IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/pacfin/v93y2025ics0927538x25002215.html

CSR and exposure to systemic risk: Building resilience in non-financial firms

Author

Listed:
  • Chaudhry, Neeru
  • Dhawan, Priya

Abstract

By using a sample of non-financial listed Indian firms, we find that firms that spend more funds on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) observe a greater reduction in their exposure to systemic risk. The negative relationship between CSR spending and systemic risk persists even during the global financial crisis and COVID-19 pandemic periods. It is more pronounced for firms that are mandated to spend on CSR than those which are not. CSR reduces the exposure to systemic risk by improving the information quality, reducing the probability of default, and enhancing the firm valuation. Our study highlights the importance of integrating CSR into the policymaking, which is directed towards mitigating the systemic risk. It in turn would ensure financial stability and reduce crises in an economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Chaudhry, Neeru & Dhawan, Priya, 2025. "CSR and exposure to systemic risk: Building resilience in non-financial firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:93:y:2025:i:c:s0927538x25002215
    DOI: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2025.102884
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927538X25002215
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.pacfin.2025.102884?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Drobetz, Wolfgang & Grüninger, Matthias C. & Hirschvogl, Simone, 2010. "Information asymmetry and the value of cash," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(9), pages 2168-2184, September.
    2. Feng, Jingwen & Goodell, John W. & Shen, Dehua, 2022. "ESG rating and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    3. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck C.Y. & Mishra, Dev R., 2011. "Does corporate social responsibility affect the cost of capital?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 2388-2406, September.
    4. Stephen P. Ferris & Murali Jagannathan & A. C. Pritchard, 2003. "Too Busy to Mind the Business? Monitoring by Directors with Multiple Board Appointments," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 1087-1111, June.
    5. Cathcart, Lara & Dufour, Alfonso & Rossi, Ludovico & Varotto, Simone, 2020. "The differential impact of leverage on the default risk of small and large firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    6. Chaudhry, Neeru & Kumari, Damini, 2024. "How do banks price carbon risk? Evidence from India," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    7. Holger Daske & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz & Rodrigo Verdi, 2013. "Adopting a Label: Heterogeneity in the Economic Consequences Around IAS/IFRS Adoptions," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 51(3), pages 495-547, June.
    8. Paul A. Gompers & Joy Ishii & Andrew Metrick, 2010. "Extreme Governance: An Analysis of Dual-Class Firms in the United States," NBER Chapters, in: Corporate Governance, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Sakunasingha, Benjalux & Jiraporn, Pornsit & Uyar, Ali, 2018. "Which CSR activities are more consequential? Evidence from the Great Recession," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 161-168.
    10. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2003. "Enjoying the Quiet Life? Corporate Governance and Managerial Preferences," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(5), pages 1043-1075, October.
    11. Joon Chae, 2005. "Trading Volume, Information Asymmetry, and Timing Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(1), pages 413-442, February.
    12. Mies, Michael, 2024. "Bank opacity, systemic risk and financial stability," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    13. Amihud, Yakov, 2002. "Illiquidity and stock returns: cross-section and time-series effects," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 31-56, January.
    14. Bruna, Maria Giuseppina & Đặng, Rey & Ammari, Aymen & Houanti, L'Hocine, 2021. "The effect of board gender diversity on corporate social performance: An instrumental variable quantile regression approach," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    15. Dungey, Mardi & Flavin, Thomas & O'Connor, Thomas & Wosser, Michael, 2022. "Non-financial corporations and systemic risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    16. Agarwal, Anushka & Chaudhry, Neeru, 2022. "Foreign controlling shareholders and corporate investment," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    17. Chen, Changling & Huang, Alan Guoming & Jha, Ranjini, 2012. "Idiosyncratic Return Volatility and the Information Quality Underlying Managerial Discretion," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 47(4), pages 873-899, August.
    18. Fatemi, Ali & Fooladi, Iraj & Tehranian, Hassan, 2015. "Valuation effects of corporate social responsibility," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 182-192.
    19. Wu, Fei, 2019. "Sectoral contributions to systemic risk in the Chinese stock market," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    20. Roland Bénabou & Jean Tirole, 2010. "Individual and Corporate Social Responsibility," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 77(305), pages 1-19, January.
    21. Bae, Kee-Hong & El Ghoul, Sadok & Gong, Zhaoran (Jason) & Guedhami, Omrane, 2021. "Does CSR matter in times of crisis? Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    22. Gregory D. Kane & Uma Velury & Bernadette M. Ruf, 2005. "Employee Relations and the Likelihood of Occurrence of Corporate Financial Distress," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(5-6), pages 1083-1105.
    23. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February.
    24. Derrien, François & Kecskés, Ambrus & Mansi, Sattar A., 2016. "Information asymmetry, the cost of debt, and credit events: Evidence from quasi-random analyst disappearances," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 295-311.
    25. Viral V. Acharya & Lasse H. Pedersen & Thomas Philippon & Matthew Richardson, 2017. "Measuring Systemic Risk," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(1), pages 2-47.
    26. Van Cauwenberge, Annelies & Vancauteren, Mark & Braekers, Roel & Vandemaele, Sigrid, 2019. "International trade, foreign direct investments, and firms’ systemic risk : Evidence from the Netherlands," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 361-386.
    27. Duan, Jin-Chuan & Sun, Jie & Wang, Tao, 2012. "Multiperiod corporate default prediction—A forward intensity approach," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 170(1), pages 191-209.
    28. repec:bla:jfinan:v:58:y:2003:i:3:p:1087-1112 is not listed on IDEAS
    29. Paul Kofman & Ian G. Sharpe, 2003. "Using Multiple Imputation in the Analysis of Incomplete Observations in Finance," Journal of Financial Econometrics, Oxford University Press, vol. 1(2), pages 216-249.
    30. Baatwah, Saeed Rabea & Al-Qadasi, Adel Ali & Al-Shehri, Amer Mohammed & Derouiche, Imen, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility budgeting and spending during COVID–19 in Oman: A humanitarian response to the pandemic," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    31. Buchanan, Bonnie & Cao, Cathy Xuying & Chen, Chongyang, 2018. "Corporate social responsibility, firm value, and influential institutional ownership," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 73-95.
    32. Scott R. Baker & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis, 2016. "Measuring Economic Policy Uncertainty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(4), pages 1593-1636.
    33. Diamond, Douglas W & Verrecchia, Robert E, 1991. "Disclosure, Liquidity, and the Cost of Capital," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(4), pages 1325-1359, September.
    34. Marshall, Andrew & Rao, Sandeep & Roy, Partha P. & Thapa, Chandra, 2022. "Mandatory corporate social responsibility and foreign institutional investor preferences," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    35. Roy, Partha P. & Rao, Sandeep & Zhu, Min, 2022. "Mandatory CSR expenditure and stock market liquidity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    36. Vella, Francis & Verbeek, Marno, 1999. "Two-step estimation of panel data models with censored endogenous variables and selection bias," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 90(2), pages 239-263, June.
    37. La Rosa, Fabio & Liberatore, Giovanni & Mazzi, Francesco & Terzani, Simone, 2018. "The impact of corporate social performance on the cost of debt and access to debt financing for listed European non-financial firms," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 519-529.
    38. Bena, Jan & Ferreira, Miguel A & Matos, Pedro & Pires, Pedro, 2017. "Are foreign investors locusts? The long-term effects of foreign institutional ownership," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(1), pages 122-146.
    39. Andrew Y. Chen & Jack McCoy, 2022. "Missing Values Handling for Machine Learning Portfolios," Papers 2207.13071, arXiv.org, revised Jan 2024.
    40. Cragg, John G. & Donald, Stephen G., 1993. "Testing Identifiability and Specification in Instrumental Variable Models," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 222-240, April.
    41. Karl V. Lins & Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2017. "Social Capital, Trust, and Firm Performance: The Value of Corporate Social Responsibility during the Financial Crisis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(4), pages 1785-1824, August.
    42. Anginer, Deniz & Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Huizinga, Harry & Ma, Kebin, 2018. "Corporate governance of banks and financial stability," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(2), pages 327-346.
    43. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Yurong & Zhang, Xiaoming, 2023. "Corporate governance and systemic risk: Evidence from Chinese-listed banks," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 180-202.
    44. Whitney Newey & Kenneth West, 2014. "A simple, positive semi-definite, heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation consistent covariance matrix," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 33(1), pages 125-132.
    45. Jinhua Cui & Hoje Jo & Haejung Na, 2018. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility Affect Information Asymmetry?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(3), pages 549-572, March.
    46. Chenyu Shan & Dragon Yongjun Tang, 2023. "The Value of Employee Satisfaction in Disastrous Times: Evidence from COVID-19," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 27(3), pages 1027-1076.
    47. Gregory D. Kane & Uma Velury & Bernadette M. Ruf, 2005. "Employee Relations and the Likelihood of Occurrence of Corporate Financial Distress," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(5‐6), pages 1083-1105, June.
    48. Chintrakarn, Pandej & Jiraporn, Pornsit & Treepongkaruna, Sirimon, 2021. "How do independent directors view corporate social responsibility (CSR) during a stressful time? Evidence from the financial crisis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 143-160.
    49. Fama, Eugene F & MacBeth, James D, 1973. "Risk, Return, and Equilibrium: Empirical Tests," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(3), pages 607-636, May-June.
    50. Chen, Andrew Y. & McCoy, Jack, 2024. "Missing values handling for machine learning portfolios," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    51. Edmans, Alex, 2011. "Does the stock market fully value intangibles? Employee satisfaction and equity prices," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(3), pages 621-640, September.
    52. Lin, K.C. & Dong, Xiaobo, 2018. "Corporate social responsibility engagement of financially distressed firms and their bankruptcy likelihood," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 32-45.
    53. Bose, Udichibarna & Filomeni, Stefano & Mallick, Sushanta, 2021. "Does bankruptcy law improve the fate of distressed firms? The role of credit channels," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    54. Bouslah, Kais & Kryzanowski, Lawrence & M’Zali, Bouchra, 2013. "The impact of the dimensions of social performance on firm risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 1258-1273.
    55. Smaga, Pawel, 2014. "The concept of systemic risk," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 61214, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    56. Bhattacharyya, Asit & Rahman, Md Lutfur, 2019. "Mandatory CSR expenditure and firm performance," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3).
    57. Li, Xiao-Lin & Li, Haofei & Ge, Xinyu & Si, Deng-Kui, 2023. "Capital market liberalization and systemic risk of non-financial firms: Evidence from Chinese Stock Connect scheme," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    58. Dungey, Mardi & Flavin, Thomas J. & Lagoa-Varela, Dolores, 2020. "Are banking shocks contagious? Evidence from the eurozone," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    59. Qin, Xiao & Zhou, Chunyang, 2019. "Financial structure and determinants of systemic risk contribution," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    60. Rui Albuquerque & Yrjö Koskinen & Chendi Zhang, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Risk: Theory and Empirical Evidence," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(10), pages 4451-4469, October.
    61. Patro, Dilip K. & Qi, Min & Sun, Xian, 2013. "A simple indicator of systemic risk," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 105-116.
    62. Idier, Julien & Lamé, Gildas & Mésonnier, Jean-Stéphane, 2014. "How useful is the Marginal Expected Shortfall for the measurement of systemic exposure? A practical assessment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 134-146.
    63. Li, Zhiyong & Crook, Jonathan & Andreeva, Galina & Tang, Ying, 2021. "Predicting the risk of financial distress using corporate governance measures," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    64. Cucinelli, Doriana & Soana, Maria Gaia, 2023. "Systemic risk in non financial companies: Does governance matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    65. Boubaker, Sabri & Cellier, Alexis & Manita, Riadh & Saeed, Asif, 2020. "Does corporate social responsibility reduce financial distress risk?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 835-851.
    66. Maria Giuseppina Bruna & Rey Đặng & Aymen Ammari & L'Hocine Houanti, 2021. "The effect of board gender diversity on corporate social performance: An instrumental variable quantile regression approach," Post-Print hal-04455603, HAL.
    67. Viral Acharya & Robert Engle & Matthew Richardson, 2012. "Capital Shortfall: A New Approach to Ranking and Regulating Systemic Risks," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(3), pages 59-64, May.
    68. Huang, Wenli & Lan, Cheng & Xu, Yueling & Zhang, Zhaonan & Zeng, Haijian, 2022. "Does COVID-19 matter for systemic financial risks? Evidence from China's financial and real estate sectors," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Chaudhry, Neeru & Dhawan, Priya, 2025. "Does firms' commitment towards CSR influence idiosyncratic volatility? Evidence from India," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    2. Liu, Xufeng & Wan, Die, 2023. "Retail investor trading and ESG pricing in China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    3. Srivastava, Jagriti & Sampath, Aravind & Gopalakrishnan, Balagopal, 2022. "Is ESG the key to unlock debt financing during the COVID-19 pandemic? International evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    4. Cao, Zhangfan & Rees, William, 2020. "Do employee-friendly firms invest more efficiently? Evidence from labor investment efficiency," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    5. Fan, Kwok Yuen & Shen, Jianfu & Hui, Eddie C.M. & Cheng, Louis T.W., 2024. "ESG components and equity returns: Evidence from real estate investment trusts," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    6. Gillan, Stuart L. & Koch, Andrew & Starks, Laura T., 2021. "Firms and social responsibility: A review of ESG and CSR research in corporate finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    7. He, Feng & Feng, Yaqian & Hao, Jing, 2023. "Corporate ESG rating and stock market liquidity: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    8. Boubaker, Sabri & Cellier, Alexis & Manita, Riadh & Saeed, Asif, 2020. "Does corporate social responsibility reduce financial distress risk?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 835-851.
    9. Rudkin, Wanling & Cai, Charlie X. & Zhou, You, 2025. "Can we enhance investment with ESG?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    10. Chang, Shun-Fen & Chen, Bai-Sian & Chen, Hong-Yi & Chen, Hsiao-Yin, 2025. "The impact of ESG ratings on firm risks in Taiwan's market," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    11. Çiğdem Vural‐Yavaş, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty, stakeholder engagement, and environmental, social, and governance practices: The moderating effect of competition," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 82-102, January.
    12. Stefano Piserà & Luca Gandullia & Claudia Girardone, 2025. "Do responsible practices lead to higher firm productivity? Evidence from Europe," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(3), pages 2186-2214, July.
    13. Han, Wang-Zhe & Meng, Wanshan, 2025. "Does AI contribute to systemic risk reduction in non-financial corporations?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    14. Luo, Di, 2022. "ESG, liquidity, and stock returns," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    15. Roy, Partha P. & Rao, Sandeep & Zhu, Min, 2022. "Mandatory CSR expenditure and stock market liquidity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    16. Kara, Alper & Ongena, Steven & Yildiz, Yilmaz, 2024. "Does being a responsible bank pay off? Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    17. Champagne, Claudia & Coggins, Frank & Sodjahin, Amos, 2022. "Can extra-financial ratings serve as an indicator of ESG risk?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    18. Malik, Ihtisham A. & Chowdhury, Hasibul & Alam, Md Samsul, 2023. "Equity market response to natural disasters: Does firm's corporate social responsibility make difference?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    19. Angelidis, Timotheos & Michairinas, Athanasios & Sakkas, Athanasios, 2024. "World ESG performance and economic activity," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    20. Qinglan Wu & Guifu Chen & Jing Han & Liyan Wu, 2022. "Does Corporate ESG Performance Improve Export Intensity? Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • 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

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:pacfin:v:93:y:2025:i:c:s0927538x25002215. 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/pacfin .

    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.