The role of sustainability integration into the corporate strategy – A perspective on analysts’ perceptions and buy recommendations
Sustainability is playing an increasingly important role in analysts' assessments of companies. Companies can address this importance through a sustainability strategy by choosing between a sustainability strategy independent from the corporate strategy (standalone sustainability strategy) or i...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024010399 |
| _version_ | 1797304585992273920 |
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| author | Toni W. Thun Anne Schneider Christoph Kayser Henning Zülch |
| author_facet | Toni W. Thun Anne Schneider Christoph Kayser Henning Zülch |
| author_sort | Toni W. Thun |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sustainability is playing an increasingly important role in analysts' assessments of companies. Companies can address this importance through a sustainability strategy by choosing between a sustainability strategy independent from the corporate strategy (standalone sustainability strategy) or integrating sustainability into their corporate strategy (integrated strategy). For this purpose, we investigate the effects of different stages of sustainability integration into the corporate strategy on analysts' perceptions and buy recommendations. Our results show that analysts favour an integrated strategy over a standalone sustainability strategy. This finding is reflected in higher analysts’ perceptions of an integrated strategy. While a standalone sustainability strategy leads to fewer buy recommendations, an integrated strategy does not affect buy recommendations. We discuss our findings in relation to stakeholder theory and voluntary disclosure theory. Our study contributes to understanding how analysts perceive different stages of integrating sustainability into the corporate strategy. This understanding is relevant as analysts work as intermediaries in the capital market between companies and investors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:11:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d867471bfaab4b52a487c6c35154f079 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:11:34Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-d867471bfaab4b52a487c6c35154f0792024-02-17T06:39:17ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402024-02-01103e25008The role of sustainability integration into the corporate strategy – A perspective on analysts’ perceptions and buy recommendationsToni W. Thun0Anne Schneider1Christoph Kayser2Henning Zülch3Corresponding author.; Chair of Accounting and Auditing, HHL – Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Jahnallee 59, 04109, Leipzig, GermanyChair of Accounting and Auditing, HHL – Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Jahnallee 59, 04109, Leipzig, GermanyChair of Accounting and Auditing, HHL – Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Jahnallee 59, 04109, Leipzig, GermanyChair of Accounting and Auditing, HHL – Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Jahnallee 59, 04109, Leipzig, GermanySustainability is playing an increasingly important role in analysts' assessments of companies. Companies can address this importance through a sustainability strategy by choosing between a sustainability strategy independent from the corporate strategy (standalone sustainability strategy) or integrating sustainability into their corporate strategy (integrated strategy). For this purpose, we investigate the effects of different stages of sustainability integration into the corporate strategy on analysts' perceptions and buy recommendations. Our results show that analysts favour an integrated strategy over a standalone sustainability strategy. This finding is reflected in higher analysts’ perceptions of an integrated strategy. While a standalone sustainability strategy leads to fewer buy recommendations, an integrated strategy does not affect buy recommendations. We discuss our findings in relation to stakeholder theory and voluntary disclosure theory. Our study contributes to understanding how analysts perceive different stages of integrating sustainability into the corporate strategy. This understanding is relevant as analysts work as intermediaries in the capital market between companies and investors.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024010399Sustainability strategySustainability integrationCorporate strategyAnalysts' perceptionsAnalysts' recommendations |
| spellingShingle | Toni W. Thun Anne Schneider Christoph Kayser Henning Zülch The role of sustainability integration into the corporate strategy – A perspective on analysts’ perceptions and buy recommendations Heliyon Sustainability strategy Sustainability integration Corporate strategy Analysts' perceptions Analysts' recommendations |
| title | The role of sustainability integration into the corporate strategy – A perspective on analysts’ perceptions and buy recommendations |
| title_full | The role of sustainability integration into the corporate strategy – A perspective on analysts’ perceptions and buy recommendations |
| title_fullStr | The role of sustainability integration into the corporate strategy – A perspective on analysts’ perceptions and buy recommendations |
| title_full_unstemmed | The role of sustainability integration into the corporate strategy – A perspective on analysts’ perceptions and buy recommendations |
| title_short | The role of sustainability integration into the corporate strategy – A perspective on analysts’ perceptions and buy recommendations |
| title_sort | role of sustainability integration into the corporate strategy a perspective on analysts perceptions and buy recommendations |
| topic | Sustainability strategy Sustainability integration Corporate strategy Analysts' perceptions Analysts' recommendations |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024010399 |
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