Artificial Intelligence in The Application of ESG to Improve Company Reputation: The Moderating Role of Financial Performance

Authors

  • Harfiahani Indah Rakhma Ningtyas ITB Yadika Pasuruan
  • Wildan Mualim ITB Yadika Pasuruan
  • Anis Nusron ITB Yadika Pasuruan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21070/jas.v10i1.2047

Keywords:

Artificial Intelligence, ESG, Corporate Reputation, Financial Performance, Moderation

Abstract

General Background: The implementation of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices has become a global focus as a strategic mechanism for enhancing corporate reputation and ensuring long-term sustainability. Specific Background: In the Indonesian context, existing studies mostly emphasise the relationship between ESG disclosure and financial performance, while empirical research that integrates artificial intelligence (AI) into ESG practices and analyses its impact on corporate reputation is still limited. Knowledge Gap: There is a lack of evidence regarding the impact of AI-supported ESG on corporate reputation, especially when financial performance is positioned as a moderating variable, and previous studies rarely use AI-specific ESG indicators or focus on reputation as the main outcome. Objective: This study aims to analyse the influence of AI-supported ESG on corporate reputation and evaluate the moderating role of financial performance. Method: This study uses a quantitative approach with secondary data from 425 Indonesian manufacturing companies in the basic and chemical, mixed goods, and consumer goods sectors, analysed using multiple linear regression and Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA). Results: Findings indicate that AI-supported ESG does not significantly influence corporate reputation independently; however, financial performance (ROA) significantly strengthens this relationship. Novelty: This study expands the ESG literature by integrating AI-based ESG measures and placing corporate reputation as the primary outcome variable with financial performance as a moderator. Implications: The results suggest that companies can enhance the reputational benefits of AI-based ESG initiatives when supported by strong financial performance, providing strategic insights for managers and policymakers in emerging markets.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ahmad, V., Goyal, L., Arora, M., Kumar, R., Chythanya, K. R., & Chaudhary, S. (2023). The impact of AI on sustainability reporting in accounting. In 2023 6th International Conference on Contemporary Computing and Informatics (IC3I), 6, 643–648. https://doi.org/10.1109/IC3I59117.2023.10397863

Alexander, N. (2025). Agency Problem: The Role of Governance as a Mitigant in two Tier Governance System in Indonesia. Foundations of Management, 17(1), 25–36. https://doi.org/10.2478/fman-2025-0002

Asante-Appiah, B., & Lambert, T. A. (2023). The role of the external auditor in managing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reputation risk. Review of Accounting Studies, 28(4), 2589–2641. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11142-022-09706-z

Baah, C. O.-A. D. A. I. S. K. A.-M. Y. A. E. F. D. & A. F. A. M. (2021). Examining the correlations between stakeholder pressures, green production practices, firm reputation, environmental and financial performance: Evidence from manufacturing SMEs. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 27, 100–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.10.015

Bloomberg. (2023). Bloomberg SASB ESG Select Global Equity Index Methodology.

Bora, I., Duan, H. K., Vasarhelyi, M. A., Zhang, C., & Dai, J. (2021). The transformation of government accountability and reporting. Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting, 18(2), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.2308/jeta-10780

Budennyy, S. A., Lazarev, V. D., Zakharenko, N. N., Korovin, A. N., Plosskaya, O. A., Dimitrov, D. V. E., ... & Zhukov, L. E. E. (2022). Eco2ai: carbon emissions tracking of machine learning models as the first step towards sustainable ai. In Doklady mathematics. Pleiades Publishing., 106(1), 118–128. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2208.00406

Burnaev, E., Mironov, E., Shpilman, A., Mironenko, M., & Katalevsky, D. (2023). Practical AI cases for solving ESG challenges. Sustainability, 15(17), 12731. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712731

Chang, Y. L., & Ke, J. (2024). Socially responsible artificial intelligence empowered people analytics: a novel framework towards sustainability. Human Resource Development Review, 23(1), 88–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/15344843231200930

Chen, R., & Zhang, T. (2025). Artificial intelligence applications implication for ESG performance: can digital transformation of enterprises promote sustainable development?. Chinese Management Studies, 19(3), 676–701. https://doi.org/10.1108/CMS-11-2023-0653

Eckert, C. (2017). Corporate reputation and reputation risk. The Journal of Risk Finance, 18(2), 145–158. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRF-06-2016-0075

Ghuslan, M., Jaffar, R., Saleh, N., & Yaacob, M. (2021). Corporate governance and corporate reputation: the role of environmental and social reporting quality. Sustainability, 13(18), 10452. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810452

Hambrick, D. C., & Mason, P. A. (1984). Upper Echelons: The Organization as a Reflection of Its Top Managers. Academy of Management Review, 9(2), 193–206. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1984.4277628

Handayani, M., & Nurzhavira, G. P. (2024). Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a Catalyst for ESG Integration in Marketing Strategies. International Journal of Economics, Business and Innovation Research, 3(4), 198–211. https://doi.org/10.63922/ijebir.v3i04.929

Hao, X., & Demir, E. (2024). Artificial intelligence in supply chain decision-making: an environmental, social, and governance triggering and technological inhibiting protocol. Journal of Modelling in Management, 19(2), 605–629. https://doi.org/10.1108/JM2-01-2023-0009

Hörisch, J., Schaltegger, S., & Freeman, R. E. (2020). Integrating stakeholder theory and sustainability accounting: A conceptual synthesis. Journal of Cleaner Production, 275, 275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124097

Hughes, A., Urban, M. A., & Wójcik, D. (2021). Alternative ESG ratings: How technological innovation is reshaping sustainable investment. Sustainability, 13(6), 3551. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063551

Ifan, M. I. S., & Ningtyas, H. I. R. N. (2024). Pengaruh Penerapan Environmental, Social, Dan Governance Terhadap Profitabilitas Pada Perusahaan Di Indonesia (Studi Pada Perusahaan Manufaktur Yang Terdaftar Di PROPER Periode 2018-2022). Transparan, 16(2), 78–84. https://doi.org/10.53567/jtsyb.v16i2.82

Jing, H., & Zhang, S. (2024). The impact of artificial intelligence on ESG performance of manufacturing firms: The mediating role of ambidextrous green innovation. Systems, 12(11), 499. https://doi.org/10.3390/systems12110499

Kim, M. J., Hall, C. M., Chung, N., Kim, M., & Sohn, K. (2023). Why do tourists use public transport in Korea? The roles of artificial intelligence knowledge, environmental, social, and governance, and sustainability. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 28(5), 467–484. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2023.2247099

Lei Ruan, H. L. (2021). settings Order Article Reprints Open AccessArticle Environmental, Social, Governance Activities and Firm Performance: Evidence from China . Sustanability, 13(2)(767). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020767

Li, D., Zhang, Z., & Gao, X. (2024). Does artificial intelligence deter greenwashing?. Finance Research Letters, 67, 105954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2024.105954

Li, N., Kim, M., Dai, J., & Vasarhelyi, M. A. (2024). Using artificial intelligence in ESG assurance. Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting, 21(2), 83–99. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4840353

Lim, T. (2024). Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and artificial intelligence in finance: State-of-the-art and research takeaways. Artificial Intelligence Review, 57(4), 76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10462-024-10708-3

Lin, B., & Zhu, Y. (2025). Does AI elevate corporate ESG performance? A supply chain perspective. Business Strategy and the Environment., 34(1), 586–597. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3999

McBride, R., Dastan, A., & Mehrabinia, P. (2022). How AI affects the future relationship between corporate governance and financial markets: A note on impact capitalism. Managerial Finance, 48(8), 1240–1249. https://doi.org/10.1108/MF-12-2021-0586

Minkkinen, M., Niukkanen, A., & Mäntymäki, M. (2024). What about investors? ESG analyses as tools for ethics-based AI auditing. AI & Society, 39(1), 329–343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-022-01415-0

Monfort, A., Mendez-Suarez, M., & Villagra, N. (2026). Artificial intelligence misconduct and ESG risk ratings. Review of Managerial Science, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-025-00850-9

Mulyana, D., Widyaningsih, A., & Rozali, R. D. Y. (2025). Advancing Sustainability Through Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Firm Value in Indonesia. Jurnal Akuntansi, 29(1), 148–170. https://doi.org/10.24912/ja.v29i1.2774

Musleh Al-Sartawi, A. M., Hussainey, K., & Razzaque, A. (2022). The role of artificial intelligence in sustainable finance. Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/20430795.2022.2057405

Naveed, K., Farooq, M. B., Zahir-Ul-Hassan, M. K., & Rauf, F. (2025). AI adoption, ESG disclosure quality and sustainability committee heterogeneity: evidence from Chinese companies. Meditari Accountancy Research, 33(2), 708–732. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEDAR-02-2024-2374

Pozzi, F. A., & Dwivedi, D. (2023). ESG and IoT: ensuring sustainability and social responsibility in the digital age. In International Conference on Artificial Intelligence: Towards Sustainable Intelligence. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland., 12–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47997-7_2

Reddiar, C., Kleyn, N., & Abratt, R. (2012). Director’s perspectives on the meaning and dimensions of corporate reputation. South African Journal of Business Management, 43(3), 29–29. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajbm.v43i3.472

Sætra, H. S. (2023). The AI ESG protocol: Evaluating and disclosing the environment, social, and governance implications of artificial intelligence capabilities, assets, and activities. Sustainable Development, 31(2), 1027–2037. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2438

Saftiana, Y., Mukhtaruddin, M., Putri, K. W., & Ferina, I. S. (2014). Corporate governance quality, firm size and earnings management: empirical study in Indonesia Stock Exchange. Investment Management and Financial Innovations, 14(14), 105–120. http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/imfi.14(4).2017.10

Samieva, K. T., Saenko, I. I., Menshchikova, V. I., & Smetanin, A. S. (2023). ESG management of digital business using big data and artificial intelligence (AI) in support of the green economy in Russia and Central Asia. In ESG management of the development of the green economy in Central Asia. Cham: Springer International Publishing., 3–11. https://doi.org/10.24412/2311-1313-33-21-33

Saxena, A., Singh, R., Gehlot, A., Akram, S. V., Twala, B., Singh, A., ... & Priyadarshi, N. (2022). Technologies empowered environmental, social, and governance (ESG): An industry 4.0 landscape. Sustainability, 15(1), 309. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010309

Selim, O. (2020). ESG and AI: the beauty and the beast of sustainable investing. In Sustainable Investing, 227–243. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429351044-12/esg-ai-omar-selim

Sklavos, G., Theodossiou, G., Papanikolaou, Z., Karelakis, C., & Ragazou, K. (2024). Environmental, social, and governance-based artificial intelligence governance: Digitalizing firms’ leadership and human resources management. Sustainability, 16(16), 7154. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167154

Sunarto, S., AjiRamdhani, I., Oktaviani, R., & Jaeni, J. (2021). Profitability, Liquidity, Size, Reputation of Public Accounting and Timeliness Reporting Financial Statement: An Analysis of Manufacturing Company Overview in Indonesia. In The 3rd International Conference on Banking, Accounting, Management and Economics, 419–423. https://doi.org/10.2991/aebmr.k.210311.084

Tong, L., Yan, W., & Manta, O. (2022). Artificial intelligence influences intelligent automation in tourism: A mediating role of internet of things and environmental, social, and governance investment. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 10, 853302. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.853302

Uyar, A., Kilic, M., Koseoglu, M. A., Kuzey, C., & Karaman, A. S. (2020). The link among board characteristics, corporate social responsibility performance, and financial performance: Evidence from the hospitality and tourism industry. Tourism Management Perspectives, 35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100714

Visalli, F., Patrizio, A., Lanza, A., Papaleo, P., Nautiyal, A., Pupo, M., ... & Ruffolo, M. (2023). ESG Data Collection with Adaptive AI. In ICEIS, 1, 468–475. https://doi.org/10.5220/0011844500003467

Waddock, S. A., & Graves, S. B. (1997). The corporate social performance–financial performance link. Strategic Management Journal, 18(4), 303–319. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199704)18:4%3C303::AID-SMJ869%3E3.0.CO;2-G

Xiao, Y., & Xiao, L. (2025). The impact of artificial intelligence-driven ESG performance on sustainable development of central state-owned enterprises listed companies. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 8548. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13084916

Zhang, C., & Yang, J. (2024). Artificial intelligence and corporate ESG performance. International Review of Economics & Finance, 96, 103713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2024.103713

Zhang, D. (2024). The pathway to curb greenwashing in sustainable growth: The role of artificial intelligence. Energy Economics, 133, 107562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2024.107562

Zhang, X., Zhao, X., & Qu, L. (2021). Do green policies catalyze green investment? Evidence from ESG investing developments in China. In Economics Letters. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2021.110028

Zhironkin, S., & Ezdina, N. (2023). Review of transition from mining 4.0 to mining 5.0 innovative technologies. Applied Sciences, 13(8), 4917. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13084917

Downloads

Published

2026-01-13

How to Cite

Indah Rakhma Ningtyas, H., Mualim, W., & Nusron, A. (2026). Artificial Intelligence in The Application of ESG to Improve Company Reputation: The Moderating Role of Financial Performance. Journal of Accounting Science, 10(1), 60–81. https://doi.org/10.21070/jas.v10i1.2047

Issue

Section

Financial Accounting

Categories