Interactive effects of corporate social responsibility and other value-creating investments on corporate financial performance Online publication date: Thu, 24-Nov-2016
by Xiaodan Wang; Mingming Feng; Timothy B. Palmer
International Journal of Sustainable Strategic Management (IJSSM), Vol. 5, No. 2, 2016
Abstract: Research on the financial benefits of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has proliferated in recent years but generated mixed results. Rather than asking if CSR helps or hinders firm performance, it might be more worthwhile to explore conditions impacting relations between CSR and firm performance. That is, given the potential trade-offs between investments in CSR and those in other value-creating activities, it is necessary to examine their interactive impacts on corporate financial performance (CFP). Toward this end, this study explores if, and how, investments in innovation capabilities, branding capabilities and managerial capabilities moderate the effect of CSR on CFP. Testing the hypotheses with a sample of 579 US firms from 1991 to 2010, we found that the positive effect of CSR on CFP is weaker in firms that are more innovative and better at branding, and stronger in firms that spend more on acquiring managerial capabilities.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Sustainable Strategic Management (IJSSM):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook