Footnote:
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments March 2022 erstellt
Description:
As stakeholders question the reliability of corporate CSR information, regulators are now considering corporate CSR disclosure mandates. Using an experiment, we examine how investors’ perceptions of greenwashing and investment judgments are impacted by voluntary versus mandatory disclosure of identical CSR outcomes, relative to different types of CSR goals. Although high quantitative CSR goals are encouraged to incent more CSR activity, we first document that investors perceive more greenwashing and are less willing to invest in a company that underperforms a higher quantitative goal compared to a company that outperforms a lower quantitative goal or issues a qualitative goal, holding CSR performance constant. Next, we identify an important consequence of mandating CSR reporting requirements. Mandates further exacerbate investors’ greenwashing perceptions and magnify the positive and negative effects of quantitative CSR goals on investment willingness. Our findings have important implications for investors, managers, and regulators currently considering changes to CSR disclosure requirements