Religious social norms and CSR deficiency disclosure*

This study investigates the relation between religious social norms and corporate social responsibility (CSR) deficiency disclosure. Building on the social-political theory of voluntary disclosure, we hypothesize that religious social norms generate legitimacy motivations that bind corporate insiders to disclose CSR deficiencies and that such effects are more pronounced where formal institutions are weaker. We test these hypotheses in a group of Chinese listed firms that voluntarily file standalone CSR reports. Our empirical results are consistent with these hypotheses and robust to the robustness checks. Our study contributes to various related literature and has important implications for policymakers and investors.