Master Thesis Online
Research-Thesis: The Impact of ESG Performance on the Capital Structure of European High-Carbon Firms.
Kasongo-Djonga, Reynald 
Promotor(s) :
Mernier, Lorren
Date of defense : 19-Jun-2026/23-Jun-2026 • Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2268.2/25921
Details
| Title : | Research-Thesis: The Impact of ESG Performance on the Capital Structure of European High-Carbon Firms. |
| Translated title : | [fr] L’IMPACT DE LA PERFORMANCE ESG SUR LA STRUCTURE DU CAPITAL DES ENTREPRISES EUROPÉENNES À FORTES ÉMISSIONS DE CARBONE |
| Author : | Kasongo-Djonga, Reynald
|
| Date of defense : | 19-Jun-2026/23-Jun-2026 |
| Advisor(s) : | Mernier, Lorren
|
| Committee's member(s) : | Riffon, Véronique
|
| Language : | English |
| Number of pages : | 67 |
| Keywords : | [en] ESG [en] Capital Structure [en] Leverage [en] High-Carbon |
| Discipline(s) : | Business & economic sciences > Finance |
| Target public : | Researchers Professionals of domain Student |
| Institution(s) : | Université de Liège, Liège, Belgique |
| Degree: | Master en sciences de gestion, à finalité spécialisée en Financial Analysis and Audit |
| Faculty: | Master thesis of the HEC-Ecole de gestion de l'Université de Liège |
Abstract
[en] This thesis investigates the impact of ESG performance on the capital structure of 236 European high-carbon firms over 2015–2023 (1,637 firm-year observations). Using two-way fixed effects panel regressions, three hypotheses are tested: a negative effect of overall ESG performance on leverage (H1), a negative effect of environmental performance (H2), and a positive effect of social and governance performance (H3). The central finding is that ESG performance does not exert a statistically significant effect on leverage across any specification. In contrast, profitability, firm size, tangibility, liquidity, and growth opportunities are all highly significant determinants of capital structure.
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