Open AccessDo Sustainability Reports Make Sense for Asset Selection?
Author(s) -
Julien Lachuer,
Jean-Jacques Lilti
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
management international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1918-9222
pISSN - 1206-1697
DOI - 10.7202/1077786ar
Subject(s) - greenwashing , sustainability , selection (genetic algorithm) , asset (computer security) , reading (process) , corporate social responsibility , business , information asymmetry , finance , computer science , public relations , linguistics , artificial intelligence , political science , computer security , ecology , philosophy , biology
The purpose of this article is to determine whether the discourse in sustainability reports and in the CEOs’ opening speech is likely to provide relevant information to asset managers. Our results show that greenwashing and entrenchment strategies from executives are detrimental to the social and financial performance of portfolios. Thus, our study combines lexical analysis with data on financial performance and level of responsibility. The methodology developed enables us to reveal what is not said and to establish a reading grid that limits the risk of informational asymmetry.