IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jaecon/v74y2022i2s0165410122000659.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is corporate transparency the solution to political failure on our greatest problems? A discussion of Darendeli, Fiechter, Hitz, and Lehmann (2022)

Author

Listed:
  • Christensen, Hans B.

Abstract

Advocacy groups have responded to the lack of political solutions to some of the greatest problems we face—from climate change to armed conflicts—by lobbying for securities regulation that increases corporate transparency. They aim to incentivize corporations to address problems that lack other political solutions. I discuss what we can (and cannot) learn about the efficacy of reporting mandates from the findings in Darendeli et al. (2022) and related papers that stakeholders respond to greater availability of corporate social responsibility information. I support my arguments with evidence from mandatory conflict mineral disclosures—to date, the only related US securities regulation. Although stakeholder responses are likely necessary to incentivize changes in corporate behavior, they are insufficient to justify a mandate. A convincing justification must explain how reporting mandates lead to socially beneficial real effects, are best overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and are less costly than alternative policy instruments. So far, proponents of reporting mandates have, at best, provided incomplete justifications. These circumstances are problematic given the current push for mandatory reporting related to issues such as climate change and workplace diversity.

Suggested Citation

  • Christensen, Hans B., 2022. "Is corporate transparency the solution to political failure on our greatest problems? A discussion of Darendeli, Fiechter, Hitz, and Lehmann (2022)," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jaecon:v:74:y:2022:i:2:s0165410122000659
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jacceco.2022.101542
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165410122000659
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jacceco.2022.101542?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. Nik Stoop & Marijke Verpoorten & Peter van der Windt, 2018. "More Legislation, More Violence? The Impact of Dodd-Frank in the DRC," SALDRU Working Papers 231, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    2. Dominic P. Parker & Bryan Vadheim, 2017. "Resource Cursed or Policy Cursed? US Regulation of Conflict Minerals and Violence in the Congo," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(1), pages 1-49.
    3. Thomas Rauter, 2020. "The Effect of Mandatory Extraction Payment Disclosures on Corporate Payment and Investment Policies Abroad," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(5), pages 1075-1116, December.
    4. Lisa Baudot & Zhongwei Huang & Dana Wallace, 2021. "Stakeholder Perceptions of Risk in Mandatory Corporate Responsibility Disclosure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(1), pages 151-174, August.
    5. Costello, Anna M., 2013. "Mitigating incentive conflicts in inter-firm relationships: Evidence from long-term supply contracts," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 19-39.
    6. Glaeser, Stephen & Guay, Wayne R., 2017. "Identification and generalizability in accounting research: A discussion of Christensen, Floyd, Liu, and Maffett (2017)," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 305-312.
    7. 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.
    8. Jonathan M. Karpoff & Robert Litan & Catherine Schrand & Roman L. Weil, 2022. "What ESG-Related Disclosures Should the SEC Mandate?," Financial Analysts Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 78(2), pages 9-18, April.
    9. Christian Leuz & Peter D. Wysocki, 2016. "The Economics of Disclosure and Financial Reporting Regulation: Evidence and Suggestions for Future Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 525-622, May.
    10. Ozlem Arikan & Juliane Reinecke & Crawford Spence & Kevin Morrell, 2017. "Signposts or Weathervanes? The Curious Case of Corporate Social Responsibility and Conflict Minerals," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(3), pages 469-484, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Darendeli, Alper & Fiechter, Peter & Hitz, Jörg-Markus & Lehmann, Nico, 2022. "The role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) information in supply-chain contracting: Evidence from the expansion of CSR rating coverage," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(2).
    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. Katarzyna Anna Bilicka & Elisa Casi & Carol Seregni & Barbara Stage, 2021. "Tax Strategy Disclosure: A Greenwashing Mandate?," CESifo Working Paper Series 9030, CESifo.
    4. Lynn Linghuan Wang, 2023. "Transmission Effects of ESG Disclosure Regulations Through Bank Lending Networks," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), pages 935-978, June.
    5. Peter Fiechter & Jörg‐Markus Hitz & Nico Lehmann, 2022. "Real Effects of a Widespread CSR Reporting Mandate: Evidence from the European Union's CSR Directive," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 1499-1549, September.
    6. Driss, Hamdi & Drobetz, Wolfgang & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane, 2024. "The Sustainability committee and environmental disclosure: International evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 602-625.
    7. Agnes C. S. Cheng & Wenli Huang & Shaojun Zhang, 2020. "Major government customer and management earnings forecasts," Frontiers of Business Research in China, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-20, December.
    8. Stoop, Nik & Verpoorten, Marijke & van der Windt, Peter, 2019. "Artisanal or industrial conflict minerals? Evidence from Eastern Congo," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 660-674.
    9. Müller, Raphael & Spengel, Christoph & Vay, Heiko, 2020. "On the determinants and effects of corporate tax transparency: Review of an emerging literature," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-063, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    10. Julika Herzberg & Oliver Lorz, 2020. "Sourcing from conflict regions: Policies to improve transparency in international supply chains," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 395-407, May.
    11. Jung Ho Choi & Joseph Pacelli & Kristina M. Rennekamp & Sorabh Tomar, 2023. "Do Jobseekers Value Diversity Information? Evidence from a Field Experiment and Human Capital Disclosures," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), pages 695-735, June.
    12. Emirhan Ilhan & Philipp Krueger & Zacharias Sautner & Laura T Starks, 2023. "Climate Risk Disclosure and Institutional Investors," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 36(7), pages 2617-2650.
    13. Jeffrey R. Bloem, 2019. "Good Intentions Gone Bad? The Dodd-Frank Act and Conflict in Africa’s Great Lakes Region," HiCN Working Papers 300, Households in Conflict Network.
    14. Katharina Hombach & Thorsten Sellhorn, 2019. "Shaping Corporate Actions Through Targeted Transparency Regulation: A Framework and Review of Extant Evidence," Schmalenbach Business Review, Springer;Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft, vol. 71(2), pages 137-168, May.
    15. Ormazabal, Gaizka, 2018. "The Role of Stakeholders in Corporate Governance: A View from Accounting Research," CEPR Discussion Papers 12775, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    16. Liang, Xiao & Chen, Xiaomeng Charlene, 2024. "Mandatory corporate social responsibility disclosure and financial constraints: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PA), pages 954-974.
    17. Nicola Dalla Via & Paolo Perego, 2018. "Determinants of Conflict Minerals Disclosure Under the Dodd–Frank Act," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(6), pages 773-788, September.
    18. Zhang, Qiyu & Ding, Rong & Chen, Ding & Zhang, Xiaoxiang, 2023. "The effects of mandatory ESG disclosure on price discovery efficiency around the world," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    19. Breuer, Matthias & Le, Anthony & Vetter, Felix, 2023. "Audit mandates, audit firms, and auditors," Working Papers 333, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    20. Dutt, Verena & Spengel, Christoph & Vay, Heiko, 2021. "Der EU-Vorschlag zum Country-by-Country Reporting im Internet: Kosten, Nutzen, Konsequenzen," Studien, Stiftung Familienunternehmen / Foundation for Family Businesses, number 250010.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate social responsibility (CSR); Environmental; Social and governance issues (ESG); Mandatory reporting; Regulation; Standard setting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Business and Securities Law
    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M48 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Government Policy and Regulation

    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:jaecon:v:74:y:2022:i:2:s0165410122000659. 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/jae .

    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.