IT-services: Green Means Competitive?

Abstract

Introduction. The current stage of economic development is characterised by significant digitalisation and a noticeable shift of corporate strategies in favour of sustainable development. The first of these trends makes IT companies interesting for analysis, since in the era of digitalisation their impact on the global economy is significant and undeniable. The second trend is largely related to the exhaustion of tangible competitive factors and the shift of focus towards intangible competitive factors, in particular, towards catering to the specific needs of consumers, i.e. in the consideration of social and environmental factors throughout value chains. In line with modern trends, meeting these needs is achieved by implementing ESG-principles, including by IT companies, which is where the two major modern trends - digitalisation and corporate sustainability intertwine. In this context, the aim of the research is to analyse the relationship between IT companies’ financial performance and their ESG position.Materials and methods. The study is based on the analysis of correlation between the data of companies' financial statements and their valuations within the framework of S&P ESG-rating. Results of the research. According to the results of the analysis on the basis of the presented data sample, no significant correlation between revenue and profit indicators (on the one hand) and ESG[1]assessments of S&P rating (on the other hand) was revealed.Discussion and conclusion. The results obtained for companies in the IT-services industry generally correspond to the results of similar calculations by the authors for a number of other industries. Of course, they reflect the situation in a particular industry, with specific indicators (profit, revenue), taking into account such limitations of the study as the methodology of the selected ESG-rating and the volume of data sampling. Nevertheless, within the framework of the study we can say that there is no significant correlation between the financial performance of IT services companies and the implementation of ESG principles by these ccompanies.