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Stock price reactions to ESG news: the role of ESG ratings and disagreement

Author

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  • George Serafeim

    (Harvard Business School)

  • Aaron Yoon

    (Northwestern University)

Abstract

We investigate whether environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings predict future ESG news and the associated market reactions. We find that the consensus rating predicts future news, but its predictive ability diminishes for firms with large disagreement between raters. The relation between news and market reaction is moderated by the consensus rating. In the presence of high disagreement between raters, the relation between news and market reactions weakens, while the rating with the most predictive power predicts future stock returns. Overall, while rating disagreement hinders the incorporation of value-relevant ESG news into prices, ratings predict future news and proxy for market expectations of future news.

Suggested Citation

  • George Serafeim & Aaron Yoon, 2023. "Stock price reactions to ESG news: the role of ESG ratings and disagreement," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 1500-1530, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:reaccs:v:28:y:2023:i:3:d:10.1007_s11142-022-09675-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s11142-022-09675-3
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    9. Li, Li & Zhang, Du & Li, Rongrong, 2024. "ESG rating disagreement and corporate innovation: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PA).
    10. Sudha Mathew & Sheeja Sivaprasad, 2024. "An empirical analysis of corporate sustainability bonds," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3299-3316, May.
    11. Chen, Zhang-Hangjian & Kang, JingWen & Koedijk, Kees G. & Gao, Xiang & Gu, ZhenHua, 2024. "Short-term market reactions to ESG ratings disclosures: An event study in the Chinese stock market," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    12. Yuan, Mingqing, 2024. "Beyond green bonds: Stock market reactions to ESG bond announcements and issuances in Japan," MPRA Paper 120943, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Isabelle Breton-Miller & Danny Miller & Zhenyang Tang & Xiaowei Xu, 2024. "CEO Religion and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Socio-behavioral Model," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 195(1), pages 167-189, November.
    14. Xiaofeng Liu & Zhi Wang & Shichi Ren, 2024. "Investor–Firm Interactions and Corporate ESG Performance: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-33, December.
    15. Guo, Kun & Bian, Yuan & Zhang, Dayong & Ji, Qiang, 2024. "ESG performance and corporate external financing in China: The role of rating disagreement," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    16. Michele Azzone & Emilio Barucci & Davide Stocco, 2024. "Asset management with an ESG mandate," Papers 2403.11622, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2024.
    17. Gao, Yang & Ling, Yun & Peng, Hui, 2024. "Before thrive, first survive: The impact of controlling shareholder pledging on corporate ESG performance," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    18. 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).
    19. Chibane, Messaoud & Joubrel, Mathieu, 2024. "The ESG-efficient frontier under ESG rating uncertainty," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 67(PB).
    20. Achilles, Catrina & Limbach, Peter & Wolff, Michael & Yoon, Aaron, 2024. "Inside the blackbox of firm environmental efforts: Evidence from emissions reduction initiatives," CFR Working Papers 24-05, University of Cologne, Centre for Financial Research (CFR).
    21. Xing Zhang & Mingcan Ji & Shujuan Wang, 2024. "Can Environmental, Social, and Governance Ratings Promote Green Innovation in Chinese Heavy Polluters? Perspectives from “Greening” Behaviors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-23, March.
    22. Ling, Shixian & Xia, Hui & Liu, Zhangxin (Frank), 2024. "ESG rating divergence and audit fees: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 67(PA).
    23. Bai, Xiao & Zhao, Wenyao & Tian, Geran, 2024. "ESG certification, green innovation, and firm value: A quasi-natural experiment based on SynTao Green Finance's ESG ratings: A pre-registered report," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    24. Tsang, Albert & Wang, Yujie & Xiang, Yi & Yu, Li, 2024. "The rise of ESG rating agencies and management of corporate ESG violations," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Market reaction; ESG rating; Ratings disagreement; ESG news;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • 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

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