Disclosure of specific information in social responsibility reports and the cost of debt financing

Abstract

Purpose Based on the current problems of serious homogenization of social responsibility reports and poor quality of information disclosure, this study aims to explore whether specificity disclosure of social responsibility reports can effectively reduce the cost of debt financing. Design/methodology/approach This study examines the impact of specificity disclosure in social responsibility reports on the cost of corporate debt financing, using machine learning text analytics on a sample of social responsibility reports of China’s A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2021. Findings This study finds that the specificity of disclosure in corporate social responsibility reports can significantly reduce the cost of corporate debt financing, and the results remain robust across various robustness tests. The effect is more pronounced under conditions of higher corporate risk, such as excessive leverage or intense product market competition. Further analysis suggests that the effect is stronger when industry disclosure is homogeneous, firms’ disclosure environments are better and information dissemination is more intense. Originality/value This study provides empirical evidence for optimizing corporate disclosure strategies, improving regulatory frameworks and creditor risk assessment.