IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/joamsc/v51y2023i2d10.1007_s11747-022-00879-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of voluntary sustainability reporting on firm value: Insights from signaling theory

Author

Listed:
  • Wesley Friske

    (Missouri State University)

  • Seth A. Hoelscher

    (Missouri State University)

  • Atanas Nik Nikolov

    (Appalachian State University)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between voluntary sustainability reporting and firm value, as measured by Tobin’s q. We test three main hypotheses developed from signaling theory and the sustainability reporting literature on a large panel of reporting and non-reporting organizations for the period 2011–2020. The results of a fixed effects panel model suggest that, in general, sustainability reporting is negatively related to Tobin’s q. However, the results also indicate that the relationship between sustainability reporting and Tobin’s q becomes increasingly positive over time. Our conclusion is that sustainability reporting is initially a costly signal, but that it eventually enhances firm value as companies learn how to better communicate sustainability initiatives to stakeholders and investors learn how to properly evaluate reports. Finally, in an analysis of sustainability reporting organizations, we find that external assurance is positively associated with Tobin’s q. External audits appear to increase the credibility of reports. Implications for marketing theory and practice are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Wesley Friske & Seth A. Hoelscher & Atanas Nik Nikolov, 2023. "The impact of voluntary sustainability reporting on firm value: Insights from signaling theory," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 372-392, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joamsc:v:51:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s11747-022-00879-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s11747-022-00879-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11747-022-00879-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11747-022-00879-2?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. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "Value Maximization, Stakeholder Theory, and the Corporate Objective Function," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 32-42, January.
    2. Whitney K. Newey & Kenneth D. West, 1994. "Automatic Lag Selection in Covariance Matrix Estimation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 61(4), pages 631-653.
    3. repec:eme:aaaj00:09513570210418905 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Imran S. Currim & Jooseop Lim & Yu Zhang, 2018. "Effect of analysts’ earnings pressure on marketing spending and stock market performance," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 431-452, May.
    5. Samuel M. Hartzmark & Abigail B. Sussman, 2019. "Do Investors Value Sustainability? A Natural Experiment Examining Ranking and Fund Flows," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 74(6), pages 2789-2837, December.
    6. Arno Riedl & Paul Smeets, 2017. "Why Do Investors Hold Socially Responsible Mutual Funds?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(6), pages 2505-2550, December.
    7. Donald D. Bergh & Brian L. Connelly & David J. Ketchen Jr & Lu M. Shannon, 2014. "Signalling Theory and Equilibrium in Strategic Management Research: An Assessment and a Research Agenda," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(8), pages 1334-1360, December.
    8. Isabell Lenz & Hauke A. Wetzel & Maik Hammerschmidt, 2017. "Can doing good lead to doing poorly? Firm value implications of CSR in the face of CSI," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(5), pages 677-697, September.
    9. Michael Spence, 2002. "Signaling in Retrospect and the Informational Structure of Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(3), pages 434-459, June.
    10. Cory Searcy & Ruvena Buslovich, 2014. "Corporate Perspectives on the Development and Use of Sustainability Reports," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(2), pages 149-169, May.
    11. Lucas, Marilyn T. & Noordewier, Thomas G., 2016. "Environmental management practices and firm financial performance: The moderating effect of industry pollution-related factors," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 24-34.
    12. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    13. Giacomo Manetti & Lucia Becatti, 2009. "Assurance Services for Sustainability Reports: Standards and Empirical Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(1), pages 289-298, April.
    14. Hausman, Jerry, 2015. "Specification tests in econometrics," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 38(2), pages 112-134.
    15. Kun Tracy Wang & Dejia Li, 2016. "Market Reactions to the First-Time Disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility Reports: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(4), pages 661-682, November.
    16. Peter Rodriguez & Donald S Siegel & Amy Hillman & Lorraine Eden, 2006. "Three lenses on the multinational enterprise: politics, corruption, and corporate social responsibility," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(6), pages 733-746, November.
    17. Renzo Junior & Peter Best & Julie Cotter, 2014. "Sustainability Reporting and Assurance: A Historical Analysis on a World-Wide Phenomenon," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 120(1), pages 1-11, March.
    18. Stephen A. Ross, 1977. "The Determination of Financial Structure: The Incentive-Signalling Approach," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 8(1), pages 23-40, Spring.
    19. Francis Vella, 1998. "Estimating Models with Sample Selection Bias: A Survey," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 33(1), pages 127-169.
    20. Jun Xie & Wataru Nozawa & Michiyuki Yagi & Hidemichi Fujii & Shunsuke Managi, 2019. "Do environmental, social, and governance activities improve corporate financial performance?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 286-300, February.
    21. Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2014. "How Do Industry Peers Respond to Control Threats?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(2), pages 380-399, February.
    22. Carol A. Adams, 2002. "Internal organisational factors influencing corporate social and ethical reporting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(2), pages 223-250, May.
    23. Nekhili, Mehdi & Nagati, Haithem & Chtioui, Tawhid & Rebolledo, Claudia, 2017. "Corporate social responsibility disclosure and market value: Family versus nonfamily firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 41-52.
    24. 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.
    25. Mark Rhodes, 2010. "Information Asymmetry and Socially Responsible Investment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(1), pages 145-150, August.
    26. Giacomo Manetti & Simone Toccafondi, 2012. "The Role of Stakeholders in Sustainability Reporting Assurance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 363-377, May.
    27. Helen Brown-Liburd & Jeffrey Cohen & Valentina L. Zamora, 2018. "CSR Disclosure Items Used as Fairness Heuristics in the Investment Decision," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 275-289, September.
    28. Volkan Muslu & Sunay Mutlu & Suresh Radhakrishnan & Albert Tsang, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility Report Narratives and Analyst Forecast Accuracy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(4), pages 1119-1142, February.
    29. Koen Pauwels & Dominique M. Hanssens, 2007. "Performance Regimes and Marketing Policy Shifts," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(3), pages 293-311, 05-06.
    30. Laurence Vigneau & Michael Humphreys & Jeremy Moon, 2015. "How Do Firms Comply with International Sustainability Standards? Processes and Consequences of Adopting the Global Reporting Initiative," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(2), pages 469-486, October.
    31. Eun-Hee Kim & Thomas P. Lyon, 2015. "Greenwash vs. Brownwash: Exaggeration and Undue Modesty in Corporate Sustainability Disclosure," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(3), pages 705-723, June.
    32. Parker J. Woodroof & George D. Deitz & Katharine M. Howie & Robert D. Evans, 2019. "The effect of cause-related marketing on firm value: a look at Fortune’s most admired all-stars," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(5), pages 899-918, September.
    33. Mozumder, Pallab & Vásquez, William F. & Marathe, Achla, 2011. "Consumers' preference for renewable energy in the southwest USA," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1119-1126.
    34. Philipp Krueger & Zacharias Sautner & Laura T Starks, 2020. "The Importance of Climate Risks for Institutional Investors," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1067-1111.
    35. Kromidha, Endrit & Li, Matthew C., 2019. "Determinants of leadership in online social trading: A signaling theory perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 184-197.
    36. Mark Rhodes & Teerooven Soobaroyen, 2010. "Erratum to: Information Asymmetry and Socially Responsible Investment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(1), pages 151-151, August.
    37. Carmelo Reverte, 2009. "Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure Ratings by Spanish Listed Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(2), pages 351-366, August.
    38. David Wheeler & John Elkington, 2001. "The end of the corporate environmental report? Or the advent of cybernetic sustainability reporting and communication," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, January.
    39. Michel Ballings & Heath McCullough & Neeraj Bharadwaj, 2018. "Cause marketing and customer profitability," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 234-251, March.
    40. Cline, Brandon N. & Yore, Adam S., 2016. "Silverback CEOs: Age, experience, and firm value," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 169-188.
    41. Husted, Bryan W. & Sousa-Filho, José Milton de, 2019. "Board structure and environmental, social, and governance disclosure in Latin America," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 220-227.
    42. Jinhua Cui & Hoje Jo & Haejung Na, 2018. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility Affect Information Asymmetry?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(3), pages 549-572, March.
    43. Maretno Harjoto & Hoje Jo, 2011. "Corporate Governance and CSR Nexus," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 100(1), pages 45-67, April.
    44. Collins Ntim & Teerooven Soobaroyen, 2013. "Black Economic Empowerment Disclosures by South African Listed Corporations: The Influence of Ownership and Board Characteristics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(1), pages 121-138, August.
    45. Ronald W. Masulis & Syed Walid Reza, 2015. "Agency Problems of Corporate Philanthropy," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(2), pages 592-636.
    46. 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.
    47. Belen Fernandez-Feijoo & Silvia Romero & Silvia Ruiz, 2014. "Effect of Stakeholders’ Pressure on Transparency of Sustainability Reports within the GRI Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(1), pages 53-63, June.
    48. Guido Palazzo & Andreas Scherer, 2006. "Corporate Legitimacy as Deliberation: A Communicative Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 66(1), pages 71-88, June.
    49. Manuel Branco & Lúcia Rodrigues, 2008. "Factors Influencing Social Responsibility Disclosure by Portuguese Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(4), pages 685-701, December.
    50. repec:hal:journl:hal-02311990 is not listed on IDEAS
    51. Mikko Manner, 2010. "The Impact of CEO Characteristics on Corporate Social Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 53-72, June.
    52. Wooldridge, Jeffrey M., 2014. "Quasi-maximum likelihood estimation and testing for nonlinear models with endogenous explanatory variables," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 182(1), pages 226-234.
    53. Christensen, Lars Thøger & Morsing, Mette & Thyssen, Ole, 2017. "License to Critique: A Communication Perspective on Sustainability Standards," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(2), pages 239-262, April.
    54. Jan-Michael Becker & Dorian Proksch & Christian M. Ringle, 2022. "Revisiting Gaussian copulas to handle endogenous regressors," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 46-66, January.
    55. Irene M. Herremans & Jamal A. Nazari & Fereshteh Mahmoudian, 2016. "Stakeholder Relationships, Engagement, and Sustainability Reporting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 417-435, October.
    56. Lori Holder-Webb & Jeffrey Cohen & Leda Nath & David Wood, 2008. "A Survey of Governance Disclosures Among U.S. Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(3), pages 543-563, December.
    57. Michael Spence, 1973. "Job Market Signaling," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 87(3), pages 355-374.
    58. Rajan Varadarajan, 2017. "Innovating for sustainability: a framework for sustainable innovations and a model of sustainable innovations orientation," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 14-36, January.
    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. Ang, Ming Yang Avon & Pontes, Nicolas & France, Cassandra, 2024. "Unsustainable burgers? Deploying carbon footprint labels to enhance sustainability perceptions of animal-based food products," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Licheng Yang & Shijie Song & Chunlin Liu, 2024. "Green signals: The impact of environmental protection support policies on firms' green innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3258-3278, May.
    3. Pandey, Dharen Kumar & Kumari, Vineeta & Palma, Alessia & Goodell, John W., 2024. "Impact of ESG regulation on stock market returns: Investor responses to a reasonable assurance mandate," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    4. Wesley Friske & Atanas Nik Nikolov & Todd Morgan, 2024. "Making the grade: An analysis of sustainability reporting standards and Global Reporting Initiative adherence ratings," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 2098-2108, May.
    5. Lihua Sun & Chunguang Bai & Joseph Sarkis, 2024. "Reward or punishment? The impact of heterogeneous environmental regulatory intervention on the firm market value," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 4004-4023, July.

    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. Omar. A. Alghamdi & Gomaa Agag, 2023. "Unlocking the Power of Reporting: Exploring the Link between Voluntary Sustainability Reporting, Customer Behavior, and Firm Value," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-18, November.
    2. Ntim, Collins G., 2016. "Corporate governance, corporate health accounting, and firm value: The case of HIV/AIDS disclosures in Sub-Saharan Africa," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 155-216.
    3. Collins Ntim & Teerooven Soobaroyen, 2013. "Black Economic Empowerment Disclosures by South African Listed Corporations: The Influence of Ownership and Board Characteristics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(1), pages 121-138, August.
    4. Vaz Ogando, Natalia & Ruiz Blanco, Silvia & Fernandez-Feijoo Souto, Belen, 2018. "El mercado de verificación de las memorias de sostenibilidad en España: un análisis desde la perspectiva de la demanda," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 48-62.
    5. Wesley Friske & Atanas Nik Nikolov & Todd Morgan, 2024. "Making the grade: An analysis of sustainability reporting standards and Global Reporting Initiative adherence ratings," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 2098-2108, May.
    6. Al-Shaer, Habiba & Uyar, Ali & Kuzey, Cemil & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2023. "Do shareholders punish or reward excessive CSR engagement? Moderating effect of cash flow and firm growth," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    7. Ali Uyar & Simone Pizzi & Fabio Caputo & Cemil Kuzey & Abdullah S. Karaman, 2022. "Do shareholders reward or punish risky firms due to CSR reporting and assurance?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(5), pages 1596-1620, July.
    8. Carmelo Reverte, 2021. "Do investors value the voluntary assurance of sustainability information? Evidence from the Spanish stock market," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(5), pages 793-809, September.
    9. Ntim, Collins G. & Lindop, Sarah & Thomas, Dennis A., 2013. "Corporate governance and risk reporting in South Africa: A study of corporate risk disclosures in the pre- and post-2007/2008 global financial crisis periods," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 363-383.
    10. Silvia Ruiz-Blanco & Silvia Romero & Belen Fernandez-Feijoo, 2022. "Green, blue or black, but washing–What company characteristics determine greenwashing?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 4024-4045, March.
    11. Giovanna Gavana & Pietro Gottardo & Anna Maria Moisello, 2018. "Do Customers Value CSR Disclosure? Evidence from Italian Family and Non-Family Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-17, May.
    12. Tobias Bauckloh & Stefan Schaltegger & Sebastian Utz & Sebastian Zeile & Bernhard Zwergel, 2023. "Active First Movers vs. Late Free-Riders? An Empirical Analysis of UN PRI Signatories’ Commitment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(3), pages 747-781, January.
    13. Lin Liao & Yukun Pan & Daifei (Troy) Yao, 2023. "Capital market liberalisation and voluntary corporate social responsibility disclosure: Evidence from a quasi‐natural experiment in China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(2), pages 2677-2715, June.
    14. Katrin Hummel & Christian Schlick & Matthias Fifka, 2019. "The Role of Sustainability Performance and Accounting Assurors in Sustainability Assurance Engagements," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 733-757, February.
    15. Fatemi, Ali & Glaum, Martin & Kaiser, Stefanie, 2018. "ESG performance and firm value: The moderating role of disclosure," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 45-64.
    16. 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.
    17. Ali Uyar & Cemil Kuzey & Merve Kilic & Abdullah S. Karaman, 2021. "Board structure, financial performance, corporate social responsibility performance, CSR committee, and CEO duality: Disentangling the connection in healthcare," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1730-1748, November.
    18. Wong, Jin Boon & Zhang, Qin, 2022. "Stock market reactions to adverse ESG disclosure via media channels," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    19. Patrick Velte & Martin Stawinoga, 2017. "Empirical research on corporate social responsibility assurance (CSRA): A literature review," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(8), pages 1017-1066, November.
    20. V. Veeravel & E. K. S. Sadharma & Bandi Kamaiah, 2024. "Do ESG disclosures lead to superior firm performance? A method of moments panel quantile regression approach," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 741-754, January.

    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:spr:joamsc:v:51:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s11747-022-00879-2. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.