Occupational health and safety management system and stock price crash risk

Abstract

This study responds to the call of Ben-Nasr and Ghouma (2018) by providing more empirical evidence on stock price crash risk from the employee treatment perspective. With a focus on occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS), we examine whether corporate OHSMS adoption reduces stock price crash risk. We find that OHSMS adoption is negatively associated with crash risk. This negative relationship is more pronounced for SOEs than for non-SOEs, and for firms with higher levels of media coverage and with higher market competitive status. Employee welfare and internal control effectiveness are two channels through which OHSMS adoption affects crash risk. The current study extends to the health and safety factor, thus shedding new light on the determinants of crash risk. Our study also advances the understanding of the “responsible employee treatment – crash risk” relationship.