Ownership structure and corporate social responsibility in India: empirical investigation of an emerging market

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PurposePrevious studies have examined the relationship between institutional investors and corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement primarily for the case of developed nations. The purpose of this paper is to look at the association between different ownership categories and CSR spending of selected Indian firms within an emerging market context.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines the motivations that guide the CSR strategies of different ownership groups. Random-effects Tobit panel regression is performed on a panel of BSE-listed non-financial Indian firms panel comprising of 5,313 firm year observations over a six-year period (2014-2019).FindingsHeterogeneous behavior of institutional investors is revealed through the study. Different categories of institutional investors have different preferences for CSR spending of a firm. Lending institutes and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are seen to support the CSR investments. However, mutual fund investors are seen to not influence the CSR spend by the firms. Further, the results show that family ownership, measured in terms of family shareholding, positively moderates the lending institutions and mutual funds toward CSR and does not impact the FIIs decision regarding the CSR investments.Practical implicationsThe analysis has implications for both institutional investors and multinational firms. In the emerging market context, managers and owners who target long term strategies such as CSR, will benefit from increasing shareholdings of creditors (lending institutions). They can also take steps to improve their transparency and corporate governance structure so as to attract the foreign institutional investments.Originality/valueManagers cannot ignore the heterogeneities of institutional investors in their investment decisions and hence CSR decisions need to align with those of different types of investors. This study adds to the existing literature by offering new empirical insights from the perspective of an emerging market, India.