ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Awe of the blue minds: Location, corporate social responsibility, and firm value
Ghada Ismail,
Corresponding Author
Ghada Ismail
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Edinburg, United States
Correspondence
Ghada Ismail, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship, 1201 West University Dr, Edinburg, TX, United States.
Email: ghada.ismail@utrgv.edu
Search for more papers by this authorGhada Ismail,
Corresponding Author
Ghada Ismail
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Edinburg, United States
Correspondence
Ghada Ismail, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship, 1201 West University Dr, Edinburg, TX, United States.
Email: ghada.ismail@utrgv.edu
Search for more papers by this authorFirst published: 22 April 2024
Abstract
Neuropsychologists claim that exposure to a massive water scene triggers the feeling of Awe which causes more prosocial behavior. I find that coastal firms have significantly higher corporate social responsibility (CSR) scores than non-coastal firms. The difference-in-difference test shows that CSR engagement erodes when firms relocate away from coasts. These results are robust to the use of propensity score matching and entropy balancing to address selection bias, Oster's test to address omitted variable bias, and control for institutional ownership, social capital, religiosity, CEO and local political orientation, and natural disaster risk. Further analysis shows that CSR creates value only for coastal firms.
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