What type of controlling investors impact on which elements of corporate social responsibility?

Using a large sample of 3541 companies drawn from 30 countries over a period from 2002 to 2010, we analysed the impact of strategic shareholdings on different elements of corporate social responsibility (CSR). We find that total strategic or closely held equity holdings adversely affect the environmental, social and governance scores provided by ASSET4. However, this effect is largely driven by entrenched and undiversified holdings such as family and corporate cross-holdings, whereas diversified institutional investments typically have an insignificant impact. The influence of undiversified holdings includes particularly strong negative impacts on measures that include climate change, environmental management, business ethics and human rights. Thus the impact of ownership on CSR performance differs depending on both the type of owner and of CSR.