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The Influence of Primary Study Characteristics on the Performance Differential Between Socially Responsible and Conventional Investment Funds: A Meta-Analysis

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  • Sebastian Rathner

Abstract

Empirical studies, which analyze the performance of socially responsible investment (SRI) funds relative to conventional funds, find contradictory results. The aim of this paper is to investigate, with the help of a meta-analysis, how selected primary study characteristics influence the probability of a significant under- or outperformance of SRI funds compared with conventional funds. 25 studies with more than 500 observations are included in the meta-analysis. The results of this paper suggest that the consideration of the survivorship bias in a study increases (decreases) the probability of a significant outperformance (underperformance) of SRI funds relative to conventional funds. The focus on United States (US) SRI funds increases (decreases) the probability of a significant outperformance (underperformance) too. The time period influences the probability of a significant under- and outperformance of SRI funds as well, but based on the results of this paper, it is not possible to draw general conclusions on this variable. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

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  • Sebastian Rathner, 2013. "The Influence of Primary Study Characteristics on the Performance Differential Between Socially Responsible and Conventional Investment Funds: A Meta-Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 349-363, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:118:y:2013:i:2:p:349-363
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-012-1584-z
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    Cited by:

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    3. Anett Wins & Bernhard Zwergel, 2016. "Comparing those who do, might and will not invest in sustainable funds: a survey among German retail fund investors," Business Research, Springer;German Academic Association for Business Research, vol. 9(1), pages 51-99, April.
    4. Frederique Bardinet Evraert & Serge Evraert, 2019. "Do the ESG scores help to select the most successful companies?," Post-Print hal-03227627, HAL.
    5. Jedynak Tomasz, 2017. "Is it Worth Being Good? – The Efficiency and Risk of Socially Responsible Investing in Light of Various Empirical Studies," Financial Internet Quarterly (formerly e-Finanse), Sciendo, vol. 13(3), pages 1-14, September.
    6. Andreas G. F. Hoepner & Lisa Schopohl, 2020. "State Pension Funds and Corporate Social Responsibility: Do Beneficiaries’ Political Values Influence Funds’ Investment Decisions?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 165(3), pages 489-516, September.
    7. Yuchao Xiao & Robert Faff & Philip Gharghori & Byoung-Kyu Min, 2017. "The Financial Performance of Socially Responsible Investments: Insights from the Intertemporal CAPM," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(2), pages 353-364, December.
    8. Christos Kollias & Stephanos Papadamou, 2016. "Environmentally Responsible and Conventional Market Indices’ Reaction to Natural and Anthropogenic Adversity: A Comparative Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 493-505, October.
    9. Luluk Widyawati, 2020. "A systematic literature review of socially responsible investment and environmental social governance metrics," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 619-637, February.
    10. Timo Busch & Gunnar Friede, 2018. "The Robustness of the Corporate Social and Financial Performance Relation: A Second‐Order Meta‐Analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(4), pages 583-608, July.
    11. Helen Chiappini & Gianfranco Vento & Leonardo De Palma, 2021. "The Impact of COVID-19 Lockdowns on Sustainable Indexes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    12. Christine Helliar & Barbara Petracci & Nongnuch Tantisantiwong, 2022. "Comparing SRI funds to conventional funds using a PCA methodology," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(7), pages 581-595, December.
    13. Maike van Dijk-de Groot & Andre H.J. Nijhof, 2015. "Socially Responsible Investment Funds: a review of research priorities and strategic options," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(3), pages 178-204, July.
    14. Govindan, Kannan & Rajeev, A. & Padhi, Sidhartha S. & Pati, Rupesh K., 2020. "Supply chain sustainability and performance of firms: A meta-analysis of the literature," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    15. Wenbing Luo & Ziyan Tian & Shihu Zhong & Qinke Lyu & Mingjun Deng, 2022. "Global Evolution of Research on Sustainable Finance from 2000 to 2021: A Bibliometric Analysis on WoS Database," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-23, August.
    16. Michael J. Zyphur & Dean C. Pierides, 2017. "Is Quantitative Research Ethical? Tools for Ethically Practicing, Evaluating, and Using Quantitative Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(1), pages 1-16, June.
    17. Das, Nandita & Chatterje, Swarn & Ruf, Bernadette & Sunder, Aman, 2018. "ESG Ratings and the Performance of Socially Responsible Mutual Funds: A Panel Study," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 17(1), pages 49-57.
    18. Rathner, Sebastian, 2013. "The Relative Performance of Socially Responsible Investment Funds. New Evidence from Austria," Working Papers in Economics 2013-1, University of Salzburg.
    19. Gunnar Gutsche & Bernhard Zwergel, 2020. "Investment Barriers and Labeling Schemes for Socially Responsible Investments," Schmalenbach Business Review, Springer;Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft, vol. 72(2), pages 111-157, April.
    20. Lars Hornuf & Gül Yüksel, 2022. "The Performance of Socially Responsible Investments: A Meta-Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series 9724, CESifo.

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