CEO Materialism and Corporate Social Responsibility

2018 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Davidson ◽  
Aiyesha Dey ◽  
Abbie J. Smith

ABSTRACT We study the role of individual CEOs in explaining corporate social responsibility (CSR) scores. We find that CEO fixed effects explain 59 percent of the variation in CSR scores, whereas firm fixed effects explain 23 percent of the variation in CSR scores. Specifically, firms led by materialistic CEOs have lower CSR scores, fewer strengths, and more weaknesses. Finally, we document that CSR scores in firms with non-materialistic CEOs are positively associated with accounting and stock price performance. In contrast, CSR scores in firms with materialistic CEOs are unrelated to profitability. JEL Classifications: G30; G34; G38.

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mashiyat Tasnia ◽  
Syed Musa Syed Jaafar AlHabshi ◽  
Romzie Rosman

Purpose Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is considered one of the crucial branding and promotional tools for banks to legitimise their role in society to become socially and environmentally responsible corporate citizen. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of CSR on stock price volatility of the US banks. This study further examined the moderating role of tax on the relationship between CSR and stock price volatility. Design/methodology/approach This study uses the random-effects panel regression estimation technique to test the hypotheses. The authors include a sample of 37 US banks from 2013 to 2017 with 144 bank-years observation. The authors consider the environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores from Refinitiv as a proxy for CSR. The financial data are also collected from the Refinitiv Datastream database. Findings This study finds a significant and positive relationship between CSR and stock price volatility, which indicates that shareholders of the US banks may not prefer excess concentration on CSR because of the additional cost of investment associated with implementing CSR. Also, tax payments and stock price volatility show a significant positive association, which implies that there is a higher possibility of an increase in stock price volatility if the tax rate increases. Generally, shareholders are not interested in paying more taxes, so they may swap the market instead of paying more tax. On the other hand, the authors find a non-significant moderating effect of tax payment on CSR-volatility nexus. Originality/value Previous studies mainly focussed on CSR and financial performance of banks. Conversely, studies focussing on CSR and stock volatility are limited. This study will fill the gap in the literature by considering the effect of CSR on the stock price volatility of the US banks.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Jeffrey ◽  
Stuart Rosenberg ◽  
Brianna McCabe

Purpose This paper aims to study how corporate social responsibility (CSR) behaviors can lead to corporate membership on Fortune Magazine’s Most Admired Companies list. Design/methodology/approach Regression analysis using environmental, social and governance (ESG) statistics published by MSCI-KLD as independent variables to predict the behaviors that lead to most admired status. Findings Not surprisingly, corporate financial performance (CFP) is the largest contributor to membership on the list. However, after controlling for CFP, the analysis finds that specific social responsibility behaviors contribute to membership on the Fortune list. Practical implications This paper finds that CSR behaviors are important to a firm’s reputation as measured by Fortune’s Most Admired Companies list. Therefore, companies should continue with social responsibility activities to improve their reputation with investors. Originality/value Many articles test the effect of ESG on financial performance and the role of financial performance on stock price. This paper is unique in that it measures the impact of CSR on corporate reputation using an important financial market benchmark – the Fortune Most Admired Companies list.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruijie Jin ◽  
Xiaoxian Jiang ◽  
Ao Shen

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of independent directors on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) gap – a misalignment between internal and external CSR. More specifically, the authors investigate how two types of independent directors (i.e. politically connected and foreign) affect a firm’s CSR gap in China. Design/methodology/approach The authors use the fixed-effects regression model to analyze the panel dataset, which is conducted by a sample of Chinese publicly listed firms from 2008 to 2015. Findings The findings indicate that, on average, firms undertake more external than internal CSR actions. Importantly, the authors find that firms having politically connected independent directors on boards have a wider gap between their internal and external CSR. In contrast, firms having foreign independent directors on boards have a narrower gap between their internal and external CSR. Practical implications This study provides insights into the role of independent directors in increasing or decreasing the gap between a firm’s internal and external CSR actions, which offers important implications for policymakers and investors. Originality/value This study extends the literature on the causes of the CSR gap and deepens the theoretical understanding of the governance role of independent directors in China.


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