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The World Capital Markets’ Perception of Sustainability and the Impact of the Financial Crisis

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  • Kerstin Lopatta
  • Thomas Kaspereit

Abstract

Using a unique dataset provided by the international rating agency GES ® , we investigate the effects of corporate sustainability and industry-related exposure to environmental and social risks on the market value of MSCI World firms. The results show a negative relationship in the earlier years of our sample period. However, the analysis reveals that the capital market perception of sustainability has changed owing to the financial crisis. Looking at the height of the crisis in September 2008, the month in which Lehman Brothers shocked the world’s capital markets by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, we find that the previously negative perception of corporate sustainability across its various dimensions was positively affected and offset. In addition, as a moderated regression analysis shows, the crisis led to a positive perception of corporate sustainability in industries that are exposed to higher environmental and social risks. Our study has the practical implication that executives, in particular in industries with high environmental and social risks, should increase their commitment to corporate sustainability due to the changes in the institutional setting triggered by the financial crisis. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

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  • Kerstin Lopatta & Thomas Kaspereit, 2014. "The World Capital Markets’ Perception of Sustainability and the Impact of the Financial Crisis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(3), pages 475-500, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:122:y:2014:i:3:p:475-500
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1760-9
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    5. Emmanuel Adegbite & Yilmaz Guney & Frank Kwabi & Suleiman Tahir, 2019. "Financial and corporate social performance in the UK listed firms: the relevance of non-linearity and lag effects," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 105-158, January.
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    7. Imran Abbas Jadoon & Akhter Ali & Usman Ayub & Muhammad Tahir & Raheel Mumtaz, 2021. "The impact of sustainability reporting quality on the value relevance of corporate sustainability performance," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(1), pages 155-175, January.
    8. Akhtar Ali & Imran Abbas Jadoon, 2022. "The Value Relevance of Corporate Sustainability Performance (CSP)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-31, July.
    9. Tatyana A. Khudyakova & Andrey V. Shmidt, 2019. "Impact of the Global Recession on Financial and Economic Sustainability of Industrial Companies," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 143-157.
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