IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ausman/v40y2015i2p245-276.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate social responsibility, the cost of equity capital and ownership structure: An analysis of Chinese listed firms

Author

Listed:
  • Shan Xu
  • Duchi Liu
  • Jianbai Huang

Abstract

This study examines the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) towards primary stakeholders on the cost of equity capital in Chinese listed firms, and divides the sample into state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-state-owned enterprises (NSOEs) for comparison. We construct a set of CSR index systems to measure the quality of the CSR practices and use several approaches to estimate firms’ ex ante cost of equity capital. The results show that firms with higher CSR scores have significantly lower cost of equity capital. In particular, we find that investments in improving CSR towards investors make the greatest contribution to reducing firms’ equity financing costs, and the cost of capital effects of CSR is more significant in recessions than in economic booms. In addition, SOEs have better CSR and lower cost of equity capital than NSOEs, but the effect of CSR in reducing the cost of equity capital is greater for NSOEs than for SOEs. The findings suggest that CSR toward primary stakeholders can be profitable and beneficial to Chinese firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Shan Xu & Duchi Liu & Jianbai Huang, 2015. "Corporate social responsibility, the cost of equity capital and ownership structure: An analysis of Chinese listed firms," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 40(2), pages 245-276, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ausman:v:40:y:2015:i:2:p:245-276
    DOI: 10.1177/0312896213517894
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0312896213517894
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0312896213517894?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
    ---><---

    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. Shangkun Xu & Rudai Yang, 2010. "Indigenous Characteristics of Chinese Corporate Social Responsibility Conceptual Paradigm," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(2), pages 321-333, May.
    3. Francesco Perrini & Angeloantonio Russo & Antonio Tencati & Clodia Vurro, 2011. "Deconstructing the Relationship Between Corporate Social and Financial Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 59-76, March.
    4. Darren D. Lee & Robert W. Faff, 2009. "Corporate Sustainability Performance and Idiosyncratic Risk: A Global Perspective," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 44(2), pages 213-237, May.
    5. Wenjing Li & Ran Zhang, 2010. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Ownership Structure, and Political Interference: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(4), pages 631-645, November.
    6. Fan, Joseph P.H. & Wong, T.J. & Zhang, Tianyu, 2007. "Politically connected CEOs, corporate governance, and Post-IPO performance of China's newly partially privatized firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 330-357, May.
    7. Ľuboš Pástor & Meenakshi Sinha & Bhaskaran Swaminathan, 2008. "Estimating the Intertemporal Risk–Return Tradeoff Using the Implied Cost of Capital," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(6), pages 2859-2897, December.
    8. Mark P. Sharfman & Chitru S. Fernando, 2008. "Environmental risk management and the cost of capital," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 569-592, June.
    9. Kothari, S. P., 2001. "Capital markets research in accounting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-3), pages 105-231, September.
    10. Heinkel, Robert & Kraus, Alan & Zechner, Josef, 2001. "The Effect of Green Investment on Corporate Behavior," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 36(4), pages 431-449, December.
    11. Levine, Ross & Zervos, Sara J, 1993. "What We Have Learned about Policy and Growth from Cross-Country Regressions?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(2), pages 426-430, May.
    12. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1997. "Industry costs of equity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 153-193, February.
    13. Supriti Mishra & Damodar Suar, 2010. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility Influence Firm Performance of Indian Companies?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(4), pages 571-601, September.
    14. Galema, Rients & Plantinga, Auke & Scholtens, Bert, 2008. "The stocks at stake: Return and risk in socially responsible investment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(12), pages 2646-2654, December.
    15. Jong-Seo Choi & Young-Min Kwak & Chongwoo Choe, 2010. "Corporate social responsibility and corporate financial performance: Evidence from Korea," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 35(3), pages 291-311, December.
    16. Mohammed Omran, 2008. "The Performance of State-Owned Enterprises and Newly Privatized Firms: Does Privatization Really Matter?," Chapters, in: José María Fanelli & Lyn Squire (ed.), Economic Reform in Developing Countries, chapter 10, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Runtian Jing (井润田) & E. Patrick McDermott, 2013. "Transformation of State-owned Enterprises in China: A Strategic Action Model. 中国国有企业改制：一个战略行动模型," Management and Organization Review, The International Association for Chinese Management Research, vol. 9(1), pages 53-86, March.
    18. George Tannous & Juan Wang & Craig Wilson, 2013. "The Intraday Pattern of Information Asymmetry, Spread, and Depth: Evidence from the NYSE," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 13(2), pages 215-240, June.
    19. James Claus & Jacob Thomas, 2001. "Equity Premia as Low as Three Percent? Evidence from Analysts' Earnings Forecasts for Domestic and International Stock Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(5), pages 1629-1666, October.
    20. Hanwen Chen & Jeff Zeyun Chen & Gerald J. Lobo & Yanyan Wang, 2011. "Effects of Audit Quality on Earnings Management and Cost of Equity Capital: Evidence from China," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(3), pages 892-925, September.
    21. William R. Gebhardt & Charles M. C. Lee & Bhaskaran Swaminathan, 2001. "Toward an Implied Cost of Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 135-176, June.
    22. Renneboog, Luc & Ter Horst, Jenke & Zhang, Chendi, 2008. "Socially responsible investments: Institutional aspects, performance, and investor behavior," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1723-1742, September.
    23. 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.
    24. Lois Mahoney & Robin W. Roberts, 2007. "Corporate social performance, financial performance and institutional ownership in Canadian firms," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 233-253, September.
    25. Ran Zhang & Jigao Zhu & Heng Yue & Chunyan Zhu, 2010. "Corporate Philanthropic Giving, Advertising Intensity, and Industry Competition Level," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(1), pages 39-52, June.
    26. Lin, Justin Yifu & Cai, Fang & Li, Zhou, 1998. "Competition, Policy Burdens, and State-Owned Enterprise Reform," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 422-427, May.
    27. Li, Shaomin & Xia, Jun, 2008. "The Roles and Performance of State Firms and Non-State Firms in China's Economic Transition," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 39-54, January.
    28. Dan Dhaliwal & Shane Heitzman & Oliver Zhen Li, 2006. "Taxes, Leverage, and the Cost of Equity Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 691-723, September.
    29. Cheng Chee Mun, Eugene & Courtenay, Stephen M. & Rahman, Asheq R., 2011. "Effects of prior voluntary disclosure on earnings announcements in an environment with low information and regulation," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 308-329, June.
    30. Carmelo Reverte, 2012. "The Impact of Better Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure on the Cost of Equity Capital," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(5), pages 253-272, September.
    31. Chong-En Bai & Jiangyong Lu & Zhigang Tao, 2006. "The Multitask Theory of State Enterprise Reform: Empirical Evidence from China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 353-357, May.
    32. Coles, Jeffrey L. & Loewenstein, Uri & Suay, Jose, 1995. "On Equilibrium Pricing under Parameter Uncertainty," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 30(3), pages 347-364, September.
    33. Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2006. "International Differences in the Cost of Equity Capital: Do Legal Institutions and Securities Regulation Matter?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(3), pages 485-531, June.
    34. Noe, Thomas H & Rebello, Michael J, 1996. "Asymmetric Information, Managerial Opportunism, Financing, and Payout Policies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(2), pages 637-660, June.
    35. Henry Petersen & Harrie Vredenburg, 2009. "Morals or Economics? Institutional Investor Preferences for Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(1), pages 1-14, November.
    36. 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.
    37. Jing, Runtian & McDermott, E. Patrick, 2013. "Transformation of State-owned Enterprises in China: A Strategic Action Model," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 53-86, March.
    38. Diamond, Douglas W & Verrecchia, Robert E, 1991. "Disclosure, Liquidity, and the Cost of Capital," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(4), pages 1325-1359, September.
    39. Paul Cox & Patricia Wicks, 2011. "Institutional Interest in Corporate Responsibility: Portfolio Evidence and Ethical Explanation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(1), pages 143-165, September.
    40. Peter M. Clarkson & Michael B. Overell & Larelle Chapple, 2011. "Environmental Reporting and its Relation to Corporate Environmental Performance," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 47(1), pages 27-60, March.
    41. Robyn Moroney & Carolyn Windsor & Yong Ting Aw, 2012. "Evidence of assurance enhancing the quality of voluntary environmental disclosures: an empirical analysis," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 52(3), pages 903-939, September.
    42. Hong, Harrison & Kacperczyk, Marcin, 2009. "The price of sin: The effects of social norms on markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 15-36, July.
    43. Wang, Qian & Wong, T.J. & Xia, Lijun, 2008. "State ownership, the institutional environment, and auditor choice: Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 112-134, September.
    44. Chen, Kevin C.W. & Chen, Zhihong & Wei, K.C. John, 2009. "Legal protection of investors, corporate governance, and the cost of equity capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 273-289, June.
    45. Maobin Wang & Chun Qiu & Dongmin Kong, 2011. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Investor Behaviors, and Stock Market Returns: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 101(1), pages 127-141, June.
    46. Wei, Shang-Jin & Wang, Tao, 1997. "The siamese twins: Do state-owned banks favor state-owned enterprises in China?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 19-29.
    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. Jianlei Han & Jing He & Zheyao Pan & Jing Shi, 2018. "Twenty Years of Accounting and Finance Research on the Chinese Capital Market," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 54(4), pages 576-599, December.
    2. Shan Xu & Duchi Liu, 2018. "Do Financial Markets Care about Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure? Further Evidence from China," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 28(1), pages 79-103, March.
    3. Katarina Valaskova & George Lazaroiu & Judit Olah & Anna Siekelova & Barbora Lancova, 2019. "How Capital Structure Affects Business Valuation: A Case Study of Slovakia," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2019(3), pages 1-17.
    4. Fonseka, Mohan & Rajapakse, Theja & Richardson, Grant, 2019. "The effect of environmental information disclosure and energy product type on the cost of debt: Evidence from energy firms in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 159-182.
    5. E.O. Marfo & L. Chen & H. Xuhua & H.A. Antwi & E. Yiranbon, 2015. "Corporate Social Responsibility: Driving Dynamics on Firm’s Profitability in Ghana," International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, vol. 5(3), pages 116-132, July.
    6. Linnenluecke, Martina K. & Chen, Xiaoyan & Ling, Xin & Smith, Tom & Zhu, Yushu, 2016. "Emerging trends in Asia-Pacific finance research: A review of recent influential publications and a research agenda," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 66-76.
    7. Guangming Gong & Si Xu & Xun Gong, 2018. "On the Value of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: An Empirical Investigation of Corporate Bond Issues in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 227-258, June.
    8. Raquel Garde-Sanchez & María Victoria López-Pérez & Antonio M. López-Hernández, 2018. "Current Trends in Research on Social Responsibility in State-Owned Enterprises: A Review of the Literature from 2000 to 2017," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-21, July.
    9. McGuinness, Paul B. & Vieito, João Paulo & Wang, Mingzhu, 2017. "The role of board gender and foreign ownership in the CSR performance of Chinese listed firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 75-99.

    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. Wang, Kun Tracy & Kartika, Fiki & Wang, Wanbin Walter & Luo, Guqiang, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility, investor protection, and the cost of equity: Evidence from East Asia," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    2. 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.
    3. Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Hakkon Kim & Kwangwoo Park, 2018. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility and the Cost of Capital: International Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 335-361, May.
    4. Abdelmajid Hmaittane & Kais Bouslah & Bouchra M’Zali & Imane Ibariouen, 2022. "Corporate Sustainability and Cost of Equity Capital: Do Managerial Abilities Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    5. Sudipta Bose & Chuan Yu, 2023. "Does Earnings Quality Influence Corporate Social Responsibility Performance? Empirical Evidence of the Causal Link," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 59(2), pages 493-540, June.
    6. Breuer, Wolfgang & Müller, Torbjörn & Rosenbach, David & Salzmann, Astrid, 2018. "Corporate social responsibility, investor protection, and cost of equity: A cross-country comparison," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 34-55.
    7. Shan Xu & Duchi Liu, 2018. "Do Financial Markets Care about Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure? Further Evidence from China," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 28(1), pages 79-103, March.
    8. Feng, Zhi-Yuan & Wang, Ming-Long & Huang, Hua-Wei, 2015. "Equity Financing and Social Responsibility: Further International Evidence," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 247-280.
    9. Filippo Vitolla & Antonio Salvi & Nicola Raimo & Felice Petruzzella & Michele Rubino, 2020. "The impact on the cost of equity capital in the effects of integrated reporting quality," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 519-529, February.
    10. Kais Bouslah & Lawrence Kryzanowski & Bouchra M’Zali, 2018. "Social Performance and Firm Risk: Impact of the Financial Crisis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 643-669, May.
    11. Rjiba, Hatem & Saadi, Samir & Boubaker, Sabri & Ding, Xiaoya (Sara), 2021. "Annual report readability and the cost of equity capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    12. Mohammed S. Albarrak & Marwa Elnahass & Aly Salama, 2019. "The effect of carbon dissemination on cost of equity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1179-1198, September.
    13. Luong, Thanh Son & Qiu, Buhui & Wu, Yi (Ava), 2021. "Does it pay to be socially connected with wall street brokerages? Evidence from cost of equity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    14. Ellen Pei‐yi Yu & Alessandra Tanda & Bac Van Luu & Dominic H. Chai, 2021. "Environmental transparency and investors' risk perception: Cross‐country evidence on multinational corporations' sustainability practices and cost of equity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3975-4000, December.
    15. Youngkyung Ok & Jungmu Kim, 2019. "Which Corporate Social Responsibility Performance Affects the Cost of Equity? Evidence from Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-14, May.
    16. Champagne, Claudia & Coggins, Frank & Sodjahin, Amos, 2022. "Can extra-financial ratings serve as an indicator of ESG risk?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    17. Hamdi Ben‐Nasr & Narjess Boubakri & Jean‐Claude Cosset, 2012. "The Political Determinants of the Cost of Equity: Evidence from Newly Privatized Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 605-646, June.
    18. Shan Zhou & Roger Simnett & Wendy Green, 2017. "Does Integrated Reporting Matter to the Capital Market?," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 53(1), pages 94-132, March.
    19. Ben-Nasr, Hamdi, 2016. "Labor protection and government control: Evidence from privatized firms," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 52(PB), pages 485-498.
    20. Ferris, Stephen P. & Javakhadze, David & Rajkovic, Tijana, 2017. "The international effect of managerial social capital on the cost of equity," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 69-84.

    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:sae:ausman:v:40:y:2015:i:2:p:245-276. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.agsm.edu.au .

    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.