Cemil Kuzey

Purpose: Despite existing studies examining the association between analyst following and social and environmental performance, the two-way predictive association between analyst following and corporate environmental performance remains unexplored. Therefore, this study investigates whether analyst following predicts subsequent environmental performance and whether environmental performance predicts subsequent analyst following. Design/methodology/approach: We use country, industry and year fixed-effects regression analysis based on an international sample comprising 47,604 observations from nine sectors and 49 countries between 2002 and 2021. Findings: We find that analyst following is positively associated with subsequent resource use and carbon emissions performance but is not significantly associated with subsequent eco-innovation performance. Conversely, stronger performance in resource use and carbon emissions is positively associated with greater subsequent analyst following, whereas eco-innovation is not significantly associated with subsequent analyst following. These bidirectional associations are robust to alternative methodologies, variable measurements and samples. The associations are stronger among non-US firms than among US firms, while we find no substantial differences between polluting and non-polluting sectors. Originality/value: As analyst following may represent an important external governance mechanism, our study contributes to the literature by examining its association with environmental performance across three dimensions: resource use, carbon emissions and eco-innovation. By also examining the reverse direction, we provide evidence of a bidirectional association between analyst following and environmental performance, thereby extending our understanding of the interplay between external monitoring and corporate environmental performance.

Purpose: Drawing on similarity attraction, gender socialisation, homophily and upper echelon theories, this study aims to investigate the firm feminisation’s role in firms’ renewable energy use by examining the interactions among women employees, women executives and women directors in firms. Design/methodology/approach: The authors study an international set of firms between 2007 and 2023 and run fixed-effects regression analysis. The endogeneity threat is mitigated through using a one-year lag model, two-stage least squares regression, propensity score matching and entropy balancing techniques. Findings: The authors observe that women employees, executives and directors per se reinforce renewable energy use. More importantly, interactions between women employees and directors, women executives and directors and women employees and executives enhance firms’ renewable energy use. Further analysis shows that energy efficiency policies, environmental management teams and executive ESG compensation policies reinforce the positive effect of firm feminisation on renewable energy use. Finally, they find that this effect is stronger in countries with higher-quality institutions, particularly those with stronger public governance and greater economic development. Originality/value: For the first time, by drawing on similarity attraction, gender socialisation, homophily and upper echelon theories, the authors investigate how interactions among women at different hierarchical levels within firms promote firms’ renewable energy use. Hence, this study makes an original contribution to diversity and sustainability literature.

Drawing on an international sample of 20,576 observations between 2002 and 2021, we find that greater female employment is positively associated with a higher salary gap, implying that firms employing more women are more prone to a higher salary gap. However, a greater proportion of female executives and directors per se are not associated with the salary gap. Considering the outputs of interaction effects, the solidarity of female executives with female employees, female directors with female employees, and female directors with female executives diminishes the firm’s salary gap. Besides, smaller firms having more female employees are more afflicted by the salary gap than larger firms, and female solidarity is less functional in smaller firms. Lastly, firms domiciled in high-Worldwide Governance Indicator (WGI) countries with more female employees are more beset by salary gaps than those in low-WGI countries. Although female solidarity is functional in both institutional environments, it is stronger in high-WGI countries.

Purpose: Prior studies have investigated whether environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance is associated with debt financing. However, the relationship between ESG controversies and debt financing is still underexplored. We then investigate whether (1) avoiding ESG controversies is significantly associated with debt financing and cost of debt and (2) the role of financial market development in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach: Our analysis is based on an international sample of 69,468 observations from 2005 to 2023. We employ country, industry and year fixed-effects regressions and address endogeneity using two-stage least squares (2SLS) regression. Findings: We find that avoiding ESG controversies is positively associated with debt financing, but it is not significantly associated with the cost of debt. However, the findings report mixed results for the moderation effect of debt market development and equity market development. While avoiding ESG controversies and cost of debt are negatively associated in more developed debt markets, they have no significant association in more developed equity markets. On the other hand, while avoiding ESG controversies and debt financing are positively associated in more developed equity markets, they are negatively associated in more developed debt markets. Originality/value: Our paper is original for several reasons. First, the literature on ESG controversies' debt financing implications is scarce, unlike positive ESG. Second, different institutional contexts might amplify or attenuate the association between ESG controversies and debt financing, suggesting policymaking implications. Lastly, our investigation has implications for sustainability governance and financing decisions at the interplay between legitimacy and institutional theories.

We are interested in investigating whether firms use political donations as a license to neglect environmental sustainability. We further deepen the examination by exploring the role of executive contracting. Drawing on a wide range of data between 2002 and 2021 and a global sample, our findings confirm that firms use political contributions as a license to neglect environmental sustainability. More specifically, we find that political donors have a poor environmental performance, which is confirmed by the composite environmental score as well as its two dimensions, namely, emissions and eco‐innovation performance, if not resource consumption performance. However, executive ESG contracting helps political donation givers strengthen their environmental performance. Further tests reveal that board independence and cash flow help political donors enhance their environmental performance. Female directors are also useful in breaking the negative link between political donation and environmental performance if they cannot turn this link into a positive relationship. Finally, the results highlight that the institutional environment (i.e., environmental tax) matters in using political contribution as a license to neglect environmental sustainability. The findings are robust to alternative samples, political donation proxy, endogeneity issues, and the Paris Treaty. In the end, we propose our theoretical and managerial implications.

This study examines the impact of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting and assurance, emphasizing the role of affiliated directors in this relationship. Using a sample from 21 countries, covering the period from 2002 to 2021, the study employs country, industry, and year fixed‐effects regressions to analyze the relationship between EPU and CSR reporting and assurance. The study further examines the moderating role of board affiliations on CSR reporting and assurance. We find that EPU increases the CSR reporting tendency of firms, though it does not significantly affect the likelihood of obtaining third‐party assurance for CSR reports. Additionally, the study shows that affiliated directors play a critical role in promoting CSR reporting and getting third‐party assurance during EPU, thereby helping to lessen information asymmetry between managers and stakeholders. The findings highlight the importance of board affiliations in navigating firms during periods of uncertainty by inducing them to engage in corporate CSR disclosure.

This study examines whether firm strategy is significantly associated with waste management and if sustainability governance moderates the relationship between firm strategy and waste management. Our investigation is based on an international sample from 47 countries over 20 years (i.e., 2002–2021). We find that as cost leadership focus increases, firms tend to generate more waste in tons. However, when a firm's operational intensity is considered in assessing waste production (i.e., waste in tons/total sales ratio), cost leadership is negatively associated with waste production. In addition, a cost leadership focus is positively associated with waste recycling in both tons and waste recycling ratios. On the other hand, although differentiation strategy is positively associated with waste production (i.e., waste in tons/total sales ratio), it is not significantly associated with waste recycling metrics. Moreover, the moderation analyses revealed that environmental management teams and sustainability committees enhance waste management for followers of both firm strategies in a similar and differing way.

Growing ecological concerns and climate change issues put firms with international exposure under pressure and in the spotlight of stakeholders. Drawing on the trade openness theory, legitimacy theory, and institutional theory, we focus on whether internationalization is associated with carbon emissions and whether internal (i.e., environmental management committee) and external governance mechanisms (i.e., United Nations Global Compact) moderate the association between internationalization and carbon emissions. We draw an international sample of 16,372 observations and execute country‐industry‐year fixed effect regression. First, we find that a firm's level of carbon emissions is significantly affected by the degree of internationalization. However, further investigation revealed that this relationship holds for the non‐US–UK sample but not for the US–UK sample. Second, internal governance negatively moderates a firm's internationalization extent and carbon emissions level, whereas external governance has no significant moderating effect. However, this insignificant association related to external governance becomes significantly negative when we exclude the US and the UK from the sample. Further periodical analysis underscored the differing roles of two governance mechanisms in earlier versus recent periods.