CSR and Firm Value: Evidence from China

Abstract

This study attempts to investigate the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firm value. Drawing upon stakeholder theory and a resource-based view, we argue that corporate social responsibility is expected to positively affect firm value because it helps firms gain positive stakeholder responses. Based on longitudinal data of Chinese manufacturing firms listed at Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange between 2010 and 2015, we use multiple linear regression to find that corporate social responsibility has a positive relationship with firm value and that the relationship between CSR and firm value is weakened for firms with higher advertising intensity, as CSR by these firms gains negative stakeholder responses. State-owned firms were shown to benefit more from CSR, as CSR by these firms gains positive stakeholder responses for such firms.