IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v58y2023ipbs1544612323008012.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Executives’ education: A catalyst for enhanced ESG disclosure

Author

Listed:
  • Wan, Yang
  • Hong, Ziyi
  • Liu, Wenqing
  • Cui, Jiashuo

Abstract

High-quality ESG disclosure by firms is crucial for reducing capital costs and enhancing firms’ reputations. However, an under-explored factor in the literature is the impact of executives’ education on ESG disclosure. Using unique firm-level executives’ education data from 2012 to 2021, our study demonstrates that executives’ education can positively affect firms’ ESG disclosure, particularly in the context of social responsibility. This finding is robust to specifications considering the endogeneity issue and various alternative specifications. Moreover, our results reveal that executives with advanced degrees, such as master's or doctorate degrees, exhibit a greater propensity to promote ESG disclosure.

Suggested Citation

  • Wan, Yang & Hong, Ziyi & Liu, Wenqing & Cui, Jiashuo, 2023. "Executives’ education: A catalyst for enhanced ESG disclosure," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PB).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:58:y:2023:i:pb:s1544612323008012
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2023.104429
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612323008012
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2023.104429?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. Antonio Falato & Dan Li & Todd Milbourn, 2015. "Which Skills Matter in the Market for CEOs? Evidence from Pay for CEO Credentials," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(12), pages 2845-2869, December.
    2. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    3. Cai, Xiangshang & Gao, Ning & Garrett, Ian & Xu, Yan, 2020. "Are CEOs judged on their companies' social reputation?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    4. Hans De Geer & Tommy Borglund & Magnus Frostenson, 2009. "Reconciling CSR with the Role of the Corporation in Welfare States: The Problematic Swedish Example," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 89(3), pages 269-283, November.
    5. Claudia Goldin, 2006. "The Quiet Revolution That Transformed Women's Employment, Education, and Family," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 1-21, May.
    6. Yukun Pan & Rui Zhao, 2022. "Does Mandatory Disclosure of CSR Reports Affect Accounting Conservatism? Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(7), pages 1975-1987, May.
    7. Jin, Yige & Dong, Nanyan & Tian, Gaoliang & Zhang, Junrui, 2023. "Wisdom of the masses: Employee education and corporate risk taking," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    8. Samuel Drempetic & Christian Klein & Bernhard Zwergel, 2020. "The Influence of Firm Size on the ESG Score: Corporate Sustainability Ratings Under Review," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(2), pages 333-360, November.
    9. Dhaliwal, Dan & Judd, J. Scott & Serfling, Matthew & Shaikh, Sarah, 2016. "Customer concentration risk and the cost of equity capital," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 23-48.
    10. Gillan, Stuart L. & Koch, Andrew & Starks, Laura T., 2021. "Firms and social responsibility: A review of ESG and CSR research in corporate finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    11. Wang, Yizhi & Lin, Yongjia & Fu, Xiaoqing & Chen, Songhe, 2023. "Institutional ownership heterogeneity and ESG performance: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    12. Vishal P. Baloria & Kenneth J. Klassen & Christine I. Wiedman, 2019. "Shareholder Activism and Voluntary Disclosure Initiation: The Case of Political Spending†," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 36(2), pages 904-933, June.
    13. Amore, Mario Daniele & Bennedsen, Morten & Larsen, Birthe & Rosenbaum, Philip, 2019. "CEO education and corporate environmental footprint," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 254-273.
    14. Rania Beji & Ouidad Yousfi & Nadia Loukil & Abdelwahed Omri, 2021. "Board Diversity and Corporate Social Responsibility: Empirical Evidence from France," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(1), pages 133-155, September.
    15. Huang, Qiping & Li, Yongjia & Lin, Meimei & McBrayer, Garrett A., 2022. "Natural disasters, risk salience, and corporate ESG disclosure," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    16. Berry, Tammy K. & Bizjak, John M. & Lemmon, Michael L. & Naveen, Lalitha, 2006. "Organizational complexity and CEO labor markets: Evidence from diversified firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 797-817, September.
    17. Kim, Y. Han (Andy) & Park, Junho & Shin, Hojong, 2022. "CEO facial masculinity, fraud, and ESG: Evidence from South Korea," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    18. Sila, Vathunyoo & Gonzalez, Angelica & Hagendorff, Jens, 2017. "Independent director reputation incentives and stock price informativeness," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 219-235.
    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. Arduino, Francesca Romana & Buchetti, Bruno & Harasheh, Murad, 2024. "The veil of secrecy: Family firms’ approach to ESG transparency and the role of institutional investors," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PB).

    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. Yang Liu & Fukang Zhang & Han Zhang, 2024. "CEO foreign experience and corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3331-3355, May.
    2. Ren, Xiaohang & Zeng, Gudian & Zhao, Yang, 2023. "Digital finance and corporate ESG performance: Empirical evidence from listed companies in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    3. Wang, Zhen & Chu, Erming & Hao, Yukai, 2024. "Towards sustainable development: How does ESG performance promotes corporate green transformation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Fiordelisi, Franco & Ricci, Ornella & Santilli, Gianluca, 2023. "Environmental engagement and stock price crash risk: Evidence from the European banking industry," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    5. Zeng, Yongliang & Zhao, Xiangfang & Zhu, Yiwen, 2023. "Equity incentives and ESG performance: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PC).
    6. Zhu, Bo & Wang, Yansen, 2024. "Does social trust affect firms' ESG performance?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    7. Tsang, Albert & Frost, Tracie & Cao, Huijuan, 2023. "Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure: A literature review," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    8. Liang, Yuchao & Tan, Qi & Pang, Jun, 2024. "Bless or curse, how does extreme temperature shape heavy pollution companies' ESG performance?-Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    9. Lu, Hongyu & Cheng, Zhao, 2024. "Digital inclusive finance and corporate ESG performance: The moderating role of executives with financial backgrounds," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    10. Huang, Jun & Han, Feifei & Li, Yun, 2023. "Government as major customer: The effects of government procurement on corporate environmental, social, and governance performance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    11. Wang, Kai & Chen, Xi & Wang, Chenye, 2023. "The impact of sustainable development planning in resource-based cities on corporate ESG–Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).
    12. Liu, Xiaoqian & Cifuentes-Faura, Javier & Zhao, Shikuan & Wang, Long, 2024. "The impact of government environmental attention on firms’ ESG performance: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(PA).
    13. Finja Lena Kind & Jennifer Zeppenfeld & Rainer Lueg, 2023. "The impact of chief executive officer narcissism on environmental, social, and governance reporting," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4448-4466, November.
    14. Collings, David & Corbet, Shaen & Hou, Yang (Greg) & Hu, Yang & Larkin, Charles & Oxley, Les, 2022. "The effects of negative reputational contagion on international airlines: The case of the Boeing 737-MAX disasters," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    15. Zhang, Yanan & Zhang, Xiaoyu, 2024. "Top management team functional diversity and ESG performance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    16. Do, Hung X. & Nguyen, Lily & Nguyen, Nhut H. & Nguyen, Quan M.P., 2022. "LGBT policy, investor trading behavior, and return comovement," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 457-483.
    17. Wang, Zongrun & Zhang, Taiyu & Ren, Xiaohang & Shi, Yukun, 2024. "AI adoption rate and corporate green innovation efficiency: Evidence from Chinese energy companies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    18. Wang, Ye & Liu, Xufeng & Wan, Die, 2023. "Stock market openness and ESG performance: Evidence from Shanghai-Hong Kong connect program," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1306-1319.
    19. Simon Döring & Wolfgang Drobetz & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Henning Schröder, 2023. "Foreign Institutional Investors, Legal Origin, and Corporate Greenhouse Gas Emissions Disclosure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(4), pages 903-932, February.
    20. Jin Zhu & Fei Huang, 2023. "Transformational Leadership, Organizational Innovation, and ESG Performance: Evidence from SMEs in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-23, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Executives’ education; ESG disclosure; Education attainment; Social responsibility;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M21 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics - - - Business Economics

    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:eee:finlet:v:58:y:2023:i:pb:s1544612323008012. 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.