The role of public environmental concern on corporate social responsibility: Evidence from search index of web users

Yunqing Tao, Dianjie Wang, Yongwei Ye, Haitao Wu () and Yao Zhang

Energy Economics, 2023, vol. 126, issue C

Abstract: This study studies the effects of informal institutions of public environmental concerns (PEC) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) regarding public environmental concerns. Using the search index of web users for specific environmental keywords to construct a proxy variable for PEC, we empirically analyze the effects of PEC on CSR using data from publicly listed Chinese firms. The results suggest that PEC significantly and positively impacts CSR, which still holds after several robustness and endogeneity tests. We further verify that the PEC promotes CSR by strengthening government, market, and internal corporate regulations. Further analysis shows that our results are more pronounced for firms located downstream in the industry chain and for cities with a better legal environment. This study provides essential insights into how PEC shapes CSR in emerging markets.

Keywords: Public environmental concerns; Corporate social responsibility; Government regulation; Market regulation; Corporate internal regulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 L25 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:126:y:2023:i:c:s014098832300539x

DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2023.107041

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