The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Oil and Gas Firms’ Access to Finance

Abstract

This paper examines whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects the access to financing. We test our predictions using a sample of 1467 firm-year observations belonging to US oil and gas industry and covering the period from 1991 to 2012. The findings indicate that CSR, measured by the aggregated CSR score, does not affect firm’s access to capital. Nevertheless, when disaggregated CSR scores (strengths and concerns) are used, an asymmetric effect of CSR on firm’s access to capital is shown. While CSR strengths activities negatively affect firm’s access to external financing, those activities that reduce social concerns enhance this access.