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Restart economy in a resilient way: The value of corporate social responsibility to firms in COVID-19

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  • Zhang, Juanjuan
  • Zhang, Yuming
  • Sun, Yongkun

Abstract

This paper investigates the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to firms in COVID-19. Using data from listed companies in China, we find that a high-level of CSR is conducive to improving stock returns. Importantly, the mechanism analysis shows that corporate social responsibility can bring social trust capital to enterprises, and it can improve the corporate performance during the epidemic. Additional tests show that the impacts of employee protection and environmental protection responsibilities on stock returns are even more significant. Our findings reveal the importance of the socially responsible investing and have important policy implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Juanjuan & Zhang, Yuming & Sun, Yongkun, 2022. "Restart economy in a resilient way: The value of corporate social responsibility to firms in COVID-19," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:47:y:2022:i:pb:s1544612322000125
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2022.102683
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    Cited by:

    1. Pandey, Dharen Kumar & Lucey, Brian M. & Kumar, Satish, 2023. "Border disputes, conflicts, war, and financial markets research: A systematic review," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    2. Zhang, Huilin, 2022. "Mandatory corporate social responsibility disclosure and firm innovation: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    3. Li, Biao & Mousa, Saeed & Reinoso, Johanna Rosali Reyes & Alzoubi, Haitham M. & Ali, Anis & Hoang, Anh Duong, 2023. "The role of technology innovation, customer retention and business continuity on firm performance after post-pandemic era in China’s SMEs," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1209-1220.
    4. Rupp, Anin & Limpaphayom, Piman, 2024. "Benefits of corporate social responsibility during a pandemic: Evidence from stock price reaction to COVID-19 related news," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate social responsibility; COVID-19 pandemic; Financial market reaction; Firm performance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

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