Sky Blog
In a 1987 paper, available here, we argued that non-investor stakeholders play an important role in influencing financial policy and corporate valuation. We also distinguished explicit claims between a company and its counterparties from what we called implicit claims. …
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is typically assumed to be a voluntary rather than mandatory initiative. Yet, over the past few decades, a growing number of countries have adopted laws that explicitly require corporations to undertake CSR.
To date, most scholarly …
The prominence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been growing in recent years, but the empirical relationship between CSR and firm value is still inconclusive. Though many studies show a positive impact of CSR on firm value, others provide evidence …
Environmental and social (E&S) issues are an increasingly publicized component of investment management. Large fund families, including the “Big Three” of Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street, market themselves as advocates for the environment, women, workers in developing countries, and other …
An important debate has emerged in the United States about how business should encapsulate more fully the sustainability-conscious management paradigm. At issue is the proper role of business in society, and the trend is to consider more than just shareholder …
Institutional investors have in recent years become the largest equity holders in the U.S., owning about 80 percent of the market value of S&P 500 index stocks and more than 70 percent of the shares of the 10 largest U.S. …
Companies are more concerned with the #MeToo movement than they used to be. Why this is the case is obvious, but much about the topic is not clear. What does this concern lead companies to do? What should this concern …
Corporations worldwide are increasingly integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) into their operations and emphasizing ethical, safe, and sustainable business practices. Also, anecdotal evidence suggests that many of these corporations are concerned about not only their own CSR standards but also …
The general public can be a stakeholder in a firm, even when it does not have direct ownership. And as the public becomes more vested in a firm’s actions, the firm may be more likely to engage in corporate social …
In recent decades, economies have become bound together through globalization, a phenomenon that integrates societies and creates business opportunities but also challenges tax policies. The amount of taxes corporations pay is a heatedly debated topic among policy makers, academics, and …
What is the opportunity cost of private benefits of control? Using dollar cost of corporate giving to measure private benefits of control, we show in a recent study that (i) the consumption of private benefits creates a managerial aversion to …
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is defined as “actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law” (McWilliams and Siegel, 2001). According to this definition, CSR activities not only …
Issuers, investors, and regulators are paying increasing attention to corporate sustainability. Commentators have proffered a variety of explanations for this attention ranging from the argument that corporations are morally obligated to act in a socially responsible manner to the claim …
Market reactions to a company’s performance on environmental and other social issues are ambiguous, because it is difficult to measure social and financial performance and how they affect each other. We, however, create a virtual value-weighted portfolio based on the …
Whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) is beneficial to shareholders remains a topic of considerable debate. Recent studies suggest that some socially beneficial corporate expenditures (e.g., to reduce environmental harm and thereby the firm’s risk exposure) create value for shareholders. In …
In light of evolving—and sometimes actively debated—perspectives on the role of public companies with respect to sustainability, corporate social responsibility and other ESG matters (e.g., Barron’s recent report on Sustainable Investing), we are providing a high-level overview …
Businesses often face criticism for putting profit over people and for sometimes ignoring the needs of various stakeholders, including employees and communities. This reality has led to a variety of efforts, including the corporate social responsibility movement, seeking to encourage …
Amid the many calls for corporations to be socially responsible, two movements that have emerged since the turn of the 21st century stand out as being particularly serious about defining and holding corporations accountable to higher standards. One is the …
The past two decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in firms’ engagement with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in response to the needs and expectations of a wide range of stakeholders. CSR practices can be understood as voluntary steps to improve …
After years of growing concern over the reach and power of multinational corporations (MNCs), there has been increasing interest in a variety of means to improve their transparency and accountability. In particular, many people have focused on the responsibility of …