This PhD project concerns itself with Environmental, Societal, and Governmental (ESG) reporting and rating in several ways. It focuses on three primary objectives:
Firstly, the goal is to investigate the drivers for the recently emerged evidence on ESG rating divergence depending on the ESG rating agency (Berg et al., 2022). More specifically, the project aims to examine the ESG rating agencies to identify rating agency characteristics with the purpose of studying potential links between agency characteristics and ESG rating divergence.
Secondly, the project strives to examine the implications of ESG metrics, particularly the use of ESG metrics in relation to executive compensation and contractual arrangements. The goal is to examine any relations between ESG measures, executive contracts, and thereby also the compensation obtained by executives.
Thirdly, the effects of auditor switching on ESG reports and the corresponding ESG ratings will be explored, to examine whether there exists any correlation or causation between auditor switching and ESG performance. Employing econometric analysis, this empirical research endeavors to contribute significantly to the understanding and implications of ESG ratings.
Contact: Jane Bennetzen, jbenn@sam.sdu.dk
Main supervisor: Qiang Guo, qigu@sam.sdu.dk
Co-supervisor: Jakob Infuehr, jai@sam.sdu.dk