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Religiosity, female directors, and corporate social responsibility for Italian listed companies

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  • Harjoto, Maretno Agus
  • Rossi, Fabrizio

Abstract

Italy is strongly associated with the Catholic Social Teaching (CST) that represents the central principles (doctrine) of the Roman Catholic Church. Using the frequency of words in the papal encyclicals and other writings related to religiosity and gender diversity along with regional demographic and socioeconomic characteristics as instrumental variables for local religiosity and female representation on the board, this study finds positive relationships between religiosity and CSR and between the presence of female directors and CSR for 156 Italian listed companies during the 2002–2014 period. This study also finds that both the top managers' (CEOs') personal religiosity and social pressure from local religiosity play significant roles in firms' CSR performance.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:95:y:2019:i:c:p:338-346
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.08.013
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    12. Saridakis, Charalampos & Angelidou, Sofia & Woodside, Arch G., 2020. "What type of CSR engagement suits my firm best? Evidence from an abductively-derived typology," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 174-187.
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    19. Khedmati, Mehdi & Aminu Sualihu, Mohammed & Yawson, Alfred, 2021. "Does religiosity matter for corporate labor investment decisions?," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2).
    20. Nguyen, Thanh Thi Phuong & Thai, Hanh Minh, 2022. "Effects of female directors on gender diversity at lower organization levels and CSR performance: Evidence in Japan," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    21. 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.
    22. Sa’adiah Munir & Gary John Rangel & Ravichandran K. Subramaniam & Mohd. Zulkhairi bin Mustapha, 2020. "Do Heterogeneous Boards Promote Firm Innovation? Evidence from Malaysia," Capital Markets Review, Malaysian Finance Association, vol. 28(1), pages 25-47.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Religiosity; Papacy; Female board representation; CSR;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • 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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