In Conversation with Prof. Henri Servaes

Watch the latest ECGI Conversation as Dr. Tom Gosling interviews Henri Servaes, Professor of Finance and Richard Brearley Professor of Corporate Governance at London Business School, to discuss his recent paper “Do consumers care about ESG? Evidence from Barcode Level Sales Data” co-authored with Jean-Marie Meier, Jiaying Wei, and Steven Chong Xiao.

The paper explores how consumer product sales react to positive and negative environmental and social events for the brand owner using granular barcode-level sales data from retail stores. Henri explains to Tom how:

• Environmental and social ratings are positively related to local sales

• Changes in sales are driven by volumes rather than price suggesting consumer switching between firms based on environmental and social perceptions

• Monthly product sales decline after negative firm news on environmental and social issues

• Immediately after major natural and environmental disasters in nearby countries, sales become more sensitive to environmental ratings

ECGI Conversations is an interview series aimed at uncovering valuable insights, ideas, and perspectives from cutting-edge academic research. Hosted by ECGI Executive Fellow, Dr. Tom Gosling, this series delivers engaging discussions with leading experts in the field. New interviews are shared with ECGI subscribers every month.

For more interviews in this series, visit this page. If you would like to subscribe to the ECGI mailing list, click here.