IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v182y2024ics0148296324002960.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Answer to whom? A comparative empirical study on institutional drivers for firms’ CSR reporting in China and the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Xiao, Tian
  • Chan, Hing Kai
  • Ni, Wenbin
  • Tan, Kim Hua

Abstract

While earlier research has mainly focused on the business-centric perspective for corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, this study adopts a society-centric perspective and tests institutional drivers. We apply a panel data analysis using 56,532 firm-years from 2006 to 2019, comprising listed firms in China and the United States. The results show that firms exposed to more pressure are more likely to issue CSR reports in both countries. CSR reporting in China tends to be externally driven, as Chinese firms are experiencing more institutional drivers than their US counterparts under similar reporting circumstances. In verifying institutional drivers, those which are shared or differ in two distinct markets are not determined by economic development status, but are rather affected by the orders of institutional logics. This study provides empirical evidence for future research opportunities for an ex-ante view of CSR and practical suggestions for globalised CSR reporting frames.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiao, Tian & Chan, Hing Kai & Ni, Wenbin & Tan, Kim Hua, 2024. "Answer to whom? A comparative empirical study on institutional drivers for firms’ CSR reporting in China and the United States," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:182:y:2024:i:c:s0148296324002960
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114792
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296324002960
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114792?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. Wenjing Li & Ran Zhang, 2010. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Ownership Structure, and Political Interference: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(4), pages 631-645, November.
    2. Philippe Gugler & Jacylyn Shi, 2009. "Corporate Social Responsibility for Developing Country Multinational Corporations: Lost War in Pertaining Global Competitiveness?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(1), pages 3-24, April.
    3. Amrou Awaysheh & Randall A. Heron & Tod Perry & Jared I. Wilson, 2020. "On the relation between corporate social responsibility and financial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(6), pages 965-987, June.
    4. Jonathan P. Doh & Terrence R. Guay, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Public Policy, and NGO Activism in Europe and the United States: An Institutional‐Stakeholder Perspective," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 47-73, January.
    5. Rüdiger Hahn & Regina Lülfs, 2014. "Legitimizing Negative Aspects in GRI-Oriented Sustainability Reporting: A Qualitative Analysis of Corporate Disclosure Strategies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(3), pages 401-420, September.
    6. Li, Peter Ping & Zhou, Steven Shijin & Zhou, Abby Jingzi & Yang, Zhangbo, 2019. "Reconceptualizing and Redirecting Research on Guanxi: ‘Guan-Xi’ Interaction to Form a Multicolored Chinese Knot," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(3), pages 643-677, September.
    7. Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2012. "What drives corporate social performance? The role of nation-level institutions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(9), pages 834-864, December.
    8. Sean Cleary, 1999. "The Relationship between Firm Investment and Financial Status," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(2), pages 673-692, April.
    9. Ilya Okhmatovskiy & Robert J. David, 2012. "Setting Your Own Standards: Internal Corporate Governance Codes as a Response to Institutional Pressure," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 155-176, February.
    10. Ferrell, Allen & Liang, Hao & Renneboog, Luc, 2016. "Socially responsible firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(3), pages 585-606.
    11. Kun Tracy Wang & Dejia Li, 2016. "Market Reactions to the First-Time Disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility Reports: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(4), pages 661-682, November.
    12. Youjin Baik & Young-Ryeol Park, 2019. "Managing legitimacy through corporate community involvement: The effects of subsidiary ownership and host country experience in China," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(4), pages 971-993, December.
    13. Jiatao Li & Peixin Li & Baolian Wang, 2019. "The liability of opaqueness: State ownership and the likelihood of deal completion in international acquisitions by Chinese firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(2), pages 303-327, February.
    14. Matthias Bank & Martin Larch & Georg Peter, 2011. "Google search volume and its influence on liquidity and returns of German stocks," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 25(3), pages 239-264, September.
    15. Shawn Pope & Jonathan Peillex & Imane El Ouadghiri & Mathieu Gomes, 2023. "Floodlight or Spotlight? Public Attention and the Selective Disclosure of Environmental Information," Post-Print hal-04368061, HAL.
    16. Sepideh Parsa & Narisa Dai & Ataur Belal & Teng Li & Guliang Tang, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility reporting in China: political, social and corporate influences," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(1), pages 36-64, January.
    17. Royston Greenwood & Amalia Magán Díaz & Stan Xiao Li & José Céspedes Lorente, 2010. "The Multiplicity of Institutional Logics and the Heterogeneity of Organizational Responses," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(2), pages 521-539, April.
    18. David G Hyatt & Nicholas Berente, 2017. "Substantive or Symbolic Environmental Strategies? Effects of External and Internal Normative Stakeholder Pressures," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(8), pages 1212-1234, December.
    19. Won Oh & Young Chang & Aleksey Martynov, 2011. "The Effect of Ownership Structure on Corporate Social Responsibility: Empirical Evidence from Korea," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(2), pages 283-297, December.
    20. Esben Pedersen & Wencke Gwozdz, 2014. "From Resistance to Opportunity-Seeking: Strategic Responses to Institutional Pressures for Corporate Social Responsibility in the Nordic Fashion Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 119(2), pages 245-264, January.
    21. Xue Wang & Feng Cao & Kangtao Ye, 2018. "Mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reporting and Financial Reporting Quality: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 253-274, September.
    22. Zelong Wei & Hao Shen & Kevin Zheng Zhou & Julie Juan Li, 2017. "How Does Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility Matter in a Dysfunctional Institutional Environment? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 209-223, January.
    23. Chu, Shu-Chuan & Chen, Hsuan-Ting & Gan, Chen, 2020. "Consumers’ engagement with corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication in social media: Evidence from China and the United States," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 260-271.
    24. Bryan W. Husted & Dima Jamali & Walid Saffar, 2016. "Near and dear? The role of location in CSR engagement," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(10), pages 2050-2070, October.
    25. Di Giuli, Alberta & Kostovetsky, Leonard, 2014. "Are red or blue companies more likely to go green? Politics and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(1), pages 158-180.
    26. Liangrong Zu & Lina Song, 2009. "Determinants of Managerial Values on Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(1), pages 105-117, April.
    27. Christopher Marquis & Cuili Qian, 2014. "Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in China: Symbol or Substance?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(1), pages 127-148, February.
    28. Chen, Yi-Chun & Hung, Mingyi & Wang, Yongxiang, 2018. "The effect of mandatory CSR disclosure on firm profitability and social externalities: Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 169-190.
    29. Cheng Gao & Tiona Zuzul & Geoffrey Jones & Tarun Khanna, 2017. "Overcoming Institutional Voids: A Reputation-Based View of Long-Run Survival," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(11), pages 2147-2167, November.
    30. Shangkun Xu & Rudai Yang, 2010. "Indigenous Characteristics of Chinese Corporate Social Responsibility Conceptual Paradigm," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(2), pages 321-333, May.
    31. Jamali, Dima & Karam, Charlotte & Yin, Juelin & Soundararajan, Vivek, 2017. "CSR logics in developing countries: Translation, adaptation and stalled development," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 343-359.
    32. Li, Chengcheng & Wang, Xiaoqiong, 2022. "Local peer effects of corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    33. Javadi, Siamak & Masum, Abdullah-Al, 2021. "The impact of climate change on the cost of bank loans," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    34. Guangming Gong & Si Xu & Xun Gong, 2018. "On the Value of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: An Empirical Investigation of Corporate Bond Issues in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 227-258, June.
    35. Lei Wang & Heikki Juslin, 2009. "The Impact of Chinese Culture on Corporate Social Responsibility: The Harmony Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(3), pages 433-451, October.
    36. Zhi Da & Joseph Engelberg & Pengjie Gao, 2011. "In Search of Attention," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(5), pages 1461-1499, October.
    37. Kurt A. Desender & Ruth V. Aguilera & Mónica Lópezpuertas-Lamy & Rafel Crespi, 2016. "A clash of governance logics: Foreign ownership and board monitoring," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 349-369, February.
    38. Amal Aouadi & Sylvain Marsat, 2018. "Do ESG Controversies Matter for Firm Value? Evidence from International Data," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 1027-1047, September.
    39. Meftah Gerged, Ali & Kuzey, Cemil & Uyar, Ali & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2023. "Does investment stimulate or inhibit CSR transparency? The moderating role of CSR committee, board monitoring and CEO duality," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    40. Cai, Ye & Pan, Carrie H. & Statman, Meir, 2016. "Why do countries matter so much in corporate social performance?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 591-609.
    41. Kempf, Alexander & Osthoff, Peer, 2007. "The effect of socially responsible investing on portfolio performance," CFR Working Papers 06-10, University of Cologne, Centre for Financial Research (CFR).
    42. Sylvia Grewatsch & Ingo Kleindienst, 2017. "When Does It Pay to be Good? Moderators and Mediators in the Corporate Sustainability–Corporate Financial Performance Relationship: A Critical Review," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 383-416, October.
    43. ChungMing Lau & Yuan Lu & Qiang Liang, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility in China: A Corporate Governance Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 73-87, June.
    44. Bartram, Söhnke M. & Hou, Kewei & Kim, Sehoon, 2022. "Real effects of climate policy: Financial constraints and spillovers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(2), pages 668-696.
    45. Rodolphe Durand & Robert M. Grant & Tammy L. Madsen & Sinziana Dorobantu & Aseem Kaul & Bennet Zelner, 2017. "Nonmarket strategy research through the lens of new institutional economics: An integrative review and future directions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 114-140, January.
    46. Jeremy Moon & Xi Shen, 2010. "CSR in China Research: Salience, Focus and Nature," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(4), pages 613-629, July.
    47. Nazim Hussain & Ugo Rigoni & René P. Orij, 2018. "Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance: Analysis of Triple Bottom Line Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 411-432, May.
    48. Zhi Tang & Clyde Eiríkur Hull & Sandra Rothenberg, 2012. "How Corporate Social Responsibility Engagement Strategy Moderates the CSR–Financial Performance Relationship," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(7), pages 1274-1303, November.
    49. Abdifatah Ahmed Haji & Paul Coram & Indrit Troshani, 2022. "Consequences of CSR reporting regulations worldwide: a review and research agenda," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 36(1), pages 177-208, April.
    50. Tiziana Russo-Spena & Marco Tregua & Alessandra De Chiara, 2018. "Trends and Drivers in CSR Disclosure: A Focus on Reporting Practices in the Automotive Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 563-578, August.
    51. Daniel Bradley & Incheol Kim & Xuan Tian, 2017. "Do Unions Affect Innovation?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(7), pages 2251-2271, July.
    52. Alexander Kempf & Peer Osthoff, 2007. "The Effect of Socially Responsible Investing on Portfolio Performance," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 13(5), pages 908-922, November.
    53. Karola Bastini & Fares Getzin & Maik Lachmann, 2021. "The effects of strategic choices and sustainability control systems in the emergence of organizational capabilities for sustainability," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(4), pages 1121-1153, September.
    54. S. Trevis Certo & Michael C. Withers & Matthew Semadeni, 2017. "A tale of two effects: Using longitudinal data to compare within- and between-firm effects," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(7), pages 1536-1556, July.
    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. Wen, Wen & Ke, Yun & Liu, Xuejiao, 2021. "Customer concentration and corporate social responsibility performance: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    2. Shu-Yun Du & Xiao-Chen Shao & Alfredo Jiménez & Jeoung Yul Lee, 2022. "Corporate Social Responsibility of Chinese Multinational Enterprises: A Review and Future Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-22, December.
    3. McGuinness, Paul B. & Vieito, João Paulo & Wang, Mingzhu, 2017. "The role of board gender and foreign ownership in the CSR performance of Chinese listed firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 75-99.
    4. Garanina, Tatiana & Kim, Oksana, 2023. "The relationship between CSR disclosure and accounting conservatism: The role of state ownership," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    5. Zhe Li & Ping Wang, 2023. "Cross‐border mergers and acquisitions and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from Chinese listed firms," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1-2), pages 335-376, January.
    6. Cheng Xiang & Fengwen Chen & Paul Jones & Senmao Xia, 2021. "The effect of institutional investors’ distraction on firms’ corporate social responsibility engagement: evidence from China," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(6), pages 1645-1681, August.
    7. Shahab, Yasir & Wang, Peng & Gull, Ammar Ali & Chen, Yugang & Ntim, Collins G., 2023. "Social trust and environmental performance in China: Does state ownership matter?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    8. Irina Ervits, 2023. "CSR reporting in China’s private and state-owned enterprises: A mixed methods comparative analysis," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(1), pages 55-83, February.
    9. Zhe Li & Ping Wang & Tianlong Wu, 2021. "Do foreign institutional investors drive corporate social responsibility? Evidence from listed firms in China," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1-2), pages 338-373, January.
    10. Lin Liao & Yukun Pan & Daifei (Troy) Yao, 2023. "Capital market liberalisation and voluntary corporate social responsibility disclosure: Evidence from a quasi‐natural experiment in China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(2), pages 2677-2715, June.
    11. Kong, Dongmin & Cheng, Xu & Jiang, Xiandeng, 2021. "Effects of political promotion on local firms’ social responsibility in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 418-429.
    12. Douglas Cumming & Wenxuan Hou & Edward Lee, 2016. "Business Ethics and Finance in Greater China: Synthesis and Future Directions in Sustainability, CSR, and Fraud," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(4), pages 601-626, November.
    13. Senlin Miao & Gary Gang Tian & Fenghua Wen & Jinli Xiao, 2024. "The Independence of Judges and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 193(3), pages 633-653, September.
    14. Haina Shi & Xin Zhang & Jing Zhou, 2018. "Cross-listing and CSR performance: evidence from AH shares," Frontiers of Business Research in China, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.
    15. Sreevas Sahasranamam & Bindu Arya & Mukesh Sud, 2020. "Ownership structure and corporate social responsibility in an emerging market," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 1165-1192, December.
    16. Yuxuan Li & Xin Miao & Dequan Zheng & Yanhong Tang, 2019. "Corporate Public Transparency on Financial Performance: The Moderating Role of Political Embeddedness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-17, October.
    17. Figueira, Sandra & Gauthier, Caroline & Torres de Oliveira, Rui, 2023. "CSR and stakeholder salience in MNE subsidiaries in emerging markets," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(5).
    18. Kong, Dongmin & Xiong, Mengxu & Qin, Ni, 2022. "Business Tax reform and CSR engagement: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    19. Zhu, Minghao & Yeung, Andy C.L. & Zhou, Honggeng, 2021. "Diversify or concentrate: The impact of customer concentration on corporate social responsibility," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    20. Hailiang Zou & Xuemei Xie & Xiaohua Meng & Mengyu Yang, 2019. "The diffusion of corporate social responsibility through social network ties: From the perspective of strategic imitation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(1), pages 186-198, January.

    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:jbrese:v:182:y:2024:i:c:s0148296324002960. 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/jbusres .

    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.