there are restrictions on putting into ESG management. In addition, there is a lack of research on the legitimacy of ESG management by SMEs, and volatility in ESG evaluation systems and rating grades is also increasing. Accordingly, it is necessary to review ESG evaluation trends and practical guidelines along with the review of previous studies. As a result of the exploratory study, SMEs need to implement ESG management and make efforts to specialize in ESG related new businesses under conditions in which their survival base is guaranteed in terms of implementation strategies. In addition, it is necessary to focus on the strategic use of various evaluation results along with accumulating information favorable for ESG evaluation through organizational learning and software management. The implications of this study are that various studies such as the classification criteria for SMEs and the relationship between ESG evaluation grades and long-term survival rates are needed in ESG evaluation of SMEs. At the government policy level, it is time to consider the ESG evaluation system exclusively for SMEs so that ESG management can be implemented and ESG evaluation at different levels by industry and size.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.317-340
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• 2023

In a business context, ESG is defined as the use of environmental, social, and governance factors to assess a firm's progress in terms of sustainability. Social media has enabled the public to actively share firms' good and/or bad deeds, increasing public interest in ESG management. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association of firm performances with the respective sentiments towards each of environmental, social, and governance activities, as well as comprehensive ESG sentiments, which encompass all environmental, social, and governance sentiments. This study used panel regression models to examine the relationship between social media ESG sentiment and the Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) of 143 companies listed on the KOSPI 200. We collected data from 2018 to 2021, including sentiment data from a variety of social media channels, such as online communities, Instagram, blogs, Twitter, and other news. The results indicated that firm performance is significantly related to respective ESG and comprehensive ESG sentiments. This study has several implications. By using data from various social media channels, it presents an unbiased view of public ESG sentiment, rather than relying on ESG ratings, which may be influenced by rating agencies. Furthermore, the findings can be used to help firms determine the direction of their ESG management. Therefore, this study provides theoretical and practical insights for researchers and firms interested in ESG management.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.287-316
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• 2023

As global energy crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have emerged as social issues, there is a growing demand for companies to move away from profit-centric business models and embrace sustainable management that balances environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. ESG activities of companies vary across industries, and industry-specific weights are applied in ESG evaluations. Therefore, it is important to develop strategic management approaches that reflect the characteristics of each industry and the importance of each ESG factor. Additionally, with the stance of strengthened focus on ESG disclosures, specific guidelines are needed to identify and report on sustainable management activities of domestic companies. To understand corporate sustainability strategies, analyzing ESG reports and news articles by industry can help identify strategic characteristics in specific industries. However, each company has its own unique strategies and report structures, making it difficult to grasp detailed trends or action items. In our study, we analyzed ESG reports (2019-2021) and news articles (2019-2022) of six companies in the 'Finance,' 'Manufacturing,' and 'IT' sectors to examine the sustainability strategies of leading domestic ESG companies. Text mining techniques such as keyword frequency analysis and topic modeling were applied to identify industry-specific, ESG element-specific management strategies and issues. The analysis revealed that in the 'Finance' sector, customer-centric management strategies and efforts to promote an inclusive culture within and outside the company were prominent. Strategies addressing climate change, such as carbon neutrality and expanding green finance, were also emphasized. In the 'Manufacturing' sector, the focus was on creating sustainable communities through occupational health and safety issues, sustainable supply chain management, low-carbon technology development, and eco-friendly investments to achieve carbon neutrality. In the 'IT' sector, there was a tendency to focus on technological innovation and digital responsibility to enhance social value through technology. Furthermore, the key issues identified in the ESG factors were as follows: under the 'Environmental' element, issues such as greenhouse gas and carbon emission management, industry-specific eco-friendly activities, and green partnerships were identified. Under the 'Social' element, key issues included social contribution activities through stakeholder engagement, supporting the growth and coexistence of members and partner companies, and enhancing customer value through stable service provision. Under the 'Governance' element, key issues were identified as strengthening board independence through the appointment of outside directors, risk management and communication for sustainable growth, and establishing transparent governance structures. The exploration of the relationship between ESG disclosures in reports and ESG issues in news articles revealed that the sustainability strategies disclosed in reports were aligned with the issues related to ESG disclosed in news articles. However, there was a tendency to strengthen ESG activities for prevention and improvement after negative media coverage that could have a negative impact on corporate image. Additionally, environmental issues were mentioned more frequently in news articles compared to ESG reports, with environmental-related keywords being emphasized in the 'Finance' sector in the reports. Thus, ESG reports and news articles shared some similarities in content due to the sharing of information sources. However, the impact of media coverage influenced the emphasis on specific sustainability strategies, and the extent of mentioning environmental issues varied across documents. Based on our study, the following contributions were derived. From a practical perspective, companies need to consider their characteristics and establish sustainability strategies that align with their capabilities and situations. From an academic perspective, unlike previous studies on ESG strategies, we present a subdivided methodology through analysis considering the industry-specific characteristics of companies.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.1-22
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• 2023

Existing studies on mixed ratings that combine ESG ratings and credit ratings have been rare. Through meta-frontier analysis, this study examines the relationship between the prime and non-prime groups in ESG ratings, credit ratings, and mixed ratings that consider ESG ratings and credit ratings at the same time. Efficiency was compared. Meta-frontier analysis was used to compare the efficiency of 143 listed manufacturing companies in Korea between the prime and non-prime groups based on the ESG ratings assigned to them by KCGS and the credit ratings assigned by Korea's three major credit rating agencies. As a result of this study, first, the meta-efficiency of the prime mixed-grade group was statistically more efficient than the non-prime mixed-grade group under the variable return scale (VRS) assumption. Second, the prime ESG rating group had a relatively higher proportion of scale inefficiency than the non-prime ESG rating group. Third, in terms of economies of scale, the prime credit rating group had a higher proportion of diminishing returns to scale (DRS) than the non-prime credit rating group. This study will help companies interested in sustainability management to do ESG management.