Environmental, Social, and Governance Disclosures and Market Reaction of Thai-Listed Companies in the Alternative Capital Market

The primary aim of this research is to investigate the influence of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures on the market reaction companies listed in Thailand’s alternative capital market, specifically the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI). This interest stems from the growing body of ESG literature in Thailand. This study analyzes 555 corporate annual reports from 111 firms within the MAI, spanning from 2017 to 2021, to measure ESG disclosures through content analysis. The average common share price is used as a proxy for market reaction. Descriptive analysis, correlation metric, and multiple regression are used to analyze the data. The findings reveal that the most common ESG disclosures are social disclosure, governance disclosure, and environmental disclosure. Additionally, there is a noticeable increase in ESG disclosures over the study period. Underpinned by signaling theory, this study finds that governance disclosure positively affects market reaction, while environmental disclosure has a negative impact. Social disclosure shows no significant relationship with market reaction. The implication of this study is that ESG disclosure is crucial for firms due to its significant impact on investors’ investment decisions. Regulators can use the findings in several ways, such as establishing policies to promote or regulate governance disclosure that positively affects market reactions, providing guidelines for companies on effectively disclosing ESG information, communicating quality information, and building investor confidence.