DOES DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION INCREASE THE ESG PERFORMANCE OF BUSINESSES?: AN APPLICATION ON BIST

Abstract

This study tested the impact of digital transformations on the ESG scores, which is a part of the sustainability reporting of companies traded in Borsa Istanbul (BIST) sustainability index between 2018 and 2022. Information about the digital transformation of businesses was obtained by content analysis method from annual reports, sustainability reports and integrated reports published at the end of the period. The digital transformation index was determined by calculating the digital transformation variable on a total of five dimensions: “artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, block chain and digital technology applications.” While calculating the digitalization index, the total number of digital transformation keywords and the number of words of the messages in which business managers evaluated the past and future were taken into account. The study was carried out using two models. In the first model, the total effect of digital transformation on ESG performance was examined, and in the second model the effect of digital transformation dimensions was tested separately. According to the results obtained from Model 1, it was found that the digital transformation variable of the enterprises did not have a significant effect on ESG performance, while according to the results obtained from Model 2, it was determined that the cloud computing component had a significant effect on ESG performance.

Keywords

• Sustainability
• Digitization
• Artificial Intelligence
• Big Data
• ESG

DİJİTAL DÖNÜŞÜM İŞLETMELERİN ESG PERFORMANSINI ARTTIRIR MI?: BIST ÜZERİNE BİR UYGULAMA

Abstract

Bu çalışmada Borsa İstanbul (BIST) sürdürülebilirlik endeksinde işlem gören işletmelerin 2018-2022 yılları arasında sürdürülebilirlik raporlamasının bir parçası olan ESG skorları üzerinde dijital dönüşümlerinin etkisi ele alınmıştır. İşletmelerin dijital dönüşümlerine ilişkin bilgiler dönem sonlarında yayımlanan faaliyet raporları, sürdürülebilirlik raporları ve entegre raporlardan içerik analizi yöntemi ile elde edilmiştir. Dijital dönüşüm değişkeni “yapay zeka, büyük veri, bulut bilişim, blok zincir ve dijital teknoloji uygulamaları” olmak üzere toplam beş boyut üzerinden hesaplanarak, dijitalleşme endeksi belirlenmiştir. Dijitalleşme endeksi hesaplanırken dijital dönüşüm anahtar kelimelerinin toplam sayısı ile işletme yöneticilerinin geçmişi ve geleceği değerlendirdiği mesajlarının kelime sayısı dikkate alınmıştır. Çalışma iki model üzerinden gerçekleştirilmiştir. Birinci modelde ESG performansı üzerinde dijital dönüşümün toplam etkisi incelenirken, ikinci modelde dijital dönüşüm boyutlarının etkisi ayrı ayrı test edilmiştir. Model 1’den elde edilen sonuçlara göre ESG performansı üzerinde işletmelerin dijital dönüşüm değişkeninin anlamlı bir etkisinin olmadığı görülürken, Model 2’den elde edilen sonuçlara göre ise bulut bilişim bileşeninin ESG performansı üzerinde anlamlı bir etkisinin olduğu tespit edilmiştir.

Keywords

• Sürdürülebilirlik
• Dijitalleşme
• Yapay Zeka
• Büyük Veri
• ESG

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