Seminar (Dept. of Finance)

Theme：Corporate Social Responsibility in Supply Chain

Speaker：Jing Wu, Assistant Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Time：2021-05-28 10:00

Address：Room 1007, Mingde Business Building

Language：Chinese

ABSTRACT:

Perception regarding a focal firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) depends not only on itself but also on its known suppliers. This paper provides the first empirical evidence linking CSR and supply chain information disclosure together. Specifically, it uncovers robust evidence that firms greenwash their CSR image via voluntarily disclosing environmentally responsible suppliers while concealing “bad” ones. Exogenous variations in abnormal temperatures around the world drive variations in the selective disclosure of “good” suppliers, supporting a causal interpretation of our finding. Supply chain greenwashing is more prevalent for firms who face higher competition, care more about their brand awareness, and for firms that are more profit-driven and held more by institutional investors. The greenwashing behavior mitigates after implementing mandatory CSR disclosure policies. Finally, firms who greenwash supply chains observe increase in sales, but only for the short-term.