Dear Faculty and Fellow Ph.D. Students, 

I cordially invite you to attend my dissertation proposal scheduled on Monday, July 17, from 1:45 PM to 3:00 PM (EST). You are welcome to join in person (room TBA) or remotely via the following Zoom link: https://gatech.zoom.us/j/99723436301.

Please find the abstract below, and copies of the paper are available upon request.  

Area: Accounting

Committee Members: Dr. Kathy Rupar-Wang (Chair), Dr. Xi (Jason) Kuang, Dr. Nikki Mackenzie, Dr. Jane Thayer, Dr. Kristy Towry (Emory University)

Title: The Effect of Environment-Related Disclosure Nature and Investors’ Environmental Affinity on Investor Judgments

Abstract: While financial disclosures are generally deemed important by investors, the value placed on Environmental, Social, and Governance matters can vary. This study experimentally investigates whether the voluntary vs. mandatory nature of environment-related (ER) disclosures interacts with investors’ environmental affinity (low vs. high) to influence their judgments. I predict and find that high-environmental-affinity investors perceive environment-related risks as more serious than low-environmental-affinity investors. I observe that a mandatory ER disclosure, as opposed to a voluntary one, increases investors’ perception of ER risks, and as predicted, this effect primarily exists among investors with low rather than high environmental affinity. A moderated mediation analysis reveals that the perception of regulators' views on ER risks mediates this effect. Additionally, I present preliminary evidence suggesting that gender plays a role in this context. This study points out a potential unintended consequence of mandating ER disclosures: it impacts investors’ perception of ER risks differently depending on their affinity for environmental matters.