Does Corporate Charitable Giving Help Sustain Corporate Performance in China?

Abstract

We examined whether corporate charitable giving (CCG) in China benefits corporate performance (CP) in terms of sales growth (SG), return on asset (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and Tobin’s Q (TQ), and revealed several findings. First, testing shows variation in the impact of CCG on CP. Whereas the ratio of corporate charitable giving (RCCG) to total sales revenue does not significantly enhance SG, ROA, and ROE, it is positively related to TQ. Second, the positive relationship between RCCG and TQ originates from non-state-owned firms (NSOFs) rather than state-owned firms (SOFs). Third, Chinese firms may use CCG as traditional philanthropy to enhance long-term performance instead of strategically using it to generate short-term performance. Lastly, an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between RCCG and TQ, especially for NSOFs.