Elangovan N.

With the increasing global emphasis on responsible investing, this study explores the tradeoff between ESG and traditional financial metrics in shaping the investment decisions of retail investors in India. A within-subject experimental design was employed at Christ University, India, involving an initial sample of 75 participants, with 55 completing all three experiment rounds. The sample respondents evaluated masked stock profiles across three rounds, where updated financial and ESG information on masked stock was provided at each round. The results indicate that though ESG metrics are getting attention among retail investors, financial metrics are still the main determining factor for investment. It was found that ROE (52 responses), 3-year CAGR Net Profit (36 responses), and P/E ratios (48 responses) are the most influencing factors to make investment decisions. Similarly, ESG factors (Governance, Environmental, and Sustainability scores) are also frequently mentioned, with 74 citations. Retail investors mainly consider profitability and view ESG as risk-mitigating or neutralizing factors. While evaluating the ESG factors, retailers mainly look at the firm’s environmental concerns, followed by governance and social factors. This result contrasts with the previous studies in this domain, where the literature emphasized governance factors more than environmental factors. These results highlight the integration of ESG elements, as retail investors remain with favorable returns and sacrifice sustainability. Further, this study spots the need for better and quantifiable ESG performance reports to consider alternative data comparable to financial data for better investment decisions.

Unbiased performance appraisal tends to bolster the performance of employees. The studies indicate several inadequacies with the current performance appraisal systems. Functional interdependence is one such factor that has been ignored. The study aims to find the factors that can improve the satisfaction with performance appraisal of employees whose deliverables are highly interdependent on other functions. Organizational justice, rater competence, inter-functional conflict, and cohesion are considered the mediating variables. To test the model, the data are collected through a survey using a questionnaire from the executives of Indian real estate companies who have undergone the appraisal process at least once. Firms with more than 500 employees are randomly selected for the list of members of the real estate developers’ associations. The results show that functional interdependency has a negative impact on satisfaction with performance appraisal. Although conflict and cohesion are found to influence satisfaction with performance appraisal, they did not mediate the effect of functional interdependency on satisfaction with performance appraisal. However, the study found that rater competence and organizational justice have a mediating effect. The study provides practical implications to HR managers of real estate companies to train the raters and include the complexities of functional interdependencies in the appraisal system. A grievance mechanism should be created to address the employees’ concerns, ultimately improving satisfaction with performance appraisal.