Corporate Social Responsibility and Stock Market Performance: An Event Study Approach

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and stock market performance. To examine this relationship the "event-study" methodology is utilised to examine five events, two from the oil industry (BP and Exxon oil spills) and three from the banking industry (HSBC-money laundering; Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland-Libor scandal). Results suggest that, apart from the HSBC money laundering event, all other events appear to have a significant effect on stock market performance as the shares of the firms involved tend to exhibit significant negative average abnormal returns during the period which followed the event. We also find some differences regarding the time-frame of the effect, since for some events it took more time to get into "full swing" and lasted longer.