Research On Industry Peer Effect Of Corporate Social Responsibility Information Disclosure

Under the background that the concept of socially responsible investment and sustainable development has attracted much attention and recognition from all walks of life,it is more important for enterprises to disclose information related to social responsibility.Previous literatures focus on the factors that drive enterprises to CSR disclose information from the internal and external factors,while peer effect may be a major motivation that has been neglected in existing studies.From the perspective of peer effect,this paper takes China’s Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share non-financial listed companies from 2010 to 2019 as the research object,and not only explores the existence of industry peer effect of CSR information disclosure at the overall evaluation level,but also discusses the existence of industry peer effect at all zero-level evaluation indexes.In addition,this paper further discusses the intermediary role of investor sentiment in the process of peer effect in this industry,and further discusses the heterogeneity of this effect and its economic consequences.The research results of this paper show that:(1)There is industry peer effect in CSR information disclosure,and there is a positive relationship between the average level of CSR information disclosure quality of peer companies in the same industry and individual enterprises;(2)Investors’ positive investment sentiment plays an intermediary role in the process of positive influence of peer effect on enterprises in this industry,that is,the disclosure of CSR of peer enterprises can improve CSR information disclosure by reducing investors’ positive investment sentiment towards enterprises;(3)The phenomenon of peer effect in this industry is different among different groups.In terms of enterprise heterogeneity,industry leaders and industry followers have different responses to CSR information disclosure of peer enterprises in the same industry.In terms of industry heterogeneity,the disclosure of CSR information of enterprises in non-heavily polluted industries and those in industries with high market competition is more easily influenced by industry peers.In terms of regional heterogeneity,the disclosure of CSR information of enterprises in the same industry in the eastern region has a more obvious positive impact on individual enterprises;(4)From the perspective of economic consequences,the industry peer effect of CSR information disclosure will produce economic consequences that are conducive to the sustainable development of enterprises and industries,and can have a significant positive impact on enterprise value and industry value,that is,it can significantly promote the promotion of enterprise value and industry value.The research conclusion of this paper enriches the literature on corporate disclosure of social responsibility-related information from the perspective of corporate situational factors and investors’ investment sentiment,and supplements the literature on the industry peer effect of corporate CSR information disclosure and its impact on corporate value,which helps regulatory authorities to better understand how to drive enterprises to disclose more.