IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v34y2025i3p3294-3310.html

Does It Pay Off to Disclose Sustainability Information? The Effect of ESG Disclosure on ESG Controversies in European Banks

Author

Listed:
  • Rosella Carè
  • Paolo Agnese
  • Massimiliano Cerciello
  • Simone Taddeo

Abstract

This paper empirically investigates the relationship between specific dimensions of ESG disclosure and ESG controversies. We analyze an unbalanced panel sample of European banks between 2015 and 2022, implementing the GMM‐SYS version of the Arellano‐Bond estimator for dynamic panels. The study results indicate that banks disclosing full information are more likely to face scandals. In addition, EU membership has a positive impact on the ESG controversies. Overall, our research suggests that while transparency is intended to enhance accountability, it may also lead to heightened scrutiny and the exposure of more controversies. Our study, therefore, sheds new light on current knowledge on ESG disclosure and controversies, integrating theoretical, practical, policy, and investor perspectives.

Suggested Citation

  • Rosella Carè & Paolo Agnese & Massimiliano Cerciello & Simone Taddeo, 2025. "Does It Pay Off to Disclose Sustainability Information? The Effect of ESG Disclosure on ESG Controversies in European Banks," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 3294-3310, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:34:y:2025:i:3:p:3294-3310
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.4150
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4150
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.4150?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. Romilda Mazzotta & Giovanni Bronzetti & Stefania Veltri, 2020. "Are mandatory non‐financial disclosures credible? Evidence from Italian listed companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1900-1913, July.
    2. Amina Mohamed Buallay & Meera Al Marri & Nohade Nasrallah & Allam Hamdan & Elisabetta Barone & Qasim Zureigat, 2023. "Sustainability reporting in banking and financial services sector: a regional analysis," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(1), pages 776-801, January.
    3. Nizam, Esma & Ng, Adam & Dewandaru, Ginanjar & Nagayev, Ruslan & Nkoba, Malik Abdulrahman, 2019. "The impact of social and environmental sustainability on financial performance: A global analysis of the banking sector," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 35-53.
    4. Fernando Ubeda & Alvaro Mendez & Francisco Javier Forcadell, 2024. "Sustainable banking and trust in the global South," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 15(S1), pages 34-44, March.
    5. Olivier Boiral, 2013. "Sustainability reports as simulacra? A counter-account of A and A+ GRI reports," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(7), pages 1036-1071, September.
    6. Elisabetta D’Apolito & Pasquale Di Biase & Stefania Sylos Labini, 2023. "How Much Impact Do Banks And Insurance Companies Have On The Environment? Evidence From Italy," Journal of Financial Management, Markets and Institutions (JFMMI), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 11(02), pages 1-27, December.
    7. Qiu, Yan & Shaukat, Amama & Tharyan, Rajesh, 2016. "Environmental and social disclosures: Link with corporate financial performance," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 102-116.
    8. Liu, Changyu & Gong, Wanrong & Dong, Guanglong & Ji, Qiang, 2024. "Regulation of environmental, social and governance disclosure greenwashing behaviors considering the risk preference of enterprises," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    9. Zhang, Dongyang, 2022. "Do heterogenous subsides work differently on environmental innovation? A mechanism exploration approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    10. Amir Amel-Zadeh & George Serafeim, 2018. "Why and How Investors Use ESG Information: Evidence from a Global Survey," Financial Analysts Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 74(3), pages 87-103, July.
    11. David Roodman, 2009. "A Note on the Theme of Too Many Instruments," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 71(1), pages 135-158, February.
    12. Baker, George P, 1992. "Incentive Contracts and Performance Measurement," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(3), pages 598-614, June.
    13. Akrum Helfaya & Rebecca Morris & Ahmed Aboud, 2023. "Investigating the Factors That Determine the ESG Disclosure Practices in Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-23, March.
    14. 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.
    15. Riccardo Torelli & Federica Balluchi & Arianna Lazzini, 2020. "Greenwashing and environmental communication: Effects on stakeholders' perceptions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 407-421, February.
    16. Beat Reber & Agnes Gold & Stefan Gold, 2022. "ESG Disclosure and Idiosyncratic Risk in Initial Public Offerings," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(3), pages 867-886, September.
    17. Toma, Pierluigi & Stefanelli, Valeria, 2022. "What are the banks doing in managing climate risk? Empirical evidence from a position map," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    18. David Talbot & Olivier Boiral, 2018. "GHG Reporting and Impression Management: An Assessment of Sustainability Reports from the Energy Sector," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 367-383, January.
    19. Zhihong Wang & Tien‐Shih Hsieh & Joseph Sarkis, 2018. "CSR Performance and the Readability of CSR Reports: Too Good to be True?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(1), pages 66-79, January.
    20. Yang, Ruoke, 2022. "What do we learn from ratings about corporate social responsibility? New evidence of uninformative ratings," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    21. Li, Jialong & Haider, Zulfiquer Ali & Jin, Xianzhe & Yuan, Wenlong, 2019. "Corporate controversy, social responsibility and market performance: International evidence," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1-18.
    22. Issam Laguir & Rebecca Stekelorum & Lamia Laguir & Raffaele Staglianò, 2021. "Managing corporate social responsibility in the bank sector: A fuzzy and disaggregated approach," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(4), pages 1324-1334, July.
    23. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-04-2012-00998 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Karl V. Lins & Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2017. "Social Capital, Trust, and Firm Performance: The Value of Corporate Social Responsibility during the Financial Crisis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(4), pages 1785-1824, August.
    25. Garrett A. McBrayer, 2018. "Does persistence explain ESG disclosure decisions?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(6), pages 1074-1086, November.
    26. Hong, Harrison & Kacperczyk, Marcin, 2009. "The price of sin: The effects of social norms on markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 15-36, July.
    27. Fabio Caputo & Simone Pizzi & Lorenzo Ligorio & Rossella Leopizzi, 2021. "Enhancing environmental information transparency through corporate social responsibility reporting regulation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3470-3484, December.
    28. Amir Barnea & Amir Rubin, 2010. "Corporate Social Responsibility as a Conflict Between Shareholders," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(1), pages 71-86, November.
    29. 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.
    30. Treepongkaruna, Sirimon & Kyaw, Khine & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2022. "Shareholder litigation rights and ESG controversies: A quasi-natural experiment," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    31. Michael P. Murray, 2006. "Avoiding Invalid Instruments and Coping with Weak Instruments," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(4), pages 111-132, Fall.
    32. Frances Bowen, 2019. "Marking Their Own Homework: The Pragmatic and Moral Legitimacy of Industry Self-Regulation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(1), pages 257-272, April.
    33. Addisu A. Lashitew, 2021. "Corporate uptake of the Sustainable Development Goals: Mere greenwashing or an advent of institutional change?," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 184-200, March.
    34. Anderson, T. W. & Hsiao, Cheng, 1982. "Formulation and estimation of dynamic models using panel data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 47-82, January.
    35. Liu, Suyi & Jin, Justin & Nainar, Khalid, 2023. "Does ESG performance reduce banks’ nonperforming loans?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PA).
    36. Dominik Dienes & Remmer Sassen & Jasmin Fischer, 2016. "What are the drivers of sustainability reporting? A systematic review," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(2), pages 154-189, May.
    37. repec:eme:aaaj00:09513570410567791 is not listed on IDEAS
    38. Dominik Dienes & Remmer Sassen & Jasmin Fischer, 2016. "What are the drivers of sustainability reporting? A systematic review," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(2), pages 154-189, May.
    39. Pablo Gómez-Carrasco & Encarna Guillamón-Saorín & Beatriz García Osma, 2021. "Stakeholders versus Firm Communication in Social Media: The Case of Twitter and Corporate Social Responsibility Information," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 31-62, January.
    40. Laura Chiaramonte & Alberto Dreassi & Claudia Girardone & Stefano Piserà, 2022. "Do ESG strategies enhance bank stability during financial turmoil? Evidence from Europe," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(12), pages 1173-1211, August.
    41. Amal Aouadi & Sylvain Marsat, 2018. "Do ESG Controversies Matter for Firm Value? Evidence from International Data," Post-Print halshs-02007374, HAL.
    42. Zhang, Dongyang, 2022. "Environmental regulation and firm product quality improvement: How does the greenwashing response?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    43. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-12-2019-4356 is not listed on IDEAS
    44. Marsat, Sylvain & Pijourlet, Guillaume & Ullah, Muhammad, 2022. "Does environmental performance help firms to be more resilient against environmental controversies? International evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    45. Gregory Jackson & Androniki Apostolakou, 2010. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Western Europe: An Institutional Mirror or Substitute?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(3), pages 371-394, July.
    46. Olivier Boiral, 2013. "Sustainability reports as simulacra? A counter-account of A and A+ GRI reports," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(7), pages 1036-1071, September.
    47. Amal Aouadi & Sylvain Marsat, 2018. "Do ESG Controversies Matter for Firm Value? Evidence from International Data," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 1027-1047, September.
    48. Shuili Du & Kun Yu, 2021. "Do Corporate Social Responsibility Reports Convey Value Relevant Information? Evidence from Report Readability and Tone," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(2), pages 253-274, August.
    49. Galletta, Simona & Goodell, John W. & Mazzù, Sebastiano & Paltrinieri, Andrea, 2023. "Bank reputation and operational risk: The impact of ESG," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    50. Gregor Dorfleitner & Christian Kreuzer & Christian Sparrer, 2020. "ESG controversies and controversial ESG: about silent saints and small sinners," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(5), pages 393-412, September.
    51. Burcu Gurol & Valentina Lagasio, 2022. "Women board members’ impact on ESG disclosure with environment and social dimensions: evidence from the European banking sector," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 19(1), pages 211-228, January.
    52. Anita, Mendiratta & Shveta, Singh & Yadav Surendra, S. & Arvind, Mahajan, 2023. "When do ESG controversies reduce firm value in India?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    53. Caterina Di Tommaso & John Thornton, 2020. "Do ESG scores effect bank risk taking and value? Evidence from European banks," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2286-2298, September.
    54. Thomas P. Lyon & John W. Maxwell, 2011. "Greenwash: Corporate Environmental Disclosure under Threat of Audit," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(1), pages 3-41, March.
    55. Azmi, Wajahat & Hassan, M. Kabir & Houston, Reza & Karim, Mohammad Sydul, 2021. "ESG activities and banking performance: International evidence from emerging economies," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    56. Ubeda, Fernando & Mendez, Alvaro & Forcadell, Francisco Javier, 2024. "Sustainable banking and trust in the global South," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122554, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    57. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    58. Olivier Boiral & David Talbot & Marie-Christine Brotherton & Iñaki Heras-Saizarbitoria, 2021. "Sustainability rating and moral fictionalism: opening the black box of nonfinancial agencies," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(8), pages 1740-1768, April.
    59. 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.
    60. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    61. Anna Rita Dipierro & Pierluigi Toma & Massimo Frittelli, 2024. "Introducing ESG controversies as the polluting factor of banks’ activity: a nonparametric efficiency approach," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 52(5), pages 919-932, August.
    62. Carol A. Adams, 2004. "The ethical, social and environmental reporting‐performance portrayal gap," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 17(5), pages 731-757, December.
    63. Zhang, Dongyang, 2023. "Does green finance really inhibit extreme hypocritical ESG risk? A greenwashing perspective exploration," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    64. Carlos P. Maquieira & Christian Espinosa‐Méndez & José T. Arias, 2024. "The impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) score on dividend payment of large family firms: What is the role of financial constraints? International evidence," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 2311-2332, May.
    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. Niu, Niu & Zhang, Bin & Song, Yanwu & Boateng, Agyenim, 2025. "Climate policy uncertainty and ESG performance of energy firms: The moderating effect of cloud computing technology," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 108(PA).

    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. Agnese, Paolo & Cerciello, Massimiliano & Oriani, Raffaele & Taddeo, Simone, 2024. "ESG controversies and profitability in the European banking sector," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    2. Albrecht, Disen Huang & Anantharaman, Divya & Zhao, Keyi, 2025. "Is a picture worth a thousand words? Image usage in ESG reports," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    3. 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".
    4. Galletta, Simona & Goodell, John W. & Mazzù, Sebastiano & Paltrinieri, Andrea, 2025. "The impact of environmental disclosure and controversies on bank value," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 134.
    5. Danisman, Gamze Ozturk & Tarazi, Amine, 2024. "ESG activity and bank lending during financial crises," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    6. Massimiliano Cerciello & Francesco Busato & Simone Taddeo, 2023. "The effect of sustainable business practices on profitability. Accounting for strategic disclosure," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 802-819, March.
    7. Angelidis, Timotheos & Michairinas, Athanasios & Sakkas, Athanasios, 2024. "World ESG performance and economic activity," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    8. Agnese, Paolo & Battaglia, Francesca & Busato, Francesco & Taddeo, Simone, 2023. "ESG controversies and governance: Evidence from the banking industry," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    9. Alice Monti & Pierpaolo Pattitoni & Barbara Petracci & Otto Randl, 2022. "Does corporate social responsibility impact equity risk? International evidence," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 825-855, October.
    10. Md Ismail Haidar, 2025. "Does Societal Trust Reduce Greenwashing? International Evidence," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 3400-3424, March.
    11. Sakhr Bani-Khaled & Graça Azevedo & Jonas Oliveira, 2025. "Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors and firm value: A systematic literature review of theories and empirical evidence," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 15(1), pages 228-260, June.
    12. Chai, Hongrui & Cheng, Zhenhao & Wu, Weixing, 2025. "Is ESG performance a protective umbrella for ESG violations?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    13. Francesca Bernini & Fabio La Rosa, 2024. "Research in the greenwashing field: concepts, theories, and potential impacts on economic and social value," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 28(2), pages 405-444, June.
    14. Karen Gloria Vargas‐Santander & Susana Álvarez‐Diez & Samuel Baixauli‐Soler & María Belda‐Ruiz, 2025. "Do financial constraints lead to environmental, social and governance controversies? The role of country context," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(1), pages 965-981, January.
    15. Saif-Alyousfi, Abdulazeez Y.H. & Saha, Asish & Alshammari, Turki Rashed, 2023. "Bank diversification and ESG activities: A global perspective," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(3).
    16. Woon Leong Lin & Chin Lee & Siong Hook Law, 2021. "Asymmetric effects of corporate sustainability strategy on value creation among global automotive firms: A dynamic panel quantile regression approach," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 931-954, February.
    17. Chen, Zhongfei & Xie, Guanxia, 2022. "ESG disclosure and financial performance: Moderating role of ESG investors," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    18. Mohamed Rashwan & Nardin Farouk & Rania Pasha, 2025. "Can ESG Strategies Drive Firm Value Growth in the MENA Region?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-30, September.
    19. Wong, Jin Boon & Zhang, Qin, 2022. "Stock market reactions to adverse ESG disclosure via media channels," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    20. Giuseppe Maria Bifulco & Carlo Caserio & Francesca di Donato & Sara Trucco, 2025. "Does Sustainable Performance Matter for Nonfinancial Disclosure Readability? A Fog Index Analysis on Italian‐Listed Companies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(5), pages 5601-5623, July.

    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:34:y:2025:i:3:p:3294-3310. 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.