Long-term financial performance of corporate social responsibility

Abstract

We conduct an empirical investigation of the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and long-term stock performance in Japan. This study is set in the Japanese context. We find, first, that CSR activities are positively related to long-term stock returns. Second, shareholders and financial institutions that have long-term investments with strong governance promote CSR activities. Third, discussion with stakeholders, such as loyal well-socialized consumers in developed countries, supports firms' CSR activities, especially environmental issues in Europe and governance in North America. Finally, short-term CSR investment does not yield good stock performance. By applying robust methodology to over 10 years of data, our study supports the hypothesis that investors in the Japanese market are significantly concerned about the social activities of firms, and that these concerns are reflected in the markets. This study provides quantitative evidence of the positive effect that CSR has on long-term stock investments in the Japanese market. In addition, it concludes that CSR has the potential to be a tool to moderate myopic short-termism.