Patriotic Education and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from a Mandatory Military Training Program
Posted: 12 Mar 2018
Date Written: August 1, 2017
Abstract
We study the impact of patriotic education received by top executives on firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR). Built on a temporary and mandatory military training program to freshmen in two top universities in China in 1990s, we find that firms with the presence and more executives who were forced to receive such patriotic education conduct and disclose more CSR activities and make more donations. The effect doubles (quintuples) for donation (CSR disclosure) if the CEO or Chairman received mandatory patriotic education. Further analysis shows that the effect concentrates in product and environmental dimensions. We also find that the effect is more pronounced for non-SOE firms and firms in weak institutional environment.
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Military Training, Patriotic Education, Natural Experiment
JEL Classification: G32, G34, M12
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