This paper examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) ratings and\nfirm value, by using a sample of U.S. companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange and\nNASDAQ Stock Market, over 2008-2011. The Corporate Social Responsibility Index (CSRI)\ndeveloped by Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship and Reputation Institute was\nused as a proxy for corporate social responsibility. A certain company is perceived in three\ndimensions: citizenship (the community and the environment), governance (ethics and\ntransparency), and workplace practices, that quantified through numerical variables are\nreflected into the CSRI ranking score. The Tobin�s Q ratio adjusted according to activity sector\nwas employed in order to quantify firm value. After the estimation of panel data regression\nmodels, unbalanced, both without cross-sectional effects and with fixed effects, our results show\nthat corporate social responsibility positively influences firm value. The empirical evidence is\nconsistent with the instrumental stakeholder theory view, since the companies involved in\ncorporate social responsibility undertakings use in a more effective way their resources in order\nto better satisfy stakeholders� needs. CSR activities can add value to the firm if they are wisely\nmanaged and implemented, as well as sufficiently disclosed and reported.
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