| Variable | Definition | Source |
| MarketLeverage | Book value of short- and long-term liabilities divided by the sum of market value of equity plus the book value of short- and long-term liabilities. | Compustat |
| BookLeverage | Calculated as the book value of short- and long-term liabilities dividend by the sum of the book value of equity plus the book value of short- and long-term liabilities. | Compustat |
| HHI | Herfindahl-Hirschman Index of sales classified using the 3-letter SIC code and multiplied by −1. Higher scores indicate higher market competition. | Compustat |
| Top4 | The % of total sales of the top 4 firms in the industry, classified using the 3-letter SIC code and multiplied by −1. Higher scores indicate higher market competition. | Compustat |
| ESG | Thomson Reuters ESG Scores, an overall company score ranging from zero to 100 and based on the self-reported information in the environmental, social and corporate governance pillars. Higher scores indicate higher ESG performance. | Thomson Reuters |
| HighESG | An indicator variable that takes the value of 1 if ESG > 50 and 0 otherwise. | Authors’ Calculation |
| Profitability | EBITDA divided by total assets | Compustat |
| FirmSize | The natural logarithm of total assets | Compustat |
| Tangibility | Fixed assets to total assets | Compustat |
| Growth | Market to book value of equity ratio | Compustat |
| EarningsVol | Standard deviation of net income during the last 5 years. | Compustat |