Sustainability performance and assurance: Influence on reputation
Abstract
The positive impact of sustainability on reputation
has been assumed but not sufficiently examined.
This study probes the veracity of these claims by
applying legitimacy and signaling perspectives to
examine whether sustainability performance and
assurance contribute to corporate reputation. We
find superior sustainability performance has a positive
association with sustainability reputation.
Companies with better performance are also more
likely to obtain external assurance of their sustainability
disclosure, but assurance does not directly
affect reputation. Assurance appears to be a managerial
tool associated with the congruence of internal
processes rather than a differentiating signal to
external stakeholders.
Description
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