The legal origin literature documents that civil and common law traditions have different impacts on economic outcomes. We contribute to this literature by formulating and testing hypotheses on the effect of legal origins on corporate social responsibility, overall and in different specific dimensions. We find that, net of industry-specific effects, companies in common law countries score higher in corporate governance and community involvement, while those in countries belonging to the French legal tradition of civil law do better in human resources. We also observe no significant differences in terms of environmental protection among companies in civil and common law countries, which we attribute to a progressive convergence towards common industry sustainability standards.

Legal Origins and Corporate Social Responsibility

CONZO, Pierluigi
2020-01-01

Abstract

The legal origin literature documents that civil and common law traditions have different impacts on economic outcomes. We contribute to this literature by formulating and testing hypotheses on the effect of legal origins on corporate social responsibility, overall and in different specific dimensions. We find that, net of industry-specific effects, companies in common law countries score higher in corporate governance and community involvement, while those in countries belonging to the French legal tradition of civil law do better in human resources. We also observe no significant differences in terms of environmental protection among companies in civil and common law countries, which we attribute to a progressive convergence towards common industry sustainability standards.
2020
12(7)
2717
1
30
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/7/2717
legal origins; corporate social responsibility; environmental standards; corporate governance; Civil Law; Common Law
L. Becchetti;R. Ciciretti;P. Conzo
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/139315
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