“A longitudinal study of corporate social responsibility expenditure and ownership structure of financial firms”

Abstract

There is a dearth of longitudinal studies of corporate social responsibility expenditure (CSRE) and corporate governance in Bangladesh, which has been the impetus for this study. The study aims to identify the relationship between ownership structure and CSR expenditure. The empirical study considered a longitudinal period of 2007–2019 of listed financial firms (banks and non-banking financial institutions) of Bangladesh. The final sample consisted of 461 firm-year observations for 53 firms. The study in corporated a set of theories, including agency cost theory and stakeholder theory. The study applied the ordinary least square (OLS) regression technique to test hypotheses. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that foreign ownership and manage rial ownership contribute positively and significantly to CSRE. However, the study did not document any relationship between institutional ownership and CSRE. The study used rigorous and alternative measurement techniques to further verify the findings. It was concluded that value creation from CSRE is highly dependent on the ownership structure of financial firms. The empirical study has significant theoretical and mana gerial implications.