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When do firms invest in corporate social responsibility? A real option framework

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  • Cassimon, Danny
  • Engelen, Peter-Jan
  • Van Liedekerke, Luc

Abstract

In this paper, the process for firms to decide whether or not to invest in corporate social responsibility is treated from a real option perspective. We extend the Husted (2005) framework with an important extra parameter that allows us to understand the timing of CSR investment and explain why some companies drag their feet over CSR investments. Our model explicitly allows for the impact of the opportunity cost of delaying the CSR investment decision, providing firms with tools to determine the optimal moment of exercising the CSR investment option. We illustrate our timing model through a case study and analyze governmental support strategies for CSR from a real options perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Cassimon, Danny & Engelen, Peter-Jan & Van Liedekerke, Luc, 2014. "When do firms invest in corporate social responsibility? A real option framework," IOB Working Papers 2014.06, Universiteit Antwerpen, Institute of Development Policy (IOB).
    • Handle: RePEc:iob:wpaper:201406
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Danny Cassimon & Peter-Jan Engelen & Hilde Meersman & Martine Van Wouwe, 2003. "Investment, uncertainty and irreversibility: evidence from Belgian accounting data," Chapters, in: Paul Butzen & Catherine Fuss (ed.), Firms’ Investment and Finance Decisions, chapter 9, pages 194-226, Edward Elgar Publishing.
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    9. Cassimon, Danny & Engelen, Peter-Jan & Reyntjens, Filip, 2013. "Rwanda’s involvement in Eastern DRC: A criminal real options approach," MPRA Paper 46993, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Cassimon, D. & De Backer, M. & Engelen, P.J. & Van Wouwe, M. & Yordanov, V., 2011. "Incorporating technical risk in compound real option models to value a pharmaceutical R&D licensing opportunity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(9), pages 1200-1216.
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrea Cardoni & Evgeniia Kiseleva & Paolo Taticchi, 2020. "In Search of Sustainable Value: A Structured Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.
    2. Kevin Krieger & Nathan Mauck, 2024. "Sustainability and Dividends: Complements or Substitutes?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-16, July.
    3. Kuo-Jung Lee, 2018. "Valuations and Decisions of Investing in Corporate Social Responsibility: A Real Options Viewpoint," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-14, October.
    4. Kuo-Jung Lee, 2019. "The effects of social responsibility on company value: a real options perspective of Taiwan companies," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(1), pages 3835-3852, January.
    5. Mehmet Ali Soytaş & Damla Durak Uşar, 2017. "Role of Strategic Interactions in Corporate Sustainability Decisions: An Empirical Investigation," Ekonomi-tek - International Economics Journal, Turkish Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 17-46, January.
    6. Anne Van de Vijver & Danny Cassimon & Peter-Jan Engelen, 2020. "A Real Option Approach to Sustainable Corporate Tax Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-17, July.
    7. Ritika Gupta & Pankaj Kumar, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility disclosure: a study on NIFTY 100 companies," Global Business and Economics Review, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 27(4), pages 492-515.
    8. Jean McGuire & Jana Oehmichen & Michael Wolff & Roman Hilgers, 2019. "Do Contracts Make Them Care? The Impact of CEO Compensation Design on Corporate Social Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 375-390, June.
    9. Junjie Wu & George Lodorfos & Aftab Dean & Georgios Gioulmpaxiotis, 2017. "The Market Performance of Socially Responsible Investment during Periods of the Economic Cycle – Illustrated Using the Case of FTSE," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(2), pages 238-251, March.
    10. Mariano Méndez-Suárez & Abel Monfort & María de las Mercedes de Obesso, 2023. "Real options appraisal for a reactive CSR strategy: the case of Facebook," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 2135557-213, July.
    11. Shahid Ali & Junrui Zhang & Muhammad Usman & Muhammad Kaleem Khan & Farman Ullah Khan & Muhammad Abubakkar Siddique, 2020. "Do tournament incentives motivate chief executive officers to be socially responsible?," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(5), pages 597-619, February.
    12. Gorupec Natalia & Brehmer Nataliia & Tiberius Victor & Kraus Sascha, 2022. "Tackling uncertain future scenarios with real options: A review and research framework," The Irish Journal of Management, Sciendo, vol. 41(1), pages 69-88, July.
    13. Hailiang Zou & Ruijing Wang & Guoyou Qi, 2023. "The Response of CSR to Economic Policy Uncertainty: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-19, August.
    14. Maria-Teresa Bosch-Badia & Joan Montllor-Serrats & Maria-Antonia Tarrazon-Rodon, 2020. "The Capital Budgeting of Corporate Social Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-28, April.
    15. Annachiara Longoni & Raffaella Cagliano, 2018. "Sustainable Innovativeness and the Triple Bottom Line: The Role of Organizational Time Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 1097-1120, September.
    16. Mehmet Ali Soytaş & Damla Durak Uşar & Meltem Denizel, 2022. "Estimation of the static corporate sustainability interactions," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 60(4), pages 1245-1264, February.
    17. Mona Yaghoubi & Reza Yaghoubi, 2024. "The Ups and Downs of Oil Prices: Asymmetric Impacts of Oil Price Volatility on Corporate Environmental Responsibility," Working Papers in Economics 24/11, University of Canterbury, Department of Economics and Finance.
    18. Hemantha S. B. Herath & Tejaswini C. Herath & Paul Dunn, 2019. "Profit-Driven Corporate Social Responsibility as a Bayesian Real Option in Green Computing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(2), pages 387-402, August.
    19. Mujeeb Saif Mohsen Al-Absy & Redhwan Al-Dhamari & Hamid Abdulkhaleq Hasan Al-Wesabi & Khaldoon Albitar, 2024. "Are country-level political uncertainty and power distance important to the CSR-audit report lag nexus? Evidence from the GCC region," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 483-515, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    real options; CSR; stakeholder management; reputational risk; optimal timing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • G13 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Contingent Pricing; Futures Pricing
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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