IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v29y2020i3p846-871.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is evil rewarded with evil? The market penalty effect of corporate environmentally irresponsible events

Author

Listed:
  • Youliang Jin
  • Chen Cheng
  • Huixiang Zeng

Abstract

The negative response of the capital market to environmentally irresponsible events is an important governance mechanism that motivates enterprises to assume environmental responsibility. Based on the theory of effective markets and organizational legitimacy, this paper takes corporate environmentally irresponsible events in Chinese environmentally sensitive industries during the period of 2014–2018 as a research sample, and our work uses the event study methodology to explore the penalty effect of the capital market from a mathematical empirical and case empirical dimension. Furthermore, this research discusses the spillover effect of corporate environmentally irresponsible events in the capital markets. The empirical results show that once an irresponsible event is exposed, it causes a significant negative cumulative abnormal return (CAR) in the short term, and the difference between the industry and the ownership type leads to a significant difference in the duration and impact of the penalty effect. More interestingly, the capital market's penalty for corporate environmentally irresponsible events may have a notable industry spillover effect, but there are differences between the penalty effect and the spillover effect in different markets. This paper confirms that the penalty mechanism of the capital market related to an environmentally irresponsible event can effectively restrain the behaviour of the company involved and the industry to which it belongs, and it may also provide a new way for the government to build an eco‐environmental protection system of multisubject “co‐governance” and bring the punitive “forced” mechanism of the capital market to bear on corporate environmentally responsible behaviour.

Suggested Citation

  • Youliang Jin & Chen Cheng & Huixiang Zeng, 2020. "Is evil rewarded with evil? The market penalty effect of corporate environmentally irresponsible events," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 846-871, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:29:y:2020:i:3:p:846-871
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.2403
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2403
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.2403?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhang, Bing & Chen, Xiaolan & Guo, Huanxiu, 2018. "Does central supervision enhance local environmental enforcement? Quasi-experimental evidence from China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 70-90.
    2. Ki‐Hoon Lee & Beom Cheol Cin & Eui Young Lee, 2016. "Environmental Responsibility and Firm Performance: The Application of an Environmental, Social and Governance Model," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 40-53, January.
    3. Cristel Antonia Russell & Dale W. Russell & Heather Honea, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility Failures: How do Consumers Respond to Corporate Violations of Implied Social Contracts?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(4), pages 759-773, July.
    4. Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Hakkon Kim & Kwangwoo Park, 2018. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility and the Cost of Capital: International Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 335-361, May.
    5. Khanna, Madhu & Quimio, Wilma Rose H. & Bojilova, Dora, 1998. "Toxics Release Information: A Policy Tool for Environmental Protection," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 243-266, November.
    6. Robert Strand & R. Freeman & Kai Hockerts, 2015. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability in Scandinavia: An Overview," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(1), pages 1-15, March.
    7. Price, Joseph M. & Sun, Wenbin, 2017. "Doing good and doing bad: The impact of corporate social responsibility and irresponsibility on firm performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 82-97.
    8. Armstrong, J. Scott & Green, Kesten C., 2013. "Effects of corporate social responsibility and irresponsibility policies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 1922-1927.
    9. Christopher Groening & Vamsi K. Kanuri, 2018. "Investor Reactions to Concurrent Positive and Negative Stakeholder News," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(4), pages 833-856, June.
    10. Kotchen Matthew & Moon Jon J., 2012. "Corporate Social Responsibility for Irresponsibility," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-23, November.
    11. Yun-Chi Lee & Yang-Cheng Lu & Yu-Chun Wang, 2019. "Corporate social irresponsibility, CEO overconfidence, and stock price crash risk," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(14), pages 1143-1147, August.
    12. Chi Zhang, 2017. "Population in China," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 69(8), pages 1333-1334, September.
    13. Banz, Rolf W., 1981. "The relationship between return and market value of common stocks," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 3-18, March.
    14. Xingqiang Du & Yingying Chang & Quan Zeng & Yingjie Du & Hongmei Pei, 2016. "Corporate environmental responsibility (CER) weakness, media coverage, and corporate philanthropy: Evidence from China," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 551-581, June.
    15. Shun-Pin Chuang & Sun-Jen Huang, 2018. "The Effect of Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility on Environmental Performance and Business Competitiveness: The Mediation of Green Information Technology Capital," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(4), pages 991-1009, July.
    16. Iain Clacher & Jens Hagendorff, 2012. "Do Announcements About Corporate Social Responsibility Create or Destroy Shareholder Wealth? Evidence from the UK," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 106(3), pages 253-266, March.
    17. Fama, Eugene F, 1991. "Efficient Capital Markets: II," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(5), pages 1575-1617, December.
    18. Hoje Jo & Hakkon Kim & Kwangwoo Park, 2015. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Firm Performance in the Financial Services Sector," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(2), pages 257-284, October.
    19. Ying Jiang & Xiaolong Xue & Weirui Xue, 2018. "Proactive Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Financial Performance: Evidence from Chinese Energy Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-13, March.
    20. X. Xu & S. Zeng & C. Tam, 2012. "Stock Market’s Reaction to Disclosure of Environmental Violations: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(2), pages 227-237, May.
    21. Slovin, Myron B. & Sushka, Marie E. & Polonchek, John A., 1999. "An analysis of contagion and competitive effects at commercial banks," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 197-225, October.
    22. Min, Jungwon, 2019. "No pain, yet gain?: Learning from vicarious crises in an international context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 227-234.
    23. M. Rodell & J. S. Famiglietti & D. N. Wiese & J. T. Reager & H. K. Beaudoing & F. W. Landerer & M.-H. Lo, 2018. "Emerging trends in global freshwater availability," Nature, Nature, vol. 557(7707), pages 651-659, May.
    24. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February.
    25. Buchanan, Bonnie & Cao, Cathy Xuying & Chen, Chongyang, 2018. "Corporate social responsibility, firm value, and influential institutional ownership," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 73-95.
    26. Hirunyawipada, Tanawat & Xiong, Guiyang, 2018. "Corporate environmental commitment and financial performance: Moderating effects of marketing and operations capabilities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 22-31.
    27. Sanjay Ramchander & Robert G. Schwebach & KIM Staking, 2012. "The informational relevance of corporate social responsibility: evidence from DS400 index reconstitutions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 303-314, March.
    28. Fama, Eugene F, 1970. "Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 25(2), pages 383-417, May.
    29. Xi Zhang & Dongmei Guo & Yi Xiao & Mingxi Wang, 2017. "Do Spatial Spillover Effects of Nonperforming Loans for Commercial Banks Exist? Evidence from Chinese Provinces," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(9), pages 2039-2051, September.
    30. X. D. Xu & S. X. Zeng & H. L. Zou & Jonathan J. Shi, 2016. "The Impact of Corporate Environmental Violation on Shareholders' Wealth: a Perspective Taken from Media Coverage," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 73-91, February.
    31. Xiaodong Xu & Saixing Zeng & Hongquan Chen, 2018. "Signaling good by doing good: How does environmental corporate social responsibility affect international expansion?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(7), pages 946-959, November.
    32. Han Lin & Saixing Zeng & Liangyan Wang & Hailiang Zou & Hanyang Ma, 2016. "How Does Environmental Irresponsibility Impair Corporate Reputation? A Multi‐Method Investigation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(6), pages 413-423, November.
    33. Alan Gregory & Rajesh Tharyan & Julie Whittaker, 2014. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Value: Disaggregating the Effects on Cash Flow, Risk and Growth," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(4), pages 633-657, November.
    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. Li, Quan & Chen, Yang & Wan, Mengfei, 2023. "The impact of central environmental inspection on institutional ownership: Evidence from Chinese listed firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    2. Josep Garcia‐Blandon & David Castillo‐Merino & Nour Chams, 2020. "Sustainable development: The stock market's view of environmental policy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3273-3285, December.
    3. Yassin Denis Bouzzine & Rainer Lueg, 2020. "The contagion effect of environmental violations: The case of Dieselgate in Germany," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3187-3202, December.
    4. Jin, Youliang & Wang, Shujuan & Cheng, Xu & Zeng, Huixiang, 2024. "Can environmental tax reform curb corporate environmental violations? A quasi-natural experiment based on China's “environmental fees to taxes”," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    5. Ruiqian Li & Ramakrishnan Ramanathan & Guanghua Xu, 2023. "The impact of penalties for environmental violations on corporate environmental responsibility," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1343-1363, June.
    6. Yuan Chen & Vinod Singhal & Qinghua Zhu, 2021. "Environmental policies and financial performance: stock market reaction to firms for their proactive environmental practices recognized by governmental programs," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1548-1562, May.
    7. Alkis Thrassou & Giuseppe Festa, 2023. "Contemporary Organizational Sustainability: The Symbiotic Relationship Between Business and Society," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 12(2), pages 115-119, June.
    8. Chao Hung Wang & Wei‐Jr Juo, 2021. "An environmental policy of green intellectual capital: Green innovation strategy for performance sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 3241-3254, November.
    9. Li, Ruiqian & Ramanathan, Ramakrishnan, 2024. "The interactive effect of environmental penalties and environmental subsidies on corporate environmental innovation: Is more better or worse?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    10. Khine Kyaw & Mojisola Olugbode & Barbara Petracci, 2022. "Stakeholder engagement: Investors' environmental risk aversion and corporate earnings," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 1220-1231, March.
    11. Lavinia-Mihaela BECEA & Anca BORZA, 2021. "Green Intellectual Capital €“ A Comprehensive Review And Opportunities For Future Research," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 15(1), pages 830-843, November.

    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. Huixiang Zeng & Xinxin Zhang & Qiong Zhou & Youliang Jin & Jin Cao, 2022. "Tightening of environmental regulations and corporate environmental irresponsibility: a quasi-natural experiment," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(11), pages 13218-13259, November.
    2. Wei Peng & Baogui Xin & Yekyung Kwon, 2019. "Optimal Strategies of Product Price, Quality, and Corporate Environmental Responsibility," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-24, November.
    3. Olaf Stotz, 2021. "Expected and realized returns on stocks with high- and low-ESG exposure," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(2), pages 133-150, March.
    4. María Iborra & Marta Riera, 2023. "Corporate social irresponsibility: What we know and what we need to know," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1421-1439, May.
    5. Eero Pätäri & Timo Leivo, 2017. "A Closer Look At Value Premium: Literature Review And Synthesis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 79-168, February.
    6. Ladislav Kristoufek & Paulo Ferreira, 2018. "Capital asset pricing model in Portugal: Evidence from fractal regressions," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 17(3), pages 173-183, November.
    7. Sudi Sudarsanam & Ashraf A. Mahate, 2003. "Glamour Acquirers, Method of Payment and Post‐acquisition Performance: The UK Evidence," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1‐2), pages 299-342, January.
    8. Fernando Rubio, 2005. "Estrategias Cuantitativas De Valor Y Retornos Por Accion De Largo," Finance 0503029, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Schwert, G. William, 2003. "Anomalies and market efficiency," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 15, pages 939-974, Elsevier.
    10. Daniel, Kent & Hirshleifer, David & Teoh, Siew Hong, 2002. "Investor psychology in capital markets: evidence and policy implications," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 139-209, January.
    11. Selena Aureli & Sabrina Gigli & Renato Medei & Enrico Supino, 2020. "The value relevance of environmental, social, and governance disclosure: Evidence from Dow Jones Sustainability World Index listed companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 43-52, January.
    12. Qianwei Ying & Tahir Yousaf & Qurat ul Ain & Yasmeen Akhtar & Muhammad Shahid Rasheed, 2019. "Stock Investment and Excess Returns: A Critical Review in the Light of the Efficient Market Hypothesis," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-22, June.
    13. ALAM Nafis & TAN Ee Chain, 2012. "Impact Of Financial Crisis On Stock Returns: Evidence From Singapore," Studies in Business and Economics, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 7(2), pages 5-19, August.
    14. Yassin Denis Bouzzine & Rainer Lueg, 2020. "The contagion effect of environmental violations: The case of Dieselgate in Germany," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3187-3202, December.
    15. Haiquan Wu & Wenli Liao & Zhifang Zhou & Yi Li, 2021. "Can Financial Constraints and Regulatory Distance Reduce Corporate Environmental Irresponsibility?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-25, November.
    16. Sonntag, Dominik, 2018. "Die Theorie der fairen geometrischen Rendite [The Theory of Fair Geometric Returns]," MPRA Paper 87082, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Fernando Rubio, 2005. "Eficiencia De Mercado, Administracion De Carteras De Fondos Y Behavioural Finance," Finance 0503028, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 23 Jul 2005.
    18. Committee, Nobel Prize, 2013. "Understanding Asset Prices," Nobel Prize in Economics documents 2013-1, Nobel Prize Committee.
    19. Victor Bernard & Jacob Thomas & James Wahlen, 1997. "Accounting†Based Stock Price Anomalies: Separating Market Inefficiencies from Risk," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(2), pages 89-136, June.
    20. Achim Himmelmann & Dirk Schiereck & Marc Simpson & Moritz Zschoche, 2012. "Long-term reactions to large stock price declines and increases in the European stock market: a note on market efficiency," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 36(2), pages 400-423, April.

    More about this item

    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:bla:bstrat:v:29:y:2020:i:3:p:846-871. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836 .

    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.