IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecmode/v120y2023ics0264999322003893.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effect of mandatory corporate social responsibility disclosure and performance on firms’ dividend decisions: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Fonseka, Mohan
  • Richardson, Grant

Abstract

Studies have explored the effects of corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) and corporate social responsibility performance (CSRP) on firms' dividend decisions. However, their findings are inconclusive, and no study has analyzed the joint effect of firms' CSRD and CSRP on their dividend decisions. China's CSRD regulations provide a unique opportunity to examine the separate and joint effects of mandatory CSRD regulations and CSRP on firms' dividend decisions. Using 14,065 firm-year observations over the 2006–2016 period, we find that mandatory CSRD and CSRP increase (decrease) firms' proclivity to pay dividends, amount of dividend payouts, and decisions about dividend payouts (dividend reductions). We also find that CSRD and CSRP have a positive (negative) joint effect on firms' proclivity to pay dividends, the amount of dividend payouts, and decisions about dividend payouts (dividend reductions). Overall, our results show that mandatory CSRD and CSRP have significant consequences for firms' dividend decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Fonseka, Mohan & Richardson, Grant, 2023. "The effect of mandatory corporate social responsibility disclosure and performance on firms’ dividend decisions: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:120:y:2023:i:c:s0264999322003893
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2022.106152
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264999322003893
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.econmod.2022.106152?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sandra A. Waddock & Samuel B. Graves, 1997. "The Corporate Social Performance–Financial Performance Link," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(4), pages 303-319, April.
    2. Wang, Jin, 2012. "Do firms' relationships with principal customers/suppliers affect shareholders' income?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 860-878.
    3. Luzi Hail & Ahmed Tahoun & Clare Wang, 2014. "Dividend Payouts and Information Shocks," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 403-456, May.
    4. Tang, Meili & Wang, Yu, 2022. "Tax incentives and corporate social responsibility: The role of cash savings from accelerated depreciation policy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    5. Wu, Meng-Wen & Shen, Chung-Hua, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility in the banking industry: Motives and financial performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 3529-3547.
    6. Geoffrey Heal, 2005. "Corporate Social Responsibility: An Economic and Financial Framework," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 30(3), pages 387-409, July.
    7. Xiaoran Ni & Huilin Zhang, 2019. "Mandatory corporate social responsibility disclosure and dividend payouts: evidence from a quasi‐natural experiment," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 58(5), pages 1581-1612, March.
    8. Huang, Juan Juan & Shen, Yifeng & Sun, Qian, 2011. "Nonnegotiable shares, controlling shareholders, and dividend payments in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 122-133, February.
    9. Gustavo Grullon & Roni Michaely, 2002. "Dividends, Share Repurchases, and the Substitution Hypothesis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(4), pages 1649-1684, August.
    10. Ye, Dezhu & Deng, Jie & Liu, Yi & Szewczyk, Samuel H. & Chen, Xiao, 2019. "Does board gender diversity increase dividend payouts? Analysis of global evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-26.
    11. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐de‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 2000. "Agency Problems and Dividend Policies around the World," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 1-33, February.
    12. William Greene, 2004. "Fixed Effects and Bias Due to the Incidental Parameters Problem in the Tobit Model," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 125-147.
    13. Rajeev H. Dehejia & Sadek Wahba, 2002. "Propensity Score-Matching Methods For Nonexperimental Causal Studies," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(1), pages 151-161, February.
    14. repec:hal:journl:hal-00918528 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Adrian (Waikong) Cheung & May Hu & Jörg Schwiebert, 2018. "Corporate social responsibility and dividend policy," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 58(3), pages 787-816, September.
    16. Wei Yu & Ying Zheng, 2020. "The disclosure of corporate social responsibility reports and sales performance in China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(2), pages 1239-1270, June.
    17. Kai Li & Xinlei Zhao, 2008. "Asymmetric Information and Dividend Policy," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 37(4), pages 673-694, December.
    18. Deng, Xin & Kang, Jun-koo & Low, Buen Sin, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility and stakeholder value maximization: Evidence from mergers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(1), pages 87-109.
    19. Donald S. Siegel & Donald F. Vitaliano, 2007. "An Empirical Analysis of the Strategic Use of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(3), pages 773-792, September.
    20. Hariom Manchiraju & Shivaram Rajgopal, 2017. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Create Shareholder Value? Evidence from the Indian Companies Act 2013," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(5), pages 1257-1300, December.
    21. Pornsit Jiraporn & Napatsorn Jiraporn & Adisak Boeprasert & Kiyoung Chang, 2014. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Improve Credit Ratings? Evidence from Geographic Identification," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 43(3), pages 505-531, September.
    22. Bocquet, Rachel & Le Bas, Christian & Mothe, Caroline & Poussing, Nicolas, 2013. "Are firms with different CSR profiles equally innovative? Empirical analysis with survey data," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 642-654.
    23. Jiang, Fuxiu & Cai, Xinni & Jiang, Zhan & Nofsinger, John R., 2019. "Multiple large shareholders and dividends: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    24. Boubaker, Sabri & Cellier, Alexis & Manita, Riadh & Saeed, Asif, 2020. "Does corporate social responsibility reduce financial distress risk?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 835-851.
    25. Lancaster, Tony, 2000. "The incidental parameter problem since 1948," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 391-413, April.
    26. Maury, Benjamin & Pajuste, Anete, 2005. "Multiple large shareholders and firm value," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(7), pages 1813-1834, July.
    27. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck C.Y. & Mishra, Dev R., 2011. "Does corporate social responsibility affect the cost of capital?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 2388-2406, September.
    28. Hickman, L. Emily & Iyer, Subramanian Rama & Jadiyappa, Nemiraja, 2021. "The effect of voluntary and mandatory corporate social responsibility on earnings management: Evidence from India and the 2% rule," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    29. M. Pagano & P. F. Volpin, 2005. "Managers, Workers, and Corporate Control," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(2), pages 841-868, April.
    30. Michael S. Rozeff, 1982. "Growth, Beta And Agency Costs As Determinants Of Dividend Payout Ratios," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 5(3), pages 249-259, September.
    31. Saeed, Abubakr & Zamir, Farah, 2021. "How does CSR disclosure affect dividend payments in emerging markets?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    32. DeAngelo, Harry & DeAngelo, Linda & Stulz, Rene M., 2006. "Dividend policy and the earned/contributed capital mix: a test of the life-cycle theory," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 227-254, August.
    33. Lv, Wendai & Ma, Wenhao & Yang, Xiandong, 2022. "Does social security policy matter for corporate social responsibility? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    34. Dittmar, Amy & Field, Laura Casares, 2015. "Can managers time the market? Evidence using repurchase price data," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 261-282.
    35. Karl V. Lins & Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2017. "Social Capital, Trust, and Firm Performance: The Value of Corporate Social Responsibility during the Financial Crisis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(4), pages 1785-1824, August.
    36. Balachandran, Balasingham & Nguyen, Justin Hung, 2018. "Does carbon risk matter in firm dividend policy? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in an imputation environment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 249-267.
    37. He, Wen & Li, Chao Kevin, 2018. "The effects of a comply-or-explain dividend regulation in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 53-72.
    38. Kim, Chang-Soo & Mauer, David C. & Sherman, Ann E., 1998. "The Determinants of Corporate Liquidity: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 33(3), pages 335-359, September.
    39. Chen, Yi-Chun & Hung, Mingyi & Wang, Yongxiang, 2018. "The effect of mandatory CSR disclosure on firm profitability and social externalities: Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 169-190.
    40. Hoje Jo & Haejung Na, 2012. "Does CSR Reduce Firm Risk? Evidence from Controversial Industry Sectors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(4), pages 441-456, November.
    41. John, Kose & Williams, Joseph, 1985. "Dividends, Dilution, and Taxes: A Signalling Equilibrium," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 40(4), pages 1053-1070, September.
    42. Wen Wen & Jianbo Song, 2017. "Can returnee managers promote CSR performance? Evidence from China," Frontiers of Business Research in China, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-26, December.
    43. Benlemlih, Mohammed, 2019. "Corporate social responsibility and dividend policy," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 114-138.
    44. Amy J. Hillman & Gerald D. Keim, 2001. "Shareholder value, stakeholder management, and social issues: what's the bottom line?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 125-139, February.
    45. Paul C. Godfrey & Craig B. Merrill & Jared M. Hansen, 2009. "The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: an empirical test of the risk management hypothesis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 425-445, April.
    46. Yongqiang Chu, 2018. "Shareholder-Creditor Conflict and Payout Policy: Evidence from Mergers between Lenders and Shareholders," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(8), pages 3098-3121.
    47. Andrew L. Friedman & Samantha Miles, 2002. "Developing Stakeholder Theory," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 1-21, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. He, Feng & Feng, Yaqian & Hao, Jing, 2023. "Corporate ESG rating and stock market liquidity: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    2. Samuel Buertey & Richard Ramsawak & Raymond K. Dziwornu & Yong‐Seok Lee, 2024. "Corporate social responsibility and dividend payout policy in extraordinary time: Empirical study of South Africa," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 514-527, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ni, Xiaoran & Song, Wei & Yao, Jiaquan, 2020. "Stakeholder orientation and corporate payout policy: Insights from state legal shocks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    2. Xiaoran Ni & Huilin Zhang, 2019. "Mandatory corporate social responsibility disclosure and dividend payouts: evidence from a quasi‐natural experiment," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 58(5), pages 1581-1612, March.
    3. Kong, Dongmin & Ji, Mianmian & Zhang, Fan, 2022. "Individual investors’ dividend tax reform and corporate social responsibility," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Bilyay-Erdogan, Seda & Danisman, Gamze Ozturk & Demir, Ender, 2023. "ESG performance and dividend payout: A channel analysis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PA).
    5. Boubaker, Sabri & Cellier, Alexis & Manita, Riadh & Saeed, Asif, 2020. "Does corporate social responsibility reduce financial distress risk?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 835-851.
    6. Asif Saeed & Qasim Zureigat, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Trade Credit and Financial Crisis," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-23, July.
    7. Zhang, Zhuang & Chizema, Amon & Kuo, Jing-Ming & Zhang, Qingjing, 2022. "Managerial risk-reducing incentives and social and exchange capital," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(6).
    8. Zhang, Yanlei & García Lara, Juan Manuel & Tribó, Josep A., 2020. "Unpacking the black box of trade credit to socially responsible customers," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    9. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    10. Dunbar, Craig & Li, Zhichuan (Frank) & Shi, Yaqi, 2020. "CEO risk-taking incentives and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    11. Hyunmin Oh & Sambock Park, 2021. "Corporate Sustainable Management, Dividend Policy and Chaebol," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-19, July.
    12. Wassim Dbouk & Dawei Jin & Haizhi Wang & Jianrong Wang, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Rule 144A Debt Offerings: Empirical Evidence," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-18, November.
    13. Hasan, Iftekhar & Karavitis, Panagiotis & Kazakis, Pantelis & Leung, Woon Sau, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Profit Shifting," MPRA Paper 91580, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Hasan, Mostafa Monzur & Habib, Ahsan, 2020. "Social capital and payout policies," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1).
    15. Wójcik Piotr, 2018. "The business case for corporate social responsibility: A literature overview and integrative framework," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 26(1), pages 121-148, March.
    16. Li, Chengcheng & Wang, Xiaoqiong, 2022. "Local peer effects of corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    17. Giovanni Catello Landi & Francesca Iandolo & Antonio Renzi & Andrea Rey, 2022. "Embedding sustainability in risk management: The impact of environmental, social, and governance ratings on corporate financial risk," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 1096-1107, July.
    18. Buchanan, Bonnie G. & Cao, Cathy Xuying & Wang, Shuhui, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and inside debt: The long game," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    19. Tao, Qizhi & Wei, K.C. John & Xiang, Xueman & Yi, Biao, 2022. "Board directors' foreign experience and firm dividend payouts," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    20. Kim, Hyun-Dong & Kim, Taeyeon & Kim, Yura & Park, Kwangwoo, 2019. "Do long-term institutional investors promote corporate social responsibility activities?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 256-269.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure; CSR performance; Dividends;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G35 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Payout Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:120:y:2023:i:c:s0264999322003893. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/30411 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.