Open AccessDo Korean chaebols practice noblesse oblige? Evidence from their CSR activities
Author(s) -
Denis Yongmin Joe,
Jiyoung Lee,
Frederick Dongchuhl Oh
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
economics and business letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.197
H-Index - 4
ISSN - 2254-4380
DOI - 10.17811/ebl.10.1.2021.45-57
Subject(s) - corporate social responsibility , chaebol , business , accounting , corporate governance , neglect , economic justice , keiretsu , business administration , public relations , finance , political science , law , psychology , psychiatry
This study analyzes the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of the Korean chaebols to establish whether these firms engage in social duties and practice noblesse oblige. To measure the extent of the CSR activities, we use the index of the Korean Economic Justice Institute (KEJI) from 2005 to 2017. We find that the level of the CSR activity among chaebol firms with weak governance is low. Moreover, we show that chaebol firms with credit rating concerns reduce their CSR activities. Overall, our results indicate that Korean chaebols tend to neglect the CSR activities.