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How Does CSR Activity Affect Sustainable Growth and Value of Corporations? Evidence from Korea

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  • Kyungtag Lee

    (School of Business, Yeungnam University, 280 Daehakro, Gyeongsangbukdo, Gyeongsansi 38541, Korea)

  • Hyunchul Lee

    (Division of Business Administration, Chosun University, 309 Pilmundaero, Donggu, Gwangju 61452, Korea)

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between Korean listed companies’ corporation social responsibility (CSR) activities and their sustainable growth and valuation, focusing specifically on the nonlinear aspect. The nonlinear quantile regressions used in this study reported that CSR activities increased corporation value exclusively in the middle-range groups (i.e., τ _25, τ _50, τ _75) of Tobin’s q, a proxy for corporation growth and value. However, the linear ordinary least squares (OLS) regression did not indicate similar results. Our findings also showed that CSR activities affect the valuation of Korean listed corporations in a nonlinear, rather than in a linear way. Considering that most prior studies are devoted to reporting linear results from classical ordinary least squares estimations between CSR activities and corporation value, our study fills the gap in the literature. The findings of this study may provide corporation managers and researchers with valuable data concerning a corporation’s optimal investment point for their CSR activities for sustainable growth and the maximization of corporation value.

Suggested Citation

  • Kyungtag Lee & Hyunchul Lee, 2019. "How Does CSR Activity Affect Sustainable Growth and Value of Corporations? Evidence from Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-11, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:2:p:508-:d:199058
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    2. Chang Seop Rhee & Sohee Woo & So-Jin Yu & Hyunjung Rhee, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Employability: Empirical Evidence from Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-14, July.
    3. Gloria Macassa & Mamunur Rashid & Brita Backlund Rambaree & Ehsanul Huda Chowdhury, 2022. "Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting for Stakeholders’ Health and Wellbeing in the Food and Beverage Industry: A Case Study of a Multinational Company," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-10, April.
    4. Claudiu George Bocean & Michael Marian Nicolescu & Marian Cazacu & Simona Dumitriu, 2022. "The Role of Social Responsibility and Ethics in Employees’ Wellbeing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-15, July.
    5. Murat Ocak & Derya Fındık, 2019. "The Impact of Intangible Assets and Sub-Components of Intangible Assets on Sustainable Growth and Firm Value: Evidence from Turkish Listed Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-23, September.
    6. Lopez, Belen & Rangel, Celia & Fernández, Manuel, 2022. "The impact of corporate social responsibility strategy on the management and governance axis for sustainable growth," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 690-698.
    7. Yuqiu Lu & Guowei Li & Zhe Luo & Muhammad Anwar & Yunju Zhang, 2021. "Does Intellectual Capital Spur Sustainable Competitive Advantage and Sustainable Growth?: A Study of Chinese and Pakistani Firms," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(1), pages 21582440219, February.
    8. Agostino Vollero & Alfonso Siano & Maria Palazzo & Sara Amabile, 2020. "Hoftsede's cultural dimensions and corporate social responsibility in online communication: Are they independent constructs?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 53-64, January.
    9. Samuel Leroy Cabrera-Luján & David Josías Sánchez-Lima & Segundo Alberto Guevara-Flores & Dany Yudet Millones-Liza & Elizabeth Emperatriz García-Salirrosas & Miluska Villar-Guevara, 2023. "Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility, Business Ethics and Corporate Reputation on the Retention of Users of Third-Sector Institutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, January.
    10. Elif Akben-Selcuk, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance: The Moderating Role of Ownership Concentration in Turkey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-10, July.
    11. Irena Jindřichovská & Dana Kubíčková & Mihaela Mocanu, 2020. "Case Study Analysis of Sustainability Reporting of an Agri-Food Giant," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-19, June.

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