From framing to priming: How does media coverage promote ESG preferences of institutional investors

Abstract

How media coverage influences the ESG preferences of institutional investors remains an unsettled issue. We tackle this issue based on a framing-to-priming framework. By analyzing a dataset of 22,941 observations from Chinese listed firms from 2012 to 2021, we find that positive media coverage attracts institutional investors with inherent ESG preferences to invest in the firm, whereas negative media coverage discourages their investment. It implies that a screening process underpins the institutional investors' ESG preferences. Moreover, our findings indicate that analyst attention and public attention play pivotal mediating roles in the relationship between media coverage and institutional investors' ESG preferences.