Do Circular Economy Strategies Create Value? Evidence From the United States
研究了美国企业循环经济战略披露与资本市场估值的关系，发现术语使用增加但具体策略披露减少，且平均而言与托宾Q负相关，不同循环策略效果存在差异。
ABSTRACT This study provides the first large‐scale, longitudinal evidence on how capital markets interpret circular economy (CE) strategies for US firms. Using more than 7500 ESG reports of US firms (1998–2023), we map the disclosure of CE practices in the United States and examine their valuation effects. We show that references to CE terminology surged after the Paris Agreement, whereas detailed disclosures of concrete strategies declined, suggesting a rhetorical rather than substantive turn. We further show that CE communication is, on average, negatively associated with Tobin's Q. However, disaggregating the 10R framework uncovers substantial heterogeneity: Medium‐loop strategies reduce firm value, whereas short‐ and long‐loop strategies have no significant effect. We further identify four mechanisms, such as financial slack, greenwashing, stock liquidity, and information asymmetry, that condition these relationships. By integrating granular strategy‐level evidence with theoretically grounded mechanisms, our study clarifies prior contradictory findings on the financial impact of CE on firm performance and advances understanding of when, why, and how CE strategies are valued by capital markets.