Corporate social responsibility, ownership structure, and corporate governance—An analysis of the Brazilian firm

Abstract

Under the agency and stakeholder theories, this study analyzes the influence of ownership structure and corporate governance (CG) on the Brazilian firm corporate social responsibility (CSR), taking into account that shareholders' and other stakeholders' interests may matter for CSR. For a sample of 796 firm-year observations from firms listed on the Brazilian stock exchange, in the period 2010–2022, models are estimated using feasible generalized least squares. Results signal that higher ownership concentration favors CSR performance. Furthermore, shareholding control configuration also matters for CSR. In accordance with the positive effect of high ownership concentration, firms with dominant control tend to adopt strategies that promote CSR policy, possibly seeking improvement of firm image and reputation. On the other hand, dispersed control inhibits firm CSR. Perhaps, minority shareholders are more short-term oriented and do not trust in short-term return from CSR. Additionally, the findings indicate that CG positively influences the extent of firm CSR.