IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/quaeco/v98y2024ics1062976924001443.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Credit ratings and corporate ESG behavior

Author

Listed:
  • Lee, Junyong
  • Lee, Kyounghun
  • Oh, Frederick Dongchuhl

Abstract

This study examines the effect of credit rating concerns on corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) behavior. We use the plus or minus test on a large sample of ESG scores and S&P credit ratings of U.S. publicly traded firms from 2003 to 2017. We find that firms with credit rating concerns often increase their ESG activities. This finding holds even after we control for various factors affecting ESG practices. Moreover, firms on the boundary between investment- and speculative-grade ratings significantly improve their ESG performance compared to other cases. Finally, we find evidence that the positive effect of credit rating concerns on ESG activities is pronounced during the global financial crisis and then strengthens further. Overall, our study highlights the impact of credit ratings on corporate ESG behavior. (JEL G24, G32, M14)

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, Junyong & Lee, Kyounghun & Oh, Frederick Dongchuhl, 2024. "Credit ratings and corporate ESG behavior," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:quaeco:v:98:y:2024:i:c:s1062976924001443
    DOI: 10.1016/j.qref.2024.101938
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1062976924001443
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.qref.2024.101938?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. Martins, Henrique Castro, 2022. "Competition and ESG practices in emerging markets: Evidence from a difference-in-differences model," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PA).
    2. Hong, Harrison & Kostovetsky, Leonard, 2012. "Red and blue investing: Values and finance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(1), pages 1-19.
    3. Lys, Thomas & Naughton, James P. & Wang, Clare, 2015. "Signaling through corporate accountability reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 56-72.
    4. Ellul, Andrew & Jotikasthira, Chotibhak & Lundblad, Christian T., 2011. "Regulatory pressure and fire sales in the corporate bond market," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(3), pages 596-620, September.
    5. Falck, Oliver & Heblich, Stephan, 2007. "Corporate social responsibility: Doing well by doing good," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 247-254.
    6. 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.
    7. Tang, Tony T., 2009. "Information asymmetry and firms' credit market access: Evidence from Moody's credit rating format refinement," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 325-351, August.
    8. Pornsit Jiraporn & Napatsorn Jiraporn & Adisak Boeprasert & Kiyoung Chang, 2014. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Improve Credit Ratings? Evidence from Geographic Identification," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 43(3), pages 505-531, September.
    9. 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.
    10. Darren J. Kisgen & Philip E. Strahan, 2010. "Do Regulations Based on Credit Ratings Affect a Firm's Cost of Capital?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(12), pages 4324-4347, December.
    11. Amir Sufi, 2009. "The Real Effects of Debt Certification: Evidence from the Introduction of Bank Loan Ratings," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(4), pages 1659-1691, April.
    12. Cheng, Mei & Neamtiu, Monica, 2009. "An empirical analysis of changes in credit rating properties: Timeliness, accuracy and volatility," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1-2), pages 108-130, March.
    13. Broadstock, David C. & Chan, Kalok & Cheng, Louis T.W. & Wang, Xiaowei, 2021. "The role of ESG performance during times of financial crisis: Evidence from COVID-19 in China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    14. Seiwoong Hong & Wonkyun Kim & Junyong Lee & Frederick Dongchuhl Oh, 2023. "Credit ratings and corporate risk-taking behavior: evidence from Korea," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(16), pages 2200-2207, September.
    15. Najah Attig & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Jungwon Suh, 2013. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Credit Ratings," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(4), pages 679-694, November.
    16. 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.
    17. 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).
    18. Adhikari, Binay K., 2016. "Causal effect of analyst following on corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 201-216.
    19. John, Kose & Williams, Joseph, 1985. "Dividends, Dilution, and Taxes: A Signalling Equilibrium," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 40(4), pages 1053-1070, September.
    20. Bereskin, Frederick L. & Kim, Bushik & Oh, Frederick Dongchuhl, 2015. "Do credit rating concerns lead to better corporate governance? Evidence from Korea," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PB), pages 592-608.
    21. Andreas G F Hoepner & Ioannis Oikonomou & Zacharias Sautner & Laura T Starks & Xiao Y Zhou, 2024. "ESG shareholder engagement and downside risk," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 28(2), pages 483-510.
    22. Doron Kliger & Oded Sarig, 2000. "The Information Value of Bond Ratings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(6), pages 2879-2902, December.
    23. Ga-Young Jang & Hyoung-Goo Kang & Ju-Yeong Lee & Kyounghun Bae, 2020. "ESG Scores and the Credit Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-13, April.
    24. Aysun Alp, 2013. "Structural Shifts in Credit Rating Standards," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(6), pages 2435-2470, December.
    25. Stellner, Christoph & Klein, Christian & Zwergel, Bernhard, 2015. "Corporate social responsibility and Eurozone corporate bonds: The moderating role of country sustainability," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 538-549.
    26. Borghesi, Richard & Houston, Joel F. & Naranjo, Andy, 2014. "Corporate socially responsible investments: CEO altruism, reputation, and shareholder interests," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 164-181.
    27. Patrycja Chodnicka-Jaworska, 2021. "ESG as a Measure of Credit Ratings," Risks, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-26, December.
    28. Darren J. Kisgen, 2006. "Credit Ratings and Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(3), pages 1035-1072, June.
    29. 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.
    30. Fabrizio Crespi & Milena Migliavacca, 2020. "The Determinants of ESG Rating in the Financial Industry: The Same Old Story or a Different Tale?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-20, August.
    31. Miller, Merton H & Rock, Kevin, 1985. "Dividend Policy under Asymmetric Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 40(4), pages 1031-1051, September.
    32. Maria Baldini & Lorenzo Dal Maso & Giovanni Liberatore & Francesco Mazzi & Simone Terzani, 2018. "Role of Country- and Firm-Level Determinants in Environmental, Social, and Governance Disclosure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 79-98, June.
    33. Elena Escrig-Olmedo & María Ángeles Fernández-Izquierdo & Idoya Ferrero-Ferrero & Juana María Rivera-Lirio & María Jesús Muñoz-Torres, 2019. "Rating the Raters: Evaluating how ESG Rating Agencies Integrate Sustainability Principles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-16, February.
    34. Florian Kiesel & Felix Lücke, 2019. "ESG in credit ratings and the impact on financial markets," Financial Markets, Institutions & Instruments, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(3), pages 263-290, August.
    35. Kisgen, Darren J., 2009. "Do Firms Target Credit Ratings or Leverage Levels?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(6), pages 1323-1344, December.
    36. Kiesel, Florian & Lücke, Felix, 2019. "ESG in credit ratings and the impact on financial markets," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 118849, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    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. Kiyoung Chang & Ying Li & Hyeongsop Shim, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility and credit rating around the world: The role of societal trust," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 57(4), pages 863-891, November.
    2. Koo, KwangJoo (KJ) & Kim, Jae B., 2025. "Managerial pessimism and investment in corporate social responsibility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    3. Cornaggia, Jess & Cornaggia, Kimberly J. & Xia, Han, 2016. "Revolving doors on Wall Street," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(2), pages 400-419.
    4. 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.
    5. 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).
    6. Murat Doğan & Muhammed Aslam Chelery Komath & Özlem Sayilir, 2025. "Credit rating prediction with ESG data using data mining methods," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    7. Federica Ielasi & Paolo Ceccherini & Pietro Zito, 2020. "Integrating ESG Analysis into Smart Beta Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-22, November.
    8. Jiang, Zhiqian & Xu, Yue & Fang, Mei & Tang, Ziling & Tao, Chunhua, 2023. "How does the bond market price corporate ESG engagement? Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1406-1423.
    9. Dunbar, Craig & Li, Zhichuan (Frank) & Shi, Yaqi, 2020. "CEO risk-taking incentives and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    10. Gao, Feng & Li, Yubin & Wang, Xinjie & Zhong, Zhaodong (Ken), 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and the term structure of CDS spreads," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    11. Goretti Cabaleiro-Cerviño & Pedro Mendi, 2024. "ESG-driven innovation strategy and firm performance," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 14(1), pages 137-185, March.
    12. Michalski, Lachlan & Low, Rand Kwong Yew, 2024. "Determinants of corporate credit ratings: Does ESG matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    13. Ballester, Laura & González-Urteaga, Ana & Shen, Long, 2024. "Green bond issuance and credit risk: International evidence," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    14. Hasan, Iftekhar & Kim, Suk-Joong & Politsidis, Panagiotis N. & Wu, Eliza, 2021. "Loan syndication under Basel II: How do firm credit ratings affect the cost of credit?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    15. 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).
    16. Xia, Han, 2014. "Can investor-paid credit rating agencies improve the information quality of issuer-paid rating agencies?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(2), pages 450-468.
    17. Cai, Xiangshang & Gao, Yang & Wu, Zhiting & Yuan, Jiayi, 2024. "Chief executive officer marital status and corporate credit ratings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PA).
    18. D'Mello, Ranjan & Kwon, Sungjoung & Toscano, Francesca, 2024. "Corporate social responsibility and the executive-employee pay disparity," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    19. Huang, He & Svec, Jiri & Wu, Eliza, 2021. "The game changer: Regulatory reform and multiple credit ratings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    20. Danilo Drago & Concetta Carnevale, 2020. "Do CSR Ratings Affect Loan Spreads? Evidence from European Syndicated Loan Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-30, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Credit Rating; Environmental; Social; and Governance (ESG); Financial crisis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

    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:quaeco:v:98:y:2024:i:c:s1062976924001443. 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/620167 .

    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.