Strategic ESG Dispersion: Radical Innovation Outcomes Under R&D and Board Diversity Conditions

ABSTRACT

This study explores how disclosure asymmetry across environmental, social, and governance (ESG) dimensions, termed ESG dispersion, is associated with firms' radical innovation outcomes. Although prior research highlights the benefits of ESG disclosures, it typically assumes uniformity across the ESG pillars. We challenge this assumption, proposing that ESG disclosure dispersion entails a strategic trade‐off: Moderate asymmetry may create stakeholder confusion and dilute innovation signals, whereas both low and high levels of dispersion may foster radical innovation by enabling coherence or deliberate differentiation. Analyzing a panel of 1065 global firms having 3868 firm‐year observations from 2016 to 2022, we uncover a U‐shaped relationship between ESG dispersion and radical innovation. This relationship is contingent on R&D intensity and board gender diversity, which, respectively, strengthen and weaken the U‐shaped effect. Our findings are robust across multiple empirical specifications. By revealing the conditional value of ESG disclosure asymmetry, this study contributes to research on ESG strategy, upper echelons theory, and innovation management amid stakeholder complexity.