Balancing Growth and ESG Accountability: Evidence from a Strategic Decision-Making Simulation

As expectations surrounding ESG transparency and corporate accountability intensify, organisations face increasing pressure to reconcile financial growth with environmental and social responsibility. While policy and governance frameworks continue to evolve, less is understood about how emerging decision-makers interpret and operationalise these trade-offs in practice. This study examines how future business leaders navigate tensions between growth objectives and ESG accountability within a consequence-driven strategic environment.

Using a multi-period business simulation, postgraduate teams managed a virtual enterprise across finance, operations, human resources, innovation, and sustainability domains. Performance was evaluated using integrated metrics, including sales, profitability, operational efficiency, company valuation, and sustainability indicators aligned with key UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Quantitative performance data were analysed alongside structured team reflections to explore both strategic outcomes and the reasoning underpinning ESG-related decisions.

Findings reveal heterogeneous approaches to ESG integration. Higher-performing teams tended to embed sustainability within operational strategy, aligning efficiency gains with long-term value creation. In contrast, others deferred ESG investment in favour of short-term liquidity and growth. Importantly, several teams expressed uncertainty in distinguishing substantive sustainability commitments from symbolic actions, highlighting risks of performative ESG behaviour under financial pressure.

The results suggest that ESG accountability is not inherently at odds with growth but requires systems thinking, disciplined resource allocation, and a long-term governance orientation. By examining strategic behaviour under simulated market constraints, this research contributes empirical insight into how accountability, stakeholder responsibility, and sustainability trade-offs are interpreted by future leaders. The study offers implications for governance education, ESG capability development, and the preparation of decision-makers operating in increasingly complex regulatory and societal environments.