Effect of publication ‘Transparency Benchmark’ on stock prices

This thesis investigates whether the publication of the ‘Transparency Benchmark’ leads to an abnormal share price return. Based on prior literature, this thesis assumes that the CSP of a firm can be exhibited by the quality of CSR disclosure, which in turn is measured by the ‘Transparency Benchmark’. Expecting that the market will value the publication of this benchmark relevant, the Efficient Market Hypothesis assumes that the market will adjust share prices immediately. Results show there is no evidence to support this.