Conference Paper/Proceeding/Abstract 220 views
Shareholder Style Diversity and ESG “Doing More Than Saying” Strategy
Zaixin Chen 
,
Frank Hong Liu ,
Chaowei Wang ,
Pengfei Gao
,
Frank Hong Liu ,
Chaowei Wang ,
Pengfei Gao
2025 SWAG Conference, Swansea University, UK
Swansea University Author:
Pengfei Gao
Abstract
This study investigates how shareholder style diversity shapes firms’ ESG strategies, with a focus on the “doing more than saying” (DMS) phenomenon, which is the difference between ESG performance and disclosure. Using panel data on S&P 1500 firms from 2006 to 2022, we construct a novel index of...
| Published in: | 2025 SWAG Conference, Swansea University, UK |
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| Published: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70707 |
| Abstract: |
This study investigates how shareholder style diversity shapes firms’ ESG strategies, with a focus on the “doing more than saying” (DMS) phenomenon, which is the difference between ESG performance and disclosure. Using panel data on S&P 1500 firms from 2006 to 2022, we construct a novel index of shareholder style diversity based on institutional investors’ investment orientations. Our results show that greater shareholder diversity significantly increases firms’ ESG-DMS intensity by enhancing substantive performance while restraining disclosure. The effect is pronounced in ESG-sensitive environments, such as under stricter climate regulation and in politically pro-ESG states, and internally when CEOs are more risk-averse or when CSR-linked executive compensation is absent. Our study broadens ESG decoupling research by highlighting shareholder style diversity as a novel governance force shaping corporate sustainability communication. |
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| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |