Dear Faculty and Fellow Ph.D. Students,

I cordially invite you to attend my dissertation defense scheduled for Thursday, July 11th, from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM EST in Room 223, Scheller College of Business.

You are also welcome to join remotely via Zoom: https://gatech.zoom.us/j/91952525775 

Please find the abstract below. Copies of the dissertation are available upon request.

Best,

Peina

Peina Liu

Email: peina.liu@scheller.gatech.edu  

Georgia Institute of Technology

Scheller College of Business

800 West Peachtree St., NW

Atlanta, GA 30308-1149

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 Environmental Affinity and Environment-Related Disclosure Nature on Investor Perceptions and Judgments

Abstract: While financial disclosures are generally deemed important by investors, the value placed on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) matters can vary depending on investors’ environmental affinity. This study experimentally investigates whether environmental affinity (low vs. high) interacts with the voluntary vs. mandatory nature of environment-related disclosures to influence investor perceptions and judgments. I predict and find that high-environmental-affinity investors perceive environment-related risks as more significant than low-environmental-affinity investors. I also observe that a mandatory environment-related disclosure, as opposed to a voluntary one, increases investors’ perception of environment-related risks. 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 environment-related risks mediates this effect. Additionally, I present preliminary evidence suggesting that gender plays a role in this context. This study accentuates how an individual characteristic influences investors’ consumption of mandatory disclosures.