Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility Performance and Systematic Risk—A Case Study of A-share Listed Chinese Companies

Taking the A-share listed companies in the 2018-2019 Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) rating by the China Alliance of Social Value Investment (CASVI) as samples, we analyze the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) performance on the current systematic risk and its deferred effect. By using quantile regression and the ordinary least squares (OLS) for cross-comparison, we find that 1) for high-risk companies, the current performance of CSR can help reduce systematic risks, and 2) for low-risk companies, the more progress they make in CSR performance but do not disclose social responsibility information according to the global reporting initiative (GRI) guideline, the more systematic risks they will encounter; if they proactively disclose such reports, however, they may reduce systematic risks. Based on our findings, we propose the following measures: 1) the government should properly guide economic development; 2) companies should actively disclose CSR reports so as to achieve a win-win result for both the companies and their stakeholders; 3) investors should consult social responsibility information to make rigorous investment plans, before making investment decisions.