IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v10y2003i4p212-223.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ethical investment and the incentives for corporate environmental protection and social responsibility

Author

Listed:
  • Iulie Aslaksen
  • Terje Synnestvedt

Abstract

This paper addresses some interrelated questions regarding ethical investments: does ethical screening provide any incentives for improved social responsibility within firms? Are ethical screened portfolios competitive compared with conventional funds with respect to risk‐adjusted return? Does the risk‐adjusted return of a screened portfolio depend on the screening strategy applied? Considering ethical screening as a kind of segmentation of the equity market, it is shown that screening might create incentives for changes in firms' behaviour. The strength of this incentive depends on the relative share of screened portfolios, which in turn partially depends on the financial performance of the screened portfolios. While some theoretical arguments suggest that screening imposes a handicap compared with conventional portfolios, the empirical evidence does not suggest that screened portfolios systematically under‐perform conventional portfolios. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Iulie Aslaksen & Terje Synnestvedt, 2003. "Ethical investment and the incentives for corporate environmental protection and social responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(4), pages 212-223, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:10:y:2003:i:4:p:212-223
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.47
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.47
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.47?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Blacconiere, Walter G. & Patten, Dennis M., 1994. "Environmental disclosures, regulatory costs, and changes in firm value," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 357-377, November.
    2. Shameek Konar & Mark A. Cohen, 2001. "Does The Market Value Environmental Performance?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(2), pages 281-289, May.
    3. Heinkel, Robert & Kraus, Alan & Zechner, Josef, 2001. "The Effect of Green Investment on Corporate Behavior," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 36(4), pages 431-449, December.
    4. Stuart L. Hart & Gautam Ahuja, 1996. "Does It Pay To Be Green? An Empirical Examination Of The Relationship Between Emission Reduction And Firm Performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(1), pages 30-37, March.
    5. Alan Gregory & John Matatko & Robert Luther, 1997. "Ethical Unit Trust Financial Performance: Small Company Effects and Fund Size Effects," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(5), pages 705-725, June.
    6. Merton, Robert C, 1987. "A Simple Model of Capital Market Equilibrium with Incomplete Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 42(3), pages 483-510, July.
    7. Lanoie, Paul & Laplante, Benoit & Roy, Maite, 1997. "Can capital markets create incentives for pollution control?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1753, The World Bank.
    8. Alan Gregory & John Matatko & Robert Luther, 1997. "Ethical Unit Trust Financial Performance: Small Company Effects and Fund Size Effects," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(5), pages 705-725.
    9. Madhu Khanna & William Rose Q. Anton, 2002. "Corporate Environmental Management: Regulatory and Market-Based Incentives," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 78(4), pages 539-558.
    10. Larry D. Wall, 1995. "Some lessons from basic finance for effective socially responsible investing," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, vol. 80(Jan), pages 1-12.
    11. Bjørnar Sæther & Audun Amundsen, 1996. "Cleaner Production Assessment In Norway: Experiences And Policy Implications," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(3), pages 178-187, September.
    12. repec:bla:ausecr:v:34:y:2001:i:2:p:170-178 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Paul Lanoie & Benoit Laplante & Maité Roy, 1997. "Can Capital Markets Create Incentives for Pollution Control?," CIRANO Working Papers 97s-05, CIRANO.
    14. Cormier, Denis & Magnan, Michel & Morard, Bernard, 1993. "The impact of corporate pollution on market valuation: some empirical evidence," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 135-155, October.
    15. Robert D. Klassen & Curtis P. McLaughlin, 1996. "The Impact of Environmental Management on Firm Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 42(8), pages 1199-1214, August.
    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. Carmen Valor & Marta de la Cuesta & Beatriz Fernandez, 2009. "Understanding demand for retail socially responsible investments: a survey of individual investors and financial consultants," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(1), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Michael Ash & James K. Boyce, 2011. "Measuring corporate environmental justice performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(2), pages 61-79, March.
    3. Tsalis, Thomas A. & Nikolaou, Ioannis E. & Konstantakopoulou, Fotini & Zhang, Ying & Evangelinos, Konstantinos I., 2020. "Evaluating the corporate environmental profile by analyzing corporate social responsibility reports," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 63-75.
    4. Juan Carlos Matallín‐Sáez & Amparo Soler‐Domínguez & Salvador Navarro‐Montoliu & Diego Víctor de Mingo‐López, 2022. "Investor behavior and the demand for conventional and socially responsible mutual funds," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(1), pages 46-59, January.
    5. David J. Collison & George Cobb & David M. Power & Lorna A. Stevenson, 2008. "The financial performance of the FTSE4Good indices," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 14-28, January.
    6. Eri Nakamura, 2011. "Does Environmental Investment Really Contribute to Firm Performance? An Empirical Analysis Using Japanese Firms," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 1(2), pages 91-111, December.
    7. Hayam Wahba, 2008. "Exploring the moderating effect of financial performance on the relationship between corporate environmental responsibility and institutional investors: some Egyptian evidence," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(6), pages 361-371, November.
    8. Alda, Mercedes, 2020. "ESG fund scores in UK SRI and conventional pension funds: Are the ESG concerns of the SRI niche affecting the conventional mainstream?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 36(C).
    9. Zdenka Gyurák Babeľová & Augustín Stareček & Dagmar Cagáňová & Martin Fero & Miloš Čambál, 2019. "Perceived Serviceability of Outplacement Programs as a Part of Sustainable Human Resource Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-21, August.
    10. Antonio Chamorro‐Mera & María Manuela Palacios‐González, 2019. "Socially responsible investment: An analysis of the structure of preferences of savers," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(6), pages 1423-1434, November.
    11. Yasemin Bal & Serdar Bozkurt & Pinar Buyukbalci, 2014. "Improving Social Responsibility Through Ethical Leadership: A Perceptions Based View," Proceedings of International Academic Conferences 0701667, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
    12. Surekha Rana & Padma Misra, 2010. "Operational Dimension of CSR: An Empirical Assessment of BSE and NSE Listed Companies," Vision, , vol. 14(1-2), pages 57-66, January.
    13. Francisco José López-Arceiz & Ana José Bellostas-Pérezgrueso & José Mariano Moneva, 2018. "Evaluation of the Cultural Environment’s Impact on the Performance of the Socially Responsible Investment Funds," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 259-278, June.
    14. Defeng Yang & Zhanqing Wang & Fangmin Lu, 2019. "The Influence of Corporate Governance and Operating Characteristics on Corporate Environmental Investment: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-18, May.
    15. Elena Escrig‐Olmedo & María Jesús Muñoz‐Torres & María Ángeles Fernández‐Izquierdo, 2013. "Sustainable Development and the Financial System: Society's Perceptions About Socially Responsible Investing," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6), pages 410-428, September.
    16. Irene Bengo & Leonardo Boni & Alessandro Sancino, 2022. "EU financial regulations and social impact measurement practices: A comprehensive framework on finance for sustainable development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 809-819, July.
    17. Iulie Aslaksen & Bent Natvig & Inger Nordal, 2004. "Environmental risk and the precautionary principle. "Late lessons from early warnings" applied to genetically modified plants," Discussion Papers 398, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    18. Arnold, Lutz G., 2023. "On the neutrality of socially responsible investing," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 18(1), January.
    19. Ying Sun & Kexin Zhang & Xuyang Li, 2024. "The Impact of Environmental Protection Investment and Equity Balance Degree on Economic Performance and Eco-Autonomy: An Empirical Study of China’s A-Share Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-19, September.
    20. Khojastehpour, Morteza & Shams, S.M. Riad, 2020. "Addressing the complexity of stakeholder management in international ecological setting: A CSR approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 302-309.

    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. Stefan Ambec & Paul Lanoie, 2007. "When and Why Does It Pay To Be Green?," CIRANO Working Papers 2007s-20, CIRANO.
    2. Iulie Aslaksen & Terje Synnestvedt, 2003. "Corporate environmental protection under uncertainty," Discussion Papers 355, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    3. Renneboog, Luc & Ter Horst, Jenke & Zhang, Chendi, 2008. "Socially responsible investments: Institutional aspects, performance, and investor behavior," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1723-1742, September.
    4. Suhong Li & Thomas Ngniatedema & Fang Chen, 2017. "Understanding the Impact of Green Initiatives and Green Performance on Financial Performance in the US," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(6), pages 776-790, September.
    5. Stefan Ambec & Paul Lanoie, 2009. "Performance environnementale et économique de l'entreprise," Economie & Prévision, La Documentation Française, vol. 0(4), pages 71-94.
    6. Fisher-Vanden, Karen & Thorburn, Karin S., 2011. "Voluntary corporate environmental initiatives and shareholder wealth," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 62(3), pages 430-445.
    7. Renneboog, L.D.R. & Ter Horst, J.R. & Zhang, C., 2007. "Socially Responsible Investments : Methodology, Risk Exposure and Performance," Discussion Paper 2007-013, Tilburg University, Tilburg Law and Economic Center.
    8. Fauzias Mat Nor & Amir Shaharuddin & Ainulashikin Marzuki & Nur Ainna Ramli, 2019. "Revised Malaysian Shariah Screening: Its Impact on Islamic Capital Market," Research in World Economy, Research in World Economy, Sciedu Press, vol. 10(1), pages 17-30, June.
    9. Derwall, Jeroen & Koedijk, Kees & Ter Horst, Jenke, 2011. "A tale of values-driven and profit-seeking social investors," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 2137-2147, August.
    10. Urs von Arx & Andreas Ziegler, 2008. "The Effect of CSR on Stock Performance: New Evidence for the USA and Europe," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 08/85, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.
    11. Dam, Lammertjan & Scholtens, Bert, 2015. "Toward a theory of responsible investing: On the economic foundations of corporate social responsibility," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 103-121.
    12. Renneboog, L.D.R. & Ter Horst, J.R. & Zhang, C., 2007. "Socially Responsible Investments : Methodology, Risk and Performance," Discussion Paper 2007-31, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    13. Renneboog, L.D.R. & Ter Horst, J.R. & Zhang, C., 2007. "Socially Responsible Investments : Methodology, Risk and Performance," Other publications TiSEM 684d2aba-7b82-4306-b6a0-d, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    14. Renneboog, L.D.R. & Ter Horst, J.R. & Zhang, C., 2007. "Socially Responsible Investments : Methodology, Risk Exposure and Performance," Other publications TiSEM 1ff75080-22db-4909-9f13-a, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    15. Bai Xue & Zhuang Zhang & Pingli Li, 2020. "Corporate environmental performance, environmental management and firm risk," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1074-1096, March.
    16. Stephen Bahadar & Muhammad Nadeem & Rashid Zaman, 2023. "Toxic chemical releases and idiosyncratic return volatility: A prospect theory perspective," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(2), pages 2109-2143, June.
    17. Renneboog, Luc & Ter Horst, Jenke & Zhang, Chendi, 2008. "The price of ethics and stakeholder governance: The performance of socially responsible mutual funds," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 302-322, June.
    18. Surender Kumar & Pritika Dua, 2022. "Environmental management practices and financial performance: evidence from large listed Indian enterprises," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 65(1), pages 37-61, January.
    19. Wolfgang Schultze & Ramona Trommer, 2012. "The concept of environmental performance and its measurement in empirical studies," Metrika: International Journal for Theoretical and Applied Statistics, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 375-412, January.
    20. Michael Dobler & Kaouthar Lajili & Daniel Zéghal, 2014. "Environmental Performance, Environmental Risk and Risk Management," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 1-17, January.

    More about this item

    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:wly:corsem:v:10:y:2003:i:4:p:212-223. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1535-3966 .

    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.