Bocconi University, Italy

The walls have ears: The impact of selective disclosure on employee evaluations

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Abstract

Firms face increasing pressures from external stakeholders to be transparent about their environmental performance. To avoid backlash, firms sometimes choose to disclose only positive performance while downplaying negative environmental impacts. Engagement in this kind of unethical behaviour has negative consequences for firms. Although, prior literature has looked at the consequences of such firm behaviour from the perspective of external stakeholders, little is known about how internal stakeholders, e.g. employees, evaluate the same. This study aims to understand how employees evaluate the unethical disclosure behaviour of their firms. Our preliminary findings suggest that employees are likely to form negative evaluations regarding their firms, especially when repeated media coverage of their firm’s undesirable environmental actions makes the act of selective disclosure salient.

Biography

Navya Pandit is a PhD student in Business Administration and Management at Bocconi University. Her research interests include sustainable firm behaviour, organizational goals and corporate governance. Her current projects focus on exploring the strategic choices and decisions companies make as part of their response to the growing environmental and social challenges that society faces and stakeholder reactions to the same.