IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finana/v89y2023ics1057521923003496.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate social irresponsibility: The relationship between ESG misconduct and the cost of equity

Author

Listed:
  • Becchetti, Leonardo
  • Cucinelli, Doriana
  • Ielasi, Federica
  • Rossolini, Monica

Abstract

Reputational risk arising from environmental, social, and governance (ESG) conduct is increasingly relevant. This paper studies the role of media coverage related to corporate social irresponsibility (measured by RepRisk) as a source of reputational risk for public companies by verifying the relationship with the cost of equity. The research covers a decade of data, from 2007 to 2017, relative to 731 firms included in the MSCI USA Index. Our results show a positive relationship between reputational risk and the cost of equity capital, demonstrating a positive effect of corporate misconduct on the cost of equity for all three categories of risk: environmental, social, and governance. Moreover our results underline that shareholders are more sensitive to social misconducts. We also find that the cost of misconduct is higher for companies with higher ESG scores than for those with lower ESG scores. Our findings are relevant for practitioners and policy makers, since the cost of equity is one of the channels through which capital markets can encourage firms to make effective efforts aimed at reducing their ESG incidents.

Suggested Citation

  • Becchetti, Leonardo & Cucinelli, Doriana & Ielasi, Federica & Rossolini, Monica, 2023. "Corporate social irresponsibility: The relationship between ESG misconduct and the cost of equity," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:89:y:2023:i:c:s1057521923003496
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102833
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057521923003496
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102833?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nadja Guenster & Rob Bauer & Jeroen Derwall & Kees Koedijk, 2011. "The Economic Value of Corporate Eco†Efficiency," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 17(4), pages 679-704, September.
    2. Becchetti, Leonardo & Ciciretti, Rocco & Giovannelli, Alessandro, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility and earnings forecasting unbiasedness," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 3654-3668.
    3. Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Hakkon Kim & Kwangwoo Park, 2018. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility and the Cost of Capital: International Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 335-361, May.
    4. Zhou, Fangzhao & Zhu, Jichen & Qi, Yawei & Yang, Jun & An, Yunbi, 2021. "Multi-dimensional corporate social responsibilities and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Bipin Ajinkya & Sanjeev Bhojraj & Partha Sengupta, 2005. "The Association between Outside Directors, Institutional Investors and the Properties of Management Earnings Forecasts," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 343-376, June.
    6. Remmer Sassen & Anne-Kathrin Hinze & Inga Hardeck, 2016. "Impact of ESG factors on firm risk in Europe," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 86(8), pages 867-904, November.
    7. Harjoto, Maretno A. & Hoepner, Andreas G.F. & Li, Qian, 2021. "Corporate social irresponsibility and portfolio performance: A cross-national study," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    8. Shleifer, Andrei, 2000. "Inefficient Markets: An Introduction to Behavioral Finance," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198292272.
    9. Rui Albuquerque & Yrjö Koskinen & Chendi Zhang, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Risk: Theory and Empirical Evidence," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(10), pages 4451-4469, October.
    10. Merton, Robert C, 1987. "A Simple Model of Capital Market Equilibrium with Incomplete Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 42(3), pages 483-510, July.
    11. Mooweon Rhee & Pamela R. Haunschild, 2006. "The Liability of Good Reputation: A Study of Product Recalls in the U.S. Automobile Industry," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(1), pages 101-117, February.
    12. Chaney, Paul K. & Faccio, Mara & Parsley, David, 2011. "The quality of accounting information in politically connected firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 58-76, February.
    13. Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2013. "The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Firm Value: The Role of Customer Awareness," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(5), pages 1045-1061, May.
    14. Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2006. "International Differences in the Cost of Equity Capital: Do Legal Institutions and Securities Regulation Matter?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(3), pages 485-531, June.
    15. Michael W. Toffel & Jodi L. Short, 2011. "Coming Clean and Cleaning Up: Does Voluntary Self-Reporting Indicate Effective Self-Policing?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(3), pages 609-649.
    16. Karpoff, Jonathan M & Lott, John R, Jr, 1993. "The Reputational Penalty Firms Bear from Committing Criminal Fraud," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(2), pages 757-802, October.
    17. Jun Li & Di (Andrew) Wu, 2020. "Do Corporate Social Responsibility Engagements Lead to Real Environmental, Social, and Governance Impact?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(6), pages 2564-2588, June.
    18. Florian Barth & Benjamin Hübel & Hendrik Scholz, 2022. "ESG and corporate credit spreads," Journal of Risk Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 23(2), pages 169-190, February.
    19. Paul A. Griffin & David H. Lont & Estelle Y. Sun, 2017. "The Relevance to Investors of Greenhouse Gas Emission Disclosures," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(2), pages 1265-1297, June.
    20. Lau, Sie Ting & Ng, Lilian & Zhang, Bohui, 2010. "The world price of home bias," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 191-217, August.
    21. Fama, Eugene F, 1970. "Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 25(2), pages 383-417, May.
    22. Armour, John & Mayer, Colin & Polo, Andrea, 2017. "Regulatory Sanctions and Reputational Damage in Financial Markets," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(4), pages 1429-1448, August.
    23. Chen, Kevin C.W. & Chen, Zhihong & Wei, K.C. John, 2009. "Legal protection of investors, corporate governance, and the cost of equity capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 273-289, June.
    24. Simcoe, Timothy & Toffel, Michael W., 2014. "Government green procurement spillovers: Evidence from municipal building policies in California," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 411-434.
    25. Breuer, Wolfgang & Müller, Torbjörn & Rosenbach, David & Salzmann, Astrid, 2018. "Corporate social responsibility, investor protection, and cost of equity: A cross-country comparison," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 34-55.
    26. Rjiba, Hatem & Saadi, Samir & Boubaker, Sabri & Ding, Xiaoya (Sara), 2021. "Annual report readability and the cost of equity capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    27. Giannetti, Mariassunta & , & Gantchev, Nickolay, 2019. "Does Money Talk? Market Discipline through Selloffs and Boycotts," CEPR Discussion Papers 14098, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    28. Julian F. Kölbel & Timo Busch & Leonhardt M. Jancso, 2017. "How Media Coverage of Corporate Social Irresponsibility Increases Financial Risk," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(11), pages 2266-2284, November.
    29. Acar Berkan & Becchetti Leonardo & Manfredonia Stefano, 2021. "Media coverage, corporate social irresponsibility conduct, and financial analysts' performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(5), pages 1456-1470, September.
    30. Alessi, Lucia & Ossola, Elisa & Panzica, Roberto, 2021. "What greenium matters in the stock market? The role of greenhouse gas emissions and environmental disclosures," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    31. Sandra A. Waddock & Samuel B. Graves, 1997. "The Corporate Social Performance–Financial Performance Link," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(4), pages 303-319, April.
    32. Francis, Jennifer & LaFond, Ryan & Olsson, Per & Schipper, Katherine, 2005. "The market pricing of accruals quality," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 295-327, June.
    33. Clyde Eiríkur Hull & Sandra Rothenberg, 2008. "Firm performance: the interactions of corporate social performance with innovation and industry differentiation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(7), pages 781-789, July.
    34. Becchetti, Leonardo & Manfredonia, Stefano, 2022. "Media, reputational risk, and bank loan contracting," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    35. Mark P. Sharfman & Chitru S. Fernando, 2008. "Environmental risk management and the cost of capital," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 569-592, June.
    36. Chen, Zhongfei & Xie, Guanxia, 2022. "ESG disclosure and financial performance: Moderating role of ESG investors," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    37. Wong, Jin Boon & Zhang, Qin, 2022. "Stock market reactions to adverse ESG disclosure via media channels," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    38. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1997. "Industry costs of equity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 153-193, February.
    39. Fernando, Chitru S. & Sharfman, Mark P. & Uysal, Vahap B., 2017. "Corporate Environmental Policy and Shareholder Value: Following the Smart Money," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(5), pages 2023-2051, October.
    40. Aleksandra Kacperczyk, 2009. "With greater power comes greater responsibility? takeover protection and corporate attention to stakeholders," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 261-285, March.
    41. Laura T. Starks, 2009. "EFA Keynote Speech: “Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility: What Do Investors Care about? What Should Investors Care about?”," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 44(4), pages 461-468, November.
    42. Sudheer Chava, 2014. "Environmental Externalities and Cost of Capital," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(9), pages 2223-2247, September.
    43. Zmijewski, Me, 1984. "Methodological Issues Related To The Estimation Of Financial Distress Prediction Models," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22, pages 59-82.
    44. Shawn Pope & Arild Wæraas, 2016. "CSR-Washing is Rare: A Conceptual Framework, Literature Review, and Critique," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 173-193, August.
    45. Cai, Ye & Pan, Carrie H. & Statman, Meir, 2016. "Why do countries matter so much in corporate social performance?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 591-609.
    46. Feifei Zhu, 2014. "Corporate Governance and the Cost of Capital: An International Study," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 14(3), pages 393-429, September.
    47. Schiemann, Frank & Tietmeyer, Raphael, 2022. "ESG Controversies, ESG Disclosure and Analyst Forecast Accuracy," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    48. Ng, Anthony C. & Rezaee, Zabihollah, 2015. "Business sustainability performance and cost of equity capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 128-149.
    49. He, Feng & Du, Hanyu & Yu, Bo, 2022. "Corporate ESG performance and manager misconduct: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    50. Benjamin Pfister & Manfred Schwaiger & Tobias Morath, 2020. "Corporate reputation and the future cost of equity," Business Research, Springer;German Academic Association for Business Research, vol. 13(1), pages 343-384, April.
    51. Jing Liu & Doron Nissim & Jacob Thomas, 2002. "Equity Valuation Using Multiples," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1), pages 135-172, March.
    52. Jordi Surroca & Josep A. Tribó & Sandra Waddock, 2010. "Corporate responsibility and financial performance: the role of intangible resources," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 463-490, May.
    53. Paul C. Godfrey & Craig B. Merrill & Jared M. Hansen, 2009. "The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: an empirical test of the risk management hypothesis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 425-445, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. David K. Ding & Christo Ferreira & Vu Minh Ngo & Phuc V. Nguyen & Udomsak Wongchoti, 2024. "Corporate social responsibility and myopic management practice: Is there a link?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 62(1), pages 271-308, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mohammed S. Albarrak & Marwa Elnahass & Aly Salama, 2019. "The effect of carbon dissemination on cost of equity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1179-1198, September.
    2. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    3. Ellen Pei‐yi Yu & Alessandra Tanda & Bac Van Luu & Dominic H. Chai, 2021. "Environmental transparency and investors' risk perception: Cross‐country evidence on multinational corporations' sustainability practices and cost of equity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3975-4000, December.
    4. Breuer, Wolfgang & Müller, Torbjörn & Rosenbach, David & Salzmann, Astrid, 2018. "Corporate social responsibility, investor protection, and cost of equity: A cross-country comparison," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 34-55.
    5. Becchetti, Leonardo & Manfredonia, Stefano, 2022. "Media, reputational risk, and bank loan contracting," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    6. Gillan, Stuart L. & Koch, Andrew & Starks, Laura T., 2021. "Firms and social responsibility: A review of ESG and CSR research in corporate finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    7. Paola Brighi & Antonio Carlo Francesco Della Bina & Valeria Venturelli, 2022. "Do ESG Investments Mitigate ESG Controversies? Evidence From International Data," Centro Studi di Banca e Finanza (CEFIN) (Center for Studies in Banking and Finance) 0084, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Economia "Marco Biagi".
    8. Abdelmajid Hmaittane & Kais Bouslah & Bouchra M’Zali & Imane Ibariouen, 2022. "Corporate Sustainability and Cost of Equity Capital: Do Managerial Abilities Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    9. Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Hakkon Kim & Kwangwoo Park, 2018. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility and the Cost of Capital: International Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 335-361, May.
    10. Jun Li & Di (Andrew) Wu, 2020. "Do Corporate Social Responsibility Engagements Lead to Real Environmental, Social, and Governance Impact?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(6), pages 2564-2588, June.
    11. Wang, Kun Tracy & Kartika, Fiki & Wang, Wanbin Walter & Luo, Guqiang, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility, investor protection, and the cost of equity: Evidence from East Asia," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    12. Lu, Hao & Oh, Won-Yong & Kleffner, Anne & Chang, Young Kyun, 2021. "How do investors value corporate social responsibility? Market valuation and the firm specific contexts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 14-25.
    13. Zhang, Ran & Li, Yanru & Liu, Yingzhu, 2021. "Green bond issuance and corporate cost of capital," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    14. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck C.Y. & Mishra, Dev R., 2011. "Does corporate social responsibility affect the cost of capital?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 2388-2406, September.
    15. Champagne, Claudia & Coggins, Frank & Sodjahin, Amos, 2022. "Can extra-financial ratings serve as an indicator of ESG risk?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    16. Yamina Chouaibi & Matteo Rossi & Ghazi Zouari, 2021. "The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility and the Executive Compensation on Implicit Cost of Equity: Evidence from French ESG Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-17, October.
    17. Ho, Ly & Bai, Min & Lu, Yue & Qin, Yafeng, 2021. "The effect of corporate sustainability performance on leverage adjustments," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(5).
    18. Ng, Anthony C. & Rezaee, Zabihollah, 2015. "Business sustainability performance and cost of equity capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 128-149.
    19. Hasan, Mostafa Monzur & Wong, Jin Boon & Al Mamun, Mohammed Abdullah, 2022. "Oil shocks and corporate social responsibility," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    20. Li, Chengcheng & Wang, Xiaoqiong, 2022. "Local peer effects of corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cost of equity; Reputational risk; Corporate social responsibility; ESG; RepRisk;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:89:y:2023:i:c:s1057521923003496. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620166 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.