IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v27y2018icp161-168.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Which CSR activities are more consequential? Evidence from the Great Recession

Author

Listed:
  • Sakunasingha, Benjalux
  • Jiraporn, Pornsit
  • Uyar, Ali

Abstract

We exploit the Great Recession of 2008 to study how firms view corporate social responsibility (CSR). When confronted with an adverse exogenous shock, firms are forced to prioritize. Our results show that, during the Great Recession, firms do not lessen their overall CSR investments, suggesting that they recognize the importance of CSR. However, further analysis shows that firms substantially reduce investments in five CSR activities (Community, Employee, Environment, Human Rights, and Product), while increasing investments in two CSR activities (Corporate Governance and Diversity). Firms appear to view some CSR activities as more essential to the strategic direction of the firm than others. Firms appear to view some CSR activities as more essential to the strategic direction of the firm than others.

Suggested Citation

  • Sakunasingha, Benjalux & Jiraporn, Pornsit & Uyar, Ali, 2018. "Which CSR activities are more consequential? Evidence from the Great Recession," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 161-168.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:27:y:2018:i:c:p:161-168
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2018.02.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612317306001
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2018.02.003?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. Floyd, Eric & Li, Nan & Skinner, Douglas J., 2015. "Payout policy through the financial crisis: The growth of repurchases and the resilience of dividends," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(2), pages 299-316.
    2. Pradit Withisuphakorn & Pornsit Jiraporn, 2016. "The effect of firm maturity on corporate social responsibility (CSR): do older firms invest more in CSR?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(4), pages 298-301, March.
    3. 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.
    4. Bliss, Barbara A. & Cheng, Yingmei & Denis, David J., 2015. "Corporate payout, cash retention, and the supply of credit: Evidence from the 2008–2009 credit crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(3), pages 521-540.
    5. Goss, Allen & Roberts, Gordon S., 2011. "The impact of corporate social responsibility on the cost of bank loans," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1794-1810, July.
    6. Kahle, Kathleen M. & Stulz, René M., 2013. "Access to capital, investment, and the financial crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(2), pages 280-299.
    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. Baatwah, Saeed Rabea & Al-Qadasi, Adel Ali & Al-Shehri, Amer Mohammed & Derouiche, Imen, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility budgeting and spending during COVID–19 in Oman: A humanitarian response to the pandemic," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    2. Chuluunbat Tsendsuren & Prayag Lal Yadav & Sangsoo Kim & Seunghun Han, 2021. "The Effects of Managerial Competency and Local Religiosity on Corporate Environmental Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-14, May.
    3. Uyar, Ali & Lodh, Suman & Nandy, Monomita & Kuzey, Cemil & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2023. "Tradeoff between corporate investment and CSR: The moderating effect of financial slack, workforce slack, and board gender diversity," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    4. Agnieszka Karman & Viktor Prokop & Carlo Giglio & Fazal Ur Rehman, 2024. "Has the Covid‐19 pandemic jeopardized firms' environmental behavior? Bridging green initiatives and firm value through the triple bottom line approach," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 375-395, January.
    5. Ali Uyar & Simone Pizzi & Fabio Caputo & Cemil Kuzey & Abdullah S. Karaman, 2022. "Do shareholders reward or punish risky firms due to CSR reporting and assurance?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(5), pages 1596-1620, July.
    6. Chuluunbat Tsendsuren & Prayag L. Yadav & Seung Hun Han & Seongjae Mun, 2021. "The effect of corporate environmental responsibility and religiosity on corporate cash holding decisions and profitability: Evidence from the United States' policies for sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(5), pages 987-1000, September.
    7. Forgione, Antonio Fabio & Migliardo, Carlo, 2020. "CSR engagement and market structure: Evidence from listed banks," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    8. Nerantzidis, Michail & Tzeremes, Panayiotis & Koutoupis, Andreas & Pourgias, Apostolos, 2022. "Exploring the black box: Board gender diversity and corporate social performance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    9. Chatjuthamard, Pattanaporn & Ongsakul, Viput & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2022. "Corporate complexity, managerial myopia, and hostile takeover exposure: Evidence from textual analysis," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C).
    10. Dumitrescu, Ariadna & El Hefnawy, Menatalla & Zakriya, Mohammed, 2020. "Golden geese or black sheep: Are stakeholders the saviors or saboteurs of financial distress?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    11. Leong, Chee Kian & Yang, Yung Chiang, 2021. "Constraints on “Doing Good”: Financial constraints and corporate social responsibility," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    12. Seles, Bruno Michel Roman Pais & Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz & Jabbour, Charbel Jose Chiappetta & Latan, Hengky & Roubaud, David, 2019. "Do Environmental Practices Improve Business Performance Even in an Economic Crisis? Extending the Win-Win Perspective," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 189-204.

    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. Asif Saeed & Qasim Zureigat, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Trade Credit and Financial Crisis," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-23, July.
    2. Akdogu, Evrim & Aktas, Nihat & Simsir, Serif Aziz, 2021. "The effect of unionization on industry merger activity around negative economy-wide shocks," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    3. Gyimah, Daniel & Siganos, Antonios & Veld, Chris, 2021. "Effects of financial constraints and product market competition on share repurchases," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    4. Schroth, Josef, 2021. "Macroprudential policy with capital buffers," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 296-311.
    5. Arouri, Mohamed & Gomes, Mathieu & Pukthuanthong, Kuntara, 2019. "Corporate social responsibility and M&A uncertainty," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 176-198.
    6. Jaspreet Kaur & Madhu Vij & Ajay Kumar Chauhan, 2023. "Signals influencing corporate credit ratings—a systematic literature review," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 50(1), pages 91-114, March.
    7. Adra, Samer & Gao, Yang & Huang, Jin & Yuan, Jiayi, 2023. "Geopolitical risk and corporate payout policy," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    8. Gillan, Stuart L. & Koch, Andrew & Starks, Laura T., 2021. "Firms and social responsibility: A review of ESG and CSR research in corporate finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    9. Danilo Drago & Concetta Carnevale, 2020. "Do CSR Ratings Affect Loan Spreads? Evidence from European Syndicated Loan Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-30, September.
    10. Ntantamis, Christos & Zhou, Jun, 2022. "Corporate payout, cash holdings, and the COVID-19 crisis: Evidence from the G-7 countries," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    11. Gonenc, Halit & Polten, Marc-Oliver & Westerman, Wim, 2022. "U.S., Anglo-Saxon European, and non-Anglo-Saxon European cash holdings around the financial crisis," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    12. Frank J. Fabozzi & Peck Wah Ng & Diana E. Tunaru, 2021. "The impact of corporate social responsibility on corporate financial performance and credit ratings in Japan," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(2), pages 79-95, March.
    13. Jannik Gerwanski, 2020. "Does it pay off? Integrated reporting and cost of debt: European evidence," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2299-2319, September.
    14. Collins E. Okafor & Nacasius U. Ujah & Eunho Cho & Winifred U. Okafor & Kevin L. James, 2023. "The Moderating Effect of a Golden Parachute on the Association between CSR and Firm Value: Does Gender-Driven Innovation Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-23, March.
    15. Takakorn Likitapiwat & Sirimon Treepongkaruna & Pornsit Jiraporn, 2023. "CSR variability, managerial risk aversion, and hostile takeover threats," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 773-790, March.
    16. Maretno Agus Harjoto, 2017. "Corporate social responsibility and degrees of operating and financial leverage," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 487-513, August.
    17. Thuy Thi Thu Truong & Jungmu Kim, 2019. "Do Corporate Social Responsibility Activities Reduce Credit Risk? Short and Long-Term Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-16, December.
    18. Paolo Capelli & Federica Ielasi & Angeloantonio Russo, 2021. "Forecasting volatility by integrating financial risk with environmental, social, and governance risk," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(5), pages 1483-1495, September.
    19. Ahrends, Meike & Drobetz, Wolfgang & Puhan, Tatjana Xenia, 2018. "Cyclicality of growth opportunities and the value of cash holdings," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 74-96.
    20. Hyung Il Oh & Hyunpyo Kim & Jeong‐Bon Kim & Yong Gyu Lee, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and operating cash flows management: An examination of credit market incentives," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(7-8), pages 1494-1522, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate social responsibility; Financial crisis; Great Recession; Sustainability; CSR;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

    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:finlet:v:27:y:2018:i:c:p:161-168. 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/frl .

    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.