Local Corporate Social Responsibility, Media Coverage, and Shareholder Value

Using news articles covering firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, we find that publicized CSR activities are positively associated with shareholder value and improved future operating performance. Furthermore, we find that media coverage on CSR engagements with local impact on companies’ communities and employees, rather than those with broader social impact on the general public, is the main driver in explaining higher shareholder value and operating performance. We also implement a two-stage least-squares regression (2SLS) and propensity score matching to establish a causal link between publicized local CSR activities and shareholder value. Our evidence is consistent with the notion that shareholders put positive value on locally-oriented CSR when it is also complemented with high level of stakeholder awareness.