Is corporate social responsibility constrained by bank credit resource allocation?

Credit rationing theory suggests that the impact of bank credit allocation on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has the dual effect of adverse selection and moral hazard. In this study, the impact of credit allocation on CSR and its mechanisms are explored in the context of credit rationing theory based on Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2019. The results show that the impact of bank credit allocation on CSR exhibits an inverted U‐shaped correlation, and there is a critical point (17.9134) at which the increase in credit allocation will promote the level of CSR until the critical point is exceeded, after which the level of CSR will gradually decrease. Credit allocation can influence CSR through information asymmetry (stock price informativeness, analyst tracking) and managerial overconfidence, respectively. Companies with overconfident managers and low transparency in non‐socially responsible weighting systems are more likely to have an inverted U‐shaped relationship between bank credit allocation and CSR. This study provides new empirical evidence to understand the impact of credit allocation on CSR and expands the theory of credit rationing to a certain extent, thereby providing a reference for CSR maximization.