TITLE:
Impacts of Corporate Social Responsibility on the Corporate Optimum Risk: Evidence of Mergers and Acquisitions
AUTHORS:
John Rugira
KEYWORDS:
ESG, Excessive Risk-Avoidance, Excessive Risk-Taking, M&A
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Industrial and Business Management,
Vol.14 No.9,
September
26,
2024
ABSTRACT: This paper investigates whether corporate social responsibility reduces deviations from the firm’s optimal risk-taking within the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) framework. Using two risk-taking measures and a sample of 10,647 transactions between 1991 and 2020 in public firms worldwide, we find that pre-M&A Environment Social and Governance (ESG) acts as a control mechanism to reduce deviations from optimal risk-taking. ESG reduces post-M&A excessive risk-taking but also limits excessive risk avoidance. A more robust ESG performance is associated with smaller deviations from optimal risk-taking levels, although integration complexity and managerial opportunism nurture deviations from the optimum risk-taking. These findings are consistent with the “stakeholder” view of ESG activities.