IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i18p11217-d909175.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Firm Political Risk Affect the Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Value?

Author

Listed:
  • Ahmed Marhfor

    (Management Science Department, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Rouyn-Noranda, QC J9X 5E4, Canada
    African Chair of Innovation and Sustainable Management (CAIMD-UM6P), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Ben Guerir 43150, Morocco)

  • Kais Bouslah

    (African Chair of Innovation and Sustainable Management (CAIMD-UM6P), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Ben Guerir 43150, Morocco
    Centre for Responsible Banking and Finance, School of Management, University of St Andrews, North Haugh KY16 9RJ, UK)

  • Abdelmajid Hmaittane

    (African Chair of Innovation and Sustainable Management (CAIMD-UM6P), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Ben Guerir 43150, Morocco
    National School of Trade & Management (ENCG), Ibn Zohr University, Agadir 80000, Morocco)

Abstract

This paper investigates whether firm-level (idiosyncratic) political risk (PR) affects the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm value using a sample of 16,518 firm-year observations which correspond to 2055 unique firms belonging to the Russell 3000 Index over the sample period 2010–2020. Our main findings are as follows: First, firm-level PR does not affect firm value. Second, CSR is positively related to firm value, which is mainly driven by the social component of CSR. Finally, PR has no effect on the CSR–firm value relationship, regardless of the PR type. Our evidence suggests that firm-level PR is not priced in the financial market and as such it does not affect the CSR–firm value relationship. This is consistent with portfolio theory which suggests that only systematic risk is priced.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahmed Marhfor & Kais Bouslah & Abdelmajid Hmaittane, 2022. "Does Firm Political Risk Affect the Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Value?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-23, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:18:p:11217-:d:909175
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/18/11217/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/18/11217/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pástor, Ľuboš & Veronesi, Pietro, 2013. "Political uncertainty and risk premia," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(3), pages 520-545.
    2. Lys, Thomas & Naughton, James P. & Wang, Clare, 2015. "Signaling through corporate accountability reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 56-72.
    3. Supriti Mishra & Damodar Suar, 2010. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility Influence Firm Performance of Indian Companies?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(4), pages 571-601, September.
    4. Thierry Foucault & Laurent Frésard, 2012. "Cross-Listing, Investment Sensitivity to Stock Price, and the Learning Hypothesis," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(11), pages 3305-3350.
    5. Giovanni Cespa & Giacinta Cestone, 2007. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Managerial Entrenchment," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(3), pages 741-771, September.
    6. Liu, Jinjing & Wang, Hong, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and the cost of capital," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. Richard Borghesi & Kiyoung Chang & Ying Li, 2019. "Firm value in commonly uncertain times: the divergent effects of corporate governance and CSR," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(43), pages 4726-4741, September.
    10. Bonaime, Alice & Gulen, Huseyin & Ion, Mihai, 2018. "Does policy uncertainty affect mergers and acquisitions?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(3), pages 531-558.
    11. Prakash J. Singh & Kannan Sethuraman & Jocelin Y. Lam, 2017. "Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility Dimensions on Firm Value: Some Evidence from Hong Kong and China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-24, August.
    12. Tarek A Hassan & Stephan Hollander & Laurence van Lent & Ahmed Tahoun, 2019. "Firm-Level Political Risk: Measurement and Effects," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(4), pages 2135-2202.
    13. Lili Dai & Phong Ngo, 2021. "Political Uncertainty and Accounting Conservatism," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 277-307, March.
    14. Maury, Benjamin, 2022. "Strategic CSR and firm performance: The role of prospector and growth strategies," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    15. 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.
    16. Kim, Yongtae & Li, Haidan & Li, Siqi, 2014. "Corporate social responsibility and stock price crash risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1-13.
    17. 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.
    18. Sanjay Ramchander & Robert G. Schwebach & KIM Staking, 2012. "The informational relevance of corporate social responsibility: evidence from DS400 index reconstitutions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 303-314, March.
    19. Luo, Yan & Zhang, Chenyang, 2020. "Economic policy uncertainty and stock price crash risk," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    20. 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.
    21. Jordi Surroca & Josep A. Tribó, 2008. "Managerial Entrenchment and Corporate Social Performance," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(5‐6), pages 748-789, June.
    22. Amir Barnea & Amir Rubin, 2010. "Corporate Social Responsibility as a Conflict Between Shareholders," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(1), pages 71-86, November.
    23. Woo Sung Kim & Kunsu Park & Sang Hoon Lee, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Ownership Structure, and Firm Value: Evidence from Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-20, July.
    24. Daisuke Okamoto, 2009. "Social Relationship of a Firm and the CSP–CFP Relationship in Japan: Using Artificial Neural Networks," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(1), pages 117-132, June.
    25. 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.
    26. Edmans, Alex & Jayaraman, Sudarshan & Schneemeier, Jan, 2017. "The source of information in prices and investment-price sensitivity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(1), pages 74-96.
    27. Ivan Montiel & Bryan W. Husted & Petra Christmann, 2012. "Using private management standard certification to reduce information asymmetries in corrupt environments," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(9), pages 1103-1113, September.
    28. Chahine, Salim & Daher, Mai & Saade, Samer, 2021. "Doing good in periods of high uncertainty: Economic policy uncertainty, corporate social responsibility, and analyst forecast error," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    29. Pan, Wei-Fong & Wang, Xinjie & Yang, Shanxiang, 2019. "Debt maturity, leverage, and political uncertainty," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    30. Zhang, Cheng & Yang, Chunhong & Liu, Cheng, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty and corporate risk-taking: Loss aversion or opportunity expectations," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    31. Hoje Jo & Maretno Harjoto, 2012. "The Causal Effect of Corporate Governance on Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 106(1), pages 53-72, March.
    32. Drobetz, Wolfgang & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Janzen, Malte, 2018. "Policy uncertainty, investment, and the cost of capital," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 28-45.
    33. Yung, Kenneth & Root, Andrew, 2019. "Policy uncertainty and earnings management: International evidence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 255-267.
    34. Abagail McWilliams & Donald Siegel, 2000. "Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: correlation or misspecification?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(5), pages 603-609, May.
    35. Nicoleta Farcane & Delia Deliu & Eusebiu Bureană, 2019. "A Corporate Case Study: The Application of Rokeach’s Value System to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-19, November.
    36. Nagar, Venky & Schoenfeld, Jordan & Wellman, Laura, 2019. "The effect of economic policy uncertainty on investor information asymmetry and management disclosures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 36-57.
    37. Jordi Surroca & Josep A. Tribó, 2008. "Managerial Entrenchment and Corporate Social Performance," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(5‐6), pages 748-789, June.
    38. Luo, Weijie & Wang, Yong & Zhang, Xiaoge, 2022. "Monetary policy uncertainty and firm risk-taking," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    39. 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.
    40. Feifei Zhang & Jin-young Jung, 2020. "Changes in the Influence of Social Responsibility Activities on Corporate Value over 10 Years in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-17, November.
    41. Kijung Eom & Giseok Nam, 2017. "Effect of Entry into Socially Responsible Investment Index on Cost of Equity and Firm Value," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-17, April.
    42. Baruch Lev & Christine Petrovits & Suresh Radhakrishnan, 2010. "Is doing good good for you? how corporate charitable contributions enhance revenue growth," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 182-200, February.
    43. Maria Boutchkova & Hitesh Doshi & Art Durnev & Alexander Molchanov, 2012. "Precarious Politics and Return Volatility," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(4), pages 1111-1154.
    44. Lin, Chin-Huang & Yang, Ho-Li & Liou, Dian-Yan, 2009. "The impact of corporate social responsibility on financial performance: Evidence from business in Taiwan," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 56-63.
    45. Chan Xiong & Ke Zhang & Xiaoping Zhao, 2020. "Do Political Ties Cause Over-Investment in Corporate Social Responsibility? Empirical Evidence from Chinese Private Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-14, September.
    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. 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.
    2. Hossain, Ashrafee Tanvir & Kryzanowski, Lawrence, 2021. "Political corruption and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    3. 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.
    4. Chahine, Salim & Daher, Mai & Saade, Samer, 2021. "Doing good in periods of high uncertainty: Economic policy uncertainty, corporate social responsibility, and analyst forecast error," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    5. Haeyoung Ryu & Soo-Joon Chae, 2021. "Family Firms, Chaebol Affiliations, and Corporate Social Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    6. Krishnamurti, Chandrasekhar & Shams, Syed & Pensiero, Domenico & Velayutham, Eswaran, 2019. "Socially responsible firms and mergers and acquisitions performance: Australian evidence," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    7. 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).
    8. Peng, Daoju & Colak, Gonul & Shen, Jianfu, 2023. "Lean against the wind: The effect of policy uncertainty on a firm's corporate social responsibility strategy," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. Zhang, Yanlei & García Lara, Juan Manuel & Tribó, Josep A., 2020. "Unpacking the black box of trade credit to socially responsible customers," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    10. 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).
    11. Theodora Bermpei & Antonios Nikolaos Kalyvas & Lorenzo Neri & Antonella Russo, 2022. "Does economic policy uncertainty matter for financial reporting quality? Evidence from the United States," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 795-845, February.
    12. Sylvain Marsat & Guillaume Pijourlet & Muhammad Ullah, 2021. "Is there a trade‐off between environmental performance and financial resilience? International evidence from the subprime crisis," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(3), pages 4061-4084, September.
    13. Juhee Hwang & Hyuna Kim & Dongjin Jung, 2021. "The Effect of ESG Activities on Financial Performance during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Evidence from Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-17, October.
    14. Daeheon Choi & Paul Moon Sub Choi & Joung Hwa Choi & Chune Young Chung, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from the Role of the Largest Institutional Blockholders in the Korean Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-15, February.
    15. Van Ha Nguyen & Frank W Agbola & Bobae Choi, 2019. "Does corporate social responsibility reduce information asymmetry? Empirical evidence from Australia," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 44(2), pages 188-211, May.
    16. He Xiao & Jianqun Xi, 2021. "The impact of COVID‐19 on seasoned equity offering: Evidence from China," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 539-572, October.
    17. Amin, Abu & Chourou, Lamia & Kamal, Syed & Malik, Mahfuja & Zhao, Yang, 2020. "It’s who you know that counts: Board connectedness and CSR performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    18. Soliman, Marwa & Ben-Amar, Walid, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility orientation and textual features of financial disclosures," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    19. Daeheon Choi & Chune Young Chung & Jason Young, 2019. "An Economic Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-18, May.
    20. Giovanni Catello Landi & Francesca Iandolo & Antonio Renzi & Andrea Rey, 2022. "Embedding sustainability in risk management: The impact of environmental, social, and governance ratings on corporate financial risk," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 1096-1107, July.

    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:14:y:2022:i:18:p:11217-:d:909175. 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.