{"title":"Carbon disclosure: A legitimizing tool or a governance tool? Evidence from listed US companies","authors":"Yan Jiang, Hanlu Fan, Yan Zhu, Jian F. Xu","doi":"10.1111/jifm.12161","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>We study the motivations behind and consequences of firms disclosing carbon information. Specifically, we explain the bidirectional relationship between carbon disclosure and carbon performance and examine whether carbon disclosure is used as a legitimizing tool or a governance tool. We analyze carbon emissions and disclosure data from 2012 to 2015 for a sample of S&P 500 companies. After addressing issues of endogeneity, our findings support legitimacy theory and suggest that firms tend to greenwash carbon information and use carbon disclosure as a legitimizing tool. In particular, managers strategically select particular types of carbon information to disclose to the public. Our findings also indicate that firms in low-carbon sectors tend to use disclosure as a governance tool rather than a legitimizing tool, suggesting that firms in high carbon intensity sectors are likely to face serious legitimacy anxiety, and have stronger reasons to manage their green image. Implications of our empirical evidence for managers, investors, and policymakers are explored.</p>","PeriodicalId":46659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Financial Management & Accounting","volume":"34 1","pages":"36-70"},"PeriodicalIF":9.4000,"publicationDate":"2022-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"14","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of International Financial Management & Accounting","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jifm.12161","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BUSINESS, FINANCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 14
Abstract
We study the motivations behind and consequences of firms disclosing carbon information. Specifically, we explain the bidirectional relationship between carbon disclosure and carbon performance and examine whether carbon disclosure is used as a legitimizing tool or a governance tool. We analyze carbon emissions and disclosure data from 2012 to 2015 for a sample of S&P 500 companies. After addressing issues of endogeneity, our findings support legitimacy theory and suggest that firms tend to greenwash carbon information and use carbon disclosure as a legitimizing tool. In particular, managers strategically select particular types of carbon information to disclose to the public. Our findings also indicate that firms in low-carbon sectors tend to use disclosure as a governance tool rather than a legitimizing tool, suggesting that firms in high carbon intensity sectors are likely to face serious legitimacy anxiety, and have stronger reasons to manage their green image. Implications of our empirical evidence for managers, investors, and policymakers are explored.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of International Financial Management & Accounting publishes original research dealing with international aspects of financial management and reporting, banking and financial services, auditing and taxation. Providing a forum for the interaction of ideas from both academics and practitioners, the JIFMA keeps you up-to-date with new developments and emerging trends.