- MSc thesis
- Διοίκηση Επιχειρήσεων (MBA)
- 7 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024
- Αγγλικά
- 85
- Yannis A. Pollalis
- ESG | Banks | Greece
- Διοίκηση Επιχειρήσεων και Οργανισμών / ΔΠΜ61
- 5
- 47
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The current dissertation focused on the Greek banking sector, aiming to explore the key aspects and benefits of ESG integration from an insider's perspective: the employees of Greek banks. For that purpose, questionnaires were handed out to 93 employees of the Greek banking sector through Internet. The analysis of the data was conducted with SPSS. The results firstly indicated that employees of Greek financial institutions have positive views and attitudes towards ESG integration. In particular, banks’ personnel consider ESG integration as an essential asset that leads to sustainable business success. Employees also believe that ESG integration leads to the improvement of corporate performance and this is mirrored in the improvement of reputation among stakeholders, more opportunities for innovation and differentiation, improved customer satisfaction and better long-term financial performance. On the other hand, employee motivation to participate in ESG initiatives is fluctuated in moderate levels, whereas leadership commitment to apply ESG practices is relatively limited. Training of banks’ employees concerning ESG integration is also limited, mirroring the overall attitude of the domestic banking institutions regarding ESG integration. The research also showed that the most important barriers that Greek financial institutions face in ESG integration are: a) lack of alignment between ESG objectives and organizational culture, b) lack of clear ESG-related performance metrics, and c) limited availability of ESG-related expertise or specialized skills within our bank's workforce. All the above should force top management of Greek banking institutions to reshape their business strategy, posing ESG integration as a key priority. The analysis also indicated that demographic features of employees such as age and years of working experience influenced heavily their views and their attitudes towards ESG integration whereas gender and educational level did not. In sum, ESG integration in the banking sector still evolves. However, the multifaceted benefits of ESG integration as well as the broader shift towards sustainable finance practices, driven by growing awareness of environmental and social challenges, investor preferences, and regulatory pressures calls Greek banks to incorporate to a greater extent ESG factors into their operations and investment strategies, reshaping their overall strategy to more sustainable business schemes.
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- Hellenic Open University
- Αναφορά Δημιουργού-Μη Εμπορική Χρήση 4.0 Διεθνές