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Do Economic Incentives of Controlling Shareholders Influence Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure? A Natural Experiment

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  • Cai, Weixing
  • Lee, Edward
  • Wu, Zhenyu
  • Xu, Alice Liang
  • Zeng, Cheng (Colin)

Abstract

We evaluate whether voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure is influenced by the economic incentives of controlling shareholders. To examine this research question, we apply the natural experiment setting based on the Split Share Structure Reform in China. Following this Reform, Chinese state shareholders are allowed to trade their shares in the stock market, which increases their incentives to maximize the market value of the firms that they control. We present empirical evidence of increased CSR disclosure among listed state-owned enterprises after this Reform. This evidence suggests that the economic incentives of key stakeholders are associated with voluntary CSR disclosures.

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  • Cai, Weixing & Lee, Edward & Wu, Zhenyu & Xu, Alice Liang & Zeng, Cheng (Colin), 2017. "Do Economic Incentives of Controlling Shareholders Influence Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure? A Natural Experiment," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 238-250.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:accoun:v:52:y:2017:i:3:p:238-250
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intacc.2017.07.002
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    Cited by:

    1. Mingyuan Guo & Yanfang Hu & Yu Zhang & Fuge Tian, 2019. "State-Owned Shareholding and CSR: Do Multiple Financing Methods Matter?—Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-15, March.
    2. Fawad Rauf & Cosmina L. Voinea & Khwaja Naveed & Cosmin Fratostiteanu, 2021. "CSR Disclosure: Effects of Political Ties, Executive Turnover and Shareholder Equity. Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-18, March.
    3. Kabir, Rezaul & Thai, Hanh Minh, 2021. "Key factors determining corporate social responsibility practices of Vietnamese firms and the joint effects of foreign ownership," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    4. Yaghoub Abdi & Xiaoni Li & Xavier Càmara‐Turull, 2022. "How financial performance influences investment in sustainable development initiatives in the airline industry: The moderation role of state‐ownership," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(5), pages 1252-1267, October.
    5. Farman Ullah Khan & Junrui Zhang & Muhammad Usman & Alina Badulescu & Muhammad Safdar Sial, 2019. "Ownership Reduction in State-Owned Enterprises and Corporate Social Responsibility: Perspective from Secondary Privatization in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-13, February.
    6. Evans Opoku‐Mensah & Yuming Yin, 2023. "Controlling shareholders' influence on acquisition decisions and value creation: An empirical study from China," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(2), pages 1965-1980, April.
    7. Tong Sheng & Bingquan Fang & Xiaoqian Lu & Xingheng Shi & Chaohai Shen & Xiaolan Zhou, 2022. "The Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility, Global Investment, and Equity Incentives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-27, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate social responsibility disclosure; Split share structure reform; State-owned enterprise; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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