IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jmgtgv/v26y2022i2d10.1007_s10997-021-09569-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Managerial entrenchment and corporate social responsibility engagement: the role of economic policy uncertainty

Author

Listed:
  • Sammy G. Muriithi

    (University of Central Oklahoma)

  • Bruce A. Walters

    (Louisiana Tech University)

  • William R. McCumber

    (Louisiana Tech University)

  • Luis R. Robles

    (University of Central Oklahoma)

Abstract

The behavioral theory of corporate governance is employed to investigate the relationship between managerial entrenchment and corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement. Effective corporate governance is argued to reduce managerial entrenchment, thereby increasing CSR engagement. The role of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) is investigated as a moderating variable in this relationship, such that high levels of EPU will increase the impact of entrenchment on CSR engagement. These arguments are supported using a panel of 386 US firms from 2011 to 2018 representing 3,088 firm-year observations in a variety of industries. In supplementary analysis, the CSR measure is disaggregated in order to provide further insight regarding these relationships as they pertain to the individual CSR dimensions under study. Findings inform research regarding the entrenchment-CSR link in particular environmental contexts. Practical implications include potential governance guidelines for boards of directors; stakeholder management given the policy environment; and the impact of government decisions as they affect policy uncertainty, firm actions, and CSR engagement.

Suggested Citation

  • Sammy G. Muriithi & Bruce A. Walters & William R. McCumber & Luis R. Robles, 2022. "Managerial entrenchment and corporate social responsibility engagement: the role of economic policy uncertainty," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(2), pages 621-640, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jmgtgv:v:26:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s10997-021-09569-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10997-021-09569-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10997-021-09569-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10997-021-09569-7?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. Andrew Delios & Witold J. Henisz, 2003. "Political hazards, experience, and sequential entry strategies: the international expansion of Japanese firms, 1980–1998," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(11), pages 1153-1164, November.
    2. Hoje Jo & Maretno Harjoto, 2011. "Corporate Governance and Firm Value: The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(3), pages 351-383, October.
    3. Martijn Cremers & Allen Ferrell, 2014. "Thirty Years of Shareholder Rights and Firm Value," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(3), pages 1167-1196, June.
    4. Xueming Luo & Heli Wang & Sascha Raithel & Qinqin Zheng, 2015. "Corporate social performance, analyst stock recommendations, and firm future returns," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 123-136, January.
    5. Justin Tan & David Tan, 2005. "Environment–strategy co‐evolution and co‐alignment: a staged model of Chinese SOEs under transition," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 141-157, February.
    6. Geoffrey Heal, 2005. "Corporate Social Responsibility: An Economic and Financial Framework," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 30(3), pages 387-409, July.
    7. Jae Sim & Egon Zakrajsek & Simon Gilchrist, 2010. "Uncertainty, Financial Frictions, and Investment Dynamics," 2010 Meeting Papers 1285, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    8. Mark P. Sharfman & Chitru S. Fernando, 2008. "Environmental risk management and the cost of capital," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 569-592, June.
    9. Nguyen, Nam H. & Phan, Hieu V., 2017. "Policy Uncertainty and Mergers and Acquisitions," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(2), pages 613-644, April.
    10. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    11. Sheikh, Shahbaz, 2018. "Is corporate social responsibility a value-increasing investment? Evidence from antitakeover provisions," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1-12.
    12. Paul Gompers & Joy Ishii & Andrew Metrick, 2003. "Corporate Governance and Equity Prices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 107-156.
    13. Altig, Dave & Baker, Scott & Barrero, Jose Maria & Bloom, Nicholas & Bunn, Philip & Chen, Scarlet & Davis, Steven J. & Leather, Julia & Meyer, Brent & Mihaylov, Emil & Mizen, Paul & Parker, Nicholas &, 2020. "Economic uncertainty before and during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    14. Paul A. Gompers & Joy Ishii & Andrew Metrick, 2010. "Extreme Governance: An Analysis of Dual-Class Firms in the United States," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(3), pages 1051-1088, March.
    15. Beck, Nathaniel & Katz, Jonathan N., 1995. "What To Do (and Not to Do) with Time-Series Cross-Section Data," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(3), pages 634-647, September.
    16. Yung, Kenneth & Root, Andrew, 2019. "Policy uncertainty and earnings management: International evidence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 255-267.
    17. Phan, Hieu V. & Nguyen, Nam H. & Nguyen, Hien T. & Hegde, Shantaram, 2019. "Policy uncertainty and firm cash holdings," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 71-82.
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    20. Isabel‐Maria García‐Sánchez & Nazim Hussain & Sana Akbar Khan & Jennifer Martínez‐Ferrero, 2020. "Managerial entrenchment, corporate social responsibility, and earnings management," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1818-1833, July.
    21. 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.
    22. Kang, Wensheng & Lee, Kiseok & Ratti, Ronald A., 2014. "Economic policy uncertainty and firm-level investment," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PA), pages 42-53.
    23. Chi‐Kun Ho, 2005. "Corporate Governance and Corporate Competitiveness: an international analysis," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(2), pages 211-253, March.
    24. Ping-Sheng Koh & Cuili Qian & Heli Wang, 2014. "Firm litigation risk and the insurance value of corporate social performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(10), pages 1464-1482, October.
    25. Naoshi Ikeda & Kotaro Inoue & Sho Watanabe, 2018. "Enjoying the Quiet Life: Corporate Decision-making by Entrenched Managers," NBER Chapters, in: Corporate Governance (NBER-TCER-CEPR Conference), National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    26. Jonathan Brogaard & Andrew Detzel, 2015. "The Asset-Pricing Implications of Government Economic Policy Uncertainty," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(1), pages 3-18, January.
    27. Chang, Xin & Zhang, Hong Feng, 2015. "Managerial Entrenchment and Firm Value: A Dynamic Perspective," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(5), pages 1083-1103, October.
    28. Bhattacharya, Utpal & Hsu, Po-Hsuan & Tian, Xuan & Xu, Yan, 2017. "What Affects Innovation More: Policy or Policy Uncertainty?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(5), pages 1869-1901, October.
    29. Caroline Flammer & Bryan Hong & Dylan Minor, 2019. "Corporate governance and the rise of integrating corporate social responsibility criteria in executive compensation: Effectiveness and implications for firm outcomes," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(7), pages 1097-1122, July.
    30. L. J. Bourgeois, 1980. "Performance and consensus," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(3), pages 227-248, July.
    31. Pei-Fen Chen & Chien-Chiang Lee & Jhih-Hong Zeng, 2019. "Economic policy uncertainty and firm investment: evidence from the U.S. market," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(31), pages 3423-3435, July.
    32. 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.
    33. Lucian Bebchuk & Alma Cohen & Allen Ferrell, 2009. "What Matters in Corporate Governance?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(2), pages 783-827, February.
    34. Dima Jamali & Asem M. Safieddine & Myriam Rabbath, 2008. "Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility Synergies and Interrelationships," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(5), pages 443-459, September.
    35. Jordi A. Surroca & Ruth V. Aguilera & Kurt Desender & Josep A. Tribó, 2020. "Is managerial entrenchment always bad and corporate social responsibility always good? A cross‐national examination of their combined influence on shareholder value," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(5), pages 891-920, May.
    36. M. Pagano & P. F. Volpin, 2005. "Managers, Workers, and Corporate Control," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(2), pages 841-868, April.
    37. Szymon Kaczmarek, 2017. "Rethinking board diversity with the behavioural theory of corporate governance: opportunities and challenges for advances in theorising," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(4), pages 879-906, December.
    38. Nilavongse, Rachatar & Rubaszek, Michał, & Uddin, Gazi Salah, 2020. "Economic policy uncertainty shocks, economic activity, and exchange rate adjustments," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    39. Erin M. Reid & Michael W. Toffel, 2009. "Responding to public and private politics: corporate disclosure of climate change strategies," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(11), pages 1157-1178, November.
    40. Frank Graaf & Cor Herkströter, 2007. "How Corporate Social Performance Is Institutionalised Within the Governance Structure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 74(2), pages 177-189, August.
    41. Dan Ariely & Nina Mazar, 2006. "Dishonesty in everyday life and its policy implications," Working Papers 06-3, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    42. Maretno Harjoto & Hoje Jo, 2011. "Corporate Governance and CSR Nexus," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 100(1), pages 45-67, April.
    43. Erin Marie Reid & Michael W. Toffel, 2008. "Responding to Public and Private Politics: Corporate Disclosure of Climate Change Strategies," Harvard Business School Working Papers 09-019, Harvard Business School, revised Jun 2009.
    44. P. Chintrakarn & N. Jiraporn & P. Jiraporn, 2013. "The effect of entrenched boards on corporate risk-taking: testing the quiet life hypothesis," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(11), pages 1067-1070, July.
    45. Francesca Gennari & Daniela M. Salvioni, 2019. "CSR committees on boards: the impact of the external country level factors," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 23(3), pages 759-785, September.
    46. 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.
    47. Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2015. "The impact of corporate social responsibility on investment recommendations: Analysts' perceptions and shifting institutional logics," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(7), pages 1053-1081, July.
    48. Mahfuja Malik, 2015. "Value-Enhancing Capabilities of CSR: A Brief Review of Contemporary Literature," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 419-438, March.
    49. Nara Jeong, 2020. "The impact of two types of CEO overcompensation on corporate social responsibility," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 24(3), pages 749-767, September.
    50. Paul C. Godfrey & Craig B. Merrill & Jared M. Hansen, 2009. "The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: an empirical test of the risk management hypothesis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 425-445, April.
    51. Ikeda, Naoshi & Inoue, Kotaro & Watanabe, Sho, 2018. "Enjoying the quiet life: Corporate decision-making by entrenched managers," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 55-69.
    52. Huseyin Gulen & Mihai Ion, 2016. "Editor's Choice Policy Uncertainty and Corporate Investment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(3), pages 523-564.
    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. Xue, Xingnan & Hu, Nan, 2023. "Economic policy uncertainty and imitation behaviors of corporate social responsibility practices: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    2. Antonios Persakis, 2024. "The impact of climate policy uncertainty on ESG performance, carbon emission intensity and firm performance: evidence from Fortune 1000 firms," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(9), pages 24031-24081, September.
    3. 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).

    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. Christos Floros & Emilios Galariotis & Konstantinos Gkillas & Efstathios Magerakis & Constantin Zopounidis, 2024. "Time-varying firm cash holding and economic policy uncertainty nexus: a quantile regression approach," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 341(2), pages 859-895, October.
    2. Li, Xiao, 2020. "The impact of economic policy uncertainty on insider trades: A cross-country analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 41-57.
    3. 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.
    4. Jongmoo Jay Choi & Hoje Jo & Jimi Kim & Moo Sung Kim, 2018. "Business Groups and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(4), pages 931-954, December.
    5. Dung T. T. Tran & Hieu V. Phan, 2022. "Government economic policy uncertainty and corporate debt contracting," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 22(1), pages 169-199, March.
    6. Xue, Xingnan & Hu, Nan, 2023. "Economic policy uncertainty and imitation behaviors of corporate social responsibility practices: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    7. Sheikh, Shahbaz, 2018. "Is corporate social responsibility a value-increasing investment? Evidence from antitakeover provisions," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1-12.
    8. Tran, Quoc Trung, 2019. "Economic policy uncertainty and corporate risk-taking: International evidence," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 52.
    9. Jordi A. Surroca & Ruth V. Aguilera & Kurt Desender & Josep A. Tribó, 2020. "Is managerial entrenchment always bad and corporate social responsibility always good? A cross‐national examination of their combined influence on shareholder value," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(5), pages 891-920, May.
    10. Tran, Quoc Trung, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty and cost of debt financing: International evidence," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    11. Ma, Huanyu & Hao, Dapeng, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty, financial development, and financial constraints: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 368-386.
    12. Al-Thaqeb, Saud Asaad & Algharabali, Barrak Ghanim, 2019. "Economic policy uncertainty: A literature review," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    13. Lou, Zhukun & Chen, Siyu & Yin, Wenwei & Zhang, Chuan & Yu, Xiaoyu, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and firm innovation: Evidence from a risk-taking perspective," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 78-96.
    14. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Mansi, Sattar & Wang, He (Helen), 2023. "Economic policy uncertainty, institutional environments, and corporate cash holdings," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    15. Shehub Bin Hasan & Md Samsul Alam & Sudharshan Reddy Paramati & Md Shahidul Islam, 2022. "Does firm-level political risk affect cash holdings?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 311-337, July.
    16. D'Mello, Ranjan & Toscano, Francesca, 2020. "Economic policy uncertainty and short-term financing: The case of trade credit," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    17. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Xiao, Shunyi, 2021. "Policy-related risk and corporate financing behavior: Evidence from China’s listed companies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 539-547.
    18. Ahmed A. Sarhan & Basil Al‐Najjar, 2023. "The influence of corporate governance and shareholding structure on corporate social responsibility: The key role of executive compensation," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 4532-4556, October.
    19. Caixe, Daniel Ferreira, 2022. "Corporate governance and investment sensitivity to policy uncertainty in Brazil," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(PB).
    20. He, Feng & Ma, Yaming & Zhang, Xiaojie, 2020. "How does economic policy uncertainty affect corporate Innovation?–Evidence from China listed companies," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 225-239.

    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:jmgtgv:v:26:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s10997-021-09569-7. 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.