IMPACT OF ECONOMIC INDICATORS ON COMPANY SUSTAINABILITY AND CORPORATE PERFORMANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: COMPARABILITY ANALYSIS BETWEEN NIGERIAN AND SOUTH AFRICAN LISTED COMPANIES

Abstract

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 The study examined the impact of economic indicators on corporate sustainability performance and the performance of South African and Nigerian listed companies using secondary data retrieved from the annual reports of the selected companies. Stakeholder, Social Contract and Signalling Theories were combined to form the theoretical foundation of this study. Data retrieved from 40 companies for the period 2014 -2020 was analysed using panel ordinary least square (POLS) and generalized method of moments (GMM) methods, representing all sectors with the help of a convenience sampling method. Three Dependent variables were used, namely ROA, ROE and Earnings per share. Explanatory variables were staff costs, sales growth, Net Profit Margin, Environmental and Social governance, corporate tax, inflation, exchange rate and share price. Findings revealed a strong relationship between corporate sustainability

performance and company performance and economic indicators and company performance. This was substantiated by the results from GDP, share price, sales growth and net profit margin which revealed positive and significant results for both countries. However, other variables revealed mixed results. For instance, while staff costs, exchange rate and inflation were negatively significant within the Nigerian context, they revealed negative and insignificant results within the South Africa context. Moreover, while Environmental and Social performance are positive and significant in South Africa, it was also positive but insignificant in Nigeria. Lastly, while corporate tax revealed a negative but significant result for South Africa, it was negative and insignificant in the Nigerian context. Further studies can also be conducted on a cross-country basis in order to ascertain whether similar results can be achieved.