CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY & UTDELNINGAR: DET LÖNSAMMA SÄTTET ATT VARA HÅLLBAR?

Abstract

This paper aims to increase the knowledge regarding Corporate Social Responsibility and its effect on companies, through studying the relationship between CSR and dividend payouts in different markets. Previous research that has studied CSR has focused on its effect on companies' financial performance. The research regarding the relationship between CSR and dividend payouts is limited and the few studies that have been made have primarily studied the relationship on a few, similar markets. There is a theory that points to Scandinavian markets and companies having a tradition of CSR which theoretically could affect the correlation. The paper therefore studies the correlation between corporate social responsibility and dividend payouts in two different markets, Sweden and USA. This is examined through a statistical analysis using panel data over the years 2002-2022. The results show that CSR increases dividends for companies listed in Sweden and the US. Furthermore, the results show that the market is of importance for the relationship where the effect of CSR on dividends is substantially higher in companies in the USA in comparison to Swedish companies. The study also shows that a company's position within their life cycle affects the correlation between the two variables. In conclusion the paper displays new results regarding the relationship between CSR and dividend through showing the importance of the market and the company's sustainability characteristics.