Economic policy uncertainty and corporate social responsibility disclosure similarity: Evidence from China

This study investigates how economic policy uncertainty affects within-firm corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure over time. Based on the institutional perspective, we propose that facing higher economic policy uncertainty, firms likely issue CSR reports that are similar to their own past reports (i.e. CSR time-series disclosure similarity), reflecting symbolic actions in corporate CSR disclosure. Further, this effect weakens for firms with state ownership but strengthens when those with financial constraints or experience net losses. Empirical results derived from a sample of Chinese listed firms from 2009 to 2021 offer strong support for our hypotheses. Overall, our study contributes to the literature on CSR disclosure and research on the consequences of economic policy uncertainty.