The influence of ownership and control on corporate social responsibility in East Asia

Chen, S-Y, Adegbite, E, Muthuri, J and Nguyen, T ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7170-5882, 2025. The influence of ownership and control on corporate social responsibility in East Asia. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 33 (5), pp. 1086-1106. ISSN 0964-8410

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Abstract

Research Question/Issue: Underpinned by an eclectic theoretical framework of agency theory and stakeholder theory, this study examines whether control by family, institutional investors, or governments affect a firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) in East Asian firms.

Research Findings/Insights: By examining 1,236 firms in nine East Asian countries from 2010 to 2019, our findings show that family-controlled firms reduce their CSR engagement since family controller strengthens the agency problem. Additionally, agency conflicts between controlling shareholders and managers may be shifted onto the controller and other stakeholders. However, if institutional investors or the government have control power, they have a positive impact on firms’ CSR since they act in the interests of stakeholders.

Theoretical/Academic Implications: This paper addresses a lacuna in the corporate governance and CSR literature by exploring the influence of ultimate control type in East Asia, a fast-developing but under-researched context. We contribute to the understanding of agency conflicts among institutional shareholders, government, family controllers, and stakeholders within East Asian firms, particularly highlighting how controllers’ behaviour influences CSR outcomes. We extend the discussions on the complementarity of agency and stakeholder theories to explain why different types of ultimate controllers affect CSR.

Practitioner/Policy Implications: This paper provides recommendations for embedding CSR through corporate governance, particularly in East Asia. First, for family-controlled firms, agency problems and shareholder primacy may become obstacles to achieving CSR. Corporate governance supervision policy should pay attention to when firms are controlled by a family. Second, external investors seeking a socially responsible firm may consider whether firms have higher institutional ownership or government control.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Corporate Governance: An International Review
Creators:	Chen, S.-Y., Adegbite, E., Muthuri, J. and Nguyen, T.
Publisher:	Wiley
Date:	September 2025
Volume:	33
Number:	5
ISSN:	0964-8410
Identifiers:	Number Type 2331465 Other 10.1111/corg.12639 DOI
Rights:	This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Chen, S-Y, Adegbite, E, Muthuri, J and Nguyen, T, 2025. The influence of ownership and control on corporate social responsibility in East Asia. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 33 (5), pp. 1086-1106, which has been published in final form at [https://doi.org/10.1111/corg.12639. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by:	Laura Borcherds
Date Added:	06 Jan 2025 10:48
Last Modified:	28 Jan 2026 09:22
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/52766

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