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The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance (CFP), as the findings on the relationship have been inconsistent and have led to calls to further examine this relationship. However, instead of investigating the connection between CSR and CFP, academics have stated that a contingency viewpoint must be used for uncovering the context and conditions which catalyse the relationship between both constructs.

This study acquired the CSR data from 100 companies listed in Fortune’s most admired US companies between 2007 and 2016. These data were used to investigate the CSR–CFP link with the help of the dynamic panel data system, which is the generalised method of moments (GMM) estimator.

The results indicate that CSR and CFP have a neutral relationship which characterises the effect between CFP and CSR. However, this study found that financial slack positively affected the CSR–CFP relationship, implying that companies will only benefit from CSR activities if they have excess financial resources.

This study offers a very distinctive perspective regarding the CSR–CFP link according to the financial slack perspective.

This is the first study to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on corporate financial performance (CFP) in Mongolian banks. We hand-collect data to construct CSR disclosure index from 65 annual reports of 12 banks in Mongolia from 2003 to 2012. The results indicate that banks with larger size or Chief Executive Officer duality exhibit higher CSR performance. Moreover, banks with higher CSR performance tend to have higher net interest margin and lower non-performing loan. Furthermore, the CSR–CFP relationship varies before and after the financial crisis. The findings provide meaningful insight to the foreign investors regarding the effect of CSR on the profitability and credit risk in Mongolian banking sector.

The purpose of this literature review is to reorient empirical research on the causal links between corporate ecological sustainability (CES) and corporate financial performance (CFP). Toward this end, we summarize the findings of four meta-analyses (conducted between 2012 and 2016), which indicate that there is, on average, a small positive association between CES and CFP. In addition, these empirical associations seem to be contingent on the firm’s strategic approach with regard to ecological sustainability (e.g., proactive vs reactive approach) and on the operationalization of both constructs. We conclude that future research may benefit from an even more explicit, analytic shift to the circumstances under which it pays for firms to go green. The main research limitations we point out are model misspecifications, endogeneity, and problems in the measurement of both CES and CFP.

Research in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has grown exponentially in the last few decades. Nevertheless, significant debate remains about the relationship between CSR performance and corporate financial performance (CFP). This is particularly true for the case of Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The purpose of the current study is to empirically test the relationship between CSR and CFP. We use data for 66 Chinese SOEs listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. The results are interesting in that they are not consistent with similar studies using US and other Western market data. We find a significant negative relationship between CSR performance and CFP. The results are discussed in light of the preferential government treatment afforded to Chinese SOEs, and social welfare requirements imposed on such entities. Implications for Chinese policy-makers are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to attempt to empirically examine the impact of disaggregate, eco-efficiency-based measures of corporate environmental performance (CEP) on corporate financial performance (CFP) of Indian companies. Further, recent theories contending a bidirectional causality between them is also explored.

Secondary data of 224 Indian S&P 500 companies from 2002 to 2011 are used to run panel data regression models for examining the impact of CEP measures on accounting-based CFP measures.

The empirical results are statistically significant and provide evidence for a positive association of eco-efficiency-based CEP metrics on CFP metrics, thereby supporting Porter's win–win hypothesis. Further, the results evidence a positive bi-directional causality between CEP and CFP for one period time lag signalling possibility of mutual reinforcement in CEP–CFP relationship.

The study has used data for the period 2002–2011 and eco-efficiency metrics – energy, water and material efficiencies due to availability.

The results have implications to both corporate managers as well as policymakers across all industries for emphasizing on eco-efficiency-based (proactive) environmental sustainability initiatives to enhance both financial and environmental bottom lines.

The study contributes to scarce empirical literature analysing the impact of CEP on financial performance. To the best of authors's knowledge, event studies, portfolio studies and perceptual data-based empirical studies exist in India. This study is unique in that it examines long run effect of eco-efficiency-based CEP metrics which is pertinent in a rapidly growing emerging market – India, where, eco-efficiency is considered quintessential for sustainable development.

This paper aims to examine the effects of political connections (PCs) on corporate financial performance (CFP) in an emerging economy. It also investigates the moderating influence of the directors’ financial expertise (DFE) on the relationship between politically connected firms and their financial performance.

The study sample includes 304 firm-year observations from non-financial Tunisian listed firms covered over 2012–2019. Financial data are from various sources: financial statements, annual reports, official bulletins of the Tunisian Stock Exchange (TSE) and the Financial Market Council. PCs and DFE data are manually collected from the TSE and companies’ websites. Multivariate regression analyses are used to test the research hypotheses.

The results show that PCs negatively affect CFP and the DFE is a moderator variable that exacerbates this negative relationship. These results could be explained on the one hand by the fact that politicians often lack management, professionalism and know-how. On the other hand, political members on boards focus mainly on their political agendas and prioritize their interests rather than firm performance. Furthermore, board directors are more inclined towards the grabbing-hand approach to create personal linkages with these politicians and take personal benefits rather than protect the interests of minority shareholders and effectively use firm resources.

The most important limitation of the study is the small number of non-financial TSE-listed firms. Indeed, the small sample size prevents us from considering industry specificities and working in a homogeneous environment.

This study recommends that external investors pay particular attention to politically connected firms as PCs tend to weaken corporate governance. Also, it helps policymakers better assess the need to harmonize and develop corporate governance standards and practices that account for the specific conditions in Tunisia to mitigate the lobbying of political parties and supervise their abuse of power. Furthermore, the negative relationship between PCs and CFP in a poorly regulated and governed country could be used by financial institutions in their credit scoring.

The findings suggest that the nexus between politics and business draws attention to corruption post-revolution.

The originality and the relevance of this study consist in studying the moderating effect of the DFE on the association between PCs and CFP. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study pioneers assessing the role of the DFE as a moderating variable. It also supplements prior literature by examining the combined factors, such as PCs and DFE, on CFP in an emerging market.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance (CFP) of Malaysian public listed companies (PLCs) as an emerging market setting.

A longitudinal data analysis with a large‐sample testing was carried out from 200 Malaysian PLCs by using panel data analysis during a seven‐years period. The statistical power with fixed effect and random effect model was utilized.

Results of earlier estimations indicate that there are positive and significant related of the CSR on CFP. Two of the CSR dimensions, namely employee relations and community involvement, were found to be positively related to financial performance. This proves that CSR practices can be considered as effort to enhance the financial performance of PLCs in Malaysia. The results also reveal that there is limited evidence of the relationship between CSR and CFP in the longterm.

These findings suggest that Malaysian PLCs should be involved consistently in their CSR practices because CSR has a significant impact on improving financial performance in Malaysian PLCs.

The majority of studies on CSR in Malaysia pertain to the analysis of such reporting and motivations of managers toward CSR practices. This study conducts a comprehensive empirical research on the relationship between CSR and CFP in Malaysian PLCs.

With an attempt to give a deeper explanation regarding the manifestation of socially and environmentally responsible cultures among Indonesian natural resources industry, this paper aims to highlight the empirical confirmation on the correlation of corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate financial performance (CFP) and risk. Likewise, corporate risk’s role as a mediating variable in the indirect effect of CSR on CFP is also examined.

Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini’s (KLD) measurement approach is used as a basis to assess social responsibility activities as it gives more social rating transparency. CFP captures both accounting- and market-based measurements, whereas volatility of stock return is adopted as a proxy of firm risk. Partial least squares analysis is conducted on 40 Indonesian listed firms in natural resources sector, with observation years from 2008 to 2016.

It is revealed that CSR positively affects CFP, although the correlation is stronger in the long run. Significant negative influence to risk is also discovered. However, risk has a significant adverse correlation with CFP when two years’ lagged value is used. Hence, CSR affects CFP through risk in the long-term, both directly and indirectly.

The empirical result suggests that CSR serves as a tool in managing the risk of enterprises and performance, especially in the long-term. Accordingly, firms should incorporate CSR as a strategic investment and manage a strong relationship with stakeholders.

This report expands further prior works and contributes to CSR and financial management literature by discovering the true nature of CSR effects as an investment in the future. This is the first study which tests and proves that CSR in Indonesian natural resources industry plays a significant role as a strategic risk management instrument that leads to a sustainable and long-lasting financial performance.

This study aims at investigating the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) on corporate financial performance (CFP) in firms headquartered in developed versus emerging countries. Drawing upon stakeholder and legitimacy perspectives, the authors argue that the CSR/CSI–CFP relationship differs depending on the home-countries’ level of economic development as this reflects their different sensitivity to sustainability. Indeed, as emerging economies are normally characterized by weaker regulations, they are likely to place lower pressures on companies for superior CSR practices. Therefore, the authors expect the effect of CSR on CFP to be more positive for firms headquartered in advanced than in emerging countries. At the same time, the authors propose a more negative relationship between CSI and CFP for firms headquartered in developed countries due to the higher overall sustainability expectations required to gain legitimacy. The empirical analyses, run on a sample of 1,971 publicly listed firms between 2010 and 2020 from developed and emerging economies, support the expectations, thus confirming that country-specific contextual factors do play a role in shaping both the positive and the negative impact of CSR and CSI on CFP, and that the reactions of stakeholders to responsible and irresponsible behavior are stronger when their sensitivity to sustainability is higher.

This paper aims to reconcile the conflicting understanding on the nexus between corporate governance (CG), corporate financial performance (CFP) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) by investigating how companies engage with CSR practices.

The study carries out a multivariate linear regression analysis on a sample of 361 listed companies from five countries in Europe: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

CG mechanisms and CFP have an impact on CSR because they affect social and environmental practices strongly and significantly. Furthermore, the findings describe the capacity of CSR to influence both the CG structure and the CFP.

The present research limits the analysis on the social and environmental performance of companies that communicate their commitment to stakeholders without distinguishing between “greenwashing” companies that implement CSR to improve corporate reputation and those companies that pursue effective societal benefits, taking care of stakeholder relationships.

The CSR approach can drive the CG structure and improve CFP if managers perceive the implementation of sustainable practices as an integrated process rather than a mere outcome.

This paper seeks to disentangle the nexus between CG, CFP and CSR, not yet precisely defined by scholars in the context of five countries in Europe.