Corporate sustainability practices: An interplay of uncertainty, geopolitical risk and competition

Abstract

The present study analyses the interplay between uncertainty and sustainability investment in the line of PMC (product market competition), and its impact on the firms' sustainable practices. Based on a sample of 2533 listed companies from 2011 to 2023, it was observed that uncertainty positively influences sustainable investment, and the PMC plays a moderating role in the case of G-20 countries. Furthermore, the research indicates that sustainable investment promotes long-term investment in G-20 countries during the study period and lessens the unfavorable outcome of uncertainty on a firm's value. We employed SGMM (System-generalized method of moments) to concern about the endogeneity issues and for robustness, which was consistent with the empirical results. The study's implications help investors, managers, and policymakers integrate sustainable investment practices with uncertainty alongside pushing sustainable development goals.