ESG정보가 R&D지출과 타인자본비용에 미치는 영향: 한국기업을 중심으로

Abstract

With the onset of the 4th Industrial Revolution, the importance of research and development (R&D) activities is increasing as corporate growth shifts to technology-centered innovation. Due to the risk of failure and information asymmetry that comes with R&D, bond holders sometimes demand a higher risk premium for companies that invest heavily in R&D. However, companies with strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices can alleviate these concerns and reduce the information gap. Our research examined the relationship between R&D expenditures and the cost of debt in the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets from 2015 to 2022. We found that higher R&D expenditures lead to higher debt costs. However, active ESG practices, especially in the environmental(E) and social(S) sectors reduce this effect. These results demonstrate that a company’s ESG activities are an important factor that can be linked to its financing and investment decisions.