Corporate socio-political activism and retail investors: Evidence from the Black Lives Matter campaign
研究散户投资者如何回应企业支持“黑人的命也是命”运动，发现只有同时捐款才能影响投资决策，且效果受董事会种族构成和州政治倾向影响。
This study investigates retail investor responses to corporate engagement in corporate socio-political activism (CSA). Using manually collected evidence of companies' support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) campaign, we find that speaking up in support of BLM attracts retail investor attention. However, it influences their investment decisions only if speaking up is backed up by a monetary donation to BLM-related causes on the same day. This effect is observed for companies that have black directors on their board and companies headquartered in Democrat-leaning states. There is no corresponding increase in firm value. Our results suggest that retail investor preferences for companies that engage in CSA are likely guided by moral sentiment.