The spillover effect of a CSR mandate for China’s state-owned enterprises on mutual funds’ responsible investment
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Whether government-mandated corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives foster meaningful CSR practices is a widely debated issue. Using a difference-in-differences approach and a sample of 38,684 fund observations from 2010 to 2021, we provide empirical evidence that a CSR mandate targeting Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has generated a positive spillover effect—manifested in enhanced socially responsible investment by mutual funds. Specifically, mutual funds affiliated with controlling state-owned capital shareholders increased their responsible investment following the implementation of the mandate, compared to funds without such affiliations. We further find that this spillover effect is statistically significant only among funds dominated by retail investors. Our findings suggest that government-led CSR policies targeting SOEs can meaningfully influence the asset management sector by guiding investment decisions and promoting more socially responsible investing.
Source: Finance research letters
Authors: Zhuang Zhuang, Wei Cui, Ganghua Wang
Institutions: Zhejiang Gongshang University, The University of Sydney
Language: English
Subfield: Strategy and Management
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,730
OpenAlex ID: W4414803186