Table 1 Variable definition.
From: Digital transformation as an ESG performance catalyst with insights from China’s external governance
Variables | Descriptions | Calculation method |
|---|---|---|
DT | Digital transformation | Logarithm of the frequency of digital-related words in annual reports |
ESG | ESG index | Average ESG score for the company over four quarters |
Investor | Investor attention | Institutional investor shareholding ratio |
Government | Environment regulation | If the company is subject to key government supervision, the value is 1; otherwise, it is 0. |
Marketization | Business environment | The arithmetic mean of the indices for five aspects: the relationship between government and the market, the development of the non-state-owned economy, the level of development of product markets, the level of development of factor markets, the development of market intermediary organisations, and the legal and institutional environment. |
Size | Firm size | Logarithm of total assets |
Lev | Gearing ratio | Ratio of total liabilities to total assets |
Roa | Total return on assets | Ratio of net income to average balance of shareholders’ equity |
Tobinq | Tobin’s Q | (Market value of outstanding shares + number of non-outstanding shares × net assets per share + book value of liabilities) / Total assets |
Listage | Number of years the firm has been listed | Relative to the time a company goes public |
Mfee | Management expense ratio | Ratio of administrative expenses to operating income |
Indep | Independent director ratio | Ratio of the number of independent directors to the number of board members |
Top1 | Shareholding concentration | Shareholding ratio of the largest shareholder |
Bm | Book-to-market ratio | Ratio of total assets to market value |
Growth | Total assets growth rate | Ratio of increase in total assets at the end of the year to total assets at the beginning of the year |
