At the invitation of the Institute of Corporate Finance under the direction of Prof. Helmut Pernsteiner, Prof. Bassen held a presentation titled “ESG und Performance: Eine Sicht von mehr als 2000 akademischen Studien”.

Pressure on companies to take responsibility for social issues is on the rise. The Paris Agreement or current regulatory initiatives, particularly the European Union, attest to this development to include stronger social, governance, and environmental aspects when it comes to company activities.

Prof. Bassen is currently making the great interest in research in this field visible. His presentation focuses on the financial question of whether or not corporate ethics are reflected in their financial performance. Overall, this shows the correlation between ESG commitment (ie corporate responsibility) and a company’s financial performance is positive. Questions regarding the causality between ESG commitment and financial performance are, however, open and the subject of current and future research.

The colloquium is held in honor of o.Univ.Prof. Dr. Karl Vodrazka (†2016). Prof. Vodrazka was a faculty member and professor at the JKU between 1971 and 1999 and the long-standing head of the Institute of Auditing, Financial and Management Accounting, a University Senator, Dean, and Rector of the JKU.