How do investors react to problematic social issues in organisations? Evidence from the literature on workplace sexual harassment

Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

Authors

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.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSocial Sustainability and Good Work in Organizations
EditorsSimon Jebsen, Klarissa Lueg
Number of pages18
PublisherTaylor and Francis Inc.
Publication date01.01.2024
Pages102-119
ISBN (print)9781032307381
ISBN (electronic)9781003856207, 9781003306436
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.01.2024

Bibliographical note

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

DOI