We identify three channels and the corresponding mechanisms through which corporate socialresponsibility (CSR) may affect corporate cash holdings. CSRfirms are expected to have relatively low cash holdings because they tend to have low idiosyncratic risk due to their highersocial capital with stakeholders. CSRfirms also tend to have low systematic risk due to greaterloyalty from CSR investors and/or customers. Lower systematic risk may increase or decreasecash holdings. Although low systematic risk inducesfirms to reduce their cash holdings, italso inducesfirms to hold a short debt maturity structure, with higher refinancing risks thathigher cash holdings may mitigate. The agency view of CSR argues that entrenched managersin a firm with strong corporate governance may use CSR activities to collude with stakeholdersin order to get higher managerial discretion (including cash) to extract private benefits. However, the corporate governance role of CSR implies that CSR is also effective in reducing theagency problems associated with the cash holdings decision. Using 2364firms with 14,206firm-year observations over the period 1991–2011, we establish that the positive effect ofCSR on cash holdings via the systematic risk channel is robust, while the effects of CSR viathe other two channels are not. Ourfindings are robust to different estimation methods andalternative measures of cash holdings, CSR, risks and corporate governance
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