Socially Responsible Investors and ESG performance: Does investor origin matter?
Journal title MANAGEMENT CONTROL
Author/s Sonia Vitali, Marco Giuliani, Simone Poli
Publishing Year 2026 Issue 2026/2
Language English Pages 26 P. 143-168 File size 198 KB
DOI 10.3280/MACO2026-002007
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation
click here
Below, you can see the article first page
If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits
FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.
This study examines the association between socially responsible investor (SRI) ownership and the ESG performance of 30 Italian listed companies over 2018–2022. Drawing on Institutional Theory, we consider both the composite ESG score and its Environmental, Social, and Governance pillars. SRIs are defined as institutional investors that are signatories to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI). A distinctive feature of the study is the comparison between domestic and foreign SRI ownership. Using panel regressions with firm and year fixed effects and ESG data from Refinitiv, the results show that total SRI ownership is positively associated with the composite ESG score. The disaggregated analysis indicates that foreign SRI ownership is positively associated with the composite ESG score, whereas domestic SRI ownership is positively associated only with the Governance score. The presence of a sustainability committee is also positively associated with the composite ESG score and the Social pillar. The findings suggest that a shared formal commitment to responsible investment may be associated with different ESG outcomes depending on investors’ geographic origin, thereby extending the application of Institutional Theory to responsible investment. They also offer insights for policymakers, corporate boards, and asset managers seeking to strengthen responsible investment and corporate sustainability practices in Italy.
Keywords: Socially Responsible Investment, ESG performance, sustainable development, panel data regression, investor heterogeneity, governance
Sonia Vitali, Marco Giuliani, Simone Poli, Socially Responsible Investors and ESG performance: Does investor origin matter? in "MANAGEMENT CONTROL" 2/2026, pp 143-168, DOI: 10.3280/MACO2026-002007