Open Access
Analyst optimism and market sentiment: evidence from European corporate sustainability reporters
(Elsevier, 2024) Río Solano, María Cristina del; Ferrer Zubiate, Elena; López Arceiz, Francisco José; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
This study investigates the effect of investor sentiment on analysts’ optimism bias for a set of European companies with high-quality non-financial information reporting. The contents of the reports should make stock recommendations for such firms that are less prone to sentiment-driven optimism bias; our observations show this to be the case. For further insight, we analysed the informative value of stock recommendations in high- and low-sentiment periods, taking sustainability reporting quality into account. We find that buy recommendations for high-sustainability stocks have no informational value when sentiment is high, whereas informative recommendations in the form of sell recommendations for low-sustainability stocks appear when sentiment is high.
Open Access
Innovations for sustainability in the roll-out of the sustainable development goals
(Universidad del País Vasco, 2023) Bellostas Pérezgrueso, Ana José; Río Solano, María Cristina del; González Álvarez, Karen; López Arceiz, Francisco José; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE
Desde el año 2015, las empresas han ido adaptando sus decisiones estratégicas para alinearse con los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible. Esta adaptación vendría justificada por la búsqueda de legitimidad ante la presión que ejercen los gobiernos, la sociedad civil, las organizaciones supranacionales y los mercados. Algunas empresas demuestran su compromiso con estos objetivos invirtiendo en innovaciones diseñadas para impulsar su desempeño organizacional; mientras que otras recurren a procesos de “green washing” en un intento por mantener sus niveles de rentabilidad. Invertir en innovaciones para la sostenibilidad se ha convertido en una manifestación clave del compromiso de las empresas con el desarrollo sostenible. Este estudio tiene como objetivo analizar la interacción entre el compromiso con los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible, las innovaciones para la sostenibilidad y el desempeño organizacional. Para analizar esta interacción, se ha obtenido una muestra de 3.420 empresas para el período 2015 a 2020. A pesar de las mejoras significativas que las innovaciones asociadas al compromiso con los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible suponen en términos de desempeño sostenible, los resultados muestran que invertir en este tipo de innovación conlleva cierto riesgo de perdidas a corto plazo. Este resultado tiene varias implicaciones. Algunas empresas pueden suscribir los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible como una forma de ganar legitimidad y no por un verdadero compromiso. Por otra parte, el compromiso real con la innovación para la sostenibilidad puede atraer a inversores potenciales, siendo éste, en nuestra opinión, un fenómeno que decisores públicos y legisladores deberían potenciar.
Open Access
Cultural context, organizational performance and Sustainable Development Goals: a pending task
(AIMS Press, 2023) Bellostas Pérezgrueso, Ana José; Río Solano, María Cristina del; González Álvarez, Karen; López Arceiz, Francisco José; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE
The collaboration of private companies in the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is key to address global challenges of climate change, social inequality and environmental degradation. This collaboration can also boost their own organizational performance. However, the research on the relationship between SDG commitment and organizational performance remains inconclusive. The diversity of findings could stem from cross-cultural differences in corporate environments. The aim of this study, therefore, was to analyze the interaction between SDG commitment and organizational performance and to examine how this interaction is influenced by cultural factors. Using simultaneous equation modeling on a sample of 3,420 companies from 30 countries for the period 2015 to 2020, our results show that engagement with SDGs has an impact on organizational performance levels which is further enhanced by the catalytic effect of certain cultural factors.
Open Access
Examining greenwashing and SDG-washing: an analysis of corporate engagement with the SDGs
(Emerald, 2023-11-17) Río Solano, María Cristina del; González Álvarez, Karen; López Arceiz, Francisco José; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE
Our objective is to examine the existence of greenwashing and SDG-washing processes by comparing ex-ante (SDG Compass) and ex-post (SDG Compliance) indicators and investigating whether the limitations associated with these indicators encourage companies to engage in washing processes. We use a sample of 1,154 companies included in the S&P Sustainability Yearbook (formerly the RobecoSAM Yearbook). We test for the presence of greenwashing by comparing ex-ante and ex-post indicators for each SDG, while to test for SDG-washing we compare the two ex-ante and ex-post approaches considering the full set of SDGs. Our results show that there is no consistency between the two types of indicators to measure the level of SDG implementation in organisations. This lack of consistency may facilitate both greenwashing and SDG-washing processes, which is due to the design and limitations of these measurement tools. Companies could choose those indicators that paint their commitment to the SDGs in the best light, but they could also select indicators based on the SDGs they want to report on. These two options would combine greenwashing and SDG washing. The shift towards improved standards and regulations for measuring SDG achievement is the result of several social factors such as investor scrutiny, regulatory reform, consumer awareness and increased corporate accountability. Few previous studies have analysed in detail the interaction between greenwashing and SDG-washing. They focus on the use of ex-ante or ex-post indicators separately, with samples composed of local companies, and without considering the whole set of SDGs.
Open Access
Are mediterranean nonprofits adopting the social enterprise model?
(Springer, 2023) López Arceiz, Francisco José; Bellostas Pérezgrueso, Ana José; Rivera, Pilar; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE
The social enterprise model, which is characterized by economic, social, and governance dimensions, has become a key aspect of modern welfare states in Europe. Despite its potential to increase revenue diversification for nonprofits, particularly through commercial income, its effects in the context of Mediterranean countries within the European Union are untested. This study aims to examine the adoption of the social enterprise model by Mediterranean nonprofits. The results suggest that organizations with high levels of diversification through commercial income exhibit some characteristics of the social enterprise model, and this behavior is influenced by factors such as the type of promoter, user, organizational aims, and activities.
Open Access
Do sustainability disclosure mechanisms reduce market myopia? Evidence from European sustainability companies
(Elsevier, 2023) Río Solano, María Cristina del; López Arceiz, Francisco José; Muga Caperos, Luis Fernando; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
Market myopia is a behavioural bias that causes investors to overvalue short-term earnings and undervalue long-term profits. This anomaly should not be compatible with sustainability disclosure mechanisms, the set of tools which firms use for reporting on their sustainable practices, and which contribute towards long-term performance improvements. Our aim is to study whether market myopia, as a symptom of market inefficiency, decreases with the implementation of sustainability disclosure mechanisms. We test for the presence of market myopia in a sample of firms listed on the S&P Europe 350 Index. For this purpose, we propose to use an adaptation of the valuation model for residual income under linear information dynamics developed by Felthan and Ohlson. Using the rating provided by RobecoSAM Sustainability Yearbook, we find market myopia to be less prevalent in companies classified as high sustainability reporters. An association is also found between persistent enforcement of sustainability disclosure mechanisms and a reduction of the market myopia effect.