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Does community environment matter to corporate social responsibility?

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  • Wu, Dejun
  • Lin, Chen
  • Liu, Sibo

Abstract

How does the preference of local stakeholders shape firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR)? Using a twenty-year U.S. sample, this paper examines the effects of the community demographic and cultural environment on CSR. We find that firms located in counties with more senior residents and/or higher levels of religiosity display higher degree of corporate social responsibility. In addition, we find the positive effects of local seniors and religiosity are stronger for less financial constrained firms. The result is robust after controlling for firm fixed effects, operating state trends and incorporation state trends. Taken together, our evidence supports a stakeholder theory of corporate social responsibility.

Suggested Citation

  • Wu, Dejun & Lin, Chen & Liu, Sibo, 2016. "Does community environment matter to corporate social responsibility?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 127-135.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:18:y:2016:i:c:p:127-135
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2016.04.010
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    2. Carter, David A. & Shank, Corey A., 2023. "Do religiosity and political beliefs affect female representation and firm performance?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
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    4. Harjoto, Maretno Agus & Rossi, Fabrizio, 2019. "Religiosity, female directors, and corporate social responsibility for Italian listed companies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 338-346.
    5. 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.
    6. Hunjra, Ahmed Imran & Boubaker, Sabri & Arunachalam, Murugesh & Mehmood, Asad, 2021. "How does CSR mediate the relationship between culture, religiosity and firm performance?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    7. Chiang, Wen-Chyuan & Shang, Jennifer & Sun, Li, 2017. "Broad bond rating change and irresponsible corporate social responsibility activities," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 32-46.
    8. 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.
    9. Ahsan Habib & Mabel D' Costa & Ahmed Khamis Al‐Hadi, 2023. "Consequences of local social norms: A review of the literature in accounting, finance, and corporate governance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(1), pages 3-45, March.
    10. Shahid, Ahmad Usman & Patel, Chris & Pan, Peipei, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility, intrinsic religiosity, and investment decisions," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C).
    11. Nebojsa Dimic & Veda Fatmy & Sami Vähämaa, 2024. "Religiosity and corporate social responsibility: A study of firm‐level adherence to Christian values in the United States," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 396-413, January.
    12. Simone Terzani & Teresa Turzo, 2021. "Religious social norms and corporate sustainability: The effect of religiosity on environmental, social, and governance disclosure," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 485-496, January.
    13. Liu, Fuzhen & He, Chaocheng & Lai, Kee-hung, 2024. "Market reaction to responsible production practices adoption: The role of firm size and financial slack," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    14. Chi, Wentao & Chen, Yun, 2021. "Employee satisfaction and the cost of corporate borrowing," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    15. Claudiu Herteliu & Ionel Jianu & Iulia Jianu & Vasile Catalin Bobb & Gurjeet Dhesi & Sebastian Ion Ceptureanu & Eduard Gabriel Ceptureanu & Marcel Ausloos, 2021. "Money’s importance from the religious perspective," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 299(1), pages 375-399, April.
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    17. Miao, Shuchao & Chi, Jing & Liao, Jing & Qian, Long, 2021. "How does religious belief promote farmer entrepreneurship in rural China?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 95-104.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate social responsibility; Stakeholders; Community; Seniors; Religiosity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G02 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Behavioral Finance: Underlying Principles
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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