“Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Risk: Theory and Empirical Evidence” (2018), by Rui A. Albuquerque et al. Business and Management research paper. Original abstract below, unchanged. A free PDF is available.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Risk: Theory and Empirical Evidence

Rui A. Albuquerque, Yrjo J Koskinen, Chendi Zhang · November 16, 2018 · Business and Management

Abstract

This paper presents an industry equilibrium model where firms have a choice to engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. We model CSR as an investment to increase product differentiation that allows firms to benefit from higher profit margins. The model predicts that CSR decreases systematic risk and increases firm value and that these effects are stronger for firms with high product differentiation. We find supporting evidence for our predictions. We address a potential endogeneity problem by instrumenting CSR using data on the political affiliation of the firm’s home state. This paper was accepted by Gustavo Manso, finance.

Free PDF DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2018.3043