IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v27y2018i8p1733-1740.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of Environmental Protection Agency penalties on financial performance

Author

Listed:
  • Jorge A. Romero
  • Martin Freedman
  • Neale G. O'Connor

Abstract

This study examines the impact of penalties assessed to publicly traded firms by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Specifically, we look at whether there is an impact on earnings for firms that were fined by the EPA. There are two competing predictions regarding the impact of environmental penalties on earnings. Either there is no negative impact because firms allocate allowances for regulatory breaches or there is a negative impact because investors and stockholders have a preference to invest in efficient firms. This study contributes to the extant literature examining improvements in the business decision making related to corporate environmental management.

Suggested Citation

  • Jorge A. Romero & Martin Freedman & Neale G. O'Connor, 2018. "The impact of Environmental Protection Agency penalties on financial performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1733-1740, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:27:y:2018:i:8:p:1733-1740
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.2239
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2239
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.2239?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paolo Perego & Frank Hartmann, 2009. "Aligning Performance Measurement Systems With Strategy: The Case of Environmental Strategy," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 45(4), pages 397-428, December.
    2. Kent Walker & Fang Wan, 2012. "The Harm of Symbolic Actions and Green-Washing: Corporate Actions and Communications on Environmental Performance and Their Financial Implications," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(2), pages 227-242, August.
    3. Badrinath, S G & Bolster, Paul J, 1996. "The Role of Market Forces in EPA Enforcement Activity," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 165-181, September.
    4. Gary S. Becker, 1974. "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach," NBER Chapters, in: Essays in the Economics of Crime and Punishment, pages 1-54, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Krasker, William S. & Kuh, Edwin & Welsch, Roy E., 1983. "Estimation for dirty data and flawed models," Handbook of Econometrics, in: Z. Griliches† & M. D. Intriligator (ed.), Handbook of Econometrics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 11, pages 651-698, Elsevier.
    6. Les Coleman, 2011. "Losses from Failure of Stakeholder Sensitive Processes: Financial Consequences for Large US Companies from Breakdowns in Product, Environmental, and Accounting Standards," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 98(2), pages 247-258, January.
    7. Mary Stoll, 2011. "Green Chemistry Meets Green Business: A Match Long Overdue," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 99(1), pages 23-28, February.
    8. Cheng-Li Huang & Fan-Hua Kung, 2010. "Drivers of Environmental Disclosure and Stakeholder Expectation: Evidence from Taiwan," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(3), pages 435-451, October.
    9. 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.
    10. J.C. Bosch & E. Woodrow Eckard & Insup Lee, 1998. "EPA enforcement, firm response strategies, and stockholder wealth: an empirical examination," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(3), pages 167-177.
    11. Derek K. Oler & Marc P. Picconi, 2014. "Implications of Insufficient and Excess Cash for Future Performance," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 253-283, March.
    12. Frank Hartmann & Paolo Perego & Anna Young, 2013. "Carbon Accounting: Challenges for Research in Management Control and Performance Measurement," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 49(4), pages 539-563, December.
    13. Mitchell A. Petersen, 2009. "Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 435-480, January.
    14. Stefan Ambec & Mark A. Cohen & Stewart Elgie & Paul Lanoie, 2013. "The Porter Hypothesis at 20: Can Environmental Regulation Enhance Innovation and Competitiveness?," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 7(1), pages 2-22, January.
    15. Lassaad Ben Mahjoub & Halioui Khamoussi, 2013. "Environmental and Social Policy and Earning Persistence," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 159-172, March.
    16. Virginia W. Gerde & Jeanne M. Logsdon, 2001. "Measuring environmental performance: use of the toxics release inventory (TRI) and other US environmental databases," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(5), pages 269-285, September.
    17. Eva Regnier & Craig Tovey, 2007. "Time horizons of environmental versus non‐environmental costs: evidence from US tort lawsuits," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(4), pages 249-265, May.
    18. Jonathan M. Karpoff & D. Scott Lee & Gerald S. Martin, 2014. "The Consequences to Managers for Financial Misrepresentation," Springer Books, in: Roberto Pietra & Stuart McLeay & Joshua Ronen (ed.), Accounting and Regulation, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 339-375, Springer.
    19. Cristina Abad & Sten A. Thore & Joaquina Laffarga, 2004. "Fundamental analysis of stocks by two-stage DEA," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(5), pages 231-241.
    20. Andrew King & Michael Lenox, 2002. "Exploring the Locus of Profitable Pollution Reduction," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(2), pages 289-299, February.
    21. Salamon, Lester M. & Siegfried, John J., 1977. "Economic Power and Political Influence: The Impact of Industry Structure on Public Policy," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(3), pages 1026-1043, September.
    22. Kathleen Herbohn & Julie Walker & Huay Yien Monica Loo, 2014. "Corporate Social Responsibility: The Link Between Sustainability Disclosure and Sustainability Performance," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 50(4), pages 422-459, December.
    23. Peter M. Clarkson & Michael B. Overell & Larelle Chapple, 2011. "Environmental Reporting and its Relation to Corporate Environmental Performance," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 47(1), pages 27-60, March.
    24. Roberts, Robin W., 1992. "Determinants of corporate social responsibility disclosure: An application of stakeholder theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 595-612, August.
    25. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1997. "Industry costs of equity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 153-193, February.
    26. H. L. Zou & R. C. Zeng & S. X. Zeng & Jonathan J. Shi, 2015. "How Do Environmental Violation Events Harm Corporate Reputation?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 836-854, December.
    27. Correia, Maria M., 2014. "Political connections and SEC enforcement," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 241-262.
    28. X. D. Xu & S. X. Zeng & H. L. Zou & Jonathan J. Shi, 2016. "The Impact of Corporate Environmental Violation on Shareholders' Wealth: a Perspective Taken from Media Coverage," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 73-91, February.
    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. İbrahim Topal & Sima Nart & Cüneyt Akar & Alptekin Erkollar, 2020. "The effect of greenwashing on online consumer engagement: A comparative study in France, Germany, Turkey, and the United Kingdom," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 465-480, February.
    2. Margarita Robaina & Mara Madaleno, 2020. "The relationship between emissions reduction and financial performance: Are Portuguese companies in a sustainable development path?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 1213-1226, May.
    3. Kuo Zhou & Xianghui Jin & Xinru Li & Yunqing Tao, 2024. "Enhancing sustainable development through effective disclosure: Corporate environmental performance and readability," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 274-291, January.
    4. Muhammad Sakandar Majid & Saba Malik & Sidra Mumtaz & Sana Akhtar & Iqra Zahoor & Soha Kanwal & Mubbra Habib & Mehmood Ahmed Husnain Hashmi, 2020. "Issues In Environmental Protection Agency And Recommendations To Solve The Problems," Environment & Ecosystem Science (EES), Zibeline International Publishing, vol. 5(1), pages 10-14, December.
    5. Khine Kyaw & Mojisola Olugbode & Barbara Petracci, 2022. "Stakeholder engagement: Investors' environmental risk aversion and corporate earnings," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 1220-1231, March.
    6. Mudeer Ahmed Khattak & Buerhan Saiti, 2021. "Banks' environmental policy and business outcomes: The role of competition," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 302-317, 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. María Luisa Pajuelo Moreno & Teresa Duarte-Atoche, 2019. "Relationship between Sustainable Disclosure and Performance—An Extension of Ullmann’s Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-33, August.
    2. Sudipta Bose & Amitav Saha & Indra Abeysekera, 2020. "The Value Relevance of Corporate Social Responsibility Expenditure: Evidence from Regulatory Decisions," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 56(4), pages 455-494, December.
    3. Romero, Jorge A., 2022. "Lobbying and political expenses: Complements or substitutes?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 558-575.
    4. Noor Muhammad & Frank Scrimgeour & Krishna Reddy & Sazali Abidin, 2015. "The Impact of Corporate Environmental Performance on Market Risk: The Australian Industry Case," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 347-362, December.
    5. Abdul‐Rahman Khokhar & Hesam Shahriari, 2022. "Is the SEC captured? Evidence from political connectedness and SEC enforcement actions," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(2), pages 2725-2756, June.
    6. Yusi Jiang & Tianyu Gong & Wan Cheng & Yapu Zhao, 2023. "Repression or indulgence? Distinctive government influence on firm financial and environmental misconduct in China," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(1), pages 379-402, February.
    7. Muhammad Akram Naseem & Jun Lin & Ramiz ur Rehman & Muhammad Ishfaq Ahmad & Rizwan Ali, 2019. "Moderating role of financial ratios in corporate social responsibility disclosure and firm value," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(4), pages 1-19, April.
    8. Siddique, Md Abubakar & Akhtaruzzaman, Md & Rashid, Afzalur & Hammami, Helmi, 2021. "Carbon disclosure, carbon performance and financial performance: International evidence," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    9. Hasan, Mostafa Monzur & Wong, Jin Boon & Al Mamun, Mohammed Abdullah, 2022. "Oil shocks and corporate social responsibility," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    10. Maretno Harjoto & Indrarini Laksmana, 2018. "The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Risk Taking and Firm Value," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 353-373, August.
    11. Ahmed, Anwer S. & McAnally, Mary Lea & Rasmussen, Stephanie & Weaver, Connie D., 2010. "How costly is the Sarbanes Oxley Act? Evidence on the effects of the Act on corporate profitability," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 352-369, June.
    12. Nour Chams & Josep García-Blandón & Khaled Hassan, 2021. "Role Reversal! Financial Performance as an Antecedent of ESG: The Moderating Effect of Total Quality Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-18, June.
    13. Najah Attig & Narjess Boubakri & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedham, "undated". "International Diversification and Corporate Social Responsibility," Finance Working Papers 12-11/2013, School of Business Administration, American University of Sharjah.
    14. Stefano Fontana & Daniela Coluccia & Silvia Solimene, 2019. "VAIC as a Tool for Measuring Intangibles Value in Voluntary Multi-Stakeholder Disclosure," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 10(4), pages 1679-1699, December.
    15. Sergio Manrique & Carmen-Pilar Martí-Ballester, 2017. "Analyzing the Effect of Corporate Environmental Performance on Corporate Financial Performance in Developed and Developing Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-30, October.
    16. Christoph Trumpp & Thomas Guenther, 2017. "Too Little or too much? Exploring U‐shaped Relationships between Corporate Environmental Performance and Corporate Financial Performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 49-68, January.
    17. Matthew McCarten & Ivan Diaz‐Rainey & Helen Roberts & Eric K. M. Tan, 2022. "Political connections, tacit power and corporate misconduct," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(9-10), pages 1530-1552, October.
    18. Wei Li & Yuan Lu & Weining Li, 2019. "Does CSR Action Provide Insurance-Like Protection to Tax-Avoiding Firms? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-19, September.
    19. Jane Andrew & Max Baker, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting: The Last 40 Years and a Path to Sharing Future Insights," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 56(1), pages 35-65, March.
    20. Katharina Kaupke & Dodo zu Knyphausen‐Aufseß, 2023. "Sustainability and firm value in the oil and gas industry—A vicious circle?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1129-1144, May.

    More about this item

    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:bla:bstrat:v:27:y:2018:i:8:p:1733-1740. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836 .

    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.