IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i20p5682-d276539.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does CSR Assurance Affect the Relationship between CSR Performance and Financial Performance?

Author

Listed:
  • Jintae Kim

    (Da Vinci College, Chung-Ang University, Gyeonggi-do 17546, Korea)

  • Kangho Cho

    (Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA)

  • Cheong K. Park

    (School of Business, Woodbury University, Burbank, CA 91504, USA)

Abstract

In this study, we investigate the effect of assurance service of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports on the relationship between CSR performance and firms’ financial performance. Specifically, we question whether firms having their CSR performance assured to benefit from such assurance services. Theory suggests that investors apply a lower discount rate when valuing firms if information from the firms is credible. Using a sample of 5040 large U.S. companies, we find that the CSR performance is positively associated with the firms’ financial performance on average and that there is a significant effect of CSR assurance service on the relationship between CSR performance and firms’ financial performance. This implies that firms having their CSR reports assured by external experts experience much higher financial performance than firms without such assurance service. Our findings are consistent with the prior studies and support our argument with regard to the CSR assurance service. The findings have implications for firms considering CSR assurance and accounting professionals for their opportunities.

Suggested Citation

  • Jintae Kim & Kangho Cho & Cheong K. Park, 2019. "Does CSR Assurance Affect the Relationship between CSR Performance and Financial Performance?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-12, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:20:p:5682-:d:276539
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/20/5682/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/20/5682/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sandra A. Waddock & Samuel B. Graves, 1997. "The Corporate Social Performance–Financial Performance Link," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(4), pages 303-319, April.
    2. Philip Baird & Pinar Geylani & Jeffrey Roberts, 2012. "Corporate Social and Financial Performance Re-Examined: Industry Effects in a Linear Mixed Model Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(3), pages 367-388, September.
    3. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "Value Maximization, Stakeholder Theory, and the Corporate Objective Function," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 32-42, January.
    4. White, Halbert, 1980. "A Heteroskedasticity-Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator and a Direct Test for Heteroskedasticity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(4), pages 817-838, May.
    5. Karl Widerquist, 2018. "The Bottom Line," Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee, in: A Critical Analysis of Basic Income Experiments for Researchers, Policymakers, and Citizens, chapter 0, pages 93-98, Palgrave Macmillan.
    6. Huang, Xiaobei “Beryl†& Watson, Luke, 2015. "Corporate social responsibility research in accounting," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 1-16.
    7. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Rajgopal, Shiva, 2005. "The economic implications of corporate financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1-3), pages 3-73, December.
    8. Sang Jun Cho & Chune Young Chung & Jason Young, 2019. "Study on the Relationship between CSR and Financial Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-26, January.
    9. Shallini Taneja & Pawan Taneja & Rajen Gupta, 2011. "Researches in Corporate Social Responsibility: A Review of Shifting Focus, Paradigms, and Methodologies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 101(3), pages 343-364, July.
    10. Blackwell, DW & Noland, TR & Winters, DB, 1998. "The value of auditor assurance: Evidence from loan pricing," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 57-70.
    11. Milton Friedman, 2007. "The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits," Springer Books, in: Walther Ch Zimmerli & Markus Holzinger & Klaus Richter (ed.), Corporate Ethics and Corporate Governance, pages 173-178, Springer.
    12. Lukas Timbate & Cheong Kyu Park, 2018. "CSR Performance, Financial Reporting, and Investors’ Perception on Financial Reporting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-16, February.
    13. Amy J. Hillman & Gerald D. Keim, 2001. "Shareholder value, stakeholder management, and social issues: what's the bottom line?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 125-139, February.
    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. Chih-Cheng Chen & Asif Khan & Tanaporn Hongsuchon & Athapol Ruangkanjanases & Yen-Tzu Chen & Ornlatcha Sivarak & Shih-Chih Chen, 2021. "The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Image in Times of Crisis: The Mediating Role of Customer Trust," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-20, August.
    2. Jiaen Hu & Luis Miguel López-Bonilla & Jesús Manuel López-Bonilla, 2023. "CSR Perceptions and Brand Attitudes in Chinese Luxury Hospitality: The Moderating Effect of Ads vs. Media Reports," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-17, May.
    3. Krisztina Szegedi & Yahya Khan & Csaba Lentner, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance: Evidence from Pakistani Listed Banks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-19, May.
    4. Daniel Ogachi & Zeman Zoltan, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Value Protection," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-22, November.
    5. Byron W. Keating, 2022. "CSR Commitment, Alignment and Firm Performance: The Case of the Australia-China Tourism Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-18, October.
    6. Faisal Mahmood & Faisal Qadeer & Usman Sattar & Antonio Ariza-Montes & Maria Saleem & Jaffar Aman, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firms’ Financial Performance: A New Insight," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-19, May.
    7. Li‐Chun Kuo & Chia‐Lin Lee & Yun‐Ting Lee, 2022. "The impact of voluntary assurance of CSR reports on firms' operating performance: Evidence from Taiwan," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 4041-4054, December.
    8. Daeheon Choi & Chune Young Chung & Soon-Ihl Samuel Hong & Jason Young, 2020. "The Role of Political Collusion in Corporate Performance in the Korean Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-18, March.
    9. Fen Zhang & Xiaonan Qin & Lina Liu, 2020. "The Interaction Effect between ESG and Green Innovation and Its Impact on Firm Value from the Perspective of Information Disclosure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-18, March.
    10. Haeyoung Ryu & Soo-Joon Chae, 2021. "Family Firms, Chaebol Affiliations, and Corporate Social Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    11. Youtang Zhang & Hagos Mesfin Berhe, 2022. "The Impact of Green Investment and Green Marketing on Business Performance: The Mediation Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Ethiopia’s Chinese Textile Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-24, March.
    12. Athanasios Krystallis & Vlad Zaharia & Antonis Zairis, 2021. "“When” Does It Pay to Be Good? Attributions Mediate the Way CSR Elements Impact on Consumer Responses, and Are Controllable," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, May.
    13. Chu-Hsuan Chang & Hsiou-Wei Lin & Wen-Hsien Tsai & Wei-Liang Wang & Cheng-Tsu Huang, 2021. "Employee Satisfaction, Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-26, September.
    14. Saeid Homayoun & Bita Mashayekhi & Amin Jahangard & Milad Samavat & Zabihollah Rezaee, 2023. "The Controversial Link between CSR and Financial Performance: The Mediating Role of Green Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-15, July.
    15. Daeheon Choi & Chune Young Chung & Mira Yoon & Jason Young, 2020. "Factors in a Sustainable Labor Market: Evidence from New College Graduates’ Initial Job Placement in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-22, March.
    16. Yasir Hayat Mughal & Kesavan Sreekantan Nair & Muhammad Arif & Fahad Albejaidi & Ramayah Thurasamy & Muhammad Asif Chuadhry & Saqib Yaqoob Malik, 2023. "Employees’ Perceptions of Green Supply-Chain Management, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Sustainability in Organizations: Mediating Effect of Reflective Moral Attentiveness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-18, July.
    17. Xiaoyang Xu & Muhammad Imran & Muhammad Ayaz & Sonia Lohana, 2022. "The Mediating Role of Green Technology Innovation with Corporate Social Responsibility, Firm Financial, and Environmental Performance: The Case of Chinese Manufacturing Industries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-20, December.
    18. Lopin Kuo & Po-Wen Kuo & Chun-Chih Chen, 2021. "Mandatory CSR Disclosure, CSR Assurance, and the Cost of Debt Capital: Evidence from Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-19, February.

    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. 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.
    2. Sana Noor & Abubakr Saeed & Muhammad Saad Baloch & Muhammad Awais, 2020. "CSR permanency, family ownership, and firm value: Evidence from emerging economies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2135-2149, September.
    3. Chowdhury, Rajib & Doukas, John A. & Park, Jong Chool, 2021. "Stakeholder orientation and the value of cash holdings: Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    4. Chu-Hsuan Chang & Hsiou-Wei Lin & Wen-Hsien Tsai & Wei-Liang Wang & Cheng-Tsu Huang, 2021. "Employee Satisfaction, Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-26, September.
    5. Wei, Yu & Nan, Haoxi & Wei, Guiwu, 2020. "The impact of employee welfare on innovation performance: Evidence from China's manufacturing corporations," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    6. Lucy W. Lu, 2021. "The moderating effect of corporate governance on the relationship between corporate sustainability performance and corporate financial performance," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(3), pages 193-206, September.
    7. Boubaker, Sabri & Chebbi, Kaouther & Grira, Jocelyn, 2020. "Top management inside debt and corporate social responsibility? Evidence from the US," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 98-115.
    8. Li, WeiWei & Padmanabhan, Prasad & Huang, Chia-Hsing, 2024. "ESG and debt structure: Is the nature of this relationship nonlinear?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    9. Kamalesh Kumar & Giacomo Boesso & Giovanna Michelon, 2016. "How Do Strengths and Weaknesses in Corporate Social Performance Across Different Stakeholder Domains Affect Company Performance?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(4), pages 277-292, May.
    10. Ormazabal, Gaizka, 2018. "The Role of Stakeholders in Corporate Governance: A View from Accounting Research," CEPR Discussion Papers 12775, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Kim, Sooin & Yoo, Jungmin, 2022. "Corporate Opacity, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Financial Performance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    12. Elena Platonova & Mehmet Asutay & Rob Dixon & Sabri Mohammad, 2018. "The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure on Financial Performance: Evidence from the GCC Islamic Banking Sector," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 451-471, August.
    13. KONISHI, Masaru & 小西, 大 & SAITO, Junyu, 2023. "Do firms consider stakeholder interests as a means to create shareholder value or as the ultimate goal? Evidence from Japanese dividend policies," Working Paper Series G-1-27, Hitotsubashi University Center for Financial Research.
    14. Luis Otero-González & Pablo Durán-Santomil & Luis-Ignacio Rodríguez-Gil & Rubén Lado-Sestayo, 2021. "Does a Company’s Profitability Influence the Level of CSR Development?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-15, March.
    15. Muhammad Akram Naseem & Jun Lin & Ramiz ur Rehman & Muhammad Ishfaq Ahmad & Rizwan Ali, 2019. "Moderating role of financial ratios in corporate social responsibility disclosure and firm value," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(4), pages 1-19, April.
    16. Pornanong Budsaratragoon & Boonlert Jitmaneeroj, 2021. "Corporate Sustainability and Stock Value in Asian–Pacific Emerging Markets: Synergies or Tradeoffs among ESG Factors?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-25, June.
    17. Dongyoung Lee, 2017. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Management Forecast Accuracy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 353-367, January.
    18. Camélia Radu & Nadia Smaili, 2021. "Corporate performance patterns of Canadian listed firms: Balancing financial and corporate social responsibility outcomes," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 3344-3359, November.
    19. André Laplume & Kent Walker & Zhou Zhang & Xin Yu, 2021. "Incumbent Stakeholder Management Performance and New Entry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(3), pages 629-644, December.
    20. Alice Monti & Pierpaolo Pattitoni & Barbara Petracci & Otto Randl, 2022. "Does corporate social responsibility impact equity risk? International evidence," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 825-855, October.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:20:p:5682-:d:276539. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.