Conditional Silence: Organizational Status and Under-Communication of Environmental Performance

Abstract

Do corporate communications regarding firms’ environmental performance accurately reflect their environmental actions and impacts? While substantial research has focused on greenwashing, less attention has been given to companies’ under-reporting of their environmental performance. Building on middle-status conformity theory, this study examines the relationship between organizational status and environmental disclosure and performance. We find that only middle-status firms fully disclose their environmental performance, while both high- and low-status firms under-report their achievements: high-status firms to minimize risk to their reputation, and low-status firms to avoid additional conformity costs. Firms in stakeholder-sensitive industries, with higher institutional ownership, and those with corporate social responsibility committees are less likely to under-report. Moreover, middle-status firms are particularly vulnerable to penalties for concealing environmental information. Overall, our findings suggest that organizational status plays a significant role in shaping firms’ propensity to disclose environmental achievements.