Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility and Orphan Drug Development: Insights from the US and the EU Biopharmaceutical Industry

Purpose Over the past decades, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been considered as a significant corporate strategy and also has been documented as a main information dissemination mechanism of corporations to shareholders, creditors and other external stakeholders. This fact makes the CSR activities and CSR performance interconnected with the quality of firms’ financial reporting. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of CSR performance on the earnings management (EM) behaviour using a sample from 24 European Union (EU) countries summing up to 121,154 firm-year observations over the period 2003–2018. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a multi-country data set with various dimensions of CSR performance including indexes regarding workforce, community relations, product responsibility and human rights protection. The empirical analysis is conducted with panel data regressions. Findings Evidence supports the negative association between CSR and EM indicating that high CSR performing firms are associated with less income smoothing and discretionary accruals, thus with higher financial reporting quality. Practical implications Regulatory agencies in the EU could use the findings of the study for the improvement of the accounting framework via enhancing the use and publications of social and environmental responsibility information and reports. Social implications Also, the current paper could be of interest not only to academic researchers but also to potential and existing investors in European corporations. The negative association between CSR performance and EM could be used by investors in assessing the risk of firms and the quality and reliability of their financial information. Originality/value This is the first study within the EU, which considers the multi-facet characteristics of CSR on the quality of accounting earnings and offers useful policy implications for regulators and investors.

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Corporate Social Responsibility Information in Annual Reports in the EU—A Czech Case Study

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11010237 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 237 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Radka MacGregor Pelikánová

Keyword(s):

Corporate Social Responsibility ◽

Social Responsibility ◽

International Standards ◽

Annual Reports ◽

The European Union ◽

Eu Member States ◽

Annual Reporting ◽

Corporate Social ◽

The Eu

The commitment of the European Union (EU) to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is projected into EU law about annual reporting by businesses. Since EU member states further develop this framework by their own domestic laws, annual reporting with CSR information is not unified and only partially mandatory in the EU. Do all European businesses report CSR information and what public declaration to society do they provide with it? The two main purposes of this paper are to identify the parameters of this annual reporting duty and to study the CSR information provided by the 10 largest Czech companies in their annual statements for 2013–2017. Based on legislative research and a teleological interpretation, the current EU legislative framework with Czech particularities is presented and, via a case study exploring 50 annual reports, the data about the type, extent and depth of CSR is dynamically and comparatively assessed. It appears that, at the minimum, large Czech businesses satisfy their legal duty and e-report on CSR to a similar extent, but in a dramatically different quality. Employee matters and adherence to international standards are used as a public declaration to society more than the data on environmental protection, while social matters and research and development (R&D) are played down.

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A Literature Review on the Relationship between Board Characteristics and Corporate Social Responsibility in Korea and the US: From Institutional Theory Perspective

Korean Journal of Business Ethics ◽

10.34273/kjbe.2016.16.1.004 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 81-109

Author(s):

정라미 ◽

Youngkyun Chang ◽

김수연

Keyword(s):

Corporate Social Responsibility ◽

Literature Review ◽

Social Responsibility ◽

Institutional Theory ◽

Board Characteristics ◽

The Us ◽

Corporate Social ◽

The Relationship

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European Union Social Policy as an Instrument for Sustainable Development

Comparative Economic Research ◽

10.2478/v10103-009-0049-9 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 117-138

Author(s):

Janina Witkowska

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Economic Development ◽

Corporate Social Responsibility ◽

Social Policy ◽

Social Responsibility ◽

Member States ◽

Social And Economic Development ◽

Eu Policies ◽

Corporate Social ◽

The Eu

This paper undertakes an analysis and assessment of European Union (EU) social policy in the context of the sustainability of the group's social and economic development. The process of Europeanizing EU social policy is not advanced. Thus, the weight of solving social problems primarily rests with member countries. EU social policy is "looser" in character than other EU policies and its scope is limited to those areas where member states were willing to transfer certain prerogatives to European Union level. The EU only supports social policy in the context of the sustainability of the group's social and economic development. The process of Europeanizing EU social policy is not and supplements the actions of member states in the social sphere. At the same time, the EU supports the concept of corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility is defined as the voluntary taking into account by companies of social and environmental matters in their operations and in relations with interested parties.

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Nonmarket Responses to Regulation: A Signaling Theory Approach

Group & Organization Management ◽

10.1177/1059601120963693 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 45 (6) ◽

pp. 865-891

Author(s):

Lee Warren Brown ◽

Irene Goll ◽

Abdul A. Rasheed ◽

Wayne S. Crawford

Keyword(s):

Corporate Social Responsibility ◽

Social Responsibility ◽

Signaling Theory ◽

Political Activity ◽

Theory Approach ◽

Federal Regulations ◽

Corporate Political Activity ◽

The Us ◽

Regulatory Intensity ◽

Corporate Social

We examine how regulatory intensity and increases in regulation affect the nonmarket activities of firms. Using a signaling theory perspective, we seek to better understand how firms respond to regulation in terms of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate political activity (CPA), the two main pillars of nonmarket activity. Examination of both CSR and CPA in concert rather than in isolation provides insights into whether they are complements or substitutes. We use textual analysis of the US Code of Federal Regulations to measure regulatory intensity and increases in regulation. Based on a sample of 331 S&P 500 firms for the period 1998–2014, our findings suggest that regulatory intensity leads to more nonmarket responses from firms. We also find support for nonlinear relationships between CSR and CPA.

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