Firms’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores vary significantly across rating providers. This article considers the legal origins theory as a potential factor influencing ESG rating disagreement. We find that, first, civil law firms are more influenced by shared factors such as national policies, regulations, and industry practices, leading to higher correlations in ESG scores across rating providers. Second, common law firms tend to engage in more independent and firm-specific ESG efforts, resulting in lower ESG dispersion across rating providers.
The article is freely accessible at:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102702
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