Purpose

This study aims to examine whether social capital contributes to service firms' resilience during crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

This study measures social capital via environmental and social (ES) ratings and firm performance via buy-and-hold-abnormal returns derived from Refinitiv ESG and CRSP databases. Using a sample of 404 US service firms, this study runs cross-sectional regressions to estimate the effect of social capital on service firms' crisis returns.

Findings

This study finds that high-social capital service firms outperformed in the first quarter of 2020. The crisis response is heterogeneous among service sub-sectors and diverges (i.e. calming or deepening) over time depending on social capital. Service sub-sector analysis notably posits that social capital impact is positively related to returns of Health- and Business Services and firms with utilitarian nature. The study also indicates that ES commitments targeting internal stakeholders contribute more to resilience. Overall, social capital might be a relevant value driver, generate real impact and provide insurance-like protection for service firms during turmoil.

Originality/value

The service industry is one of the most severely hit industries during COVID-19. However, there is limited knowledge about whether and when social capital creates value in the service industry during crises. This study makes two main contributions: first, it extends to the continuous efforts toward the role of social capital in firm performance, and second, it provides important insights related to the resilience search for service firms.

中文翻译：

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服务企业的复原力：社会资本对动荡期间企业绩效的影响

目的

本研究旨在探讨社会资本是否有助于服务公司在危机期间的抵御能力。

设计/方法论/途径

本研究通过环境和社会 (ES) 评级来衡量社会资本，并通过从 Refinitiv ESG 和 CRSP 数据库得出的买入并持有异常回报来衡量公司绩效。本研究以 404 家美国服务公司为样本，进行横断面回归来估计社会资本对服务公司危机回报的影响。

发现

本研究发现，高社会资本的服务公司在 2020 年第一季度表现优于大盘。服务业子行业之间的危机应对措施存在差异，并且随着时间的推移，危机应对措施也会出现差异（即平静或加深），具体取决于社会资本。服务分部门分析特别指出，社会资本影响与健康和商业服务以及具有功利性质的公司的回报呈正相关。该研究还表明，针对内部利益相关者的 ES 承诺更有利于增强韧性。总体而言，社会资本可能是相关的价值驱动因素，可以产生真正的影响，并在动荡期间为服务公司提供类似保险的保护。

原创性/价值

服务业是 COVID-19 期间受打击最严重的行业之一。然而，对于社会资本在危机期间是否以及何时为服务业创造价值的了解有限。这项研究有两个主要贡献：首先，它延伸到了社会资本在企业绩效中的作用的持续努力，其次，它提供了与服务企业弹性探索相关的重要见解。