Value relevance and corporate responsibility reporting in the South African context: An alternate view post King-III

Abstract

This study tests for the value relevance of corporate responsibility reporting (CRR) based on a sample of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). It also provides evidence of the statistical significance of the potential contribution of CRR to share price values in the South African context at a particular point. On the basis of a sample of 82 companies on the JSE, hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the contribution of levels of corporate social responsibility disclosures to company share prices, over and above the contribution of the size of a firm’s equity and net income. In contrast with other findings which predict a positive relationship between company share price and levels of corporate social responsibility disclosures, the latter are found to have no significant association with company share price over and above the associations of the size of a firm’s equity and net income. Bivariate associations, however, indicate a significant association between share price and levels of corporate social responsibility disclosures. On the basis of these findings, it is argued that disclosures increase for firms with larger endowments of equity, yet corporate social responsibility disclosures do not necessarily add value to company share price.