Is the Improvement of CSR Helpful in Business Performance? Discussion of the Interference Effects of Financial Indicators from a Financial Perspective

To achieve sustainable business operations, corporate betting on the implementation of social responsibility has become a trend of global concern. Therefore, companies that pay attention to and invest many resources in corporate social responsibility (CSR) have gradually become critical strategies for business operations. This strategy has a substantial effect on business performance, especially regarding the financial impact. This study aims to explore the effect of CSR improvement on financial performance, return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), size, debt ratio, and asset turnover on its interference. A total of 346 items of data from Taiwan companies that have won the “CommonWealth Corporate Citizenship Award†from 2012 to 2018 were analyzed via descriptive statistics and hierarchical regression methods to determine the influence and adjustment of various factors layer by layer. CSR, firm size, debt ratio, and asset turnover have a significant prediction on ROA. CSR, firm size, and turnover have a significant prediction on ROE. Firm size and debt ratio have a significant negative moderation effect on CSR to ROA. The debt ratio has a significant negative moderation effect on CSR to ROE. This study concludes that CSR has a significant impact on business performance. CSR affects ROA moderated by firm size and ROA and ROE moderated by debt ratio. This study puts forward practical and future research suggestions for the relevant units to promote CSR development.