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Seeing is believing? The impact of air pollution on corporate social responsibility

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  • Zhidong Tan
  • Jianhua Tan
  • Kam C. Chan

Abstract

We study the impact of air pollution in the city in which a firm is located on its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Our hypothesis suggests that when managers are personally exposed to bad air pollution, they feel the pain and push their firms to engage in more CSR activities. Leveraging recent announcements regarding air pollution in Chinese cities, we find evidence consistent with our “seeing is believing” hypothesis. The findings are robust to alternative metrics of CSR and air pollution and after accounting for endogeneity. Additional analysis suggests that the impact of air pollution on CSR is more salient for firms with disproportionately older, female, and highly educated managers as well as when the local city government has more stable resources or when media coverage of air pollution increases.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhidong Tan & Jianhua Tan & Kam C. Chan, 2021. "Seeing is believing? The impact of air pollution on corporate social responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 525-534, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:28:y:2021:i:1:p:525-534
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.2068
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    2. Ma, Xinru & He, Jingbin, 2023. "Air pollution and corporate green innovation in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    3. Kam C. Chan & Tao Chen & Baohua Liu & Junfeng Wu, 2022. "Air pollution and CEO compensation: Evidence from China," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 448-469, April.
    4. Haitao Wu & Shiyue Luo & Suixin Li & Yan Xue & Yu Hao, 2024. "Fostering Urban Inclusive Green Growth: Does Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Matter?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(4), pages 677-698, February.
    5. Jiang, Dequan & Li, Weiping & Shen, Yongjian & Yu, Shuangli, 2022. "Does air pollution affect earnings management? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    6. Shen, Yuxin & Xu, Hanwen & Yu, Shuangli & Xu, Wei & Shen, Yongjian, 2022. "Air pollution and tax avoidance: New evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 402-420.
    7. Huang, Jun & Han, Feifei & Li, Yun, 2023. "Government as major customer: The effects of government procurement on corporate environmental, social, and governance performance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    8. Yang, Zhenyi & Leng, Tiecheng & Pan, Luyao & Wang, Xiaoming, 2022. "Paying for pollution: Air quality and executive compensation," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    9. Tan, Zhidong & Yan, Lina, 2021. "Does air pollution impede corporate innovation?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 937-951.
    10. Ruichen Ma, 2023. "The sustainable development trend in environmental, social, and governance issues and stakeholder engagement: Evidence from mergers and acquisitions in China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(6), pages 3159-3173, November.
    11. Peggy M. L. Ng & Tai Ming Wut & Kam Kong Lit & Cherry T. Y. Cheung, 2022. "Drivers of corporate social responsibility and firm performance for sustainable development—An institutional theory approach," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 871-886, July.
    12. Shouyu Yao & Yuying Pan & Lu Wang & Ahmet Sensoy & Feiyang Cheng, 2023. "Building Eco-friendly Corporations: The Role of Minority Shareholders," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(4), pages 933-966, February.
    13. Shu, Hao & Tan, Weiqiang, 2023. "Does carbon control policy risk affect corporate ESG performance?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).

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