| dc.description.abstract | This master thesis studies the effect of sustainability reporting quality on firm valuation. The existing literature presents a mixed view on this relation, partly because it is difficult to disentangle the disclosure effect from the underlying sustainability activities. This study uses two-way fixed effects models to analyze the data from 126 firms from 2018 to 2020. We find a negative association between sustainability reporting quality and firm valuation. We also find that, by publishing sustainability reports, firms that operate in sectors with primary climate impact have lower firm value than other firms. By analyzing the sustainability reports, we find that standardized reporting standards such as GRI is positively linked with reporting quality and firms’ awareness of sustainability has increased over the years.
Our findings contradict several previous studies that confirm positive relationship between sustainability reporting quality and firm value. We consider that biases in sustainability disclosures, investors’ preference, mediating factors and sample size can explain the variation. | en_US |
