Corporate social responsibility and institutional investors: the intervening effect of financial performance

Purpose - The research on the role of corporate social responsibility in investors' decision process has proliferated over the past few decades. This paper aims to explore the mediating role of financial performance in the relationship between corporate social responsibility and institutional investors. Design/methodology/approach - Panel regression was performed on a sample of 29 commercial banks nine years from 2009 to 2017. Findings - The initial findings of the study show that that corporate social responsibility has a positive and significant impact on institutional investors. However, when the interaction term (financial performance) was incorporated, the relationship between CSR and institutional turns out to be neutral. The study concludes that financial performance plays a pivotal role in the selection of investment avenues. Originality/value - In Indian context, there is a dearth of research work which studies the impact of sustainable practices on investors' decision process. This topic has received wider attention but lacks insights from developing countries, like India. This article presents a new approach to verify the relationship through the mediating variable (financial performance).