IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v50y2022ics1544612322004019.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate social responsibility and corporate financial performance: The role of executive directors in family firms

Author

Listed:
  • Tenuta, Paolo
  • Cambrea, Domenico Rocco

Abstract

The paper investigates the impact of corporate social responsibility activities on corporate financial performance among Italian companies listed on the FTSE MIB at the Milan Exchange for the period 2013–2019, focusing on the moderating role of family control and executive directors. The empirical results show that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is negatively associated with family firms’ performance, suggesting the prevalence of the expropriation effect. However, the relationship between CSR and corporate financial performance is positively moderated by the presence of multiple executive members on the board of directors of family companies, confirming the benefits of shared leadership on family boards.

Suggested Citation

  • Tenuta, Paolo & Cambrea, Domenico Rocco, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility and corporate financial performance: The role of executive directors in family firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:50:y:2022:i:c:s1544612322004019
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2022.103195
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612322004019
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2022.103195?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. Huang, Jingjing, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: The moderating role of the turnover of local officials," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    2. Fatemi, Ali & Glaum, Martin & Kaiser, Stefanie, 2018. "ESG performance and firm value: The moderating role of disclosure," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 45-64.
    3. Samuel Adomako & Joseph Amankwah‐Amoah & Albert Danso & Renata Konadu & Samuel Owusu‐Agyei, 2019. "Environmental sustainability orientation and performance of family and nonfamily firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1250-1259, September.
    4. Fabrizio Rossi & Maretno Agus Harjoto, 2020. "Corporate non-financial disclosure, firm value, risk, and agency costs: evidence from Italian listed companies," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 14(5), pages 1149-1181, October.
    5. Amore, Mario Daniele & Miller, Danny & Le Breton-Miller, Isabelle & Corbetta, Guido, 2017. "For love and money: Marital leadership in family firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 461-476.
    6. Hwang, Byoung-Hyoun & Kim, Seoyoung, 2009. "It pays to have friends," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 138-158, July.
    7. Plümper, Thomas & Troeger, Vera E., 2007. "Efficient Estimation of Time-Invariant and Rarely Changing Variables in Finite Sample Panel Analyses with Unit Fixed Effects," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(2), pages 124-139, April.
    8. Minh, Thanh Nguyen & Quang, Tuyen Tran, 2022. "The effects of corporate social responsibility on firm efficiency: Inside the matrix of corporate finance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    9. Oh, Won-Yong & Chang, Young Kyun & Jung, Rami, 2019. "Board characteristics and corporate social responsibility: Does family involvement in management matter?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 23-33.
    10. Monica Billio & Michele Costola & Iva Hristova & Carmelo Latino & Loriana Pelizzon, 2021. "Inside the ESG ratings: (Dis)agreement and performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(5), pages 1426-1445, September.
    11. Roberta Provasi & Murad Harasheh, 2021. "Gender diversity and corporate performance: Emphasis on sustainability performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 127-137, January.
    12. Cristina Cruz & Rachida Justo & Martín Larraza-Kintana & Lucía Garcés-Galdeano, 2019. "When Do Women Make a Better Table? Examining the Influence of Women Directors on Family Firm’s Corporate Social Performance," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(2), pages 282-301, March.
    13. Broadstock, David C. & Chan, Kalok & Cheng, Louis T.W. & Wang, Xiaowei, 2021. "The role of ESG performance during times of financial crisis: Evidence from COVID-19 in China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    14. Amama Shaukat & Yan Qiu & Grzegorz Trojanowski, 2016. "Board Attributes, Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy, and Corporate Environmental and Social Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(3), pages 569-585, May.
    15. Wu, Weijun & Yang, Yang & Zhou, Sili, 2017. "Multinational firms and cash holdings: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 184-191.
    16. Wong, Woei Chyuan & Batten, Jonathan A. & Ahmad, Abd Halim & Mohamed-Arshad, Shamsul Bahrain & Nordin, Sabariah & Adzis, Azira Abdul, 2021. "Does ESG certification add firm value?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    17. Giovanni Landi & Mauro Sciarelli, 2018. "Towards a more ethical market: the impact of ESG rating on corporate financial performance," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(1), pages 11-27, October.
    18. Matteo P. Arena & Stephen P. Ferris & Emre Unlu, 2011. "It Takes Two: The Incidence and Effectiveness of Co‐CEOs," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 46(3), pages 385-412, August.
    19. Omura, Akihiro & Roca, Eduardo & Nakai, Miwa, 2021. "Does responsible investing pay during economic downturns: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    20. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Wang, He & Kwok, Chuck C.Y., 2016. "Family control and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 131-146.
    21. Yang, Ann Shawing & Baasandorj, Suvd, 2017. "Exploring CSR and financial performance of full-service and low-cost air carriers," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 291-299.
    22. Franco Ernesto Rubino & Paolo Tenuta & Domenico Rocco Cambrea, 2017. "Board characteristics effects on performance in family and non-family business: a multi-theoretical approach," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(3), pages 623-658, September.
    23. Jennifer Martínez‐Ferrero & José Valeriano Frías‐Aceituno, 2015. "Relationship Between Sustainable Development and Financial Performance: International Empirical Research," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(1), pages 20-39, January.
    24. Amore, Mario Daniele & Bennedsen, Morten & Larsen, Birthe & Rosenbaum, Philip, 2019. "CEO education and corporate environmental footprint," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 254-273.
    25. María Mar Miralles-Quirós & José Luis Miralles-Quirós & Luis Miguel Valente Gonçalves, 2018. "The Value Relevance of Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance: The Brazilian Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-15, February.
    26. Liu, Xinghe & Wang, Enxian & Cai, Danting, 2019. "Green credit policy, property rights and debt financing: Quasi-natural experimental evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 129-135.
    27. Yusheng Kong & Alex Antwi‐Adjei & Jonas Bawuah, 2020. "A systematic review of the business case for corporate social responsibility and firm performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 444-454, March.
    28. Aaron K. Chatterji & Rodolphe Durand & David I. Levine & Samuel Touboul, 2016. "Do ratings of firms converge? Implications for managers, investors and strategy researchers," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(8), pages 1597-1614, August.
    29. Bruna, Maria Giuseppina & Lahouel, Béchir Ben, 2022. "CSR & financial performance: Facing methodological and modeling issues commentary paper to the eponymous FRL article collection," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    30. Boubaker, Sabri & Cellier, Alexis & Manita, Riadh & Saeed, Asif, 2020. "Does corporate social responsibility reduce financial distress risk?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 835-851.
    31. Raiswa Saha & Shashi & Roberto Cerchione & Rajwinder Singh & Richa Dahiya, 2020. "Effect of ethical leadership and corporate social responsibility on firm performance: A systematic review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 409-429, March.
    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. Jiajia Liu & Kexin Zhou & Ye Zhang & Fangcheng Tang, 2023. "The Effect of Financial Digital Transformation on Financial Performance: The Intermediary Effect of Information Symmetry and Operating Costs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-22, March.
    2. Marcin Borsuk & Nicolas Eugster & Paul-Olivier Klein & Oskar Kowalewski, 2023. "Family Firms and Carbon Emissions," NBP Working Papers 361, Narodowy Bank Polski.
    3. Domenico Rocco Cambrea & Francesco Paolone & Nicola Cucari, 2023. "Advisory or monitoring role in ESG scenario: Which women directors are more influential in the Italian context?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4299-4314, November.
    4. Samuel Leroy Cabrera-Luján & David Josías Sánchez-Lima & Segundo Alberto Guevara-Flores & Dany Yudet Millones-Liza & Elizabeth Emperatriz García-Salirrosas & Miluska Villar-Guevara, 2023. "Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility, Business Ethics and Corporate Reputation on the Retention of Users of Third-Sector Institutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, January.
    5. Omer Saeed Habtoor, 2022. "Board Attributes and Bank Performance in Light of Saudi Corporate Governance Regulations," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-27, September.

    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. Berenike Wiener & Georg von Schnurbein, 2023. "Foundation Investment Funds for Grant-Making Foundations in Germany: Do They Facilitate Sustainable Investing?," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    2. Yu, Haixu & Liang, Chuanyu & Liu, Zhaohua & Wang, He, 2023. "News-based ESG sentiment and stock price crash risk," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. Kahloul, Ines & Sbai, Hicham & Grira, Jocelyn, 2022. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility reporting improve financial performance? The moderating role of board diversity and gender composition," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 305-314.
    4. Deli Wang & Ke Peng & Kaiye Tang & Yewei Wu, 2022. "Does Fintech Development Enhance Corporate ESG Performance? Evidence from an Emerging Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-21, December.
    5. Wang, Ren & Bian, Yuxiang & Xiong, Xiong, 2024. "Impact of ESG preferences on investments and emissions in a DSGE framework," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    6. Burger, Eric & Grba, Fabian & Heidorn, Thomas, 2022. "The impact of ESG ratings on implied and historical volatility," Frankfurt School - Working Paper Series 230, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.
    7. Stefania Veltri & Romilda Mazzotta & Franco Ernesto Rubino, 2021. "Board diversity and corporate social performance: Does the family firm status matter?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1664-1679, November.
    8. Haowen Tian & Gaoliang Tian, 2022. "Corporate sustainability and trade credit financing: Evidence from environmental, social, and governance ratings," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1896-1908, September.
    9. Remo-Diez, Nieves & Mendaña-Cuervo, Cristina & Arenas-Parra, Mar, 2023. "Exploring the asymmetric impact of sustainability reporting on financial performance in the utilities sector: A longitudinal comparative analysis," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    10. Zhang, Dayong & Zhang, Zhiwei & Ji, Qiang & Lucey, Brian & Liu, Jia, 2021. "Board characteristics, external governance and the use of renewable energy: International evidence," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    11. Silvia Carnini Pulino & Mirella Ciaburri & Barbara Sveva Magnanelli & Luigi Nasta, 2022. "Does ESG Disclosure Influence Firm Performance?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-18, June.
    12. Lorenzo Dal Maso & Rodrigo Basco & Thomas Bassetti & Nicola Lattanzi, 2020. "Family ownership and environmental performance: The mediation effect of human resource practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1548-1562, March.
    13. Yin Shi & Xiaoni Li & Maher Asal, 2023. "Impact of sustainability on financial distress in the air transport industry: the moderating effect of Asia–Pacific," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, December.
    14. Charl de Villiers & Jing Jia & Zhongtian Li, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility: A review of empirical research using Thomson Reuters Asset4 data," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(4), pages 4523-4568, December.
    15. Staněk Gyönyör, Lucie & Horváth, Matúš, 2024. "Does ESG affect stock market dependence? An empirical exploration of S&P 1200 companies shows the divergent nature of E–S–G pillars," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    16. Christoph Stock & Laura Pütz & Sabrina Schell & Arndt Werner, 2024. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Family Firms: Status and Future Directions of a Research Field," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(1), pages 199-259, February.
    17. Mirza, Nawazish & Naeem, Muhammad Abubakr & Ha Nguyen, Thi Thu & Arfaoui, Nadia & Oliyide, Johnson A., 2023. "Are sustainable investments interdependent? The international evidence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    18. Arfaoui, Nadia & Naeem, Muhammad Abubakr & Boubaker, Sabri & Mirza, Nawazish & Karim, Sitara, 2023. "Interdependence of clean energy and green markets with cryptocurrencies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    19. Stefano Clo' & Gianluca Iannucci & Alessandro Tampieri, 2024. "Emission permits and firms' environmental responsibility," Working Papers - Economics wp2024_06.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    20. Ren, Xiaohang & Zeng, Gudian & Zhao, Yang, 2023. "Digital finance and corporate ESG performance: Empirical evidence from listed companies in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).

    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:finlet:v:50:y:2022:i:c:s1544612322004019. 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/frl .

    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.