IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v57y2023ics1544612323005998.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Initial coin offerings and ESG: Allies or enemies?

Author

Listed:
  • Bitetto, Alessandro
  • Cerchiello, Paola

Abstract

Initial Coin Offerings (aka ICOs) have gained a prominent interest in the FinTech world as an alternative way to fundraising for innovative and cutting-edge business ideas. So far, academics have studied drivers of success without posing specific attention to the products or activities proposed by the ICOs. In this paper, we investigate the possible nexus between ICOs and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) indicators, by studying a set of 871 ICOs. Specifically, we extract keywords related to ESG from whitepapers associated with each ICO using neural networks language models and build a variable which acts as a signal of attention to sustainability topics. Our research hypothesis concerns the evaluation of whether ICOs oriented towards ESG are more likely to successfully raise expected funds. Preliminary results confirm such a hypothesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Bitetto, Alessandro & Cerchiello, Paola, 2023. "Initial coin offerings and ESG: Allies or enemies?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:57:y:2023:i:c:s1544612323005998
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2023.104227
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612323005998
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2023.104227?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. Momtaz, Paul P., 2021. "Entrepreneurial Finance and Moral Hazard: Evidence from Token Offerings," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(5).
    2. Nizam, Esma & Ng, Adam & Dewandaru, Ginanjar & Nagayev, Ruslan & Nkoba, Malik Abdulrahman, 2019. "The impact of social and environmental sustainability on financial performance: A global analysis of the banking sector," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 35-53.
    3. Fisch, Christian & Masiak, Christian & Vismara, Silvio & Block, Joern, 2021. "Motives and profiles of ICO investors," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 564-576.
    4. Alexander Guzmán & Cristian Pinto-Gutiérrez & María-Andrea Trujillo, 2021. "Signaling Value through Gender Diversity: Evidence from Initial Coin Offerings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-19, January.
    5. Bitetto, Alessandro & Cerchiello, Paola & Mertzanis, Charilaos, 2023. "Measuring financial soundness around the world: A machine learning approach," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    6. Alessandro Bitetto & Paola Cerchiello & Charilaos Mertzanis, 2021. "A data-driven approach to measuring epidemiological susceptibility risk around the world," DEM Working Papers Series 200, University of Pavia, Department of Economics and Management.
    7. Lucey, Brian M. & Vigne, Samuel A. & Yarovaya, Larisa & Wang, Yizhi, 2022. "The cryptocurrency uncertainty index," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    8. Alexander Guzmán & Cristian Pinto-Gutiérrez & María-Andrea Trujillo, 2020. "Attention to Global Warming and the Success of Environmental Initial Coin Offerings: Empirical Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-16, November.
    9. 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.
    10. Yizhi Wang & Brian Lucey & Samuel Alexandre Vigne & Larisa Yarovaya, 2022. "An index of cryptocurrency environmental attention (ICEA)," China Finance Review International, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(3), pages 378-414, January.
    11. Meoli, Michele & Vismara, Silvio, 2022. "Machine-learning forecasting of successful ICOs," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    12. Gerrit K.C. Ahlers & Douglas Cumming & Christina Günther & Denis Schweizer, 2015. "Signaling in Equity Crowdfunding," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(4), pages 955-980, July.
    13. Sascha Kraus & Janina Burtscher & Christine Vallaster & Martin Angerer, 2018. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship Orientation: A Reflection on Status-Quo Research on Factors Facilitating Responsible Managerial Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-21, February.
    14. Martine Spence & Jouhaina Ben Boubaker Gherib & Viviane Ondoua Biwolé, 2011. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Is Entrepreneurial will Enough? A North–South Comparison," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 99(3), pages 335-367, March.
    15. Mansouri, Sasan & Momtaz, Paul P., 2022. "Financing sustainable entrepreneurship: ESG measurement, valuation, and performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(6).
    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. Dicuonzo, Grazia & Palmaccio, Matteo & Shini, Matilda, 2024. "ESG, governance variables and Fintech: An empirical analysis," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    2. de Almeida, Israel Nunes & Palazzi, Rafael Baptista & Klotzle, Marcelo Cabus & Pinto, Antonio Carlos Figueiredo & Gomes, Leonardo Lima, 2024. "Beyond hype: Unveiling the herd effect in ESG and non-ESG cryptocurrency portfolios," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    3. Bitetto, Alessandro & Cerchiello, Paola & Filomeni, Stefano & Tanda, Alessandra & Tarantino, Barbara, 2023. "Machine learning and credit risk: Empirical evidence from small- and mid-sized businesses," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    4. Alessandro Bitetto & Paola Cerchiello & Stefano Filomeni & Alessandra Tanda & Barbara Tarantino, 2024. "Can we trust machine learning to predict the credit risk of small businesses?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 925-954, October.

    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. Mansouri, Sasan & Momtaz, Paul P., 2022. "Financing sustainable entrepreneurship: ESG measurement, valuation, and performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(6).
    2. Muneer M. Alshater & Mayank Joshipura & Rim El Khoury & Nohade Nasrallah, 2023. "Initial Coin Offerings: a Hybrid Empirical Review," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 891-908, October.
    3. Feilian Xia & James Thewissen & Winifred Huang & Shuo Yan, 2024. "Founder-CEO Extraversion and Sustainability Orientation in Initial Coin Offerings," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 48(4), pages 941-980, July.
    4. Sun, Yan & Yang, Sung-Byung, 2024. "Are ICOs the best? A comparison of different fundraising models in blockchain-based fundraising," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    5. Paul P. Momtaz, 2024. "Decentralized finance (DeFi) markets for startups: search frictions, intermediation, and the efficiency of the ICO market," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(4), pages 1415-1447, December.
    6. Cumming, Douglas & Drobetz, Wolfgang & Momtaz, Paul P. & Schermann, Niclas, 2025. "Financing decentralized digital platform growth: The role of crypto funds in blockchain-based startups," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 40(1).
    7. Xia, Feilian & Thewissen, James & Shrestha, Prabal & Yan, Shuo, 2024. "The power of a name: Exploring the relationship between ICO name fluency and investor decision making," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    8. Carolina Camassa, 2023. "Legal NLP Meets MiCAR: Advancing the Analysis of Crypto White Papers," Papers 2310.10333, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2023.
    9. Danisman, Gamze Ozturk & Tarazi, Amine, 2024. "ESG activity and bank lending during financial crises," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    10. Mataigne, Virginie & Meoli, Michele & Vanacker, Tom & Vismara, Silvio, 2025. "False signaling by platform team members and post-campaign venture outcomes: Evidence from an equity crowdfunding platform," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 40(1).
    11. Maurer, Joshua D. & Creek, Steven A. & Allison, Thomas H. & Bendickson, Joshua S. & Sahaym, Arvin, 2023. "Affiliation rhetoric and digital orientation in crowdfunding appeals," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    12. Chen, Zhixiong & Sugiyama, Kohei & Tasaka, Kazuyuki & Kito, Tomomi & Yasuda, Yukihiro, 2024. "Impact of environmental, social and governance initiatives on firm value: Analysis using AI-based ESG scores for Japanese listed firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PA).
    13. Rahman, Molla Ramizur & Naeem, Muhammad Abubakr & Yarovaya, Larisa & Mohapatra, Sabyasachi, 2024. "Unravelling systemic risk commonality across cryptocurrency groups," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    14. Alessandro Bitetto & Paola Cerchiello, 2024. "Initial Coin Offerings: can ESG mitigate Underpricing?," DEM Working Papers Series 221, University of Pavia, Department of Economics and Management.
    15. Yousaf, Imran & Abrar, Afsheen & Yousaf, Umair Bin & Goodell, John W., 2024. "Environmental attention and uncertainties of cryptocurrency market: Examining linkages with crypto-mining stocks," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    16. Kong, Xiaolin & Ma, Chaoqun & Ren, Yi-Shuai & Baltas, Konstantinos & Narayan, Seema, 2024. "A comparative analysis of the price explosiveness in Bitcoin and forked coins," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    17. Xu, Xin & Huang, Shupei & Lucey, Brian M. & An, Haizhong, 2023. "The impacts of climate policy uncertainty on stock markets: Comparison between China and the US," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    18. Tommaso, Caterina Di & Foglia, Matteo & Pacelli, Vincenzo, 2024. "The impact of climate policy uncertainty on the Italian financial market," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 69(PA).
    19. Carla Martínez-Climent & Ricardo Costa-Climent & Pejvak Oghazi, 2019. "Sustainable Financing through Crowdfunding," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-16, February.
    20. Ploypailin Kijkasiwat & Hamza Almustafa & Pongsutti Phuensane, 2023. "Initial coin offerings for business: a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 1-31, 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:eee:finlet:v:57:y:2023:i:c:s1544612323005998. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/frl .

    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.