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    Essays on sustainability, corporate disclosure, and economic uncertainty : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Finance at Massey University, Manawatu Campus, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2025-07-24) Huang, Kai
    This thesis consists of three essays. Essay one investigates the relationship between accounting conservatism, specifically bad news timeliness, and corporate environmental disclosure. This study identifies a significant negative relationship between the timeliness of bad news disclosure and corporate environmental disclosure. Further analysis indicates that socio-political pressures moderate this relationship. Specifically, while firms generally align with stakeholder preferences by promptly disclosing negative earnings news, those with executives in government-nominated positions tend to increase environmental disclosure due to stronger socio-political pressures. Additionally, the negative association between bad news timeliness and environmental disclosure is weaker among heavy polluters, who face stricter environmental regulations. This study underscores how top management strategically handles the disclosure environmental information. Essay two explores the impact of oil price uncertainty (OPU) on corporate green innovation disclosure behaviour. Drawing on textual analysis of annual and social responsibility reports from Chinese listed companies, the study constructs an innovative measure of green innovation disclosure intensity. It identifies a significantly positive relationship between oil price volatility and the level of green innovation disclosure, suggesting that firms respond to energy uncertainty by enhancing transparency about their environmental sustainability. Robustness checks and endogeneity analyses confirm these findings. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that firm-level characteristics, such as environmental performance, legitimacy demands, and political connections, moderate this relationship. The positive effect is amplified in firms exposed to higher regional environmental regulation intensity and market-based green initiatives. This essay contributes to the growing literature on corporate sustainability by demonstrating the role of energy uncertainty in shaping corporate transparency in green innovation. Essay three examines the interplay between firms oil price uncertainty sensitivity and corporate green innovation in the context of geopolitical tensions. Using a unique measure of firm-level geopolitical tensions derived from destination country-firm data in the China Customs Dataset, the study finds that firms more exposed to OPU are more likely to engage in green innovation. Geopolitical tensions significantly amplify this relationship, with tensions originating from supplier countries further amplifying the urgency for green innovation efforts. Additional analyses reveal that domestic supply chain alliances and improved supply chain efficiency reduce urgency of green innovation when facing heightened uncertainties. Moreover, we find that the interacted impacts of OPU exposure and geopolitical tensions on green innovation are more pronounced in firms with higher international exposure, lower government subsidies, and greater competitive pressures. This essay underscores the influence of external shocks, such as energy and geopolitical crises, in driving firms toward sustainable innovation strategies.
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    Market Giants vs. Dwarfs: New Zealand’s Perspective on Environmental Reporting
    (DiscoverSys Inc., 2022-06-28) Bandara S; Perera A
    This paper examines New Zealand listed firms’ compliance with Global Reporting Initiative-environmental reporting standards (GRI 300) and the impact of environmental reporting determinants on the level of sustainability reporting. The author collected data from annual and sustainability reports of the top and bottom 30 firms listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX). The author then conducted content analysis to measure the extent of each firm’s environmental reporting score. The study findings indicate that large firms report only one-thirds of the relevant information, whereas small firms neither adopt international reporting frameworks nor report on the environment. Additionally, we found that firm size and profitability are positively associated with the extent of environmental reporting in New Zealand, whereas industry-specific differences play a minor role. This study further finds that firms, which explicitly referred to the “Global Reporting Initiatives” or “GRI” terms in their annual or sustainability reports, outperformed in environmental reporting compared with those that did not. This study uses GRI 300 standards to assess the level of environmental reporting of each firm. Finally, the study compares environmental reporting practices between top and bottom-listed firms in New Zealand. The findings emphasize the desirability of making the environment reporting mandatory in all companies to ensure the New Zealand Government’s latest enforcement of climate risk reporting.
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    Corporate environmental reporting : a New Zealand perspective : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy, Massey University
    (Massey University, 1998) Robinson, Nicholas G
    Corporate Environmental Reporting is an environmental management practice that is gaining momentum internationally, and in New Zealand. In this study, four leading New Zealand Corporate Environmental Reports were compared on content, and disclosure, and it was found that the level of reporting was low, with the scope of reporting content very narrow. In comparison with international reporting surveys, the New Zealand reports compared very unfavourably; in most instances, the level of reporting in the international reports was double compared to the New Zealand reports. However, the New Zealand reports were following international trends in reporting, in terms of a high qualitative content, and limited reporting in financial and sustainable development issues. A sample of stakeholders was also surveyed on the content areas of environmental reports, and the importance that they would give to each reporting area. From the analysis, it was found that there was a large gap between the performance of the reports sampled and the expectations of the stakeholders, with some stakeholder groups indicating higher information needs than others. Through face-to-face interviews, the process that the reporting companies followed to publish their environmental report was established. This process was then compared to the narrow range of content, and to the stakeholder expectation gap found in the preceding analysis. Overall, it was concluded that the strong and pervasive environmental management legislation in New Zealand was having a considerable influence on the content of the New Zealand reports. Because of this, the practice and content of environmental reporting in New Zealand have lacked definition. Overall, it was concluded that the level of reporting from the sample of New Zealand reports was poor, and that because of the low level of reporting there was a gap between report performance and stakeholder expectations. From these conclusions it is recommended that the Government should instigate a programme defining the role and content of Corporate Environmental Reporting in New Zealand. It was also recommended that environmental reporting becomes mandatory in New Zealand.