Evaluation of the impact of ownership structure on Environmental and Social performance : Evidence from Swedish companies

Abstract: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is widely discussed in the business community in terms of its effectiveness. However, studies of factors that can affect CSR are not so many. The purpose of this study is to evaluate of the impact of ownership structure on Environmental and Social performance. This study was conducted on the example of 174 cases among Swedish companies, listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, Environmental and Social performance, which was represented by the largest information provider Thomson Reuters. Using the experience of previous studies, a model of relationship between ownership structure and Environmental and Social performance was founded and a multiple regression analysis was performed. The most significant result of the study, confirmed by previous empirical studies and theoretical literature, is the existence of a relationship between capital structure and CSR performance. Foreign investors, who came to the Swedish market, have a stable positive connection with performance. This form of ownership, like majority control, did not find sufficient evidence to the impact on Environmental and Social performance in this study. The Minority control and Joint Minority and Management control showed no influence on performance in Swedish companies.