IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/annopr/v294y2020i1d10.1007_s10479-020-03745-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Looking back and forging ahead: the weighting of ESG factors

Author

Listed:
  • Alexandros Garefalakis

    (Hellenic Mediterranean University)

  • Augustinos Dimitras

    (Hellenic Open University)

Abstract

The research for the investigation of the quality of the Corporate Annual Reports (CAR) and particularly the part of the narrative information contained in it has long been underestimated, mainly due to the lack of tools that allow an objective measurement and analysis of the narrative disclosed information of each company. The concept of narrative portion is extremely difficult and multidimensional, most studies use ESG composite scores to measure the CSP. The studies which investigate this issue are facing two major problems. The first problem related with the aggregation number of Key Performance Indicators while the second problem is that all ESG factors are not equal importance. This research focuses on the detailed presentation of a new method of reliable measurement of the quality of the narrative part of the CARs, which is greatly enhanced by using two composite indices, the unweighted index Ma.Co.I and the weighted one Ma.Co.Iw. These specific indices, for the first time, offer a comprehensive and coded checklist (for the measurement of the quality of the narrative information) which follows the guidelines set by the International Accounting Standards Board in 2010. Finally, this article proposes a novel weighting scheme of narrative portion and suggest specific minimum and maximum weights per ESG factors with purpose to contribute to a better understanding of the complexity of composite scores and to improve the quality of their outputs.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexandros Garefalakis & Augustinos Dimitras, 2020. "Looking back and forging ahead: the weighting of ESG factors," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 294(1), pages 151-189, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:annopr:v:294:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s10479-020-03745-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10479-020-03745-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10479-020-03745-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10479-020-03745-y?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. Danny Quah & Thomas J. Sargent, 1993. "A Dynamic Index Model for Large Cross Sections," NBER Chapters, in: Business Cycles, Indicators, and Forecasting, pages 285-310, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Ioannis Tsalavoutas & Lisa Evans, 2010. "Transition to IFRS in Greece: financial statement effects and auditor size," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 25(8), pages 814-842, September.
    3. Jörg Breitung & Sandra Eickmeier, 2006. "Dynamic factor models," AStA Advances in Statistical Analysis, Springer;German Statistical Society, vol. 90(1), pages 27-42, March.
    4. 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.
    5. Angela K. Davis & Isho Tama†Sweet, 2012. "Managers’ Use of Language Across Alternative Disclosure Outlets: Earnings Press Releases versus MD&A," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(3), pages 804-837, September.
    6. 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.
    7. Philip Brown & Ann Tarca, 2007. "Achieving High Quality, Comparable Financial Reporting: A Review of Independent Enforcement Bodies in Australia and the United Kingdom," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 43(4), pages 438-473, December.
    8. Berger, Philip G., 2011. "Challenges and opportunities in disclosure research--A discussion of [`]the financial reporting environment: Review of the recent literature'," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 204-218, February.
    9. Christian Leuz, 2003. "Discussion of ADRs, Analysts, and Accuracy: Does Cross‐Listing in the United States Improve a Firm's Information Environment and Increase Market Value?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 347-362, May.
    10. Stock, James H & Watson, Mark W, 2002. "Macroeconomic Forecasting Using Diffusion Indexes," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 20(2), pages 147-162, April.
    11. Christian Leuz, 2010. "Different approaches to corporate reporting regulation: How jurisdictions differ and why," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(3), pages 229-256.
    12. Beretta, Sergio & Bozzolan, Saverio, 2004. "A framework for the analysis of firm risk communication," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 265-288.
    13. Khaled Hussainey & Thomas Schleicher & Martin Walker, 2003. "Undertaking large-scale disclosure studies when AIMR-FAF ratings are not available: the case of prices leading earnings," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(4), pages 275-294.
    14. Berger, Philip G., 2011. "Challenges and opportunities in disclosure research—A discussion of ‘the financial reporting environment: Review of the recent literature’," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 204-218.
    15. Paul M. Healy & Amy P. Hutton & Krishna G. Palepu, 1999. "Stock Performance and Intermediation Changes Surrounding Sustained Increases in Disclosure," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(3), pages 485-520, September.
    16. Verrecchia, Robert E., 2001. "Essays on disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-3), pages 97-180, December.
    17. Li, Feng, 2008. "Annual report readability, current earnings, and earnings persistence," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2-3), pages 221-247, August.
    18. Beretta, Sergio & Bozzolan, Saverio, 2004. "Reply to: Discussions of "A framework for the analysis of firm risk communication"," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 303-305.
    19. Vivien Beattie & Bill McInnes & Stella Fearnley, 2004. "A methodology for analysing and evaluating narratives in annual reports: a comprehensive descriptive profile and metrics for disclosure quality attributes," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3), pages 205-236, September.
    20. Diamond, Douglas W & Verrecchia, Robert E, 1991. "Disclosure, Liquidity, and the Cost of Capital," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(4), pages 1325-1359, September.
    21. Madonna O'Sullivan & Majella Percy, 2004. "Concise Reporting in Australia:Has the Concise Report Replaced the Traditional Financial Report for Adopting Companies?," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 14(34), pages 40-47, November.
    22. Core, John E., 2001. "A review of the empirical disclosure literature: discussion," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-3), pages 441-456, September.
    23. Christine A. Botosan & Marlene A. Plumlee, 2002. "A Re‐examination of Disclosure Level and the Expected Cost of Equity Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1), pages 21-40, March.
    24. Healy, Paul M. & Palepu, Krishna G., 2001. "Information asymmetry, corporate disclosure, and the capital markets: A review of the empirical disclosure literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-3), pages 405-440, September.
    25. Rosella Castellano & Rita D’Ecclesia, 2013. "CDS volatility: the key signal of credit quality," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 205(1), pages 89-107, May.
    26. Yu-Chen Lin & Hsihui Chang & Jengfang Chen & Guan-Syun Wu, 2014. "Accounting disclosure quality, capital market intensity and national productivity," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 221(1), pages 239-254, October.
    27. Stock J.H. & Watson M.W., 2002. "Forecasting Using Principal Components From a Large Number of Predictors," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 97, pages 1167-1179, December.
    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. Gazi Salah Uddin & Muhammad Yahya & Ali Ahmed & Donghyun Park & Shu Tian, 2024. "In search of light in the darkness: What can we learn from ethical, sustainable and green investments?," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 1451-1495, April.
    2. Lo, Huai-Wei & Lin, Sheng-Wei, 2023. "Identifying ESG investment key indicators and selecting investment trust companies by using a Z-fuzzy-based decision-making model," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).

    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. Riccardo, Macchioni & Giuseppe, Sannino & Gianluca, Ginesti & Carlo, Drago, 2013. "Firms’ disclosure compliance with IASB’s Management Commentary framework:an empirical investigation," MPRA Paper 59321, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Ibrahim, Awad Elsayed Awad & Hussainey, Khaled, 2019. "Developing the narrative risk disclosure measurement," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 126-144.
    3. Omaima Hassan & Claire Marston, 2010. "Disclosure measurement in the empirical accounting literature - a review article," Accountancy Discussion Papers 1004, Accountancy Research Group, Heriot Watt University.
    4. Jianguo Chen & David Smith, 2024. "Disclosure policy choice, stock returns and information asymmetry: Evidence from capital expenditure announcements," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 49(2), pages 192-213, May.
    5. Elshandidy, Tamer & Fraser, Ian & Hussainey, Khaled, 2013. "Aggregated, voluntary, and mandatory risk disclosure incentives: Evidence from UK FTSE all-share companies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 320-333.
    6. Elzahar, Hany & Hussainey, Khaled & Mazzi, Francesco & Tsalavoutas, Ioannis, 2015. "Economic consequences of key performance indicators' disclosure quality," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 96-112.
    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. Beattie, Vivien, 2014. "Accounting narratives and the narrative turn in accounting research: Issues, theory, methodology, methods and a research framework," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 111-134.
    9. Enzo Scannella & Salvatore Polizzi, 2021. "How to measure bank credit risk disclosure? Testing a new methodological approach based on the content analysis framework," Journal of Banking Regulation, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(1), pages 73-95, March.
    10. 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.
    11. Heitzman, Shane & Wasley, Charles & Zimmerman, Jerold, 2010. "The joint effects of materiality thresholds and voluntary disclosure incentives on firms' disclosure decisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1-2), pages 109-132, February.
    12. Peter M. Clarkson & Jordan Ponn & Gordon D. Richardson & Frank Rudzicz & Albert Tsang & Jingjing Wang, 2020. "A Textual Analysis of US Corporate Social Responsibility Reports," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 56(1), pages 3-34, March.
    13. Chauhan, Yogesh & Kumar, Surya B., 2018. "Do investors value the nonfinancial disclosure in emerging markets?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 32-46.
    14. Mouselli, Sulaiman & Jaafar, Aziz & Hussainey, Khaled, 2012. "Accruals quality vis-à-vis disclosure quality: Substitutes or complements?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 36-46.
    15. Rezaee, Zabihollah & Tuo, Ling, 2017. "Voluntary disclosure of non-financial information and its association with sustainability performance," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 47-59.
    16. Chung, Dennis Y. & Hrazdil, Karel & Novak, Jiri & Suwanyangyuan, Nattavut, 2019. "Does the large amount of information in corporate disclosures hinder or enhance price discovery in the capital market?," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 36-52.
    17. Susan Chaplinsky & Kathleen Weiss Hanley & S. Katie Moon, 2017. "The JOBS Act and the Costs of Going Public," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 795-836, September.
    18. Vasiliki Athanasakou & Khaled Hussainey, 2014. "The perceived credibility of forward-looking performance disclosures," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3), pages 227-259, June.
    19. Emilio Passetti & Andrea Tenucci & Lino Cinquini & Marco Frey, 2008. "Communicating Intellectual Capital: Evidence from Social and Sustainability Reporting," Working Papers 200805, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna of Pisa, Istituto di Management.
    20. Flagmeier, Vanessa & Müller, Jens, 2016. "Tax loss carryforward disclosure and uncertainty," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 208, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.

    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:spr:annopr:v:294:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s10479-020-03745-y. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.