IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v34y2025i5p5838-5856.html

ESG Disclosure and Access to Credit: A Configurational Analysis of European Listed Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Carmen Gallucci
  • Rosalia Santulli
  • Riccardo Tipaldi

Abstract

This study investigates how various ESG disclosure configurations affect credit access for European firms listed on the STOXX Europe 600 Index during 2021–2022. Employing fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis and ESG disclosures standardised under the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the findings demonstrate that disclosure patterns associated with enhanced credit access vary between short‐ and long‐term financing. Notably, climate change‐related disclosure consistently improves credit access across financing types. The study emphasises the significance of aligning ESG disclosure with financing objectives and provides practical insights for firms, lenders and policymakers. Firms can strategically concentrate on disclosures that best support their financing requirements, whereas lenders gain from standardised frameworks like GRI for more dependable credit evaluations. Policymakers, in turn, can leverage the role of ESG disclosure in credit markets to promote sustainability transitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Carmen Gallucci & Rosalia Santulli & Riccardo Tipaldi, 2025. "ESG Disclosure and Access to Credit: A Configurational Analysis of European Listed Firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(5), pages 5838-5856, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:34:y:2025:i:5:p:5838-5856
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.4274
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4274
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.4274?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. Lai, Xiaobing & Zhang, Fan, 2022. "Can ESG certification help company get out of over-indebtedness? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Zhang, Dongyang & Lucey, Brian M., 2022. "Sustainable behaviors and firm performance: The role of financial constraints’ alleviation," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 220-233.
    3. Guangyu Huang & Fei Ye & Yina Li & Lujie Chen & Minhao Zhang, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility and bank credit loans: Exploring the moderating effect of the institutional environment in China," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 707-742, June.
    4. Srivastava, Jagriti & Sampath, Aravind & Gopalakrishnan, Balagopal, 2022. "Is ESG the key to unlock debt financing during the COVID-19 pandemic? International evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    5. Halkos, George & Nomikos, Stylianos, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility: Trends in global reporting initiative standards," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 106-117.
    6. Sheikh, Shahbaz, 2019. "Corporate social responsibility and firm leverage: The impact of market competition," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 496-510.
    7. Amal Hamrouni & Rim Boussaada & Nadia Ben Farhat Toumi, 2019. "Corporate social responsibility disclosure and debt financing," Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(4), pages 394-415, May.
    8. Benlemlih, Mohammed, 2017. "Corporate social responsibility and firm financing decisions: A literature review," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 42, pages 1-10.
    9. Mohammed Benlemlih, 2017. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Debt Maturity," Post-Print halshs-01321204, HAL.
    10. Florian Berg & Julian F Kölbel & Roberto Rigobon, 2022. "Aggregate Confusion: The Divergence of ESG Ratings [Corporate social responsibility and firm risk: theory and empirical evidence]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(6), pages 1315-1344.
    11. La Rosa, Fabio & Liberatore, Giovanni & Mazzi, Francesco & Terzani, Simone, 2018. "The impact of corporate social performance on the cost of debt and access to debt financing for listed European non-financial firms," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 519-529.
    12. Maretno Agus Harjoto, 2017. "Corporate social responsibility and degrees of operating and financial leverage," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 487-513, August.
    13. Li, WeiWei & Padmanabhan, Prasad & Huang, Chia-Hsing, 2024. "ESG and debt structure: Is the nature of this relationship nonlinear?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    14. Mohammed Benlemlih, 2017. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Debt Maturity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(3), pages 491-517, September.
    15. Kofi Mintah Oware & T. Mallikarjunappa, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and debt financing of listed firms: a quantile regression approach," Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 19(4), pages 615-639, February.
    16. Giuseppe Nicolò & Gianluca Zanellato & Benedetta Esposito & Adriana Tiron‐Tudor, 2024. "Cultural dimensions and sustainability disclosure in the banking sector: Insights from a qualitative comparative analysis approach," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(8), pages 8086-8101, December.
    17. Minh, Thanh Nguyen & Ngoc, Anh Mai & Tuan, Anh Nguyen & Dao, Tung Nguyen, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility, market rivalry and firm leverage: new evidence from a fixed-effect quantile regression approach," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    18. Del Giovane, Paolo & Eramo, Ginette & Nobili, Andrea, 2011. "Disentangling demand and supply in credit developments: A survey-based analysis for Italy," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 2719-2732, October.
    19. Degryse, Hans & Goncharenko, Roman & Theunisz, Carola & Vadasz, Tamas, 2023. "When green meets green," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    20. repec:aud:audfin:v:21:y:2019:i:51:p:422 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Carla Del Gesso & Rab Nawaz Lodhi, 2024. "Theories underlying environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure: a systematic review of accounting studies," Journal of Accounting Literature, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 47(2), pages 433-461, January.
    22. Yifan He & Wenfang Lin & Justas Streimikis, 2019. "Linking Corporate Social Responsibility with Reputation and Brand of the Firm," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 21(51), pages 422-422.
    23. Chakraborty, Atreya & Gao, Lucia Silva & Sheikh, Shahbaz, 2019. "Managerial risk taking incentives, corporate social responsibility and firm risk," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 58-72.
    24. Joel F Houston & Hongyu Shan, 2022. "Corporate ESG Profiles and Banking Relationships," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 35(7), pages 3373-3417.
    25. Amal Hamrouni & Rim Boussaada & Nadia Ben Farhat Toumi, 2019. "Corporate social responsibility disclosure and debt financing," Post-Print hal-02521353, HAL.
    26. Nguyen, Van Ha & Choi, Bobae & Agbola, Frank W., 2020. "Corporate social responsibility and debt maturity: Australian evidence," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    27. repec:eme:jaar00:jaar-01-2018-0020 is not listed on IDEAS
    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. Li, Jun & Qian, Mei & Tan, Changchun & Zhou, Peng, 2026. "How customer carbon risk propagates upstream: evidence from its impact on suppliers’ loan costs," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).

    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. Malik, Neha & Kashiramka, Smita, 2025. "“ESG disclosure and its impact on firm leverage: Moderating role of quality of financial reporting and financial constraints”," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    2. María Consuelo Pucheta‐Martínez & Inmaculada Bel‐Oms & Isabel Gallego‐Álvarez, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility reporting and capital structure: Does board gender diversity mind in such association?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1588-1600, July.
    3. Yadong Wang & Khaldoon Albitar & Imad Chbib, 2024. "Connecting the dots: A systematic review of corporate social responsibility, information asymmetry, and economic implications," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 5012-5031, September.
    4. Malik, Neha & Kashiramka, Smita & Sharma, Prashant, 2026. "ESG disclosures and capital structure: An analysis of debt and equity dynamics in India," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    5. Saeed, Asif & Noor, Mah & Soobaroyen, Teerooven & Gull, Ammar Ali, 2024. "Investigating the varying relevance of CSR dimensions on firm leverage: The implications for internationalized firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    6. Barbara Grabinska & Dorota Kedzior & Marcin Kedzior & Konrad Grabinski, 2021. "The Impact of CSR on the Capital Structure of High-Tech Companies in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-20, May.
    7. Jannik Gerwanski, 2020. "Does it pay off? Integrated reporting and cost of debt: European evidence," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2299-2319, September.
    8. Neha Malik & Smita Kashiramka, 2025. "Unlocking Dividend Potential Through the Power of Sustainable Disclosures: Moderating Role of Financial Constraints," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 3086-3113, March.
    9. Kangqi Jiang & Jie Zhang & Mengling Zhou & Zhongfei Chen, 2025. "ESG disagreement and corporate debt maturity: evidence from China," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 11(1), pages 1-39, December.
    10. Zhou, Mengling & Huang, Zizhen & Jiang, Kangqi, 2024. "Environmental, social, and governance performance and corporate debt maturity in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PA).
    11. Li, WeiWei & Padmanabhan, Prasad & Huang, Chia-Hsing, 2024. "ESG and debt structure: Is the nature of this relationship nonlinear?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    12. Zhongshuai Wang & Baocheng Bian & Jun Wang, 2025. "Influence of Green Credit Policy on Corporate Risk-Taking: The Mediating Effect of Debt Maturity Mismatch and the Moderating Effect of Executive Compensation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-30, March.
    13. Ebrahim Ahmed Ali Assakaf & Ameen Qasem & Sumaia Ayesh Qaderi & Mohammad Zaid Alaskar, 2025. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Intellectual Capital: The Moderating Role of Institutional Ownership in an Emerging Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-26, May.
    14. Monika Dahiya & Shveta Singh & Neeru Chaudhry, 2024. "Unveiling the role of corporate social responsibility on the efficiency of capital investments and their speed of adjustment: Insights from India," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 1963-1988, December.
    15. Birindelli, Giuliana & Quas, Anita & Rancan, Michela & Vandone, Daniela, 2025. "How important are ESG ratings for financial institutions? Evidence from corporate leverage ratios across Europe," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    16. Tesfaye T. Lemma & Ayalew Lulseged & Mohammad Tavakolifar, 2021. "Corporate commitment to climate change action, carbon risk exposure, and a firm's debt financing policy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3919-3936, December.
    17. Wu, Julia Yonghua & Opare, Solomon & Bhuiyan, Md. Borhan Uddin & Habib, Ahsan, 2022. "Determinants and consequences of debt maturity structure: A systematic review of the international literature," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    18. Othar Kordsachia, 2021. "A risk management perspective on CSR and the marginal cost of debt: empirical evidence from Europe," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(6), pages 1611-1643, August.
    19. Bugshan, Abdullah & Alnori, Faisal & Bakry, Walid & Datt, Rina, 2024. "Carbon assurance, corporate capital structure, and debt maturity: Global evidence," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    20. Wang, Xiaoteng & Zhou, Bole & Li, Xiaoling, 2025. "Qualified foreign institutional investors and corporate ESG performance: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).

    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:5:p:5838-5856. 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.