Corporate Environmental Responsibility, Accounting and Corporate Finance in the EU: A Quantitative Analysis Approach (CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance)

The purpose of this book is to study the association of corporate environmental responsibility (CER) with financial performance, capital structure, innovative activities, corporate risk, working capital management and accounting quality. Undoubtedly, CER has been developed into a crucial corporate issue around the world. CER has been incorporated within various sectors, countries and includes many types of activities and dimensions. A fundamental issue that is addressed in this book, is how corporate finance and accounting are affected by CER activities and how it impacts company performance. In order to analyse this interrelation, the authors focus on a sample of firms from 28 EU member countries. The purpose of this book is to study the association of CER with financial performance, capital structure, innovative activities, corporate risk, working capital management and accounting quality. The book also intends to provide useful policy recommendations as well as to offer constructive impulses for future research. Contents Chapter 1: Introduction to Corporate Environmental Responsibility, Accounting and Finance 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Corporate Sustainability and CER 1.3 International and European Policies and Regulations on CER 1.4 Social and Environmental Responsible Investments 1.5 CER Implications for Corporate Accounting and Finance 1.6 Scope of the Book and Research Questions 1.7 Conclusion References Chapter 2: Corporate Environmental Responsibility in the EU 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Guiding Principles of EU Environmental Law 2.2.1 The Requirement of a High Level of Environmental Protection 2.2.2 The Principle of Precaution and Prevention 2.2.3 The Principle of Sustainability 2.2.4 The Principle of Remediation of Environmental Infringements as a Matter of Priority at Source 2.2.5 The ``Polluter Pays ́ ́ Principle 2.2.6 The Principle of Citizen Participation: The Right to Free Information on Environmental Issues 2.3 EU Actions in the Framework of CSR and CER 2.4 Civil Liability of Companies Under EU Environmental Law and the ``Polluter Pays ́ ́ Principle 2.5 Environmental Performance in EU Countries and Sectors 2.6 Conclusion References Chapter 3: Literature Review on Corporate Environmental Responsibility 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Corporate Environmental Responsibility 3.2.1 Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER): Timeline Development 3.2.2 Why Do Companies Engage in Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) 3.3 Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) and Environmental Management Tools (EMT) 3.4 Empirical Evidence on CER, Accounting and Financial Issues 3.4.1 Corporate Determinants of CER Performance 3.4.2 CER and Financial Performance 3.4.3 CER and RandD Activities 3.4.4 CER and Corporate Capital Structure 3.4.5 CER and Systematic Risk 3.4.6 CER, Cash and Dividends 3.4.7 Value Relevance of CER Performance 3.4.8 CER, Earnings Management and Accounting Conservatism 3.5 Conclusion References Chapter 4: Firm-Specific Determinants of Corporate Environmental Responsibility 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Firm-Specific Determinants and Testable Hypothesis 4.2.1 Firm Size 4.2.2 Leverage 4.2.3 Profitability 4.2.4 Growth Opportunities 4.2.5 CEO Duality 4.2.6 Board Size 4.2.7 CER Sustainability Committee 4.3 Data Selection and Research Design 4.3.1 Data Selection Procedure 4.3.2 Research Design 4.4 Empirical Results 4.4.1 Descriptive Statistics and Correlations 4.4.2 Regression Results 4.4.3 Sensitivity Analysis 4.5 Conclusion References Chapter 5: Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Financial Performance 5.1 Introduction 5.2 CER-CFP Association and Testable Hypothesis 5.3 Data Selection and Research Design 5.3.1 Data Selection Procedure 5.3.2 Research Design 5.4 Empirical Results 5.4.1 Descriptive Statistics and Correlations 5.4.2 Regression Results 5.4.3 Sensitivity Analysis 5.5 Conclusion References Chapter 6: Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Innovative Activities 6.1 Introduction 6.2 RandD Impact on CER-CFP Relation and Testable Hypothesis 6.3 Data Selection and Research Design 6.3.1 Data Selection Procedure 6.3.2 Research Design 6.4 Empirical Results 6.4.1 Regression Results 6.4.2 Sensitivity Analysis 6.5 Conclusion References Chapter 7: Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Capital Structure 7.1 Introduction 7.2 CER-CS Association and Testable Hypothesis 7.3 Data Selection and Research Design 7.3.1 Data Selection Procedure 7.3.2 Research Design 7.4 Empirical Results 7.4.1 Descriptive Statistics and Correlations 7.4.2 Regression Results 7.4.3 Sensitivity Analysis 7.5 Conclusion References Chapter 8: Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Corporate Risk 8.1 Introduction 8.2 CER: Risk Association and Testable Hypothesis 8.3 Data Selection and Research Design 8.3.1 Data Selection Procedure 8.3.2 Research Design 8.4 Empirical Results 8.4.1 Descriptive Statistics and Correlations 8.4.2 Regression Results 8.4.3 Sensitivity Analysis 8.5 Conclusion References Chapter 9: Corporate Environmental Responsibility, Cash Holding and Dividend Policy Decisions 9.1 Introduction 9.2 CER: Cash-Dividends Association and Testable Hypothesis 9.3 Data Selection and Research Design 9.3.1 Data Selection Procedure 9.3.2 Research Design 9.4 Empirical Results 9.4.1 Descriptive Statistics and Correlations 9.4.2 Regression Results 9.4.3 Sensitivity Analysis 9.5 Conclusion References Chapter 10: Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Earnings Value Relevance 10.1 Introduction 10.2 CER-Value Relevance and Testable Hypothesis 10.3 Data Selection and Research Design 10.3.1 Data Selection Procedure 10.3.2 Research Design 10.4 Empirical Results 10.4.1 Descriptive Statistics and Correlations 10.4.2 Regression Results 10.4.3 Sensitivity Analysis 10.5 Conclusion References Chapter 11: Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Earnings Management 11.1 Introduction 11.2 CER-EM Association and Testable Hypothesis 11.3 Data Selection and Research Design 11.3.1 Data Selection Procedure 11.3.2 Research Design 11.4 Empirical Results 11.4.1 Descriptive Statistics, Correlations and Income Smoothing 11.4.2 Regression Results 11.4.3 Sensitivity Analysis 11.5 Conclusion References Chapter 12: Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Accounting Conservatism 12.1 Introduction 12.2 CER-Conservatism Association and Testable Hypothesis 12.3 Data Selection and Research Design 12.3.1 Data Selection Procedure 12.3.2 Research Design 12.4 Empirical Results 12.4.1 Descriptive Statistics, Correlations and Income Smoothing 12.4.2 Regression Results 12.4.3 Sensitivity Analysis 12.5 Conclusion References Chapter 13: Conclusions and Implications 13.1 Corporate Environmental Responsibility in Action 13.2 CER Issues Faced by Corporations 13.3 Emerging Issues on CER 13.4 Research Questions and Answers 13.5 Policy Implications and Future Research Recommendations 13.6 Parting Thoughts