Creditor Screening of Voluntary ESG Disclosure: Pillar Specificity and Operational Profitability as a Credibility Cue for Debt Pricing
Grounded in signaling and disclosure theory, we examine when and which voluntary ESG disclosure pillars are associated with firms' cost of debt in an emerging market setting characterized by voluntary reporting, concentrated ownership, and debt centered corporate finance. Using firm‐ and year‐fixed‐effects models and...