Flood risk and corporate future orientation: Evidence from sea level rise risk

We find that firms located in US counties with higher sea level rise (SLR) risk engage less in future-oriented activities, that is, lower corporate social responsibility performance, lower R&D investment and fewer patents granted than firms in counties with lower SLR risk. The effect is strengthened when media attention on climate change is high, when the firm has a high level of prior long-term investment and when the firm is managed by a young CEO and a CEO who has a greater tendency to avoid uncertainty, whereas it is weakened when the firm's CEO is near retirement and when the firm is geographically diversified. Overall, we document a negative relationship between flood risk exposure and corporate future orientation, suggesting that firms change their future-oriented attitude in response to concern over climate risks.