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PreprintCited by 1Corporate Social Responsibility ReportingEnvironmental Sustainability in BusinessCorporate Identity and Reputation

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Do Employees Have Useful Information About Firms' ESG Practices?

Open access
Briscoe-Tran, Hoa·2023·Management Science
DOI 10.67929/ecgi-fin-907-2023

Preprint — published as 10.1287/mnsc.2024.07258

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Abstract

This study evaluates whether employees have useful information about firms' ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) practices. Analyzing 10 million employee reviews, it reveals that 43% of reviews discuss ESG topics, with governance surprisingly receiving substantial attention. Assembling novel hard-to-manipulate ESG indicators, including emissions estimates from satellite imagery, the study finds that employees' ESG inside view is more informative about these indicators than existing ESG ratings. Moreover, the inside view appears robust to ESG cheap talk, as low-cost changes in firms' ESG commitments do not affect it, while costlier changes do. Thus, employee perspectives can help investors assess firms’ authentic ESG performance.

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Metadata

Authors
Briscoe-Tran, H.
Affiliations
Monash University (AU)
Corresponding author
Briscoe-Tran, Hoa
ORCID
Briscoe-Tran, Hoa
Venue
Management Science
Publisher
European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
Published
2023-04-01
ISSN
0025-1909 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.67929/ecgi-fin-907-2023
OpenAlex
W7171419188
Cited by
1
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 1
FWCI
4.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
Management Science (publishedVersion)
Funders
University of Alberta
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Environmental Sustainability in Business
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Corporate Identity and Reputation
Keywords
ESG practices, employee reviews, ESG ratings, ESG commitments, corporate governance, environmental performance, social performance

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