Does ESG decoupling reduce customer stability? Evidence from China

References

• Bauer, A. M., D. Henderson, and D. P. Lynch. 2018. “Supplier Internal Control Quality and the Duration of Customer-Supplier Relationships.” The Accounting Review 93 (3): 59–82. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-51889.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Beyer, A., and R. A. Dye. 2012. “Reputation Management and the Disclosure of Earnings Forecasts.” Review of Accounting Studies 17 (4): 877–912. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11142-011-9180-5.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Boccia, F., and P. Sarnacchiaro. 2018. “The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Consumer Preference: A Structural Equation Analysis.” Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental Management 25 (2): 151–163. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1446.
   Google Scholar
• Bontis, N., L. D. Booker, A. Serenko, and N. Bontis. 2007. “The Mediating Effect of Organizational Reputation on Customer Loyalty and Service Recommendation in the Banking Industry.” Management Decision 45 (9): 1426–1445. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740710828681.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Chang, E. C., and S. M. L. Wong. 2009. “Governance with Multiple Objectives: Evidence from Top Executive Turnover in China.” Journal of Corporate Finance 15 (2): 230–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2008.10.003.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Chen, X., P. Wan, Z. Ma, and Y. Yang. 2024. “Does Corporate Digital Transformation Restrain ESG Decoupling? Evidence from China.” Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 11 (1): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02921-w.
   Google Scholar
• Chen, Y., Y. Xin, Z. Luo, and M. Han. 2021. “The Impact of Stable Customer Relationships on enterprises’ Technological Innovation Based on the Mediating Effect of the Competitive Advantage of Enterprises.” Sustainability 13 (7): 3610–3610. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073610.
   Google Scholar
• Cho, C. H., M. Laine, R. W. Roberts, and M. Rodrigue. 2015. “Organized Hypocrisy, Organizational façades, and Sustainability Reporting.” Accounting, Organizations & Society 40:78–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2014.12.003.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Chu, Y., X. Tian, and W. Wang. 2019. “Corporate Innovation Along the Supply Chain.” Management Science 65 (6): 2445–2466. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2924.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Costello, A. M. 2013. “Mitigating Incentive Conflicts in Inter-Firm Relationships: Evidence from Long-Term Supply Contracts.” Journal of Accounting and Economics 56 (1): 19–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacceco.2013.02.001.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Crilly, D., M. Hansen, and M. Zollo. 2016. “The Grammar of Decoupling: A Cognitive–Linguistic Perspective on firms’ Sustainability Claims and stakeholders’ Interpretation.” Academy of Management Journal 59 (2): 705–729. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2015.0171.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dai, R., H. Liang, and L. Ng. 2021. “Socially Responsible Corporate Customers.” Journal of Financial Economics 142 (2): 598–626. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2020.01.003.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Deegan, C. 2017. “Twenty-Five Years of Social and Environmental Accounting Research within Critical Perspectives of Accounting: Hits, Misses and Ways Forward.” Critical Perspectives on Accounting 43:65–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpa.2016.06.005.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Delmas, M. A., and V. C. Burbano. 2011. “The Drivers of Greenwashing.” California Management Review 54 (1): 64–87. https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2011.54.1.64.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Di, R., and C. Li. 2023. “The Cost of Hypocrisy: Does Corporate ESG Decoupling Reduce Labor Investment Efficiency?” Economics Letters 232:111355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2023.111355.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Du, S., C. B. Bhattacharya, and S. Sen. 2011. “Corporate Social Responsibility and Competitive Advantage: Overcoming the Trust Barrier.” Management Science 57 (9): 1528–1545. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1110.1403.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Du, X. 2015. “How the Market Values Greenwashing? Evidence from China.” Journal of Business Ethics 128 (3): 547–574. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2122-y.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Du, X., Y. Zhang, S. Lai, and H. Tao. 2023. “How Do Auditors Value Hypocrisy? Evidence from China.” Journal of Business Ethics. Forthcoming. 191 (3): 501–533. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-023-05465-2.
   Google Scholar
• Edmans, A. 2022. “The End of ESG.” Financial Management 52 (1): 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/fima.12413.
   Google Scholar
• Eliwa, Y., A. Aboud, and A. Saleh. 2023. “Board Gender Diversity and ESG Decoupling: Does Religiosity Matter?” Business Strategy and the Environment 32 (7): 4046–4067. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3353.
   Google Scholar
• Farah, M. F., and A. J. Newman. 2010. “Exploring Consumer Boycott Intelligence Using a Socio-Cognitive Approach.” Journal of Business Research 63 (4): 347–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2009.03.019.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gaim, M., S. Clegg, and M. P. E. Cunha. 2019. “Managing Impressions Rather Than Emissions: Volkswagen and the False Mastery of Paradox.” Organization Studies 42 (6): 949–970. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840619891199.
   Google Scholar
• García-Sánchez, I. M., N. Hussain, S. A. Khan, and J. Martinez-Ferrero. 2021. “Do Markets Punish or Reward Corporate Social Responsibility Decoupling.” Business & Society 60 (6): 1431–1467. https://doi.org/10.1177/0007650319898839.
   Google Scholar
• Green, T., and J. Peloza. 2014. “How Do Consumers Infer Corporate Social Responsibility? The Role of Organisation Size.” Journal of Consumer Behaviour 13 (4): 282–293. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1466.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gu, J., X. Shi, P. Wang, and X. Xu. 2022. “Examining the Impact of Upstream and Downstream Relationship Stability and Concentration on firms’ Financial Performance.” Journal of Business Research 141:229–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.12.018.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Guan, K., and R. Zhang. 2019. “Corporate Reputation and Earnings Management: Efficient Contract Theory or Rent-Seeking Theory.” Accounting Research 375 (1): 59–64 (in Chinese).
   Google Scholar
• Hawn, O., and I. Ioannou. 2016. “Mind the Gap: The Interplay Between External and Internal Actions in the Case of Corporate Social Responsibility.” Strategic Management Journal 37 (13): 2569–2588. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2464.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Healy, P. M., and K. G. Palepu. 2001. “Information Asymmetry, Corporate Disclosure, and the Capital Markets: A Review of the Empirical Disclosure Literature.” Journal of Accounting and Economics 31 (1–3): 405–440. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-4101(01)00018-0.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Huang, Y., M. Pagano, and U. Panizza. 2020. “Local Crowding Out in China.” The Journal of Finance 75 (6): 2855–2898. https://doi.org/10.1111/jofi.12966.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Irvine, P. J., S. S. Park, and C. Yildizhan. 2016. “Customer-Base Concentration, Profitability, and the Relationship Life Cycle.” The Accounting Review 91 (3): 883–906. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-51246.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Jančiauskaitė, L., K. Lasickaitė, and A. Ripkauskaitė. 2019. “Corporate Sustainability Impact on Reputation and Customer Behaviour.” Vilnius University Open Series 2 (2): 19–26. https://doi.org/10.15388/OpenSeries.2019.18399.
   Google Scholar
• Johnstone, K. M., C. Li, and S. Luo. 2014. “Client-Auditor Supply Chain Relationships, Audit Quality, and Audit Pricing.” Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory 33 (4): 119–166. https://doi.org/10.2308/ajpt-50783.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kassinis, G., and A. Panayiotou. 2018. “Visuality as Greenwashing: The Case of BP and Deepwater Horizon.” Organization & Environment 31 (1): 25–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086026616687014.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Khatib, S. F. A. 2024. “The Role of Share Repurchases for firms’ Social and Environmental Sustainability.” Social and Environmental Accountability Journal 44 (1): 82–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969160X.2023.2281904.
   Google Scholar
• Kim, Y. H., and U. Wemmerlöv. 2015. “Does a Supplier’s Operational Competence Translate into Financial Performance? An Empirical Analysis of Supplier–Customer Relationships.” Decision Sciences 46 (1): 101–134. https://doi.org/10.1111/deci.12117.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lichtenstein, D. R., M. E. Drumwright, and B. M. Braig. 2004. “The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on Customer Donations to Corporate-Supported Nonprofits.” Journal of Marketing 68 (4): 16–32. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.68.4.16.42726.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Liu, B., T. Ju, and H. K. Chan. 2022. “The Diverse Impact of Heterogeneous Customer Characteristic on Supply Chain Finance: Empirical Evidence from Chinese Factoring.” International Journal of Production Economics 243:108321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2021.108321.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Loughran, T., and B. McDonald. 2011. “When is a Liability Not a Liability? Textual Analysis, Dictionaries, and 10-Ks.” The Journal of Finance 66 (1): 35–65. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.2010.01625.x.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lyon, T. P., and J. W. Maxwell. 2011. “Greenwash: Corporate Environmental Disclosure Under Threat of Audit.” Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 20 (1): 3–41. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-9134.2010.00282.x.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Maclean, T. L., and M. Behnam. 2010. “The Dangers of Decoupling: The Relationship Between Compliance Programs, Legitimacy Perceptions, and Institutionalized Misconduct.” Academy of Management Journal 53 (6): 1499–1520. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.57319198.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Manes-Rossi, F., and G. Nicolo. 2022. “Exploring Sustainable Development Goals Reporting Practices: From Symbolic to Substantive Approaches—Evidence from the Energy Sector.” Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental Management 29 (5): 1799–1815. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2328.
   Google Scholar
• Marquis, C., and C. Qian. 2014. “Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in China: Symbol or Substance.” Organization Science 25 (1): 127–148. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2013.0837.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Marquis, C., M. W. Toffel, and Y. Zhou. 2016. “Scrutiny, Norms, and Selective Disclosure: A Global Study of Greenwashing.” Organization Science 27 (2): 483–504. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2015.1039.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Martínez-Ferrero, J., D. Ruiz-Cano, and I. M. García-Sánchez. 2016. “The Causal Link Between Sustainable Disclosure and Information Asymmetry: The Moderating Role of the Stakeholder Protection Context.” Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental Management 23 (5): 319–332. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1379.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Patatoukas, P. N. 2012. “Customer-Base Concentration: Implications for Firm Performance and Capital Markets.” The Accounting Review 87 (2): 363–392. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-10198.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pirsch, J., S. Gupta, and S. L. Grau. 2007. “A Framework for Understanding Corporate Social Responsibility Programs as a Continuum: An Exploratory Study.” Journal of Business Ethics 70 (2): 125–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9100-y.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Plumlee, M., D. Brown, R. M. Hayes, and R. S. Marshall. 2015. “Voluntary Environmental Disclosure Quality and Firm Value: Further Evidence.” Journal of Accounting and Public Policy 34 (4): 336–361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2015.04.004.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Robertson, J., A. Montgomery, and T. Ozbilir. 2023. “Employees’ Response to Corporate Greenwashing.” Business Strategy and the Environment 32 (7): 4015–4027. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3351.
   Google Scholar
• Sauerwald, S., and W. Su. 2019. “CEO Overconfidence and CSR Decoupling.” Corporate Governance an International Review 27 (4): 283–300. https://doi.org/10.1111/corg.12279.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Shahab, Y., A. A. Gull, T. Ahsan, and R. Mushtaq. 2022. “CEO Power and Corporate Social Responsibility Decoupling.” Applied Economics Letters 29 (21): 1965–1969. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2021.1966368.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• She, G. 2022. “The Real Effects of Mandatory Non-Financial Disclosure: Evidence from Supply Chain Transparency.” The Accounting Review 97 (5): 399–425. https://doi.org/10.2308/TAR-2020-0178.
   Google Scholar
• Shim, K., and S. U. Yang. 2016. “The Effect of Bad Reputation: The Occurrence of Crisis, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Perceptions of Hypocrite and Attitudes Toward a Company.” Public Relations Review 42 (1): 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.11.009.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sufi, A. 2007. “Information Asymmetry and Financing Arrangements: Evidence from Syndicated Loans.” The Journal of Finance 62 (2): 393–410. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.2007.01219.x.
   Google Scholar
• Talpur, S., M. Nadeem, and H. Roberts. 2023. “Corporate Social Responsibility Decoupling: A Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Agenda.” Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Forthcoming. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAAR-08-2022-0223.
   Google Scholar
• Tashman, P., V. Marano, and T. Kostova. 2019. “Walking the Walk or Talking the Talk? Corporate Social Responsibility Decoupling in Emerging Market Multinationals.” Journal of International Business Studies 50 (2): 153–171. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-018-0171-7.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Tata, J., and S. Prasad. 2014. “CSR Communication: An Impression Management Perspective.” Journal of Business Ethics 132 (4): 765–778. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2328-z.
   Google Scholar
• Velte, P. 2023. “Determinants and Consequences of Corporate Social Responsibility Decoupling—Status Quo and Limitations of Recent Empirical Quantitative Research.” Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental Management 30 (6): 2695–2717. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2538.
   Google Scholar
• Walsh, G., V. W. Mitchell, P. Jackson, and S. E. Beatty. 2009. “Examining the Antecedents and Consequences of Corporate Reputation: A Customer Perspective.” British Journal of Management 20 (2): 187–203. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8551.2007.00557.x.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Wang, X., and X. Peng. 2016. “Does Stabilizing Clients Improve the Accuracy of analysts’ Earnings Forecasts.” Journal of Financial Research 431 (5): 156–172 (in Chinese).
   Google Scholar
• Xiao, H., Z. Yang, and H. Ling. 2021. ““Beyond Reach”or“Echoing from Afar”? Regulatory Distance and Corporate Social Responsibility.” Finance & Trade Economics 42 (10): 116–131 (in Chinese).
   Google Scholar
• Zhang, G., and Y. Shao. 2022. “Venture Capital and Corporate Customer Stability.” Accounting Research 414 (4): 179–192 (in Chinese).
   Google Scholar
• Zhang, Y. 2022. “Analyst Coverage and Corporate Social Responsibility Decoupling: Evidence from China.” Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental Management 29 (3): 620–634. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2224.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar