IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v35y2026i5p6525-6537.html

How Are Large Firms Integrating Environmental Requirements? Stakeholders' Engagement, Environmental Disclosure, and Financial Value Creation

Author

Listed:
  • Inés Suárez‐Perales
  • Pilar Rivera‐Torres
  • Conchita Garcés‐Ayerbe
  • Rafael Beortegui Diaz

Abstract

In recent years, companies have been subjected to great pressures from different stakeholders, including the integration of environmental requirements and the need to disclose information related to these environmental changes. In addition, the conflict of interests existing has led some large companies to integrate the interests of certain stakeholders in a superficial or symbolic way, without carrying out the required integration process within the strategic decisions. From the theoretical approaches of agency and stakeholders, bridging the gap between governance theory and stakeholder engagement literature, this paper delves into the phenomenon known as stakeholders' engagement and the company's response to this integration, in a superficial or deep way, through the disclosure of environmental information. The results of an analysis of a sample of 540 large US companies over a 13‐year period reveal that independent directors play a dual role: promoting environmental communication with stakeholders' expectations and subsequently driving substantive environmental strategies that go beyond mere regulatory compliance. The article thus presents a progressive model in which effective environmental disclosure depends on the integration of stakeholder interests into corporate strategy. Our results also contribute to extend Porter's hypothesis by demonstrating that long‐term value creation associated with environmental performance depends on the substantive nature of the company's environmental strategy, which is actively facilitated by independent directors.

Suggested Citation

  • Inés Suárez‐Perales & Pilar Rivera‐Torres & Conchita Garcés‐Ayerbe & Rafael Beortegui Diaz, 2026. "How Are Large Firms Integrating Environmental Requirements? Stakeholders' Engagement, Environmental Disclosure, and Financial Value Creation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(5), pages 6525-6537, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:35:y:2026:i:5:p:6525-6537
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.70484
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70484
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.70484?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. Weiwen Li & Ryan Krause & Xin Qin & Junsheng Zhang & Hang Zhu & Shanshan Lin & Yuehua Xu, 2018. "Under the microscope: An experimental look at board transparency and director monitoring behavior," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(4), pages 1216-1236, April.
    2. 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.
    3. Rui Coelho & Shital Jayantilal & Joao J. Ferreira, 2023. "The impact of social responsibility on corporate financial performance: A systematic literature review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1535-1560, July.
    4. Astrid Sailer & Harald Wilfing & Eva Straus, 2022. "Greenwashing and Bluewashing in Black Friday-Related Sustainable Fashion Marketing on Instagram," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-22, January.
    5. Peter Tashman & Valentina Marano & Tatiana Kostova, 2019. "Walking the walk or talking the talk? Corporate social responsibility decoupling in emerging market multinationals," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(2), pages 153-171, March.
    6. Andreas Andrikopoulos & Nikoleta Kriklani, 2013. "Environmental Disclosure and Financial Characteristics of the Firm: The Case of Denmark," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(1), pages 55-64, January.
    7. Chetna Rath & Florentina Kurniasari & Malabika Deo, 2020. "CEO Compensation and Firm Performance: The Role of ESG Transparency," Indonesian Journal of Sustainability Accounting and Management, Asian Online Journal Publishing Group, vol. 4(2), pages 278-293.
    8. Wolfgang Schultze & Ramona Trommer, 2012. "The concept of environmental performance and its measurement in empirical studies," Metrika: International Journal for Theoretical and Applied Statistics, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 375-412, January.
    9. Amal Aouadi & Sylvain Marsat, 2018. "Do ESG Controversies Matter for Firm Value? Evidence from International Data," Post-Print halshs-02007374, HAL.
    10. 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.
    11. Roberto Fernández‐Gago & Laura Cabeza‐García & Mariano Nieto, 2018. "Independent directors' background and CSR disclosure," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 991-1001, September.
    12. William Q. Judge & Thomas J. Douglas, 1998. "Performance Implications of Incorporating Natural Environmental Issues into the Strategic Planning Process: An Empirical Assessment," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 241-262, March.
    13. Peter Kwarteng & Kingsley Opoku Appiah & Bismark Addai, 2023. "Influence of board mechanisms on sustainability performance for listed firms in Sub-Saharan Africa," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-24, December.
    14. Clarkson, Peter M. & Li, Yue & Richardson, Gordon D. & Vasvari, Florin P., 2008. "Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(4-5), pages 303-327.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Hussain Muhammad & Mohamed Aman, 2026. "How Environmental Regulations Influence ESG Controversies: The Role of Climate Governance and Environmental Decoupling," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(1), pages 1320-1338, January.
    2. Christine Reitmaier & Wolfgang Schultze & Julia Vollmer, 2025. "Corporate responsibility and corporate misbehavior: are CSR reporting firms indeed responsible?," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 1804-1872, June.
    3. Nurlan Orazalin & Mady Baydauletov, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility strategy and corporate environmental and social performance: The moderating role of board gender diversity," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1664-1676, July.
    4. Natalia Semenova, 2021. "Management control systems in response to social and environmental risk in large Nordic companies," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-11, December.
    5. Nurlan Orazalin, 2020. "Do board sustainability committees contribute to corporate environmental and social performance? The mediating role of corporate social responsibility strategy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 140-153, January.
    6. Anthony Kuo & Donna Chien & Ming‐Sung Kao, 2024. "Interplay of national and firm environmental, social, and governance performances: Reshaping multinational enterprises' employer attractiveness across home and host countries," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(6), pages 5938-5953, November.
    7. Jinyu Chen & Xinyu Guo & Ran Liu, 2025. "ESG Rating Uncertainty and the Cost of Debt Financing," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(4), pages 4328-4342, October.
    8. Le Luo & Qingliang Tang & Hanlu Fan & Jamie Ayers, 2023. "Corporate carbon assurance and the quality of carbon disclosure," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(1), pages 657-690, March.
    9. Slimane Ed‐Dafali & Zahra Adardour & Atar Derj & Adil Bami & Khaled Hussainey, 2025. "A PRISMA‐Based Systematic Review on Economic, Social, and Governance Practices: Insights and Research Agenda," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(2), pages 1896-1916, February.
    10. Ge Ge & Xiang Xiao & Zhenzhu Li & Qinghui Dai, 2022. "Does ESG Performance Promote High-Quality Development of Enterprises in China? The Mediating Role of Innovation Input," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-24, March.
    11. Simone Pizzi & Francesco Rosati & Andrea Venturelli, 2021. "The determinants of business contribution to the 2030 Agenda: Introducing the SDG Reporting Score," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 404-421, January.
    12. Hung Manh Pham & Nham Linh Vuong & Dung Viet Tran & Minh Thi Hai Ngo & Trung Tien Le, 2025. "Does environmental, social, and governance disclosure affect financial performance? An empirical study of Southeast and East Asia commercial banks," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-26, March.
    13. 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.
    14. Reni Listyawati & Hadri Kusuma & Yuni Nustini, 2025. "The Role of Sustainability Disclosure in Enhancing Bank Performance: Evidence from ASEAN Countries," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 6, pages 21-43.
    15. Guanglei Zhang & Qi Xie & Huangting Gao & Jintao Lu & Nicola Cucari, 2025. "Implementation of social responsibility in digital transformation: An opportunity or a challenge to corporate innovation performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(1), pages 1245-1260, January.
    16. Uyar, Ali & Kuzey, Cemil & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2022. "ESG performance and CSR awards: Does consistency matter?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    17. Yaghoub Abdi & Xiaoni Li & Xavier Càmara-Turull, 2022. "Exploring the impact of sustainability (ESG) disclosure on firm value and financial performance (FP) in airline industry: the moderating role of size and age," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 5052-5079, April.
    18. Banu Dincer & Ayşe İrem Keskin & Caner Dincer, 2023. "Nexus between Sustainability Reporting and Firm Performance: Considering Industry Groups, Accounting, and Market Measures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-13, March.
    19. Raffaela Casciello & Rosalinda Santonastaso & Martina Prisco & Ilaria Martino, 2024. "Green innovation and financial performance. The role of R&D investments and ESG disclosure," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(6), pages 5372-5390, November.
    20. 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.

    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:35:y:2026:i:5:p:6525-6537. 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.