Is the Devil in the Details? The Impact of ESG Controversy Materiality on Firm Performance

Abstract

This study explores the consequences of material and immaterial environmental, social, and governance (ESG) controversies on a firm's financial performance and examines whether a country's regulatory quality contextually moderates this relationship. Using a sample of 7136 internationally listed firms from 2014 to 2022, we find that while the market imposes penalties on firms for material ESG controversies, it does not appear to do so for immaterial ones. Our study also finds that the regulatory quality in a firm's home country intensifies the adverse effects of material ESG controversies on firm performance. We present findings and interpret them within existing theoretical frameworks, particularly through the lenses of signaling theory and institutional theory. While prior literature has presented mixed findings regarding the impact of ESG controversies on firm performance, our study outlines potentially important drivers behind these conflicting outcomes and provides new insights to the nonmarket strategy field through our consideration of the nature of ESG controversies and key country-level influences.