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Who Values Corporate Social Responsibility in the Korean Stock Market?

Author

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  • Sangki Lee

    (School of Business Administration, Soongsil University, 369 Sangdo-ro, Dongjak-gu, Seoul 06978, Korea)

  • Insu Kim

    (College of Business Administration, Kookmin University, 77, Jeongneung-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02707, Korea)

  • Chung-hun Hong

    (College of Business Administration, Kookmin University, 77, Jeongneung-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02707, Korea)

Abstract

In this study, we explore the stock market’s response to new information that a firm has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) in Korea. In addition, we investigate which investor group contributes to the changes, if any significant increase in returns is found, after a firm’s incorporation into the DJSI. This study aims to identify which investors value corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the Korean stock market and examine whether the government-led campaigns for CSR have affected private sector investors, as well as those from the public sector. We find statistically significant abnormal returns for firms after their first listing in the index, implying that investors in Korean markets consider a firm’s inclusion in the DJSI as good news for the firm value. Using a unique dataset from the Korea Exchange (KRX) on investors, we classify investors into four groups: individual investors, public pension funds, other institutional investors, and foreign investors. Unlike prior studies that focus only on the existence of abnormal returns, we investigate the trading behavior of each investor group for such announcements. We find that it is mainly the buying pressure of public pension funds that generates abnormal returns. By contrast, we cannot find statistically significant results for the other investor groups. This result implies that the government-led campaign for CSR has only had limited effects in the Korean stock market, and that awareness of CSR in the private sector should be improved.

Suggested Citation

  • Sangki Lee & Insu Kim & Chung-hun Hong, 2019. "Who Values Corporate Social Responsibility in the Korean Stock Market?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-14, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:21:p:5924-:d:280028
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Joel Boudin & Jan Olsson, 2021. "Sustainability in Public Pension Funds? A Longitudinal Study of the Council on Ethics of the Swedish AP Funds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-20, January.
    4. Thomas J. Chemmanur & Dimitrios Gounopoulos & Panagiotis Koutroumpis & Yu Zhang, 2022. "CSR and Firm Survival: Evidence from the Climate and Pandemic Crises," Working Papers 935, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    5. Chen, Lin & Wen, Fenghua & Zhang, Yun & Miao, Xiao, 2023. "Oil supply expectations and corporate social responsibility," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    6. Alexandridis, George & Hoepner, Andreas G.F. & Huang, Zhenyi & Oikonomou, Ioannis, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility culture and international M&As," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    7. Jiaquan Chen & Marcel Ausloos, 2023. "A Study about Who Is Interested in Stock Splitting and Why: Considering Companies, Shareholders, or Managers," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-25, January.
    8. Fariha Jahan & Jungmu Kim, 2023. "Does the Shield Effect of CSR Work in Crises? Evidence in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-18, June.
    9. Abdullah Jihad Rabaya & Norman Mohd Saleh, 2022. "The moderating effect of IR framework adoption on the relationship between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure and a firm's competitive advantage," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 2037-2055, February.
    10. Zheng, Zhigang & Li, Jiarong & Ren, Xingzi & Guo, Jie Michael, 2023. "Does corporate ESG create value? New evidence from M&As in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    11. Zhu, Minghao & Yeung, Andy C.L. & Zhou, Honggeng, 2021. "Diversify or concentrate: The impact of customer concentration on corporate social responsibility," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    12. Shu, Hao & Tan, Weiqiang & Wei, Ping, 2023. "Carbon policy risk and corporate capital structure decision," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    13. Gopalakrishnan, Balagopal & Jacob, Joshy & Srivastava, Jagriti, 2022. "Fishing in muddy waters: Mergers and acquisitions during uncertainty," IIMA Working Papers WP 2022-09-02, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
    14. Jost, Sébastien & Erben, Saskia & Ottenstein, Philipp & Zülch, Henning, 2022. "Does corporate social responsibility impact mergers & acquisition premia? New international evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PA).
    15. Liu, Xianda & Hou, Wenxuan & Main, Brian G.M., 2022. "Anti-market sentiment and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from anti-Jewish pogroms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    16. Fairhurst, Douglas (DJ) & Greene, Daniel T., 2022. "Too much of a good thing? Corporate social responsibility and the takeover market," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    17. Barros, Victor & Verga Matos, Pedro & Miranda Sarmento, Joaquim & Rino Vieira, Pedro, 2022. "M&A activity as a driver for better ESG performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    18. Hussaini, Mussa & Hussain, Nazim & Nguyen, Duc Khuong & Rigoni, Ugo, 2021. "Is corporate social responsibility an agency problem? An empirical note from takeovers," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    19. Hussain, Tanveer & Shams, Syed, 2022. "Pre-deal differences in corporate social responsibility and acquisition performance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    20. Patrick Velte, 2023. "Which institutional investors drive corporate sustainability? A systematic literature review," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 42-71, January.
    21. Wang, Zhenkun & Lu, Weijie & Liu, Min, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility overinvestment in mergers and acquisitions," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    22. Jingjing Li & Xianming Wu, 2022. "Technology-Driven Cross-Border M&A, CSR, and Enterprise Innovation Performance—Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-32, March.
    23. Minoo Tehrani & Andreas Rathgeber & Lawrence Fulton & Bryan Schmutz, 2021. "Sustainability & CSR: The Relationship with Hofstede Cultural Dimensions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-17, November.
    24. Bryan Schmutz & Minoo Tehrani & Lawrence Fulton & Andreas W. Rathgeber, 2020. "Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, Do They Make a Difference? The U.S. and the European Union Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-15, August.

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