IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/120930.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Role of Catering Incentives in ESG Disclosure

Author

Listed:
  • Lee, King Fuei

Abstract

This paper introduces a catering hypothesis of ESG disclosure, where managers adjust their disclosure policies based on investor valuation of high-disclosure companies. The study examines 2,207 US-listed firms from 2005-2022, and finds a significant positive relationship between the ESG disclosure premium and firm ESG reporting. Managers respond to prevailing investor demand for ESG data by disclosing more when investors place a stock price premium on companies with high disclosure levels and disclosing less when investors prefer companies with low disclosure levels. This research enriches sustainability accounting literature by exploring the impact of managerial decision-making and investor demand on ESG disclosure, providing insights for stakeholders and policy development. It also expands understanding of the connection between corporate policy, sustainability, and catering considerations, benefiting stakeholders, directors, and investors interested in improving ESG practices and capital allocation for sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, King Fuei, 2023. "The Role of Catering Incentives in ESG Disclosure," MPRA Paper 120930, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:120930
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/120930/1/MPRA_paper_120930.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/121508/9/Upload%20ESG%20Disclose%20Catering.pdf
    File Function: revised version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ivo Welch, 2004. "Capital Structure and Stock Returns," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(1), pages 106-131, February.
    2. Haniffa, R.M. & Cooke, T.E., 2005. "The impact of culture and governance on corporate social reporting," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 391-430.
    3. Shanaev, Savva & Ghimire, Binam, 2022. "When ESG meets AAA: The effect of ESG rating changes on stock returns," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PA).
    4. 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.
    5. Jeremy C. Stein, 1989. "Efficient Capital Markets, Inefficient Firms: A Model of Myopic Corporate Behavior," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 104(4), pages 655-669.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    9. Malcolm Baker & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2006. "Investor Sentiment and the Cross‐Section of Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(4), pages 1645-1680, August.
    10. Roychowdhury, Sugata, 2006. "Earnings management through real activities manipulation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 335-370, December.
    11. 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.
    12. Malcolm Baker & Robin Greenwood & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2009. "Catering through Nominal Share Prices," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(6), pages 2559-2590, December.
    13. Ravi Bansal & Di (Andrew) Wu & Amir Yaron, 2022. "Socially Responsible Investing in Good and Bad Times," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 35(4), pages 2067-2099.
    14. Malcolm Baker & Mark L. Egan & Suproteem K. Sarkar, 2022. "How Do Investors Value ESG?," NBER Working Papers 30708, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:3:p:1125-1165 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:5:p:2013-2040 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Niamh M. Brennan & Jill Solomon, 2008. "Corporate governance, accountability and mechanisms of accountability: an overview," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(7), pages 885-906, September.
    18. Eunyoung Cho, 2023. "Time-varying preferences for ESG investments: evidence from an emerging market," Journal of Derivatives and Quantitative Studies: 선물연구, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 31(2), pages 121-138, March.
    19. Chen, Long & Zhao, Xinlei, 2006. "On the relation between the market-to-book ratio, growth opportunity, and leverage ratio," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 253-266, December.
    20. Panayis Pitrakkos & Warren Maroun, 2019. "Evaluating the quality of carbon disclosures," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(3), pages 553-589, August.
    21. Charles F. Manski, 1993. "Identification of Endogenous Social Effects: The Reflection Problem," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 60(3), pages 531-542.
    22. Yoo, Sunbin & Managi, Shunsuke, 2022. "Disclosure or action: Evaluating ESG behavior towards financial performance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    23. Brown, Gregory W. & Cliff, Michael T., 2004. "Investor sentiment and the near-term stock market," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 1-27, January.
    24. Grigoris Giannarakis, 2014. "Corporate governance and financial characteristic effects on the extent of corporate social responsibility disclosure," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 10(4), pages 569-590, September.
    25. Niamh M. Brennan & Jill Solomon, 2008. "Corporate governance, accountability and mechanisms of accountability: an overview," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(7), pages 885-906, September.
    26. Ivkovic, Zoran & Jegadeesh, Narasimhan, 2004. "The timing and value of forecast and recommendation revisions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(3), pages 433-463, September.
    27. Gollier, Christian & Pouget, Sébastien, 2014. "The "Washing Machine": Investment Strategies and Corporate Behavior with Socially Responsible Investors," TSE Working Papers 14-457, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    28. Sanjay Kallapur & Mark A. Trombley, 1999. "The Association Between Investment Opportunity Set Proxies and Realized Growth," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3‐4), pages 505-519, April.
    29. Adhikari, Binay K. & Agrawal, Anup, 2018. "Peer influence on payout policies," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 615-637.
    30. Fabio Bertoni & Michele Meoli & Silvio Vismara, 2014. "Board Independence, Ownership Structure and the Valuation of IPOs in Continental Europe," Post-Print hal-02313136, HAL.
    31. Grennan, Jillian, 2019. "Dividend payments as a response to peer influence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(3), pages 549-570.
    32. Robert F Engle & Stefano Giglio & Bryan Kelly & Heebum Lee & Johannes Stroebel, 2020. "Hedging Climate Change News," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1184-1216.
    33. Shleifer, Andrei, 2000. "Inefficient Markets: An Introduction to Behavioral Finance," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198292272.
    34. Narayanan, M P, 1985. "Managerial Incentives for Short-term Results," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 40(5), pages 1469-1484, December.
    35. 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.
    36. 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.
    37. Pedersen, Lasse Heje & Fitzgibbons, Shaun & Pomorski, Lukasz, 2021. "Responsible investing: The ESG-efficient frontier," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 572-597.
    38. Sanjay Kallapur & Mark A. Trombley, 1999. "The Association Between Investment Opportunity Set Proxies and Realized Growth," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3-4), pages 505-519.
    39. Mark T. Leary & Michael R. Roberts, 2014. "Do Peer Firms Affect Corporate Financial Policy?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(1), pages 139-178, February.
    40. Kathleen Herbohn & Ru Gao & Peter Clarkson, 2019. "Evidence on Whether Banks Consider Carbon Risk in Their Lending Decisions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 155-175, August.
    41. Cowen, Scott S. & Ferreri, Linda B. & Parker, Lee D., 1987. "The impact of corporate characteristics on social responsibility disclosure: A typology and frequency-based analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 111-122, March.
    42. Hans van Ees & Theo J.B.M. Postma & Elmer Sterken, 2003. "Board Characteristics and Corporate Performance in the Netherlands," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 29(1), pages 41-58, Winter.
    43. Wong, Jin Boon & Zhang, Qin, 2022. "Stock market reactions to adverse ESG disclosure via media channels," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    44. Muhammad Atif & Searat Ali, 2021. "Environmental, social and governance disclosure and default risk," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3937-3959, December.
    45. D’Hondt, Catherine & Merli, Maxime & Roger, Tristan, 2022. "What drives retail portfolio exposure to ESG factors?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    46. Myers, Stewart C., 1977. "Determinants of corporate borrowing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 147-175, November.
    47. Tim Adam & Vidhan K. Goyal, 2008. "The Investment Opportunity Set And Its Proxy Variables," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 31(1), pages 41-63, March.
    48. L.A. Smales, 2017. "The importance of fear: investor sentiment and stock market returns," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(34), pages 3395-3421, July.
    49. Rashidah Abdul Rahman & Maha Faisal Alsayegh, 2021. "Determinants of Corporate Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Reporting among Asian Firms," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-13, April.
    50. 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.
    51. Malcolm Baker & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2002. "Market Timing and Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 1-32, February.
    52. He, Feng & Qin, Shuqi & Liu, Yuanyuan & Wu, Ji (George), 2022. "CSR and idiosyncratic risk: Evidence from ESG information disclosure," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    53. Abdulsamad Alazzani & Wan Nordin Wan-Hussin & Michael Jones & Ahmed Al-hadi, 2021. "ESG Reporting and Analysts’ Recommendations in GCC: The Moderation Role of Royal Family Directors," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-21, February.
    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. Wei He & Qian Wang, 2020. "The peer effect of corporate financial decisions around split share structure reform in China," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(3), pages 474-493, July.
    2. Lee, King Fuei, 2018. "Peer Effects on Firm Dividend Policies in Taiwan," MPRA Paper 103102, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Liu, Laura Xiaolei, 2009. "Historical market-to-book in a partial adjustment model of leverage," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(5), pages 602-612, December.
    4. Malcolm Baker & Richard S. Ruback & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2004. "Behavioral Corporate Finance: A Survey," NBER Working Papers 10863, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Wong, Kacheng & Zhao, Longkai, 2023. "Customer–supplier relationships and non-linear financial policy response," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 180-205.
    6. Pástor, Ľuboš & Stambaugh, Robert F. & Taylor, Lucian A., 2021. "Sustainable investing in equilibrium," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 550-571.
    7. Hong-Yi Chen & Cheng Few Lee & Tzu Tai, 2020. "The Joint Determinants of Capital Structure and Stock Rate of Return: A LISREL Model Approach," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Cheng Few Lee & John C Lee (ed.), HANDBOOK OF FINANCIAL ECONOMETRICS, MATHEMATICS, STATISTICS, AND MACHINE LEARNING, chapter 35, pages 1345-1397, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. Mai, Nhat Chi, 2012. "Market timing, taxes and capital structure: evidence from Vietnam," OSF Preprints t3mvs, Center for Open Science.
    9. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2016_008 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Ulrike Malmendier, 2018. "Behavioral Corporate Finance," NBER Working Papers 25162, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Xiao, Gang, 2013. "Legal shareholder protection and corporate R&D investment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 240-266.
    12. G. Oka Warmana & I. Ketut Rahyuda & Ida Bagus Anom Purbawangsa & Ni Luh Gede Sri Artini, 2020. "Investigating Capital Structure Speed of Adjustment (SOA) of Indonesian Companies for Corporate Value," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 21(3), pages 215-231, September.
    13. Li, Chengcheng & Wang, Xiaoqiong, 2022. "Local peer effects of corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    14. He, Feng & Liu, Guanchun & Hao, Jing & Li, Youwei, 2023. "CSR performance and firm idiosyncratic risk in a data-rich environment: The role of retail investor attention," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    15. Paul Borochin & Jie Yang, 2016. "Options, Equity Risks, and the Value of Capital Structure Adjustments," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2016-097, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    16. Mohammed Benlemlih & Jingwen Ge & Sujiao Zhao, 2021. "Undervaluation and non‐financial information: Evidence from voluntary disclosure of CSR news," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(5-6), pages 785-814, May.
    17. Im, Hyun Joong & Liu, Jia & Park, Young Joon, 2021. "Policy uncertainty and peer effects: Evidence from corporate investment in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    18. Antonczyk, Ron Christian & Salzmann, Astrid Juliane, 2014. "Overconfidence and optimism: The effect of national culture on capital structure," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 132-151.
    19. Che Johari, Edie Erman & Chronopoulos, Dimitris K. & Scholtens, Bert & Sobiech, Anna L. & Wilson, John O.S., 2020. "Deposit insurance and bank dividend policy," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    20. Chen, Mingqin & Xie, Jing & Li, Yue, 2022. "Heterogeneity of dividend smoothing: A strategic response to peer competition in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    21. Ajirloo, Bahman Fathi & Switzer, Lorne N., 2022. "Self-disclosed peer effects on corporate capital structure," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ESG disclosure; ESG reporting; sustainability reporting; catering incentives; catering effects; disclosure premium;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:pra:mprapa:120930. 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: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    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.