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Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Risk: Theory and Empirical Evidence

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  • Koskinen, Yrjö
  • Albuquerque, Rui
  • Zhang, Chendi

Abstract

This paper presents an industry equilibrium model where firms have a choice to engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. We model CSR activities as a product differentiation strategy allowing firms to benefit from higher profit margins. The model predicts that CSR decreases systematic risk and increases firm value and that these effects are stronger for firms with high product differentiation. We find supporting evidence for our predictions. We address a potential endogeneity problem by instrumenting CSR using data on the political affiliation of the firm's home state.

Suggested Citation

  • Koskinen, Yrjö & Albuquerque, Rui & Zhang, Chendi, 2013. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Risk: Theory and Empirical Evidence," CEPR Discussion Papers 9533, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9533
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ferrell, Allen & Liang, Hao & Renneboog, Luc, 2016. "Socially responsible firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(3), pages 585-606.
    3. Hakkon Kim & Kwangwoo Park & Doojin Ryu, 2017. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility: A Legal Origins Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 381-402, February.
    4. Puggioni, Daniela & Stefanou, Spiro E., 2016. "The Value of Being Socially Responsible. A DEA Approach for Analyzing Efficiency and Recovering Shadow Prices of CSR Activities," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235723, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Minghui Li & Faqin Lan & Fang Zhang, 2019. "Why Chinese Financial Market Investors Do Not Care about Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Mergers and Acquisitions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-34, June.
    6. Shih, Yi-Cheng & Wang, Yao & Zhong, Rui & Ma, Yi-Ming, 2021. "Corporate environmental responsibility and default risk: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    7. Natalia Semenova & Lars Hassel, 2015. "On the Validity of Environmental Performance Metrics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 249-258, December.
    8. Ali Fatemi & Iraj Fooladi, 2020. "A primer on sustainable value creation," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(3), pages 452-473, July.
    9. Tamas Barko & Martijn Cremers & Luc Renneboog, 2022. "Shareholder Engagement on Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(2), pages 777-812, October.
    10. Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Hakkon Kim & Kwangwoo Park, 2018. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility and the Cost of Capital: International Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 335-361, May.
    11. Krüger, Philipp, 2015. "Corporate goodness and shareholder wealth," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 304-329.
    12. Do Anh Duc & Le Quoc Hoi & Le Dao & Vu Thi Phuong Lien & Nguyen Thanh Hang & Tran Lan Huong, 2024. "Corporate environmental responsibility and the business risk of Vietnamese SMEs: the mediating role of internal control," Risk Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 26(1), pages 1-24, February.
    13. Li Cai & Jinhua Cui & Hoje Jo, 2016. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Firm Risk," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(3), pages 563-594, December.
    14. Kukovec Darja & Mulej Matjaž & Žižek Simona Šarotar, 2018. "Professional Languages Alone Do Not Suffice for Successful and Socially Responsible Internal Communication between Different Cultures," Naše gospodarstvo/Our economy, Sciendo, vol. 64(3), pages 47-55, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Firm value; Corporate social responsibility; Systematic risk; Product differentiation; Beta; Industry equilibrium;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

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