Analysis of the mitigation effects of corporate social responsibility on the negative impact of high leverage in ASEAN-5

Abstract

One of the ASEAN Economic Community's intentions is to direct firms in ASEAN to society-oriented development. We investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility that is moderated by high leverage to sales growth in the region of ASEAN-5. The research sample consisted of 87 firms that were listed in the stock exchange of ASEAN-5, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines during the period of 2014–2018. This research found a significant positive impact of corporate social responsibility moderated by a high leverage to sales growth. This research contributes to previous research on high leverage costs literature through reviewing existing determinants of high leverage costs including additional variables such as country-level factors in the ASEAN-5 region.