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Corporate social responsibility (CSR) aims at upholding socio-economic condition of deprived communities prevailing in society as well as bringing profitability for corporate companies themselves. This study investigates to what extent the CSR initiatives of financial institutions in Bangladesh have been able to reach out to deprived communities and support various dimensions of financial inclusion (FI) in the country.

In this study, both supply-side and demand-side data are included and discussed rigorously as tools to cross-check the result. Both qualitative and quantitative data are incorporated, and graphs and tables are used to represent the critical information better. A triangulation of in-depth interviews with secondary data is used to ensure rigor and trustworthiness. The triangulation approach works as a method to verify secondary data by interviewees in this study.

The result shows a positive geographical and demographical penetration of CSR activities, but it does not necessarily bring FI in all cases. This study identifies some key issues that prevail in the current context of Bangladesh, such as usage, distance, quality and cost of financial products.

This study makes use of both supply-side and demand-side information and thus explain the reasons behind the involuntary exclusion of financial services.

The research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm performance (FP) has seen a surge over the years. However, the role of corporate reputation (CR), advertising strategy and market competition is still unclear. The purpose of this study is to consider this gap and test an integrative model of CSR-FP, in the context of India.

The data for CSR expenditure were collected from the annual reports of the selected companies. CR was captured using the ranks of Fortune India 500, Business Standard 1,000 and Economic Times 500. The financial data were collected from CMIE (Prowess) database.

Results of structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed a significant relationship between CSR expenditure of the firm and its reputation; but no relationship between CR and performance. When CR increases, the performance of a firm may not improve. Competitive intensity (CI) had no statistically significant role in the CR-FP relationship for performance. Results suggest that reputed firms perform well despite high competition within an industry. High reputation is effective in improving performance irrespective of competition. CI has a positive impact in the reputation–performance linkage. Advertising intensity (AI) played a significant moderating role in the CSR intensity and CR relationship.

This research represents an added value for the literature on CSR by highlighting the importance of CR, advertising strategy and market competition in the relationship between CSR and FP. The findings have several implications for theory and practice, which have been discussed in the study.

The study attempts to examine the impact of mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending and inclusion of firms into the environment, social and governance (ESG) index of BSE India on the performance of firms constituting firms under the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 100 Index.

The stock prices of the firms were collected from the official website of BSE India for a total of 32 firms and the System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model was utilized for analyzing the data for the present study.

The study found that the investors in the Indian market do consider the CSR spending and ESG listing as a factor while framing the investment strategy; however, ESG listing is least preferred. Among the other variables, AGE, DPS, EPS and BVPS have a significant positive bearing on the firm's performance, while SIZE has a significant negative impact on the firm's performance.

Further investigation is needed to understand the factors that influence investment decision-making, including why investors tend to overlook CSR and environmental protection. Future research can identify ways to increase the importance of these factors in investment decision-making. Future research can explore the long-term impact of investing in socially responsible companies, including whether such investments lead to better long-term performance.

There is a need for increased awareness of the importance of CSR among investors. Educational programs and campaigns can be used to inform investors about the potential benefits of considering social responsibility factors in investment decision-making. Companies that prioritize CSR and environmental protection should distinguish themselves from competitors in the eyes of investors. This can lead to higher investment and potentially higher returns for these companies.

Since mandatory CSR expenditure and the launch of the ESG index by the BSE have been introduced in India recently, hardly any study in India has examined the impact of the same on the firm's performance.

This paper aims to examine the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on financial performance (FP) of Indian steel industry in terms of value-added (VAM), profitability (PM), market (MM) and growth measures (GM).

It is an empirical study using secondary data of 40 companies for 14 years collected from CSR/annual reports/official websites of the companies and Prowess database. The panel regression analysis, MANOVA and univariate ANOVA have been conducted to examine the impact of CSR on FP.

The result indicates a positive impact of CSR on FP in terms of VAM, PM and GM, thereby indicating that more investments in CSR will generate wealth for shareholders, enhance profitability and sales. Moreover, this study shows no noticeable relationship between CSR and MM.

This study contributes to the literature on the CSR–FP relationship and also has implications for managers, investors and other stakeholders. Companies with higher CSR rating create a brand image, attract proficient employees, get greater profit, loyal customers and have less possibility of bribery and corruption. This study may result in being influential to companies confined not only to this sector but also reaching to the others, thus inspiring them to contribute their share of profit for the welfare of society.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, it is the first comprehensive study to examine the impact of CSR on FP of Indian steel industry by considering four dimensions for measuring FP. It provides evidence about the relationship between CSR and FP.

With the increasing awareness of sustainability and its importance around the world, corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Africa also requires attention. Based on the stakeholder theory, this study aims to determine the relationship between CSR information received by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and CSR's diffusion and the mediating role of environmental awareness in Angola as a country representative of the African context.

The empirical study analyzes managers' perceptions of 131 SMEs in Angola. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is the method to assess the relationship between CSR information and its diffusion and the mediating role of environmental awareness SMEs in Angola.

The authors found strong evidence that CSR diffusion, and disclosure as one of CSR's related actions, heavily depends on the information received and managed by the firm. The authors also confirmed that environmental awareness puts pressure on SMEs to increase the SMEs' diffusion efforts.

The study points out the role of managers in promoting a responsible orientation of businesses in Angola for preserving the environment and improving the competitive success of SMEs.

The social, economic and legal contexts of Angola are vulnerable. The findings raise concerns about whether governments and regulatory efforts improve the development of the strategies toward social responsibility of African firms and whether these firms also increase the role of SMEs in producing positive outcomes through CSR.

The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the features of the strategic orientation of SMEs in Angola, necessary to enhance CSR and protect the environment. The conclusions highlight the potential role of managers in promoting a culture of ethics, social innovation and successful competition change in businesses.

Focusing on the Agri-Food and Beverage sector, the paper investigates the direct effect of worldwide mandatory non-financial disclosure on several financial dimensions as well as its moderating effects on the relationship between sustainability and financial performance.

The authors performed fixed-effect regressions on a sample of 180 global listed companies, considering a period of eight years. The authors also tested the moderating effects of non-financial disclosure regulation on the relationship between sustainability and financial performance.

The authors found a positive direct impact of mandatory non-financial disclosure on Operating Return on Asset, Return on Equity and Return on Sales. The analysis also highlighted the negative moderating effects of non-financial reporting regulation on the relationship between sustainability issues and financial performance. As for the Cost of Debt, the authors found mixed results.

This study considers a short-term perspective focusing on a limited sample composed of companies playing a key role in the global agri-food system.

The paper identifies which financial performance dimensions are positively or negatively affected by mandatory non-financial disclosure. Accordingly, managers can rearrange corporate activities to deal with further reporting normative requirements concurrently preserving financial performances and fostering corporate sustainability.

This study recommends fostering mandatory non-financial disclosure to increase corporate transparency fostering the sustainability transition of the Agri-Food and Beverage industry.

The paper highlights global mandatory non-financial disclosure effects on financial performance considering a sector that is cross-cutting impactful on plural sustainability issues.

In recent times the government has emerged as an enabling and empowering facilitator promoting the adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) by businesses to leverage economic competitiveness and growth. India provides a unique context to explore the mandated role of government in relation to CSR specifically within the context of understanding its effective use to resolve grand challenges which the country is facing at present. Grand challenges are complex social, economic and environmental problems which require innovative and collaborative solutions. In this chapter we explore extant secondary data, related to CSR and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to examine whether mandatory CSR implementation which has been unfolding in India over the last few years has been effective in addressing India's grand challenges. Specifically, it focuses on the role of the Indian government, at the national and state levels, in directing CSR activities towards the SDGs.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an important corporate activity that affirms the importance of giving back to the community. This research aims to examine the CSR practices of Palestinian Islamic banks and their contribution to socio-economic development. There is an ongoing debate regarding Islamic financial institutions’ profit motive versus their motivation to achieve human welfare. The Palestinian Islamic banks are not disconnected from this debate, and this paper aims to discuss this issue.

For the purpose of assessing the CSR practices of Palestinian Islamic banks, a secondary analysis of the banks’ annual reports was carried out. In addition, 11 structured interviews were conducted with Islamic banks’ practitioners at the decision-making level and with some of the banks’ Sharīʿah board members to gather their views on CSR. These have been analyzed in light of the actual CSR practices disclosed in each bank’s annual reports.

The main research findings suggest that the CSR practice is highly valued by the Palestinian Islamic banks, but it is small and has marginal effects on the community’s socio-economic development. Another important observation from report analysis is that Islamic banks have great potential for expansion, given that the demand for Islamic financial transactions is double of what Islamic banks currently offer. If Islamic banks live up to that opportunity, they could deliver more in CSR practices, which is their ultimate goal according to the majority of the interviewees.

Existing literature has presented findings on the CSR of Palestinian corporations in general, but there is no available literature on the CSR practices of Palestinian Islamic banks. This research attempts to fill in the gap by presenting preliminary findings on Palestinian Islamic banks’ CSR practices.

There is evidence that corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices predict higher firm value, but little evidence on which specific aspects of CSR drive this relationship. The purpose of this paper is to study this question in a sample drawn from 35 countries over 2003-2016.

The authors employ a research design that analyzes observational data with panel data methods including ordinary least squares, firm-random effects, and firm-fixed effects.

The authors find in a sample drawn from 35 countries over 2003-2016 an economically significant relationship between an overall CSR measure and firm value. The overall CSR score builds on data from Asset4 and is comprised of three indices for environmental, social, and corporate governance aspects of CSR. The authors find that the social index consistently predicts higher market value. The authors also show that the use of particular elements of CSR can lead to substantial omitted variables bias when predicting firm value. The results also suggest a similar bias in studies that focus on a single index, which captures a specific aspect of CSR, but omits the remaining aspects.

The study is subject to limitations common to observational studies.

The authors find robust evidence that CSR predicts market value using a country-benchmarked overall CSR index. The power to predict firm value comes solely from the social dimension of this measure, which captures firm-level practices related to treatment of employees and stakeholder relations including those with customers and the broader community. Three elements drive the social index: customer/product responsibility, human rights, and employment quality. None of the remaining 12 elements significantly predicts firm vale in an empirical setting with firm-FE and extensive covariates. The authors also show that omitted aspects of CSR can easily lead to an omitted variable bias and that the magnitude of this bias is potentially greater with an OLS specification.

Among the many dimensions of CSR, only a subset drives firm value. Policies that target to improve the CSR performance of firms adopt a broader definition of CSR.

The authors provide first-hand evidence on which specific aspects of CSR drive firm market value.