Corporate governance, social responsibility information disclosure, and enterprise value in China

Social responsibility information disclosure relates to the long-term development of enterprises. All social layers pay increasing attention to social responsibility of enterprises, especially those in heavy pollution industries that are listed on stock exchanges. This study takes Chinese companies in heavy pollution industries that were listed during 2008-2014 as objects of study to test the relationships among corporate governance, social responsibility information disclosure, and enterprise value. The study finds that there is a declining level of social responsibility information disclosure of listed enterprises in heavy-pollution industries. In addition, different corporate governance factors affect the social responsibility information disclosure of listed companies in heavy-pollution industries to a certain extent. Furthermore, we find that social responsibility information disclosure is not beneficial for the short-term profit of an enterprise but can increase its long-term value. Generally, a high level of corporate governance is favorable for legitimacy management as well as disclosure of social responsibility information. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.