기업의 사회적 책임활동과 재무분석가 이익예측치 정확성과의 관계

This paper aims to examine how Corporate Social Responsibilities (hereafter ‘CSR’) affect the analysts' forecast accuracy. A coherent definition of CSR may be hardly found in prior studies. Generally, CSR is defined as firms' contribution to the public goods like ethical obligations while incorporating the stakeholders' perspectives (Clarkson 1995; Paine 2002; Dahlsrud 2006). So we can expect that firms with higher CSR performance (hereafter ‘High-CSR firms’) are more responsible, moral and ethical than firms with lower degree of CSR performance (hereafter ‘Low-CSR firms’). Moreover, high-CSR firms are more prone to disclose neutral-based earnings, which reflect firms' fundamental status and various interests. Consequently, we can surmise that earnings of High-CSR firms are more predictable than Low-CSR firms. In terms of analysts' forecast properties, Duru and Reeb (2002) suggest that the analysts' forecasts are more accurate as earnings predictability increases. Therefore we can anticipate that firms' level of CSR performance might associate with analysts' forecast accuracy. In this paper, firms' performance of CSR is measured by KEJI (Korea Economic Justice Institute) index which is similar with the U.S. CEP (Council Economic Priorities) index. In Korea, since 1991, Korea Economic Justice Institute, which is an independent organization, has annually evaluated social contributions or activities particularly in firms listed in the KOSPI (Korea Composite Stock Price Index) market. To grade firm's CSR activities, there are seven criteria, including soundness, fairness, community service, satisfaction of customer protection, satisfaction of environment protection, satisfaction of employee protection and contribution of economic development. After evaluating firms based on those criteria, Korea Economic Justice Institute (KEJI) announces top 200 firms in the KOSPI market. Specifically we measure the firms' CSR performance based on ①KEJI scores if firms' KEJI index are announced, or ②whether a firm discloses KEJI scores or not. With 144,536 analysts' forecasts in Fn-Guide database from 2004 to 2010, we found that ①as KEJI scores increases, analysts' forecasts are more accurate, ②analysts' forecasts to firms which are announced KEJI index in KOSPI market are more accurate than anaalysts' forecasts to firms which did not announce KEJI index. Also, analysts' forecasts for firms which have announced their KEJI index for two-to-three consecutive years are more accurate than other firms. Based on these results, we suggest that firms' CSR activities have association with accuracy of analysts' earnings forecasts. This study contributes to the literature by providing the relation between CSR and analysts' forecast accuracy.