| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7340325 | Advances in Accounting | 2014 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
In this study we attempted to ascertain the environmental leadership and commitment of the CEO as evidence of “tone at the top” in the belief that this would lead to enhanced environmental performance. We measure “tone at the top” by the environmental disclosure score which is collected from a content analysis of CEO letters to shareholders. We adopt the two environmental performance measures: (1) Environmental Impact Score (EIS) from Newsweek Green Ranking and (2) Modeled Hazard Population Results (MHPR) based on Risk-Screening Environmental Indicator (RSEI) models built by EPA. The results indicate that the environmental disclosure score from the CEO letter is inversely correlated with environmental performance. The overall findings support legitimacy theory in that CEOs essentially “spin” firms' environmental performance so it looks better than it actually is.
Related Topics
Social Sciences and Humanities
Business, Management and Accounting
Accounting
Authors
Yu Cong, Martin Freedman, Jin Dong Park,