Abstract: Could an enterprise which suffers negative records compensate for its bad behavior by fulfilling its social responsibility? Based on the existing researches on social responsibility motivation and impression management theory, this paper proposes the compensation mechanism of social responsibility, and suggests that social responsibility can effectively compensate for the negative impact of negative records on enterprises. Employing the panel data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2019, the hypothesis is tested. The results show that enterprises with negative records tend to better fulfill their social responsibilities, and this relationship is positively moderated by the firm age and negatively moderated by the proportion of state-owned shares in enterprises. Furthermore, this paper verifies that enterprises with negative records have significantly better performance by more positively fulfilling their social responsibility as a compensation means. The conclusion of this paper theoretically deepens the theory of social responsibility motivation. In practice, it provides theoretical reference for enterprises to devote themselves to their social responsibility.

Key words: negative record, social responsibility, enterprise performance, compensation mechanism