ESG controversies and the cost of debt and equity: Evidence from Europe

IF 7.1 2区经济学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

Finance Research Letters Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-17 DOI:10.1016/j.frl.2026.109657

Daniele Arcidiacono , Giuseppe Fraccalvieri , Alessandra Caragnano , Domenico Frascati

引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study explores how ESG controversies affect to the cost of debt and equity. On a sample of 474 non-financial firms listed on the STOXX Europe 600 from 2016 to 2023, we show that ESG controversies significantly affect both categories of financing costs. The effects vary across ESG sub-pillars and are influenced by factors such as country-level regulatory quality, firm size, and default probability. Furthermore, based on Legitimacy Theory, we identify market uncertainty as a key transmission channel: ESG controversies raise questions about a firm’s legitimacy to operate, prompting stakeholder concerns about future conduct, regulatory fines, and profitability, ultimately worsening financing conditions.

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ESG争议与债务和股权成本：来自欧洲的证据

本研究探讨了ESG争议对债务和股权成本的影响。我们以2016年至2023年在斯托克欧洲600指数上市的474家非金融公司为样本，发现ESG争议对两类融资成本都有显著影响。ESG各子支柱的影响各不相同，并受到国家层面监管质量、公司规模和违约概率等因素的影响。此外，基于合法性理论，我们认为市场不确定性是一个关键的传导渠道：ESG争议引发了对公司运营合法性的质疑，促使利益相关者对未来行为、监管罚款和盈利能力的担忧，最终导致融资条件恶化。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Finance Research Letters BUSINESS, FINANCE-

CiteScore

11.10

自引率

14.40%

发文量

863

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