The effects of social responsibility on company value: a real options perspective of Taiwan companies

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a subject that has garnered considerable attention in recent years. This study conducts the empirical study by using a real options perspective to examine whether a company’s CSR commitment tends to increase its market value. According to Taiwan’s CommonWealth Magazine, this study distinguishes CSR and non-CSR companies. The paper estimates and compares the real options values of CSR and non-CSR companies and shows that high percentage of the company value is attributed to real options. This study finds that a company’s commitment to fulfilling its social responsibility increases its real options value and that the higher the number of CSR Awards won by a company, the higher its real options value. Compared with 10 years ago, investors now pay more attention to companies’ CSR performance. In addition, the higher a company’s size, systematic risk, fixed asset ratio, debt ratio, or skewness in stock returns, the higher a real options value is likely to be.