Do institutional investors drive corporate social responsibility? International evidence

Abstract

We examine whether institutional investors affect a firm’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) for a large sample of firms from 41 countries over the period 2004 through 2013. We focus on environmental and social aspects of CSR, while controlling for firms ’ governance levels. We find that institutional ownership is positively associated with firm-level environmental and social commitments. Further, the “color of money ” matters. Domestic institutional investors and non-U.S. foreign investors account for these positive associations, while U.S. institutional investors ’ holdings are not related to environmental and social scores. Similarly, higher scores are associated with long-term investors such as pension funds but not with hedge funds. Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment shows that institutional ownership causes improvements in environmental scores. Overall, our results suggest that institutional investors, in aggregate, use their ownership stakes to promote good CSR practices around the world.

Source: resolved