Saviz, Samiyar (2025) Turning Shareholder Pressure into Actions: The Impact of Environmental Shareholder Activism on Corporate Environmental Disclosure. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
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Abstract
Environmental shareholder activism has increasingly gained attention as an influential mechanism shaping firms’ environmental reporting practices, yet prior research yields mixed findings on its impact. Whereas some argue that activism fosters substantive transparency, others maintain its influence as largely symbolic. To address these mixed findings, I examined whether environmental shareholder activism—particularly when initiated by institutional investors—influences the extent of firms’ environmental disclosures. Drawing on signaling theory, I proposed that environmental shareholder activists can pressure firms to issue stronger “signals” of environmental responsibility by enhancing their environmental reporting practices and that such pressure is more pronounced when driven by institutional investors. In this view, activism reduces information asymmetry and pressures firms to mitigate reputational risk, prompting more detailed or transparent reporting. I examined these arguments by testing hypotheses in the context of S&P 500 companies listed in 2023 over the period 2016–2023. The findings indicate that environmental shareholder activism does not significantly influence corporate environmental disclosure, suggesting that firms may respond to activist pressure through symbolic compliance or private engagements rather than public transparency. However, industry pressures remain a key determinant, with firms in high-pollution sectors engaging in significantly greater environmental disclosure independent of activist influence.
| Divisions: | Concordia University > John Molson School of Business > Management |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
| Authors: | Saviz, Samiyar |
| Institution: | Concordia University |
| Degree Name: | M. Sc. |
| Program: | Management |
| Date: | 6 March 2025 |
| Thesis Supervisor(s): | Jeong, Young-Chul |
| Keywords: | Environmental Shareholder Activism, Environmental Information Disclosure, Signalling Theory, Socially Responsible Investing, Reputational Damage |
| ID Code: | 995230 |
| Deposited By: | Samiyar Saviz |
| Deposited On: | 17 Jun 2025 17:46 |
| Last Modified: | 17 Jun 2025 17:46 |
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