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27 pages, 318 KB

Open AccessArticle

Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Financial Performance: Evidence from America’s Best Corporate Citizens

by Kelly Huang, Yanglin Li, Kabir Oyewale and Emily Tworoger

Int. J. Financial Stud. 2025, 13(3), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijfs13030119 - 1 Jul 2025

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This paper examines the relation between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm financial performance—a topic that continues to generate debate among academics and practitioners. We focus on firms included in the 100 Best Corporate Citizens (BCC) rankings from 2009 to 2022, a list that highlights companies recognized for CSR transparency and performance. Using panel data regression analyses and matched sample comparison, we examine whether BCC firms outperform their peers. Our findings show that, relative to matched firms not included in the rankings, BCC firms demonstrate significantly stronger future operating performance. Among BCC firms, CSR rankings are positively associated with future operating performance, although this positive relation has diminished in more recent years. Furthermore, we find no significant association between operating performance and most individual CSR component rankings except for employee relations. Finally, our evidence indicates that more socially responsible firms engage in less tax avoidance and pay higher audit fees, suggesting that CSR-oriented firms exhibit stronger ethical considerations across a broad range of corporate activities. This study contributes to the CSR literature by providing updated empirical evidence and practical insights for stakeholders evaluating corporate behavior and outcomes through the BCC rankings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Corporate Governance and Financial Performance)

15 pages, 291 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Advantages of Entrepreneurial Holism: A Possible Path to Better and More Sustainable Performance

by Richard J. Arend

Adm. Sci. 2024, 14(9), 228; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci14090228 - 19 Sep 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1242

Abstract

In the present business environment, the strategic challenge of increasing performance along multiple dimensions simultaneously—e.g., financial, social, and personal—has never been greater. Thus, the purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of how firms can successfully pursue diverse performance goals simultaneously. To that end, specifically, this study’s objectives are to not only explore whether entrepreneurs are more successful than their corporate manager peers in that pursuit but also to explore how being an entrepreneur and being spiritual provide possible paths to being successful in such a pursuit. We draw upon a recent survey of 168 medium-sized venture entrepreneurs and their corporate executive peers in the US to better understand how such integration of roles and goals can be managed. Results indicate that being an entrepreneur and being spiritual lead to greater synergies among the performance outcomes, with some exceptions. The holistic nature underlying the findings has implications for policy (e.g., resource allocation) and for practice in that all firms should be seeking ways to find synergies not only between pairs of outcomes (e.g., profits and CSR) but among networks of outcomes (and at different levels of impact). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Evolutionary Path of Performance Measurement and Management in Light of Global Challenges)

13 pages, 410 KB

Open AccessArticle

CSR and Long-Term Corporate Performance: The Moderating Effects of Government Subsidies and Peer Firm’s CSR

by Wenli Zhao, Guangyu Ye, Guangyi Xu, Chong Liu, Dandan Deng and Ming Huang

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 5543; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095543 - 5 May 2022

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4813

Abstract

Effectively carrying out social responsibility is a critical strategy for the sustainable development of enterprises. Under the influence of institutional isomorphism, the relationship between corporate social responsibility and performance will be affected by the level of the peer firm’s social responsibility and government subsidies. Based on institutional theory, this paper discusses the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate performance, using relevant data from Chinese listed companies. The results show that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between social responsibility and corporate performance; the peer firm’s CSR and government subsidies weaken the inverted U-shaped relationship between CSR and corporate performance. The results provide useful theoretical insights for the performance of CSR. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Management Strategies and Practices)

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18 pages, 319 KB

Open AccessArticle

Chinese Merchant Group Culture, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Cost of Debt: Evidence from Private Listed Firms in China

by Haifei Wang, Hongjun Wu and Peter Humphreys

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2630; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052630 - 24 Feb 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4022

Abstract

Chinese merchant groups are commercial organizations that have developed over thousands of years. Given the importance of private firms to China’s sustainable development, this study investigates the impact of the traditional Chinese concept of merchant groups on corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance and cost of debt, using Chinese private listed firms during 2008–2020. We measure merchant group culture based on the company’s geographic location. Ordinary least squares regression models are used to test the hypotheses. According to the results, the CSR performance of firms from five traditional Chinese merchant groups is better than non-members. A positive relationship exists between the strength of merchant group culture and CSR performance; this relationship is stronger among merchant group companies. The closer the culture to CSR values, the better the CSR performance, which is negatively related to the cost of debt. The findings are in line with the peer effect theory. Therefore, the study provides evidence that it is essential to consider the traditional Chinese merchant group culture for firms’ CSR strategies beyond formal financial and regulatory factors in China. This study is a first step in exploring the impact of merchant group culture in China on CSR performance and the economic application of this relationship. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Corporate Finance Research)

18 pages, 891 KB

Open AccessArticle

Responsible Business in Fragile Contexts: Comparing Perceptions from Domestic and Foreign Firms in Myanmar

by Ralf Barkemeyer and Jason Miklian

Sustainability 2019, 11(3), 598; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030598 - 23 Jan 2019

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 7744

Abstract

After decades of isolation, Myanmar opened up its economy to international trade in 2012. This opening led to a rapid influx of international investment, exposure to the international corporate social responsibility (CSR) community and presumed pressures to conform to related norms and practices. We report on a large-scale survey of firms operating in Myanmar, comparing perceptions of corporate practitioners of CSR and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Our findings show that awareness levels of CSR among domestic Myanmar firms match those of their international peers, but the application of and selection criteria for CSR implementation by domestic firms in Myanmar differs from typical CSR activities observed in other parts of the world, in particular by Global North firms. More surprisingly, Myanmar firms have a higher awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) than their multinational counterparts. Our findings have implications for CSR advocacy in Myanmar as well as for the dissemination of corporate responsibility and sustainability into the developing world more generally. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability)

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7 pages, 181 KB

Open AccessArticle

Do Peer Firms Affect Firm Corporate Social Responsibility?

by Shenggang Yang, Heng Ye and Qi Zhu

Sustainability 2017, 9(11), 1967; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9111967 - 29 Oct 2017

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 6740

Abstract

Peer-firm strategies are a critical factor for corporate finance, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the main trend for evaluating the behavior of firms. On the basis of the connection between peer strategy and CSR, this paper explores the CSR strategies employed by a sample of Chinese firms during the 2008–2015 period. Our two main empirical findings are as follows. First, the CSR strategies of firms have a positive effect on their CSR behavior. Second, when there is the CSR gap between firms and peer firms, firms will feel the pressure from stakeholders and the public and improve the level of CSR performance. Our paper enriches empirical research on the CSR behavior of Chinese firms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Developing Countries: Current Trends and Development)

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