Table 2 Definition of variables Variable... | Emerald Publishing

Table 2

Definition of variables

Variable classification	Name	Symbol	Metric	Source and literature
Dependent variable	Dividends Payouts	DPD	The ratio of cash dividends to total assets	LSEG database, Kumar and Ghalke (2025), Ananzeh et al. (2025), Bilyay-Erdogan et al. (2023), Zahid et al. (2023)
Independent variables	ESG Performance	ESGS	Overall company score based on self-reported information in the environmental, social, and corporate governance pillars	LSEG database, Kumar and Ghalke (2025), Salvi et al. (2024), Bilyay-Erdogan et al. (2023), Zahid et al. (2023)
	Environmental Pillar Score	EPS	The environmental pillar measures a company's impact on living and non-living natural systems, including the air, land and water, as well as complete ecosystems
	Social Pillar Score	SPS	The social pillar measures a company's capacity to generate trust and loyalty with its workforce, customers and society, through its use of best management practices
	Governance Pillar Score	GPS	The corporate governance pillar measures a company's systems and processes, which ensure that its board members and executives act in the best interests of its long-term shareholders
	ESG Controversies	ESGC	The ESG controversies score measures a firm's exposure to negative ESG-related events reported in global media. A score of 100 indicates high exposure to controversies, meaning the company has faced severe or repeated negative incidents across environmental, social, or governance areas. A score of 0 indicates no recorded ESG controversies, reflecting a clean record and minimal reputational or operational risk from ESG-related events	LSEG database, Bilyay-Erdogan et al. (2023)
Moderating variable	Coercive Isomorphism	CSRD	Assigned a value of 1 for the years 2023 and 2024, and 0 otherwise, capturing regulatory pressure associated with future CSRD adoption	Author's Creation, Mahmood et al. (2026), Talha (2026)
Control variables	Leverage	LEV	Ratio of total liabilities to total assets	LSEG database, Kumar and Ghalke (2025)
	Firm Size	Fsize	Natural logarithm of total assets
	Return on Assets	ROA	Net income divided by total assets

Variable classification	Name	Symbol	Metric	Source and literature
Dependent variable	Dividends Payouts	DPD	The ratio of cash dividends to total assets	LSEG database, Kumar and Ghalke (2025), Ananzeh et al. (2025), Bilyay-Erdogan et al. (2023), Zahid et al. (2023)
Independent variables	ESG Performance	ESGS	Overall company score based on self-reported information in the environmental, social, and corporate governance pillars	LSEG database, Kumar and Ghalke (2025), Salvi et al. (2024), Bilyay-Erdogan et al. (2023), Zahid et al. (2023)
	Environmental Pillar Score	EPS	The environmental pillar measures a company's impact on living and non-living natural systems, including the air, land and water, as well as complete ecosystems
	Social Pillar Score	SPS	The social pillar measures a company's capacity to generate trust and loyalty with its workforce, customers and society, through its use of best management practices
	Governance Pillar Score	GPS	The corporate governance pillar measures a company's systems and processes, which ensure that its board members and executives act in the best interests of its long-term shareholders
	ESG Controversies	ESGC	The ESG controversies score measures a firm's exposure to negative ESG-related events reported in global media. A score of 100 indicates high exposure to controversies, meaning the company has faced severe or repeated negative incidents across environmental, social, or governance areas. A score of 0 indicates no recorded ESG controversies, reflecting a clean record and minimal reputational or operational risk from ESG-related events	LSEG database, Bilyay-Erdogan et al. (2023)
Moderating variable	Coercive Isomorphism	CSRD	Assigned a value of 1 for the years 2023 and 2024, and 0 otherwise, capturing regulatory pressure associated with future CSRD adoption	Author's Creation, Mahmood et al. (2026), Talha (2026)
Control variables	Leverage	LEV	Ratio of total liabilities to total assets	LSEG database, Kumar and Ghalke (2025)
	Firm Size	Fsize	Natural logarithm of total assets
	Return on Assets	ROA	Net income divided by total assets