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Why do institutions like corporate social responsibility investments? evidence from horizon heterogeneity

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  • Fu, Xudong
  • Tang, Tian
  • Yan, Xinyan

Abstract

Why do institutional investors improve firms’ engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) investments? We show that CSR activities are driven by institutional investors with long investment horizons, and that this is due to the reputation insurance that CSR spending provides. Specifically, longer horizon investors benefit more from such insurance, and so do their agents, the investment managers that interact with portfolio firms. Additional tests show that this positive relationship between shareholder horizons and CSR is enhanced by market myopia, managerial agency risks, and motivated investors. We address the endogeneity concerns by employing Russell 1000/2000 index switches as sources of exogenous variation in shareholder investment horizons. The influence of shareholder horizons on CSR is also related to social norms. Our main results hold for all but one category of CSR and appear to be driven by CSR strengths.

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  • Fu, Xudong & Tang, Tian & Yan, Xinyan, 2019. "Why do institutions like corporate social responsibility investments? evidence from horizon heterogeneity," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 44-63.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:empfin:v:51:y:2019:i:c:p:44-63
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jempfin.2019.01.010
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    2. Lajili Jarjir, Souad & Nasreddine, Aya & Desban, Marc, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility as a common risk factor," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
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    5. Sandeep Yadav, 2020. "Institutional Ownership and Corporate Social Performance in Emerging Economies Multinationals: Evidence from India," Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, , vol. 13(2), pages 227-252, December.
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    8. Patrick Velte, 2023. "Which institutional investors drive corporate sustainability? A systematic literature review," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 42-71, January.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Shareholder investment horizons; Corporate social responsibility; Index reconstitution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors

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