CSR-ESG 이행과정에서 나타난 기업의 규모에 따른 ESG 성과와 원가지출 관계의 변화

As the focus of corporate social responsibility shifts from CSR activities to ESG, the strategic decision-making of organisations is also changing. In particular, external pressures on ESG activities are driving companies to make decisions such as investments and expenditures for ESG performance. However, small and medium-sized enterprises may face challenges in responding immediately to ESG activities and actively investing in them due to the lack of spare resources compared to large enterprises. Therefore, this study examines whether ESG ratings change according to the size of the company during the transition from CSR to ESG, starting in 2018, when ESG activities became more prominent, and further examined the differences in ESG implementation through financial indicators such as SG&A from an investment perspective. The results of the study show that, although ESG ratings decreased around 2018, this trend was less pronounced for large companies compared to SMEs and medium-sized enterprises, indicating differences in ESG performance by company size. Second, we show that the interaction between SG&A may differ between SMEs and large companies on ESG ratings. These findings suggest that the level of response to ESG activities varies by firm size, suggesting the need for policy support for SMEs that are less able to respond. Furthermore, the disclosure of objective accounting information on companies’ investmen ts and costs related to ESG activities can increase the transparency of ESG activities and promote the diffusion of ESG activities through information disclosure.