Does zombification influence corporate carbon performance?

Exploring the environmental impact when governments support financially struggling and shrinking companies.

Evidence shows that 'zombie' firms emit significantly more carbon per $1 of revenue than their non-zombie counterparts. This effect is even more pronounced in:

• Low-growth economies
• Capital-dependent industries
• Countries with weaker financial disclosures.

The findings highlight the trade-offs between maintaining economic stability - primarily employment levels - through zombie lending and addressing environmental sustainability, with implications for policymakers seeking to balance both goals.

The talk will be based on: Does zombification influence corporate carbon performance?

The paper presented was written in collaboration with:

• Sadok El Ghoul, University of Alberta
• Spyridon Gkikopoulos, University of Manchester
• Omrane Guedhami, University of South Carolina
• Konstantinos Stathopoulos, University of Manchester.

About Assistant Professor Spyridon Gkikopoulos

Spyros is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at the Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) of The University of Manchester. His interests broadly lie in empirical accounting research and are centred on two areas:

• Exploring the economic consequences of taxation for corporations - for example, he researches the roles of the corporate tax rate, the corporate taxable income, and corporate tax planning in shaping economic firm-level outcomes.
• The determinants and consequences of firms' tax planning strategies.

In the future, Spyros plans to extend his work on both areas, and explore the role of accounting regulations in facilitating corporate taxation decisions.

Prior to joining AMBS, he worked as a senior analyst for Ernst & Young, where he gained experience on Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), Mergers & Acquisitions (M&As), and Public to Private Transactions (P2Ps). Spyros frequently draws on his working experience to teach prospective students in Accounting and Finance (i) the valuation and stewardship roles of accounting information, and (ii) corporate taxation.

Spyros earned a Ph.D in Accounting and Finance from AMBS. In his free time, Spyros is a bookworm. He also swims, enjoys watching and playing basketball, and polishes his coding skills.

CAIR Thematic Talks Series

CAIR Thematic talks brings you exciting research tackling real-life issues that can be solved by accounting and finance. The talk series has been designed to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration in an informal setting.

After this talk, we'll relocate to BrewDog, a bar close to the AMBS building. You're welcome to join us to discuss and debate for a little longer over a pint.