Social Responsibility Information Research Articles

Can Mandatory Disclosure of CSR Information Drive the Transformation of Firms towards High-Quality Development?

This paper establishes a quasi-natural experiment grounded in the exogenous shock occasioned by the implementation of a compulsory corporate social responsibility (CSR) information disclosure policy. It investigates the ramifications of this mandated CSR information disclosure policy on firms’ total factor productivity (TFP) through the integration of the difference-in-differences (DID) methodology. The investigation reveals that obligatory disclosure of CSR information significantly augments firms’ total factor productivity (TFP) by mitigating agency conflicts and financial constraints. Further analysis elucidates investment efficiency and innovation enhancement as pivotal conduits through which the mandatory CSR information disclosure policy fosters firms’ TFP. The study explores the impact of mandatory CSR information disclosure on firms’ TFP mechanism, which has significant policy value and can provide useful reference for the high-standard development of China’s corporate economic transformation.

Research on the Mechanism of the Carbon Emission Reduction Effect of Green Finance

Under the background of China’s “double carbon” policy, determining how to use the carbon emission reduction effect of green finance is an important starting point for China to achieve stable economic development and sustainable ecological development. By integrating provincial data from the CEADS, EPS, CSMAR, and CNRDS databases from 2003 to 2021, the two-way fixed-effect models are used to empirically test how green finance can exert a carbon emission reduction effect. This study finds that green finance can significantly reduce carbon emission intensity. A mechanism analysis shows that green finance can promote green technology innovation, induce social investment, and promote the disclosure of the social responsibility information of listed companies to reduce carbon emissions, which is still valid after a series of robustness tests. A heterogeneity analysis finds that the government’s environmental attention and the scale of financial industry development have heterogeneous effects on the carbon emission reduction mechanism of green finance. Both the government’s environmental attention and the scale of financial industry development can induce social investment, but the government’s environmental attention cannot promote the growth of green technology innovation, and the scale of financial industry development cannot promote the disclosure of the social responsibility information of listed companies. This paper broadens the research perspective of green finance to reduce carbon emissions and provides some empirical evidence and a theoretical reference to further promote the green transformation of the “two high and one surplus” industry and the sustainable development of the financial industry.

Corporate Social Responsibility in the Mining Industry: Exploring Perspectives of Host Communities in a Developing Country

This paper aims to explore the social and environmental issues that are of priority/importance to the mining host communities in a developing country-Ghana. To explore the social and environmental issues that are of priority/importance to the mining host communities in a developing country, this study used Ghana as a test case and conducted 18 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with respondents drawn from the mining host communities of Prestea and Bogosu. The findings show that members of the host communities–the group deemed to be the most powerful and legitimacy-conferring stakeholder placed pressure (i.e., expectations and/or concerns) on the mining firms that operate in the host communities in terms of their social and environmental performance. Five themes, i.e., general categories, emerged from the data of this study in terms of the social and environmental issues that are of priority/importance to the host communities: a prioritisation of community development projects, environmental/sustainability-related issues, employment of indigenes/local enterprise development, communication of social responsibility information and preservation of local culture and tradition. This study is an exploratory study based on only 18 in-depth, semi-structured interviews, i.e., using purposive sampling. The implication of this study is that because developing countries have similar socioeconomic, cultural, and geopolitical features, the finding of this study may be relevant to researchers and policymakers in developing countries where multinational mining companies (MMCs) operate. Although mining communities’ awareness regarding corporate social responsibility has increased in recent decades, to date, we know little about the social and environmental issues that are of priority/importance to the host communities of mining firms in developing countries.

Firm Characteristics and Corporate Governance Mechanisms as Drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure in Zimbabwe

This study extends the literature on the determinants of voluntary disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a sample of 61 annual reports from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange for the year ended 31 December 2020. The purpose of the study is to determine why firms voluntarily disclose CSR and whether corporate governance mechanisms have an impact on firms’ disclosure policy. An unweighted disclosure index consisting of 30 corporate social responsibility attributes was developed; using content analysis to determine the level of corporate social responsibility disclosure. The results show that corporate social responsibility disclosure is low, with the most corporate social responsibility information disclosed being community involvement disclosure (40%), followed by environmental disclosure (30%), products and consumer information disclosure (29%), and human resources disclosure (28%). In addition, using multiple regression analysis and after accounting for size, leverage, profitability and industry, the findings indicate that board independence and board of directors’ qualifications have a significant positive influence on corporate social responsibility disclosure whereas ownership concentration was found to be insignificant. With the exception of profitability, all other firm characteristics, leverage, firm size and industry sector were positive and significant in explaining the variation in corporate social responsibility disclosure. It appears that profitable firms are not motivated to increase corporate social responsibility disclosure. This may be consistent with the shareholder wealth maximization approach which renders corporate social responsibility disclosures as less important. Financial markets in Zimbabwe may not be sufficiently efficient in penalizing firms for incomplete corporate social responsibility disclosure and that regulators may need to mandate such disclosures if information asymmetry is to be reduced and market efficiency enhanced.

Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting: A Study of the Views of MNC Subsidiary Managers in an African Context

There is a general lack of research which directly seeks the views of MNC subsidiary managers about what internal and external pressures they perceive are imposed on them, and how such pressures, in turn, impact their CSR reporting in developing countries. To fill this gap and improve our understanding of CSR reporting practices of MNC subsidiaries, this study aims to investigate how MNC subsidiaries operationalise CSR reporting practices in an African context–Ghana. This study comprises analysis of CSR reports, websites and other publicly-available reports using qualitative data analysis and 15 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with respondents drawn from 8 MNC subsidiaries using legitimacy theory and institutional theory as lenses. The analysis identifies reporting relationships between MNC subsidiary and parent-company (as internal factors), and the supervisory relationships between MNC subsidiaries and local regulatory institutions (as external factors), as factors that induce/sensitise MNC subsidiaries managers to voluntarily disclose social responsibility information. The adoption of voluntary global standards for CSR such as GRI appeared to influence MNC subsidiaries’ CSR reporting practices. Additionally, locally espoused (or ingrained) values/expectations and norms that frown on actions and/or inactions that are deemed not to be socially acceptable corporate behaviours appeared to inform the CSR initiatives that MNC subsidiaries voluntarily disclose in order to acquire a sense of legitimacy. The results of this study have implications for research and practice. Generally speaking, MNC subsidiaries operating in an African context may require more local knowledge and support in relation to social and environmental responsibility. Limitations of this study include limited data available, particularly interviews, which provides opportunity for future research.

ESG and green Innovation

In recent years, with the growing emphasis on environmental protection and sustainable development in society, comprehensive green transformation has emerged as a prominent trend in economic and social development. This transformation not only enables enterprises to achieve sustainable development but also captivates the attention of an increasing number of investors. By analyzing the panel data of listed companies between 2011 and 2021, we found that outstanding ESG performance plays a pivotal role in promoting green technology innovation among enterprises. Within this process, financing constraints serve as a crucial intermediary. This research outcome offers valuable references for promoting green development initiatives among enterprises, enhancing the disclosure system of social responsibility information, and optimizing the efficiency of capital market allocation..

Research on Enterprise Green Accounting Information Disclosure under the Background of Low-carbon Economy

In order to explore the low carbon economic background of green accounting information disclosure, understand the industry how to adapt to the sustainable development and environmental trends, the article from the overview of the low carbon economy, analyzes the low carbon economy of home appliance enterprise green accounting information disclosure requirements, after according to the current home appliance enterprise green accounting information disclosure problems put forward the specific solutions, including encouraging home appliance enterprise voluntary disclosure of social responsibility information, improve the home appliance enterprise green accounting information disclosure constraint system, improve the home appliance enterprise green accounting information disclosure content, etc. Research shows that the green accounting information disclosure in the home appliance industry plays a key role in the era of low-carbon economy, and helps to improve the sustainability, transparency and credibility of enterprises. However, there are still some challenges, in order to achieve a greener and more sustainable economic development, home appliance enterprises need to further improve their green accounting information disclosure practices to meet the growing demand for environmental protection.

Managerial overconfidence and corporate information disclosure

By extracting detailed birth information for managers of Chinese listed firms from 2011 to 2021, we developed a novel measure of overconfidence and applied it to the corporate information disclosure. Our findings demonstrated a close association between managerial overconfidence and both mandatory and voluntary disclosure behaviors exhibited by firms. Specifically, managerial overconfidence significantly contributed to an increase in accrual-based earnings management and the voluntary disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) information by firms. Furthermore, we observed that overconfident managers were more inclined to adopt a positive disclosure tone and tend to underestimate future risks in forward-looking information disclosure. In our additional analysis, we uncovered evidence suggesting that various factors, including corporate governance practices, the types of actual controllers, financing constraints, analyst following, and market competition, might all play a role in influencing corporate information disclosure behavior driven by managerial overconfidence. This study expands on the economic implications of the Upper Echelons Theory and offers pertinent recommendations to enhance the quality of information disclosure.

The impact of digital supply chain announcements disclosing corporate social responsibility information on stock market value

PurposeUsing social network theory (SNT), this study empirically examines the impact of digital supply chain announcements disclosing corporate social responsibility (CSR) information on stock market value.Design/methodology/approachBased on 172 digital supply chain announcements disclosing CSR information from Chinese A-share listed companies, this study uses event study method to test the hypotheses.FindingsFirst, digital supply chain announcements disclosing CSR information generate positive and significant market reactions, which is timely. Second, strategic CSR and value-based CSR disclosed in digital supply chain announcements have a more positive impact on stock market, however there is no significant difference when the CSR orientation is either towards internal or external stakeholders. Third, in terms of digital supply chain network characteristics, announcements reflecting higher relationship embeddedness and higher digital breadth and depth lead to more positive increases of stock value.Originality/valueFirst, the authors consider the value of CSR information in digital supply chain announcements, using an event study approach to fill the gap in the related area. This study is the first examination of the joint impact of digital supply chain and CSR on market reactions. Second, compared to the previous studies on the single dimension of digital supply chain technology application, the authors innovatively consider supply chain network relationship and network structure based on social network theory and integrate several factors that may affect the market reaction. This study improves the understanding of the mechanism between digital supply chain announcements disclosing CSR information and stock market, and informs future research.

A Study on the Current Situation of ESG Information Disclosure and Its Consequences Taking China Shenhua Energy Company Limited as an Example

ESG disclosure is essential for enhancing corporate transparency given the increasing global growth of ESG systems. Chinas coal industry generates economic advantages but also causes external diseconomies and is required to fulfill certain social obligations. So that the general public may comprehend how corporate social responsibility is being fulfilled, it is imperative that businesses in the coal sector take the effort to provide social responsibility information. In order to determine if the information in coal companies ESG reports complies with requirements and to examine the effects of the reports release on businesses, this article uses China Shenhua Energy Co., Ltd. as its research subject. This paper primarily looks at Shenhuas ESG report by comparing it to the GRI standard, and discovers that Shenhuas ESG information disclosure still has some deficiencies. However, from the event study method, we learn that the publication of Shenhuas ESG report has had some positive effects on the company.

Study of the Role of Financialization in the Relationship Between Corporate Social Responsibility and Research and Development Investment

Under the social environment of high-quality development and improvement of corporate innovation performance, the purpose of this study is to explore the internal mechanism of corporate social responsibility's impact on research and development investment, in order to find an effective way to promote research and development investment. Corporate social responsibility can not only significantly increase research and development investment, but also promote financialization, which plays an intermediary role with masking effect in the relationship between corporate social responsibility and research and development investment. Therefore, the government should encourage enterprises to fulfill their social responsibilities, establish a correct concept of responsibility, and play a role in promoting research and development investment. At the same time, it is also necessary to pay attention to the reputation insurance effect formed by corporate social responsibility, strengthen the strict supervision of listed companies' social responsibility, improve the quality of social responsibility information disclosure, and improve the quality of external supervision and internal control. Preventing contribution of corporate social responsibility to research and development investment from being partially offset and overshadowed by financialization.

Correction: Li et al. Corporate Social Responsibility Information Disclosure and Financial Performance: Is Green Technology Innovation a Missing Link? Sustainability 2023, 15, 11926

The authors would like to make the following corrections to the published paper [...]

Research on the Influence of Fund Holding on Enterprise Green Innovation

Under the background of global environmental problems and the concept of green development put forward by the government, green innovation of enterprises has become an important path to achieve environmental sustainability. Based on the data of listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2010 to 2020, this paper selects the largest fund among institutional investors to study, and explores the influence and mechanism of fund shareholding and enterprise green innovation. Through research, it is found that fund holding shares is helpful to improve the level of green innovation of enterprises. The moderating effect shows that whether there are defects in internal control have moderating effects on green innovation of enterprises. The influence mechanism shows that corporate social responsibility information disclosure can have an intermediary effect on the influence of fund ownership on corporate green innovation. This paper discusses the influence of fund ownership on enterprise green innovation from the perspective of the largest institutional investor, which supplements the literature of institutional investors and green field, and has practical significance for promoting enterprises to realize green transformation, practicing ESG concept and realizing environmental sustainable development.

Mandatory Disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility and the Quality of Earnings Management

Using the exogenous shock caused by the mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) information disclosure policy in 2008, this paper examines the impact of mandatory CSR information disclosure on the earnings management activities of listed firms in China from the perspective of external corporate regulation based on the Difference-in-Differences (DID) method. The results show that mandatory CSR information disclosure can significantly improve the quality of firms’ earnings management. The mechanism analysis shows that the policy’s enhancement of the effectiveness of external regulation by regulators and the media played an important role in curbing firms’ earnings management activities. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the inhibitory effect of mandatory CSR disclosure policy on firms’ earnings management activities is better in firms with lower analyst coverage and lower institutional ownership. The study further extends the mechanism of the impact of mandatory CSR disclosure on firms’ earnings management activities, and provides practical guidance on how to improve the quality of firms’ earnings management and enhance the efficiency of corporate governance.

Does CSR Information Disclosure Improve Investment Efficiency? The Moderating Role of Analyst Attention

Since 2009, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has begun to require listed firms on the specified boards to disclose their corporate social responsibility and encouraged others to report corporate social responsibility voluntarily. Based on the data of domestic A-share listed companies from 2013 to 2019, this paper studies the relationship between corporate social responsibility information disclosure and corporate investment efficiency and the role of analysts in moderating the relationship. The empirical results show that the social responsibility information disclosed under China’s mandatory guidance has a positive effect on alleviating information asymmetry and improving investment efficiency, and this role becomes even more crucial when the external information environment fails to meet market demands. Overall, our findings suggest the important role of corporate social responsibility information disclosure in guiding investment behavior and improving investment efficiency, especially for those companies with low analyst attention. This article expands the research perspective on social responsibility information disclosure and investment efficiency. Furthermore, our research contributes to promoting corporate social responsibility and facilitating sustainable development.

Corporate Social Responsibility Information Disclosure and Financial Performance: Is Green Technology Innovation a Missing Link?

Corporate social responsibility information disclosure integrates environmental and social practices to achieve sustainable development. Some studies have pointed out that promoting green technology innovation is essential for energy-intensive firms. Therefore, exploring the relationship between energy-intensive environmental information disclosure and green technology innovation and financial performance is essential. According to the generalized least squares with fixed model analysis results based on energy-intensive industry firms, the research findings are as follows: firstly, the disclosure information of corporate social responsibility has a significant effect on enterprises’ ROA. Secondly, there is a positive relationship between the shareholder responsibility score and employee responsibility score of information disclosure with financial performance. Thirdly, there is a significant positive correlation between the environmental responsibility score of CSR information disclosure with green technology innovation. Fourthly, green innovation is mediating in energy-intensive enterprises’ CSR information disclosure and financial performance. Lastly, combined with the theoretical and findings, we put forward the management implications and policy suggestions.

The influence of corporate social responsibility information transparency on the consumption of green agricultural products on digital platforms

ABSTRACT Companies’ information transparency on online platforms is important for online customers. However, determining what key social responsibility information to make available is challenging for firms. In terms of green product transactions online, whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) transparency affects online green purchase willingness remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigates the influence of CSR information transparency on the online consumption of green agricultural products. Data were collected from a sample of 562 Chinese online consumers and the structural equation modelling method was used. The results show that both dimensions of CSR transparency had a positive effect on consumers’ online identification and online green purchase willingness. In addition, consumers’ online identification positively affected their online green purchase willingness. These findings can guide agricultural enterprises in determining what social responsibility information to reveal and be of practical importance in encouraging enterprises to pursue social sustainability on digital platforms.

Implications of sustainability reporting and institutional investors’ ownership for external audit work: evidence from Saudi Arabia

Purpose This study aims to assess whether non-financial corporate social responsibility (CSR) information decreases audit risk and audit scope and enables speedier completion of audit reports. The study also investigates whether institutional investors’ ownership (IIO) has an influence on the association between CSR disclosures and audit report lag (ARL). Design/methodology/approach This study uses a sample of 154 Saudi firms over 2016–2021 (837 observations) and applies ordinary least square regression to examine the study hypotheses. Findings This study’s results show that ARL is significantly shorter for firms with higher CSR disclosures. Furthermore, the findings show that IIO has no significant impact on the association between CSR disclosures and ARL. Originality/value This study offers new insights into how auditors respond to CSR disclosures and whether institutional investor monitoring influences the audit process in an emerging economy.

Presentation of social responsibility reports and the stock price crash risk

This study explores the relationship between the presentation forms of CSR reports and the stock price crash risk. It is found that the higher the proportion of image area and richer the color of CSR reports, the higher the future stock price crash risk. CSR reports presentation form affects the stock price crash risk through stock liquidity and investors' expectations of the company's future performance. These results indicate that presentation format in social responsibility information disclosure is mainly one of the tools used to build a positive corporate image.

Evaluation Study on the Level of Social Responsibility Accounting Disclosure of Huaxi Biologicals

Enterprises in the development process should not only be committed to the development of business activities, but also must take up the huge impact on the social economy and nature produced with the development and growth of the company, and assume responsibility for society. This paper takes Huaxi Biological as the research object, analyzes the form and content of the disclosure of corporate social responsibility information in the medical industry based on the table of corporate social responsibility information scoring system of the medical industry, and finds that there are problems such as the lack of indicators, unbalanced disclosure, and incompleteness of Huaxi Biological's CSR report, etc. Finally, this paper puts forward suggestions from the three levels of the disclosure system, indicators, and regulation with the aim of promoting China's medical industry social responsibility disclosure's overall sustainable development.