The effect of corporate governance practices on firms’ sustainable growth: The moderating role of sustainability awards in Thailand’s ESG-oriented companies

Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractCorporate governance plays a crucial role in promoting sustainability by guiding firms toward responsible management that balance growth and accountability. This study examines the impact of corporate governance on sustainable growth of firms in the Thailand Sustainability Investment list and investigates whether the Stock Exchange of Thailand Sustainability Awards moderate this relationship. The analysis utilizes secondary panel data from 183 companies, comprising 778 firm-year observations from 2015 to 2022, sourced from the SETSMART database. The study considers board size, board independence, director shareholding, CEO duality, board meeting frequency, and the presence of risk committee as independent variables, with sustainable growth as the dependent variable. The multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the hypotheses. Empirical results reveal that board size (β = 1.3607, p < 0.05), independent directors (β = 2.1223, p < 0.01), executive shareholding (β = 0.0456, p < 0.10), and the presence of a risk committee (β = 0.1339, p < 0.10) positively affect sustainable growth, while CEO duality has a significant negative impact (β = –1.2335, p < 0.10). Furthermore, the Stock Exchange of Thailand Sustainability Awards played a moderating role, as its interaction with board size (β = 1.2307, p < 0.10) and independent directors (β = 1.3123, p < 0.05) strengthens their positive effects. These findings suggest that effective governance enhances sustainable growth, and sustainability awards amplify this influence among Thai listed firms. The study offers implications for regulators to foster governance frameworks and award programs supporting sustainable growth.