Informal Institutions and Corporate Reputational Exposure: The Role of Public Environmental Perceptions

Abstract

Public awareness about issues surrounding the physical environment and climate change is becoming more important around the world. However, there is a lack of research on the association between environment-related perceptions and reputational exposure. Therefore, we know little about whether and how reputational exposure is shaped by institutional pressures, as would be stipulated by institutional theory. Using a sample of 643 firms from 19 European countries over the period 2015–2018, we aim to shed further light on this issue. Our results show that more environmentally friendly public perceptions result in lower reputational exposure. This finding holds when, on an individual basis, we examine public opinions on energy, climate and the introduction of related policies. To ensure robustness in our results, we conduct a number of analyses and tests designed to alleviate endogeneity and correct sample bias.