IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbfina/v112y2020ics0378426617302273.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does corporate social responsibility create shareholder value? The importance of long-term investors

Author

Listed:
  • Nguyen, Phuong-Anh
  • Kecskés, Ambrus
  • Mansi, Sattar

Abstract

We study the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on shareholder value. We argue that long-term investors can ensure that managers choose the amount of CSR that maximizes shareholder value. We find that long-term investors do increase the value to shareholders of CSR activities, not through higher cash flow but rather through lower cash flow risk. Following prior work, we use indexing by investors and state laws on stakeholder orientation for identification. Our findings suggest that CSR activities can create shareholder value as long as managers are properly monitored by long-term investors.

Suggested Citation

  • Nguyen, Phuong-Anh & Kecskés, Ambrus & Mansi, Sattar, 2020. "Does corporate social responsibility create shareholder value? The importance of long-term investors," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:112:y:2020:i:c:s0378426617302273
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2017.09.013
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378426617302273
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2017.09.013?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. Stein, Jeremy C, 1988. "Takeover Threats and Managerial Myopia," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(1), pages 61-80, February.
    2. George A. Akerlof & Janet L. Yellen, 1990. "The Fair Wage-Effort Hypothesis and Unemployment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 105(2), pages 255-283.
    3. Harford, Jarrad & Jenter, Dirk & Li, Kai, 2011. "Institutional cross-holdings and their effect on acquisition decisions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 27-39, January.
    4. ., 2001. "Corporate Governance in Islamic Banking," Chapters, in: Islamic Banking, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Becker, Bo & Cronqvist, Henrik & Fahlenbrach, Rüdiger, 2011. "Estimating the Effects of Large Shareholders Using a Geographic Instrument," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(4), pages 907-942, August.
    6. Augustin Landier & Vinay B. Nair & Julie Wulf, 2009. "Trade-offs in Staying Close: Corporate Decision Making and Geographic Dispersion," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 1119-1148.
    7. Derrien, François & Kecskés, Ambrus & Thesmar, David, 2013. "Investor Horizons and Corporate Policies," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(6), pages 1755-1780, December.
    8. Fatemi, Ali & Fooladi, Iraj & Tehranian, Hassan, 2015. "Valuation effects of corporate social responsibility," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 182-192.
    9. Roland Bénabou & Jean Tirole, 2010. "Individual and Corporate Social Responsibility," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 77(305), pages 1-19, January.
    10. Matvos, Gregor & Ostrovsky, Michael, 2010. "Heterogeneity and peer effects in mutual fund proxy voting," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 90-112, October.
    11. Alex Edmans, 2009. "Blockholder Trading, Market Efficiency, and Managerial Myopia," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(6), pages 2481-2513, December.
    12. Gaspar, Jose-Miguel & Massa, Massimo & Matos, Pedro, 2005. "Shareholder investment horizons and the market for corporate control," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 135-165, April.
    13. K. J. Martijn Cremers & Antti Petajisto, 2009. "How Active Is Your Fund Manager? A New Measure That Predicts Performance," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(9), pages 3329-3365, September.
    14. Philippe Aghion & John Van Reenen & Luigi Zingales, 2013. "Innovation and Institutional Ownership," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(1), pages 277-304, February.
    15. Pastor, Lubos & Stambaugh, Robert F., 2003. "Liquidity Risk and Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(3), pages 642-685, June.
    16. Alan D. Crane & Sébastien Michenaud & James P. Weston, 2016. "Editor's Choice The Effect of Institutional Ownership on Payout Policy: Evidence from Index Thresholds," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(6), pages 1377-1408.
    17. Low, Angie, 2009. "Managerial risk-taking behavior and equity-based compensation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(3), pages 470-490, June.
    18. Ali Fatemi & Iraj J. Fooladi & David Wheeler, 2009. "The Relative Valuation of Socially Responsible Firms: an Exploratory Study," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Henri-Claude Bettignies & François Lépineux (ed.), Finance for a Better World, chapter 8, pages 140-167, Palgrave Macmillan.
    19. Martijn Cremers & Antti Petajisto, 2006. "How Active is Your Fund Manager? A New Measure That Predicts Performance," Yale School of Management Working Papers amz2370, Yale School of Management, revised 01 May 2009.
    20. Alon Brav & Wei Jiang & Frank Partnoy & Randall Thomas, 2008. "Hedge Fund Activism, Corporate Governance, and Firm Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(4), pages 1729-1775, August.
    21. John E. Core & Wayne R. Guay & Tjomme O. Rusticus, 2006. "Does Weak Governance Cause Weak Stock Returns? An Examination of Firm Operating Performance and Investors' Expectations," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(2), pages 655-687, April.
    22. Viral V. Acharya & Ramin P. Baghai & Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian, 2014. "Wrongful Discharge Laws and Innovation," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(1), pages 301-346, January.
    23. Anat R. Admati & Paul Pfleiderer, 2009. "The "Wall Street Walk" and Shareholder Activism: Exit as a Form of Voice," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(7), pages 2445-2485, July.
    24. Paul Gompers & Joy Ishii & Andrew Metrick, 2003. "Corporate Governance and Equity Prices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 107-156.
    25. Tirole, Jean, 2001. "Corporate Governance," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 69(1), pages 1-35, January.
    26. Merton, Robert C, 1987. "A Simple Model of Capital Market Equilibrium with Incomplete Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 42(3), pages 483-510, July.
    27. repec:bla:jfinan:v:58:y:2003:i:3:p:975-1008 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. Guercio, Diane Del & Hawkins, Jennifer, 1999. "The motivation and impact of pension fund activism," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 293-340, June.
    29. David H. Autor & John J. Donohue & Stewart J. Schwab, 2006. "The Costs of Wrongful-Discharge Laws," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(2), pages 211-231, May.
    30. Kenneth A. Froot & Andre F. Perold & Jeremy C. Stein, 1992. "Shareholder Trading Practices And Corporate Investment Horizons," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 5(2), pages 42-58, June.
    31. Oliver Hart & John Moore, 2008. "Contracts as Reference Points," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(1), pages 1-48.
    32. Allayannis, George & Weston, James P, 2001. "The Use of Foreign Currency Derivatives and Firm Market Value," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 14(1), pages 243-276.
    33. Merton, Robert C, 1974. "On the Pricing of Corporate Debt: The Risk Structure of Interest Rates," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 29(2), pages 449-470, May.
    34. John R. Graham & Daniel A. Rogers, 2002. "Do Firms Hedge in Response to Tax Incentives?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(2), pages 815-839, April.
    35. Bae, Kee-Hong & Kang, Jun-Koo & Wang, Jin, 2011. "Employee treatment and firm leverage: A test of the stakeholder theory of capital structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 130-153, April.
    36. Cindy R. Alexander & Mark A. Chen & Duane J. Seppi & Chester S. Spatt, 2010. "Interim News and the Role of Proxy Voting Advice," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(12), pages 4419-4454, December.
    37. repec:bla:jfinan:v:53:y:1998:i:4:p:1335-1362 is not listed on IDEAS
    38. Gao, Huasheng & Harford, Jarrad & Li, Kai, 2017. "CEO Turnover–Performance Sensitivity in Private Firms," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(2), pages 583-611, April.
    39. Caroline Flammer & Aleksandra Kacperczyk, 2016. "The Impact of Stakeholder Orientation on Innovation: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(7), pages 1982-2001, July.
    40. Franklin Allen & Elena Carletti & Robert Marquez, 2015. "Stakeholder Governance, Competition, and Firm Value," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 19(3), pages 1315-1346.
    41. Susan E.K. Christoffersen & Christopher C. Geczy & David K. Musto & Adam V. Reed, 2007. "Vote Trading and Information Aggregation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(6), pages 2897-2929, December.
    42. Diane K. Denis & John J. McConnell & Alexei V. Ovtchinnikov & Yun Yu, 2003. "S&P 500 Index Additions and Earnings Expectations," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(5), pages 1821-1840, October.
    43. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 1996. "Multifactor Explanations of Asset Pricing Anomalies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(1), pages 55-84, March.
    44. Yen-Cheng Chang & Harrison Hong & Inessa Liskovich, 2015. "Regression Discontinuity and the Price Effects of Stock Market Indexing," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(1), pages 212-246.
    45. 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.
    46. Allayannis, George & Ofek, Eli, 2001. "Exchange rate exposure, hedging, and the use of foreign currency derivatives," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 273-296, April.
    47. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2003. "Enjoying the Quiet Life? Corporate Governance and Managerial Preferences," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(5), pages 1043-1075, October.
    48. Sandra A. Waddock & Samuel B. Graves, 1997. "The Corporate Social Performance–Financial Performance Link," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(4), pages 303-319, April.
    49. Andrew Bird & Stephen A. Karolyi, 2016. "Do Institutional Investors Demand Public Disclosure?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(12), pages 3245-3277.
    50. Brown, Gregory & Kapadia, Nishad, 2007. "Firm-specific risk and equity market development," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 358-388, May.
    51. Todd A. Gormley & David A. Matsa, 2014. "Common Errors: How to (and Not to) Control for Unobserved Heterogeneity," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(2), pages 617-661.
    52. Chen, Huafeng Jason & Kacperczyk, Marcin & Ortiz-Molina, Hernán, 2011. "Labor Unions, Operating Flexibility, and the Cost of Equity," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(1), pages 25-58, February.
    53. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:2:p:623-650 is not listed on IDEAS
    54. repec:oup:revfin:v:29:y:2016:i:12:p:3245-3277. is not listed on IDEAS
    55. E. Han Kim & Paige Ouimet, 2014. "Broad-Based Employee Stock Ownership: Motives and Outcomes," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(3), pages 1273-1319, June.
    56. Edmans, Alex, 2011. "Does the stock market fully value intangibles? Employee satisfaction and equity prices," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(3), pages 621-640, September.
    57. Sudheer Chava, 2014. "Environmental Externalities and Cost of Capital," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(9), pages 2223-2247, September.
    58. Marco Becht & Julian Franks & Colin Mayer & Stefano Rossi, 2010. "Returns to Shareholder Activism: Evidence from a Clinical Study of the Hermes UK Focus Fund," NBER Chapters, in: Corporate Governance, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    59. Rountree, Brian & Weston, James P. & Allayannis, George, 2008. "Do investors value smooth performance?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(3), pages 237-251, December.
    60. Boone, Audra L. & White, Joshua T., 2015. "The effect of institutional ownership on firm transparency and information production," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(3), pages 508-533.
    61. Klein, Benjamin & Leffler, Keith B, 1981. "The Role of Market Forces in Assuring Contractual Performance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(4), pages 615-641, August.
    62. Shive, Sophie, 2012. "Local investors, price discovery, and market efficiency," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(1), pages 145-161.
    63. Ernst Fehr & Oliver Hart & Christian Zehnder, 2011. "Contracts as Reference Points--Experimental Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(2), pages 493-525, April.
    64. Ernst Fehr & Oliver Hart & Christian Zehnder, 2008. "Contracts as reference points � experimental evidence," IEW - Working Papers 393, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich.
    65. Robert C. Bird & John D. Knopf, 2009. "Do Wrongful-Discharge Laws Impair Firm Performance?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52(2), pages 197-222, May.
    66. Lu Zhang, 2005. "The Value Premium," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(1), pages 67-103, February.
    67. Amit Goyal & Pedro Santa‐Clara, 2003. "Idiosyncratic Risk Matters!," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 975-1007, June.
    68. Peter Iliev & Karl V. Lins & Darius P. Miller & Lukas Roth, 2015. "Editor's Choice Shareholder Voting and Corporate Governance Around the World," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(8), pages 2167-2202.
    69. Markus Kitzmueller & Jay Shimshack, 2012. "Economic Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 51-84, March.
    70. Xavier Giroud & Holger M. Mueller, 2011. "Corporate Governance, Product Market Competition, and Equity Prices," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(2), pages 563-600, April.
    71. Fatemi, Ali M. & Fooladi, Iraj J., 2013. "Sustainable finance: A new paradigm," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 101-113.
    72. Chen, Xia & Harford, Jarrad & Li, Kai, 2007. "Monitoring: Which institutions matter?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 279-305, November.
    73. Appel, Ian R. & Gormley, Todd A. & Keim, Donald B., 2016. "Passive investors, not passive owners," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1), pages 111-141.
    74. Brennan, Michael J. & Chordia, Tarun & Subrahmanyam, Avanidhar, 1998. "Alternative factor specifications, security characteristics, and the cross-section of expected stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 345-373, September.
    75. Paul C. Godfrey & Craig B. Merrill & Jared M. Hansen, 2009. "The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: an empirical test of the risk management hypothesis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 425-445, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Harford, Jarrad & Kecskés, Ambrus & Mansi, Sattar, 2018. "Do long-term investors improve corporate decision making?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 424-452.
    2. Ghaly, Mohamed & Dang, Viet Anh & Stathopoulos, Konstantinos, 2020. "Institutional investors' horizons and corporate employment decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    3. Dasgupta, Amil & Fos, Vyacheslav & Sautner, Zacharias, 2021. "Institutional investors and corporate governance," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112114, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Edmans, Alex & Holderness, Clifford, 2016. "Blockholders: A Survey of Theory and Evidence," CEPR Discussion Papers 11442, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Schmidt, Cornelius & Fahlenbrach, Rüdiger, 2017. "Do exogenous changes in passive institutional ownership affect corporate governance and firm value?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(2), pages 285-306.
    6. Erhemjamts, Otgontsetseg & Huang, Kershen, 2019. "Institutional ownership horizon, corporate social responsibility and shareholder value," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 61-79.
    7. Ni, Xiaoran, 2020. "Does stakeholder orientation matter for earnings management: Evidence from non-shareholder constituency statutes," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    8. Drobetz, W. & Momtaz, Paul P., 2020. "Antitakeover Provisions and Firm Value: New Evidence from the M&A Market," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    9. Farizo, Joseph D., 2022. "(Black)Rock the vote: Index funds and opposition to management," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    10. Alexandre Garel & Arthur Petit-Romec, 2021. "Engaging Employees for the Long Run: Long-Term Investors and Employee-Related CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(1), pages 35-63, November.
    11. 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.
    12. Bena, Jan & Ferreira, Miguel A & Matos, Pedro & Pires, Pedro, 2017. "Are foreign investors locusts? The long-term effects of foreign institutional ownership," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(1), pages 122-146.
    13. Pathan, Shams & Haq, Mamiza & Faff, Robert & Seymour, Trent, 2021. "Institutional investor horizon and bank risk-taking," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    14. Martijn Cremers & Ankur Pareek & Zacharias Sautner, 2020. "Short-Term Investors, Long-Term Investments, and Firm Value: Evidence from Russell 2000 Index Inclusions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(10), pages 4535-4551, October.
    15. Fu, Xudong & Kong, Lei & Tang, Tian & Yan, Xinyan, 2020. "Insider trading and shareholder investment horizons," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    16. Shirasu, Yoko & Kawakita, Hidetaka, 2021. "Long-term financial performance of corporate social responsibility," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    17. Cline, Brandon N. & Fu, Xudong & Tang, Tian, 2020. "Shareholder investment horizons and bank debt financing," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    18. Appel, Ian R. & Gormley, Todd A. & Keim, Donald B., 2016. "Passive investors, not passive owners," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1), pages 111-141.
    19. Brooks, Chris & Chen, Zhong & Zeng, Yeqin, 2018. "Institutional cross-ownership and corporate strategy: The case of mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 187-216.
    20. Caselli, Stefano & Gatti, Stefano & Chiarella, Carlo & Gigante, Gimede & Negri, Giulia, 2023. "Do shareholders really matter for firm performance? Evidence from the ownership characteristics of Italian listed companies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agency problems; Corporate governance; Monitoring; Managerial myopia; Investor horizons; Shareholders; Stakeholders; Corporate social responsibility; Investment; Intangibles; Valuation; Profitability; Volatility; Return; Risk;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:jbfina:v:112:y:2020:i:c:s0378426617302273. 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/jbf .

    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.