本文以2002年至2012年，來自於全球35國的11,903筆公司資料為研究樣本，主要探討國家的經濟開發程度以及法律體系對公司實行企業社會責任與其權益資金成本之關連性是否有不同的影響。研究結果顯示企業社會責任表現越好的公司，其權益資金成本反而上升。但是，與開發中國家相比，在已開發國家中，由於企業社會責任競爭策略的概念發展成熟、制度完善且企業責任報告書揭露程度高，故企業社會責任表現佳的公司能有效降低其權益資金成本上升的幅度。另外，就不同的法律體系而言，研究結果發現與大陸法體系相比，在英美法體系之下，由於對投資者保護、訊息揭露品質或法律與制度環境佳，使企業社會責任表現好的公司亦享有較低之權益資金成本。總體而言，經理人或投資人對企業社會責任政策的認知與觀感，會隨著不同國家之經濟、文化、政治、法律環境等而有所差異，本文實證發現國家的經濟發展程度與法律體系皆是影響企業社會責任價值的重要因素。

In this paper, we examine the effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the cost of equity capital under different stages of economic development and legal systems. Using a global sample of 11,903 firm-year observations covering 35 countries from 2002 to 2012, the results show a positive relationship between CSR and the cost of equity capital. However, we find that, firms with better CSR performance in developed countries enjoy a greater reduction in their cost of equity capital compared to those in developing countries. Moreover, in terms of legal systems, which could limit the effectiveness of disclosure, we find significant evidence that firms that operate in countries with systems based on common law have a lower cost of equity capital than those with systems based on civil law. Overall, our results suggest that, since strategic CSR is perceived differently by managers across countries and cultures, the economic, legal and regulatory environments have significant influences on the effect that CSR policies have on the cost of equity capital.

Amaladoss, M. X., and H. L. Manohar, 2013, Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility - A Case of CSR Communication in Emerging Economies, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 20, 65-80.
Ashbaugh-Skaife, H., D. W. Collins, and W. R. Kinney, 2007, The discovery and reporting of internal control deficiencies prior to SOX-mandated audits, Journal of Accounting and Economics 44, 166-192.
Baskin, J., 2006, Corporate Responsibility in Emerging Markets, Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 29-47.
Bassen, A., K. Meyer, and J. Schlange, 2006, The Influence of Corporate Responsibility on the Cost of Capital, Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=984406.
Baughn, C. C., N. L. D. Bodie, and J. C. McIntosh, 2007, Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility in Asian Countries and Other Geographical Regions, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 14, 189–205.
Becchetti, L., R. Ciciretti, and P. Conzo, 2013, The Legal Origins of Corporate Social Responsibility, CEIS Working Paper No. 291. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2336179 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2336179 11.
Bowen, R. M., X. Chen, and Q. Cheng, 2008, Analyst Coverage and the Cost of Raising Equity Capital: Evidence from Underpricing of Seasoned Equity Offerings, Contemporary Accounting Research 25, 657-700.
Brammer, S., C. Brooks, and S. Pavelin, 2006, Corporate social performance and stock returns: UK evidence from disaggregate measures, Financial Management 35, 97-116.
Chapple, W., 2005, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Asia: A Seven-Country Study of CSR Web Site Reporting, Business & Society 44, 415-441.
Chava, S., 2010, Socially Responsible Investing and Expected Stock Returns, Working Paper, Georgia Institute of Technology.
Chen, K. C. W., K. C. J. Wei, and Z. Chen, Disclosure, Corporate Governance, and the Cost of Equity Capital: Evidence from Asia's Emerging Markets,
Claus, J., and J. Thomas, 2001, Equity Premia as Low as Three Percent? Evidence from Analysts' Earnings Forecasts for Domestic and International Stock Markets, The Journal of Finance 56, 1629-1666.
Crisóstomo, V. L., F. d. S. Freire, and F. C. d. Vasconcellos, 2011, Corporate Social Responsibility, Firm Value and Financial Performance in Brazil, Social Responsibility Journal 7, 295-309.
Dhaliwal, D. S., O. Z. Li, A. Tsang, and Y. G. Yang, 2011, Voluntary Nonfinancial Disclosure and the Cost of Equity Capital: The Initiation of Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting, Accounting Review 86, 59-100.
Dobers, P., and M. Halme, 2009, Corporate social responsibility and developing countries, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 16, 237-249.
Easton, P. D., 2004, PE Ratios, PEG Ratios, and Estimating the Implied Expected Rate of Return on Equity Capital, The Accounting Review 79, 73-95.
El Ghoul, S., O. Guedhami, C. C. Y. Kwok, and D. R. Mishra, 2011, Does corporate social responsibility affect the cost of capital?, Journal of Banking & Finance 35, 2388-2406.
Fama, E. F., and K. R. French, 1992, The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns, THE JOURNAL OF FINANCE 47, 427-466.
Francis, J. R., I. K. Khurana, and R. Pereira, 2005, Disclosure Incentives and Effects on Cost of Capital around the World, The Accounting Review 80, 1125-1162.
Galema, R., A. Plantinga, and B. Scholtens, 2008, The stocks at stake: Return and risk in socially responsible investment, Journal of Banking & Finance 32, 2646-2654.
Gao, Y., 2011, CSR in an emerging country: a content analysis of CSR reports of listed companies, Baltic Journal of Management 6, 263-291.
Gjolberg, M., 2009, Measuring the immeasurable? Constructing an index of CSR practices and CSR performance in 20 countries, Scandinavian Journal of Management 25, 10-22.
Gode, D., and P. Mohanram, 2003, Inferring the Cost of Capital Using the Ohlson-Juettner Model, Review of Accounting Studies 8, 399-431.
Gordon, J. R., and M. J. Gordon, 1997, The finite horizon expected return model, Financial Analysts Journal 53, 52-61.
Grigore, G. F., and J. K. Obeng-Nyarko, Corporate Social Responsibility in Developing Countries: the Case of most Successful Companies in Romania and Ghana,
Hail, L., and C. Leuz, 2006, International Differences in the Cost of Equity Capital: Do Legal Institutions and Securities Regulation Matter?, Journal of Accounting Research 44, 485-531.
Heinkel, R., A. Kraus, and J. Zechner, 2001, The Effect of Green Investment on Corporate Behavior, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 36, 431-449.
Husted, B. W., 2005, Culture and ecology: A cross-national study of the determinants of environmental sustainability, MIR: Management International Review, 349-371.
Ioannou, I., and G. Serafeim, 2010, The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Investment Recommendations, Working paper (London Business School and Harvard Business School.
Jamali, D., 2007, The Case for Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility in Developing Countries, Business and Society Review 112, 1-27.
Karem Kolkailah, S., E. Abou Aish, and N. El-Bassiouny, 2012, The impact of corporate social responsibility initiatives on consumers' behavioural intentions in the Egyptian market, International Journal of Consumer Studies 36, 369-384.
KPMG, The KPMG Survey of Corporate Responsibility Reporting 2013: Executive Summary,
La Porta, R., F. Lopez-de-Silanes, A. Shleifer, and R. W. Vishny, 1998, Law and finance, Journal of Political Economy 106, 1113-1155.
La Porta, R., F. Lopez-de-Silanes, A. Shleifer, and R. W., 1997, Legal Determinants of External Finance, THE JOURNAL OF FINANCE 52, 1131-1150.
Lin, C.-H., H.-L. Yang, and D.-Y. Liou, 2009, The impact of corporate social responsibility on financial performance: Evidence from business in Taiwan, Technology in Society 31, 56-63.
McWilliams, A., and D. Siegel, 2000, Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: Correlation or misspecification?, Strategic Management Journal 21, 603-609.
McWilliams, A., D. S. Siegel, and P. M. Wright, 2006, Corporate social responsibility: Strategic implications, Journal of Management Studies 43, 1-18.
Merton, R. C., 1987, A Simple Model of Capital Market Equilibrium with Incomplete Information, THE JOURNAL OF FINANCE 42.
Ogneva, M., K. R. Subramanyam, and K. Raghunandan, 2007, Internal control weakness and cost of equity evidence from SOX section 404 disclosures, The Accounting Review 82, 1255-1297.
Ohlson, J. A., and B. E. Juettner-Nauroth, 2005a, Expected EPS and EPS Growth as Determinants of Value, Review of Accounting Studies 10, 349-365.
———, 2005b, Expected EPS and EPS Growth as Determinantsof Value, Review of Accounting Studies 10, 349-365.
Orlitzky, M., F. L. Schmidt, and S. L. Rynes, 2003, Corporate Social and Financial Performance: A Meta-analysis, Organization Studies 24, 403-441.
Pedersen, E. R., and M. Andersen, 2006, Safeguarding corporate social responsibility (CSR) in global supply chains: how codes of conduct are managed in buyer-supplier relationships, Journal of Public Affairs 6, 228-240.
Porter, M. E., and M. R. Kramer, 2006, Strategy and society: The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility, HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW 84, 78-92.
Reverte, C., 2012, The Impact of Better Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure on the Cost of Equity Capital, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 19, 253-272.
Richardson, A. J., and M. Welker, 2001, Social disclosure, financial disclosure and the cost of equity capital, Accounting Organizations and Society 26, 597-616.
Schadewitz, H., and M. Niskala, 2010, Communication via responsibility reporting and its effect on firm value in Finland, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, n/a-n/a.
Sharfman, M. P., and C. S. Fernando, 2008, Environmental risk management and the cost of capital, Strategic Management Journal 29, 569-592.
Tanimoto, K., and K. Suzuki, 2005, CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN JAPAN: ANALYZING THE PARTICIPATING COMPANIES IN GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE, EIJS Working Papers Series.
Visser, W., 2008, CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, Oxford University Press: Oxford, 473-479.
Wanderley, L. S. O., R. Lucian, F. Farache, and J. M. Sousa Filho, 2008, CSR Information Disclosure on the Web: A Context-Based Approach Analysing the Influence of Country of Origin and Industry Sector, Journal of Business Ethics 82, 369-378.
Welford, R., 2005, Corporate social responsibility in Europe, North America and Asia, Journal of Corporate Citizenship 17, 33-52.
Whitley, R., 1999, Divergent Capitalisms: The Social Structuring and Change of Business Systems: The Social Structuring and Change of Business Systems (Oxford University Press.
Williams, G., 2007, Some Determinants of the Socially Responsible Investment Decision: A Cross-Country Study, Journal of Behavioral Finance 8, 43-57.
Witt, M. A., and G. Redding, 2012, The spirits of Corporate Social Responsibility: senior executive perceptions of the role of the firm in society in Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and the USA, Socio-Economic Review 10, 109-134.
Zhu, F., 2009, Cost of Capital and Corporate Governance International Evidence.