Does Employee Quality Affect Corporate Social Responsibility? Evidence from China

• Main Authors: Shilu Sun, Tiantian Li, Hong Ma, Rita Yi Man Li, Kostas Gouliamos, Jianming Zheng, Yan Han, Otilia Manta, Ubaldo Comite, Teresa Barros, Nelson Duarte, Xiao-Guang Yue
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-03-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: employee quality; corporate social responsibility; property; proportion of independent directors; marketisation; sustainability
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/7/2692

This paper investigated the impact of employee quality on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Based on data from China A-share-listed companies for the years 2012–2016 and using ordinary least squares, our empirical results show that the educational level of the workforce, as a proxy for employee quality, is positively associated with CSR, which suggests that higher education can promote CSR implementation. Additional analyses found that this positive relationship is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises, enterprises in regions with lower marketisation processes, and firms with lower proportions of independent directors. This study extends the literature on human capital at the level of firms’ entire workforce and CSR by elaborating the positive effect of employee quality on CSR in the context of an emerging economy (China). The results suggest that it is necessary to consider the educational level of employees when analysing CSR, which is of strategic significance for corporate sustainable development.