Share:


Do investors’ reactions to environmentally friendly news announcements differ across industries? A comparative analysis of Japan’s food and automotive industries

Abstract

Recently, investors’ growing awareness of environmental concerns has prompted many businesses to implement green policies and procedures. Investors’ reactions to firms’ environmental efforts vary across different industries. However, few empirical studies have addressed these differences, especially in Japan – the third-largest sustainable investor in the world. Using data from Japanese food and automotive industries, this research examined sector-specific differences in investors’ reactions to firms’ environmental performance, indicated by environmentally friendly news releases, using a short-term event study and Student’s t-tests. Results indicated that investors respond negatively to environmental activities in the food and automobile sectors, supporting neo-classical theory. The data also imply that, in Japan, industry variances have a neutral effect on short-term performance but a significant long-term effect. In addition, long-term investor responses to environmentally friendly news in the food sector are more unfavorable than in the automobile industry. This study has implications for policymakers and managers.

Keyword : environment, investor reaction, event study, automotive industry, food industry, Japan

How to Cite
Murashima, M. (2022). Do investors’ reactions to environmentally friendly news announcements differ across industries? A comparative analysis of Japan’s food and automotive industries. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 23(6), 1315–1333. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2022.18244
Published in Issue
Dec 20, 2022
Abstract Views
606
PDF Downloads
504
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Abe, M., Diamond, J., & Ito, J. (2017). CSR As insurance: The case of Japanese automobile manufacturers. Center for International Research on the Japanese Economy. http://www.cirje.e.u-tokyo.ac.jp/research/workshops/emf/paper2017/emf1002.pdf

Baah, C., Opoku-Agyeman, D., Acquah, I. S. K., Agyabeng-Mensah, Y., Afum, E., Faibil, D., & Abdoulaye, F. A. M. (2021). Examining the correlations between stakeholder pressures, green production practices, firm reputation, environmental and financial performance: Evidence from manufacturing SMEs. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 27, 100–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.10.015

Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108

Becchetti, L., Ciciretti, R., Hasan, I., & Kobeissi, N. (2012). Corporate social responsibility and shareholder’s value. Journal of Business Research, 65(11), 1628–1635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.10.022

Cabinet Office Government of Japan. (2020). Annual report on national accounts for 2020. https://www.esri.cao.go.jp/jp/sna/data/data_list/kakuhou/files/2020/2020_kaku_top.html

Capelle-Blancard, G., & Petit, A. (2019). Every little helps? ESG news and stock market reaction. Journal of Business Ethics, 157(2), 543–565. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3667-3

Carroll, A. B. (1979). A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate performance. Academy of Management Review, 4(4), 497–505. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.1979.4498296

Chomei, Y., & Nanseki, T. (2020). Cluster formation and innovation through the creation of shared value: A case study of dairy production in a food manufacturing company. Journal of Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, 75(2), 37–46.

Database for Structural Analysis. (2020). Input-Output Tables (IOTs). OECD. https://www.oecd.org/sti/ind/input-outputtables.htm

DesJardine, M. R., Marti, E., & Durand, R. (2021). Why activist hedge funds target socially responsible firms: The reaction costs of signaling corporate social responsibility. Academy of Management Journal, 64(3), 851–872. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2019.0238

Deswanto, R. B., & Siregar, S. V. (2018). The associations between environmental disclosures with financial performance, environmental performance, and firm value. Social Responsibility Journal, 14(1), 180–193. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-01-2017-0005

Dolley, J. C. (1933). Characteristics and procedure of common stock split-ups. Harvard Business Review, 11(3), 316–326.

Duque-Grisales, E., & Aguilera-Caracuel, J. (2021). Environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores and financial performance of multilatinas: Moderating effects of geographic international diversification and financial slack. Journal of Business Ethics, 168(2), 315–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04177-w

Duque-Grisales, E., Aguilera‐Caracuel, J., Guerrero‐Villegas, J., & García‐Sánchez, E. (2020). Does green innovation affect the financial performance of Multilatinas? The moderating role of ISO 14001 and R&D investment. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(8), 3286–3302. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2572

Durrani, A., Rosmin, M., & Volz, U. (2020). The role of central banks in scaling up sustainable finance – what do monetary authorities in the Asia-Pacific region think? Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 10(2), 92–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/20430795.2020.1715095

Fama, E. F., & French, K. R. (1993). Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds. Journal of Financial Economics, 33(1), 3–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-405X(93)90023-5

Flammer, C. (2013). Corporate social responsibility and shareholder reaction: The environmental awareness of investors. Academy of Management Journal, 56(3), 758–781. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0744

Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Pitman.

Friedman, M. (1970). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. New York Times Magazine, 32, 122–126.

Fuzi, N. M., Desa, A. F. N. C., Hibadullah, S. N., Zamri, F. I. M., & Habidin, N. F. (2012). Corporate social responsibility practices (CSR) and CSR performance in Malaysian automotive industry. International Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting, 2(2), 268. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijafr.v2i2.2862

Global Sustainable Investment Alliance. (2018). Global sustainable investment review 2018. http://www.gsi-alliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GSIR_Review2018F.pdf

Groening, C., & Kanuri, V. K. (2018). Investor reactions to concurrent positive and negative stakeholder news. Journal of Business Ethics, 149(4), 833–856. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3065-2

Hawn, O., Chatterji, A. K., & Mitchell, W. (2018). Do investors actually value sustainability? New evidence from investor reactions to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). Strategic Management Journal, 39(4), 949–976. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2752

Highhouse, S., Brooks, M. E., & Gregarus, G. (2009). An organizational impression management perspective on the formation of corporate reputations. Journal of Management, 35(6), 1481–1493. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206309348788

Ibata-Arens, K. C. (2013). Inward foreign direct investment as a new growth paradigm: Empirical evidence from Japan. RIETI Policy Update, 47(February 25). https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/special/policy-update/047.pdf

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2020). Climate change and land. Special report. IPCC. https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/

Jacobs, B. W., Singhal, V. R., & Subramanian, R. (2010). An empirical investigation of environmental performance and the market value of the firm. Journal of Operations Management, 28(5), 430–441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jom.2010.01.001

Japan Securities Dealers Association. (2021). The survey on individual investors’ investment in securities attitude. https://www.jsda.or.jp/shiryoshitsu/toukei/2021kozinntousika2.pdf

Jiao, Y. (2010). Stakeholder welfare and firm value. Journal of Banking & Finance, 34(10), 2549–2561. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JBANKFIN.2010.04.013

Jones, D. A., Willness, C. R., & Heller, K. W. (2016). Illuminating the signals job seekers receive from an employer’s community involvement and environmental sustainability practices: Insights into why most job seekers are attracted, others are indifferent, and a few are repelled. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 426. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00426

Kiessling, T., Isaksson, L., & Yasar, B. (2016). Market orientation and CSR: Performance implications. Journal of Business Ethics, 137(2), 269–284. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2555-y

Kolari, J. W., & Pynnönen, S. (2010). Event study testing with cross-sectional correlation of abnormal returns. Review of Financial Studies, 23(11), 3996–4025. https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhq072

Kong, D., Shi, L., & Yang, Z. (2019). Product recalls, corporate social responsibility, and firm value: Evidence from the Chinese food industry. Food Policy, 83, 60–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2018.11.005

Krüger, P. (2015). Corporate goodness and shareholder wealth. Journal of Financial Economics, 115(2), 304–329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2014.09.008

Lamberti, L., & Lettieri, E. (2009). CSR practices and corporate strategy: Evidence from a longitudinal case study. Journal of Business Ethics, 87(2), 153–168. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9876-z

Lerro, M., Vecchio, R., Caracciolo, F., Pascucci, S., & Cembalo, L. (2018). Consumers’ heterogeneous preferences for corporate social responsibility in the food industry. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 25(6), 1050–1061. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1519

Loureiro, S. M. C., Dias Sardinha, I. M., & Reijnders, L. (2012). The effect of corporate social responsibility on consumer satisfaction and perceived value: The case of the automobile industry sector in Portugal. Journal of Cleaner Production, 37, 172–178. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.07.003

MacKinlay, A. C. (1997). Event studies in economics and finance. Journal of Economic Literature, 35(1), 13–39.

Makabe, A. (2021). Rapid decarbonization will “increase costs” for Japanese companies and households, and may lead to job insecurity. Diamond. https://diamond.jp/articles/-/272082

Maktoufi, R., O’Connor, A., & Shumate, M. (2020). Does the CSR message matter? Untangling the relationship between corporate–nonprofit partnerships, created fit messages, and activist evaluations. Management Communication Quarterly, 34(2), 188–212. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318919897059

Martinuzzi, A., Kudlak, R., Faber, C., & Wiman, A. (2011). CSR activities and impacts of the automotive sector (Research Institute for Managing Sustainability (RIMAS) Working Papers, No. 3/2011). Vienna University of Economics and Business.

Matakanye, R. M., van der Poll, H. M., & Muchara, B. (2021). Do companies in different industries respond differently to stakeholders’ pressures when prioritising environmental, social and governance sustainability performance? Sustainability, 13(21), 12022. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132112022

McWilliams, A., & Siegel, D. (2000). Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: Correlation or misspecification? Strategic Management Journal, 21(5), 603–609. 3.0.CO;2-3> https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(200005)21:5<603::AID-SMJ101>3.0.CO;2-3

McWilliams, A., & Siegel, D. (2001). Corporate social responsibility: A theory of the firm perspective. Academy of Management Review, 26(1), 117–127. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2001.4011987

McWilliams, A., Siegel, D., & Teoh, S. H. (1999). Issues in the use of the event study methodology: A critical analysis of corporate social responsibility studies. Organizational Research Methods, 2(4), 340–365. https://doi.org/10.1177/109442819924002

Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry of Japan. (2021). The 44th advisory committee for natural resources and energy. https://www.enecho.meti.go.jp/committee/council/basic_policy_subcommittee/2021/044/

Ministry of the Environment of Japan. (2020). Annual report on the environment, the sound material-cycle society and biodiversity in Japan. White paper.

Osazuwa, N. P., & Che-Ahmad, A. (2016). The moderating effect of profitability and leverage on the relationship between eco-efficiency and firm value in publicly traded Malaysian firms. Social Responsibility Journal, 12(2), 295–306. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-03-2015-0034

Osiichuk, D., & Wnuczak, P. (2022). Shareholders’ indifference… short-term market reaction to firms’ first and subsequent acquisitions: Evidence from China. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 35(1), 3490–3511. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2021.1997621

Pandey, D. K., & Kumari, V. (2021). Event study on the reaction of the developed and emerging stock markets to the 2019-nCoV outbreak. International Review of Economics & Finance, 71, 467–483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2020.09.014

Podolny, J. M. (1993). A status-based model of market competition. American Journal of Sociology, 98(4), 829–872. https://doi.org/10.1086/230091

Pullman, M. E., Maloni, M. J., & Carter, C. R. (2009). Food for thought: Social versus environmental sustainability practices and performance outcomes. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 45(4), 38–54. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-493X.2009.03175.x

Rahman, M., Aziz, S., & Hughes, M. (2020). The product‐market performance benefits of environmental policy: Why customer awareness and firm innovativeness matter. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(5), 2001–2018. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2484

Rodrigo, P., & Arenas, D. (2008). Do employees care about CSR programs? A typology of employees according to their attitudes. Journal of Business Ethics, 83(2), 265–283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9618-7

Sachs, J. D., Woo, W. T., Yoshino, N., & Taghizadeh-Hesary, F. (2019). Why is green finance important? SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3327149

Schumacher, K., Chenet, H., & Volz, U. (2020). Sustainable finance in Japan. Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 10(2), 213–246. https://doi.org/10.1080/20430795.2020.1735219

Sharma, P., Paul, S., & Sharma, S. (2020). What’s in a name? A lot if it has “blockchain.” Economics Letters, 186, 108818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2019.108818

Sinkin, C., Wright, C. J., & Burnett, R. D. (2008). Eco-efficiency and firm value. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 27(2), 167–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2008.01.003

Suh, Y., Seol, H., Bae, H., & Park, Y. (2014). Eco-efficiency based on social performance and its relationship with financial performance. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 18(6), 909–919. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12167

Tamimi, N., & Sebastianelli, R. (2017). Transparency among S&P 500 companies: An analysis of ESG disclosure scores. Management Decision, 55(8), 1660–1680. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-01-2017-0018

Thomas, D. S. (2021). Annual report on U.S. manufacturing industry statistics: 2021. https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.AMS.100-42

Tuppura, A., Arminen, H., Pätäri, S., & Jantunen, A. (2016). Corporate social and financial performance in different industry contexts: The chicken or the egg? Social Responsibility Journal, 12(4), 672–686. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-12-2015-0181

United Nations. (2022). Contributions received for 2022 for the United Nations regular budget. https://www.un.org/en/ga/contributions/honourroll.shtml

United Nations Development Programme. (2022). Funding Compendium 2021. https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2022-08/UNDP_Funding_Compendium_2021.pdf

Wernerfelt, B. (1984). A resource-based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 5(2), 171–180. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250050207

Wilcoxon, F. (1945). Individual comparisons by ranking methods. Biometrics Bulletin, 1(6), 80–83. https://doi.org/10.2307/3001968

World Bank. (2022). World bank data. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true

Yoon, B., Lee, J., & Byun, R. (2018). Does ESG performance enhance firm value? Evidence from Korea. Sustainability, 10(10), 3635. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103635

Zhang, M., The Cong, P., Sanyal, S., Suksatan, W., Maneengam, A., & Murtaza, N. (2022). Insights into rising environmental concern: Prompt corporate social responsibility to mediate green marketing perspective. Economic Research, 35(1), 5097–5113. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2021.2021966