Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/319167 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Citation: 
[Journal:] Journal of Business Ethics [ISSN:] 1573-0697 [Volume:] 197 [Issue:] 1 [Publisher:] Springer Netherlands [Place:] Dordrecht [Year:] 2024 [Pages:] 177-194
Publisher: 
Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht
Abstract: 
Existing literature on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disclosure has paid little attention to private firms, despite the fact that this type of firm is responsible for significant GHG emissions. This study empirically analyzes the GHG disclosure of German private firms. The results suggest that more pronounced information asymmetries due to a more dispersed ownership structure and/or multiple bank relationships are associated with more extensive GHG disclosure. This aligns with arguments from agency and stakeholder theory. While this result is not new for public firms, it is for private firms. Given the specific characteristics of this type of firms (no separation of ownership and control, private communication channels, close bank–borrower relationships), it is not a straightforward assumption that observations from public firms can be transferred to private firms one-to-one. Moreover, higher levels of actual GHG emissions are also associated with more GHG disclosure, indicating that legitimacy theory arguments hold for private firms as well.
Subjects: 
GHG disclosure
Environmental disclosure
Private firms
GHG emissions
EU ETS
ESG
JEL: 
M14
M41
Q54
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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