Demand-driven corporate social responsibility: Symbolic versus substantive change after environmental disasters
研究单个企业引发的环境灾难如何推动行业对企业社会责任的需求，分析受影响企业是采取实质性还是象征性措施，发现企业更倾向于通过改善多样性和人权等象征性行动来合法化运营，而非减少环境危害。
We examine disasters caused by individual firms with severe environmental impacts. These disasters trigger industry-wide demand for corporate social responsibility (CSR). We analyze whether affected firms respond by adopting substantive or symbolic CSR measures. We find that firms increase overall CSR performance through improvements in diversity and human rights rather than decreasing environmental concerns. This suggests firms prioritize symbolic CSR to legitimize their operations rather than substantive measures to mitigate environmental harm. We also document diverging costs and welfare effects. On average, substantive CSR actions are costlier and cause lower margins but avoid divestments by ESG-oriented funds while improving long-term credit ratings. Some of these benefits of substantive actions also accrue through symbolic actions at a lower cost.