📄 Sciences Methods and Technologies
International Journal (SciMeTech)

Volume 2 · Issue 1 · 2026
ISSN: 3085-5284
Corporate Cross-Ownership and Sustainable Performance: The Role of Industrial Ownership in Driving ESG Performance and its pillars among Listed North African Companies
Ouargani Mohammed, Radi Bouchra
Pages 155–160 · Entrepreneurship, Finance and Audit Research Laboratory (LAREFA), National School of Business and Management (ENCG), Ibn Zohr University, Agadir
⬇ PDF
Abstract
This study examines the impact of industrial ownership concentration on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance in listed firms from Morocco, Egypt, and Tunisia over the period 2019-2024. While prior research has extensively explored institutional and family ownership, the role of industrial shareholders- firms operating within the same or related industries- remains underexplored, particularly in emerging markets. Drawing on agency theory and the monitoring versus entrenchment debate, this study investigates whether industrial ownership enhances sustainability performance or reinforces control concentration at the expense of broader stakeholder interests. Using panel data regression models on 486 firm-year observations, the findings reveal that industrial ownership negatively affects overall ESG performance. However, a more nuanced analysis shows a positive and significant effect on environmental performance, a weakly positive effect on social performance, and no significant impact on governance performance. These results suggest that industrial shareholders primarily influence operational sustainability dimensions while their effect on governance structures remains limited. The study contributes to the ownership-ESG literature by providing novel evidence from North Africa and highlighting the context-dependent role of industrial ownership in emerging economies.
Keywords: Industrial Ownership, ESG Performance, Corporate Governance, Emerging Markets, North Africa

References

  1. Jensen, M. C., & Meckling, W. H. (1976). Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3(4), 305–360.
  2. Shleifer, A., & Vishny, R. W. (1986). Large shareholders and corporate control. Journal of Political Economy, 94(3), 461–488.
  3. La Porta, R., Lopez-de-Silanes, F., Shleifer, A., & Vishny, R. (1999). Corporate ownership around the world. Journal of Finance, 54(2), 471–517.
  4. Morck, R., Wolfenzon, D., & Yeung, B. (2005). Corporate governance, economic entrenchment, and growth. Journal of Economic Literature, 43(3), 655–720.
  5. Eccles, R. G., Ioannou, I., & Serafeim, G. (2014). The impact of corporate sustainability on organizational processes and performance. Management Science, 60(11), 2835–2857.
  6. Friede, G., Busch, T., & Bassen, A. (2015). ESG and financial performance: Aggregated evidence from more than 2000 empirical studies. Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 5(4), 210–233.
  7. Dyck, A., Lins, K. V., Roth, L., & Wagner, H. F. (2019). Do institutional investors drive corporate social responsibility? International evidence. Journal of Financial Economics, 131(3), 693–714.
  8. Liang, H., & Renneboog, L. (2017). On the foundations of corporate social responsibility. Journal of Finance, 72(2), 853–910.
  9. Claessens, S., & Yurtoglu, B. B. (2013). Corporate governance in emerging markets: A survey. Journal of Corporate Finance, 15(1), 1–33.
  10. Villalonga, B., Amit, R., Trujillo, M. A., & Guzmán, A. (2024). Ownership structure and ESG performance. Journal of Corporate Finance (forthcoming).
  11. Gomez-Mejia, L. R., Haynes, K. T., Núñez-Nickel, M., Jacobson, K. J., & Moyano-Fuentes, J. (2007). Socioemotional wealth and business risks in family-controlled firms. Administrative Science Quarterly, 52(1), 106–137.
  12. Faccio, M., & Lang, L. H. P. (2002). The ultimate ownership of Western European corporations. Journal of Financial Economics, 65(3), 365–395.
  13. Claessens, S., Djankov, S., & Lang, L. H. P. (2000). The separation of ownership and control in East Asian corporations. Journal of Financial Economics, 58(1–2), 81–112.
  14. Bello, Z. Y. (2009). Socially responsible investing and portfolio diversification. Journal of Financial Research, 32(1), 41–57.
  15. Clark, G. L., Feiner, A., & Viehs, M. (2015). From the stockholder to the stakeholder: How sustainability can drive financial outperformance. University of Oxford & Arabesque Partners Report.
  16. Grewal, J., Serafeim, G., & Yoon, A. (2016). Shareholder activism on sustainability issues. Harvard Business School Working Paper.
  17. Ioannou, I., & Serafeim, G. (2012). What drives corporate social performance? The role of nation-level institutions. Journal of International Business Studies, 43(9), 834–864.
  18. Awaysheh, A., Heron, R. A., Perry, T., & Wilson, J. I. (2020). On the relation between corporate social responsibility and financial performance. Strategic Management Journal, 41(6), 965–987.
  19. Jamali, D., Safieddine, A. M., & Rabbath, M. (2008). Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility: Synergies and interrelationships. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 16(5), 443–459.
  20. Gompers, P., Ishii, J., & Metrick, A. (2003). Corporate governance and equity prices. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(1), 107–156.
  21. Peng, M. W. (2004). Outside directors and firm performance during institutional transitions. Strategic Management Journal, 25(5), 453–471.
  22. Boubakri, N., & Saffar, W. (2008). Does state ownership affect firm performance? Evidence from newly privatized firms. Journal of Corporate Finance, 14(5), 654–673.
  23. Campbell, J. L. (2007). Why would corporations behave in socially responsible ways? An institutional theory of corporate social responsibility. Academy of Management Review, 32(3), 946–967.
  24. Surroca, J., Tribó, J. A., & Waddock, S. (2010). Corporate responsibility and financial performance: The role of intangible resources. Strategic Management Journal, 31(5), 463–490.
  25. McWilliams, A., & Siegel, D. (2001). Corporate social responsibility: A theory of the firm perspective. Academy of Management Review, 26(1), 117–127.
  26. Margolis, J. D., & Walsh, J. P. (2003). Misery loves companies: Rethinking social initiatives by business. Administrative Science Quarterly, 48(2), 268–305.
SciMeTech · Volume 2, Issue 1 · 2026 · ISSN 3085-5284