Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

When Doing Good Backfires: The Effects Of Corporate Social Responsibility Fit On The Decisions Of Long And Short-Term Investors, Chezham Sealy

Doctoral Dissertations

Investors, analysts, and news outlets have expressed concerns that corporate social responsibility (CSR) has deviated from its original altruistic purpose of improving society to a marketing ploy aimed at managing perceptions of shareholders and improving the bottom line of companies. In this study, I analyze how the fit of a company’s business operations to their CSR activities affects the investment willingness of long and short-term investors. While prior research shows numerous positive outcomes associated with CSR, I predict and find that low fit CSR activities can decrease the investment willingness of long-term investors when companies are involved in controversial “sin” …