1.

An Institution of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

in Multi-National Corporations(MNCs): Form and
Implications
Abstract: This article investigates corporate social responsibility
(CSR) as an institution within UK multi national corporations (MNCs).
In the context of the liter ature on the institutionalization of CSR and on
critical CSR, it presents two main findings. First, it contributes to the
CSR mainstream literature by confirming that CSR has not only become
institutionalized in society but that a form of this institution is also present within
MNCs. Secondly, it contributes to the critical CSR literature by suggesting that
unlike broader notions of CSR shared between multiple stakeholders,
MNCs practise a form of CSR that under mines the broader
stakeholder concept. By increasingly focusing on strategic forms of
CSR activity, MNCs are moving away from a societal understanding
of CSR that focuses on redressing the impacts of their operations
through stakeholder concerns, back to any activity that supports
traditional business imperatives. The implications of this shift are
considered using institutional theory to evaluate macro-institutional
pressures for CSR activity and the agency of powerful incumbents in the
contested field of CSR

2. Corporate Governance and Corporate Social

Responsibility Disclosures: Evidence from an
Emerging Economy
We examine the relationship between corporate governance and the extent of
corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures in the annual reports of
Bangladeshi companies. A legitimacy theory framework is adopted to understand
the extent to which corporate governance characteristics, such as
managerial ownership, public ownership, foreign ownership, board
independence, CEO duality and presence of audit committee influence organi
sational response to various stakeholder groups. Our results suggest that
although CSR disclosures generally have a negative association with
 managerial ownership, such relationship becomes significant and positive
for export oriented industries. We also find public ownership, foreign ownership,
board independence and presence of audit committee to have positive significant
impacts on CSR disclosures. However, we fail to find any significant impact of CEO
duality. Thus, our results suggest that pressures exerted by external stakeholder
groups and corporate governance mechanisms involving independent outsiders
may allay some concerns relating to family influence on CSR disclosure
practices. Overall, our study implies that corporate governance attributes play a vital
role in ensuring organisational legitimacy through CSR disclosures. The findings of
our study should be of interest to regulators and policy makers in countries which
share similar corporate ownership and regulatory structures.

3. Corporate
Social and Financial Performance
Re-Examined: Industry Effects in a Linear
Mixed Model Analysis
Abstract In this research, we shed new light on the empirical
link between corporate social performance (CSP) and corporate
financial performance (CFP) via the appli cation of empirical models
and methods new to the CSP CFP literature. Applying advanced
financial models to a uniquely constructed panel dataset, we
demonstrate that a significant overall CSP-CFP relationship exists
and that this relationship is, in part, conditioned on firms' industry specific
context. To accommodate the estimation of time invariant industry
and industry-interaction effects, we estimate linear mixed models in our test
of the CSP-CFP relationship. Our results show both a significant overall
CSP effect as well as significant industry effects between CSP and
CFP. In conflict with expectations, the unweigh ted average effect of
CSP on CFP is negative. Our industry analysis, however, shows that in
over 17% of the industries in our sample, the effect of CSP on CFP
for socially responsible firms is positive. We also examine the multi
dimensional nature of the CSP construct in an industry context by
exploring the CSP dimension-industry nexus and identify dimensions
 of social performance that are associated with either better or worse
financial perfor mance. Our results confirm the existence of disparate
CSP dimension-industry effects on CFP, thus our results pro vide
important and actionable information to decision makers considering
whether and how to commit corporate resources to social
performance.

4. Corporate Social Responsibility and Its Impact on Firms'

Investment Policy, Organizational Structure, and Performance

Abstract This study examines the determinants of corporate social

responsibility (CSR) and its implications on firms' investment policy,
organizational strategy, and per- formance. First, we find that firms with
better performance, higher R&D intensity, better financial health, and firms
in new economy industries are more likely to engage in CSR activities,
while riskier firms are less likely to do so. We also find U-shaped relation
between firm size and CSR, indicating that either very small or very large
firms exhibit high levels of CSR strengths and concerns. Next, we find that
firms' CSR strengths relate favorably with their investments,
organizational strategy, and performance, whereas CSR concerns and
firm attributes are by and large negatively related. Using a 2SLS
procedure, we verify that the CSR-performance relation is robust to
corrections for endogeneity through reverse causation and/or biases
introduced by time varying omitted variables. Finally, we find that the CSR-
firm attributes relation is strengthened when the CEO's incentives are
below the sample median, suggesting that CSR participation is especially
important when monetary incentives are lower than benchmark levels.

5. Corporate Social Responsibility as a Vehicle to Reveal the

Corporate Identity: A Study Focused on the Websites of Spanish
Financial Entities

This study explores the relevance of corporate social responsibility

(CSR) as an element of the corporate identity of Spanish financial
institutions. Specifically, it aims to analyze the CSR actions
 developed by financial entities through the analysis of all the available
information disclosed in their websites. A content analysis applied to
82 banking institutions, followed by different quantitative analyses,
reveals the multidimensionality of CSR. Findings show that, while the
number of entities institutionalizing CSR values as core elements of
their identities is still reduced, most organizations disclose CSR
information to construct communicated identities and legitimate
behaviours. Besides, these dimensions are classified depending on
the stakeholder the action is aimed to, and that entities favour the
generation of distinctive identities through the implementation and
communication of more visible CSR actions like those involving their
customers or the com- munity. In any case, results indicate that
organizations with certain characteristics are more likely to construct
distinctive identities through CSR activities and to establish ethical
and social values within their corporate statements and cultures.

6. Corporate social responsibility, stock prices, and tax

policy
Abstract. We model a market in which some investors get utility from
owning shares of firms that engage in corporate social responsibility
(CSR). In equilibrium, investors' CSR considerations influence portfolio
choices, stock prices, and CSR spending. We study tax policy designed
to maximize total giving (individual and corporate) net of government tax
breaks and find that its effectiveness is non-monotonic in the proportion
of altruistic investors: with few or many altruistic investors, it has little
impact on giving, but, at intermediate levels, effective tax policy intuitively
relates the corporate tax rebate rate on giving and the cap on allowable
tax savings

7. .Do Announcements About Corporate Social Responsibility

Create or Destroy ShareholderWealth? Evidence from the
UK.
 Abstract This paper investigates the stock market reaction to the
announcement that a firm has been included in the UK FTSE4Good index of
socially responsible firms. We use the announcement of firm inclusion in the
index to estimate the stock market reaction to a firm being classified as
socially responsible. This is an important test of whether investors view the
undertaking of socially responsible activities by firms as a value increasing
or value decreasing initiative by management. We do not find strong
evidence in favour of a positive market reaction. However, there is a large
cross- sectional variation in the market reaction to this announce- ment.
Investors appear to be reacting to this event and there are a number of firm
characteristics that are well-established proxies for CSR that can explain the
market reaction

8. Do Investors Value a Firm's Commitment to Social Activities?

Previous empirical research has found mixed results for the impact
of corporate social responsibility (CSR) investments on corporate
financial performance (CFP). This paper contributes to the literature
by exploring in a two stage investor decision-making model the rela
tionship between a firm's innovation effort, CSR, and financial
performance. We simultaneously examine the impact of CSR on
both accounting-based (financial health) and market-based (Tobin's
Q) financial performance measures. From a sample of top
corporate citizens, we find that: (1) a firm's social responsibility
commitment (CSR) contributes to its financial performance; (2) after
control ling for investment in innovation activities, CSR continues to
have a positive impact on a firm's financial performance; (3) the
customer dimension of CSR has a positive effect on both CFP
measures, whereas the employee dimension indicates a
significant impact only on financial heath; and (4) the community
relation dimension of CSR only affects the market-based CFP
measure of firms with high inno vation intensity
9. Does CSR Reduce Firm Risk? Evidence from Controversial
Industry Sectors

In this paper, we examine the relation between corporate social

responsibility (CSR) and firm risk in controversial industry sectors. We
develop and test two competing hypotheses of risk reduction and
window dressing. Employing an extensive U.S. sample during the 1991-
2010 period from controversial industry firms, such as alcohol, tobacco,
gambling, and others, we find that CSR engagement inversely affects firm
risk after controlling for various firm characteristics. To deal with
endogeneity issue, we adopt a system equation approach and difference
regressions and continue to find that CSR engagement of firms in
controversial industry sectors negatively affects firm risk. To examine the
premise that firm risk is more of an issue for controversial firms, we further
examine the difference between non-controversial and controversial firm
samples, and find that the effect of risk reduction through CSR
engagement is more economically and statistically significant in
controversial industry firms than in non-controversial industry firms. These
findings support the risk-reduction hypothesis, but not the window-dressing
hypothesis, and the notion that the top management of U.S. firms in
controversial industries is, in general, risk averse and that their CSR
engagement helps their risk manage- ment efforts.

10. Dynamics of Stakeholders' Implications in the

Institutionalization of the CSR Field inFrance and in the
United States

This study supports the idea that fields form around issues, and
describes the roles of various stake holders in the structuring, shaping,
and legitimating of the emerging field of Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR). A model of the institutional history of the CSR
field is outlined, of which a key stage is the appearance of CSR
rating agencies as the significant players and Institutional
 Entrepreneurs of the field. We show to which extent the creation and
further development of CSR rating agencies, and the activism of
other significant stakeholders of the field (typically portrayed as
"standard setters" and "regu latory agents"), contribute to the
institutionalization of CSR. With this in mind, among various
stakeholders that legitimate the field of CSR, we present the efforts of
global and local stakeholders such as the European Union, the
United Nations, the International Organization for Stan dardization,
and governments and their interactions. We suggest that the different
paths of CSR development and institutionalization in France and in the
United States depend on the nature of local and global
stakeholders' involvement in this process and their interactions

11. Economic Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility

This paper synthesizes the expanding corporate social responsibility

(CSR) literature. We define CSR from an economic perspective and
develop a CSR taxonomy that connects disparate approaches to the
subject. We explore whether CSR should exist and investigate conditions
when CSR may produce higher welfare than other public good provision
channels. We also explore why CSR does exist. Here, we integrate
theoretical predictions with empirical findings from economic and
noneconomic sources. We find limited systematic empirical evidence in
favor of CSR mechanisms related to induced innovation, moral hazard,
shareholder preferences, or labor markets. In contrast, we uncover
consistent empirical evidence in favor of CSR mechanisms related to
consumer markets, private politics, and public politics. (JEL D21, L21,
M14)

12. Exploring the Valuation of Corporate Social

Responsibility—A Comparison of Research Methods
 This paper argues the case that tests of how investors value corporate
social performance (CSP) based upon realised stock market returns are
liable to be weak tests if markets are efficient and firms change CSP
policies infrequently. We provide a theoretical explanation of why this will
be the case using examples to illustrate. Subse- quently, we set out an
alternative theoretical framework for the purposes of investigating whether
markets place a positive, or a negative, valuation on CSP, and show why
this is superior to tests based upon Tobin' s Q. Using US KLD data, we
demonstrate that, as theorised, markets place a positive value on CSP
that is not detected by conventional returns-based tests. Our conclusion is
that researchers who are interested in the question of whether engagement
with a corporate social responsibility agenda is a value-enhancing activity
for a company (as argued by some stakeholder theorists) or value
destructive (as argued by Friedman, The social responsibility of business
is to increase its profits, The New York Times Magazine , 1970), need to
look beyond returns-based tests to answer the research question posed.

13. Market Reactions to Increased Reliability of

Sustainability Information

This article investigates whether investors consider the reliability of

companies' sustainability infor- mation when determining the companies'
market value. Specifically, we examine market reactions (in terms of
abnormal returns) to events that increase the reliability of companies'
sustainability information but do not provide markets with additional
sustainability information. Con- trolling for competing effects, we regard
companies' additions to an internationally important sustainability index
as such events and consider possible determinants for market reactions.
Our results suggest that first, investors take into account the reliability of
sustainability informa- tion when determining the market value of a
company and second, the benefits of increased reliability of sustainability
information vary cross-sectionally. More specifically, companies that carry
higher risks for investors (e.g., higher systematic investment risk, higher
financial leverage, and higher levels of opportunistic management
behavior) react more strongly to an increase in the reliability of sustain-
 ability information. Finally, we show that the benefits of an increase in the
reliability of sustainability information are higher in times of economic
uncertainty (e.g., during economic downturns and generally high stock
price volatilities).

14. Measuring CSR Image: Three Studies to Develop

and to Validate a Reliable Measurement Tool

Abstract Although research on the corporate social responsibility

(CSR) dimension of corporate image has notably increased in recent
years, the definition and mea- surement of the concept for academic
purposes still con- cern researchers. In this article, literature regarding the
measurement of CSR image from a customer viewpoint is revised and
areas of improvement are identified. A multi- stage method is implemented
to develop and to validate a reliable scale based on stakeholder theory.
Results dem- onstrate the reliability and validity of this new scale for
measuring customer perceptions regarding the CSR per- formance of their
service providers. With regard to this, CSR includes corporate
responsibilities towards customers, shareholders, employees and society.
The scale is consis- tent among diverse customer cohorts with different
gender, age and level of education. Furthermore, results also con- firm the
applicability of this new scale to structural equation modeling

15. Performances of socially responsible investment and

environmentally friendly funds
16. Positive and Negative Corporate Social
Responsibility, Financial Leverage, and Idiosyncratic Risk

Abstract Existing research on the financial implications of corporate social

responsibility (CSR) for firms has pre- dominantly focused on positive
aspects of CSR, over- looking that firms also undertake actions and
initiatives that qualify as negative CSR. Moreover, studies in this area
have not investigated how both positive and negative CSR affect the
financial risk of firms. As such, in this research, the authors provide a
framework linking both positive and negative CSR to idiosyncratic risk of
firms. While inves- tigating these relationships, the authors also analyze
the moderating role of financial leverage of firms. Overall, analysis of
secondary information for firms from multiple industries over the years 2000-
2009 shows that CSR has a significant effect on the idiosyncratic risk of
firms, with positive CSR reducing risk and negative CSR increasing it.
Results also show that the reduction in risk from positive CSR is not
guaranteed, with firms having high levels of financial leverage witnessing
lower idiosyncratic risk reduction.

17. Reciprocity in Corporate Social Responsibility and Channel

Performance: Do Birds of aFeather Flock Together?

Abstract Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is more and more

important in the supply chain. Drawing from the stakeholder theory
and channel relational reciprocity lit- erature, we develop and
empirically support a theoretical framework. Our framework predicts
that CSR reciprocity between buyer and seller firms in a supply chain
affects channel tie intensity and channel sales performance (main
effects) and that market competition may amplify these influences
(moderated effects). The framework reveals important implications
regarding the role of reciprocal CSR for channel relationship
management
18. How Does the Market Value Corporate Sustainability
Performance?

Abstract This study provides empirical evidence on how corporate

sustainability performance (CSP), as proxied by membership of the Dow
Jones sustainability index, is reflected in the market value of equity. Using
a theoretical framework combining institutional perspectives, stake
holder theory, and resource-based perspectives, we develop a set of
hypotheses that relate the market value of equity to CSP. For a sample of
North American firms, our pre liminary results show that CSP has
significant explanatory power for stock prices over the traditional
summary accounting measures such as earnings and book value of
equity. However, further analyses suggest that we should not focus on
corporate sustainability itself. Our findings suggest that what investors
really do is to penalize large profitable firms with low level of CSP. Firms
with incen tives to develop a high level of CSP not engaging on such
strategy are, thus, penalized by the market

19. The Causal Effect of Corporate Governance on Corporate

Social Responsibility

Abstract In this article, we examine the empirical asso- ciation between

corporate governance (CG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR)
engagement by investigating their causal effects. Employing a large and
extensive US sample, we first find that while the lag of CSR does not affect
CG variables, the lag of CG variables positively affects firms' CSR
engagement, after controlling for various firm characteristics. In addition, to
examine the relative importance of stakeholder theory and agency
theory regarding the associations among CSR, CG, and corporate
financial performance (CFP), we also examine the relation between CSR
and CFP. After correcting for endogeneity bias, our results show that
CSR engagement positively influences CFP, supporting the conflict-
resolution hypoth esis based on stakeholder theory, but not the CSR
overin- vestment argument based on agency theory. Furthermore, firms'
 CSR engagement with the community, environment, diversity, and
employees plays a significantly positive role in enhancing CFP

20. What drives corporate social performance? The role of

nation-level institutions

Abstract Based on Whitley's "national business systems" (NBS)

institutional framework, we theorize about and empirically investigate
the impact of nation-level institu- tions on firms' corporate social
performance (CSP). Using a sample of firms from 42 countries
spanning seven years, we construct an annual composite CSP index
for each firm, based on social and environmental metrics. We find
that the political system, followed by the labor and education system,
and the cultural system are the most important NBS categories of
institutions that impact CSP. Interestingly, the financial system appears
to have a relatively less significant impact. We discuss implications for
research, practice and policymaking