IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v31y2024i1p196-209.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Research on the masking effect of vertical interlock on ESG greenwashing in the context of sustainable Enterprise development

Author

Listed:
  • Guangrui Liu
  • Hao Qian
  • Qianqian Wu
  • Fei Han

Abstract

Based on impression management and principal‐agent theory, this article considers Chinese A‐share listed companies from 2014 to 2020 to explore whether vertical interlocking promotes the sustainable development of enterprises from the perspective of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report greenwashing. The results show that vertical interlocking increases ESG report greenwashing and hides negative ESG information; these results remained valid through a series of robustness tests. Mechanism analysis shows that the purpose of ESG report greenwashing by vertically interlocked executives is to hollow out minority shareholders rather than to cover up earnings management to conceal actual ESG information. The vertical interlocking of executives more significantly promotes ESG report greenwashing when the property is state‐owned, has poor internal supervision mechanisms, has a large executive team and has no senior executives with green experience. This study furthers the relevant research on the factors affecting the sustainable development of enterprises and enriches and expands studies of the role of the vertical interlock from the perspective of information concealing, providing a more in‐depth reference for promoting the sustainable development of enterprises.

Suggested Citation

  • Guangrui Liu & Hao Qian & Qianqian Wu & Fei Han, 2024. "Research on the masking effect of vertical interlock on ESG greenwashing in the context of sustainable Enterprise development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 196-209, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:31:y:2024:i:1:p:196-209
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.2562
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2562
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.2562?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. Béatrice Parguel & Florence Benoît-Moreau & Fabrice Larceneux, 2011. "How Sustainability Ratings Might Deter "Greenwashing": A Closer Look at Ethical Corporate Communication," Post-Print halshs-00561187, HAL.
    2. Allen, Franklin & Qian, Jun & Qian, Meijun, 2005. "Law, finance, and economic growth in China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 57-116, July.
    3. Chen, Xin & Arnoldi, Jakob & Na, Chaohong, 2015. "Governance Structure and Related Party Loan Guarantees: The Case of Chinese Family Business Groups," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(4), pages 599-619, December.
    4. Béatrice Parguel & Florence Benoît-Moreau & Fabrice Larceneux, 2011. "How Sustainability Ratings Might Deter ‘Greenwashing’: A Closer Look at Ethical Corporate Communication," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 15-28, August.
    5. Shaopeng Cao & Zhenming Fang & Wenyan Pu & Yi-Yin Ruan, 2022. "Vertical Interlock and Firm Value: The Role of Corporate Innovation," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(4), pages 1061-1077, March.
    6. Doris M. Merkl-Davies & Niamh Brennan, 2007. "Discretionary disclosure strategies in corporate narratives : incremental information or impression management?," Open Access publications 10197/2907, Research Repository, University College Dublin.
    7. Helmers, Christian & Patnam, Manasa & Rau, P. Raghavendra, 2017. "Do board interlocks increase innovation? Evidence from a corporate governance reform in India," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 51-70.
    8. Roychowdhury, Sugata, 2006. "Earnings management through real activities manipulation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 335-370, December.
    9. Jiang, Guohua & Lee, Charles M.C. & Yue, Heng, 2010. "Tunneling through intercorporate loans: The China experience," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 1-20, October.
    10. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 1999. "Corporate Ownership Around the World," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(2), pages 471-517, April.
    11. Opie, Wei & Tian, Gary Gang & Zhang, Hong Feng, 2019. "Corporate pyramids, geographical distance, and investment efficiency of Chinese state-owned enterprises," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 95-120.
    12. El-Khatib, Rwan & Fogel, Kathy & Jandik, Tomas, 2015. "CEO network centrality and merger performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(2), pages 349-382.
    13. Jay J. Janney & Steve Gove, 2011. "Reputation and Corporate Social Responsibility Aberrations, Trends, and Hypocrisy: Reactions to Firm Choices in the Stock Option Backdating Scandal," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(7), pages 1562-1585, November.
    14. Zhang, Dongyang, 2022. "Environmental regulation and firm product quality improvement: How does the greenwashing response?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    15. Fan Xia & Jiaying Chen & Xue Yang & Xiaoliang Li & Bing Zhang, 2023. "Financial constraints and corporate greenwashing strategies in China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1770-1781, July.
    16. Anis Maaloul & Daniel Zéghal & Walid Ben Amar & Sari Mansour, 2023. "The Effect of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Performance and Disclosure on Cost of Debt: The Mediating Effect of Corporate Reputation," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 26(1), pages 1-18, February.
    17. Zhang, Dongyang, 2022. "Green financial system regulation shock and greenwashing behaviors: Evidence from Chinese firms," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    18. John Bizjak & Michael Lemmon & Ryan Whitby, 2009. "Option Backdating and Board Interlocks," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(11), pages 4821-4847, November.
    19. In‐Mu Haw & Bingbing Hu & Lee‐Seok Hwang & Woody Wu, 2004. "Ultimate Ownership, Income Management, and Legal and Extra‐Legal Institutions," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 423-462, May.
    20. Casey Dougal & Christopher A. Parsons & Sheridan Titman, 2015. "Urban Vibrancy and Corporate Growth," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(1), pages 163-210, February.
    21. Xin Chen & Chang Yang, 2021. "Vertical interlock and the value of cash holdings," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(1), pages 561-593, March.
    22. Fatemi, Ali & Glaum, Martin & Kaiser, Stefanie, 2018. "ESG performance and firm value: The moderating role of disclosure," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 45-64.
    23. Francesco Testa & Olivier Boiral & Fabio Iraldo, 2018. "Internalization of Environmental Practices and Institutional Complexity: Can Stakeholders Pressures Encourage Greenwashing?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 287-307, January.
    24. Christopher Marquis & Michael W. Toffel & Yanhua Zhou, 2016. "Scrutiny, Norms, and Selective Disclosure: A Global Study of Greenwashing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(2), pages 483-504, April.
    25. Siano, Alfonso & Vollero, Agostino & Conte, Francesca & Amabile, Sara, 2017. "“More than words”: Expanding the taxonomy of greenwashing after the Volkswagen scandal," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 27-37.
    26. Yang, Chang & Chen, Xin & Chen, Xian, 2021. "Vertical interlock and stock price crash risk," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    27. Cho, Charles H. & Patten, Dennis M., 2007. "The role of environmental disclosures as tools of legitimacy: A research note," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(7-8), pages 639-647.
    28. Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2006. "International Differences in the Cost of Equity Capital: Do Legal Institutions and Securities Regulation Matter?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(3), pages 485-531, June.
    29. Hu, Xinwen & Hua, Renhai & Liu, Qingfu & Wang, Chuanjie, 2023. "The green fog: Environmental rating disagreement and corporate greenwashing," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    30. Gatti, Lucia & Pizzetti, Marta & Seele, Peter, 2021. "Green lies and their effect on intention to invest," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 228-240.
    31. Ran Duchin & Denis Sosyura, 2013. "Divisional Managers and Internal Capital Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(2), pages 387-429, April.
    32. Claessens, Stijn & Djankov, Simeon & Lang, Larry H. P., 2000. "The separation of ownership and control in East Asian Corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 81-112.
    33. ROMMENS, An & CUYVERS, Ludo & DELOOF, Marc, 2007. "Interlocking directorates and business groups: Belgian evidence," Working Papers 2007023, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Business and Economics.
    34. Khanna, Tarun & Thomas, Catherine, 2009. "Synchronicity and firm interlocks in an emerging market," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 182-204, May.
    35. James S. Ang & Rebel A. Cole & James Wuh Lin, 2000. "Agency Costs and Ownership Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 81-106, February.
    36. Zhenzhong Ma & Maoliang Bu, 2021. "A New Research Horizon for Mass Entrepreneurship Policy and Chinese Firms’ CSR: Introduction to the Thematic Symposium," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(4), pages 603-607, April.
    37. Leuz, Christian & Nanda, Dhananjay & Wysocki, Peter D., 2003. "Earnings management and investor protection: an international comparison," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 505-527, September.
    38. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4687 is not listed on IDEAS
    39. Thomas P. Lyon & John W. Maxwell, 2011. "Greenwash: Corporate Environmental Disclosure under Threat of Audit," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(1), pages 3-41, March.
    40. Lee, Michael T. & Raschke, Robyn L., 2023. "Stakeholder legitimacy in firm greening and financial performance: What about greenwashing temptations?☆," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 155(PB).
    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. Gálvez-Sánchez, Francisco Jesús & Molina-Prados, Aida & Molina-Moreno, Valentín & Moral-Cuadra, Salvador, 2024. "Exploring the three-dimensional effect of corporate social responsibility on brand equity, corporate reputation, and willingness to pay. A study of the fashion industry," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Guangrui Liu & Hao Qian & Yong Shi & Deli Yuan & Ming Zhou, 2024. "How do firms react to capital market liberalization? Evidence from ESG reporting greenwashing," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4329-4344, September.
    3. Li, Menghan & Chen, Qi, 2024. "Executive pay gap and corporate ESG greenwashing: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PA).

    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. Yang, Chang & Chen, Xin & Chen, Xian, 2021. "Vertical interlock and stock price crash risk," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    2. Vera Ferrón‐Vílchez & Jesus Valero‐Gil & Inés Suárez‐Perales, 2021. "How does greenwashing influence managers' decision‐making? An experimental approach under stakeholder view," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 860-880, March.
    3. Xin Chen & Chang Yang, 2021. "Vertical interlock and the value of cash holdings," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(1), pages 561-593, March.
    4. Yongbo Sun & Binbin Shi, 2022. "Impact of Greenwashing Perception on Consumers’ Green Purchasing Intentions: A Moderated Mediation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-15, September.
    5. Tingfa Zhang & Huaying Qin & Weishuang Xu, 2022. "Environmental Regulation, Greenwashing Behaviour, and Green Governance of High-Pollution Enterprises in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-22, October.
    6. He, Wen & Luo, Jin-hui, 2018. "Agency problems in firms with an even number of directors: Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 139-150.
    7. Teresa Chu & In-Mu Haw & Simon S. M. Ho & Xu Zhang, 2020. "Labor protection, ownership concentration, and cost of equity capital: international evidence," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 54(4), pages 1351-1387, May.
    8. Hu, Gang & Liu, Yiye & Wang, Jacqueline Wenjie & Zhou, Gaoguang & Zhu, Xindong, 2022. "Insider ownership and stock price crash risk around the globe," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    9. Jiang, Fuxiu & Ma, Yunbiao & Wang, Xue, 2020. "Multiple blockholders and earnings management," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    10. Shailer, Greg & Wang, Kun, 2015. "Government ownership and the cost of debt for Chinese listed corporations," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 1-17.
    11. Torelli, Riccardo & Balluchi, Federica & Lazzini, Arianna, 2019. "Greenwashing and Environmental Communication: Effects on Stakeholders’ Perceptions," OSF Preprints 97vxn, Center for Open Science.
    12. Jennifer Martínez-Ferrero & Shantanu Banerjee & Isabel María García-Sánchez, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility as a Strategic Shield Against Costs of Earnings Management Practices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 305-324, January.
    13. Xiao, Bingyu & Gong, Guangming & Xiao, Liang, 2024. "Regulators' work experience at local companies and SOEs' investment efficiency: Evidence from provincial SASAC leaders," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    14. Luo, Danglun & Piao, Zhirong & Wu, Cen & Zhang, Frank Feida, 2024. "Collateral damage: Evidence from share pledging in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    15. Cao, Feng & Peng, Songlan (Stella) & Ye, Kangtao, 2019. "Multiple large shareholders and corporate social responsibility reporting," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 287-309.
    16. 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.
    17. Ali, Muhammad Jahangir & Biswas, Pallab Kumar & Chapple, Larelle & Kumarasinghe, Sriyalatha, 2024. "Institutional ownership and earnings quality: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    18. Teresa Chu & In-Mu Haw & Bryan Lee & Woody Wu, 2014. "Cost of equity capital, control divergence, and institutions: the international evidence," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 483-527, October.
    19. Attig, Najah & Chen, Ruiyuan & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck & Pittman, Jeffrey, 2020. "Are insiders equal? Evidence from earnings management in closely held East Asian firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    20. Liu, Chunyan & Uchida, Konari & Yang, Yufeng, 2014. "Controlling shareholder, split-share structure reform and cash dividend payments in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 339-357.

    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:31:y:2024:i:1:p:196-209. 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.