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The Impact of Mandated Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from India's Companies Act of 2013

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  • Dhammika Dharmapala
  • Vikramaditya Khanna

Abstract

Firms’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity has become the subject of a large literature in recent years. This paper analyzes CSR activity using quasi-experimental variation created by Section 135 of India’s Companies Act of 2013, which requires (on a “comply-or-explain” basis) that firms satisfying specific size or profit thresholds spend a minimum of 2% of their net profit on CSR. Our analysis uses financial statement and stock price data on Indian firms from the Prowess database, along with hand-collected data from firms’ disclosures of CSR activity. By combining a regression discontinuity (RD) framework (based on a nonparametric local polynomial regression approach) with a standard event study, we find a negative and substantial effect on the value of affected firms (relative to unaffected firms) around the crucial event date. This effect seems to be concentrated among firms that are less customer-facing, as indicated by low advertising expenditures. Using a difference-in-difference approach, we find significant increases in CSR activity among firms affected by Section 135, especially in the fraction of firms engaging in CSR spending. The fraction of firms subject to Section 135 that engage in advertising expenditures appears to have declined, consistent with substitution between advertising and CSR. There is no robust evidence of any significant impact on sales or accounting performance, although a modest decline in the return on assets cannot be ruled out. For a subset of large firms, we hand-collect comprehensive CSR data and find that while firms initially spending less than 2% increased their CSR activity, large firms initially spending more than 2% reduced their CSR expenditures after Section 135 came into effect. We explore various explanations for this presumably unintended consequence of Section 135, and also seek to derive some wider implications of this analysis for understanding the role of CSR.

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  • Dhammika Dharmapala & Vikramaditya Khanna, 2016. "The Impact of Mandated Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from India's Companies Act of 2013," CESifo Working Paper Series 6200, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6200
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    2. P. Fahad & P. Mubarak Rahman, 2020. "Impact of corporate governance on CSR disclosure," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 17(2), pages 155-167, September.
    3. Shankar Shaw, Tara & Raithatha, Mehul & Krishnan, Gopal V. & Cordeiro, James J., 2021. "Did mandatory CSR compliance impact accounting Conservatism? Evidence from the Indian Companies Act 2013," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(3).
    4. Sergey Sinelnikov-Murylev & Alexandr Radygin (ed.), 2018. "Russian Economy in 2017. Trends and Outlooks. In Russian," Books, Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, edition 1, volume 39, number re39-2017-ru, November.
    5. Iram Hasan & Shveta Singh & Smita Kashiramka, 2022. "Does corporate social responsibility disclosure impact firm performance? An industry-wise analysis of Indian firms," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(8), pages 10141-10181, August.
    6. Prasad, Krishna & Kumar, Satish & Devji, Shridev & Lim, Weng Marc & Prabhu, Nandan & Moodbidri, Sudhir, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility and cost of capital: The moderating role of policy intervention," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    7. Manish Bansal, 2022. "Impact of mandatory CSR spending on strategic brand‐building levers: Evidence from a quasi‐natural experiment in India," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 3620-3633, December.
    8. GUPTA Pradeep Kumar & GARG Arunesh, 2022. "Impact Of Csr Expenditure Compliance On Firm Value Using P/B-Roe Valuation Model And Instrumental Approach," Studies in Business and Economics, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 17(2), pages 108-123, August.
    9. Lucia Gatti & Babitha Vishwanath & Peter Seele & Bertil Cottier, 2019. "Are We Moving Beyond Voluntary CSR? Exploring Theoretical and Managerial Implications of Mandatory CSR Resulting from the New Indian Companies Act," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(4), pages 961-972, December.
    10. Manish Bansal, 2024. "Unpacking the drivers of earnings management in CSR firms: influence of investor risk perception," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(1), pages 127-142, March.
    11. Sergey Sinelnikov-Murylev & Alexandr Radygin (ed.), 2018. "Russian Economy in 2017. Trends and Outlooks. (Issue 39) In English," Books, Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, edition 1, volume 39, number re39-2017-en, November.
    12. Anna Jessop & Nicole Wilson & Michal Bardecki & Cory Searcy, 2019. "Corporate Environmental Disclosure in India: An Analysis of Multinational and Domestic Agrochemical Corporations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-33, September.
    13. Raiswa Saha & Shashi & Roberto Cerchione & Rajwinder Singh & Richa Dahiya, 2020. "Effect of ethical leadership and corporate social responsibility on firm performance: A systematic review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 409-429, March.
    14. Manfred Max Bergman & Zinette Bergman & Yael Teschemacher & Bimal Arora & Divya Jyoti & Rijit Sengupta, 2019. "Corporate Responsibility in India: Academic Perspectives on the Companies Act 2013," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-20, October.
    15. Labrini Sideri, 2021. "Leveraging CSR for Sustainability: Assessing Performance Implications of Sustainability Reporting in a National Business System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, May.
    16. Jadiyappa, Nemiraja & Joseph, Anto & Sisodia, Garima & Krishnankutty, Raveesh & Shrivatsava, Santosh, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and cash holdings in India: Evidence from a natural experiment," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    17. Gangopadhyay, Shubhashis & Homroy, Swarnodeep, 2023. "Do social policies foster innovation? Evidence from India's CSR regulation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    18. Hickman, L. Emily & Iyer, Subramanian Rama & Jadiyappa, Nemiraja, 2021. "The effect of voluntary and mandatory corporate social responsibility on earnings management: Evidence from India and the 2% rule," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    19. Bhattacharyya, Asit & Rahman, Md Lutfur, 2019. "Mandatory CSR expenditure and firm performance," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3).
    20. Colleen Honigsberg, 2019. "Hedge Fund Regulation and Fund Governance: Evidence on the Effects of Mandatory Disclosure Rules," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(4), pages 845-888, September.
    21. Jacob Cherian & Muhammad Umar & Phung Anh Thu & Thao Nguyen-Trang & Muhammad Safdar Sial & Nguyen Vinh Khuong, 2019. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility Affect the Financial Performance of the Manufacturing Sector? Evidence from an Emerging Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-14, February.

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    Keywords

    corporate social responsibility; India; company law; event study;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Business and Securities Law

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