Firm Size and Contextual Correlates of Refinitiv ESG Ratings: International Evidence Across ESG Pillars

ABSTRACT

This study examines how firm size, broad geographic context and economic sector are associated with Refinitiv environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings. Using 2022 data for 6829 internationally listed firms, it compares the number of employees, market capitalisation and total assets and analyses the overall ESG rating and its three pillars separately. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, multiple regressions, hierarchical analyses and robustness tests are applied. Larger firms obtain higher ratings across all size measures. Total assets show the strongest individual association with the overall rating and each pillar, particularly the environmental pillar. Geographic context contributes more to the environmental and social models than to governance, whereas sector adds comparatively little explanatory power. Separate‐proxy and fractional‐response models confirm the stability of the findings. The results show that size measures are not interchangeable and that aggregate ESG ratings conceal important pillar‐level differences, supporting a context‐sensitive interpretation of sustainability ratings.