Convergence Clubs in Corporate Sustainability: Identifying Industry and Risk‐Level ESG Convergence Patterns in S&P 500 Firms

Authors:
Open Access
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Despite the growing emphasis on corporate sustainability, it remains unclear whether firms will align with common ESG standards. The Phillips–Sul convergence methodology, in combination with dynamic time‐warping clustering, was utilized to analyze the ESG trajectories of 430 S&P 500 firms from 2019 to 2024. Contrary to the prevailing expectation of universal convergence, we identify five distinct convergence clubs that transcend traditional industry boundaries, with clustering primarily based on ESG risk levels. While the utilities and real estate sectors exhibit internal convergence due to regulatory pressures, the formation of cross‐sector clubs is driven by shared sustainability challenges. It is evident that environmental performance converges within industries, social dimensions cluster by risk profiles, and governance shows uniform patterns across sectors. These findings extend the scope of convergence theory to corporate sustainability contexts, thereby revealing that institutional pressures, stakeholder configurations, and resource capabilities create multiple equilibria rather than single standards. The multi‐method approach utilized in this study provides robust evidence that risk‐based convergence dominates sector‐based patterns. The result offers novel insights for sustainable finance strategies and regulatory design.

This publication has 36 references indexed in Scilit: