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Corporate social responsibility and insider horizon

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  • Shackleton, Mark
  • Yao, Yaqiong
  • Zuo, Ziran

Abstract

We show a positive relation between insider horizon and a firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance. This positive relation is likely driven by good internal governance rather than agency problems. To support a causal interpretation, we adopt managerial career horizon reductions and the rejection of inevitable disclosure doctrine as exogenous shocks to insider horizon. We find that the observed positive effects are stronger when firms have higher ownership of long-term and socially responsible institutional investors, when insiders sign long-term compensation contracts, and when firms face less takeover pressure. We document the real effects of long-horizon insiders using various raw CSR metrics. Overall, our results indicate that insiders' long-term orientation can promote CSR.

Suggested Citation

  • Shackleton, Mark & Yao, Yaqiong & Zuo, Ziran, 2025. "Corporate social responsibility and insider horizon," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:90:y:2025:i:c:s0929119924001585
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102696
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    CSR; Insider investment horizon; Short-termism; Corporate governance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

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