IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v144y2022icp345-357.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of corporate social irresponsibility on emerging-economy firms’ long-term performance: An explanation based on signal theory

Author

Listed:
  • Zhong, Xi
  • Chen, Weihong
  • Ren, Ge

Abstract

Corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) is widespread globally and severely impacts firms negatively. However, scholars have rarely empirically explored the relationship between CSI and emerging-economy firms’ long-term performance. Based on signal theory, we propose that CSI, as a negative signal unintentionally sent by the firm, will significantly weaken the approval and support of core stakeholders, and eventually have a serious adverse effect on emerging-economy firms’ long-term performance. In addition, we further propose that the relationship between CSI and emerging-economy firms’ long-term performance is likely nuanced and may vary by a multidimensional signal environment (e.g., corporate charitable donation, industry competition intensity, and regional marketization degree). After conducting an empirical test on Chinese listed companies from 2003 to 2019, we find that most of our arguments are supported. Our research enriches and expands the CSI and signal theory literature by providing important insights for firms and government departments to control CSI.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhong, Xi & Chen, Weihong & Ren, Ge, 2022. "The impact of corporate social irresponsibility on emerging-economy firms’ long-term performance: An explanation based on signal theory," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 345-357.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:144:y:2022:i:c:p:345-357
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.02.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296322001217
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.02.005?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sol Kim & Geul Lee & Hyoung‐Goo Kang, 2021. "Risk management and corporate social responsibility," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(1), pages 202-230, January.
    2. Sarah E. Wolfolds & Jordan Siegel, 2019. "Misaccounting for endogeneity: The peril of relying on the Heckman two‐step method without a valid instrument," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(3), pages 432-462, March.
    3. Wu, Bao & Jin, Chenfei & Monfort, Abel & Hua, Danni, 2021. "Generous charity to preserve green image? Exploring linkage between strategic donations and environmental misconduct," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 839-850.
    4. Xingqiang Du, 2015. "Is Corporate Philanthropy Used as Environmental Misconduct Dressing? Evidence from Chinese Family-Owned Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 129(2), pages 341-361, June.
    5. Will Drover & Matthew S. Wood & Andrew C. Corbett, 2018. "Toward a Cognitive View of Signalling Theory: Individual Attention and Signal Set Interpretation," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 209-231, March.
    6. Ying Zhang & Li Tong & Ji Li, 2020. "Minding the gap: Asymmetric effects of pay dispersion on stakeholder engagement in corporate environmental (Ir)responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2354-2367, September.
    7. Martin J. Conyon & Lerong He, 2016. "Executive Compensation and Corporate Fraud in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(4), pages 669-691, April.
    8. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    9. Zheng, Zhen & Lin, Yongjia & Yu, Xiaoou & Liu, Xinming, 2021. "Product market competition and the cost of equity capital," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 1-9.
    10. 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.
    11. Donald D. Bergh & Brian L. Connelly & David J. Ketchen Jr & Lu M. Shannon, 2014. "Signalling Theory and Equilibrium in Strategic Management Research: An Assessment and a Research Agenda," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(8), pages 1334-1360, December.
    12. Isabell Lenz & Hauke A. Wetzel & Maik Hammerschmidt, 2017. "Can doing good lead to doing poorly? Firm value implications of CSR in the face of CSI," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(5), pages 677-697, September.
    13. Alfred Zhu Liu & Angela Xia Liu & Rui Wang & Sean Xin Xu, 2020. "Too Much of a Good Thing? The Boomerang Effect of Firms’ Investments on Corporate Social Responsibility during Product Recalls," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(8), pages 1437-1472, December.
    14. Popli, Manish & Raithatha, Mehul & Ahsan, Faisal Mohammad, 2021. "Signaling behavioral intent through better governance: A study of emerging market multinational enterprises," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 697-710.
    15. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    16. Jia Li & Zhengying Luo, 2021. "Product market competition and cost stickiness: Evidence from China," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(7), pages 1808-1821, October.
    17. Zhang, Lin & Xu, Yuehua & Chen, Honghui & Jing, Runtian, 2020. "Corporate Philanthropy After Fraud Punishment: An Institutional Perspective," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(1), pages 33-68, February.
    18. Weizhang Sun & Xuan Li & Yanli Geng & Jinfeng Yang & Yifei Zhang, 2020. "Board interlocks and the diffusion of CSR reporting practices: The role of market development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 1333-1343, May.
    19. Dae-il Nam & Haemin Dennis Park & Jonathan D. Arthurs, 2014. "Looking Attractive until You Sell: Earnings Management, Lockup Expiration, and Venture Capitalists," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(8), pages 1286-1310, December.
    20. García-García, Raquel & García-Canal, Esteban & Guillén, Mauro F., 2017. "Rapid internationalization and long-term performance: The knowledge link," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 97-110.
    21. Price, Joseph M. & Sun, Wenbin, 2017. "Doing good and doing bad: The impact of corporate social responsibility and irresponsibility on firm performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 82-97.
    22. Zelong Wei & Hao Shen & Kevin Zheng Zhou & Julie Juan Li, 2017. "How Does Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility Matter in a Dysfunctional Institutional Environment? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 209-223, January.
    23. Amal Aouadi & Sylvain Marsat, 2018. "Do ESG Controversies Matter for Firm Value? Evidence from International Data," Post-Print halshs-02007374, HAL.
    24. Chen, Chung-Jen & Guo, Ruey-Shan & Hsiao, Yung-Chang & Chen, Kuo-Liang, 2018. "How business strategy in non-financial firms moderates the curvilinear effects of corporate social responsibility and irresponsibility on corporate financial performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 154-167.
    25. Tang, Qingqing & Gu, Flora F. & Xie, En & Wu, Zhan, 2020. "Exploratory and exploitative OFDI from emerging markets: Impacts on firm performance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    26. Kubick, Thomas R. & Lockhart, G. Brandon, 2016. "Do external labor market incentives motivate CEOs to adopt more aggressive corporate tax reporting preferences?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 255-277.
    27. Dharwadkar, Ravi & Guo, Jun & Shi, Linna & Yang, Rong, 2021. "Corporate social irresponsibility and boards: The implications of legal expertise," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 143-154.
    28. Caroline Flammer, 2015. "Does product market competition foster corporate social responsibility? Evidence from trade liberalization," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(10), pages 1469-1485, October.
    29. Ge, Jianhua & Stanley, Laura J. & Eddleston, Kimberly & Kellermanns, Franz W., 2017. "Institutional deterioration and entrepreneurial investment: The role of political connections," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 405-419.
    30. Jie Wu, 2014. "The Antecedents of Corporate Social and Environmental Irresponsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(5), pages 286-300, September.
    31. Nirino, Niccolò & Santoro, Gabriele & Miglietta, Nicola & Quaglia, Roberto, 2021. "Corporate controversies and company's financial performance: Exploring the moderating role of ESG practices," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    32. Se-Yeon Ahn & Dong-Jun Park, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Longevity: The Mediating Role of Social Capital and Moral Legitimacy in Korea," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 117-134, June.
    33. Shou, Yongyi & Shao, Jinan & Wang, Weijiao & Lai, Kee-hung, 2020. "The impact of corporate social responsibility on trade credit: Evidence from Chinese small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    34. Christopher Marquis & Cuili Qian, 2014. "Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in China: Symbol or Substance?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(1), pages 127-148, February.
    35. Fei Xu & Mian Yang & Qiangyi Li & Xiaolei Yang, 2020. "Long‐term economic consequences of corporate environmental responsibility: Evidence from heavily polluting listed companies in China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2251-2264, September.
    36. Amal Aouadi & Sylvain Marsat, 2018. "Do ESG Controversies Matter for Firm Value? Evidence from International Data," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 1027-1047, September.
    37. Grimmer, Martin & Bingham, Timothy, 2013. "Company environmental performance and consumer purchase intentions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 1945-1953.
    38. Ping-Sheng Koh & Cuili Qian & Heli Wang, 2014. "Firm litigation risk and the insurance value of corporate social performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(10), pages 1464-1482, October.
    39. Han Lin & Saixing Zeng & Liangyan Wang & Hailiang Zou & Hanyang Ma, 2016. "How Does Environmental Irresponsibility Impair Corporate Reputation? A Multi‐Method Investigation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(6), pages 413-423, November.
    40. Jing‐Lin Duanmu & Maoliang Bu & Russell Pittman, 2018. "Does market competition dampen environmental performance? Evidence from China," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(11), pages 3006-3030, November.
    41. Julian F. Kölbel & Timo Busch & Leonhardt M. Jancso, 2017. "How Media Coverage of Corporate Social Irresponsibility Increases Financial Risk," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(11), pages 2266-2284, November.
    42. Lin-Hi, Nick & Müller, Karsten, 2013. "The CSR bottom line: Preventing corporate social irresponsibility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 1928-1936.
    43. Weichieh Su & Mike W. Peng & Weiqiang Tan & Yan-Leung Cheung, 2016. "The Signaling Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility in Emerging Economies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 479-491, March.
    44. Shih-Chi Chiu & Mark Sharfman, 2018. "Corporate Social Irresponsibility and Executive Succession: An Empirical Examination," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 707-723, May.
    45. Yi Liu & Wenqian Li & Yuan Li, 2020. "Ambidexterity between low cost strategy and CSR strategy: contingencies of competition and regulation," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 633-660, September.
    46. Xingqiang Du & Yingying Chang & Quan Zeng & Yingjie Du & Hongmei Pei, 2016. "Corporate environmental responsibility (CER) weakness, media coverage, and corporate philanthropy: Evidence from China," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 551-581, June.
    47. Tiina Onkila, 2015. "Pride or Embarrassment? Employees’ Emotions and Corporate Social Responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(4), pages 222-236, July.
    48. Yi Yang & Congxu Yao & Ying Li, 2020. "The impact of the amount of environmental information disclosure on financial performance: The moderating effect of corporate internationalization," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2893-2907, November.
    49. Michael Spence, 1973. "Job Market Signaling," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 87(3), pages 355-374.
    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. Li, Bin & Guo, Fei & Xu, Lei & Meng, Siqi, 2024. "Fintech business and corporate social responsibility practices," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    2. Zhou, Kevin Zheng & Wang, Kui & Xu, Dean & Xie, En, 2022. "Drinking poison to quench thirst: Does bribery foster firm performance in China?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 505-517.
    3. Xi Zhong & Ge Ren & XiaoJie Wu, 2024. "Corporate philanthropy and bribery as distinctive responses to economic policy uncertainty: Do state-owned and private firms differ?," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 641-677, June.

    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. Anita Mendiratta & Shveta Singh & Surendra Singh Yadav & Arvind Mahajan, 2023. "Bibliometric and Topic Modeling Analysis of Corporate Social Irresponsibility," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 24(3), pages 319-339, September.
    2. Cemil Kuzey & Habiba Al-Shaer & Ali Uyar & Abdullah S. Karaman, 2024. "Do board monitoring and audit committee quality help risky firms reduce CSR controversies?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 1007-1045, October.
    3. Chowdhury, Hasibul & Hodgson, Allan & Hasan, Mostafa Monzur, 2022. "Does a competitive external labour market affect corporate social responsibility? Evidence from industry tournament incentives," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C).
    4. Zhong, Xi & Ren, Ge, 2023. "Independent and joint effects of CSR and CSI on the effectiveness of digital transformation for transition economy firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    5. María Iborra & Marta Riera, 2023. "Corporate social irresponsibility: What we know and what we need to know," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1421-1439, May.
    6. Wong, Jin Boon & Zhang, Qin, 2022. "Stock market reactions to adverse ESG disclosure via media channels," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    7. Xi Zhong & Liuyang Ren & Tiebo Song, 2022. "Beyond Market Strategies: How Multiple Decision-Maker Groups Jointly Influence Underperforming Firms’ Corporate Social (Ir)responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(2), pages 481-499, June.
    8. Wang, Ding & Wei, Jiang & Noorderhaven, Niels & Liu, Yang, 2023. "Signaling effects of CSR performance on cross-border alliance formation," Other publications TiSEM 8216bc26-81cb-4d2a-b81a-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    9. Ding Wang & Jiang Wei & Niels Noorderhaven & Yang Liu, 2023. "Signaling Effects of CSR Performance on Cross-border Alliance Formation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(4), pages 831-850, September.
    10. Yusen Dong & Pengcheng Ma & Lanzhu Sun & Daniel Han Ming Chng, 2024. "Goodwill Hunting: Why and When Ultimate Controlling Owners Affect Their Firms’ Corporate Social Responsibility Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 193(3), pages 535-553, September.
    11. Changhyun Kim & Yoonseok Zang & Heli Wang & Kate Niu, 2024. "When Do Corporate Good Deeds Become a Burden? The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility Following Negative Events," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 192(2), pages 285-306, June.
    12. Shu-Yun Du & Xiao-Chen Shao & Alfredo Jiménez & Jeoung Yul Lee, 2022. "Corporate Social Responsibility of Chinese Multinational Enterprises: A Review and Future Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-22, December.
    13. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    14. Reyes Samaniego-Medina & Pilar Giraldez-Puig, 2022. "Do Sustainability Risks Affect Credit Ratings? Evidence from European Banks," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 24(61), pages 720-720, August.
    15. Wang, Yujie & Tsang, Albert & Xiang, Yi & Yao, Daifei (Troy), 2023. "Corporate social responsibility misconduct and formation of board interlocks," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    16. Fatemi, Ali & Fooladi, Iraj & Sy, Oumar & Zaman, Ashraf, 2024. "Corporate headquarters relocation and CSR performance," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PB), pages 622-637.
    17. Hang Thu Nguyen & Tra Thi Dan Vu & Hiep Manh Nguyen & Michael Troege, 2022. "Political embeddedness and the adoption of environmental management practices: The mediating effects of institutional pressures," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 965-983, July.
    18. Cicchiello, Antonella Francesca & Cotugno, Matteo & Foroni, Cristian, 2023. "Does competition affect ESG controversies? Evidence from the banking industry," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PB).
    19. Xingqiang Du & Yiqi Zhang & Shaojuan Lai & Hexin Tao, 2024. "How Do Auditors Value Hypocrisy? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 191(3), pages 501-533, May.
    20. Cheng, Peng & Wei, Jiuchang & Liu, Yang, 2024. "Give a plum in return for a peach: The effect of entrepreneurial informal financing on environmental corporate social responsibility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).

    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:eee:jbrese:v:144:y:2022:i:c:p:345-357. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    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.