ESG 경영 인프라가 내재적 자기자본비용에 미치는 영향

This study empirically analyzes the impact of ESG Management Infrastructure (ESGMI), the institutional foundation of ESG management, on the intrinsic Cost of Equity (COE) using a total of 3,529 observations from domestic KOSPI and KOSDAQ listed companies (excluding financial firms) from 2014 to 2023. Unlike previous studies that primarily focused on the relationship between ESG performance and capital costs, this research distinguishes itself by examining the role of the institutional and organizational foundation—the ESG Management Infrastructure (ESGMI)—as the fundamental driver that generates and sustains performance. Panel regression analysis results indicate that ESG Management Infrastructure exerts a statistically significant negative (-) effect on the intrinsic cost of equity. This demonstrates that infrastructure systematically embedding ESG into corporate management and managing non-financial risks acts as a positive signal to investors, thereby lowering their required rate of return. Furthermore, robustness checks were conducted by substituting the key explanatory variable with ESG performance and repeating the analysis. Consistent negative effects and statistical significance were confirmed, proving the statistical stability of this study's conclusions. In terms of academic contribution, this study goes beyond the ‘what’ dimension—establishing that a relationship exists between ESG performance and capital costs—to elucidate the ‘how’ of this effect at the institutional foundation level. This is significant as it expands the analytical focus of ESG research from ESG performance to the internal institutional infrastructure of companies. Practically, it demonstrates that ESG is not merely about disclosure or promotion but leads to concrete financial outcomes—specifically, reduced capital costs—through systematic management frameworks and internal infrastructure development. This provides evidence supporting the necessity of investing in ESG infrastructure. This study empirically confirms that ESG management has strategic value that goes beyond simple ethical dimensions and directly leads to financial performance. In particular, it holds academic and practical significance in that it demonstrates that credit ratings, as effective channels of ESG information, play a key role in mitigating information asymmetry in capital markets. The findings will provide companies with specific ways to reduce their cost of capital by building an ESG infrastructure and will promote policy considerations on the information intermediary role of credit rating agencies.