IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ememar/v38y2019icp102-114.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Religious beliefs, socially responsible investment, and cost of debt: Evidence from entrepreneurial firms in India

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Changhong
  • Xu, Yuan
  • Gill, Amarjit
  • Haider, Zulfiquer Ali
  • Wang, Yuan

Abstract

We use hand-collected survey data to study the joint effect of religious beliefs and socially responsible investment on the cost of debt. We also examine the moderating effect of an entrepreneur's gender on the impacts of religious beliefs on socially responsible investment. Our results show that entrepreneurial firms with religious owners invest more in social responsibility, and those with more socially responsible investment pay a lower cost of debt. We also find that the effect of religious beliefs on socially responsible investment is stronger when the entrepreneur is female.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Changhong & Xu, Yuan & Gill, Amarjit & Haider, Zulfiquer Ali & Wang, Yuan, 2019. "Religious beliefs, socially responsible investment, and cost of debt: Evidence from entrepreneurial firms in India," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 102-114.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ememar:v:38:y:2019:i:c:p:102-114
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ememar.2018.12.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1566014118304059
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ememar.2018.12.001?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. Wu, Meng-Wen & Shen, Chung-Hua, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility in the banking industry: Motives and financial performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 3529-3547.
    2. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "Value Maximization, Stakeholder Theory, and the Corporate Objective Function," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 32-42, January.
    3. Jeong†Bon Kim & Dan A. Simunic & Michael T. Stein & CHEONG H. YI, 2011. "Voluntary Audits and the Cost of Debt Capital for Privately Held Firms: Korean Evidence," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 585-615, June.
    4. S. Brammer & Geoffrey Williams & John Zinkin, 2007. "Religion and Attitudes to Corporate Social Responsibility in a Large Cross-Country Sample," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 71(3), pages 229-243, March.
    5. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Rajgopal, Shiva, 2005. "The economic implications of corporate financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1-3), pages 3-73, December.
    6. David B. Audretsch & Werner Boente & Jagannadha Pawan Tamvada, 2007. "Religion and Entrepreneurship," Jena Economics Research Papers 2007-075, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    7. Goss, Allen & Roberts, Gordon S., 2011. "The impact of corporate social responsibility on the cost of bank loans," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1794-1810, July.
    8. 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.
    9. Xingqiang Du & Wei Jian & Yingjie Du & Wentao Feng & Quan Zeng, 2014. "Religion, the Nature of Ultimate Owner, and Corporate Philanthropic Giving: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(2), pages 235-256, August.
    10. Lys, Thomas & Naughton, James P. & Wang, Clare, 2015. "Signaling through corporate accountability reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 56-72.
    11. Xingqiang Du, 2013. "Does Religion Matter to Owner-Manager Agency Costs? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 319-347, December.
    12. Hilary, Gilles & Hui, Kai Wai, 2009. "Does religion matter in corporate decision making in America?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(3), pages 455-473, September.
    13. Myers, Stewart C., 1984. "Capital structure puzzle," Working papers 1548-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    14. Dehejia, Rajeev & DeLeire, Thomas & Luttmer, Erzo F.P., 2007. "Insuring consumption and happiness through religious organizations," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1-2), pages 259-279, February.
    15. Baker, Malcolm & Greenwood, Robin & Wurgler, Jeffrey, 2003. "The maturity of debt issues and predictable variation in bond returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 261-291, November.
    16. Geoffrey Williams & John Zinkin, 2010. "Islam and CSR: A Study of the Compatibility Between the Tenets of Islam and the UN Global Compact," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 91(4), pages 519-533, February.
    17. Yaron Zelekha & Gil Avnimelech & Eyal Sharabi, 2014. "Religious institutions and entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 747-767, April.
    18. Peter Carswell & Deborah Rolland, 2007. "Religion and entrepreneurship in New Zealand," Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 1(2), pages 162-174, June.
    19. Concha Artola & Veronique Genre, 2011. "Euro Area SMEs under Financial Constraints: Belief or Reality?," CESifo Working Paper Series 3650, CESifo.
    20. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-592, July.
    21. Peter L. Daniels, 2003. "Buddhist economics and the environment: Material flow analysis and the moderation of society's metabolism," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 30(1), pages 8-33, January.
    22. Laurence R. Iannaccone, 1998. "Corrigenda [Introduction to the Economics of Religion]," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(4), pages 1941-1941, December.
    23. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen & Devereux, Michael & Schiantarelli, Fabio, 1992. "Investment and Tobin's Q: Evidence from company panel data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 233-257.
    24. Jiang, Fuxiu & Jiang, Zhan & Kim, Kenneth A. & Zhang, Min, 2015. "Family-firm risk-taking: Does religion matter?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 260-278.
    25. Deng, Xin & Kang, Jun-koo & Low, Buen Sin, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility and stakeholder value maximization: Evidence from mergers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(1), pages 87-109.
    26. Hong, Harrison & Kacperczyk, Marcin, 2009. "The price of sin: The effects of social norms on markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 15-36, July.
    27. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    28. Michael Bradley & Dong Chen, 2015. "Does Board Independence Reduce the Cost of Debt?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 44(1), pages 15-47, March.
    29. Scott D. Dyreng & William J. Mayew & Christopher D. Williams, 2012. "Religious Social Norms and Corporate Financial Reporting," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(7-8), pages 845-875, September.
    30. Amarjit Gill & Nahum Biger, 2009. "Gender differences and factors that affect stock investment decision of Western Canadian investors," International Journal of Behavioural Accounting and Finance, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 1(2), pages 135-151.
    31. Xingqiang Du & Wei Jian & Quan Zeng & Yingjie Du, 2014. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility in Polluting Industries: Does Religion Matter?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(3), pages 485-507, October.
    32. Zhenyu Wu & Jess H. Chua, 2012. "Second–Order Gender Effects: The Case of U.S. Small Business Borrowing Cost," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(3), pages 443-463, May.
    33. Laurence R. Iannaccone, 1998. "Introduction to the Economics of Religion," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(3), pages 1465-1495, September.
    34. Epstein, Edwin M., 2000. "Contemporary Jewish Perspectives on Business Ethics: The Contributions of Meir Tamari and Moses L. Pava—a Review Essay," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(2), pages 523-541, April.
    35. Renneboog, Luc & Ter Horst, Jenke & Zhang, Chendi, 2008. "Socially responsible investments: Institutional aspects, performance, and investor behavior," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1723-1742, September.
    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. Jia, Fansheng & Li, Guangzhong & Lu, Xiaoyan & Xie, Sujuan, 2021. "CEO given names and corporate green investment," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    2. Maryam Zidehsaraei & Reza Esmaeilpour & Mohsen Akbari, 2024. "The effects of similarity of values, religious values, and empathy on bank commitment to CSR and customers’ internal and behavioral responses: evidence from Guilan Province in Iran," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(1), pages 154-170, March.
    3. Li, Xinlan & Li, Changhong & Wang, Zhan & Jiao, Wenting & Pang, Yiwen, 2021. "The effect of corporate philanthropy on corporate performance of Chinese family firms: The moderating role of religious atmosphere," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    4. 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.
    5. Uyar, Ali & Lodh, Suman & Nandy, Monomita & Kuzey, Cemil & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2023. "Tradeoff between corporate investment and CSR: The moderating effect of financial slack, workforce slack, and board gender diversity," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    6. Boubakri, Narjess & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Wang, He (Helen), 2021. "Corporate social responsibility in emerging market economies: Determinants, consequences, and future research directions," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    7. Kumar, Satish & Sahoo, Saumyaranjan & Lim, Weng Marc & Dana, Léo-Paul, 2022. "Religion as a social shaping force in entrepreneurship and business: Insights from a technology-empowered systematic literature review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    8. Chang, Kai & Ding, Jiehuan & Lou, Qichun & Li, Zesheng & Yang, Jiahui, 2021. "The impact of capital leverage on green firms’ investment: New evidence regarding the size and age effects of Chinese green industries," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    9. Miao, Shuchao & Chi, Jing & Liao, Jing & Qian, Long, 2021. "How does religious belief promote farmer entrepreneurship in rural China?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 95-104.

    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. Kun Su, 2019. "Does religion benefit corporate social responsibility (CSR)? Evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(6), pages 1206-1221, November.
    2. Lijun Ma & Xin Wang & Che Zhang, 2021. "Does Religion Shape Corporate Cost Behavior?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(4), pages 835-855, May.
    3. Kejing Chen & Wenqi Guo & Yanling Kang & Qingqing Wan, 2021. "Does religion improve corporate environmental responsibility? Evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 808-818, March.
    4. Kim, Taeyeon & Kim, Hyun-Dong & Park, Kwangwoo, 2020. "CEO inside debt holdings and CSR activities," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 508-529.
    5. Xingqiang Du & Yingjie Du & Quan Zeng & Hongmei Pei & Yingying Chang, 2016. "Religious atmosphere, law enforcement, and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from China," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 229-265, March.
    6. Hui-Ju Tsai & Yangru Wu, 2022. "Changes in Corporate Social Responsibility and Stock Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(3), pages 735-755, July.
    7. Jinghua Wang & Jiankun Lu, 2021. "Religion and corporate tax compliance: evidence from Chinese Taoism and Buddhism," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(2), pages 327-347, June.
    8. Wen Shi & Xiaogang Bi, 2023. "Buddhism and M&A performance: Evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(4), pages 4505-4531, December.
    9. Mehdi Khodakarami & Hassan Yazdifar & Alireza Faraji Khaledi & Saeed Bagheri Kheirabadi & Amin Sarlak, 2024. "The Level of Islamic Religiosity of the Local Community and Corporate Environmental Responsibility Disclosure: Evidence from Iran," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(2), pages 483-512, March.
    10. Trung K. Do & Henry Hongren Huang & Te-Chien Lo, 2023. "Does corporate social responsibility affect leverage adjustments?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(4), pages 1569-1604, May.
    11. Shen, Na & Su, Jun, 2017. "Religion and succession intention - Evidence from Chinese family firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 150-161.
    12. Xingqiang Du & Wei Jian & Shaojuan Lai & Yingjie Du & Hongmei Pei, 2015. "Does Religion Mitigate Earnings Management? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(3), pages 699-749, October.
    13. Yalin Mo & Junyu Zhao & Thomas Li-Ping Tang, 2023. "Religious Beliefs Inspire Sustainable HOPE (Help Ourselves Protect the Environment): Culture, Religion, Dogma, and Liturgy—The Matthew Effect in Religious Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 184(3), pages 665-685, May.
    14. Sheng Yao & Weiwei Zhang, 2020. "Is Private Entrepreneurs’ Religiosity Conducive to Environmental Investment? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-17, February.
    15. Zolotoy, Leon & O'Sullivan, Don & Chen, Yangyang, 2019. "Local religious norms, corporate social responsibility, and firm value," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 218-233.
    16. Wang, Jimin & Wang, Cong, 2021. "Can religions explain cross country differences in innovative activities?," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    17. Dutordoir, Marie & Strong, Norman C. & Sun, Ping, 2018. "Corporate social responsibility and seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 158-179.
    18. Yaoqin Li, 2021. "Religious founders and employee welfare," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(5), pages 6037-6067, December.
    19. Adrian (Waikong) Cheung & May Hu & Jörg Schwiebert, 2018. "Corporate social responsibility and dividend policy," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 58(3), pages 787-816, September.
    20. Lamia Chourou & Luo He & Ligang Zhong, 2020. "Does religiosity enhance the quality of management earnings forecasts?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(7-8), pages 910-948, July.

    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:eee:ememar:v:38:y:2019:i:c:p:102-114. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620356 .

    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.