기업의 사회적 책임이 내재자본비용과 정보비대칭에 미치는 영향

초록

This paper examines the effect of corporate social responsibility(CSR) on the cost of equity capital for a large sample of Korean listed firms from 2000 to 2009. In addition, we provide the evidence that corporate social responsibility affects the cost of equity capital by analyzing the relation between corporate social responsibility and information asymmetry. The results are as follows. First, we find that firms with better CSR activity show lower cost of equity capital. This result is consistent with the prediction that investors recognize relatively low firm risk and thereby require lower risk premium for firms with better CSR activity. Second, the negative relationship between CSR and the cost of equity capital is more prominent for firms not affiliated with Korean business group(non-group firms). This result suggest that investors evaluate CSR activity done by the non-group firms more positively and lower requiring risk premium for these firms. Third, firms with better CSR activity show lower information asymmetry. This result suggest that firms with better CSR activity tend to disclose more management information to emboss positive firm image and thereby decrease information asymmetry. These result shows that firms with socially responsible practices perform important role to mitigate firms’ information asymmetry and decreases cost of equity capital. This suggest that firms with better CSR activity can exert positive effect to enterprise value by decreasing information asymmetry and cost of equity capital even if CSR activity does not affect financial results. This paper has contribution in that this paper shows the path that CSR contributes in firm value(cost of equity capital) by directly analyzing relation between CSR activity and information asymmetry. Also, investors seem to evaluate CSR activity differently according to affiliation with Korean business group.

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