“…Despite a growing body of literature on ESG and corporate performance, a conspicuous gap exists in our understanding of how ESG controversies specifically impact firms within diverse regulatory and cultural contexts (Clarkson, Li, Richardson, & Vasvari, 2008). Furthermore, the role of corporate governance structures, particularly within the complex EU environment, remains underexplored (Al Frijat et al, 2024;Amel-Zadeh & Serafeim, 2018;Amin et al, 2023;Eliwa et al, 2023;Elmagrhi et al, 2019;Elsayed & Elshandidy, 2020Elsayed et al, 2022Elsayed et al, , 2023Gallego-Álvarez & Pucheta-Martínez, 2022;Galletta & Mazzù, 2023;Teti et al, 2022). While studies have established both positive and negative associations between ESG performance and corporate financial outcomes (Margolis et al, 2009), there is often a lack of nuanced exploration regarding ESG controversies and their distinct impacts.…”