Investors' Responses to Social Conflict between CSR and Corporate Tax Avoidance

Abstract

ABSTRACT There is often conflict between disclosures and actions in corporate operations. One area of interest relates to the joint influence of tax avoidance and Corporate Social Responsibility on economic outcomes. We evaluate investor perceptions when these corporate behaviors are in conflict, and our results indicate that tax avoidance negatively influences investment decisions. We find that although CSR in isolation has no direct effect, the negative influence of tax avoidance is tempered when it is present. We provide evidence that not only do a firm's policies related to CSR and tax avoidance result in diverse investment intentions, but also that it is the individual's unique beliefs on ethics and CSR that appear to be driving these differences. Our results suggest that espousing stakeholder values serves as a shield to protect the company from the negative consequences associated with tax avoidance, and that individual attitudes can shape perceptions relative to these behaviors.