Beyond Compliance: The Role of ESG Disclosures and Risk Ratings in Shaping Firm Value and Stakeholder Trust in the Automobile Industry

Abstract

This article examines how environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures and third‑party ESG risk ratings influence firm value and stakeholder trust in the global automobile industry, with specific reference to emerging evidence from Indonesia. Drawing on stakeholder theory and legitimacy theory, the study adopts a qualitative research design based on document analysis and literature‑based thematic synthesis of academic articles, sustainability reports, ESG indices and rating agency publications. Recent empirical work on automotive firms suggests that ESG performance has a generally positive but sometimes mixed relationship with market‑based indicators of firm value, while stakeholders increasingly use ESG information as a proxy for credibility, risk management and long‑term orientation. At the same time, discrepancies between corporate sustainability narratives and ESG ratings indicate potential decoupling, which may undermine trust when stakeholders perceive disclosures as symbolic rather than substantive. The findings of this qualitative synthesis highlight four interrelated mechanisms: transparency of ESG reporting, signalling effects of ESG risk scores, alignment between scores and narratives, and stakeholder interpretation of controversies. The article argues that in the automobile industry ESG practices need to be understood not merely as compliance with reporting standards, but as communicative instruments that shape perceptions of value, resilience and trust among investors, customers, employees and regulators