Do Firms Adjust Corporate Social Responsibility Engagement After a Focal Change in Credit Ratings?

Autor:	Nihat Aktas, Alexander Witkowski, Nikolaos Karampatsas
Rok vydání:	2021
Předmět:	Credit rating business.industry Business Management and Accounting (miscellaneous) Corporate social responsibility Context (language use) Accounting Business Social Sciences (miscellaneous) Stakeholder management Risk management Credit risk
Zdroj:	Business & Society. 61:1684-1722
ISSN:	1552-4205 0007-6503
DOI:	10.1177/00076503211053008
Popis:	This study revisits the relation between corporate performance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of a major shift in firms’ credit risk status. Relying on corporate credit rating as a performance indicator, we examine whether firms under the scrutiny of rating agencies trade-off CSR engagement for credit quality improvement. To explore whether firms adjust their CSR engagement after a focal rating change, we focus on the investment–speculative grade threshold because of its importance in accessing the public debt market. We find that firms that lose the investment grade rating subsequently increase CSR engagement. We also uncover that improving CSR engagement helps firms restore their credit ratings ex post. Our findings support the view of CSR engagement as a valuable risk management strategy.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_________::8e5be0d6831cfe93e891cce0e170739f https://doi.org/10.1177/00076503211053008 Zobrazit plný text záznamu