IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/intfin/v91y2024ics1042443123001877.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

ESG performance and investment efficiency: The impact of information asymmetry

Author

Listed:
  • Bilyay-Erdogan, Seda
  • Danisman, Gamze Ozturk
  • Demir, Ender

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between firms' engagement in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities and corporate investment efficiency, using 1,094 firms from 21 countries in Europe, covering the years 2002–2019. We conduct our estimations using fixed effects panel data techniques and address potential endogeneity with instrumental variables (IV) estimations. We provide evidence that overall ESG engagement is positively and significantly associated with investment efficiency. Analyzing overinvestment and underinvestment scenarios shows that ESG engagement decreases only overinvestment problems. Within the underinvestment scenario, we observe that ESG engagement is beneficial only for firms with higher information asymmetries. Thus, information asymmetry matters in the underinvestment case. We next show that four firm-level channels—information asymmetry, financial constraints, cash flows, and risk—link ESG performance to investment inefficiency. Additional analysis shows that firms with extreme ESG scores (i.e., very low and very high) do not experience significant reductions in investment inefficiency. Altogether, our findings draw attention to the critical role of ESG performance and information asymmetry in determining corporate investment efficiency.

Suggested Citation

  • Bilyay-Erdogan, Seda & Danisman, Gamze Ozturk & Demir, Ender, 2024. "ESG performance and investment efficiency: The impact of information asymmetry," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:intfin:v:91:y:2024:i:c:s1042443123001877
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intfin.2023.101919
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1042443123001877
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.intfin.2023.101919?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. Mario La Torre & Sabrina Leo & Ida Claudia Panetta, 2021. "Banks and environmental, social and governance drivers: Follow the market or the authorities?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1620-1634, November.
    2. Ma Zhong & Lucia Gao, 2017. "Does corporate social responsibility disclosure improve firm investment efficiency?," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 16(3), pages 348-365, August.
    3. Sandra A. Waddock & Samuel B. Graves, 1997. "The Corporate Social Performance–Financial Performance Link," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(4), pages 303-319, April.
    4. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    5. Hoje Jo & Maretno Harjoto, 2011. "Corporate Governance and Firm Value: The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(3), pages 351-383, October.
    6. John M. Griffin & Michael L. Lemmon, 2002. "Book‐to‐Market Equity, Distress Risk, and Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(5), pages 2317-2336, October.
    7. Biddle, Gary C. & Hilary, Gilles & Verdi, Rodrigo S., 2009. "How does financial reporting quality relate to investment efficiency?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2-3), pages 112-131, December.
    8. Zaman, Rashid & Atawnah, Nader & Haseeb, Muhammad & Nadeem, Muhammad & Irfan, Saadia, 2021. "Does corporate eco-innovation affect stock price crash risk?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(5).
    9. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "Value Maximization, Stakeholder Theory, and the Corporate Objective Function," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 32-42, January.
    10. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2003. "Enjoying the Quiet Life? Corporate Governance and Managerial Preferences," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(5), pages 1043-1075, October.
    11. Mark P. Sharfman & Chitru S. Fernando, 2008. "Environmental risk management and the cost of capital," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 569-592, June.
    12. Najah Attig & Sean Cleary & Sadok Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami, 2014. "Corporate Legitimacy and Investment–Cash Flow Sensitivity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(2), pages 297-314, May.
    13. Kirsten A. Cook & Andrea M. Romi & Daniela Sánchez & Juan Manuel Sánchez, 2019. "The influence of corporate social responsibility on investment efficiency and innovation," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3-4), pages 494-537, March.
    14. 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.
    15. Roland Bénabou & Jean Tirole, 2010. "Individual and Corporate Social Responsibility," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 77(305), pages 1-19, January.
    16. Faisal Shahzad & Ijaz Ur Rehman & Faisal Nawaz & Noman Nawab, 2018. "Does family control explain why corporate social responsibility affects investment efficiency?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 880-888, September.
    17. Doidge, Craig & Andrew Karolyi, G. & Stulz, Rene M., 2007. "Why do countries matter so much for corporate governance?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 1-39, October.
    18. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    19. Atawnah, Nader & Zaman, Rashid & Liu, Jia & Atawna, Thaer & Maghyereh, Aktham, 2023. "Does foreign competition affect corporate debt maturity structure? Evidence from import penetration," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    20. Alharbi, Samar S. & Atawnah, Nader & Ali, Muhammad Jahangir & Eshraghi, Arman, 2023. "Gambling culture and earnings management: A novel perspective," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 520-539.
    21. Chen, Ruiyuan & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Wang, He, 2017. "Do state and foreign ownership affect investment efficiency? Evidence from privatizations," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 408-421.
    22. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    23. R. Glenn Hubbard, 1998. "Capital-Market Imperfections and Investment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(1), pages 193-225, March.
    24. Edward I. Altman, 1968. "Financial Ratios, Discriminant Analysis And The Prediction Of Corporate Bankruptcy," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 23(4), pages 589-609, September.
    25. Galema, Rients & Plantinga, Auke & Scholtens, Bert, 2008. "The stocks at stake: Return and risk in socially responsible investment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(12), pages 2646-2654, December.
    26. Bouslah, Kais & Kryzanowski, Lawrence & M’Zali, Bouchra, 2013. "The impact of the dimensions of social performance on firm risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 1258-1273.
    27. Kee H. Chung & Stephen W. Pruitt, 1994. "A Simple Approximation of Tobin's q," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 23(3), Fall.
    28. Michael, Michael & Ali, Muhammad Jahangir & Atawnah, Nader & Muniandy, Balachandran, 2022. "Fiduciary or loyalty? Evidence from top management counsel and stock liquidity," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    29. Charles J. Hadlock & Joshua R. Pierce, 2010. "New Evidence on Measuring Financial Constraints: Moving Beyond the KZ Index," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(5), pages 1909-1940.
    30. Campello, Murillo & Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R., 2010. "The real effects of financial constraints: Evidence from a financial crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(3), pages 470-487, September.
    31. Kangtao Ye & Ran Zhang, 2011. "Do Lenders Value Corporate Social Responsibility? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(2), pages 197-206, December.
    32. Hayashi, Fumio, 1982. "Tobin's Marginal q and Average q: A Neoclassical Interpretation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(1), pages 213-224, January.
    33. Brown, William O. & Helland, Eric & Smith, Janet Kiholm, 2006. "Corporate philanthropic practices," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(5), pages 855-877, December.
    34. Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Yongtae Kim, 2017. "Country-level institutions, firm value, and the role of corporate social responsibility initiatives," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(3), pages 360-385, April.
    35. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck C.Y. & Mishra, Dev R., 2011. "Does corporate social responsibility affect the cost of capital?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 2388-2406, September.
    36. Ole‐Kristian Hope & Wayne B. Thomas, 2008. "Managerial Empire Building and Firm Disclosure," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 591-626, June.
    37. Guariglia, Alessandra & Yang, Junhong, 2016. "A balancing act: Managing financial constraints and agency costs to minimize investment inefficiency in the Chinese market," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 111-130.
    38. Gilles Hilary & Gary C. Biddle, 2006. "Accounting Quality and Firm-Level Capital Investment," Post-Print hal-00481720, HAL.
    39. Richard Lambert & Christian Leuz & Robert E. Verrecchia, 2007. "Accounting Information, Disclosure, and the Cost of Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(2), pages 385-420, May.
    40. Robert G. Eccles & Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2014. "The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(11), pages 2835-2857, November.
    41. Myers, Stewart C., 1984. "Capital structure puzzle," Working papers 1548-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    42. Syeda Khiraza Naqvi & Faisal Shahzad & Ijaz Ur Rehman & Fiza Qureshi & Usama Laique, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility performance and information asymmetry: The moderating role of analyst coverage," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1549-1563, November.
    43. 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).
    44. Ijaz Ur Rehman & Syeda Khiraza Naqvi & Faisal Shahzad & Ahmed Jamil, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility performance and information asymmetry: the moderating role of ownership concentration," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 18(2), pages 424-440, May.
    45. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-592, July.
    46. Jinhua Cui & Hoje Jo & Haejung Na, 2018. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility Affect Information Asymmetry?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(3), pages 549-572, March.
    47. Maretno Harjoto & Hoje Jo, 2011. "Corporate Governance and CSR Nexus," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 100(1), pages 45-67, April.
    48. Stein, Jeremy C., 2003. "Agency, information and corporate investment," 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 2, pages 111-165, Elsevier.
    49. Ma Zhong & Lucia Gao, 2017. "Does corporate social responsibility disclosure improve firm investment efficiency?," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 16(3), pages 348-365, August.
    50. Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2015. "The impact of corporate social responsibility on investment recommendations: Analysts' perceptions and shifting institutional logics," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(7), pages 1053-1081, July.
    51. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    52. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    53. Tran Phuong, Thao & Le, Anh-Tuan & Ouyang, Puman, 2022. "Board tenure diversity and investment efficiency: A global analysis," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    54. Abel, Andrew B, 1983. "Optimal Investment under Uncertainty," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(1), pages 228-233, March.
    55. Mohammed Benlemlih & Mohammad Bitar, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Investment Efficiency," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(3), pages 647-671, March.
    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. Zhiliang Wu & Shaowei Chen, 2024. "Does Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Performance Improve Financial Institutions’ Efficiency? Evidence from China," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-20, April.
    2. Xinhua Yang & Haimei Gan & Shuai Luo & Jingjing Lv, 2024. "A Study on the Impact of Enterprise Digital Evolution on Outward Foreign Investments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-23, May.
    3. Rayed Obaid Hammoud Alobaid & Ameen Qasem & Adel Ali Al-Qadasi, 2024. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Ownership Structure, and Firm Investment Efficiency: Evidence from the Saudi Stock Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-25, August.
    4. Li, Yiping & Zheng, Lanxing & Xie, Chang & Fang, Jiming, 2024. "Big data development and enterprise ESG performance: Empirical evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PB), pages 742-755.
    5. Serhiy Zabolotnyy, 2024. "Investigating the Nexus Between Energy Transition Reporting Practices and Corporate Efficiency in the European Agri-Food Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-19, November.
    6. Marek Walacik & Aneta Chmielewska, 2024. "Energy Performance in Residential Buildings as a Property Market Efficiency Driver," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-18, May.
    7. Zhou, Mengling & Huang, Zizhen & Jiang, Kangqi, 2024. "Environmental, social, and governance performance and corporate debt maturity in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PA).
    8. Chen, Mengtao, 2024. "ESG performance and firm misconduct: Evidence from R&D manipulation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    9. Hong Xu & Yukun Li & Weifen Lin & Hui Wang, 2024. "ESG and customer stability: a perspective based on external and internal supervision and reputation mechanisms," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.

    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. Samet, Marwa & Jarboui, Anis, 2017. "How does corporate social responsibility contribute to investment efficiency?," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 33-46.
    2. Mohammed Benlemlih & Mohammad Bitar, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Investment Efficiency," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(3), pages 647-671, March.
    3. Poursoleyman, Ehsan & Mansourfar, Gholamreza & Rezaee, Zabihollah & Homayoun, Saeid, 2024. "Corporate social responsibility and investment efficiency: The roles of national stakeholder orientation and legal origins," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 889-911.
    4. Karim Ben Khediri, 2021. "CSR and investment efficiency in Western European countries," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1769-1784, November.
    5. Anagnostopoulou, Seraina C. & Trigeorgis, Lenos & Tsekrekos, Andrianos E., 2023. "Enhancement in a firm's information environment via options trading and the efficiency of corporate investment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    6. Rehana Anwar & Jaleel A. Malik, 2020. "When Does Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure Affect Investment Efficiency? A New Answer to an Old Question," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(2), pages 21582440209, June.
    7. Cutillas Gomariz, Mª Fuensanta & Sánchez Ballesta, Juan Pedro, 2014. "Financial reporting quality, debt maturity and investment efficiency," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 494-506.
    8. Lijuan Xiao & Min Bai & Yafeng Qin & Lingyun Xiong & Lijuan Yang, 2021. "Financial Slack and Inefficient Investment Decisions in China," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(4), pages 920-941, June.
    9. Jaehong Lee & Eunsoo Kim, 2020. "The Influence of Corporate Environmental Responsibility on Overinvestment Behavior: Evidence from South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-20, March.
    10. Asiri, Mohammed & Al-Hadi, Ahmed & Taylor, Grantley & Duong, Lien, 2020. "Is corporate tax avoidance associated with investment efficiency?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    11. Najah Attig & Sean Cleary & Sadok Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami, 2014. "Corporate Legitimacy and Investment–Cash Flow Sensitivity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(2), pages 297-314, May.
    12. Lin, Yu-En & Li, Yi-Wen & Cheng, Teng Yuan & Lam, Keith, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and investment efficiency: Does business strategy matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    13. Juan Pedro Sánchez Ballesta & M. Fuensanta Cutillas Gomariz, 2012. "Financial reporting quality, debt maturity and investment efficiency," Working Papers. Serie EC 2012-07, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    14. Ijaz Ur Rehman & Faisal Shahzad & Khawaja Fawad Latif & Noman Nawab & Abdul Rashid & Shabir Hyder, 2021. "Does corporate social responsibility mediate the influence of national culture on investment inefficiency? Firm‐level evidence from Asia Pacific," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(3), pages 3484-3503, July.
    15. Gao, Xin & Xu, Weidong & Li, Donghui & Xing, Lu, 2021. "Media coverage and investment efficiency," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 270-293.
    16. Dak-Adzaklo, Cephas Simon Peter & Wong, Raymond M.K., 2024. "Corporate governance reforms, societal trust, and corporate financial policies," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    17. Yadong Wang & Khaldoon Albitar & Imad Chbib, 2024. "Connecting the dots: A systematic review of corporate social responsibility, information asymmetry, and economic implications," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 5012-5031, September.
    18. Mohammed Benlemlih, 2017. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Debt Maturity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(3), pages 491-517, September.
    19. Cao, Zhangfan & Rees, William, 2020. "Do employee-friendly firms invest more efficiently? Evidence from labor investment efficiency," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    20. Naeem, Kashif & Li, Matthew C., 2019. "Corporate investment efficiency: The role of financial development in firms with financing constraints and agency issues in OECD non-financial firms," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 53-68.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ESG Performance; Investment Efficiency; Overinvestment; Underinvestment; Information Asymmetry; Europe;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

    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:intfin:v:91:y:2024:i:c:s1042443123001877. 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/intfin .

    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.