We explore the effect of board independence on CSR investments during a stressful time, i.e. during the Great Recession. Our results show that independent directors exhibit an unfavorable view of CSR investments during the crisis. Stronger board independence leads to a significant reduction in...

The study shows critical roles of firm-specific information on herd behavior, which is underexplored in prior literature, albeit an increasing impact of firm-specific information on asset pricing. The main finding demonstrates that three of four selected measures of firm-specific information...