Can ESG Performance Mitigate Information Asymmetry? Moderating Effect of Assurance Services

Abstract

This study examines whether ESG performance reduces information asymmetry and whether assurance services have a moderating effect on the association between ESG performance and information asymmetry. Given the increasing importance and benefits of ESG, examining how ESG performance improves the information environment is a critical question. Using ESG performance data, this study employs a panel data analysis of a large set of U.S. companies with 1,294 observations that are one-to-one matched between assured and unassured groups. The findings indicate that ESG performance reduces information asymmetry and that assurance services have a moderating effect on the negative relationship between ESG performance and information asymmetry. This study makes several contributions to the ESG literature by providing new evidence on ESG performance, employing the moderating variable of assurance services, and minimizing selection bias with propensity score matching. These findings have implications for the professionals and practitioners for information credibility of ESG and assurance services.