The Impact of Analyst Earnings Forecast Pressure on Corporate ESG greenwashing
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/3r61fr80Keywords:
Analyst Forecasts, Earnings Forecast Pressure, Greenwashing.Abstract
Against the backdrop of the deepening ESG investment philosophy and the advancement of China’s "dual carbon" strategy, the scale of ESG information disclosure by Chinese listed companies has expanded rapidly. However, strategic disclosure practices such as ESG greenwashing have also emerged as a prominent issue constraining the high-quality development of the ESG market. Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2024, this paper empirically examines the effect, functioning mechanism, and heterogeneity characteristics of analyst earnings forecast pressure on corporate ESG greenwashing behavior. The study finds that analyst earnings forecast pressure significantly exacerbates the degree of corporate ESG greenwashing. Mechanism tests show that analyst earnings forecast pressure intensifies corporate financing constraints, driving firms to polish their external image through ESG greenwashing. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that this promoting effect is more pronounced in smaller firms and firms not audited by Big 4 accounting firms. This paper extends the research on the economic consequences of external analyst earnings forecast pressure and the drivers of ESG greenwashing, providing insights for regulators to improve the ESG information disclosure assurance mechanism and promote substantive ESG development among enterprises.
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