The route to corporate social value via health and safety performance, productivity, and management quality

Abstract

The article discusses the relationship between global pandemic and macroeconomic development by demonstrating the critical role of occupational health and safety (OHS) risk management in-between. OHS is a key component of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practice, which has contributed to the intangible asset value and investment return of listed companies. Through literature review and case studies, the research found that there is a lack of solid evidence in verifying the relationship between OHS activities and business performance. Public health risk, such as COVID-19, unveils its direct and indirect impact on macroeconomic and microeconomic development. O’Donnell (2000) and Gahan, Sievewright, and Evans (2014) believe the quality of OHS management has a critical impact on workers’ productivity, a root-value driver of organizational value. Moreover, good OHS risk management and governance practices represent non-financial factors and enhance the intangible value of organizations through productivity and quality improvement. As the result of the study, it develops a conceptual framework for linking top-line organizational values with corresponding bottom OHS activities and helps organizations understand the logic behind the bottom-up value transmission mechanism. The quantitative analysis of the conceptual framework goes beyond the scope, and suggestions for further research are put forward