The impact of corporate social responsibility on firm financial performance: does audit quality matter?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anissa Dakhli

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relation between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm financial performance, and how audit quality moderates this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses panel dataset of 200 French firms listed during 2007–2018 period. The direct and moderating effects were tested by using multiple regression technique.FindingsThe authors find that CSR has a positive impact on firm financial performance proxy with return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE) and Tobin's Q (TQ), suggesting that investment in social activities helps firms to achieve better financial results. The authors also find that the improvement effect of CSR on corporate financial performance is more pronounced for firms audited by Big 4 auditors.Research limitations/implicationsOne limit of this study is the selection of independent variables. We are limited to one variable, namely CSR engagement. Further studies may consider other independent variables, such as the age of the company, the type of industry, the composition of the board of directors, etc., in order to provide an in-depth analysis of corporate financial performance drivers.Practical implicationsThe findings have practical implications that may be useful to managers in their management of the firm. They encourage all board members to seriously weigh investing in developing strategies that promote the social behavior components in order to improve overall corporate performance.Originality/valueThe research adds to the current literature on CSR by revealing the impact of external auditor quality on the CSR–financial performance relationship. In addition, it investigates not only the overall CSR ratings but also each of CSR dimensions, namely environmental, social and governance.

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 749-763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliyu Baba Usman ◽  
Noor Afza Binti Amran

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the nature and trend of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in Nigeria. The second objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between the dimensions of CSR disclosures and corporate financial performance (CFP) among Nigerian listed companies. Design/methodology/approach – To carry out this research, content analysis was conducted to extract CSR and financial data from annual reports of 68 companies listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. Financial data were cross-referenced with the NSE Factbook. CSR indexes and financial performance measures were computed for estimation of the regression analysis equation. The percentages were used to describe the nature and trend of CSR practice in Nigeria. This was followed by the hierarchical multiple regression analysis to examine the relationship between CSR and CFP. Findings – The results of the descriptive statistics show that the listed companies used CSR initiatives to communicate social performance to their stakeholders. From the regression analysis, community involvement disclosure, products and customer disclosures and human resource disclosures were found to enhance CFP. The results also reveal a negative relationship between environmental disclosure and CFP, which indicates that disclosure of environmental impact information could be value destroying in Nigeria. Research limitations/implications – The major limitation of this paper is the sample size. Also, failure of corporations to disclose CSR in the annual reports will have a material effect on these findings. Practical implications – The findings of this paper have practical implications on the management of Nigerian companies to re-think and re-strategize their CSR policies that incorporate social and economic performance to improve their CFP. Social implications – This paper has implication on stakeholders in validating the corporate citizenship of corporations based on the level of commitment and participation in CSR initiatives. Also, findings of this paper will alert the enforcement agencies on the status of CSR practices in Nigeria. Government in collaboration with private and public agencies should consider the needs for CSR framework and database to guide social and environmental reporting in the country. Originality/value – The paper has examined the relationship between CSR and CFP based on CSR dimensional approach. Aspect of human resource and products/customers CSR has been neglected in the context of Nigerian CSR research. This paper makes valuable contribution by offering new and fresh insight on these dimensions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Jeffrey ◽  
Stuart Rosenberg ◽  
Brianna McCabe

Purpose This paper aims to study how corporate social responsibility (CSR) behaviors can lead to corporate membership on Fortune Magazine’s Most Admired Companies list. Design/methodology/approach Regression analysis using environmental, social and governance (ESG) statistics published by MSCI-KLD as independent variables to predict the behaviors that lead to most admired status. Findings Not surprisingly, corporate financial performance (CFP) is the largest contributor to membership on the list. However, after controlling for CFP, the analysis finds that specific social responsibility behaviors contribute to membership on the Fortune list. Practical implications This paper finds that CSR behaviors are important to a firm’s reputation as measured by Fortune’s Most Admired Companies list. Therefore, companies should continue with social responsibility activities to improve their reputation with investors. Originality/value Many articles test the effect of ESG on financial performance and the role of financial performance on stock price. This paper is unique in that it measures the impact of CSR on corporate reputation using an important financial market benchmark – the Fortune Most Admired Companies list.


2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 545-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salma Chakroun ◽  
Bassem Salhi ◽  
Anis Ben Amar ◽  
Anis Jarboui

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the ISO 26000 (global corporate social responsibility standard) adoption and financial performance. The current study aims to explore whether ISO 26000 social responsibility standard adoption has an impact on financial performance. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a sample consisting of French companies listed on the CAC-All-Tradable index for the period 2010-2017. This study is motivated by using panel data estimated feasible generalized least squares method. Findings The results show that that good corporate governance can improve the financial performance. This positive impact is also noticed in the case of labor relations and conditions, environment and community involvement. However, it does not apply to human rights, fair operating practices and consumer issues, as there is no significant relationship between these dimensions and the financial performance. Practical implications The findings may be of interest to the academic researchers, investors and regulators. For academic researchers, it is interested in discovering how the adoption of ISO 26000 can improve financial performance. For investors, the results show that it is appropriate for different countries to adopt the ISO 26000 guidelines and introduce societal practices in their activities. Originality/value This paper extends the existing literature by examining the effect of the ISO 26000 standard for financial performance in the French context. The study of corporate social responsibility through its seven societal dimensions has enabled us to understand the guidelines relating to the ISO 26000 standard.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agung Nur Probohudono ◽  
Astri Nugraheni ◽  
An Nurrahmawati

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure on the financial performance of Islamic banks across nine countries as major markets that contribute to international Islamic bank assets (Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey, Bahrain and Pakistan or further will be called QISMUT + 3 countries). Design/methodology/approach Islamic Social Reporting Disclosure Index (ISRDI) is being used as a benchmark for Islamic bank CSR performance that contains a compilation of CSR standard items specified by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions. The secondary data is collected from the respective bank’s annual reports and it used the regression analysis techniques for statistical testing. Findings This study found that CSR disclosure measured by ISRDI has a positive effect on financial performance. Almost all ISRDI sub-major categories have a positive effect on financial performance except the “environment” subcategory. The highest major subcategory for ISRDI is the “corporate governance” category (82%) and the “environment” category (13%) is the lowest. For the UAE, Kuwait and Turkey, the ISRDI is positively affected by financial performance and the other countries on this research are not. Originality/value This study highlighted the economic benefits of social responsibility practices as a part of business ethics in nine countries that uphold the value of religiosity. Thus, the development of the results of this research for subsequent research is very wide open.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abir Hichri ◽  
Moez Ltifi

Purpose The study is based on a hybrid model composed of accounting and business data and is amongst the first to test the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance on the financial performance of the company, as well as the impact of financial performance on CSR performance. The bidirectional logic chosen by the study is rarely adopted in the global context and has never been tested in the Swedish context. Moreover, the purpose of this paper is to test the mediating effect of customer loyalty on the company’s CSR performance-financial performance relationship to assess this effect over the long term. This design has been neglected in previous studies. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected from a sample of 110 Swedish companies during the period 2009–2019. This study collects the data from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database. A multiple regression analysis was performed to test the hypotheses. Findings The results confirmed the bidirectional relationship between CSR performance and company financial performance. This means that CSR performance positively influences the company’s financial performance. Similarly, financial performance positively influences the company’s CSR performance. Moreover, customer loyalty has a positive and significant mediating effect on the company’s CSR performance-financial performance relationship. Originality/value This study adds several inputs. The first contribution of the research is to test a hybrid model composed of accounting and commercial data. This model is amongst the first to test the impact of CSR performance on the financial performance of the company and the impact of financial performance on CSR performance. The second contribution is the bidirectional logic chosen by the study which is rarely adopted in the global context and has never been tested in the Swedish context. The third contribution is to test the mediating effect of customer loyalty on the company’s CSR performance-financial performance relationship to assess this effect over the long term. This design has been neglected in previous studies. The fourth contribution is the choice of the field of investigation for the reliability of the data used and the generalisation of the results obtained.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anissa Dakhli

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the direct and indirect relationship between institutional ownership and corporate tax avoidance using corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a mediating variable. Design/methodology/approach This study uses panel data set of 200 French firms listed during the 2007–2018 period. The direct and indirect effects between managerial ownership and tax avoidance were tested by using structural equation model analysis. Findings The results indicate that institutional ownership negatively affects tax avoidance. The greater the proportion of the institutional ownership, the lower the likelihood of tax avoidance usage. From the result of the Sobel test, this study indicated that CSR partially mediates the effect of institutional ownership on corporate tax avoidance. Practical implications The findings have some policy and practical implications that may help regulators in improving the quality of transactions and in achieving more efficient market supervision. They recommend to the government to add regulations and restrictions to the structure of corporate ownership to control corporate tax avoidance in French companies. Originality/value This study extends the existing literature by examining both the direct and indirect effect of institutional ownership on corporate tax avoidance in French companies by including CSR as a mediating variable.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Farooq ◽  
Amna Noor

Purpose This study aims to explore the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the likelihood of financial distress for a sample of 139 Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) listed firms throughout 2008–2019. Design/methodology/approach The dynamic generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator is used to examine the impact of CSR on financial distress. The investment in CSR is measured through a multidimensional financial approach which comprises the sum of the contribution made by the company in the form of charitable donation, employees’ welfare and research and development, while the Altman Z-score is used as an indicator of financial distress. The higher the Z-score, the lower will be the probability of financial distress. Findings The authors find a significant positive impact of CSR on financial distress in GMM model. This finding is consistent with the shareholder view and over-investment hypothesis of CSR as management makes an investment in CSR to get personal benefits, which resultantly leads the firm toward financial distress state. Further, this positive relationship remains present for firms having strong involvement in foreign business through exports. Research limitations/implications Like other studies, the present study is not free from limitations. First, financial firms are skipped from the sample, although literature witnesses a lot of studies highlight the financial firms’ commitment to achieving CSR goals. Second, financial distress occurs in different stages, and this study fails to establish a linkage between CSR engagement at different stages of financial distress. In the future, researchers can make valuable addition by covering these missing links in present studies. Practical implications Findings suggest several practical implications. For policymakers, they should encourage firms to adopt more socially responsible behavior as it not only prevents them from distress but also comes with better investment behavior, minimize bankruptcies and make economies more strong and stable. Second, results suggest corporate managers emphasize socially responsible behavior as its benefits are beyond the “societal benefits” as it lessens financial distress through lower cost of debt, lesser financial constraints and reduced cost of information asymmetry, and it minimizes the cost of capital. Lastly, investors make risk premium assessments related to future earnings by determining the likelihood of financial distress in the future. Originality/value The study extends the body of existing literature on CSR and the likelihood of financial distress in Pakistan, which is according to the best knowledge of the authors, not yet studied before. The results suggest that policymakers may pay special attention to the quality of CSR while predicting corporate financial distress.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Oduro ◽  
Kot David Adhal Nguar ◽  
Alessandro De Nisco ◽  
Rami Hashem E. Alharthi ◽  
Guglielmo Maccario ◽  
...  

PurposeThis study aims to draw on instrumental and ethical theories to offer a quantitative review of the extant literature on the corporate social responsibility (CSR)–small-medium enterprises (SMEs) performance relationship through a meta-analysis.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical studies from 57 independent peer-reviewed articles, including 66,741 firms, were sampled and analysed. Both subgroup and meta-regression analyses (MARA) were used to test the hypotheses of the study.FindingsThe authors' results demonstrated that social-oriented, economic-oriented and environment-oriented CSR activities have a positive, significant influence on overall, financial and non-financial performance of SMEs; however, the effect of social-oriented CSR activities is the strongest. Moreover, the impact CSR dimensions have on non-financial performance is stronger than on financial performance. Additionally, findings showed that the association between CSR and SME performance is positively and significantly influenced by contextual factors (i.e. sector and region of study) and methodological factors (i.e. performance measurement, study type, theory usage, sampling size and operationalisation of constructs).Originality/valueThe study is the pioneering meta-analytic review on the CSR–SME performance relationship, thereby clarifying the anecdotal results, synthesising the fragmented empirical studies and exploring the contextual and methodological factors that may account for between-study variance. Following the study's findings, the authors delineate insightful suggestions for future scholarship and fine-grained managerial implications for practitioners.


2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niccolò Nirino ◽  
Nicola Miglietta ◽  
Antonio Salvi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firms’ financial performance (FP) in the food and beverage (F&B) sector. Design/methodology/approach The authors developed a conceptual model that hypothesizes a positive effect of CSR governance on CSR outcomes (environmental and social) and these on firm’s FP. Gathering data from 190 F&B companies, the authors empirically tested the validity of the model through an ordinary least squares regression analysis. Findings The findings highlight the positive impact of CSR governance on environmental and social outcomes, showing real societal concerns among companies’ stakeholders in the F&B industry. Studies on the effect of CSR outcomes on FP have shown mixed results. On one side, the social outcomes positively impact a firm’s performance; on the other side, environmental outcomes show insignificant or non-positive effects depending on different measurements of FP. Originality/value Despite the mixed set of results between CSR and a firm’s performance in the literature, this research provides a new framework in which the impact of CSR on FP is analysed through the effectiveness of CSR governance on CSR outcomes (social and environmental). Moreover, this study contributes to the CSR literature understanding the impact of both environment and social concerns by companies on firm’s FP in F&B context.


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