Megumi Suto

Estimating the hidden corporate social performance of Japanese firms

Purpose - Managers sometimes hide their level of corporate social performance (CSP) from investors, intentionally or unintentionally. The purpose of this study is to estimate such “hidden CSP” of firms. Design/methodology/approach - We assume that Japanese public firms can be classified into two groups based on the difference in CSR awareness. Thus, the respondents to the CSR questionnaire survey are classified as the CSR-aware group, and the non-respondents are treated as the CSR-unaware group. We further assume that a significant relationship exists between CSP and a firm’s attributes, including financial performance and stock ownership. Under these assumptions, we construct a model to estimate the CSP of non-respondents using the relationship between CSP and a firm’s observable attributes. Findings - There is a significant latent gap between the CSP of respondents and the hidden CSP of non-respondents because of differences in firm size, foreign dependency of business, and reputation and trust in the financial markets, rather than because of differences in financial performance. Insider-oriented ownership structures are negatively associated with CSP. Research limitations/implications - The estimation model we developed in this study depends on a set of assumptions. In particular, we assume a stable relationship between CSP and firm-specific variables, i.e., there is no structural change during the observation period. Despite these limitations, this study extends the CSR research perspective as it makes possible to estimate the hidden CSP of public firms. Practical implications - In practice, the findings of this study surface a part of the missing CSR that investors need and that could alert non-respondent firms to the importance of CSR strategy and related disclosures to adapt to rapidly changing social and environmental business settings. Originality/value - This study is the result of academic interest in examining the missing information related to CSR activities in order to obtain an overall picture of the CSP distribution of Japanese listed firms as a whole.

CSR and cost of capital: evidence from Japan

Purpose This study aims to examine the link between corporate social performance (CSP) and the cost of capital of Japanese firms in 2008-2013, considering the influences of banking relationships and ownership structure. Design/methodology/approach It examines the relation between CSP and the cost of capital in terms of the cost of debt, cost of equity and weighted average cost of capital, using a composite CSP measure based on stakeholder relationships. A regression model is adopted, controlling for bank dependency, ownership structure and firm-specific attributes. Findings Institutional ownership influences the CSP–cost of equity relation and reduces the cost of equity, while CSP is perceived by debtors as not information-mitigating for the observed period. For 2008-2010, the relation between CSP and bank dependency increases the cost of debt; however, the positive influence of bank dependency on the cost of debt dilutes during 2010-2013 as the shift to a more market-oriented financial market in Japan occurs. Practical implications Although bank borrowing is important, especially for small firms, non-financial disclosure makes external financing more flexible. Institutional investors concerned about the non-financial aspects of business, therefore, play an important role in mitigating the information asymmetry that exists in the capital market. Originality/value This study extends research on the CSP–cost of capital link by considering structural changes in financial systems (e.g. capital market perception of CSP and banks as delegated monitors).

Does Foreign Ownership Enhance the Corporate Social Performance of Japanese Firms

This study examines the influence of foreign ownership on the corporate social performance (CSP) of Japanese firms in a business environment characterised by globalisation and rapidly changing ownership structures. Using our originally constructed CSP indices related to stakeholder relationships for 2007–2011 when foreign investors became a major player in the Japanese stock market, the results of our analyses show that the relationship between foreign ownership and CSP is positive and more pronounced than the relationship between domestic ownership and CSP. Furthermore, we find the increase in foreign ownership enhances CSP with four sets of 3-year sub-period data. These findings suggest that foreign investors make Japanese firms to improve CSP by motivating firms to reconsider trustworthiness of their business in global society and markets and change their corporate social responsibilities. Our results imply that foreign investors play an important role in shifting Japanese corporate governance from the traditional insider-oriented structure to a structure that is characterized by greater openness and transparency to survive and success in global competition.

Relationship Between Technological Innovation, Corporate Social Performance, and Corporate Financial Performance

This chapter investigates the relationship between technological innovation, corporate social performance (CSP), and corporate financial performance (CFP) of Japanese manufacturing firms. Firms that aggressively focus on research and development have to build investors’ trust and manage firm risk, including financial and social risks, since most such firms need to raise capital steadily. To achieve this risk reduction, managers of firms with technological competitiveness use activities related to their CSR as one of the instruments to manage firm risk. Empirical evidence presented in this chapter shows that both firm-level innovation and CSP are negatively associated with firm risk, which is evaluated in the stock market. Furthermore, results from the mediation analysis suggest that corporate social responsibility works as a mediator to explain the negative association between firm-level innovation and firm risk. This finding implies that mangers of firms with aggressive corporate innovative activities should be more conscious of corporate social activities in the long run to maintain the trust of participants in the capital market.

Market Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility and Cost of Capital

This chapter investigates the influence of market perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the cost of capital of Japanese listed firms by examining the relationships between composite corporate social performance (CSP) and the cost of capital in terms of the cost of debt, cost of equity, and weighted average cost of capital (WACC).

Conclusion—The Future of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Finance in Japan

The research in this book highlights managers’ incentives for CSR activities to adapt to changing social and environmental surroundings of business and finance using a stakeholder theory approach. In the context of Japanese firms, we conducted consistent analyses to respond to our research questions on the relationships between CSP and corporate finance and governance during the period of transition toward a more market-oriented system amid the globalization of business and finance. We proposed six research questions and found some interesting results that have implications for the future development of the Japan’s CSR and corporate finance in particular and sustainable development of business in general.

Corporate Social Performance and Ownership Structure

In the development of global business and increased cross-border investment, it has become important for corporate governance research to explore the effects of changing ownership structures on corporate social performance (CSP) and related issues.

Corporate Social Responsibility Awareness and Management Forecast Bias

For investors, how to gain accurate and unbiased information about future earnings of an investee company is critical to demand a risk premium that is reflected in the expected rate of return. Management earnings forecasts are a major source of information about future earnings and are posited as especially important in the Japanese disclosure system. However, managers might face incentive bias toward opportunistic decisions on the forecast from a short-term view, as there is a conflict of interest between managers and investors about risk premium. The issue of how to mitigate such incentive bias is a key for disciplined pricing in the market by reducing information asymmetry. Management earnings forecasts definitely influence both the quality and quantity of information about future earnings. Responsible management forecasts are the core of the self-disciplining mechanism to provide more accurate and less biased information in the market.

Introduction: Corporate Social Responsibility and Japanese Corporations

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is globally recognized as one of the core components of corporate strategy for ensuring the long-term value and sustainable growth of a firm. In the rapid globalization of business and finance since the 1980s, business corporations have had unprecedented influence on the societies and communities in which they operate, natural environment preservation, and resource allocation. Alongside financial liberalization and globalization since the 1990s, the linkage between the financial market’s perception of CSP and corporate financing has been attracting interest among researchers. In corporate financing, however, investors and financial institutions might not have a shared comprehensive understanding of CSR with their investees and borrowers, and there could be a perception gap of CSR between investors and financial institutions.

Responsible Investment and Institutional Investors

As discussed in Chapter 1, traditional Japanese corporations have to greater or lesser degrees become familiar with conceptualizing responsible businesses based on ethical self-discipline or guiding management precepts that are passed down in the business over generations, although these concepts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) are likely narrow