%0 Journal Article
%T The Stock Performance of American Companies Investing in a Culture of Health
%A Enid Chung Roemer
%A Jeffrey Berko
%A Karen B. Kent
%A Michael A. Head
%A Rachel Mosher Henke
%A Raymond Fabius
%A Ron Z. Goetzel
%J American Journal of Health Promotion
%@ 2168-6602
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/0890117118824818
%X We investigated the relationship between companies¡¯ efforts to build internal (COH-INT) and external cultures of health (COH-EXT) and their stock performance. We administered 2 surveys, which measure companies¡¯ programs, policies, and supports for improving the health of their employees and communities. We then compared the companies¡¯ stock performance to the Standard and Poor¡¯s (S&P) 500 Index from January 2013 through August 2017. United States. Representatives from 17 publicly traded companies who completed the COH-INT survey, of whom 14 also completed the COH-EXT. Culture of health scores were dichotomized into high versus low for both surveys. Stock price data for all companies were gathered from public sources. We constructed 5 stock portfolios: all 17 companies, high COH-INT, low COH-INT, high COH-EXT, and low COH-EXT companies. We examined total returns for each portfolio compared to the S&P 500. High COH-INT companies¡¯ stock price appreciated by 115% compared to the S&P benchmark (+69%), while low COH-INT companies appreciated only 43%. In contrast, high COH-EXT companies underperformed (+44%) when compared to the S&P 500 (+69%) and low COH-EXT companies (+89%). This study supports the view that employers¡¯ efforts to build an internal culture of health is a sound business strategy. More research is needed, however, to establish whether a link exists between supporting healthy community initiatives and company stock performance
%K workplace health promotion
%K workplace wellness
%K culture of health
%K corporate social responsibility
%K community health
%K business case
%K stock price performance
%K financial impact
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0890117118824818