Overconfident CEOs, corporate social responsibility, and tax avoidance: Evidence from China
研究了中国上市公司CEO过度自信如何影响企业社会责任与避税的关系，发现高CSR评分的企业避税更多，但过度自信的CEO会弱化这一关联，尤其在非国有企业中更明显。
We investigate the influence of CEO overconfidence on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and tax avoidance. Prior studies on the relationship between CSR and tax avoidance find mixed results. Using granular data of listed Chinese companies, we find that firms with higher CSR scores systematically exhibit higher tax avoidance. Importantly, we find that this relationship is moderated in firms with overconfident CEOs. We contend that overconfident CEOs are less likely to strategically use CSR as a risk-management tool. Additional analysis shows that this moderating effect comes mainly from non-state-owned enterprises. Our findings stand up to a battery of sensitivity tests, including the use of CSR subdimensions. In summary, we provide consistent evidence about the moderating effect of CEO overconfidence on the relationship between CSR and tax avoidance. These results partially reconcile the mixed findings of prior empirical literature.