Research On The Determinants Of CSR Report Information Quality In Chinese Listed Companies

In order to show the implementation of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) in specific way, the disclosure forms of the CSR information are developing from the simple description in the traditional financial report to the multi-level disclosure pattern (CSR report independent from financial report). In this developing process, the determinants have always been playing an important part in the disclosure of CSR information. As a kind of mostly voluntary information disclosure mechanism, to some extent, CSR report is the selectively disclosure by Listed company management regarding CSR information users, and also the endogenetic decision resulting from the game between Listed company management and stakeholders. So CSR report has been received special attention. Researches on this issue can help to understand the deep motivations and strategic behaviors of CSR information disclosure, and moreover, to provide theories and empirical evidences for establishing appropriate regulations and decision-making. So far, however, the researches on this issue are not adequate and there are only few relative theoretical analysis and empirical evidences.The special regime background, such as special ownership structure, unregulated administration of capital market information disclosure, inadequate legal protection mechanism towards investors, and uncompleted corporate governance mechanism, makes the determinants of CSR information quality in Chinese listed companies more confusing. On one hand, CSR information disclosure is demanded by stakeholders to make decision, on the other hand, it has been a difficult issue in domestic academic and practical circle due to the difficulty in figuring out the determinants. Which factors will affect the CSR information quality of Chinese listed companies? Does the foreign theory of CSR information disclosure have explanatory power to Chinese listed companies? How do the regime environments affect the CSR information quality of Chinese listed companies through company attributes? Do the corporate economic motivation and corporate governance influence the CSR information quality of Chinese listed companies significantly? Such issues need more theoretical analysis and empirical tests.Reviewing on relative literature, there are some problems in domestic researches on the determinants of CSR information quality of Chinese listed companies. First, methodology. The amount of domestic empirical researches on CSR information disclosure is increasing, but the archival studies are almost towards the scatter CSR information disclosed in the annual report. Researches particularly towards CSR report are almost normative studies or case studies. These researches could only provide directional or principle suggestions because of the limitations on research method. Second, research sample. A common problem previous researches facing is the CSR information disclosure data are selected from annual reports instead of CSR reports. However, the CSR. information disclosed by annual reports is very limited, scattered and qualitative, so the promotion and application of the results are questionable. Third, research content. Most empirical studies results concentrate in the corporate feathers'effect on CSR information disclosure. The comprehensive theoretical and empirical analysis about how economic motivation and corporate governance structure could affect CSR report information quality is absence. For example, the advertisement utility of company products, refinancing demand, ownership structure and shareholder's equity, board of director's governance, management governance, and so on. Forth, index construction. The quantization of CSR information disclosure quality is a difficult issue in current research. Most researchers still apply traditional 3 points method. However, this method replaces the disclosure quality by the disclosure quantity to a great extent. The information quality has been ignored, so the research results are lack of persuasion.This paper adopted prudent theoretical analysis and precise empirical evidence to study the determinants associate with the CSR report of Chinese listed companies. First of all, on revealing and explaining the current social responsibilities reporting of China, this paper introduced the literature review, based on which questionnaire was designed for professors and appropriate reporting users. For analyzing these questionnaires, contents analysis and principal components were applied to construct the benchmarks for evaluating the quality of CSR report. With the benchmarks according to the delphi method marking systems, 786 CSR report of Chinese listed companies during the years between 2008 and 2009. Secondly, this paper studies the characters and economic motivations that trigger the CSR publishes by multi-factor linear regression method. At last, constructed of corporate governance index and its sub-index by principal component analysis, controlled of firm characteristics and economic motivations, and other relevant variables respectively, the variables from the corporate governance structure, corporate governance index and its sub-index perspective, this paper undertakes an empirical test of associations between corporate governance of Chinese Listed and the quality of CSR reports. The whole dissertation is divided into eight chapters.Chapter 1, introduction. This chapter introduced the background and the meaning of this paper, and revealed the main methods adopted for research; definitions of relevant terms, and the contributions of this paper.Chapter 2, literature review. This chapter reviewed the international and domestic research on the factors associated with the CSR report information quality, and evaluated the Efniciencies of current researches, simultaneously provide evidence for specific independent variables and control variables.Chapter 3, Institutional backgrounds and theoretical analysis. This chapter, after systematically Industryced the historical origins and the logic deduction of the CSR report, analyze the institutional backgrounds in order to provide institutional and theoretical backgrounds for interpreting the CSR report information quality which can assisted us profoundly understanding the political and economic elements associated the CSR report information quality. The concentration of CSR theory, legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory, the impression management theory and decision usefulness theory provides robust theoretical foundations for analyzing the elements associated with the CSR report information quality.Chapter 4, The evaluation of CSR report information quality. This chapter systematically on revealing and explaining the current social responsibilities reporting of China, this paper introduced the literature review, based on which questionnaire was designed for professors and appropriate reporting users. For analyzing these questionnaires, contents analysis and principal components were applied to construct the benchmarks for evaluating CSR report information quality.Apply delphi method according to the benchmarks to evaluation of the CSR report information quality, and Analysis of the results of the evaluation.Chapter 5, Theoretical and empirical analysis of how firm characteristics affecting CSR report information quality. Based on the legitimacy theoretieal and institution background investigation of how firm characteristics of Chinese listed companies affect CSR report information quality, the chapter tests empirically the impacts of firm characteristics (including:firm size, financial leverage, ownership structure, industry type) of Chinese listed companies on CSR report information quality.Chapter 6, Theoretical and empirical analysis of how economic motivation affecting CSR report information quality. Based on the impression management theoretieal and institution background investigation of how economic motivation of Chinese listed companies affect CSR report information quality, the chapter tests empirically the impacts of economic motivation(including: advertisement effect, refinancing demand)of Chinese listed companies on CSR report information quality.Chapter 7, Theoretical and empirical analysis of how corporate governance affecting CSR report information quality. Based on the stakeholder theoretieal and institution background investigation of how corporate governance structure of Chinese listed companies affect CSR report information quality, the chapter tests empirically the impacts of corporate governance structure and corporate governance index of Chinese listed companies on CSR report information quality by multivariable linear regression model and principal component analysis.At last, the author use Independent-Samples T test examine how the legal environment affect the CSR report information quality in Chinese listed companies.Chapter 8, Main findings and Policy suggestions. The author sums up the whole dissertation on the basis of previous chapters. The author also gives suggestions for improving CSR report information quality of Chinese listed companies, relevant Polices making by related government departments, information published Policy making of Chinese listed companies and design of corporate governance strueture.By theoretical analysis and empirical test, this paper indicates following findings. First, although the CSR information disclosure quality in Chinese listed companies is been improved, the total quality level is still low and dissatisfying. Many disclosures are uncompleted and selective disclosure and impression management occurs obviously. Second, state controlled, big scale and heavy pollution Industry companies'CSR report information quality is significantly higher than other companies. The financial leverage has significantly negative relationship with CSR report information. Third, whether the company' s products can reach to customers and the products' market competition intensity can affect the CSR report information quality significantly. Forth, corporate governance structure has significant influence on CSR report information quality. The character of state-owned property right, the proportion of the shares held by the first majority shareholder, the alliance proportion of minority shareholders and agency cost has positive relationship with CSR report information, the tradable shares proportion has significantly negative relationship with CSR report information quality, and there is a distinct U shape curve relation between Scale of the board of directors and CSR report information. Fifth, the level of corporate governance as a whole has significantly positive effect on CSR report information quality. Ownership structure and shareholder equity governance, board of directors'governance and management governance has significant influence. However, board of supervisors' governance and committee governance has little influence. Sixth, legal supervision and administration environment have significant effect on CSR report information disclosure quality in Chinese listed companies.The main findings of the dissertation are as follows:1. A scientific evaluation standard of corporate social responsibility information quality has been established. Based on summarizing and drawing the former relative researches result, the depth interviews and scale questionnaire survey are conducted to consolidate the viewpoints and suggestions of accounting, academic circles, practice circles, foreign countries and domestic, the relative fields and the relative stakeholders. By adapting the export scoring method to determine the weight assignment in order to reduce the subjective of valuator to greatest extent. for the first time, a scientific, reasonable and complete evaluation standard of CSR report information quality has been established from the all aspects and multiple-level of the theory. The research is a expansion and complement for the traditional theoretical researches. A more solid conceptual framework of CSR report information quality features system has been provided for the follow-up researches, and this is helpful for research promotion.2. The evaluation of the CSR report information quality in Chinese listed companies.The CSR report information quality database for 786 Listed companies has been established under the Chinese systems background of year 2008 and 2009. A database for Listed companies' CSR report information quality has been established under the Chinese system background. The research has a valuable reference for understanding the development situation of Chinese listed companies'CSR report, exploring the relative problems, explicating the further development direction and the follow-up empirical researches.3. By adapting the primary sources, which are got from the questionnaire investigation for experts and-report users, the empirical researches for testing the influencing factors of Chinese listed companies'CSR report information quality and analyzing the internal mechanism, have been conducted systematically for the first time, by promoting steps by steps from the three dimensionalities:corporate features, corporate economic motivations and corporate governance. The logical path has been got through:"the corporate CSR report information quality evaluation standard→analysis of the current situation of corporate CSR report information quality→the influencing factors of corporate CSR report information quality→the disclosure strategies of CSR report information quality". For all of companies, the research can guide and promote them to prepare the high standard CSR report, and promote the formation and development of social responsibility. For stakeholders, the research can help them read, understand and use CSR report, and make correct judgment and decisions. For government, the research can be treated as their reference of drawing the relative policies.4. It is found that Chinese listed companies have the economic motivation to improve their social reputations or promote products sales by improving CSR report information disclosure quality so as to realize the advertisement effect. The CSR report information quality of the company, whose products contact with consumers directly, is significantly higher than the other companies'. The conclusion of this dissertation also explains the following phenomenon very well: there are big differences between individuals and Industrystries for CSR report disclosure, and the bad news phenomenon. And the reason of this phenomenon is that Listed companies treat CSR report as a advertisement Listedity method to a great extent.5. Combined with the system background of Chinese listed companies'social responsibility information disclosure, the theoretical analysis of how does Chinese listed companies'governance structure influence the CSR report information quality has been conducted. In the meanwhile, the corporate governance indexes and five sub indexes have been constructed. Making all variables of corporate governance structure and the corporate governance index and the sub indexes as the explained variable, the empirical analysis of how does Chinese listed companies'governance structure influence the CSR report information quality has been conducted systematically and completely for the first time.