기업의 사회적 책임활동(CSR)과 재무분석가 이익예측특성 = The Relation between Corporate Social Responsibility and Analysts` Forecast Properties

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper aims to examine the relation between corporate social responsibility (hereafter ``CSR``) and analysts`` forecast properties. In the prior studies, there are many points of view toward firm``s CSR activities. One of the research stream focuses on the linkage between firm``s level of CSR activities and firm values. Specifically, this issue has been dealt with under two perspectives: the one is ethical point of view that firm``s CSR activities increase firm values, the other is agency point of view that firm``s CSR activities affect on firm values negatively (Jensen 2001; Moser and Martin 2012, etc). Based on these conflicting aspects of firm``s CSR activities, this study tries to provide additional evidence on CSR attributes through analysts`` forecast properties. Firstly, this paper tries to verify the impact of CSR activities on firms`` information environments by examining the relation between level of firms`` CSR activities and analysts`` forecast dispersion. Secondly, this paper provides evidence whether firms`` CSR activity is one of the determinants of analyst following or not through verifying the impact of firm``s level of CSR activities on the number of analysts`` forecast reports. In this paper, firms`` performance of CSR is measured by KEJI (Korea Economic Justice Institute) index and firms`` level of CSR activities are evaluated by ①whether a firm discloses KEJI scores or not, ②KEJI scores if firms`` KEJI index are announced. With 1,490 analysts`` forecasts from 2005 to 2010 in Fn-Guide database, the results are as following: ①analysts`` forecast dispersion is negatively related with the level of firms`` CSR activities, ②number of analysts`` forecast reports are positively related with the level of firms`` CSR activities. Based on these empirical results, this paper suggests that CSR activities decrease firms`` information asymmetries which supports ethical point of view and if the firms are in favorable information environments then the analysts`` reports are more prone to be issued by analysts. These findings contribute to the literature by providing additional empirical results on CSR attributes and proposing additional determinant of analyst following.