The role of public environmental concern on corporate social responsibility: Evidence from search index of web users

• Published in: Energy economics Vol. 126; p. 107041
• Main Authors: Tao, Yunqing, Wang, Dianjie, Ye, Yongwei, Wu, Haitao, Zhang, Yao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.10.2023
• Subjects: Corporate internal regulation; Corporate social responsibility; Government regulation; Market regulation; Public environmental concerns; Corporate social responsibility; Q56; Market regulation; Corporate internal regulation; D22; Government regulation; Public environmental concerns; L25
• ISSN: 0140-9883; 1873-6181
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2023.107041

This study studies the effects of informal institutions of public environmental concerns (PEC) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) regarding public environmental concerns. Using the search index of web users for specific environmental keywords to construct a proxy variable for PEC, we empirically analyze the effects of PEC on CSR using data from publicly listed Chinese firms. The results suggest that PEC significantly and positively impacts CSR, which still holds after several robustness and endogeneity tests. We further verify that the PEC promotes CSR by strengthening government, market, and internal corporate regulations. Further analysis shows that our results are more pronounced for firms located downstream in the industry chain and for cities with a better legal environment. This study provides essential insights into how PEC shapes CSR in emerging markets. •We study the effects of public environmental concerns (PEC) on CSR;•PEC positively impact CSR;•Mechanism is strengthening government , market and corporate internal regulation;•The effect is more pronounced for firms located downstream in industry chain and firms with better legal environment;