Does Ownership Affect Corporate Social Responsibility? Evidence from Chinese Companies' Response to Targeted Poverty Alleviation

Abstract

With the Chinese economy's development and growing wealth disparity, enhancing corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a crucial issue for the government. Existing research has mainly focused on the impact of factors such as firm size, CEO characteristics, and industry affiliation on CSR. However, this study explores the impact of ownership on the amount of corporate donations from a different perspective. Using Difference-in-Differences (DID) approach with data from A-share listed companies between 2010 and 2020, this study analyzes how ownership affects donation amounts. The results demonstrate that ownership structure significantly affects donation amounts. The findings indicate that private enterprises are more likely to increase their donation amounts after the implementation of targeted poverty alleviation policies, with a growth rate that is 13.03% higher compared to non-private enterprises. The study also identifies firm size, the years of company listing, growth, and asset-liability ratio as factors affecting donation amounts. Furthermore, through mechanism analysis, return on assets, bank loans, and financing constraints are identified as the main mechanisms through which ownership influences donation amounts. The research has important implications for understanding how corporations can enhance their CSR performance, and government agencies can develop relevant policies to promote CSR among enterprises.