Corporate Social Responsibility, Internal Controls, and Stock Price Crash Risk: The Chinese Stock Market

Dong Yang Hao, Guo You Qi and Jing Wang
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Dong Yang Hao: Faculty of Economics and Management, East China Normal University, 500 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
Guo You Qi: School of Business, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Mei Long Road, Shanghai 200237, China
Jing Wang: School of Economics and Management, Shanghai Maritime University, 1550 Lin Gang Revenue, Shanghai 201306, China

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 5, 1-22

Abstract: As the core of sustainable development strategy, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept that influences business missions, management, operations, finance, and marketing. Studies of the economic consequences of CSR have focused on the theoretical and practical arenas. However, few studies have examined the impact of CSR on the market price fluctuations of company shares. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of CSR on stock price crash risk and its relationship with the role of internal controls in China. After empirical analysis, we found a significantly negative association between CSR and stock price crash risk. Furthermore, we determined that internal controls play a significant and partially mediating role between CSR and stock price crash risk. Internal controls have become an important system for Chinese companies to improve their social responsibility and reduce their operating risk, especially the risk of a stock price crash. We also found that internal controls had a significant and partial moderating effect on the relationship between CSR and stock price crash risk. In certain environments with higher levels of internal controls, CSR prominently reduced the risk of stock price crash. In theory, our study adds to the growing literature about CSR, expands the scope of CSR research, elaborates upon relevant CSR economic consequences, and complements the literature about the determinants of stock price crash risk. In practice, our conclusions provide a reference for Chinese managers, investors, and the related government departments to evaluate the effects of CSR and internal controls, and provides regulators with a method to help control abnormal fluctuations in the stock market. More importantly, the results of this study have reference value for scholars and practitioners in developing countries like China.

Keywords: CSR; internal control; stock price crash risk; mediating effect; moderating effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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