Valuing Stakeholder Governance: Property Rights, Stakeholder Mobilization, and the Value of Community Benefits Agreements

Abstract

While research has shown that good stakeholder relations increase the value of a firm, less is known about how specific types of stakeholder governance affect firm value. We examine the value of one such governance mechanism — community benefits agreements (CBAs) signed by firms and local communities — intended to minimize social conflict that disrupts access to valuable resources. We argue that shareholders evaluate more positively CBAs with local communities with strong property rights and histories of institutional action and extra-institutional mobilization because these communities are more likely to cause costly disruptions and delays for a firm. We evaluate these arguments by analyzing the cumulative abnormal returns associated with the unexpected announcement of 148 CBAs signed between mining companies and local indigenous communities in Canada.

Keywords: stakeholder governance, property rights, social movements, community benefits agreements