IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/ngooec/v66y2020i2p1-14n1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

CSR and Financial Performance – Linked by Innovative Activities

Author

Listed:
  • Bastič Majda

    (Retired by University of Maribor, Faculty of Economics and Business, Slovenia)

  • Mulej Matjaž

    (Retired by University of Maribor, Faculty of Economics and Business, Slovenia)

  • Zore Mira

    (ZOMI, d.o.o., Stari trg 25, SI-8210Trebnje, Slovenia)

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationships between different dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR), as well as the mediating role of innovation between CSR dimensions and financial performance. Data was collected with questionnaires from 321 managers of Slovene companies to test a conceptual model with structural equation modeling (SEM). The field-research results were that CSR is the most relevant dimension for employees. It positively influences CSR to the natural environment, to customers, and to the local community. The mediating role of innovation between CSR and financial performance was confirmed. The results also showed that CSR to the natural environment and CSR to customers positively affect innovation, while CSR to the local community had a negative impact. In addition, the positive impact of innovation initiated by CSR on financial performance was confirmed. The principal limitation of this study was its focus on Slovenian firms and the fact that data was obtained from only one manager in each firm. Slovene companies should consider the global initiatives supportive of CSR as the way to create opportunities for innovation and differentiation from other companies and increase their financial performance. The conceptual model developed and tested on the data obtained by Slovene managers gives new perspective on the impacts of social responsibility, innovation and financial performance. It highlights the areas in which the theory of social responsibility needs more research.

Suggested Citation

  • Bastič Majda & Mulej Matjaž & Zore Mira, 2020. "CSR and Financial Performance – Linked by Innovative Activities," Naše gospodarstvo/Our economy, Sciendo, vol. 66(2), pages 1-14, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:ngooec:v:66:y:2020:i:2:p:1-14:n:1
    DOI: 10.2478/ngoe-2020-0007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2478/ngoe-2020-0007
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2478/ngoe-2020-0007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lu, Chin-Shan & Lai, Kee-hung & Cheng, T.C.E., 2007. "Application of structural equation modeling to evaluate the intention of shippers to use Internet services in liner shipping," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 180(2), pages 845-867, July.
    2. Clyde Eiríkur Hull & Sandra Rothenberg, 2008. "Firm performance: the interactions of corporate social performance with innovation and industry differentiation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(7), pages 781-789, July.
    3. Werther, William Jr. & Chandler, David, 2005. "Strategic corporate social responsibility as global brand insurance," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 317-324.
    4. Mert Gürlek & Ertugrul Düzgün & Selma Meydan Uygur, 2017. "How does corporate social responsibility create customer loyalty? The role of corporate image," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(3), pages 409-427, August.
    5. Alexander Dahlsrud, 2008. "How corporate social responsibility is defined: an analysis of 37 definitions," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, January.
    6. Saeidi, Sayedeh Parastoo & Sofian, Saudah & Saeidi, Parvaneh & Saeidi, Sayyedeh Parisa & Saaeidi, Seyyed Alireza, 2015. "How does corporate social responsibility contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of competitive advantage, reputation, and customer satisfaction," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 341-350.
    7. Abagail McWilliams & Donald Siegel, 2000. "Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: correlation or misspecification?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(5), pages 603-609, May.
    8. Jiménez-Jiménez, Daniel & Sanz-Valle, Raquel, 2011. "Innovation, organizational learning, and performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(4), pages 408-417, April.
    9. Andy Lockett & Jeremy Moon & Wayne Visser, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Management Research: Focus, Nature, Salience and Sources of Influence," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 115-136, January.
    10. Duygu Turker, 2009. "Measuring Corporate Social Responsibility: A Scale Development Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 85(4), pages 411-427, April.
    11. Eun-Mi Lee & Hyun Jung Lee & Jae-Hyeon Pae & Seong-Yeon Park, 2016. "The important role of corporate social responsibility capabilities in improving sustainable competitive advantage," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(4), pages 642-653, October.
    12. Ferauge Perrine, 2013. "The Complementarity Of Corporate Social Responsibility And Innovation: Evidence From Belgian Firms," Global Journal of Business Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 7(5), pages 99-113.
    13. Archie B. Carroll, 2016. "Carroll’s pyramid of CSR: taking another look," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-8, December.
    14. Lee, Eun Mi & Park, Seong-Yeon & Lee, Hyun Jung, 2013. "Employee perception of CSR activities: Its antecedents and consequences," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 1716-1724.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Slobodan Marić & Nemanja Berber & Agneš Slavić & Marko Aleksić, 2021. "The Mediating Role of Employee Commitment in the Relationship Between Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Performance in Serbia," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, August.
    2. Mariusz Zieliński & Izabela Jonek-Kowalska, 2021. "Does CSR Affect the Profitability and Valuation of Energy Companies? An Example from Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-24, June.
    3. Min-Jik Kim & Byung-Jik Kim, 2021. "The Performance Implication of Corporate Social Responsibility: The Moderating Role of Employee’s Prosocial Motivation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-14, March.
    4. Abdelmajid EL WAATMANI, 2018. "Industrial clusters and promotion of CSR: the case of developing countries," Journal of Academic Finance, RED research unit, university of Gabes, Tunisia, vol. 9(2), pages 69-80, December.
    5. Broadstock, David C. & Matousek, Roman & Meyer, Martin & Tzeremes, Nickolaos G., 2020. "Does corporate social responsibility impact firms' innovation capacity? The indirect link between environmental & social governance implementation and innovation performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 99-110.
    6. Soh Young In & Young Joon Lee & Robert G. Eccles, 2024. "Looking back and looking forward: A scientometric analysis of the evolution of corporate sustainability research over 47 years," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 2225-2259, May.
    7. Haroon ur Rashid Khan & Murad Ali & Hossein G. T. Olya & Muhamamd Zulqarnain & Zubair Rashid Khan, 2018. "Transformational leadership, corporate social responsibility, organizational innovation, and organizational performance: Symmetrical and asymmetrical analytical approaches," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(6), pages 1270-1283, November.
    8. Petya Koleva & Maureen Meadows, 2021. "Inherited Scepticism and Neo-communist CSR-washing: Evidence from a Post-communist Society," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(4), pages 783-804, December.
    9. Abdelmajid EL WAATMANI, 2018. "Industrial clusters and promotion of CSR: the case of developing countries," Journal of Academic Finance, RED research unit, university of Gabes, Tunisia, vol. 9(2), pages 69-80, December.
    10. Shilpee A. Dasgupta & Mayank Bhatia & Upasana Singh & Arghya Ray, 2022. "Impact of CSR on non-financial performance and the mediating role of trust and reputation: Indian manufacturing employees’ perspectives," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 19(2), pages 391-412, June.
    11. Rajesh Kumar Bhaskaran & Irene Wei Kiong Ting & Sujit K. Sukumaran & Saraswathy Divakaran Sumod, 2020. "Environmental, social and governance initiatives and wealth creation for firms: An empirical examination," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(5), pages 710-729, July.
    12. SangRyeong Lee & Jin-Woo Park & Sukhoon Chung, 2022. "The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on Corporate Reputation: The Case of Incheon International Airport," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-19, September.
    13. Franck Brulhart & Sandrine Gherra & Bertrand V. Quelin, 2019. "Do Stakeholder Orientation and Environmental Proactivity Impact Firm Profitability?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 25-46, August.
    14. Zhonghua Zhao & Fanchen Meng & Yin He & Zhouyang Gu, 2019. "The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility on Competitive Advantage with Multiple Mediations from Social Capital and Dynamic Capabilities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, January.
    15. Saeidi, Sayedeh Parastoo & Sofian, Saudah & Saeidi, Parvaneh & Saeidi, Sayyedeh Parisa & Saaeidi, Seyyed Alireza, 2015. "How does corporate social responsibility contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of competitive advantage, reputation, and customer satisfaction," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 341-350.
    16. Tong, Xun & Chen, Jianghang & Zhu, Qinghua & Cheng, T.C.E., 2018. "Technical assistance, inspection regime, and corporate social responsibility performance: A behavioural perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 59-69.
    17. Jia Xu & Jiuchang Wei & Liangdong Lu, 2019. "Strategic stakeholder management, environmental corporate social responsibility engagement, and financial performance of stigmatized firms derived from Chinese special environmental policy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1027-1044, September.
    18. Cegarra-Navarro, Juan-Gabriel & Reverte, Carmelo & Gómez-Melero, Eduardo & Wensley, Anthony K.P., 2016. "Linking social and economic responsibilities with financial performance: The role of innovation," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 530-539.
    19. Deepa Sharma & Suman Chakraborty & Ashwath Ananda Rao & Lumen Shawn Lobo, 2023. "The Relationship of Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Performance: A Bibliometric Overview," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, March.
    20. Li, WeiWei & Padmanabhan, Prasad & Huang, Chia-Hsing, 2024. "ESG and debt structure: Is the nature of this relationship nonlinear?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    corporate social responsibility (CSR); Slovene companies; innovation; financial performance; structural equation modeling (SEM);
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • M20 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:vrs:ngooec:v:66:y:2020:i:2:p:1-14:n:1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciendo.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.