Although corporate social responsibility (CSR) has significant benefits for firms, firms also regularly make decisions about scaling back or discontinuing CSR initiatives. We conduct a series of experiments to examine whether investors react differently to stopping socially responsible...

In general, investors respond favorably to firms’ ongoing ESG initiatives. In three experiments, we examine whether their reactions differ across the lifecycle of ESG initiatives. In particular, we predict and find evidence of an “ESG stopping effect.” Even when investors react similarly...