Does top executive gender diversity matter for the value relevance of ESG controversies? Empirical evidence from European tech firms

Purpose Interest in environmental, social and governance (ESG) controversies is acquiring great relevance in the business and academic communities. Nonetheless, previous studies in the area have devoted little attention to how the market views ESG controversies. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to investigate whether ESG controversies are value-relevant to investors, as reflected in equity values. It also investigates whether top management team (TMT) gender diversity is likely to affect the association between ESG controversies and equity market values in the context of high-tech firms. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a sample of high-tech firms listed on the STOXX 600 index during the period 2006–2022. The ESG data for the sample is retrieved from the Refinitiv Eikon database. This paper adopts a fixed-effect panel regression to test the hypotheses. Findings Based on the Ohlson’s (1995) valuation framework, the authors find evidence that ESG controversies are associated with a lower market valuation, suggesting that shareholders perceive ESG controversies as conveying negative information about future performance. The authors also find evidence that TMT gender diversity negatively moderates the relationship between ESG controversies and equity values, indicating that TMT gender diversity alleviates the detrimental effect of corporate controversies. These results remain consistent when using the return model of Easton and Harris (1991). Originality/value This paper throws more light on the economic consequences of ESG controversies in European high-tech firms. This is particularly important due to the increasing importance of ESG criteria in guiding investment choices. This paper also adds to the current literature by providing new evidence that the value-relevance of ESG controversies is affected by TMT gender diversity.