Based on the empirical data of China’s Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share market, this paper examined the impact of regional anti-corruption intensity on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure. The results indicate that (1) regional anti-corruption intensity has a significant positive effect on firms’ CSR disclosure; (2) through the grouping test based on the ownership of firms, it was found that the positive effect of anti-corruption intensity on CSR disclosure in the sample of non-state-owned enterprises was more significant and positive than that of state-owned enterprises (SOEs); and (3) through the grouping test of whether or not the enterprises had political connections, the positive effect of regional anti-corruption intensity on CSR disclosure was stronger and more significant in firms with political connections (relative to those with no or weak political connections). This paper sheds light on the research into anti-corruption policies by linking government macro policy and enterprises’ micro social economic behaviors, and it provides empirical evidence for this linkage. This paper also contributes to organizational legitimacy theory and CSR theory by probing the impact of anti-corruption policies on firms’ CSR disclosure. At the same time, the effects of two contingency factors (ownership and political connection) also provide some practical implications to the relevant government departments by: (1) speeding up the market-oriented reform of state-owned enterprises including clarifying the boundaries of authority and responsibility between SOEs and the government, and conducting the de-administration of managers of SOEs; and (2) encouraging firms to focus on market competition and be more socially responsible, instead of speculating with political rents.

This study investigates the effects of geographical regions and related-party transactions on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and long-term mergers and acquisitions (M&A) performance linkage. We conduct a Heckman two-stage model analysis, using data from listed firms in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchange markets in China. The results indicate that: (1) buyers' CSR performance has a significant and positive effect on long-term M&A performance. (2) Significant differences exist across geographical regions in the links between CSR and long-term M&A performance. In our study, the effects of CSR on long-term M&A performance were positive and significant in a sub-sample of firms located in the eastern region, but the effects were negative and insignificant in a sub-sample of firms located in regions other than in the east. (3) Related-party M&A transactions experience more positive and significant CSR long-term M&A performance linkage, compared to non-related party M&A transactions. Our findings might provide more robust evidence to CSR performance linkage, as we have examined the linkage in a special context of M&A activities, using a Heckman two-stage model to alleviate endogeneity bias. We also bring further insights into the effects of two contingent factors (geographical regions and related-party transactions) on the CSR-performance linkage. The findings of this article suggest that it is reasonable for firms to act socially responsibly when generating economic benefits. Policy makers should consider how to encourage firms to better fulfill CSR through improving the market environment and by enhancing their levels of supervision.

Equity incentive, as an institutional arrangement for the coordination of the interests of shareholders and managers, has been widely implemented by public companies in developed capital markets throughout Europe and America. However, does it work and/or when might it be more effective in emerging market economies such as China? We aimed to understand the effects of equity incentive plans implemented by listed companies in China and the potential influence of the general characteristics of contracts on the effectiveness of equity incentive plans. Based on behavioral decision theory, this paper adopts a multivariate linear regression model to analyze the 1695 equity incentive plans implemented in Chinese listed companies between 2010 and 2018 with their two-year lagged performance data. The empirical results show that the operational performance of companies after implementing equity incentive plans shows a trend of polarization. In the 95% confidence interval, the effect of restrictive stock incentive and exercise-constrained variables is not significant, while the validity period has a significant positive correlation and incentive intensity has a significantly negative correlation with the company’s operational performance. Furthermore, the negative effects mentioned above become more obvious with a longer plan implementation period. Based on these conclusions, we suggest that companies could adopt equity incentive plans with a relatively longer validity period and more reasonable incentive intensity. Additionally, it would be better for companies to select non-restricted stocks as incentive tools if there is no obvious preference.