Does corporate social performance yiedl any tangible financial benefit during a crisis? An event study on Lehman Brothers' Bankruptcy

The aim of this article is to empirically test – through the event study methodology – whether Corporate Social Performance (CSP) had any impact on Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) in the context of the crisis due to Lehman Brothers ’ bankruptcy. Drawing on previous studies belonging to different streams of literature, this article proposes three mechanisms that may have linked CSP to CFP in the context of the crisis. Stock prices of the non-fi nancial companies included in the S & P 500 stock market index are examined before and during the bankruptcy announcement. Empirical fi ndings show that in the context of the crisis due to Lehman Brothers ’ bankruptcy, CSP was positively correlated with short-term CFP (Abnormal Returns), thus providing a buffer effect.