TY - CHAP

T1 - How do investors react to problematic social issues in organisations?

T2 - Evidence from the literature on workplace sexual harassment

AU - Bouzzine, Yassin Denis

AU - Lueg, Rainer

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Klarissa Lueg and Simon Jebsen; individual chapters, the contributors. All rights reserved.

PY - 2024/1/1

Y1 - 2024/1/1

N2 - This chapter assesses how investors react to public disclosures of problematic social issues in organisations by reviewing the literature on workplace sexual harassment. Based on a systematic review of nine event studies examining stock price reactions to public disclosures of workplace sexual harassment, we find unanimous support for abnormal stock losses to firms that employ the individual(s) accused of sexual harassment due to profitability and reputation losses. Furthermore, authors detected stronger stock losses in case an executive is implicated, while corporate culture might be a moderating factor. The authors also dealt with the spillover effect of sexual harassment on organisations not directly implicated in an accusation and detected abnormal stock losses to organisations with female-unfriendly organisational culture and abnormal stock gains for female-friendly organisations. These findings come with important implications for organisational social responsibility engagement and wider social sustainability. We use these findings to point at implications for future research regarding current research gaps and methodological limitations.

AB - This chapter assesses how investors react to public disclosures of problematic social issues in organisations by reviewing the literature on workplace sexual harassment. Based on a systematic review of nine event studies examining stock price reactions to public disclosures of workplace sexual harassment, we find unanimous support for abnormal stock losses to firms that employ the individual(s) accused of sexual harassment due to profitability and reputation losses. Furthermore, authors detected stronger stock losses in case an executive is implicated, while corporate culture might be a moderating factor. The authors also dealt with the spillover effect of sexual harassment on organisations not directly implicated in an accusation and detected abnormal stock losses to organisations with female-unfriendly organisational culture and abnormal stock gains for female-friendly organisations. These findings come with important implications for organisational social responsibility engagement and wider social sustainability. We use these findings to point at implications for future research regarding current research gaps and methodological limitations.

KW - Management studies

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85195561518&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.4324/9781003306436-6

DO - 10.4324/9781003306436-6

M3 - Chapter

AN - SCOPUS:85195561518

SN - 9781032307381

SP - 102

EP - 119

BT - Social Sustainability and Good Work in Organizations

A2 - Jebsen, Simon

A2 - Lueg, Klarissa

PB - Taylor and Francis Inc.

ER -