IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v197y2025i2d10.1007_s10551-024-05751-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is the State a Socially Responsible Shareholder? State-Owned Enterprises, Political Ideology, and Corporate Social Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Leonardo Henrique Lima Pilla

    (Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV))

  • Alketa Peci

    (Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV))

  • Rodrigo de Oliveira Leite

    (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (COPPEAD/UFRJ))

Abstract

The effects of state ownership on firms’ outcomes depend on how governments influence the goals of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Yet scant scholarly attention has been devoted to understanding what circumstances shape governmental influence on SOEs’ corporate social performance (CSP). Addressing this gap is important because SOEs are becoming increasingly more hybrid, and must thus balance multiple private and public stakeholders’ financial and social goals. We contend that, compared to non-SOEs, SOEs face additional institutional and legitimacy pressures that lead them to act in socially responsible ways, resulting in higher social and environmental CSP. However, these pressures are moderated by two other factors that determine the strength of governmental influence: whether the state has a majority shareholding and the incumbent government’s political ideology. We examine a 12-year panel of 150 Brazilian listed firms, including 41 SOEs, and demonstrate that state ownership is positively associated with the social dimension of CSP but only when the state is the majority shareholder, and thus able to strongly influence SOEs’ goals. Moreover, the more right-leaning the government, the weaker becomes the moderating effect of majority state ownership. This is because political ideology determines how governments influence the tradeoffs between SOEs’ economic and social goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonardo Henrique Lima Pilla & Alketa Peci & Rodrigo de Oliveira Leite, 2025. "Is the State a Socially Responsible Shareholder? State-Owned Enterprises, Political Ideology, and Corporate Social Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 197(2), pages 289-309, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:197:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-024-05751-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-024-05751-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-024-05751-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-024-05751-7?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kalim U. Shah, 2011. "Corporate environmentalism in a small emerging economy: stakeholder perceptions and the influence of firm characteristics," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(2), pages 80-90, March.
    2. Wenjing Li & Ran Zhang, 2010. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Ownership Structure, and Political Interference: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(4), pages 631-645, November.
    3. Bai, Chong-En & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2005. "Incentives for CEOs with multitasks: Evidence from Chinese state-owned enterprises," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 517-539, September.
    4. Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2012. "What drives corporate social performance? The role of nation-level institutions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(9), pages 834-864, December.
    5. Hua Wang & Yanhong Jin, 2007. "Industrial Ownership and Environmental Performance: Evidence from China," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 36(3), pages 255-273, March.
    6. Matthew Blackwell & Stefano Iacus & Gary King & Giuseppe Porro, 2009. "cem: Coarsened exact matching in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 9(4), pages 524-546, December.
    7. Jeffry M. Netter & William L. Megginson, 2001. "From State to Market: A Survey of Empirical Studies on Privatization," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(2), pages 321-389, June.
    8. Francesco Calza & Giorgia Profumo & Ilaria Tutore, 2016. "Corporate Ownership and Environmental Proactivity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(6), pages 369-389, September.
    9. David Roodman, 2009. "How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 9(1), pages 86-136, March.
    10. Sreevas Sahasranamam & Bindu Arya & Mukesh Sud, 2020. "Ownership structure and corporate social responsibility in an emerging market," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 1165-1192, December.
    11. Arifur Khan & Mohammad Muttakin & Javed Siddiqui, 2013. "Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosures: Evidence from an Emerging Economy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(2), pages 207-223, May.
    12. Kerstin Lopatta & Reemda Jaeschke & Chen Chen, 2017. "Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Performance: International Evidence," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(3), pages 199-209, May.
    13. Amir Rubin, 2008. "Political Views and Corporate Decision Making: The Case of Corporate Social Responsibility," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 43(3), pages 337-360, August.
    14. Florian Berg & Julian F Kölbel & Roberto Rigobon, 2022. "Aggregate Confusion: The Divergence of ESG Ratings [Corporate social responsibility and firm risk: theory and empirical evidence]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(6), pages 1315-1344.
    15. Yuri Mishina & Emily S. Block & Michael J. Mannor, 2012. "The path dependence of organizational reputation: how social judgment influences assessments of capability and character," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 459-477, May.
    16. Jesper N Wulff & Anders R Villadsen, 2020. "Keeping it within bounds: Regression analysis of proportions in international business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(2), pages 244-262, March.
    17. Di Giuli, Alberta & Kostovetsky, Leonard, 2014. "Are red or blue companies more likely to go green? Politics and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(1), pages 158-180.
    18. Liangrong Zu & Lina Song, 2009. "Determinants of Managerial Values on Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(1), pages 105-117, April.
    19. Christopher Marquis & Cuili Qian, 2014. "Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in China: Symbol or Substance?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(1), pages 127-148, February.
    20. 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.
    21. Ran Zhang & Zabihollah Rezaee & Jigao Zhu, 2010. "Corporate Philanthropic Disaster Response and Ownership Type: Evidence from Chinese Firms’ Response to the Sichuan Earthquake," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 91(1), pages 51-63, January.
    22. Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1994. "Politicians and Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(4), pages 995-1025.
    23. Ravi Ramamurti, 1987. "Performance Evaluation of State-Owned Enterprises in Theory and Practice," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(7), pages 876-893, July.
    24. Olivier Bertrand & Marie-Ann Betschinger & Caterina Moschieri, 2021. "Are firms with foreign CEOs better citizens? A study of the impact of CEO foreignness on corporate social performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(3), pages 525-543, April.
    25. Boardman, Anthony E & Vining, Aidan R, 1989. "Ownership and Performance in Competitive Environments: A Comparison of the Performance of Private, Mixed, and State-Owned Enterprises," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(1), pages 1-33, April.
    26. Earnhart, Dietrich & Lizal, Lubomir, 2006. "Effects of ownership and financial performance on corporate environmental performance," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 111-129, March.
    27. Hang Thi Thuy Pham & Sung-Chang Jung & Su-Yol Lee, 2020. "Governmental Ownership of Voluntary Sustainability Information Disclosure in an Emerging Economy: Evidence from Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-21, August.
    28. Abhinav Gupta & Forrest Briscoe & Donald C. Hambrick, 2017. "Red, blue, and purple firms: Organizational political ideology and corporate social responsibility," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(5), pages 1018-1040, May.
    29. Iacus, Stefano & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2009. "cem: Software for Coarsened Exact Matching," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 30(i09).
    30. Chao Zhou, 2019. "Effects of corporate governance on the decision to voluntarily disclose corporate social responsibility reports: evidence from China," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(55), pages 5900-5910, November.
    31. Gregory Jackson & Androniki Apostolakou, 2010. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Western Europe: An Institutional Mirror or Substitute?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(3), pages 371-394, July.
    32. Rafael La Porta & Florencio López-de-Silanes, 1999. "The Benefits of Privatization: Evidence from Mexico," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(4), pages 1193-1242.
    33. ChungMing Lau & Yuan Lu & Qiang Liang, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility in China: A Corporate Governance Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 73-87, June.
    34. Fuming Jiang & Tatiana Zalan & Herman H. M. Tse & Jie Shen, 2018. "Mapping the Relationship Among Political Ideology, CSR Mindset, and CSR Strategy: A Contingency Perspective Applied to Chinese Managers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 419-444, January.
    35. Ching-Chung Lin & Tran Phuoc Nguyen, 2022. "The Impact of Ownership Structure on Corporate Social Responsibility Performance in Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-13, September.
    36. Papke, Leslie E & Wooldridge, Jeffrey M, 1996. "Econometric Methods for Fractional Response Variables with an Application to 401(K) Plan Participation Rates," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(6), pages 619-632, Nov.-Dec..
    37. Lilliana Mason, 2015. "“I Disrespectfully Agree”: The Differential Effects of Partisan Sorting on Social and Issue Polarization," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 59(1), pages 128-145, January.
    38. Thomas P. Murtha & Stefanie Ann Lenway, 1994. "Country capabilities and the strategic state: How national political institutions affect multinational Corporations' Strategies," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(S2), pages 113-129, June.
    39. Aguilera, Ruth & Duran, Patricio & Heugens, P.P.M.A.R. & Sauerwald, Steve & Turturea, Roxana & VanEssen, Marc, 2021. "State ownership, political ideology, and firm performance around the world," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(1).
    40. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    41. Christian M. Faller & Dodo zu Knyphausen-Aufseß, 2018. "Does Equity Ownership Matter for Corporate Social Responsibility? A Literature Review of Theories and Recent Empirical Findings," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 15-40, June.
    42. Aaron K. Chatterji & Rodolphe Durand & David I. Levine & Samuel Touboul, 2016. "Do ratings of firms converge? Implications for managers, investors and strategy researchers," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(8), pages 1597-1614, August.
    43. Rosa Chun, 2009. "Ethical Values and Environmentalism in China: Comparing Employees from State-Owned and Private Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 84(3), pages 341-348, February.
    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. Anjali Kaimal & Shigufta Hena Uzma, 2024. "CSR and ownership structure: Moderating role of board characteristics in an emerging country context," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4933-4955, September.
    2. Christian M. Faller & Dodo zu Knyphausen-Aufseß, 2018. "Does Equity Ownership Matter for Corporate Social Responsibility? A Literature Review of Theories and Recent Empirical Findings," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 15-40, June.
    3. McGuinness, Paul B. & Vieito, João Paulo & Wang, Mingzhu, 2017. "The role of board gender and foreign ownership in the CSR performance of Chinese listed firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 75-99.
    4. Xiao, Tian & Chan, Hing Kai & Ni, Wenbin & Tan, Kim Hua, 2024. "Answer to whom? A comparative empirical study on institutional drivers for firms’ CSR reporting in China and the United States," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    5. Irina Ervits, 2023. "CSR reporting in China’s private and state-owned enterprises: A mixed methods comparative analysis," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(1), pages 55-83, February.
    6. Luo, Jinbo & Liu, Qigui, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility disclosure in China: Do managerial professional connections and social attention matter?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    7. Farman Ullah Khan & Junrui Zhang & Muhammad Usman & Alina Badulescu & Muhammad Safdar Sial, 2019. "Ownership Reduction in State-Owned Enterprises and Corporate Social Responsibility: Perspective from Secondary Privatization in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-13, February.
    8. Chantziaras, Antonios & Dedoulis, Emmanouil & Grougiou, Vassiliki & Leventis, Stergios, 2020. "The impact of religiosity and corruption on CSR reporting: The case of U.S. banks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 362-374.
    9. Yusen Dong & Pengcheng Ma & Lanzhu Sun & Daniel Han Ming Chng, 2024. "Goodwill Hunting: Why and When Ultimate Controlling Owners Affect Their Firms’ Corporate Social Responsibility Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 193(3), pages 535-553, September.
    10. Farman Ullah Khan & Junrui Zhang & Nanyan Dong & Muhammad Usman & Sajid Ullah & Shahid Ali, 2021. "Does privatization matter for corporate social responsibility? Evidence from China," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(3), pages 497-515, September.
    11. Sergio G Lazzarini & Luiz F Mesquita & Felipe Monteiro & Aldo Musacchio, 2021. "Leviathan as an inventor: An extended agency model of state-owned versus private firm invention in emerging and developed economies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(4), pages 560-594, June.
    12. repec:zbw:bofitp:2020_020 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Máximo Torero, 2002. "Peruvian Privatization: Impacts On Firm Performance," Research Department Publications 3169, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    14. Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez & Cristina Aibar‐Guzmán & Miriam Núñez‐Torrado & Beatriz Aibar‐Guzmán, 2022. "Are institutional investors “in love” with the sustainable development goals? Understanding the idyll in the case of governments and pension funds," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(5), pages 1099-1116, October.
    15. Ching-Chung Lin & Tran Phuoc Nguyen, 2022. "The Impact of Ownership Structure on Corporate Social Responsibility Performance in Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-13, September.
    16. Farman Ullah Khan & Vanina Adoriana Trifan & Mioara Florina Pantea & Junrui Zhang & Muhammad Nouman, 2022. "Internal Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Chinese Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-20, February.
    17. Yu, Zhen & Shen, Yiran & Jiang, Shengjun, 2022. "The effects of corporate governance uncertainty on state-owned enterprises' green innovation in China: Perspective from the participation of non-state-owned shareholders," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    18. Manuel Bueno‐García & Gozal Ahmadova, 2024. "The influence of state ownership on environmental proactivity: An institutional perspective of international firms," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1531-1549, May.
    19. Guo, Mengmeng & He, Luo & Zhong, Ligang, 2018. "Business groups and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 83-97.
    20. Hao, Liang & Rong, Wang & Haikun, Zhu, 2020. "Growing up under Mao and Deng : On the ideological determinants of corporate policies," BOFIT Discussion Papers 20/2020, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition.
    21. Liang, Hao & Wang, Rong & Zhu, Haikun, 2020. "Growing up under Mao and Deng: On the ideological determinants of corporate policies," BOFIT Discussion Papers 20/2020, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).

    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:kap:jbuset:v:197:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-024-05751-7. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.