Does corporate social responsibility increase access to finance? A commentary on Cheng et al. (2014)

• 成果类型: Article; Early Access
• 署名作者: King, Andrew A.
• 署名单位: Boston University
• 刊物名称: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0143-2095
• DOI: 10.1002/smj.3738
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: Access to finance; commentary; Corporate social responsibility; environmental social governance (ESG); sustainability

摘要

Research Summary: Scholars have long investigated the possible benefits of corporate social responsibility (CSR). One of the most influential of these studies tests and supports the hypothesis that CSR increases access to finance. Yet, I show here that the finding is unsound because the report's empirical method limits what can be inferred from its analysis. I rectify a key weakness and replicate the study. I observe a cross-sectional association but find no evidence that CSR increases access to finance. My analysis suggests new directions for research on the effect of CSR. Managerial Summary: Numerous articles have explored the possible benefits of CSR. A highly influential study claims that CSR improves a corporation's ability to access capital, and this finding has been widely used by scholars, fund managers, and policymakers. Unfortunately, the finding is unsound because the study's research method used predicted values of access to capital rather than direct measures. A rectification and extension of the original analysis fails to uncover evidence that firm-level changes in CSR are associated with access to capital.