RIEB Discussion Paper Series No.2026-30

Title

When ESG Ratings Disagree: An Information-Intermediation Perspective on Firm Value

Abstract

ESG rating disagreement is often viewed as a source of information uncertainty, yet divergent ratings may also encourage information acquisition and interpretation. This study examines the relationship between ESG rating disagreement and firm value from an information-intermediation perspective, focusing on the role of analyst attention. Using data from 893 Chinese A-share listed firms over 2018–2024 and ESG ratings from Bloomberg, Huazheng, and Wind, we find that greater rating disagreement is positively associated with firm value and analyst attention. Bootstrap results further reveal a significant indirect association between rating disagreement and firm value through analyst attention, which remains evident when rating disagreement is lagged by one year. The dimension-specific analysis provides the clearest evidence for the social dimension, although differences in indirect effects across ESG dimensions are not statistically significant. Further analysis indicates that the positive association between social-dimension rating disagreement and analyst attention is weaker among state-owned firms, while the positive association between analyst attention and firm value is weaker when stock trading activity is higher. These findings highlight the role of information intermediation in understanding the valuation implications of ESG rating disagreement and identify dimension-specific patterns and stage-specific boundary conditions.

Keywords

ESG rating disagreement; Analyst attention; Firm value; Information intermediation; ESG dimensions

JEL Classification

G14, G32, M14, Q56

Inquiries

Huiquan ZHANG
Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University, JAPAN

Junyi SHEN
Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University
Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe
657-8501 Japan
Phone: +81-78-803-7036
FAX: +81-78-803-7059