This study aims to analyze whether the adoption of Directive 2014/95/EU on sustainability disclosure has contributed to more truthful reporting to financial analysts in terms of risks and firms' performance. Financial analysts, as requesters of sustainability reports, are expected to have produced more accurate forecasts as a result of this legal reform. To investigate this, we have examined analysts' earnings per share (EPS) forecasts for 434 companies, 241 of which are classified as low sustainability companies, from 2008 to 2017. To detect a possible increase in EPS forecast accuracy after the enforcement of the directive, we perform an analysis based on panel regression specifications. The results show that EPS forecast accuracy has increased due to the higher levels of both sustainability disclosure and reporting quality after the enforcement of Directive 2014/95/EU.

In this paper we test the random walk hypothesis in the Spanish stock market using disaggregated daily data base spanning the period January 1980 to December 1992. We find that daily returns are strongly correlated and nonlinear dependent. Furthermore, using the variance-ratio test, that is robust to heteroscedasticity, the results suggest that the rejection of the random walk hypothesis cannot be attributed completely to the effects of time varying volatilities. In this sense, the price changes can be potentially predictable over, at least, short time spans. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1997.

Financial markets and investors are pushing modern firms to increase their commitment to sustainable development. Corporate sustainability refers to processes that develop from normative traditions, ethical roots, and stakeholder attitudes in such organizations. These processes require that we define suitable sustainability indicators and other measurement instruments. Therefore, this study analyzes the influ

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Purpose This study aims to analyse the role of persistence in the assessments carried out by sustainability agencies in the interaction between sustainability committee characteristics, sustainability strategies and performance. Design/methodology/approach The authors accessed a sample of European sustainable multinational and transnational companies (EMNs) for the period 2008–2017 from RobecoSAM universe. Using a set of simultaneous equation models, the authors test the effect of the sustainability committee on sustainability performance considering the sustainability strategy as a mediating element. Moreover, the authors analysed if the persistent assessment of sustainability agencies conditions the previous interaction. Findings Persistence of the sustainability assessment performed by an external agency is necessary to support the sustainability strategy and the sustainability committee, legitimating an organization in its institutional context. Practical implications This study provides practitioners with relevant insights into the identification of the sustainability strategy followed by an EMN and the effects associated with it can be useful for social and economic agents in decision-making processes. Social implications A persistent assessment could be a signal over time of the evolution of organizations, reinforcing the monitoring mechanisms. It is a stimulus to EMNs as they obtain both an indicator of their levels of performance and public recognition. Originality/value The lack of similarity in the levels of sustainable performance observed among companies can be explained by the persistence, which is an omitted variable in previous studies.