Understanding the impact of Mandatory CSR Disclosure on Green Innovation: Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms

Ren, S.; Huang, M.; Liu, D.; Yan, J.

Abstract

Drawing on the institutional view of legitimacy theory, we examine whether and under which conditions a policy tool, mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, enforced by constituents positively triggers firms to make substantive environmental responses. Using China’s 2008 CSR reporting policy as a quasi-natural experiment and the difference-in-differences (DID) estimation approach, the results reveal that after implementation of this policy, mandatory CSR reporting firms show substantially higher green innovation performance than non-CSR reporting firms. We further find that this effect is stronger for firms located in areas with high environmental enforcement intensity, for state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and for those with higher levels of media coverage. Moreover, we make a nuanced investigation on whether the media coverage is laden with a negative or positive tone, and find that both negative and positive coverage strengthen the relationship between mandatory CSR disclosure and green innovation.

Citation

Ren, S., Huang, M., Liu, D., & Yan, J. (2023). Understanding the impact of Mandatory CSR Disclosure on Green Innovation: Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms. British Journal of Management, 34(2), 576-594. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12609

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 8, 2022
• Publication Date: 2023-04
• Deposit Date: Mar 14, 2022
• Journal: British Journal of Management
• Print ISSN: 1045-3172
• Electronic ISSN: 1467-8551
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 34
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 576-594
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12609
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1212294