Carbon disclosure: A legitimizing tool or a governance tool? Evidence from listed US companies

IF 9.4 3区 管理学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE Journal of International Financial Management & Accounting Pub Date : 2022-06-17 DOI:10.1111/jifm.12161
Yan Jiang, Hanlu Fan, Yan Zhu, Jian F. Xu
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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.

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碳披露:合法化工具还是治理工具?来自美国上市公司的证据
我们研究了企业披露碳信息背后的动机和后果。具体而言,我们解释了碳披露与碳绩效之间的双向关系,并考察了碳披露是被用作合法化工具还是治理工具。我们分析了2012年至2015年的碳排放和披露数据,样本为S&;P 500公司。在解决了内生性问题后,我们的研究结果支持合法性理论,并表明企业倾向于对碳信息进行绿色清洗,并将碳披露作为合法化工具。特别是,管理者战略性地选择特定类型的碳信息向公众披露。我们的研究结果还表明,低碳行业的公司倾向于将披露作为治理工具,而不是合法化工具,这表明高碳强度行业的公司可能面临严重的合法性焦虑,并有更充分的理由管理其绿色形象。探讨了我们的经验证据对管理者、投资者和决策者的影响。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
9.10
自引率
2.00%
发文量
23
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.
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