Title: When Does Corporate Philanthropy Pay? An Information Perspective

Speaker: Vivian Fang，Sznewajs Family Chair in Finance，Indiana University

Host:Renhui Fu, Associate Professor,  Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Time: 9:00–12:00, Wednesday, May 22, 2026

Venue: Room A507, Antai Building, Xuhui Campus, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Brief introduction of the content: 

We examine corporate philanthropy as a signal of firm product quality under limited attention. Linking local charitable donations to sales, we find no average effect but a strong fourth-quarter (Q4) lift, especially for firms with Q4-seasonal product mixes. The Q4 effect is also larger when the signal is likely more valuable: in weaker local economies where product quality matters more for consumers’ purchase decisions; in more competitive markets where differentiation relies more on non-price signals; for firms with more geographically concentrated sales where attribution is clearer; and after negative product incidents when uncertainty about quality is higher. Overall, the results highlight an informational role of charitable donations, but only when consumers attend to and value such information.

Speaker's profile:

Vivian Fang is the Sznewajs Family Chair in Finance at the Kelley School of Business. Her research covers topics like managerial myopia, fraud, social media disclosure, and cryptocurrencies, with publications in leading business journals such as the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, and Journal of Accounting Research. Her work has been featured in various media outlets including Bloomberg, CNBC, Economist, Financial Times, Forbes, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. She has received several research awards, including a WFA Best Paper Award in 2015, the IRRC Institute Research Award in 2017, and the 2017 ICPM Research Award. In 2020, Financial Times listed one of her papers among the top 100 business school studies with social impact. She is a research member of the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) and serves on the editorial boards of Management Science, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and Contemporary Accounting Research.

Welcome all!